CONFIDENCE IN THE FUTURE       Rev. KENNETH O. STROH       1968


Vol. LXXXVIII
January 1958
No. 1
NEW CHURCH LIFE

Confidence in the Future
     A Sermon on Psalm 115: 11     Kenneth O. Stroh     1
Communication to the Salary Committee     Willard D. Pendleton     6
Eternal Life and Eternal Values
     Episcopal Address at District Assemblies     Elmo C. Acton     8
Man's Affections and Motives in a Technological Society
and a Growing Church     Robert S. Junge     20
The Visible God in New Church Education
     Address to Educational Council     Erik Sandstrom     31
Editorial Department
     A Paradox of Faith     40
     The Appropriation of Good     41
     Keep Them from the Evil          41
     Seeking the Kingdom of God     42
Church News     44
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     48

VOL. LXXXVIII
February, 1968
No. 2
NEW CHURCH LIFE

The Bow in the Cloud
     A Sermon on Genesis 9: 12, 13     Norman H. Reuter     49
In Our Contemporaries     54
The Doctrine of Use: The New Moral Law
     Address to Eastern Canada District Assembly     Harold C. Cranch          55
The Swedenborg Society Library 1967     A. Stanley Wainscot     64
Man's Affections and Motives in a Technological
     Society and a Growing Church     Robert S. Junge     68
The Visible God in New Church Education
     Address to Educational Council     Erik Sandstrom     79
Reviews
     Spiritual Substance and Natural Matter     88
     The Panorama of Revelation     88
Editorial Department     
Divine Mercy in Repentance     89
     Provision and Permission     90
     A Kingdom not of This World     91
Communication
     A New Church View of History     Erik Sandstrom     92
Church News     94
Announcements
     Ordination, Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     95
     European Assembly - Preliminary Notice     96
     Tenth British Academy Summer School - Notice     98

Vol. LXXXVIII
March 1968
No. 3

Memorial Address
     Sergeant David Richard Simons     Willard D. Pendleton     97
"That Not One of These Little Ones Should Perish"
     A Sermon on Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7.     Peter M. Buss     101
Love of Country and Love of the Human Race
     Address to Eastern Canada District Assembly     Geoffrey Childs     106
General Church Translation Committee     Norbert H. Rogers     116
The Visible God in New Church Education
     Address to Educational Council     Erik Sandstrom     119
God Man     Elmo C. Acton     129
In Our Contemporaries     135
Reviews
     The True Christian Religion: Author's General Index of Contents     136
     A Digest of Emanuel Swedenborg's True Christian Religion     136
Editorial Department
     From Nothing, Nothing Comes     137
     The Mirror-Image of Man     138
      Kingdom That Is Within     138
     Ultimate Power     139
Communication
     A New Church View of History     John Kane     140
Church News     141
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     143
     Academy of the New Church: Calendar, 1968-1969     144

Vol. LXXXVIII
April 1968
No. 4

The Son of Man
     A sermon on John 12: 34     Willard D. Pendleton     145
The Risen Lord
     An Easter Talk to Children     Daniel Goodenough, Jr.     149
The Doctrine of the Lord
     The Resurrection Body     Elmo C. Acton     152
What is Relevant?     George de Charms     158
Two Hundred Years Ago     Donald L. Rose     159

     ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

Council of the Clergy Sessions     Norbert H. Rogers     162
Joint Council Session     Robert S. Junge     164
Annual Reports
     Bishop of the General Church     Willard D Pendleton     168
     Secretary of the General Church     Robert S. Junge     171
     Secretary of the Council of the Clergy     Norbert H. Rogers     174
     Corporation of the General Church     Stephen Pitcairn     180
     Treasurer of the General Church     L. E. Gyllenhaal     183
     Editor of New Church Life     W. Cairns Henderson     188
     Joint Financial Study Committee     James F. Junge     189
     Operating Policy Committee     Robert S. Junge     192
     Orphanage Committee     Philip C. Pendleton     192
     Pension Committee     Garthowen Pitcairn     192
     Publication Committee     Robert S. Junge     193
     Religion Lessons Committee     Norbert H. Rogers     194
     Salary Committee     Robert E. Walter     196
     Sound Recording Committee     W. Cairns Henderson     197

In Our Contemporaries     198
Review
     The Spiritual World     199
Editorial Department     201
Church News     205
Announcements     210

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXXXVIII
MAY, 1968
No. 5

Overcoming Fears
     A Sermon on Psalm 91: 5     Douglas Taylor     213
The Lord's Triumph in the Wilderness     Kurt H. Asplundh     221
Blake and Swedenborg     Stephen Gladish     230
The Falsity of Adultery     Donald L. Rose     242
Eternal Values     Lorentz R. Soneson     247
In Our Contemporaries     251
Editorial Department
     Some Contemporary Questions     252
     The Universal Churchq253
     A Kingdom of Those Who Do     254
Church News     255
Announcements
     First European Assembly - July-21, 1968 - Notice     258
     Young People's Gathering - Aug. 31 - Sept. 4, 1968- Notice     258
     Baptisms, Confirmation, Marriages, Deaths     258
     General Church Translation Committee     259
     Academy Staff Appointments     260

VOL. LXXXVIII
JUNE, 1968
No. 6
NEW CHURCH LIFE

The Gathering of the Elect
     A sermon on Matthew 24: 31     Hugo Lj. Odhner     261
With Power and Great Glory
     A Talk to Children     Ormond Odhner     266
In Our Contemporaries     269
A Question of Values     Willard D. Pendleton     270
The Authority of the Word in the External Life of the Church
     Address to the Council of the Clergy     Robert S. Junge     276
First Young People's Gathering     Erik Sandstrom     294
The Form and Style of the Word     Frederick L, Schnarr     296
Editorial Department
     The Image of the Church     302
     Doubtful Choices     303
     A Kingdom of Innocence     303
Church News     305
Announcements
Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     308

VOL. LXXXVIII
July, 1968
No. 7
NEW CHURCH LIFE Pendleton Hall     Frontispiece
Dedication of Pendleton Hall
     The Ceremony     309
     Dedication address     Martin Pryke     309
     Presentation by Building Committee     Lachlan Pitcairn     314
     Acceptance and Dedication     317
     The Building Described     E. Bruce Glenn     318
The Development of the Junior College of the Academy of the New Church     Willard D. Pendleton     320
The Uses of Old Age     A Sermon on Zechariah 8: 4     Frank S. Rose     329
The Life of Justice     Address to the Council of the Clergy     Daniel Goodenough, Jr.     334
Editorial Department
     Truth and Application     353
     The Church and Change     354
     A Kingdom of the Poor in Spirit     355
Church News     356
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     359

VOL. LXXXVIII
AUGUST, 1968
No. 8
NEW CHURCH LIFE

Remarks on Violence     Willard Pendleton     361
District of the Carolinas and Southern Virginia
     Gathering at Pawley's Island     Dorothy Radcliffe     362
The Way to Freedom
     A Sermon on John 8: 31, 32     Roy Franson     365
The Life of Justice
     Address to the Council of the Clergy     Daniel Goodenough, Jr.     370
"Every Idle Word"     Douglas Taylor     378
The Continuous Internal Sense of the Word     
     Address to the Council of the Clergy     Geoffrey H. Howard     385
Editorial Department
     A Kingdom of the Resolute     400

VOL. LXXXVIII
SEPTEMBER, 1968
No. 9

NEW CHURCH LIFE

The Two Witnesses     Willard D. Pendleton     401
Reading With Understanding     
     A Sermon on Matthew 13: 16.     Erik Sandstrom     406
Art in Education     Yorvar E. Synnestvedt     411
Two Hundred Years Ago     Donald L. Rose     419
Compassion     Morley D. Rich     421
Attendant Angels and Spirits     Victor J. Gladish     426
Editorial Department
     Self-Examination and the Church     433
     Freedom and Licence     431
     A Kingdom of the Persecuted     434
Announcements
     Charter Day - October 24-26, 1968 - Notice and Program     436
     Baptisms     436

VOL. LXXXVIII
OCTOBER, 1968
No. 10

Accommodations and Appearances     
     A Sermon on John 1: 18     Ormond Odhner     437
The Translation of the Writings     A. Wynne Acton     442
Grief          Alfred Acton     451
Two Hundred Years Ago     Donald L. Rose     456
Honesty
     Commencement Address     Kent Hyatt     458
An Interesting Historical Document     A. Stanley Wainscot     462
Review
     The Secret Path     463
Editorial Department
     The Carrier of Light     464
     By Means of the Word Only     465
     A Kingdom Growing Secretly     465
Communication
     The Writings     Frank S. Rose     467
Church News     469
Announcements
     Charter Day - October 24-26, 1968 - Notice and Program     478
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     478

VOL. LXXXVIII
NOVEMBER, 1968
Vol. 11

Abigail
     A Sermon on I Samuel 25: 32, 33     Donald L. Rose     481
Yet Will I Rejoice in the Lord
     A Thanksgiving Talk to Children     W. Cairns Henderson     486
Beauty     Lorentz R. Soneson     489
New Church Attitudes to Race Relations Today     Greta L. Doering     494
Dating and Marriage Outside of the Church     Bruce Henderson     497
The Young People's Gathering
     A Summary Report     Kurt Simons, Tom Andrews, Alison Glen     502
Educational Council
     Report on Proceedings     Norbert H. Rogers     505
The New Church World Assembly, 1970
     Progress Report by the London Committee     D.F.C. Mann     507
Clergy Reports
     Report of the Bishop of the General Church     Willard D. Pendleton     510
     Council of the Clergy     Norbert H. Rogers     512
Editorial Department
     That He Is Good     517
     When God Is Dead     518
     Sins Against Reason     518
     A Kingdom of the Persevering     519
Communication
     Discrimination in Giving     Charis P. Cole     520
Church News     524
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths          527

NEW CHURCH LIFE

VOL. LXXXVIII
DECEMBER, 1968
No. 12

The Fields of the Forest
     Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton 529
The First Christmas Presents
     Kenneth O. Stroh 533
The True Meaning of Christmas
     Rt. Rev. George de Charms 536
The Virgin Birth
     Hugo Lj. Odhner 542
Rededication to the Lord
     W. Cairns Henderson 550
Fifty-Third British Assembly and First European Assembly 554
A Milestone in New Church Education
     10th British Academy Summer School
          Nancy E. Stroh 558

Editorial Department
     A Dilemma of Modern Man 561
     Following a Star 562
     The Mysteries of the Kingdom 562
Directory of the General Church of the New Jerusalem 564
Church News 570
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths      578

Vol. LXXXVIII
January 1958
No. 1
NEW CHURCH LIFE
     "Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield." (Psalm 115: 11)

     Life involves a continuing progression of times and states. Life in the world is divided into hours, days, weeks, months and years with their seasons. A point in time may mark the end of a period of life and the beginning of a new state for any individual. Consequently, each point in time will be viewed differently by different individuals, according to the state of life of each. One particular day may be the first day of school for a little child. It may be the day of an important examination for an advanced student. It may be the day of marriage which a couple has been joyfully anticipating. It may be a day of retirement from the daily grind of a life-long occupation. It may be the day of a prisoner's release from bondage. It may be a day of happiness for some, and of sorrow for others. But it will be the end of one period and the beginning of another, in the series of life's continuing progressions.
     For all times in the world correspond to and go along with states of life, and hence states of mind. So it is that in the Divine Word, divisions of time are used to denote whole periods of time, of whatever length, that encompass certain states. And it is said that "by 'a year' in the Word is not signified a year, but an entire time, and thus a whole period, whether it be of a thousand years, or of a hundred, or of ten, or of hours."*
     * AC 2213e.
     Now, as we have noted, individual men and women may be in various states of life on any particular day. Yet all experience the same progressions of time, which are fixed by the laws of nature. And it is useful that at certain points of time, such as the end of an old year and the beginning of a new one, men and women of reason should pause to reflect on the lessons of the past, and contemplate the hopes of the future. How are we going to face the new year? Will we face the future with anxiety, or with confidence? Some would have us fear the ravages of war, which even now scar the face of the earth. Some would have us live in dread of the effects of social change, of the problems of civil government, or of the threat of a super-bomb. Some would have us believe that those who are not filled with fear in the face of these and the many other human problems are not fully rational or mature citizens of the country or of the world.
     Certainly every man and woman should regard the future with prudence. The needs of oneself and one's family must be provided for, the good of one's country should be sought out and promoted, and sound policies in the field of international affairs ought to be developed and supported. Similarly, every thinking man will want to be aware of the problems that confront him as an individual, as well as the problems of his community, his country and the world, if he is to have a sound, rational attitude toward all areas of life. But also he must have confidence in the future, if his attitude is to be genuinely sound and rational. He must have confidence that, in the long run, things will turn out for the best, even though he cannot see how; and this because all things, down to the minutest detail, are under the eye and the government of the Lord's merciful Divine Providence.

     This attitude of confidence in the future is well illustrated in the biblical account of the sojourn of the sons of Israel in the land of Moab, as they awaited their entrance into the promised land of Canaan. They had come from forty years of wandering and hardship in the wilderness, and they faced the prospect of bitter wars with the inhabitants of that land which the Lord had given to Abraham and to his seed. They were acutely conscious of the approaching period of certain battle, with its attendant vigorous social and civil upheavals. But the Lord spoke to them, through their leader, Joshua, telling them to be strong and courageous, and to put all fears aside; telling them that if they followed the leading of the Lord, He would guide them and give them victory over all their enemies. They were commanded to go over Jordan, with the promise that the land would be given to them. They were instructed to turn to the Divine law, meditate on it, and do whatsoever was commanded in it. And the Lord said unto Joshua: "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."*

3


And when Joshua addressed the people with the words of the Lord, they answered him: "All that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go."** So should we have confidence that, if we turn to the Divine Law, meditate therein, and observe to do according to all that is written in it, the Lord will be with us whithersoever we go, and will make our way prosperous and successful.
     * Joshua 1:9.
     ** Joshua 1: 16.

     This confidence has its origin in the Lord Himself, and cannot be granted to anyone who is not open to its reception; in other words, it can be given to those only who look to the Lord and live a life of love and charity. Some think erroneously that they can find this confidence by believing that they are saved because the Lord suffered for them. They think that there can be salvation through the Lord's merit, no matter what the quality of their own life had been. Even the evil can display an outward self-assurance, a supreme courage during times of mortal danger, and a vocal faith in their own salvation as they approach the hour of death. The Heavenly Doctrine tells us that a man who is merely sensual may be "in self-confidence, and in the belief that he is wiser than all others . . . and when he has persuaded himself of this, then such confidence and belief are in all things that he speaks. And because his speech takes its tone from these, it fascinates and infatuates the minds of others, for the tone of confidence and belief produces such an effect."* But the Heavenly Doctrine declares that all of this type of confidence, with the evil and with merely sensual men, is either spurious or false, and that none of it at all appears with these people when they are in the other life, no matter how strong the appearance had been when they lived in the world. For true conviction, trust and confidence have their beginnings in a faith that is known only to the good, who turn their minds and hearts to the Lord, and who live a life of love and of charity. This faith is real and enduring, because it is internal or spiritual. And it belongs to those of whom it is said, in the Psalm: "Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord: He is their help and their shield."**
     * AE 556.
     ** Psalm 115: 11.
     Those who would enter the new year with optimism, therefore, must turn their minds to the Lord, who alone is the source of all things good. For everything that is good and true has its beginning and its end in Him; whence He is called the "Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last."*

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So all human beginnings that are of any spiritual value are derived from the Lord, through the spiritual world. With every man there can be two such general beginnings. One is at the time of his birth into the world, when he receives his natural life and takes his first breath; the other is at the time when he first begins the life of regeneration, with the consequent reception of spiritual life from the Lord. And in each of these two cases this new life, whether natural or spiritual, comes to him from the Lord through the spiritual world.
     * Revelation 22: 13.
     For it is a teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine that "the causes of all natural things are from spiritual things, and the beginnings of these causes are from celestial things; or what is the same, all things in the natural world derive their cause from truth, which is the spiritual, and their beginning from good, which is the celestial."* These celestial beginnings of life are the ends in view, or purposes, which employ their spiritual causes to show themselves forth in the uses of life which represent them and are their fruits. Here then is the clue to the way in which a man may make a genuine, spiritual beginning. For it is in the life of use that the way is opened to the beginnings of spiritual and celestial life, received from the Lord. To live a life of use is to perform sincerely, justly and faithfully the work of one's occupation, to look to the Lord, and shun evils as sins against Him. When a man does this He opens the way for the Lord to enter with the beginnings of a genuinely spiritual life, or the beginnings of the life of regeneration.
     * AC 2993.

     Now this life from the Lord, whether it be merely natural with the evil, or spiritual with those who are being regenerated, progresses according to successive states, which in themselves are entirely apart from time and space, for they are states of love and wisdom, or of evil and falsity. Yet still, with us these states are measured somewhat by time, because on this earth we are living in time. We can look back at certain times of self-examination, we can survey the past with its successes and failures, its progress and it regressions, and we can look forward to wonder what the future holds. The angels cannot do this in time, for to them all time is state; and thousands of years do not appear to them as measurement of time, but rather as the fulfillment of a certain state of the church.
     Still, we earthbound creatures are bounded by time and space. We live in days, weeks, seasons and years. And as we stop to reflect on the events which occur with the passage of time, we may be grateful that all things, down to the most minute, are under the government of our Lord and Savior.

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We know that the future will hold problems for ourselves, as individuals, as well as for our country and the community of the nations of the world. But we can heed the words of the Lord when He said: "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."* There may come times of obscurity, when we are unsure as to what is the right thing to do, when we seem to be lacking in good and truth. But we can remember that "the man who trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope the Lord is . . . shall not be anxious in the year of drought."** If we tend to become discouraged because many of our own states, and those of the church at large, appear to be so infantile and immature, we can remember that the Lord never breaks, but bends the principles that a person adopts from infancy, and that we have no right to ask of ourselves more than does the Lord. If we fear that our evils are not disappearing with any rapidity, and that the progress of regeneration is slow and tortuous, we can find comfort in the teaching that the Lord cannot remove evils hastily. "I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee. By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land."***
     * John 16: 33.
     ** Jeremiah 17: 7, 8.
     *** Exodus 23: 29, 30.
     We should face the future, then, without fear. For fear takes away freedom and reason, or liberty and rationality, closing off the interiors of the mind, and making the life of regeneration impossible to attain.
     Rather should we heed the words of the Lord to Joshua: "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."
     Let us pray that the Lord will grant us confidence in the leading of His merciful providence - a confidence which alone can bring us the tranquility of internal peace, and this no matter what the vicissitudes of external life. For all salvation comes through love of and faith in the Lord, a salvation which is blessedness itself. In invoking this blessing, it was a custom among the ancients that when a new work was to be commenced, they would say, "May God bless it"; by which was meant the same as the expression, "May it be prosperous and happy."* As we begin a new year, may we also share with each other the wish that it may be spiritually prosperous and happy for the Lord's church on earth. "May God bless." Amen.
     * Cf. AC 3260.

     LESSONS: Psalm 115. Divine Providence 139: 1, 2.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 425, 462, 479.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 80, 134.

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COMMUNICATION TO THE SALARY COMMITTEE 1968

COMMUNICATION TO THE SALARY COMMITTEE       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968

Mr. Robert E. Walter, Chairman
General Church Salary Committee
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009

Dear Mr. Walter:

     As Chairman of the Salary Committee you have asked me to make a statement of the principles by which the Salary Committee should be governed in formulating a policy for the support of the priesthood. First, let me say that I believe that the ideal for which we should strive is a policy which will encourage self-support on the district and society level. I fully realize, however, that at our present stage of development this will require patience and understanding because at the present time few of our societies have the resources to meet the requirements.
     Speaking of principles, I would observe that all true principles are derived from doctrine. I would therefore direct the attention of the committee to three leading doctrines of the church:

     1. The Doctrine of the Priesthood
     2. The Doctrine of Use
     3. The Doctrine of Human Freedom

     From each of these doctrines a principle may be derived which, in my opinion, directly bears upon the problems with which your committee is concerned.

     1. The Doctrine of the Priesthood and the Principle of Support

     Because the Writings teach that the priesthood is the first of the church (AE 229), I believe that the first obligation of the church, or of any society of the church, is the support of the priestly office. And because the work of New Church education is an extension of the priestly use and our first work of charity, the support of our teachers should also receive a high priority.

     2. The Doctrine of Use and the Principle of Adequacy

     Because I believe that the use which the priesthood performs excels all other uses, I further believe that a priest's remuneration should be adequate to his needs and commensurate with the responsibilities of his office.

7


By this I do not mean to imply that the priesthood should be paid more than other professions, but I am convinced that the salaries received by men in other professions, particularly the teaching profession, should serve as a guidepost in the establishment of ministerial salaries.
     In this connection it should be noted that, ideally speaking, everyone "should be rewarded according to the . . . [excellence] of his use, and . . . according to his affection for . . . [it]" (Love XII). I recognize, however, that the reference here is not to financial reward; but as long as we live in this world a man's usefulness, is, in a large degree, dependent upon his ability to meet his financial obligations.

     3. The Doctrine of Human Freedom and the Principle of Self- determination

     While I believe that the General Church should assist financially those societies and districts which are not yet in a position to support fully their own uses, I also believe that great care should be exercised lest we inadvertently deprive them of initiative and self-determination.
     In His government of the church the Lord provides that man may act as if of himself. The reason for this is that man may be in freedom. He who acts from himself, and at the same time acknowledges that his ability to do so is from the Lord, is in true freedom (TCR 371: 6; DP 321).
     Thus in the formulation of policies which apply to the uses of the church every effort should be made to provide for the freedom of the church. I would recommend, therefore, that in seeking ways and means to assist societies and districts, any plan which is proposed should be subject at all times to the approval and consent of the society or district in question. That is what I mean by the principle of self-determination.
     In closing may I commend your committee on their desire to be led by principle in seeking solutions to a complex and difficult problem. I particularly appreciate the opportunity to be of some help. I thank you for allowing me to participate.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
     Bishop of the General Church

8


ETERNAL LIFE AND ETERNAL VALUES 1968

ETERNAL LIFE AND ETERNAL VALUES       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1968

     (Delivered at the Eastern Canada and the Midwestern District Assemblies, October 1967.)

     This paper is an inquiry into the reasons why the Second Coming took place through a man whose spiritual eyes were opened, and who was conscious in both worlds at the same time: also, why was it necessary that the reality of the spiritual world should be revealed through actual experience; and, further, what effect should the revelation so given have upon the thought and life of the New Church man? In general, it may be said that while most men still believe in the immortality of the soul, yet their ideas of the life after death have become so vague and ephemeral that many doubt it; many more deny it; and all who still believe in it have an entirely false concept of its nature and quality. The result is that all true knowledge of how man through life in the world is to prepare for eternal life is lost; the reality of the spiritual or internal man is questioned and denied and the whole effort of the church is devoted to the betterment of the external moral and civil life of society; the distinction between man and animal is confused and lost, and the human essence is regarded by many as a development from lower forms by external and environmental changes without purpose and therefore without any certain or eternal end.
     The work Heaven and Hell opens by expressing the hope that such doubt and denial may be dispelled by the revelation given therein:

     "The man of the church at this day knows scarcely anything about heaven and hell, or about his life after death, although all these matters are set forth and described in the Word; and yet many of those born within the church refuse to believe in them, saying in their hearts, `Who has come from that world and told us?' Lest, therefore, such a spirit of denial, which especially prevails with those who have much worldly wisdom, should also infect and corrupt the simple in heart and the simple in faith, it has been granted me to associate with angels and to talk with them as man with man, also to see what is in the heavens and what is in the hells, and this for thirteen years; so now from what I have seen and heard it has been granted me to describe these things, with the hope that ignorance may thus be enlightened and unbelief dissipated."*

9



     * HH 1.

     Immortality

     "The mortality of man defines by contrast the immortality which some men hope for, some men fear, some men scoff at, but no man ever fails sooner or later to consider."* From the beginning of history man has held to some form of belief in immortality; for a belief in an infinite God demands an infinite end and purpose in creation, and man as the highest form of creation obviously is that in which the infinite end and purpose of creation is fulfilled. Besides this philosophical argument, there is an influx from the Divine into man's soul that he is immortal. Wherever there is a belief in an infinite and eternal God, there is a belief in man's immortality; the two are inseparable. Those who deny God also deny the immortality of man; and those who deny the immortality of man deny an infinite and eternal God. They then fall into the delusion either that God is finite and continually improving, or that He exists only in man's imagination, being, maybe, a necessary idea in man's progression to full human development. But deists throughout the ages have held to some form of belief in the immortality of man's soul. The Writings say that "as far as anyone confirms himself against the eternal life of his soul he confirms himself also against whatever pertains to heaven and the church."** Therefore a belief in God has always been joined with some form of belief in man's immortality.
     * Syntopicon Index: Immortality, page 784.
     ** HH 452.
     The concept of immortality has varied greatly among the different religions of the world, but it has still persisted in some form. There has been the belief that man will live in another material world where the material things he possessed in this world will again be useful to him, wherefore these have been buried with him. There is also a belief in reincarnation, in which the soul is reborn in another human or an animal body until it reaches final perfection. This is closely associated with the belief that man is finally absorbed into the Infinite and loses all individual personality. Common among the Eastern religions is the belief that man is even now Divine and is only ideally separated by error of thought, and that when this is removed he will become a part of that which he always was. Again, there are the beliefs that man enjoys immortality in the memories of men still living, in some cosmic force, or in the eternal spirit of a nation; and there is also the orthodox Christian idea that the soul of man exists in limbo, awaiting a future resurrection, when it will again inhabit a natural body.
     However fallacious these ideas are, they served the use of preserving a belief in immortality, and through it a belief in God.

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Also, they preserve the truth that only as far as man receives life from God can he enjoy immortality; and so they lead the simple in heart and faith to seek conjunction by foregoing selfish and worldly ends and by living for ideals outside of and above themselves.

     Swedenborg's Preparation

     Swedenborg, through education, inherited the orthodox Christian doctrine of the Last Judgment and the resurrection of the body at that time, but there is no evidence in his early works that he ever confirmed himself in this idea or that it in any way had influence upon his thought concerning the immortality of the soul or the state of its life after the death of the body. In the work The Infinite and the Final Cause of Creation, after establishing through reason the existence of an infinite and eternal God, Swedenborg considers the question of how the infinite God is conjoined with finite creation. He argues that there can be no ratio between what is infinite and what is finite and that there is no power in the finite to conjoin itself with the infinite, and he then comes to the remarkable conclusion that it is only the infinite in and with the finite that can effect conjunction; thus that the nexus is also infinite.
     The infinite in and with the finite is the end itself of creation and it is an angelic heaven from the human race. This is effected primarily and essentially in man and through man in all things of creation. For since all creation was ordered and arranged according to this end, and contributes thereto, in its contribution or use to this end it is conjoined with the infinite. Therefore not only man but also the whole of inanimate creation is conjoined with the infinite from what is infinite or Divine with it, its use in supporting an angelic heaven from the human race. The Divine or infinite with man is the acknowledgment and worship of God. All things of creation in man contribute to his adoration and acknowledgment of Deity; and in this Divine and infinite end, through man, they are conjoined with the infinite and held in connection and order. But in man alone is there a full and complete conjunction, for he alone can in freedom, and therefore from love, acknowledge God and worship and adore Him; and since the Infinite is eternal, so is man.
     In the Writings the general philosophical truths developed in the preparatory works are infilled with particular truths from revelation and from Swedenborg's spiritual experiences. It is of interest to note that in the Writings the particular truths within general truths are defined as the spiritual sense within the letter. In other words, the letter of the Word consists in general truths, and the spiritual sense is the particulars within these generals.

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For example, in the letter is the general truth that man is immortal because he can be conjoined to God; in the spiritual sense are particulars concerning the nature and quality of eternal life and how man is conjoined with God.
     Concerning the conjunction between the infinite and the finite we read in the Writings:

     "The Divine can look only to the Divine; and it can look to this nowhere but in things created by itself. That this is truth is evident from this, that one can look to another only from what is his own in him. . . From this it follows that the infinite and eternal, which is the same as the Divine, looks to all things in the finite infinitely, and conjoins itself with them in accord with the degree of the reception of wisdom and love in them. The Lord can dwell with them only in His own, and not in their proprium . . . [therefore] it is impossible for a finite being to look to what is infinite; but it is possible for the infinite to look to what is infinite from Himself in finite beings."*
     * DP 53.

     This is so because a "ratio between the finite and the infinite is provided, not from the finite, but from the infinite in the finite."* "The infinite and eternal in itself must needs look to what is infinite and eternal from itself in things finite."**
     * DP 54.
     ** DP 52.
     Now these statements from the work on the Divine Providence are similar to those in the work on the Infinite. They are even clothed in similar terms. In what, then, does the revelation in the Writings consist? The Writings reveal what is the nature and quality of the Infinite in itself, of the Infinite in the finite, and of the means by which the Infinite is received by the finite so that the finite in man can be raised up into conjunction with the Infinite and enjoy eternal life.
     They reveal that the infinite God is love itself and wisdom itself, and that only in these terms can God's infinity be truly conceived. For there is no such thing as an infinity of space or an eternity of time, space and time having been introduced with creation. However, infinite and eternal love and wisdom can be thought of, for by analogy it is within the field of man's experience. The Writings give the simple example: "Consider interiorly whether love or any affection of it, or wisdom or any perception of it, or even thought, is in space and time, and you will find that it is not. . . . Suppose thought to go on for ten or twelve hours, may not this seem to be no more than one or two hours, or days? . . . The apparent duration is according to the state of the affection from which the thought springs."* They further reveal that the infinite love and wisdom of God are made known to man in the Divine of the Lord - in the Divine Human. Only in the Word of the Lord as revealed in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ can the quality of the infinite love and wisdom of God-Man be known.

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The Writings are a revelation of the Divine Human of the Lord: of infinite love and wisdom - the Father - as revealed and made manifest in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him and in His life as recounted in the New Testament may be seen, in the light of the Writings, the quality of Divine love and wisdom.
     * DP 49.
     Also, only through the Word or Divine revelation can man know the means by which the infinite or Divine is conjoined with the finite. For the finite cannot conjoin itself with the infinite, but the infinite can conjoin itself to the finite in that which is infinite or Divine in and with the finite. This is the whole basis of the practical teaching that the first of every state of the church with man consists in the shunning of evils as sins against God, for only in such a life can the Divine love be conjoined to man so that he feels it in himself as his own. The Divine cannot be conjoined to man in anything that is proper to man as a finite being, that is, in anything that is of man's proprium. Man cannot be conjoined to the Lord in love to the Lord from any love that is proper to himself, but only in love to the Lord from the Lord. So also in regard to thought of the Lord as God: man cannot be conjoined to Him from thought about the Lord from his own reason, but only in thought of the Lord as God from the Lord, that is, from the Word.
     The infinite can be conjoined with the finite only in that which is infinite in and with the finite. Temporal or finite things in which the infinite cannot be conjoined with the finite are defined as "all things which are proper to nature, and which are therefore proper to man. Things proper to nature are especially spaces and times, both having limit and termination; things therefore proper to man are those that belong to his own will and his own understanding, and consequently to his affection and thought, and especially to his prudence. These, it is admitted, are finite and limited. But eternal things are all such as are proper to the Lord, and from Him are seemingly proper to man."* Therefore the Lord's life "in others is eternal life . . . everything of faith and love is from Him, and what is from Him is also Himself, for it is His proceeding Divine, which is called the 'Spirit of truth' and the 'Holy Spirit.'** Hence the Lord said: "I am the resurrection and the life"; "I am the bread of life" and the "water of life"; and, "Because I live, ye shall live also."
     * DP 219.
     ** AE 84.

     The teaching that the end of creation is an angelic heaven from the human race involves much more than the truth that man's spirit lives after death.

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It gives a universal picture of the whole of creation as contributing to this end, and being recreated every moment and held in its place and order according to its part in promoting that end. Thus we read: "The end of the creation of the universe is the existence of an angelic heaven; and as the angelic heaven is the end, man also or the human race is the end, since heaven is from it. From this it follows that all created things are mediate ends, and that these are uses in the order, degree and respect in which they have relation to man, and through man to the Lord."*
     * DLW 329.

     When the Writings speak of the uses of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms they are referring to their uses in furthering the end itself of creation. In these uses the infinite is conjoined with the finite, for all uses in themselves are Divine. These uses of the inferior kingdom are called mediate uses, but they cannot exist apart from the final end of creation for they are essentially a part of it. In a finite idea, creation took place in time and was brought forth successively; but in a spiritual idea creation was always present, for in the Divine there is no time and no space. The importance of this idea is that we may grasp something of the oneness of creation looking to the final end of an angelic heaven. This one end ruled throughout all the successive degrees of creation, and the use of each degree is only this one end as applied to the finite things of each degree. Finite things were not successively created and then given some use in furthering the Divine end. The Divine end created the finite forms as forms of use; for the use existed before the forms through which it became visible. The indefinite variety of created forms exists from God's infinity and presents it to view in a finite image. So also the multiplication of a seed ad infinitum exists from God's eternity and presents it to view. An image of creation exists in every human work. The use of a product exists before the factory which produces it. It is present in every step of the construction and directs the formation of every part.
     The successive order of creation took place according to a series of discrete degrees, so that each plane contributed its part in its place to the final end, an angelic heaven, or to the formation of man, in whom alone the final end of creation is fulfilled. In this paper we do not have time to consider the importance of discrete degrees as related to creation except to quote the warning given in the Arcana: "When successive order is thought of as continuous [that is, not discrete] man concludes that the spirit dies with the body."*

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From the thought of creation as having taken place through a series of continuous degrees many conclude that the spirit or soul dies with the body, or else that if man lives after death animals must also live. But, the Writings teach:

     "Man has an inmost degree of life which animals have not. By this he can think about the Divine things of heaven and the church, and he can love God and thus be conjoined to Him, and what can be conjoined to the Divine cannot be dissipated. This highest or inmost degree may be called the entrance of the Lord to angels and men, and His veriest dwelling place in them. It is by virtue of this inmost or highest that man is man and is distinguished from animals, which have it not."**
     * AC 10099.
     ** HH 39.

     The Writings also speak of the fact that "there is something of the civil and moral in the knowledge of animals, but this is not above their knowledge because they have no spiritual which gives perception of the moral, and consequently they have no ability to think analytically."* That only can be called moral which is done in freedom and from choice.
     * DP 69.
     From the order itself of man's creation he enjoys a perception of his immortality and of the continuation of the life of his spirit after the death of his body. This is also said to be the result of the Lord's infusing into everyone a perception of immortality, which is said to be the result of a general influx into all.* This influx disposes man to acknowledge the truth of eternal life as soon as he hears it. But The actual knowledge of the immortality of the soul came, and must come, from Divine revelation, or the Word.** There are many evidences of this influx, and the Writings enumerate a number of them:
     * See SD 2148.
     ** See AC 8944.

     "1) Who when he is dying thinks otherwise than that he will live? 2) What eulogist, when lamenting the dead, does not exalt them to heaven and place them among the angels? 3) Who among common people does not believe that when he dies, if he has lived well, he will go to a heavenly paradise, and enjoy eternal life? 4) What clergyman is there who does not say the same or like things to one about to die? 5) Who does not believe that his little children are in heaven, and that after death he will see his wife whom he has loved? Who thinks that they are ghosts, still less that they are souls or minds flitting about the universe? 6) Who objects when anything is said about the lot or state of those who have passed from time into eternal life? 7) When one sees angels painted or sculptured does he not recognize them to be such? 8) The papists believe that their saints are human beings in heaven, and that the rest are somewhere else; the Mohammedans believe the same of their dead; Africans believe this more than others, and many other nations believe it: why do not Reformed Christians, who know it from the Word? 9) From this knowledge implanted in everyone there are some that aspire to immortality of fame; for this knowledge is turned into such an aspiration with some, and makes them heroes or brave in war.

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Inquiry was made in the spiritual world whether this knowledge is implanted in all, and it was found that it is; not, however, in natural ideas belonging to their external thought, but in spiritual ideas belonging to their interior thought."*
     * DP 274.

     Evidence of this influx is the delight and pleasure so many people feel in our resurrection services.
     In time, as the men of the first Christian Church became more and more external and began to trust solely in the experience of the senses as the criterion of truth, they all but destroyed this perception concerning the immortality of the human spirit inflowing from the Lord through their souls, with the result that a belief in eternal life was at first called into doubt and then denied by many. This took place especially with the learned, and there was danger that it would spread to the simple in heart and faith. The Lord then descended and in His second coming revealed Himself on the very plane to which man had descended. He opened the spiritual eyes of a man, Emanuel Swedenborg, and introduced him into the spiritual world, so that he from actual experience could testify to the reality of the continuation of the life of man's spirit after the death of the body. The New Church and its whole interior body of doctrine rest upon the fact, the actual historical fact, of Swedenborg's introduction into the spiritual world, as he testifies, "not merely as to the mind, but also as it were with the whole body, or with the senses in the body, and that, too, when I was quite awake."*
     * WE 474.

     As in the First Advent, when men had lost all true idea of God as Divine Man, the Lord took on a body of flesh and blood and revealed through His life and teaching what made it a human form, so in His second advent, when men had lost all true knowledge of the life after death, the Lord descended and through a man Divinely prepared and called to the office of revelator revealed the truths concerning man's life after death. As the Lord came into the world through the miracle of the Virgin Birth, so He made His second coming through the miracle of a man's conscious presence in both worlds at the same time. The Writings testify that "the manifestation of the Lord in person, and the introduction into the spiritual world, as well as to sight as to hearing and speech, is better than all miracles";* and further, that "the manifestation of the Lord and intromission into the spiritual world surpasses all miracles."**
     * Inv. 43.
     ** Inv. 52.
     All the spiritual doctrines of the New Church concerning the Lord, the Word, life and faith depend upon this fact.

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Without it they become abstract theological teachings without use or purpose. We therefore quote further concerning Swedenborg's testimony.

     "By the Divine mercy of the Lord it has been granted me now for some years to be constantly and continuously in the company of angels and spirits, hearing them speak and speaking with them in turn. In this way it has been given me to hear and see stupendous things which are in the other life, and which have never come to the knowledge of any man, and not into his idea."*
     * AC 5.
     "I foresee that many who read these things will believe that they are inventions of the imagination; but I asseverate in truth that they are not inventions, but have been truly done and seen; and that they have been seen, not in any dozing state of the mind, but in a state of full wakefulness. For it has pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to me, and to send me to teach these things which will be of the New Church."*
     * CL 1.

     Passage after passage could be quoted to the same purpose, but these are sufficient to demonstrate the importance to the New Church of Swedenborg's spiritual experience. The angels are glad that it has pleased the Lord to disclose such things so that, from ignorance, man may no longer be in uncertainty respecting his immortality.*
     * See CL 532.
     One of the reasons for man's loss of belief in the eternal life of his spirit was the church's teaching concerning the nature of the spirit. It was conceived of as wind or ether without substance and without form. Such an entity is ideal and can have no real existence; hence man's immortal spirit vanished from comprehension and sight, and all idea of the spiritual was lost in a vague indefiniteness. The testimony of the Writings is that "unless man were a subject which is a substance that can serve as a source and containent, he would be unable to think and will. Anything that is supposed to exist apart from a substantial subject is nothing . . . unless [love, thought and perception] were in substances and from substances which are organic forms and subjects, they would have no existence at all."*
     * HH 434.
     Therefore "an angel or spirit from having been first born a man in the world takes to himself permanent existence; for from the inmosts of nature he takes to himself a medium between the spiritual and the natural by which he is so terminated that he may subsist and endure; through this he has relation to things that are in nature, and correspond with them. . . . Angels know that there is such an intermediate, but as that intermediate is from the inmosts of nature it can be described only by means of abstract terms."*

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     * Wis viii: 8.

     And the form of this substance is the ultimate human form itself. Some newcomers in the spiritual world were instructed by angels as follows:

     "You know that it is not the material body that lives and thinks, but spiritual substance in that body. You called this the soul, but did not know its form. Yet you have now seen it and still see it. All here present are souls, about the immortality of which you have heard, thought, spoken and written so much; and being forms of love and wisdom from God, you cannot die to all eternity. The soul, then, is a human form from which not the least thing can be taken away, and to which not the least can be added. . . . The soul is the man himself, and therefore this form is the human form in all its fullness and perfection."*
     * CL 315.

     Here a distinction should be made between immortality and eternal life. Every man is immortal because he has a soul which can never be cut off from conjunction with the Infinite. From his soul he enjoys rationality and liberty, and these faculties are equally with the evil and the good. But eternal life properly refers to the life of heaven. Hell is called spiritual death; in the Apocalypse, the second death. These distinctions may be seen from the quality of the love which is the life of man. All enjoy equally the ability to love, which is from the faculty of liberty, and by virtue of love they are immortal. But only unselfish love is free to develop and increase in intensity and power to all eternity; a selfish love always arrives at that point when it must be curbed and its purposes destroyed, and the life of such a love is therefore called spiritual death. So eternal life, properly speaking, is eternal happiness - the end of creation, eternal life.

     How Should a Belief in Immortality and Eternal Life Influence Our Thought and Life?

     Our thought should be powerfully and deeply affected by the new revelation given concerning the reality of the spiritual world. All that is from the Lord is living and eternal; all that is from the proprium of man is dead and in time ceases to be. We should think frequently on this truth and on its implications. "There is no ratio between what is temporal and what is eternal, not even if time be extended to thousands of myriads of years, for . . . what is eternal is . . . because it has esse from the Divine, which is infinite, and the infinite as to time is eternal. But what is temporal relatively is not, because when it is ended it is no more."* We should strive continually to distinguish between what is temporal and what is eternal.

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In general:

     "Things hatched or devised from the proprium and from self-intelligence have their life from man, which is no life, because man's proprium is nothing but evil; whereas what is not from man's proprium, but from the Divine, has life in itself, because all life is from the Divine . . . truths from which the Lord is to be worshipped are to be taken solely from the Word, for in every detail of the Word there is life from the Divine. . . . Truths which are from the Word regard and have as their end eternal life, and have in them love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, thus all goods in a complex."**
     * AC 8939.
     ** AC 8941.

     "When those who are in the Divine think from what is present, they think also from what is eternal because they think from the Lord, saying, within themselves: `What is that which is not eternal? Is not the temporal relatively nothing, and does it not become nothing when it is ended? It is not so with what is eternal; that alone is, for its esse has no end.' To think thus when thinking from what is present is to think at the same time from what is eternal; and when a man so thinks, and at the same time so lives, the Divine going forth in him, that is, the Divine Providence, looks in its entire progress to the state of his eternal life in heaven and leads towards it."*
     * DP 59.

     There is great power in thinking about all things of life from what is eternal. Spiritual freedom itself is from a love for eternal life, for when a man acts from such thought he is freed from the impelling lure of sensual delights. "Anyone," the Writings say, "can come into this freedom if he is but willing to think that life is eternal, and that temporal enjoyments and blessedness of life in them are but as fleeting shadows compared with never ending enjoyments and blessedness of life in eternity; and this man can think if he wishes, because he has rationality and liberty, and because the Lord, from whom these two faculties are derived, continually gives the ability."*
     * DP 73.
     Another use of thought about eternal life is given in the following number:

     "It has been observed that when man is in what is sensuous, and is not elevated therefrom, he thinks of nothing else than what is of the body and of the world, and is not then desirous to know anything about what belongs to eternal life and is even averse to hearing of that life. Such spirits abound in the world of spirits at this day, and they prompt man to indulge his natural inclinations and to live for himself alone and those who favor him. In order for a man to be uplifted from these spirits he must think about eternal life."*
     * AC 6201.

     This is not so difficult. For are we not faced with similar situations every day? Are we not called upon to forego present pleasures for the sake of greater pleasures in the future? Do we not pity, and regard as foolish, a man who in his youth places all his delights in the things of the body, so that when he becomes an old man he has nothing on which to live but memories? Does not a wise parent train his children to make sacrifices and save for a certain desired object?

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Do we not regard as foolish the parent who supplies his child with every present wish as far as he can? How much more, then, should we seek out and strive for what is eternal in every present situation?
     But, you may say, this is impractical. Man cannot continually be thinking about eternal life, for in such case he would do nothing and accomplish nothing in the performance of his work. This is true; but the Writings admonish man to examine himself once or twice, or three or four times, a year. This, as I understand it, means that a man from time to time should pause, and in the quiet of his home should review his past life and see whether or not he has been seeking after things of eternal value. While he cannot discover this in his day to day living, he can when he examines long periods of his life; and as he advances in years his ability to do so should increase.
     To seek daily after the things of eternal value is to shun evils as sins against God. In such a life there is the living acknowledgment that the Lord alone is eternal and that all things of eternal life are from Him and are His. In other words, man cannot from himself acquire eternal life; it is adjoined to him in so far as he shuns evils as sins against God.

     A man who is seeking after things of eternal value is continually making judgments as to what things in his work and in his recreation will encourage him in his quest, and what things will lead him astray. He will seek after riches and honors, but he will not set his heart upon them; for he knows that they in themselves are not Divine blessings, but only means for the performance of uses, and that if they do not serve the performance of use there is no value in them. This will always be an individual judgment, for what will lead one man astray will not do so to another.
     In general, all things of the body and of the world are temporal; also all the thoughts and delights of the external mind, the animus - that mind which man has in common with animals - are temporal. Only the things of the internal man are eternal, and they are discovered by man's examining the ends from which he acts. These are things that must be of man's chief concern, and the Writings say that a wise man knows the ends from which he acts.
     Further examples of what is eternal might be found in the fields of man's work, death, education and social life. For example, a man cannot be comforted by thoughts of eternal life when a beloved one dies unless he in his life is seeking for things of eternal value. Man can never make a just judgment concerning the quality of an affection or delight while he is in the enjoyment of that pleasure or delight. Fruitful examination must always be practised at home.

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     A knowledge of the reality of eternal things and a love of the things of eternal life are made possible by the Lord's introduction of a man into the spiritual world so that he, through experience, might learn of the nature and quality of that world, and from the Lord disclose them to mankind. This has been done with the hope that thereby ignorance may be enlightened and unbelief dispelled. "Wherefore let him who wishes to be eternally happy know and believe that he will live after death. Let him think of this and keep it in mind, for it is true. Let him also know and believe that the Word is the only doctrine which teaches how a man must live in the world in order to be happy to eternity."* For "what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"**
     * AC 8939.
     ** Matthew 16: 26.
MAN'S AFFECTIONS AND MOTIVES IN A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND A GROWING CHURCH 1968

MAN'S AFFECTIONS AND MOTIVES IN A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND A GROWING CHURCH       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1968

     (The first of two articles.)

     Affection, be it good or evil, is simply defined in the Writings as "what is continuous of love."* In another sense, affection is love proceeding, and presenting itself to view. In our desire to understand life, let us never forget that affection is the mother of the understanding - the "mother of the rational."** No matter how much you fill the mind with truth, each new degree is opened solely by the influx of new affections from the Lord.
     * AE 443: 3, et al. Cf. AC 7519: 8; HH 570 for, cupidity as the continuous of love.
     ** AC 1895, 2675.
     Yet how often when we are moved by affection do we pull back? We want so much to be rational that frequently we are cool to life itself.

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Sometimes we seem to miss the importance of affections and delights altogether. How often do we want to express our feelings, show affection for our friends, love for our partner, yet an inner reticence holds us in check. With our emphasis on reason and understanding we seem to miss what even Dante saw: "Neither Creator nor creature was ever without love."*
     * Great Ideas, Vol. 1, p. 323, Britannica, 1952.
     In reaction to our highly technical society the trend is to a literature which abounds with talk of motives and drives, but in too many instances these things are so analyzed that they are merely dissected. We read in almost every educational journal and parents' magazine "How to Motivate the Exceptional Child," "How to Prevent Repression," "How to Encourage Self Expression in the Slow Learner." All too frequently we of the church react to such theories with unreflecting cynicism. Yet are these not worthwhile aims? Surely this literature has its limitations. Some of it is clearly bunk; and some is bunk even if it is not clearly so. But it is not all necessarily a bunch of nonsense. Nor is it even what every mother knows already from common sense. Nor, indeed, are its applications all revealed in the Writings for every sincere New Church man to see.

     We need, then, the humility to admit that much can be learned from the considered thought and experience of others. The church will not benefit from a refusal to examine and use, if valid, the thoughts and theories of our contemporaries, particularly as these theories influence so much of society's thoughts and actions. We cannot live in the world as intelligent New Church men without real study of both the Writings and modern thought.
     Many fields are influenced by this talk and study of motivation; not just education, the home and counseling. Millions of dollars are spent each year exploring why housewives buy product "A" instead of product "B," or why they vote for "Joe" instead of "Pete." Human relations "experts" are employed to study the "self actualization" of the employee. "What makes a man creative?" they ask. "Does a happy man work harder?" In another framework, sociologists speak of the psychology of new nations: their desire to satisfy their new-found wants, to achieve civilized status - the urge for collective independence. All of this is part of a literature which explores the motives behind communism, socialism, capitalism, nationalism, and so on. Critical decisions in these areas are being influenced by modern thought about motives.
     What are man's motives going to be in the coming world of automation - in a "dehumanized society"?

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Students are caught up in the question of man's future place and carry placards reading, "I am a human being: do not fold, bend or mutilate." Patterns are being set today which will affect the whole scope and development of our lives as New Church men. We must seek answers to these questions, as responsible New Church men in a society which is changing almost faster than can be imagined.
     Finally, in our church we see ourselves as a fourth generation: lagging, perhaps, in the zeal of our predecessors, needing inspiration in our uses. How do we spur ourselves to genuine affections? Loves, affections and delights change with growth. These are not just the life of man in some abstract sense. Love is the life of the education of a man's children, of his home, of his work, of his country and his church.

     Let us look at some of these various problems in the light of both today's literature and the Writings. Since modern psychology abounds with theories to explain man's emotions and motives we must generalize and look at just two major trends in these theories. This is a large order which would be difficult to fill even with a good deal of training that I do not have. Only what I feel to be the importance of the subject could induce me to go out on this kind of limb!
     The first trend emphasizes awareness, self-expression and satisfaction. The idea is that affections or motives grow out of experience, and that the breadth of experience is therefore extremely important. In this growth man climbs the ladder of delights until he becomes an integrated or whole person, fully aware of himself and his place in society. The second theory places affections, no matter what their source, as part of man's intrinsic conscious and unconscious make up. The effort among this group is by analysis to prevent aggression and so to help man control his destructive desires by conscious understanding. In this way these drives will be brought to light and will not unconsciously needle and frustrate him. The goal is to make an orderly adjustment to one's own standards, to society, and to its codes of moral behavior.
     Let us look first at the theory which emphasizes growth through satisfaction and breadth of experience. The theory runs that if a man needs food, clothing and shelter he will not be concerned for any higher motives. If necessary he will sacrifice his morals and steal the loaf of bread in order to provide for his family. But once his physical needs are satisfied he will then think of his security, not just today, but tomorrow. It is said that underprivileged countries will be happy to accept absolute dictatorship as long as they are starving.

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But give them food and security from attack and immediately they start thinking about freedom. Some even express such idealistic hopes as that the communist dictatorship will so fall as its economic aims are achieved.
     The problem of the employer in prosperous countries in trying to inspire his workers is therefore said to be entirely different from that which is met in primitive countries such as India, where men work simply to stay alive. One problem of capitalism is said to be that you cannot motivate men here with merely the desire for money to provide food, clothing and shelter. In an affluent society these are plentiful. Man, therefore, will not work for these alone. Neither will he be controlled by fear. He will band together to demand security; and when he is secure he will strike, not just for money or external security, but to prove his own worth to a society which seemingly does not honor the dignity, freedom and importance of his individual efforts.
     Now this scale of motives as discussed in modern literature presents a real challenge to the New Church man. He, too, seeks to provide for his natural needs and security - to provide that sufficiency of wealth which the Doctrine of Charity says is necessary to the general good.* He, too, seeks a dignity in work, to allow the focus of his life to shift to the love of use for its own sake. We cannot question that there is a ladder of motives by which we ascend to the love of use, even to love to the Lord. The Writings clearly teach degrees in the mind which are opened by different delights and affections.
     * Char. 130.
     Can it be said, then, that man's motives change and that he climbs this ladder as each of his lower affections is satisfied? It almost seems ridiculous that it must be said, but the Lord created us for happiness; not just worldly happiness, but eternal happiness. Sometimes it seems as if men today, including New Church men, think that there is some special merit in being morose and down in the mouth! Yet the Writings say that laughter is an affection of the rational itself.* Are the uses of society, then, to be born as martyrs? The whole existentialist system, quite widespread today, makes the world a depressing place in which to live. Yet the Writings clearly teach the need for pleasures. We read:

     "In general there are the pleasures of land and wealth . . . of honor and office in the state . . . of conjugial love and of love for infants and children . . . of friendship and converse with companions . . . of reading, of writing, of knowing, of being wise, and many others. There are also the pleasures of the senses, as the pleasure . . . from the sweetness of music and song . . . of various and manifold beauties . . . from the sweetness of odors . . . from the agreeableness and wholesomeness of foods and drinks, and of touch from many pleasing sensations. These kinds of pleasures are called pleasures of the body. . . . Yet nothing can ever exist in externals except from things interior in order. Pleasures are only ultimate effects."**

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     * AC 2216.
     ** AC 994: 2, 3.
     "Some think [another passage continues] that no one ought ever to live in the pleasures of the body and its senses who wishes to be happy in the other life, but that all these should be renounced on the ground that they are corporeal and worldly, withdrawing man and keeping him away from spiritual and heavenly life. But those who think so, and therefore reduce themselves to voluntary misery while they live in the world, are not well informed as to what the real case is. Since genuine pleasures have [their origin from the Lord] they are denied to no one."*
     * AC 995: 2, 3.

     There should be no doubt in our minds on this point. Surely our goal in education, then, is one which appeals to all the pleasures described, from those of the senses even to conversation and delight in wisdom. Things take root according to the affection, the delight, even the happiness we find in them. This idea of delight is expressed by Rachel Carson:

     "A child's world is fresh and new and beautiful, full of wonder and excitement. It is our misfortune that for most of us that clear-eyed vision, that true instinct for what is beautiful and awe-inspiring, is dimmed and even lost before we reach adulthood. If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children I would ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life as an unfailing antidote against the boredom and disenchantments of later years, the sterile preoccupation with things that are artificial, the alienation from the sources of our strength."*
     * Rachel Carson, A Sense of Wonder, 1965, Harper & Row, pp. 42-43.

     We know that remains are the sources of such power, to preserve an affectional awareness of the beauty and holiness of God's creation. True education leads man to ascend the ladder of orderly delights and affections until the whole man, with all his affections, becomes a servant of the Lord.
     Is, then, the theory of progressive satisfaction correct? We read in the Doctrine of Charity:

     "The general good consists in these things: that in the society or kingdom there shall be: 1) What is Divine with them. 2) That there shall be justice with them. 3) That there shall be morality with them. 4) That there shall be industry, knowledge and uprightness with them. 5) That there shall be the necessaries of life. 6) That there shall be the things necessary to their occupations. 7) That there shall be a sufficiency of wealth, because from this come the three former necessaries. From these arises the general good; and yet it does not come of these themselves, but from the individuals there, and through the goods of use which individuals perform."*

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     * Char. 130, 131.

     But even though sufficiency is necessary, something is lacking in the theory of satisfaction as it is taught in the world today - what is Divine among them. Man is not born good. You cannot simply satisfy his delights and affections, and then everything spiritual will come out whiter than the neighbor's wash! That is the real problem.
     The Writings make it abundantly clear that the lusts for money and honor are two cupidities which, unless subordinated to the love of use, cannot ever be satisfied.* Instead they simmer within man increasingly the more fuel of satisfaction is put on the fire. To try to inspire man's higher motives in his work is good and right. There should also be recognition. But the plane of his inspiration is not determined by the satisfaction of his lower motives first. That is bad doctrine. Advocates of this theory are also haunted by the tremendous creative accomplishments of poverty-stricken, unsatisfied artists such as Shakespeare and Michel Angelo.
     * AE 1185: 2.
     To found our thought about the development of nations solely upon the concept that purely natural cupidities must be satisfied before man will give real thought to morality and his useful place in society is again bad doctrine. And what is more, affluent nations with high employment and so on seem to show little evidence of a higher degree of morality. Are we proud of our own country's morals - the most wealthy and secure nation in the world? Are we to found our country's policies on the vain hope that self-seeking can be eliminated by satisfaction?
     Even if we do not accept the ladder of satisfaction, but the satisfaction of the "whole" man which is urged by some moderns, the order and subordination of these delights in the whole man must come from the Divine with men. Lust can be controlled in no other way.
     "Whatever favors a man's pleasure and cupidity . . . he feels as good."* This is the danger. Where is the ordering structure to prevent the satisfaction of lower delights becoming the purpose of life itself? We read:
     "Man is not able to perceive the lusts of his evil; he does perceive their enjoyments, although he does not think much about them, for the enjoyments divert the thoughts and banish reflection. Consequently unless one knew from some other source that his lusts are evil, he would call them good, and from freedom in accordance with the reason of his thought he would give expression to them; and when he does that, he appropriates them to himself."**
     * AC 1860.
     ** DP 113.

     And where is that other source? It is the Divine with man descending into the justice, morality, industry, knowledge and uprightness that the Doctrine of Charity says makes the general good in individual uses.

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     Now let us look at the second school of modern thought, which emphasizes intrinsic subconscious affections. This theory is linked to the study of anxiety, conflict, repression, frustration and so on. The very fact that these are household terms indicates a broad influence on our lives and, by the way, a broad need for reflection and thought.
     First it is said that deepseated needs both conscious and unconscious drive man forward in life. There is a growing tendency to speak of unconscious influences in advertising through communications media like television and the movies, in business, human relations, group dynamics, and so on. In the church we recognize the insinuation of unconscious affections, and there is a clear parallel between the way spiritual affections are insinuated and the way natural affections are born. But in any attempt to infill modern thought it is important to remember that the spiritual is a discretely different plane from the natural. You cannot take what the Writings say about spiritual things and push it into natural philosophies. With this warning thought in mind let us look at the second theory in detail.
     One emphasis is upon motives which have been held in check or repressed. Man is said to be so ashamed of certain lusts that he may drive them into his unconscious, where they simmer and burn until they find some expressions as undefined anxiety, psychosomatic ailments, mental illness, and so on. Part of the idea behind this theory is that when a man is unable to get something which he unconsciously desires or has repressed because his better motives are horrified by it, he becomes more frustrated and his desire becomes stronger. The essential idea seems to be that motives and drives are a part of life. If they cannot come out into man's consciousness, where they can be controlled, he may eventually crack under the strain. Notice the words, "where they can be controlled," not "indulged."

     Now the Writings say some things which give weight to the idea of the increasing power of repressed or frustrated emotions, particularly evil emotions. Fear holds cupidity in check.* Yet anger results from anything that is contrary to man's cupidities.** What a man loves he constantly desires.*** In the light of these teachings is it wrong, then, to imagine a consuming anger and frustration when man's lusts are held down by fears? Indeed are we not urged to examine ourselves, to see what hidden lusts rule us? Is not the goal to bring them out into the understanding by self-examination so that they can be controlled?

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     * AC 6977.
     ** AC 357.
     *** HH 570.

     Now some have said that this theory does, in fact, advocate self- indulgence. Some educators and parents have certainly gone wild in this direction, but I do not think that this is true of a growing majority.
     There can be no question, however, that whenever this trend of thought leads to advocating self-indulgence it is contrary to doctrine. Combat against evil is not grievous except with those who have loosened all the reins of their concupiscences and have indulged them of set purpose.* It is a commonly known doctrine that shunning evil as a sin against society or morals is ineffective when fears for reputation, honor and gain are removed. Evil must be shunned as a sin against God; otherwise there will always be some time and some place where it will be committed.
     * Life 97.
     But the modern theorists do not always mean that adapting and adjusting to form an integrated personality is simply a matter of reducing guilt and adjusting to what the crowd dictates. We must read carefully if we are going to be critical. What does the theory advocate? According to the analytical school, when a man suffers from a repressed desire, treatment involves bringing this desire to his consciousness: letting him see it, sublimating it until it is acceptable to society, and - this is important - acceptable to his own higher motives and ideals. This concept is not necessarily one of self-indulgence in evil. In this system guilt is not removed through some release from conscience. If the man is guilty he is entitled to feel guilty, provided he does not so condemn himself that he loses all self-control.

     Now in the church we know that there is such a thing as spurious conscience, mingling false and true ideas, making utterly unreal demands upon us, trying to make us give up hope. Again, there seem to be clear natural parallels. And, speaking of spiritual states, the Writings also indicate the careful mediation of Providence to prevent man's being carried away against his will into the insanity of evil. Not all insanity can be separated from man's own responsibility.
     We should remember the religious backgrounds which have influenced the modern theories of guilt. Clinical experience showed that those who condemned themselves as damned from birth sometimes became so ridden with guilt that they could no longer function among their fellow men. A true view of religion recognizes that man is not condemned for his passing evil thoughts unless he habitually invites them.

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Even if he does evil from inexperience, or from some prevalent concupiscence of the body, it is not imputed to him because he has not deliberately purposed it or confirmed it in himself.* Lacking this religious view, the founders of these theories sometimes overstressed the reduction or removal of guilt feelings. Individual thinkers, of course, have their own personal religious convictions, but the basic trend of thought today involves an adjustment to reality. It involves the balanced ability to live in the world of experience, which in their theories is the reality. The spiritual world is beyond experience and is therefore not included in the system.
     * CL 529, 455e.
     This makes some problems for New Church men, for the existence of the spiritual world is the only thing that can give a real and responsible choice to men, namely, the choice between the eternal kingdom of God and the kingdom of this world. The Word reveals motives which are internal, spiritual and eternal, above time and place; and the power is therefore given to control lusts even when natural fears are removed. Choices are no longer relative, but clearly defined as good and evil.
     A good example of the need for the spiritual can be seen in education. Great stress is laid upon the idea that man must not repress the emotions of the growing child through undue pressures of fear. But clear distinctions must be made between legitimate fear, which comes out of the need for order from the Word, and fears which are irrational, disorderly and destructive of the mind's normal balance. The sixth or seventh grader with all his negative withdrawal and rebellion wants more than just license to break away from parental control, more than food for his questions, more even than to understand why he feels the way he does. He desperately needs the spiritual security of knowing that the Lord is near even when he himself seems so inadequate to meet the demands made upon him. The sophomore needs more than just to "grow up." Growing up with any degree of contentment involves a personal trust that the Lord understands at a time in life when so many others seem not to understand.

     We have seen that these theories openly and subtly affect many aspects of our lives. But New Church men are also concerned about psychiatry in times of illness. What part does this lack of spiritual truth play if a New Church man consults a psychiatrist? It is important to note a strong qualification in psychiatric practice. A psychiatrist generally accepts the fact that a man's religious beliefs are real to him. He seeks to help the man to adjust to these values as the man himself accepts them.

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No reputable psychiatrist will try to change a person's religious values, particularly when that person is sick and disturbed. If he did try to, we as New Church men, and indeed those of many other religions, would get by without psychiatry.
      Recognizing, then, the clear limitations of the background of psychological theory, and its almost universal impact on our lives, our people sometimes ask: Does a New Church man, a real New Church man, ever need to consult a psychiatrist? I can only give a personal conviction. I believe he would not need to, if there were no such thing as physical or mental disease because man lived in the spiritual and natural order of his life. In short, a regenerate man in a regenerate society, or the angels of heaven, have no need of a psychiatrist, or of any kind of physician. But such perfection is not possible on earth. So I believe that in serious physical or mental illness we may need a physician; and if we do, we should seek him without any embarrassment, and without any feeling of fear or guilt that somehow we would not have to do so if only we had lived our religion better. Everyone would have to live better, not just us, in order to eliminate mental and physical disease!
     However, just as the body throws off most diseases, and there is a natural and providential balance in physical life, so there is in mental life. We should not rush off to the psychiatrist for every little disturbance or to "solve" every problem which may come along. Man is created to find and choose his own path. Nor should we look to a psychiatrist for solutions to essentially spiritual problems and relations. Since spiritual temptations are often clothed with natural anxieties it is not clear sometimes what choice we should make. Most New Church men who are trying to apply the Writings to their lives rightly see spiritual implications in their doubts and anxieties. Frequently it is precisely because we do not see how the truth applies that we become disturbed or confused. Here, I think, we should remember that ministers and psychiatrists can work together.
     Yet we should remember not to let psychiatric theory, which applies to illness, unduly color and influence the normal process of our lives. With its limitations it must never become the core of our thinking and decisions. Our focus behind all thought of growth, of change, of our jobs, of home, of country, of church, is the light of the Writings; not the theories drawn from experience alone, no matter how enlightened that experience may be.
     There is no doubt, then, that new degrees of the mind are opened by the Lord, and new affections and delights given, as man consciously strives to control his way of life. A remarkable reference indicates how the anxieties of life are so lessened.

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It notes that every natural affection becomes milder as it ascends toward interior things, until at last it is changed to a heavenly affection.* This opening of affections is the blessing of self-control, provided man looks to the Lord as he shuns evils as sins against Him.
     * AC 3909.
     Many remarkable insights come from the world of experience, from imagination, theory and psychology. Many sincere men and women are reaching through this experience to find the answers to life's riddles. Consider the following quotation from Rachel Carson about life's simplest experiences:

     "What is the value of preserving and strengthening this sense of awe and wonder, this recognition of something beyond the boundaries of human existence? Is the exploration of the natural world just a pleasant way to pass the golden hours of childhood or is there something deeper?
     "I am sure that there is something much deeper, something lasting and significant. Those who dwell as scientists or laymen among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Whatever the vexations or concerns of their personal lives, their thoughts can find paths that lead to inner contentment and to renewed excitement in living. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is symbolic as well as actual beauty in the migration of birds, the ebb and flow of the tides, the folded bud ready for the spring. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after the winter. When he realized that he had not much longer to enjoy the earthly scene, a distinguished Swedish oceanographer said to his son: `What will sustain me in the last moments is an infinite curiosity as to what is to follow.'*
     * The Sense of Wonder.

     But we are not left with unanswered curiosity. The Lord has opened a whole new world of reality for us - the world of eternal thoughts and affections in which we will find, not just satisfaction of our curiosity, but satisfaction and meaning in life itself.
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1968

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1968

     The Council of the Clergy will hold four morning and two afternoon sessions, January 23-26, 1968, and will meet in joint session with the Board of Directors on Saturday, January 27. The Directors of the Corporation of the General Church and the Corporation of the Academy will hold their meetings on January 26 and 27, and the annual meeting of the Corporation of the General Church will be on Saturday, January 27, at 11:10 a.m. After a Society Supper on Friday, January 26, the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh will give an address.

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VISIBLE GOD IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1968

VISIBLE GOD IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1968

     (The first in a series of three addresses delivered to the Educational Council, Bryn Athyn, Pa., August 1967.)

     I. THE SPIRITUAL CONCEPT OF THE PERSON OF OUR GOD

     The Concept of the Person from His Essence

     A panel of eight teachers has been studying the subject of "The Visible God in New Church Education." The purpose has been to set before this Council, first a sort of summary statement as to what is meant by seeing God, which will be done in three lectures, and second, to present some guidelines and suggestions with regard to the application of the doctrine concerning the visible God in the classroom. The second aspect of our purpose is the real challenge. For little benefit will come to the students if the teacher, while having some knowledge of this most central doctrine of the church, yet is uncertain as to how it applies in his particular area of instruction. It is hoped that not only the various presentations of the panel members will stimulate thought, but also that the discussions of the Council, perhaps particularly the group discussions at the end of our series, will help us all to think constructively, and to think together, with regard to this most fundamental matter.
     What we must come away from is the notion that New Church education is so called merely because New Church doctrines are taught in the religion periods, and because there is New Church worship at chapel. And even if we add that New Church education is for life, in fact, for life in heaven as well as on earth, we fall short of the mark; for we are not saying very much unless we know that life penetrates into all areas of study and thought and embraces all fields of application. Life is indivisible. If, therefore, it is true, as we are taught, that "all religion is of life," then it must also be true that religion is of all life.
     It follows that New Church education, as far as the classroom aspect is concerned, consists of teaching every subject in the spirit of the New Church.

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Now this is what every teacher in our schools wants to do. But the question is how to do it. Anyone would legitimately shy away from an appearance of artificiality. Students, of course, are as sensitive in this regard as any teacher might be. But certainly this does not rule out direct references to doctrine when the opportunities are there. It only warns us that a dutiful citation of authority, without any real sense of application, may permit the spirit of faith alone to peek in through the window! This, I think, is what we unconsciously fear. But doctrine and application together is something different. For instance, anatomy lends itself beautifully to the illustration of the doctrine of discrete degrees, since muscles, nerves and tissues are built up of parts that have different characteristics from the end product. The cells themselves offer an even more striking illustration. So also would history afford many opportunities of showing a Divine purpose in human events, especially with reference to the preservation of the element of freedom or the patient preparation for it. Physics, chemistry and mathematics in their various ways demonstrate the law-bound relationship of things. And so in all other subjects.

     Yet while referring to principles of revealed doctrine in the context of actual applications must be regarded as one completely orderly and also useful manner of teaching, it is not necessarily the only way of raising the minds of students above the immediate field of study. More frequently still, indeed as a perpetual undercurrent in the instruction given, there could be the suggestion of purpose and method in the development and vicissitudes of human events, and in all things of nature as well. If the teacher himself is thoroughly aware of these two silent witnesses of a higher power than either man or nature, one that is at the same time supremely human, then surely he will not fail to point at times to those witnesses. And in the final analysis, is it not these two elements more than any other which convince a man willing to be convinced that nature cannot be its own creator, nor the governor of human destiny? Revelation describes both purpose and method, but their existence itself is a matter of perception prior to the setting forth of the Divine and holy nature of them both. Is it not because of this perception that the doctrine is true which says: "There is a universal influx into the souls of men that there is a God and that He is one"?*
     * TCR 8.
     It is suggested further that the presence of a Divine purpose and method in the thinking of the teacher, will cause him to teach his subject in the sphere of these things. And if he does, then much that is unsaid will nevertheless provide countless opportunities for the student to make his own observation and draw his own conclusion.

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This, of course, applies especially to the higher levels of schooling, but we must not discount the ability of elementary school children, even in the early classes, to think within themselves. Their questions and comments frequently testify to this ability. And the strongest points are those that arise within the mind as a result of its own struggles or peaceful observations, thus without dictation or manifest external guidance.

     However, in reflecting on the opening vistas of what is implicit we must not turn our minds away from the necessity of the explicit. These two things are by no means mutually exclusive. No one can learn to think unless milestones of thought are given him. Truths must be spelled out, too. Nevertheless, what is implied will ever be very much more than what is said in so many words. Truth would be very limited if this were not so. Ideally, therefore, the thoughts of the student should make for themselves many ideas - many conclusions, observations, applications or mere questions - not directly noted by the teacher. Admittedly, this ideal may sound unrealistic to some of us, for students do not always present themselves as lovers of truth. Yet, will not the student be the more likely to keep his mind alert and alive if he senses an inner richness in the mind of his teacher than if the teacher appears shallow in his approach, like a mere statistician? Therefore, the mental activity of the student in the classroom does not depend on him only, but equally on the stimulus offered him by the man or woman at the speaking desk. And returning to the matter of things stated and things implied, it can probably be said in a general way that the frequency and emphasis of actual repetitions of universal and fundamental truths is in direct proportion to the relative youth and immaturity of the student.
     Another way of saying all this is that the more mature is the mind of the student, the more will it be possible for the teacher to busy himself with particular aspects of his subject field, all of which aspects are particular truths; never, however, permitting himself to forget that there is an overruling and all-pervading Divine purpose in all things, or that the laws of science and the laws governing human behavior do bespeak the Divine methods in creating and providing.
     Now, having thus reflected on the usefulness of occasionally quoting doctrine in the classroom, always implying the presence of Divine purpose and method, and sometimes calling direct attention to the Divine presence, we turn our minds to a closer view of those two things: the Divine purpose and the Divine method. In two later lectures these things will be further analyzed in the context of Divine action and Divine speech, but our immediate interest is to see them in relation to the Person of our God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

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     Purpose is of love, and method is of wisdom. If therefore a purpose that is above the finite, and is thus non-finite or infinite, can be discerned in relation to both nature and man, then a love that is not finite can be discerned. A parallel argument with reference to method will lead to the recognition of a non-finite wisdom.

     Yet so far only the degree, the infinite degree, of love and wisdom, above, or within, all creation is coming to view. The perfect goodness of love is still to be added. And if the goodness of love be granted, then, but not otherwise, will the method of love, that is, wisdom, be similarly acknowledged for what it is, namely, perfect truth, or truthfulness. But this goodness, once we discount the celestial perception appropriate only to the most ancients, cannot be recognized without a permanent objective revelation. The reason for this is that goodness cannot be defined in terms of temporal uncertainties and apparently incompatible patterns of fortune. Only life beyond nature, beyond space and time, that is, eternal life, can truly show goodness for what it is, for in the higher life the many mere appearances or false appearances of temporal life do not recur, and "fortune" there - if we may now so call it - is commensurate with the love of each individual. However, given a Divine revelation concerning the existence, profound reality and true nature of the spiritual world, the mind of man is invited to contemplate a love that has nothing of selfishness or the lust of dominion in it, but is a pure and total love of giving to others; and to contemplate in the same view a supreme wisdom that caters to the purposes of that love. Through revelation, therefore, it is possible to see that the purpose of a love that is above the finite is an infinitely good purpose; and once infinite goodness is contemplated, its form, or mode, namely, infinite truth, which is perfect wisdom, stands forth to view, too.
     But, it will be asked: Who is He that is possessed of these infinite qualities? That the qualities must be lodged in some one is obvious, for qualities without a subject have no existence. And since many religions - not all - teach that God is love, and that He has wisdom, therefore there are many who would answer that this one is God. But the New Church goes further than this. It has a name for this God. To it has been granted the knowledge of His identity. He is the Lord God Jesus Christ.
     This is the faith that was foreshadowed in the prophecies of the Old Testament, but denied when those prophecies were fulfilled; the faith that was substantiated and enhanced in the teachings and records of the New Testament, but distorted and in effect denied by the would-be guardians of that form of the Word; and the faith that has once more been set forth for the whole world to see, as and when it be willing to see, namely, in the Writings of the Lord's second coming.

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     The ability to identify the supreme and infinite Being, who is possessed of an infinitely good purpose and operates through infinitely wise modes, with the Man Jesus Christ, this is a matter of stupendous magnitude. Nowhere is this identity acknowledged outside the New Church. The Divinity of Christ is indeed quite often referred to in the religious literature of the world, but the sole Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ is a different proposition altogether. He is the Person who has the qualities of infinite goodness and infinite truth.
     At this point the natural mind of man faces up to a difficulty; and I do not think that by itself it can clear it away. I remember a conversation I once had with a believer in the Christian Science doctrines, a lady of intelligence and culture. She said that to think of God as a person is to limit God. And, admittedly, to the natural idea this is indeed so. What in fact is the merely natural idea to do with the apparently irreconcilable concepts of God as a person and God as infinite? What is an infinite person? Or let the merely natural mind encounter the following two passages of Scripture: 1) "God is a spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth";* and 2) "A spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have."** The mind is trapped, and no worldly logic by itself can resolve the matter.
     * John 4: 24.
     ** Luke 24: 39.
     But any man is capable of soaring away from the merely natural, at least for a time, namely, by allowing his mind to be raised into the light of heaven and above the will. In such a state he is seeing the Lord somewhat as angels see Him. They know that He is infinite, and they also know that He is Person: in fact, they see Him as the very and only Person [or Man] who is Person [or Man] in His own self. They know that they themselves are called men only because they are images, and as it were by courtesy.
     The Writings tell us that for the most part the angels see the Lord as the Sun of heaven. Yet occasionally He is also seen, in angelic form, just below the Sun, and at times in heaven itself among the angels. We read that at such times He is "distinguished from angels by the Divine which shines forth from His face."* The following statement is pertinent:
     "No angel in all the heavens ever perceives the Divine in any other than the human form; and what is remarkable, they who are in the higher heavens cannot think of the Divine in any other way. . . . All in heaven acknowledge the Lord, for there is no Divine Human except in Him. . . . The wiser the angels are, the more clearly they perceive this.

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Hence also it is that the Lord appears to them; for the Lord appears in a Divine angelic form, which is the Human, to those who acknowledge and believe in a visible Divine; but not to those who worship an invisible Divine, because the former can see their God, but the latter cannot see theirs."**
     * HH 121. Cf. 55; AR 938.
     ** HH 79.

     These things show us that even when the angels see the Lord as Sun, they still think of Him as Person, and this especially so in the case of the higher angels. Also, He is a person; He is not a sun. The Divine Love and Wisdom warns: "Let every one beware of thinking that the Sun of the spiritual world is God Himself. God Himself is a Man."* It is therefore right to think of the Person of our God appearing as the Sun of heaven by virtue of the shining forth of His infinite love and infinite wisdom, out of His Person from His Essence. As our passage continues to say: "The first proceeding of His love and wisdom is that fiery spiritual which appears before the angels as a sun. When therefore the Lord manifests Himself to the angels in Person, He manifests Himself as a Man, and this sometimes in the sun, sometimes outside of it."**
     * DLW 97.
     ** Ibid.
     The same lesson is taught in the story of the Lord's transfiguration before Peter, James and John. "And He bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light."* Years later John again saw Him in a similar appearance, this time in the isle of Patmos, and his record is as follows: "His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire . . . and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."**
     * Matthew 17: 1, 2.
     ** Revelation 1: 14, 16.
     Now, referring back to the Lord as "Spirit" and the Lord as "flesh and bones," what we get is that the Lord must be approached as a Person of flesh and bones, whose "Spirit," or Essence, is infinite love and wisdom. He taught that God must be worshiped in spirit and in truth, lest men should think of Him in their own terms: and He said that, unlike spirits, (that is, men who live in the spiritual world after death) He has flesh and bones, in order that He might convey the truth that He is immediately present in His Divine Human with men on earth, and not only by means of spirits and angels as before His glorification. In other words, we are to think of the Lord as personally present in the world, among men and with the kingdoms and elements of nature: not, of course, as another man; not in a material sense (the Lord has no material body); but as God-with-us nevertheless.

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Is not this what He meant when He comforted the disciples by saying that He would continue to be with them, though His physical presence would cease? "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me."* And is not this why it was possible for His servant Emanuel Swedenborg, when called, to see Him face to face?
     * John 14: 18, 19.
     In his Journal of Dreams Swedenborg testifies (in part) as follows:
     "In the moment that I was prostrated I became wide awake, and I saw that I had been thrown down. I wondered what it meant, and I spoke as if I were awake, but still I found that the words were put into my mouth, and I said, '0, Thou Almighty Jesus Christ, who of Thy great mercy deignest to come to so great a sinner, make me worthy of this grace!' I kept my hands folded and I prayed, and then there came forth a hand which strongly pressed my hands. I then continued my prayer, saying, 'Thou hast promised to receive in grace all sinners; Thou canst not otherwise than keep Thy words!' In the same moment I lay in His bosom and beheld Him face to face. It was a countenance of a holy mien, and all was such that it cannot be expressed, and also smiling, so that I believe that His countenance was such also while He lived [in the world]."*
     * Jour. of Dr., paragraphs 52-54.

     There is, however, a point to be added here - not to detract from His direct presence in a personal form, but to explain the nature of that presence. For the very same passage that tells of the Lord being seen in heaven, "not encompassed with the Sun but in an angelic form," also notes that "He is not there in person, since the Lord in person is always encompassed with the sun, but He is present there by aspect." It adds that "it is a common thing in heaven for persons to be seen as present in the place where their view is fixed or terminated, although it may be very far from the place where they really are. This presence is called the presence of the internal sight."*
     * HH 121.
     It was particularly this that I had in mind when stating earlier that the person and the infinity of the Lord could not be comprehended by the merely natural mind. And our phrase has been "the merely natural mind" in order to imply that the natural mind is by no means to be excluded from seeing the Lord; but that it cannot see in its own light, or by itself, but must be disciplined by a higher mind and see in a higher light. That mind must be the spiritual-rational mind, that is to say, the rational mind encompassing spiritual things, and that higher light must be spiritual light. Of course, any true thought must be in spiritual light, for there can only be natural observation, but no rational comprehension, no reflection in the realm of causes, in the light of the natural sun.

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I know that this statement will not ring true to those who think of the relationships within the kingdoms of nature, as for instance the cause and effect relationship between seed and tree; but our reference should be to the causes of all the phenomena of nature: the cause of the seed, that is, the inner life within the chemical substances of the seed which causes them to take on the qualities that they do exhibit and no other qualities. In other words, we ought to think of the hidden causes that operate within the inmost substances of nature. Nor does the motion, or activity, within the molecules and atoms of nature qualify as spiritual cause; but that something, that life, which gives rise to the motion itself, is the spiritual.

     The laws of the spiritual world, therefore the laws of the world of causes, have been revealed. We are only at the threshold of comprehending these laws, but we do know that they relate to a world where there is no space and no time in any physical sense whatever. And that is the world in whose light we are to see our God.
     But it is asked: Does not this exclude the natural mind from the vision of God? And the answer is: No, because the following teaching is true: "The Lord, while in the world, put on also the Natural Divine, and from this He enlightens not only the internal spiritual man, but also the external natural: which two, unless they are at the same time enlightened, man is as it were in the shade, but while both are at the same time enlightened he is as it were in the day."*
     * TCR 109.
     The merely natural mind, however, is capable of another equally fatal error. We have referred to its tendency to deny, or in effect exclude, the infinite when the thought dwells on person. But the other extreme is just as wrong: that is, to think of the infinite to the exclusion of the person. Please note again that it is only the spiritual-rational mind, only the mind that is elevated from the light of the world, that is capable of seeing infinity and person at the same time. It might appear that it is spiritual to think of the infinite apart from person, for the spiritual is often confused with the abstract; but let us again recall the idea that qualities - including the qualities of infinite love and wisdom - without a subject that is possessed of those qualities, are impossible, and cannot exist. It is for the natural mind to roam away into notions of hidden forces operating in nature; and it does not help if these forces are called "god": indeed, it does not even help if love and wisdom are ascribed to them; for terms do not remove fallacies - the fallacies of the merely natural mind.
     God is Man. There is no greater truth in heaven or on earth. God and Man: Divine and Human: First and Last: infinite in Essence and at the same time infinite in Person.

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We do well, then, to heed the instruction of the angel when he said: "To think of the Person of God from His Essence is to think spiritually even of His Person."* It is not enough to think "from Essence." The thought must be "of Person" too. These two prepositions, of and from, must unite in our vision of God.
     * AR 611.
     But it is true, as noted in the passage previously cited,* that the Person of the Lord cannot be seen as it is in itself; for, to repeat, "the Lord in person is always encompassed with the sun."** Yet to be present "by aspect," or by "internal sight" as it is also said,*** does not make His presence less personal. It only means that the presence is not unaccommodated. For it is the Lord God Jesus Christ who so presents Himself to be seen; and the radiance by which He is distinguished from angels is that of His Divine love and wisdom, shining forth from His Essence.
     * HH 121.
     ** Ibid.
     *** Ibid.
     But how we may come to know His Essence, so that we may think from this of His Person, this we shall consider in installments II and III in this series on principles.
Academy of the New Church 1968

Academy of the New Church              1968

     APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION

     Preliminary letters regarding applications for admission to any of the schools of the Academy of the New Church for the academic year 1968-1969 should reach the Director of Admissions before February 1, 1968. This deadline applies both to new applications and to applications for re-admission of students already in attendance. Completed application forms and accompanying material should be received before April 1, 1968, and applications for student work and/or specific scholarship funds should be received before May 1,1968.
     Applications for assistance under the Frederick Emanuel Doering Trust Fund to enable male Canadian students to attend "The Academy of the New Church," Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., for the school year 1968-1969 should be received before March 31, 1968 by one of the following: Rev. Harold C. Cranch, Rev. Geoffrey Childs, Rev. W. L. D. Heinrichs, whose addresses will be found on the back covers of this issue. Before filing their applications, students should first obtain their acceptance from the Academy, which should be done as soon as possible.

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PARADOX OF FAITH? 1968

PARADOX OF FAITH?       Editor       1968


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.

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EDITORIALS
     It is the teaching of the Writings that we should believe in the Word because we see it to be true. Faith is defined as an internal affection of truth - truth so affecting the mind from within that it is acknowledged from sight of it; and we are told that the truth of the church, the doctrine of the church from the Word, is to be seen, that is, rationally understood, in order that it may be believed. This, of course, is to correct the idea of blind faith with its implicit corollary, that faith is not needed to believe in what can be seen!
     Yet it is said also that we cannot understand the truth of the Word until we believe it. Is this a paradox? Are the Writings saying that we cannot believe until we understand, yet cannot understand until we believe? The Writings do not deal in paradoxes. What they mean by the first statement is that no truth becomes a part of man's faith until he understands it rationally; and that is not only an intellectual process. Until a truth is thus understood it is merely known; and if there is acceptance it rests on some human authority, not on that of the truth.
     However, it is also a fact that until we believe the Word to be from the Lord, and therefore true, we cannot really understand it. We do not understand anything until we see both its use and how it serves that use; and only when we believe the Word to be Divine truth because the Lord has spoken it do we see it as the form of Divine good, see the good to which it leads, and see how it leads to that good. This is the understanding of the Word which makes possible belief in particular truths, and it rests on belief that the Word is the Lord's and Divine.

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APPROPRIATION OF GOOD 1968

APPROPRIATION OF GOOD       Editor       1968

     Until good is appropriated to man as his, he is not reformed and regenerated. That is, man has not been reborn until good has been implanted in his will, which is the man himself, is thence in his thought from affection, and has entered into and become of his life. So the Writings have much to say about the appropriation of good. Yet they seldom speak of good as being appropriated by man; rather do they say that it is appropriated to him as his by the Lord. The reason is, of course, that good is of the Divine, and what is Divine cannot be appropriated to man as his, but can be adjoined to him and therefore appear as his. Man perceives it as his own, but should know and acknowledge it to be of the Lord.
     The matter is put very clearly in the teaching that by the appropriation of good with man is meant only the capacity to receive good from the Lord, with which capacity he is endowed by regeneration. Therefore the good with a man is not his but is the Lord's with him, and he is held in it as far as he suffers himself to be withheld from evils. So good is appropriated to the regenerated man in no other way than as being constantly of the Lord with him.
     Does this mean that the good which a regenerated man wills and does is Divine? No, it does not! The good that is adjoined to man by the Lord continuously is Divine in origin and in proceeding; but in reception by man, who is a finite receiving and reactive vessel, it is truly human: a term descriptive of a good that is neither Divine nor merely human but the product of action and reaction between the Lord and man. Nor can man reach out to take good from the Lord. He can only - but this is essential - prepare himself for reception; and this he does by beginning to live, in freedom, the life of love, charity and faith by looking to the Lord and shunning as sin all that is opposed to it.
KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL 1968

KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL       Editor       1968

     When the Lord prayed for His disciples, not that they be taken out of the world, but that they be kept from the evil, He expressed the ideal we should be striving to attain as we enter a new year in which the evils of the world are all too apparent. We try - not always successfully, and with increasing difficulty - to isolate our children from spheres against which they cannot as yet be protected in any other way. But isolation should not be the state of the adult New Church man. The church is not established to be a perpetual retreat in which we can concentrate on our own spiritual progress, freed from the world's pressures.

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     Spiritual progress can be made only through a life of uses in the world. It has often been said, therefore, that the New Church man is to be in the world, but not of it; and equal attention should be paid to both parts of the statement. Certainly it should be our prayer that the loves of self and the world be not dominant in us; but it should also be our concern to be involved in, though not with, the world as responsible, participating members of society. There would be a certain arrogance in regarding the world as existing merely to serve us as a place where we may be regenerated, and a complete lack of realism in feeling that the disorders, crises and problems of the world are simply workings out of the Last Judgment which do not affect or concern us at all!
     Society's problems are our problems and concerns, too. There is no sanction in the Writings for the desire to isolate oneself from society. What is called for by the Heavenly Doctrine, which is the doctrine of charity and faith, is not isolation but rather the cultivation of an inner integrity that will enable us to work and walk in the world and yet remain unscathed by its evils; an integrity that will not detach us from the rest of mankind, but will bring us close to whatever is of use.
     However, it should be well understood that of himself the member of the New Church is no different from others in the quality of his life, only in what he knows. That alone which can keep him from the evil while being involved in the world is what comes from the Lord through the Writings by means of regeneration - a spiritual conscience. But this will not alienate or isolate him from his fellow men. Rather will it lead him to shun the desire for segregation, to discover where his special talents may most usefully be employed, and to serve society, his country and mankind as degrees of the neighbor who is to be loved as only the New Church man can do.
SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD 1968

SEEKING THE KINGDOM OF GOD       Editor       1968

     In the Lord's injunction to His disciples, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His justice," the word, first, is crucial. It does not mean exclusively, or even first in time, but first in importance. In everything they will and think, do and say, the primary concern, the first care, of those who would follow the Lord should be that within their immediate objective, and therefore qualifying it, should be the search for the kingdom of God. From spiritual values they should be seeking spiritual ends, thus in the temporal what is eternal.

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     As this is the case, we would expect that in further discourse with His disciples the Lord would have taught them what the kingdom of God is, where it is, how it may be found, the conditions for entering into it, and the things which stood in the way of their so doing. This the Lord indeed did; and in a series of editorials this year it is proposed to discuss the spiritual meaning and some of the implications of the leading passages in which that teaching is given. For the present, however, our attention is directed to the injunction itself.
     To seek the kingdom of God is, of course, to seek Divine truth and good by loving and doing uses; and to seek it first is to have the Lord and heaven in the first place and self and the world in the second. It is to regard the good of the Lord's kingdom, heaven and the church, as that which should be sought in everything and above everything else. When this is understood we can readily see that the time element disappears; for when love to the Lord and of His kingdom is universal, it descends by influx to pervade all things of spiritual and natural life: intention, action, thought and speech. Thus it is not a question of whether seeking a living or seeking the kingdom comes first, but of doing the latter in the former.
      Every man has an obligation to become as efficient as possible in his career, to make a place for himself in society, and to attain that measure of success which will insure security for his family and protect his own capacity to perform a use. To meet this obligation takes both time and energy; and never before, perhaps, have the demands of society been more exacting. Standards are being advanced steadily. Competition is severe. Proficiency and promotion call increasingly for more and more specialized knowledge and skill; and to keep up with changes or with the literature in certain fields seems an almost impossible task.
     But if a man would perform a spiritual use through the doing of his work, he must also devote time and energy to learning from the Lord the precepts of charity, through preaching and doctrinal instruction and discussion with others that will help him to see the applications of those precepts to his life and work. He must seek from the Lord through external worship those perceptions in the sphere of heaven, and those implantings and renewals of spiritual affections which are given in it. And through the life and activities of the church he must seek that fostering of the beginnings of spiritual life which takes place in its sphere, and through its uses and its contacts with others who love and strive for the same things. That is why we are counselled to "seek first the kingdom of God and His justice."

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Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     TORONTO, CANADA

     This report covers the first year in the Olivet Church pastorate of the Rev. Harold Cranch. Mr. Cranch arrived with his family in late August, 1966, to take up the new duties to which he had been called, with the unanimous support of his new congregation.
     Sunday services, during this period, continued under the leadership of Mr. Cranch and his assistant, the Rev. Daniel Goodenough, with an average attendance of 141. Series on Genesis and on the Lord's miracles were among sermons given. The first sermon in each month was devoted to an essential basic doctrine, presented in a form suitable for newcomers. Family services - in which the children stay for the whole service, and with sermons which can be understood by them - were held on Thanksgiving Sunday, Christmas Day, Palm Sunday and New Church Day. The sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered quarterly, and also mid-quarterly at services preceding the regular Sunday service. An evening service was held on Good Friday.
     The Society doctrinal class, held on Friday evening and preceded by a supper provided by the ladies, enjoyed an average attendance of 50. The pastor and his assistant gave series on such subjects as "Delight in Reading the Word" and "The True Masculine and the True Feminine."
     A series of eight missionary lectures, sponsored by the local Epsilon Society, on the subject of "Archeology and the Bible and the Teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg" was given by the pastor. These were held on the second and fourth Sundays of the month. Advertised through handbills, in the newspapers and on the radio, they attracted between ten and twenty visitors at each lecture, in addition to strong numerical support from members of the Society. Topics included "The Tabernacle," "The Dead Sea Scrolls" and "The Trial of Christ and the Meaning of Easter."
     Other classes included those given weekly to the high school young people by Mr. Goodenough on The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine; a series given to the senior young people by Mr. Cranch on a variety of subjects appropriate to their state; and classes given to the young married people on "The Growth of the Mind" by Mr. Goodenough. The New Philosophy Group met regularly and considered such subjects as "The Doctrine of Creation" and "Knowledge of the Future."
     Other activities included the alternate monthly meetings of the Ladies Circle and Theta Alpha, continuing their respective uses and being addressed by the pastor and his assistant on a variety of doctrinal subjects; and the monthly meetings of the Forward-Sons, who heard papers from their own members on such subjects as "The True Relation of Woman's Work to Man's" and "Contributions: Principles and Practices."
     Special visits from the priesthood highlighted the year. In October the Rev. Robert S. Junge met with the day school teachers, gave a doctrinal class and preached. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom gave a doctrinal class in April, addressed the annual Sons' Ladies Night as a representative of the Academy on "New Church Education in the Home," and preached a cheerful sermon on "A Happy Church." Our former pastor, the Rev. Martin Pryke, accompanied by his wife and daughters delighted us with a week's visit in June, during which he addressed the Olivet Church School's closing exercises and preached an inspiring, if less cheering, sermon on the subject of those who will be persecuted because they are of the Lord's New Church.

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The Rev. Cairns Henderson visited us in July, preached on Sunday and addressed the men on developments in the relationship between the General Church and the Convention.
     The members of the Society turned out in strength in May to hear Mr. Lachlan Pitcairn. He spoke on the Academy's expansion program.
     The Olivet Day School operated with an enrollment of forty-eight children in eight grades and kindergarten. Teachers included Miss Barbara Charles; Mrs. Ed Friesen, who resigned at the close of the school year; Miss Sylvia Parker; Mrs. Sydney Parker and Mrs. Jack McDonald. Highlights of the year for the adults were the annual School Night and school closing - the latter with an original play on Confederation written by Mrs. Alec Sargeant which won her a standing ovation.
     The Sunday school program has expanded greatly under the leadership of our new pastor. A third grade, taught by the men, has been added. Particular attention was given to the needs of the children of elementary school age who are unable to attend the day school.
     Society social life included a family Christmas party, a New Year's Eve dance, a bridge tournament climaxed by a games night at the church, and a spring dance. Banquets were held on Swedenborg's birthday and New Church Day. The annual Society picnic was rained out.
     Concerning Society business affairs, members were informed at the annual meeting that the Society had operated at a large deficit during the year. The chairman of the Executive Committee pointed out that in the period 1964 through 1967 expenses nearly doubled, while contributions, though increasing, did not maintain the pace.
      The church festivals always form highlights in the year's activities. We recall with delight the Christmas tableaux and the Christmas service; the children's processions with their offerings at Thanksgiving and on Palm Sunday; the exultation of the Easter service; and the joy of the Nineteenth of June and the children's procession with banners.
     The members of the Society were saddened to hear of the removal of the assistant to the pastor, the Rev. Daniel Goodenough, to the Academy after two years of fruitful service in our midst. At the Nineteenth of June banquet we bade formal farewell to Dan and Ruth and presented them with a repository-bookcase and candlesticks for their new home.
     The Olivet Church now enters upon a new year with the pastor alone to carry on the work of the priesthood here. We would close this report by quoting the words of our pastor to the Society meeting. "The coming year, and the years in the immediate future, may prove to be somewhat difficult. But there is no need for discouragement. The Lord causes us to grow spiritually and naturally through our difficulties. The uses of the church are of prime importance in our thinking and planning and they must go on. Every problem has an answer, and we are the better spiritually for searching it out and using it.
     So long as we are faithful and do our best in the spiritual battles to establish a successful church and school, the words of the Lord to Joshua can well apply to us. For He said: 'Then thou shalt have good success. Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; he not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.'"
     JOHN RAYMOND

     LONDON, ENGLAND

     There comes a time when a duty too long delayed becomes a duty shelved; so let me start this belated report back to front with a recent wedding. Only a year ago Miss Sydelle Piggot came to England from Durban, South Africa, with her friend Belinda Wilkinson. Within a week of their arrival in London they visited our Women's Guild, and we were charmed with them both and hoped to have them with us for at least a couple of years.

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Alas, London could not offer Belinda the kind of work she wanted, and she left after a few weeks for Bryn Athyn. But Sydelle stayed with us and we found ourselves very drawn to this reserved and rather fragile looking South African.
     As the months passed it was not too difficult to discover that romance had entered our young friend's life in the person of Dennis Ball, a colleague at the bank where Sydelle worked. Thus it was that on Saturday, September 30, members and friends of the Society and numerous people from the bank attended the wedding of the young people. The bride looked lovely in her classic style white satin dress as she walked up the aisle holding her bridegroom's arm. Those of us who attended the reception following the service, held at the Helena Club, where Sydelle had stayed during her year in London, were pleased to get to know Dennis a little better and delighted to find what a very likeable person he is. Many telegrams from South Africa and elsewhere were read, the first being from Sydelle's mother and stepfather, which brought a sudden rush of tears to the bride's eves. Michael Church presented the young couple with a handsome linen tablecloth and two volumes of the Writings. On the following Saturday they left for Zambia, to which country Dennis' job with Barclay's Bank has been transferred.
     Now let us take a bird's eye view of the past year in the Society. We have held and enjoyed all the usual celebrations including the Nineteenth of June, when we were stimulated by the presence of Bishop and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton, their daughter Joan, and her cousin Miss Wendy Junge. We have also enjoyed our doctrinal classes and the discussions that followed; but all the societies throughout the church enjoy these activities, so we will attempt to look at the things peculiar to Britain and make comparisons with previous years.
     The most important of these is the British Academy Summer School because it draws young people from all over the Western World. To this reporter at least, one of the Bishop's most pleasing bits of information at the Colchester Assembly was to the effect that through this institution the Continent of Europe looks to Britain for support and leadership in New Church growth. As was already foreseen, the 9th Summer School, held at Culford School, Bury St. Edmunds - the second year the school has met there - was a great success. Approximately fifty students attended, as compared with just over thirty last year, and they came from Austria, Canada, Denmark, Great Britain, Norway, South Africa, Sweden and the U. S. A. There were three ministers in residence for the two weeks, the Rev. Messrs. Frank Rose, Donald Rose and Bjorn Boyesen, with Professor E. Bruce Glenn and Mr. Fred Elphick added to the staff in alternate weeks. Mrs. Homiller came from Bryn Athyn to act as housemother, and Mrs. Jones from Northampton, England, with a staff of three took charge of the catering. It is exciting to watch the growth, both in numbers and scope, of this annual event; and it may be of interest to other societies to know that it is proposed to issue a detailed account in a British Academy Year Book.
     Another "Charmouth holiday" was enjoyed in August, 1967, and for the first time included two visitors from overseas, Miss Dorothy Rhodes from Bryn Athyn and Miss Vida Elphick from Durban, South Africa. This was the third "Charmouth" in succession and each year the numbers have grown, from eighteen adults and twenty-six children in 1965 to twenty-nine adults and forty-two children in 1967. All who have participated agree that this New Church holiday-cum adult summer school, come call it what you will - fills a long-felt need for us to get together to discuss doctrinal problems, to discuss personal and family problems and how to cope with them from doctrine, and to explore each other's thoughts in a way that nothing else can do. Only a very scattered community like the London Society can really appreciate the delicious sense of unity and renewed strength which pervaded our activities for seven short days.
     All three of our Sunday school classes continue to be well attended, and our pastor, the Rev. Donald Rose, has instituted examinations, held at church on selected Sunday afternoons.

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Bearing in mind that the average age of these children is eight years, and that they have on these occasions already attended morning worship and had lunch at the church, the response to their examiner at two o'clock in the afternoon is really magnificent. It is difficult to say who enjoy the examinations most: Mr. Rose, the children or the audience. It is certainly surprising and encouraging to learn how much the children know about the stories and characters in the Word.
     The new Liturgy was introduced at Michael Church in January of this year. It was immediately obvious that some singing practice was necessary to help us over the hurdles, and Mr. Stanley Wainscot undertook to put us through our paces for ten minutes each Sunday after morning service. It seemed a "natural" from singing practice to a new organ - a project dear to Stanley's heart and one which he has fostered for many years. Perhaps it was as much to his surprise as ours that his dream has at last become a reality, and we are now the somewhat astonished possessors of a new Compton electric organ. The rapidity with which the money was raised by members and friends of the Society indicates that the need was widely recognized.
     What a wonderful year this has been for visitors; so many that it would read like a world directory to list them all - even if there were space to do so. I will content myself therefore with mentioning only those who come immediately to mind: Mr. David Finlay from Montreal - more a "dropper-in" than a visitor; Mr. and Mrs. Brown; the Rev. and Mrs. Dan Heinrichs; the Rex Ridgway family, most of whom have settled in our midst, and Miss Vida Elphick, an old friend who was over for twelve weeks but crammed in enough for fifty-two - all from South Africa; Mr. and Mrs. Dick Fisher and Miss Nancy Stroh, the latter another "dropper-in" whom we hardly regard as a visitor, from Kitchener; Dr. Peter Dyne from Manitoba; Mr. Bruce Glenn from Bryn Athyn; Mr. and Mrs. Harold McQueen from Glenview - Mr. McQueen taking time off to sample our hospital treatment, and it must have been good, for he looked fine when I next saw him at Culford; Beryl Briscoe from Bryn Athyn and her sisters Irene and Iris from Toronto - unhappily their visit was occasioned by their sister Rae's illness, so we did not get many opportunities to see them; Mrs. Bengt Carlson from Stockholm, Sweden, spending a few weeks in London before traveling to South America with her husband; and, of course, the Viking group on its way to Sweden.
     Last, but by no means least, three little visitors who have graced our Society and swelled our numbers: Michelle Rose, Lisa Bruell and Derek Elphick. Congratulations to all the parents concerned.
     It is pleasing to report that the Rev. Donald Rose was invited by Conference to take part in the 100th anniversary celebration of the Camberwell Society on October 31, 1967. On the chancel at the service preceding the celebration were, in addition to Mr. Rose, the Rev. Herbert G. Mongredien, president of Conference, and the Rev. Claud H. Presland, secretary of that body. It is with equal pleasure that we report an invitation to our Women's Guild from the New Church Women's League to nominate one of our members to join a subcommittee being set up by the League for the purpose of arranging a meeting of all the women of the church attending the 1970 World Assembly on the night prior to the Assembly, so that they can get to know something of one another before the great event begins.
     ISOBEL ROBERTSON

     MINISTERIAL CHANGES

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose has accepted a call, effective September 1, 1968, to the pastorate of the Carmel Church, Caryndale, Ontario, Canada.

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BOW IN THE CLOUD 1968

BOW IN THE CLOUD       Rev. NORMAN H. REUTER       1968




     Announcements






VOL. LXXXVIII
February, 1968
No. 2
NEW CHURCH LIFE
     "And God said: This is the token of the covenant which I make between Me and you and every living creature which is with you, for perpetual generations; I do set My bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between Me and the earth." (Genesis 9: 12-13)

     From the setting of our text in the story of the Word, it is obvious that the bow in the cloud is a symbol of the formation of a new bond between the Lord and all peoples-a new covenant with all mankind. With the first men on earth the bond was a perception of God's love for all His creatures, and a delighting in that love. When this bond of love was broken by the presence and intervention of evil, with the consequent loss of perception regarding all spiritual and celestial things, the mercy of the Lord moved to form a new bond with mankind-a new point of contact and conjunction. The direct influx through the will into the understanding could no longer lead men to heaven, for confirmed evils of life blocked the way and utterly distorted men's vision of truth. So God's mercy once again moved upon the flood of waters, the onrushing sensations from without to which men's attention was now turned, and from these sensations, by means of a particularized influx, He formed a new creation in man's intellectual part. This was accomplished by a partial separation of the intellect from the now perverted will, so that the intellect could have a certain freedom from the depressing effect flowing from the hereditarily corrupt will. By this means a counter force could be set up to counteract the downward pull of the will. This process even involved physiological changes in the breathing of these men, and in the nerve paths from the two brains. The forebrain, the cerebrum, became more important, probably more enlarged, thus even changing the facial appearance, especially in the region of the forehead.

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A new genius thereby came into being-the spiritual-as the celestial genius gradually suffocated itself and died out.
     In the history of the development of the human race the formation of this new bond between man and his Creator which is called conscience took place at the beginning of the Ancient Church. It was made possible by this separation of the will and the understanding, which took place at the time representatively depicted as a flood. What really flooded the minds of men was an overpowering wave of sensations from nature, brought about by an excessive attention to these sensations under the influence of loves now oriented away from God and eternal things to self and the world. Men ate of the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and really came to think of themselves as gods, for they lost sight of the true God and saw only themselves and the natural world in everything. The end of life-its purpose and the very reason for existence-was also lost sight of, namely, a heaven from the human race. Instead temporal goals overwhelmed the mind: self-aggrandizement and worldly pleasures. In this obscured vision of what life is all about, it behooved the Lord to forge a new means of directing men to eternal things and everlasting values, or the race would utterly destroy itself.

     The bow in the cloud which appeared to Noah as a sign of a covenant signifies this new means which the Lord forged in man's gradually evolving mental make-up. It is called in the Writings, conscience. It was designed to become the new bond of conjunction between God and man, to replace the lost bond of perception from love. In most ancient times, when men were still celestial, the sun of heaven had shone through the will and the understanding of man as through a pure atmosphere, to terminate and reveal itself in the groundwork of man's sensations. All the sensations and actions of life then reflected for him the Sun of Righteousness. But as a result of the fall, man's will had begun to delight in sensations themselves, to feel them as self-derived, and to ignore in the sensations the revelation of God which they could give forth. Thus his will no longer delighted in the reception of influx from God, but took pleasure in reaction against God, by which change in love he came into the persuasion of his independence from God. Then his proprium, his feeling of life as his own, which before had been according to the will of God, became opposed. His will was inverted, for it looked downward to sensation and its delight, instead of heavenward to God. The cycle of reception from God and a return to Him again in grateful thanksgiving was broken; for although man received from Him, as man always must to exist, having received, he claimed what he received as his own, and returned no acknowledgment or thanks to his Maker.

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Because of this change, the covenant between God and man, that is, their point of mutual contact and conjunction, could no longer remain in the will, for the perverted will desired to receive life from without-from sensations and since man is born to choose his path, God provided that this should apparently be the case. Hence the point of conjunction between God and man moved from the voluntary to the intellectual, from man's loves to his thoughts; for man can receive good only from within, but the ultimates of truth come from without. In the purity of most ancient times the influx of good from God through man's will into his understanding caused him to see truth as truth. But when the will became evil, the understanding necessarily saw the false as true, so that if a change in the spiritual make-up of man had not then taken place, no avenue for correction would have been open, and hence no possibility of salvation would have been preserved.

     Therefore the great miracle in the spiritual history of the race took place-the will and understanding were separated. This made it possible for man to will to do evil and still be able to learn to do what is right. The very fallacies and apparent truths of the senses which had been the means of his downfall were used in providence to turn man to his God. The natural truths of the senses, mingled with fallacies, were taken up into the intellectual part of the mind as a cloud. The term "cloud" here correspondentially indicates that now man's sight of truth was obscured, his perceptions clouded. But in this very cloud in the intellectual part of man, God formed a new conjunction with man: He set His bow in this cloud, for a sign and a covenant that the waters should no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.* This signifies that He formed a conscience in the ideas of man's thoughts, thus giving him an internal dictate which should save him from being overwhelmed by the flood of sense impressions.
     * Cf. Genesis 9: 13-16.
     The basis for this internal dictate is the plane of the remains which are implanted in man from infancy,* and which so form the conscience that when ideas are presented to the mind, they predispose it to think that a thing is true or not true according to a man's knowledge of, and love for, the things of religion. For conscience is not an immediate revelation within man, infallibly telling him what is true, but rather is a reaction built up within himself, based on his knowledge of good and evil, truth and falsity, which then gives an inner dictate that this or that seems to the man good or evil, true or false.*

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This is because "conscience is formed from the knowledges of good and truth derived from parents and masters, and from [man's] own study of the Word."** Therefore we read: "Everyone supposes his own dogma to be true and from this he acquires a conscience, for which reason, after he has acquired a conscience, to act contrary to what has been impressed upon him as truths of faith, is to him contrary to conscience. Such is every regenerate man. For many are regenerated by the Lord in every dogma, and when they have been regenerated they do not receive any immediate revelation but only what is insinuated into them through the Word and the preachings of the Word. But because they receive charity, the Lord works through charity upon their cloud (which is in their intellect), and from which there springs light as when the sun strikes a cloud which then becomes more luminous and is variegated with colors. Thus there arises in the cloud the likeness of a bow. The thinner the cloud, that is, the more numerous are the intermingled truths of faith of which it consists, the more beautiful is the bow. But the denser the cloud, that is, the fewer the truths of faith of which it consists, the less beautiful is the bow. Innocence adds much to its beauty, giving as it were a living brightness to its colors.
     * AC 393.
     ** AC 2831.

     "All appearances of truth are clouds in which man is when he is in the sense of the letter of the Word, for the language of the Word is according to appearances. But when he believes the Word with simplicity, and has charity, even though he remains in appearances, this cloud is comparatively thin. It is in this cloud that conscience is formed by the Lord with the man who is within the church. All the ignorances of truth are also clouds in which man is when he does not know what the truth of faith is; in general when he does not know what the Word is and still more when he has not heard about the Lord. In this cloud conscience is formed by the Lord with a man who is outside of the church, for in this very ignorance there may be innocence and thus charity."*
     * AC 1043.
     From this passage it is plain that the essential of conscience is not that man have many truths of faith, for men "are regenerated from every dogma,"* but the essential is that there be charity, and with charity innocence, for although "a true conscience is that which is formed by the Lord from the truths of faith . . . nevertheless charity is the fundamental of conscience."**
     * Ibid.
     ** AC 1033.
     Elsewhere it is stated that conscience is "a spiritual desire to act in accordance with whatever pertains to religion and life,"* which means that conscience is the activity of a charitable mind, a mind which "acts prudently to the end that good may come thereby."**
     * TCR 661.
     ** AC 8120

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     Therefore a true sense of responsibility is the result of conscience for "he who does his duty from a sense of duty and what is just from a sense of justice, exercises charity,"* "and charity is the fundamental of conscience."** Responsibility involves a recognition that man ought to make a return to the Lord for all that he has received from Him: a condition which a good natural man sees as just and feels is fair; but because of his external viewpoint, he tends to believe that perhaps a proper money gift to the church constitutes such a return, or at best he sees therein a duty to support the activities of the church, not only financially but also by his regular attendance and bodily help.
     * AC 8122
     ** AC 1033.
     A spiritual man sees that more is required of him-that an intelligent understanding and application of the doctrines of the church is a higher form of return to the Lord; a form without which the internal of the church cannot grow. The celestial attitude is altogether different. To the celestial the very idea that it is fair for man to make a return to God is repugnant, since it implies that the relationship between God and man is that of equals, as of man with man. Even the spiritual idea that an interior love is required of him does not agree with celestial perception, for the celestial know that the Divine demands nothing of man, but gives all to him. The celestial, therefore, translate the terms, duty and responsibility, into privilege and joy. They find in use, not a responsibility that is to be faithfully met, but a privileged pathway by which they may receive the Divine gift of eternal life.
     "Hence it is that those who feel delight in conscience are in a tranquility of peace and interior blessedness when they are acting in accordance with conscience, and in a kind of disturbance when they are acting contrary to it."* For such see in conscience the hand of God's providence inmostly leading them through all the circumstances of life to the haven of rest eternal. They have learned the blessed precept that he who constantly looks to the Lord for guidance will find security of mind and peace of heart, for thus the clouded mind, the anxious spirit and the disquieted heart are brought evermore into clarity of vision, tranquility of spirit and the blessing of heaven.

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Of them it is said: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"; again: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled"; and finally: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Amen.
     * TCR 666.

     LESSONS: Genesis 8: 13-9: 17. Matthew 24: 29-42. AC 977, 1033.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 448, 580, 486.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 49, 99.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1968

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1968

     The New Church in the New World by Dr. Marguerite Block was published in 1932. It is now out of print, and a new edition to be published this winter will be available in the spring. To bring this history of the church in America up to date, Dr. Robert H. Kirven, a faculty member of the Swedenborg School of Religion and editor of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, has written a postscript which appeared serially in the November and December issues of that journal.
     Dr. Kirven notes that in her "Conclusions" Dr. Block sees the future prospects of the New Church as mostly a series of choices. One choice lay among four emphases, each of which is competing for a pre-eminent place as the essentially distinctive emphasis of the church's program. The first of these is a kind of "Social Gospel" which includes a tendency toward the community church idea; the second is the development of a New Mysticism: and Dr. Kirven traces interestingly the history of these two options in the General Convention; the first in the relocation of several societies as community churches, with the later development of a psychological rather than a social approach; the second in the interest shown in the national Spiritual Frontiers Association, spiritual healing from a New Church point of view, and prayer fellowships. The third and fourth emphases-New Church Doctrine as a Rational Theology for a Scientific Age, and the New Church as a Custodian of the Doctrines-have produced, Dr. Kirven feels, fewer reportable manifestations. A fifth emphasis, the psychological approach, has become perhaps the main contender for first place in the recent life of Convention.
     Conservative and liberal approaches to the distinctive-universalist issue are dealt with, and the outcomes in the inter-seminary program of the Theological School and the affiliation of Convention with the National Council of Churches are described. Developments in the General Church and the Academy of the New Church, contributed by these bodies, are included in this lucid and comprehensive survey of New Church thought and practice in North America since 1932.

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DOCTRINE OF USE: THE NEW MORAL LAW 1968

DOCTRINE OF USE: THE NEW MORAL LAW       Rev. HAROLD C. CRANCH       1968

     (Delivered at the Eastern Canada District Assembly, Caryndale, Ontario, October, 9, 1967)

     Use is hard to define. Possibly the clearest definition is contained in Conjugial Love 183. "Love cannot rest unless it is doing something, for love is the very activity of life. Neither can wisdom exist and subsist except when it is doing something from love, and with love, and doing is use. Wherefore we define use to be doing good from love by means of wisdom. Use is good itself." "Uses are goods. By doing uses or goods is meant serving others and ministering to them."* "Those things which by creation in order are from the Lord are called uses."** We might sum up these definitions by saying that all orderly service or ministry to others done from love with understanding or wisdom is a use or is good.
     * DP 215.
     ** DLW 298.
     All things have relation to the one Divine use of making a heaven from the human race. If they further that Divine use or purpose they are good; if they work against it they are evil. So, in this regard, use is the criterion of moral judgment. Morals are the determination of right and wrong in man's relationship to men and to society in general. Morals may be either spiritual or rational in origin. Spiritual morality is to determine the rightness or wrongness of one's actions from spiritual standards, while natural morality is to determine one's actions as to being right or wrong from natural standards. Ethics is the form of morality as to law. It is the practice of just relationships between businesses, organizations and nations, and of men in the performance of their uses to such organizations, or to the uses they embody.
     In the Writings true use is called the Lord's kingdom.* Uses must be performed by men. If they willingly co-operate, they are given the joy of the use or work, and from that use, and love for it, men become part of the Lord's kingdom. If men are evil, and love self, then they are compelled to do the work that they, by their hereditary endowments, are able to do. "In order that hell, too, may be in the form of man everyone there is compelled to works; but they that are in hell do their works, not from the love of use, but from the need of food and clothing."**
     * DP 26
     ** Love VIIe.

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     Uses for society can be done and are done by evil men. The things that they do become uses, but not to the men who do them, because they do not intend use to others, but only the attainment of honor, fame, power or wealth to themselves. So we read:

     "Those who love themselves and the world are able to perform good uses, and perform them; but the affections of use with them are not good, because such affections are from self and have regard to self, and are not from the Lord, and do not have regard to the neighbor. They say, indeed, and persuade that these affections do have regard to the neighbor in the broad and in the restricted sense, that is, have regard to the church, their country, society and their fellow citizens. Some of them even dare to say that they have regard to God, because they are from His commandments in the Word; and also that they are from God, because they are goods, and every good is from God; when yet the uses they perform have regard to self, because they are from self, and have regard to the neighbor only that they may return to self."*
     * Love XIV.

     The Lord, who is infinite, cannot be conjoined to men, or have a relationship to men, in merely finite things. This has been shown by many philosophers. Swedenborg, in his philosophical works said: "There is no ratio between the infinite and the finite." There is no relationship between infinity and number. There is no ratio between space and time, and infinity itself. But the Lord is conjoined to men on the basis of use, and the love of use with men. Use itself is Divine, and man becomes a form of use by his co-operation with the Lord. All things of life are ordered by use, and use is the soul of every organ even of the natural body. So the Lord's life and providence can control all finite things through use, and order. But He is conjoined with the use which man becomes by regeneration. The use itself is infinite, but man enters into its performance and becomes a form through which it can be accomplished for others. In this regard we read:

     "It is actually the Lord Himself who is with angels in the heavens and with men on earth, and in those with whom He is conjoined by love, and that He is in them although He is infinite and uncreate, while angels and men are created and finite. . . . The Lord's life applies itself not to man but only to uses in man. Uses themselves, viewed in themselves, are spiritual: while the forms of use, which are members, organs and viscera, are natural. But yet these are series of uses; to such an extent that there cannot be a particle, or the least of any particle, in any member, organ or viscus that is not a use in form. The Divine life applies itself to the uses themselves in every series, and thereby gives life to every form; from this man has the life that is called his soul."*

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"So far as man is in the love of use, so far is he in the Lord, so far he loves the Lord and loves the neighbor, and so far is he a man . . . to love the Lord means to do uses from Him and for His sake. To love the neighbor means to do uses to the church, to one's country, to human society, and to the fellow citizen. To be in the Lord means to be a use. And to be a man means to perform uses to the neighbor from the Lord for the Lord's sake. . . Loving the Lord is nothing else than doing goods which are uses, and angels say that uses are the Lord with them. By uses they understand the uses and good works of ministry, administration and employment, as well with priests and magistrates as with merchants and workmen: the good works that are not connected with their occupation they do not call uses; they call them alms, benefactions and gratuities . . . A priest loves the church, the country, society, the citizen, and thus the neighbor, if he teaches and leads his hearers from zeal for their salvation. . . . Loving the Lord is performing uses from Him, and loving the neighbor is performing uses to him . . . In the spiritual idea man is not a person, but a use: for the spiritual idea is apart from an idea of person, as it is apart from the idea of matter, space, and time: therefore when one sees another in heaven he sees him indeed as a man, but he thinks of him as a use. . . Every good use is in form a man."**
     * Love IV.
     ** Love XIII.

     The universe was created by the Lord for the sake of use, from the Divine love which is the essence of use, by means of wisdom which is the form of use. The continuation, development and application of use on man's part is, therefore, the truly moral and spiritual life; and conversely, as use is the Lord's kingdom, and man enters into that kingdom by forming his life according to it, then true morality, ultimating spiritual principles, is the practice of use. This includes the practice of honesty, sincerity, justice, and all the other qualities which should rule in human conduct. These things establish man's reputation with others and confidence in his work. Only by these means can he perform his use to the greatest extent. So it can be seen that, briefly stated, the moral law is the law of use. That which is useful is moral, and that only is moral which is in conformity with genuine use. Anything that is not useful to human life is not moral.
     The doctrine teaches that there are three kinds of truth given to man- spiritual truth, moral truth, and civil truth. Therefore also there is a spiritual law, a moral law, and a civil law. So we read:

     "Spiritual truths are those which the Word teaches concerning God, that He is One, the Creator of the universe; that the Lord alone is to be adored; that the Holy Word is Divine; that there is life after death; these and other similar things . . . are spiritual truths.
     "But moral truths are those which the Word teaches concerning the life of man with his neighbor, which life is called charity, and the goods of charity, which are uses in general. All these goods have reference to justice, equity, sincerity, rectitude, chastity, temperance, truthfulness, prudence and benevolence. To these truths of moral life belong also what man may know of their opposites, namely, truths relating to injustice, insincerity, fraud, lasciviousness and so forth, and in general malevolence.

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The reason why these latter are also called truths of moral life is that all things which one thinks and confirms with himself to be so, whether they are good or evil, still are to be referred to as truths; for men may think that falsity is truth. These are moral truths.
     "But the third kind of truth is civil truth, and these truths are the civil laws of kingdoms and countries which lay down the distinction between acts of justice and acts of violence or fraud."*
     * Wis. XI 2nd. Section no. 5.

     Thus it is shown from the Writings that all moral qualities refer themselves to use. If an act or thought looks to use it is moral, otherwise it is immoral and does not make for justice, rectitude, chastity, etc. These teachings all have direct application to the work of New Church education. Our purpose is to teach spiritual truths and principles clearly that they may be established in the minds of our children, that from them they may draw forth applications to a good or moral life. The object of moral education is, then, to adapt the mind to the moral law of the universe, and this is the law of use. It involves seeing applications of moral truths to life, and of seeing the purpose behind the giving of all spiritual law: that it may so establish a knowledge of and love for the Lord that we desire to follow that law and apply it to our lives, and by its means perform uses. In this way man becomes a spiritual-moral man. The moral law derived from spiritual principles is the principal law of the kingdom of God, a law that determines good and evil, and tells us what to shun and what to exercise in bringing ourselves into harmony with the order of the universe. Use is the end itself to which all other motives should look, such as self-control, self-denial, and the like. These are not good if they do not look to the performance of that which is useful. All moral philosophy of the past can be summarized by the very simple, homely commonplace, that TO BE GOOD, AND TO DO GOOD, IS TO BE USEFUL. This is shown in the very familiar teaching that, "all religion has relation to life, and the life of religion is to do good."
     The abstract idea of use cannot be received at an early age, yet that which leads to it can be. The idea of useful service should enter into the relationships of children to the home, to the school and to the state. The idea of being useful to others should be frequently presented as the only thing that can bring them real happiness.
     There are, of course, many kinds of uses, and these wide varieties of use should be seen. There are affections to be fed, impulses to be stirred and strengthened, and our bodies to be fed and clothed. But utility is not confined to the plane of things to eat and to wear. The work of the artist, musician, poet and decorator, of the historian, engineer, and research scientist, all contribute a large part to the good of human society.

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So also, on the plane of the rational mind, do teachers, ministers and priests.
     From these teachings we can see that we should cultivate a conscience of use. Happiness should be sought in useful work, whether it is manual or mental, according to the use for which each one is adapted and prepared. Even children should be taught to contribute to the good of society in some useful way, either in the home, or in the church and community. They should learn to take and carry out responsibilities. These should not be the same as the responsibilities which adults must carry. But they should introduce to the idea of usefulness and reliability. It is also extremely valuable to learn very early that delight in recreation should come after their work has been well done, that they might have the feeling of having earned it. It is also extremely valuable for young people to begin to judge of things as to whether they be good or bad. They can form the basis for moral judgments by analyzing whether a thing they desire, or desire to do, is good and useful for them to do, or not. The criterion can easily be whether a thing has any use or not. So also, the things to be avoided are those which destroy usefulness and take away the ability to perform good and useful work. Such judgment is true, moral judgment.

     To cultivate a true conscience of use is the purpose of all religious and moral training. It can achieve that purpose by making known the law of mutual service as a Divinely appointed law by which the greatest good can come to man. Men should recognize the law of use, and of mutual service to others, as Divine law-a law imposed upon the universe itself-inherent in every aspect of nature. That which is useful to the whole lives. When it can no longer serve a use it dies. When we bring ourselves into harmony with that law, and from reason and rationality enter into and favor use, we find genuine, heavenly happiness.
     This makes clear the meaning of the teaching: "That so far as man is in the love of use, so far he is in the love of the Lord . . . and so far is he a man." For "by loving the Lord is meant to do uses from Him and for the sake of Him; by loving the neighbor is meant to do uses to the church, to one's country, to society, and to the individual person. By being `in the Lord' is meant being in use; and by being a man is meant, from the Lord, to do uses to the neighbor for the sake of the Lord."* So much importance is given to this idea of usefulness as the universal moral law that the Writings state: "A man is not of sound mind unless use be his affection and his occupation."

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     * Ibid.
     This startling statement can be readily understood if we realize that by insanity is meant the desire to have dominion, to steal, to commit adultery, to blaspheme, to do evil, to despise, reject or deride what is honest, just, and sincere-to despise every truth and good of the church and heaven. Thus, in a word, it is insane to be against everything good and true, to be against everything that is of order in the created world. It is insane to expect all others to serve oneself, or to think that one can live for himself alone without being of use to others. In the world man must appear to be useful, honest, moral and good, even if his internals are contrary to this. So in the world a man with such evil delights covers them over and hides them from his neighbor. And he can do this because of his basic nature. So we read:

     "Man has external thoughts and he has internal thought. A man is in external thought when he is in company, that is, when listening or speaking or acting, but he is in internal thought when he is at home and gives free rein to his interior affection. Internal thought is the proper thought of his spirit within himself; but external thought is the proper thought of his spirit in the body. Both remain with man after death, and even then it is not known what the quality of the man is until external thought is taken away from him; after that he thinks, speaks and acts from his affection."*
     * Love XV.

     With everyone when the external thought is taken away, the internal thought is made manifest to all. This is what was meant by the Lord's words when He said: "There is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known."* Here He spoke directly of hypocrisy and its certain discovery.
     * Luke 12: 2.
     In the following number from the Divine Love, we are told what genuine sanity is, namely, to have the internal and the external mind in essential agreement and in the delight of use and order. So we read:

     "All those who in the world have loved uses, and have performed uses from love of them, think sanely in their spirits, and their spirits think sanely in their bodies; for with such, interior thought is also exterior thought, and they speak and act from the interior thought through the exterior thought. Affection of use has kept their mind in itself, nor does it suffer them to stray into vanities, into what is lascivious and filthy, into what is insincere and deceitful, or into the mockeries of various lusts. After death they are of a like character; their minds are in themselves angelic, and when the outer thought is taken away, they become spiritual, and angels, and thus recipients of heavenly wisdom from the Lord."*
     * Love XV.

     From this it becomes evident that no man is of a sound mind unless he has the affection of use, and occupies his mind with use.
     Thus in the New Church we have a clear statement of the new moral law, or new ethical principle of what was only dimly taught in previous centuries.

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That is, all things are to be judged by use, and men also by their devotion to uses. Those things are evil which interfere with uses to the church, the commonwealth and the fellow citizen; and those things are seen to be good and genuine which promote the uses of each in their order. And it is shown in the Writings that each one is complementary to the others. We can gain greater insights and better judgments by thus organizing our thought about uses to see their proper relationship. The performance of use begins by shunning evils-all disorders-as sins against God; then performing uses by furthering order in ourselves, and with others.

     How different this concept is from the teachings of the so-called "new morality." The new morality eliminates absolute authority, and in its place substitutes individual judgment of what is meaningful and of neighborly love in human relationships. The sole judge and arbiter is the individual, and the responsibility for decision rests completely with him. Adulterous relationships are condoned, if at the time, they express a love which is meaningful to those involved. The only genuine principle that is specifically applied is the golden rule, "to do unto others as we would have them do unto us." However, the value of this application is lost to a great extent, because there is no standard for judgment of what is good and what is bad. So a child, or an adult with a childlike mind, flees punishment and correction as a bad thing since it is painful and embarrassing. Acting from his personal judgment, using the golden rule, he would withhold punishment from everyone, and would not correct evils and disorders. If this were placed in practice it would establish uncontrolled anarchy and hedonism, where each lives for his own pleasure without regard for the welfare of others.
     The new morality teaches that man should be left in freedom without any restrictions of spiritual law. The New Church teaches, in the laws of the Divine Providence, that man should act in freedom according to reason, or by the use of reason. Reason is formed from the authority of truth. We see this truth supremely revealed and mirrored in the laws of order in all things of creation. The Ten Commandments are seen to be Divine laws-authoritative and from the Divine love, not repressive and destructive. Having seen the principle of order and its use in man's development, we are in a position from love with mercy to determine our relationship with others. We are to accommodate wisely according to the need, but looking to the establishment of order in building a genuine marriage, and to establish sound, constructive, spiritual and natural relationships with our neighbors, and also to promote and develop the uses of all.

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     It is known to us that it is the performance of use, and the works of usefulness, that holds the mind in a state of order and enables it to throw off things vain, irrational and harmful, when the purpose is to serve others for the sake of the Lord or in obedience to His Word. But this does not apply when work is done only for the sake of self, or for the sake of gain. So while evil men can do things that are useful for others, or that can be used by the Lord for the benefit of others, they are not truly uses in themselves. Since their motive is false, and their goal is selfish or evil, what is accomplished is in spite of their intention, and not because of it. So we are taught that no work or service of man is of any benefit to the doer himself unless there is genuine affection or love within it-the love of others in the will. So use itself, in its essence, is nothing but affection. Use in the will is affection; use in the understanding is thought looking toward accomplishing something; and use in the actual deed is use in its fullness. But the work is not spiritual unless there is something spiritual in the thought and in the will. This only is good. It is action in which is the thought and will of usefulness to others outside of oneself.

     Everyone of a healthy mind wants to do some useful work for his friends, community, nation and church, and the Lord's kingdom. Such a desire is implanted in him from heaven, where it is the ruling love. We want to apply our hearts and minds to use, and to do useful works, for in this alone lies all true inward sanity of thought, and this is the way of preparation for heaven. And the doctrine of use as presented in The Doctrine of Charity, and in the work The Divine Love, makes it clear that if we perform our uses in the work to which we are called, humble though it may be, we serve higher uses also. Few have the opportunity to serve the country directly, yet Divine wisdom teaches that all serve the country best by shunning evils as sins, and by doing the works of their use or occupation faithfully, honestly, justly and sincerely, for thus the common good of many is provided for.* However, we are taught that uses to the church must be in addition to this; by doing what is of service to its worship, by making the mind receptive to the truths of its doctrine, and by using this knowledge to guide our other uses. We perform uses to the church by reading and studying the doctrine, and by using that doctrine to apply to our daily work and experience. Knowledge that the newly revealed doctrine is the basis for regeneration, and for the fulfilment of use, should lead us to do everything possible toward making the church and its teachings known throughout all the world, and particularly to develop in understanding them ourselves.

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It should lead us to uphold the doctrine of use as the one true basis for all human happiness, and then cultivate with ourselves the love of use and faithfulness in our work as the basic moral law.
     * Char. 158.
     The doctrine of the New Church has given to the world a new code of ethics and morality. It gives us a sure standard by which to judge all things as to whether they are moral or not. And this new principle by which to know it, is to see it in relationship to use itself. The moral law is the law of use.
     Only as men learn to use this criterion to analyze and control their activities can they develop a truly spiritual life. Only as they learn to love and work for the genuine good of others can they be prepared for the life of heaven-the eternal kingdom of uses.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1968

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1968

     (Continued from page 54.)

     A further issue of the NEW CHURCH COURIER contains extracts from a sermon by the Rev. B. David Holm, "The Priest as Watchman"; quotations from various sources; and news notes from Hurstville and Auckland. It is interesting to note that an inquirers' class is now meeting regularly in the Epping-Eastwood area of Sydney, and that other classes for new readers may be started in other suburbs in the near future. The editor, the Rev. Douglas Taylor, deals effectively with a question submitted by a reader: If an artist feels that he has to have certain gratifications in order to produce great works of art, will such gratifications ever be good? The answer, of course, is in the negative, and Mr. Taylor points out also that our feelings are notoriously unreliable as guides to life.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1968

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Editor       1968

     The Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, pastor of the Stockholm Society, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Colchester Society, effective September 1, 1968.

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SWEDENBORG SOCIETY LIBRARY 1968

SWEDENBORG SOCIETY LIBRARY       A. STANLEY WAINSCOT       1968

     The provision and maintenance of a Library and Reading Room has been one of the main objectives of the Society ever since its institution; for the idea was embodied in the original Plan of the Society, which was printed in 1810, appearing there as Rule VIII, on pages 6 and 7. The lack of sufficient financial resources by the Society in its earliest days prevented any definite steps being taken to fulfill this objective until 1827. In that year the Society purchased a number of volumes of Swedenborg's Writings from Mr. J. S. Hodson, and it also received, as a legacy from the estate of a Mr. Stephen Holder, 30 volumes of first editions of both the philosophical and the Theological Works. These books were the nucleus of what has now become a general "Swedenborgian" Reference Library of some 12,000 items.
     A library is much more than a collection of books! It should be as complete a repository of information on matters within its scope as is possible. Its contents should be arranged in a systematic order, and, most important, every item should be recorded, correctly described, and its location indicated. In other words, it must possess a catalogue. Without this, any collection is virtually useless as a tool for the student.
     Up to and including the year 1840, the Society's Annual Reports carried printed lists of the books that were currently in its Library. These were title lists only, and gave no bibliographical information; they were discontinued after 1840. After this, the Society appointed a succession of Honorary Librarians, each of whom endeavored to compile a suitable catalogue of the rapidly increasing number of books, MSS and documents. It is of some interest to note that the very first of these gentlemen was Dr. J. J. Garth Wilkinson, who had joined the Society in 1837 and was appointed Librarian late in 1840. The Society still possesses the massive ledger-like volume containing his entries in beautiful "copperplate" handwriting. Unfortunately, even up to the outbreak of World War II, none of these attempts to provide a catalogue had been carried to completion.
     However, early in 1945, shortly before the cessation of hostilities, the Society's Council agreed that the Library should be properly catalogued, brought up to date and enlarged. Accordingly this work was begun in April of that same year.

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     The Library material itself had already been segregated into three main divisions or parts: 1) the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg; 2) the Archives; 3) Printed Collateral Works. This arrangement was considered both logical and useful, and so it was adopted. Every item, from multivolume treatise to single-page leaflet, was carefully examined, checked and recorded in detail on shelf-lists. From these lists, typewritten card-index catalogues were compiled, one for each part.
     From 1959 until this year, all three parts of the card catalogue have been copied on to stencils, duplicated on foolscap sheets, and inserted into binders. Thirty-one complete sets have been-or, in the case of Part 3, will shortly be-distributed to New Church, University, National and Public libraries in Great Britain and many other parts of the world.
     The initial examination of the contents of the Society's Library had revealed the sad fact that many very important items were lacking. Due largely to the sympathetic co-operation of other New Church libraries, institutions and individuals a considerable number of these missing items were acquired. A special debt of gratitude is due to the Academy of the New Church for its generous gifts of two large consignments of books in 1948 and 1953, not forgetting a most valuable set of microfilms of all known Swedenborg documents which arrived during 1962. The receipt of 488 items from the Bath New-Church Society in 1950 was also a very gratifying event, for among these items were found many rarities and other material of historical importance.
     From all sources since 1947, approximately 2,400 items have been added to the Society's Library and duly inserted into its now complete catalogue. However, aside from the continual watch for newly produced material, efforts are still needed in order to fill the all too many gaps that remain. It is hoped that the following summary of the contents and design of each of the three parts of the catalogue will be of some use and interest.

     Part 1. The Swedenborg Collection
     (329 pages plus 30 pages of Addenda).

     This part is virtually a complete record of the Society's holdings of the printed editions of Swedenborg's works, and also of the published facsimiles of his original manuscripts reproduced by photolithography, phototypography and photostat. It is based upon the chronologicalnumerical order adopted by the Rev. James Hyde in his monumental Bibliography of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg, London, 1906. New material appearing since that date has been brought into order by the use of a stroke (/) and a subsidiary number being added to the preceding Hyde edition number.

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This enables all editions of a treatise to be placed in their correct date and numerical sequence, both on the shelves and in the catalogue. In the case of any divergence from this, the actual location of the required edition is stated on the appropriate card. All edition numbers in this collection have the prefix "Sw" and also the publication year, thus: 5w1050 1872

     Part 2. The Archives
     (201 pages plus 11 pages of Addenda)

     This material, a large proportion of which is in manuscript, not printed, has been divided into thirteen classes, each designated by a letter of the alphabet. The items in each class are arranged in alphabetical order in the catalogue, and in numerical order on the shelves. The reference symbols against each entry embody both the class letter and the item or its container number. Here are a few examples of the kind of material contained in some of the classes:

A.     General Manuscripts. Handwritten and typed articles, essays and doctrinal studies, mostly by New Church men. Typescript, manuscript and photo copies of Swedenborg's works other than the published facsimiles.
D.     Swedenborgiana. Material connected with or referring to Swedenborg's life and work.
F.     Swedenborg Society (the Archives proper). Records, letters and documents specifically concerning the Society's general activities.
L.     Printed Books and Papers. Rare, annotated and "association" volumes. Miscellaneous printed matter.
M.     Portraits and Views. Oil and water-color paintings, engravings, prints, photographs, drawings and lantern slides.

     Part 3. Printed Collateral Works
     (Title-Subject Index: pp. 1 - 234
     Author Index: pp. 235-414)

     There are two separate sections to this part of the catalogue, a Title- Subject Index and an Author Index. The works themselves are classified into ten categories, identified by the symbols 51 to S9 (excepting the Periodicals). The Pamphlets and Sermons (S4) are individually listed under 51, S2 or S3 in the catalogue, but are housed collectively in their own cases in numerical order of accession. The Author Index includes all authors except Swedenborg, together with authors of the Swedenborg biographies listed in Part 1.

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     By far the largest category, occupying 186 pages, is General Works (S1). It consists of books by New Church authors, and of others which deal with the New Church and its doctrines. Other principal categories are: (S2) Biographies, excepting those of Swedenborg; (S3) Histories, which are chiefly ecclesiastical; (S5) Liturgies, Hymnals and Music; and (S8) Physical Sciences, including works referred to or owned by Swedenborg.
     In compiling the entire catalogue the aim has been to provide easy and speedy access to the material itself. One of the means to this end has been the use of cross-reference wherever possible.
     Although the maximum usefulness and value of the Society's Library lie possibly in the future-provided its catalogue is continually maintained-several researchers from the U. S. A., France and Sweden have already made use of the Library and have commented favorably on it. While it is not true to say that the catalogue as it now stands is free from shortcoming or error, nevertheless it appears to work reasonably well. Finally, it is hoped that the distribution of the Swedenborg Society's Library Catalogue will now encourage other New Church institutions to do likewise with a view to the eventual production of a "Union Catalogue of New Church Literature."

     NOTE: Members of the Swedenborg Society will have read in the Annual Report that the two volumes of Part 3, the final part of the catalogue of the Society's Library, has been completed. This work, begun by Mr. A. Stanley Wainscot when he joined the staff of the Society some twenty years ago, involved first a complete reorganization. During the course of the years many valuable additions have been made to all sections of the Library.
     The compilation of the catalogue has been done by Mr. Wainscot. The production of the final volumes of the duplicated work has been in the competent hands of Miss M. G. Waters, the assistant secretary. Tributes to the work of both were expressed by the Council at the Society's Annual Meeting.
     In sending out these final volumes to New Church libraries, the Society hopes that fresh material may be forthcoming from those libraries to fill the many gaps in the Swedenborg Society collection.
     FREDA G. GRIFFITH,
          Honorary Secretary

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MAN'S AFFECTIONS AND MOTIVES IN A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND A GROWING CHURCH 1968

MAN'S AFFECTIONS AND MOTIVES IN A TECHNOLOGICAL SOCIETY AND A GROWING CHURCH       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1968

     (The second of two articles)

     In our first article we spoke about affections but did not stress their origin. Where do affections come from? Some moderns say that they develop in association with physical growth and environmental influences. A baby gradually learns to distinguish and cultivates likes and dislikes-for example, food flavors. Gradually parents explain society's codes and taboos. Through rewards and disfavor the child learns what kind of behavior brings pleasure. The theory goes on and on, in the laboratory, in the classroom and in the clinic, but the question is not answered.
     Where do these feelings come from? All that the theories founded on experience do is describe: they do not explain! Questions about the purpose or origin of such things are considered to be naive. Others say that herding instincts, sex drives and countless complexes come from evolutionary origins. What they describe may be correct. The Lord may have worked through evolutionary means. But evolution does not explain the origin of these affections. No one answers the question of origin, because it cannot be answered in terms of one world of experience.
     Last time we emphasized that man simply does not have any responsible choice in a world of experience alone. All that he is in such a world has come to him from outside himself; making him a product of his heredity and environment-his whole life a reaction, not a positive free choice between alternatives. Love is not real unless man freely feels it as his own and is responsible for it. We may adjust to things that we are forced to do, but we do not love them. Religious men say, the whole Christian ideal is love of God and love of the neighbor. Yet more and more the society which we call Christian is being swallowed up by a system which denies the reality of the kingdom of heaven. In doing this it denies a responsible choice to man. In reality, the society we call Christian destroys the truly human meaning of Christian love. How foolish, then, for modern man to say: "I will try to lead a good life, a life of love; and as far as heaven is concerned, I'll find out about it when I get there"!
     Man must be able to separate objectively his day to day thoughts and experiences from the affections that drive him.

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If he cannot stand back and look at his affections, he can never cultivate the good and be freed from the evil.

     The real origin of affections, then, is from the Lord, through the spiritual world. A little baby senses approval or disapproval even if no word is spoken by his parents. The same is true of friends or of married partners. There is an unspoken communication of feelings through common bonds of affection; and these common bonds are in the other world. They exist, no matter how far apart we are in space. These affections are not eroded by the passage of time, but change only as man's states grow or change. This is further illustrated by the fact that a whole affectional connotation is contained in such a word as, home. Part of this is from conscious memory, of course; but another part is from unconscious feelings deep within the mind, in fact, from the spiritual mind itself.
     During life here we associate with people who like the same things as we do. When we visit them and communicate with them our bonds of affection for them are strengthened. Unknown to us, we also associate with angels and evil spirits who like the same things we do. Whether they are good or evil, these associations are the origin of our feelings and affections. They are the means whereby a hidden sense of pleasure, of delight or affection, is given to us. This association also serves as a means to free choice, and must therefore be unconscious. For if we were able to see the angels and spirits through whom affections are given to us, we would immediately lose any feeling of life being our own.*
     * Cf. DP 76.
     This is not some spiritialistic imagery but a rational explanation of the origin of affections, which are given according to our reception. They are not a force flowing through us and carrying us off, but are given according to the state of the substances or vessels of our own minds, which we control.* In time, therefore, these are not borrowed delights, but become fully our own as these substances in our minds take on fixed patterns.
     * Cf. DP 209: 2, 291
     Man's ruling love, then, establishes the pattern, and pulls all his affections together into a truly human form. In heaven, one single influx from the Lord forms a simultaneous joy.* "It may seem incredible," we read, "but it is nevertheless most true that every single expression, every single idea, and every least thought in an angelic spirit is alive, containing in its minutest particulars an affection that proceeds from the Lord, who is life itself."** Myriads of affections are bundled together in an image of the man himself.*** "The happinesses of affections . . . from the inmost . . . even to the lowest . . . [make] man to be as it were completely delight."****
* See AC 1285: 2, 545.
     ** AC 41
     *** See AC 2367, 2209. Cf. DP 111.
     **** DP 39: 2.

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     Occasionally we can glimpse such happiness. It is that rare, almost perfect, hour or day when cares and anxieties fade and we are content, oriented to our life's highest loves.* At such times our affections conjoin the internal and external man in harmony.** The bonds thus formed are not restraints but a voluntary spiritual focus, which is limited solely by man's own loves.*** The degree of affection and longing is the measure of the man.****
     * See AC 3938: 7.
     ** See AC 1900.
     *** See AC 9096, 5145.
     **** Cf. HH 349.
     This unity of delights from first to last is in true marriage. The sphere of such a love and such a home is felt throughout society, and it influences other men's affections. That sphere can spread a sense of delight and peace which is an inspiration to all. But even as the sphere of that full love reaches out, it focuses voluntarily upon one of the sex-upon its partner alone.

     We can see this in marriage and it can be seen also in man's employment, which is another focus of his loves. When any of us takes a job, or joins an organization, we are placed under certain restraints by the job or the organization. We must come to work at certain times and be willing to do certain assigned tasks, whether they always delight us or not. You cannot work with other people without giving up something of yourself. In fact, many critics claim that big businesses swallow up the individuality of their employees, and so generate frustration throughout society. We live under tremendous pressures to conform. Certainly we see a "beatnik" reaction among young people who are faced with the problem of trying to be themselves, yet choosing uses in a society which seems to demand of them more and more conformity. There seems to be a real use in this, too; for good loves also can become frustrated when organizations stand in the way of their ultimation.
     While human organizations produce the general good, that general good comes from individuals there, through the goods of use that they perform.* How often the Writings emphasize the individual, his uses and his responsibility! We shall never find our place in an automated and technological society, or in a growing church, unless we remember the individuality of each one of us which comes from use and lives from affection.
     * See Char. 131; HH 361.
     But man today finds himself specializing in the minutiae of his job. He can spend long hours performing some repeated task-screwing on or bolting that, filling out forms-and scarcely ever see the finished product.

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What is the love of use in such circumstances? There is no creative follow-through of a beautiful piece of craftsmanship as in the old trade guilds. But this circumstance could mean, and in unideal conditions does mean, that a man merely works at his job because he has to, and plans on being himself and being really useful during his time off: joining clubs, taking up hobbies, doing church work, and so on. Yet it is also true that we have recreations in order that we may return with vigor to the activity of our lives.* Delight in heaven consists in what is active from use.** Whatever our employment may be, it should if possible fit the affectional scheme of our whole lives.
     * HH 403.
     ** AC 6410, 454.
     Of course, if we view the whole use of man as an extending sphere of loves and affections, it is much more encompassing than a routine, specialized chore. It involves dealing sincerely with our fellows and performing kind offices according to each person's character.*
     * AC 7038.
     More is involved, then, than simple acceptance of a routine occupation, one which fits into an inevitable and somewhat boring chunk of our lives. We do have assembly-line jobs and routine specialization, and we must learn to find happiness in these circumstances. We will not find it by a nostalgic looking back. The mind can be active, in fact it sometimes concentrates more carefully, if the body is occupied in some routine way. Work on an assembly line can become such an activity, one which in some ways frees the mind; perhaps not nearly as much as work in a garden, or on more creative projects. Nevertheless, ordered or structured physical activity is a necessary part of normal life.
     Doctrine and experience imply that it is important for man to see the purpose of his activity in the larger scheme of things, to see the results of his labor. This is important because truth orders the affections. The artisan of old obviously saw how his work filled a basic human need. Many today crave this. (Years ago, I spent three months shoving little bits of iron into electrical chokes on an assembly line. To this day I do not really know what electrical chokes do, or even where the ones I helped to make went!)
     But take even the tasks of the old fashioned cobbler. While he had more variety in his work, still he had routines of pounding nails, and so on. But he found a necessary dignity in his work by seeing the usefulness of his shoes; and he also found a strength in an ultimate, ordered activity of the body, serving and bringing the higher delights of life back into balance.

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Almost all jobs have routines which serve this use, and it is a very real use.
     But automation may in part be solving the problem that specialization has created. More and more of these simple, repeated jobs are being programmed into computers and done by machine. At first man is said to have rushed to be saved by technology; now he strives to be saved from it. There is some evidence that while routine jobs are being eliminated, jobs requiring the human touch are on the increase. Still, writers bludgeon us with problems of "mass idleness." The potential for idleness could be an important problem, for wandering lust comes from a lack of determination to any study or business.* Uses keep the thoughts at home. Idleness is the devil's pillow.**
     * CL 249.
     ** AE 831: 5.

     But do we need to fear if some men's ultimate working day is shortened to four hours? There are passages which seem to indicate that in heavenly society the angels work in the morning and have recreation in the afternoon. We may have uses which greatly supplement the mundane duties of our office or employment. We may enjoy far more leisure-time activities. Yet they must not become escapes, but must rather support the delight in our work. Recreations and hobbies today are already taking on a new breadth of interest. If we are to prepare ourselves for life, it is vital that we understand the possibilities of creative and artistic recreations, and that we learn how to use time for study and reflection. Superfluity has often led to the degeneration of society's morals; but we must believe that it need not necessarily do so. In fact, the Writings point the way to arts and recreations which so affect man that he will not need to fear having time on his hands.
     But the real goal is to understand and explore the breadth of knowledge, and-this is important-the breadth and affectional challenge of life. This points to a liberal arts education that is cognizant of far more than just the many fields of the arts and sciences. The type of breadth we are talking about is not found in a continuous degree. It does not come of piling up in the backyards of our memories more and more bricks of knowledge that we may use some day. This makes a mere rubbish heap of the mind. The type of breadth we mean is the one that learns to order all its endeavors, all its affections, in relation to the Lord. It is a breadth of heart and mind which reaches to eternity.
     Some do not go to college. Some find this breadth in training their children or in their dealings with their friends. There are many roads. The beauty of it is that the Lord has made it possible for every man, no matter how different, to ascend that ladder and find such a unified delight.

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Technology cannot touch such happiness as the Lord offers.
     In circumstances which he cannot make more ideal, man may freely submit to the routine demands of his life because he sees uses which gradually ascend beyond his own personal pleasure. Sometimes we feel delight in submitting; sometimes frustration. It is a lifetime effort to bring the chain of delights in our work into order even to the highest love of use. New Church men often tend to want to jump to the ideals of heaven without the patient cultivation that is necessary here. But the Lord gently but firmly mediates our affections through the gradual alternation of lower delights. Through years of mediate goods, Providence leads us onward until we can so control our selfishness that the regenerate love of use for its own sake is really our own. Then, and then only, do we find true individuality as a part of the Lord's eternal kingdom of uses.
     As we try, then, to bring the delights of our jobs into the over-all pattern which looks to eternal uses in heaven, we should remember the importance of the end we hold in view.

     "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, as many as intentions, and almost as many judgments and conclusions of thoughts, which are intermediate ends, variously derived from the principal one or tending to it-but let him search out the end he prefers to all the rest, and in respect to which all others are nothing. 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. Cf. AC 3928: 2.

     This may sound very black and white, and we know that we make life far more complicated for ourselves. We become discouraged with our jobs, get caught up in a bunch of hobbies, social partying, clubs and charities, not so much to rekindle affections as to escape from a life which seems to lack affection. But spiritual truth alone can define affections and rekindle them. The New Church has something unique to offer to an automated, humdrum world, namely, affections and delights which are enduring and which can enter into everything we do. We may not see the purpose and the satisfaction as clearly as we should; we may not always see our ends in life as simply and as clearly as this passage seems to indicate; but we surely know where to look and for what we are looking.
     The life of the church and its uses must also fit into this harmony of affections.

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The internal church hinges upon man's relationship to the Lord; and as we have seen, this depends upon man's seeing his use and his responsibility in the Word, and upon his recognition of the reality and eternity of that use in the spiritual world. If man is selfish, the demands of the internal church seem to be legion. They seem to amount to nothing less than slavery. If, however, he looks to the Lord, he enters more and more into freedom, and from the truth he becomes a form of love, affection and use. He does not lose his individuality in such an organization; for the more nearly man is conjoined to the Lord, the more distinctly does he seem to himself to be his own.*
     * See DP 42.
     It is clear that the spiritual goals of the church must rule the external organization of the church, even as the internal man should rule the external. But just as we spoke of the whole man in marriage and in our jobs, so the man of the church needs to cultivate affections for it, from the lowest ultimates even to the inmost. A large portion of the affections of the church comes through the home and centers in it. Here, through remains and the ordering of delights, mothers play perhaps the key role in the affectional balance of the church. They cannot expect always to rise above the daily drudgery, but we must never lose sight of the fact that working with these affections is an essential part of the feminine use.
     There are countless ultimate uses of the church in the home and in society. A man who is wholly of the church needs such an ultimate expression of his love, but it must never become an external without an internal. What orders these externals is truth from the Word. Not that we constantly think of the use of feasts of charity when setting out Friday supper. Nevertheless, we do recognize that this is not just work to save the church money or to receive a compliment on a casserole.

     But as a church grows its uses multiply; many volunteer jobs give way to the work of professionals; judgments must be made as to the relative importance of uses. We may wish that we could do some things which are not possible at the present time. Needs point the way to uses. The church looks to its uses to determine what its goals will be. But how this is done has a great deal to do with affections.
     First, ministers have a responsibility for the doctrinal life of the church. In teaching the truth, they must be free from any external pressures which might divert them from leading and governing in worship and instruction as priests, or rightly sounding the alarm as watchmen. To present interests or problems to them helps them to see the needs of the church; but the essential decision as to the instruction to be given rests with them. Lay-ridden congregational government must never enter this field, for it would destroy the freedom of the priestly office.

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     But priests also have a responsibility for leadership in the day to day operation of the uses of the church. Here they can exercise many different kinds of leadership; and, indeed, different problems often require different approaches. In these day to day operations, priests frequently make decisions on their own judgment from principles according to practices established in the church. Leaders must have such freedom to exercise authority and make decisions. An organization cannot be run for a single day without authority. A priest, then, may see a need, decide what he thinks will meet it, and take action. It is a matter of judgment as to whether the matter necessitates consultation or not. He may elect to explain his reasons; or he may not feel that it is necessary, or for some reason be unable to do so. But if he does not explain, the man of the church fills in his supposed reasons in order to bring his affections into order and subordination. Otherwise he merely acts in the good of faith from obedience, out of respect for the clergy. He then acts from command without affection.*
     * See AC 8690, 9230.

     Since we know that truth molds affections and defines uses, this type of authority must be used very sparingly, particularly in regard to basic changes in principle or practice, lest the church become dominated by the authority of its priesthood. Notice a strong caution in the Writings: "He who acts from this precept [the Golden Rule] does indeed do what is good to others, but because it is so commanded, thus not from the affection of the heart; and whenever he does it he begins from himself, and also in doing good thinks of merit."* The passage goes on to explain that the case is utterly different with those who act from charity rather than from command.
     * AC 3463.
     Now a priest may also see a need and decide how it should be met, but then explain it to the proper committee or group and encourage the people to take the necessary action. But notice who has seen the need first and made the decision. In this case the people are told the reasons, and they understand them and give their consent, but they have not been a full part of the decision. While there may even be a unanimous vote, the consent is not full within each member of the society because he lacks the background which went into the decision. Again, there are many decisions which require special training, or study or experience, if they are to be made wisely. Of necessity, in such cases recommendations are made by a few, or even by one, and consent is given.
     A priest may also see a need and not determine what the decision is, but instead take it to the proper council and there work out a decision.

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Notice that now there is not only the consent of the governed; there is also the as-of-self in counseling and seeking decisions. And the Writings clearly indicate that man appropriates and acknowledges with affection through what is reciprocal.* In the broadest sense, a society is the full council for considering those major needs which are and should be discussed by the society as a whole. The reciprocal is a vital part of the external of the church, for this arouses affections. It must not be neglected because of either the undue assumption of priestly authority or uninformed laziness on the part of the laity.
     * See AC 5114: 4, Cf. DP 76
     Now a layman can also see needs in the organization of the church. He can take his concerns to council or to the priesthood. Here the reciprocal is exercised, not only in seeking solutions of the problems involved but also in outlining the needs. In such a case the man is acting as if of himself in the affirmative self-examination of an organization which he loves. The more he feels a part of the organization and can act as of himself within it, the fuller will his acknowledgment and affection be. Without the consent of the heart, there is no love of use for its own sake.

     But cupidities seize upon every means of persuasion possible.* Every effort of the hells is to break down free communication in the church. The truth, on the other hand, enables man to overcome cupidities and to define uses. The first affection with man is the general affection of truth.** "Nothing, therefore, is of more importance to the man of the church than to know what is true."*** There is no such thing as affection of what is unknown.****
     * See AC 5464 2.
     ** See AC 3086.
     *** AC 794 2.
     **** See AC 10661.
     It is obvious from the Old Testament that there are appropriate states for leadership, or communication by command. From the Writings it is clear that there are appropriate states for full rational understanding. In modern jargon, neither authoritarian leadership nor democratic participation is the whole answer. Yet the New Church should recognize that rational revelation seeks to set its goals with as much of the reciprocal in uses as possible. And what is perhaps equally important, it seeks to evaluate its uses when they are established with as much individual judgment as possible. Free interchange and communication of ideas in the Academy has been, perhaps, its greatest governmental strength. Affection without the continual sustenance of spiritual truth perishes.* Truth freely applied will always be new and will give vitality to the organized church.

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* See AC 9003.
     Now this places a hard task upon the priesthood, for much of its leadership in the external organization of the church takes the form of indicating uses and involves respect for the ability of the proper council to make decisions. Making firm recommendations and getting them accepted is only a part of such leadership. To strive to convince others that they should act on our judgment of a situation is a very different thing from being willing to lead others to act on their own judgment of a situation. The people, if they are going to bring up needs, must have full confidence that they will be given a full hearing by the priesthood and also by their fellow laymen. If they do not really feel free to discuss their problems and the problems of the church, the motives of whole groups of laymen can become frustrated and repressed. If the priesthood is not willing to sacrifice its personal security and direction of a use, then the motives of the people will break down, because they do not feel a full creative interest in serving the church. Everything seems to be done without them.

     But there is also a heavy responsibility placed upon the laity, for the organized church is an affectional bond of mutual trust. The leaders must be able to have a great deal of confidence in the people. If the laity, particularly the leaders among them, do not take the responsibility of becoming informed, and win the confidence of the priesthood, their lack of a rational state invites a more and more authoritarian leadership. When a man of the church is frustrated, however, he may well reflect on the following from the Spiritual Diary: "In order that man may not be solicitous about the future, or trust in his own prudence . . . they who are in faith rarely obtain what they desire while they desire it, but still they obtain it afterwards while they are not thinking about it, if it is useful for them."
     * SD 3583e. Cf. 4252.
     There is a legitimate place for resistance to change. This is why we are taught that the man of the church who differs with it must take care lest he disturb the church. One of the origins of falsity is the lust of innovation.* But a church can acquire many traditional practices and habits which need to be kept fluid enough that in themselves they do not become inflexible rules, confusedly regarded as an intrinsic part of the religion itself. A fear can grow up of being condemned by society for even questioning such practices. If this happens, legitimate motives can simmer until they are expressed as open frustration or rebellion; or, what is perhaps worse, as a drifting lack of interest which even the person himself cannot explain.
     * AC 1188.
     But what about mistakes, changes or solutions which prove ineffective?

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An organization must be able to take unintentional errors in its stride. Mistakes in judgment which are not the result of set purpose, and so are not confirmed by traditional practice or fixed habit, are not going to do lasting harm to our church. An organization must actually cultivate the habit of affirmative self-examination, both in the light of its spiritual goals and in the light of its organizational practices.
     The Writings do note, however, the sad state of those who are in the cupidity of finding fault.* Such criticisms of sincere mistakes should have no place in our lives. To err is human, but to correct errors can also be human. Once again, however, mistakes cannot really be corrected unless there is an atmosphere of confidence. Where men have confidence in each other, and they have really been a part of the judgment which proved a mistake, they will accept their responsibility, and correction of the mistake will come naturally. But an organization in which only a few make the decisions is one in which only a few accept the responsibility for the mistakes. Such an organization frequently becomes fearful of making judgments and taking action. But our support and thoughtful encouragement of our neighbors can touch affections, and so open new uses which previously we neither saw nor had the strength to pursue.
     * AC 5382.
     We look, then, to each member's contributing his talents, from the most ultimate even to his rational judgment. We hope that as an individual he will accept the church and that each degree of his mind will be moved by affections to serve it; and that in this way he will serve the church, not with his left hand, or with passive consent, but creatively with his whole heart.
PERMISSIONS 1968

PERMISSIONS              1968

     "The doctrine of permissions is a complete doctrine. He who does not understand permissions, or conclude [rightly] concerning them, falls into doubt and negation concerning the power of God Messiah over the universe. But this should be known, that without permission no one would be able to be reformed; for opposites must be induced in order that forms of truth and of good may exist, which forms derive their existence, thus perception and the like, from opposites. Hence arise temptations, vastations, punishments, the persecutions of the faithful and of the faith, and many more like things besides." (SD 398)

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VISIBLE GOD IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1968

VISIBLE GOD IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1968

     (The second in a series of three addresses delivered to the Educational Council, Bryn Athyn, Pa., August 1967.)

     II. DISCERNING THE ESSENCE OF GOD FROM HIS SPEECH AS A PERSON

     In installments II and III of our series on principles our primary attention shifts from Person to Essence. However, as we have previously emphasized that we must think of Person when doing so from Essence, we must now stress that while analyzing the Essence from which we are to think of the Lord, we are nevertheless not to abstract Essence from Person. There is no Essence apart from Person. There is no Divine apart from the Human.
     There is an analogy here between the Lord's first and second advents. For, generalizing, we may say that in His first advent the Lord revealed His Person, and in His second His Essence. But it is essential to observe that this is to generalize, for there can never be a clear-cut presentation of the one aspect without the other. Yet the chief burden of the New Testament is to set forth a relatively more external vision of our God, and that of the Writings is to add a more internal one. In fact, taking all three forms of the Word into our view, we may observe that the Old Testament shows that God is Man; that the New Testament reveals who this God-Man is ("They shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us," Matthew 1: 23; "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us," John 1: 14); and that the Writings set forth and explain His nature and qualities. In other words, the invisible Jehovah of the Old Testament was identified with the Person of Jesus Christ in the New Testament; and in the Writings this same Lord God presents Himself as to His Essence also, that is, as to His mind.
     Our particular subject this time is Divine speech. We will therefore be concerned with, first, the Word, and, second, the laws of nature.
     However, since the dominant subject both to-day and to-morrow is the Divine Essence, it will be well to preface some major teachings concerning this Essence.

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For our particular quest is: How may we come to know the Essence of our God? And our answer will be: In the same manner that we get to know a fellow-man, namely, by means of the speech and action of the person. But the essence of a person cannot be known to one who does not know what he is looking for. In other words, if we are really to know a person, we must first know something about him. So in the case of our vision of our God: we must first know something about His nature before we may truly see Him as to this nature.

     Let us first distinguish between Esse and Essence. The Esse of God may be compared to the inmost soul of man, and His Essence to the mind of man. We add also the term, Existere, which is body; in the case of the Lord, His infinite body. Esse and Existere are described in the Writings in terms of love and wisdom, and so is Essence. This, however, need not be confusing. For just as the inmost soul of man is a love, so the governing force of the conscious mind is also love. And just as the body, especially the face, sets forth or mirrors the soul in a general way, so the wisdom of the mind-what there is of it-sets forth the love of the mind. In the one case we are concerned with universals, in the other with singulars. The inmost soul we cannot know. It is too universal. We can only know about it. And if we are to identify the Lord's Existere with His body as it is in its infinite self, then the analogy with man's body would point to its general features and characteristics-but not to the expressions of those features or to the gestures of the hands. Expressions and gestures, and of course even more speech and action, convey something very much more distinct, and more adapted to the situation at hand. If it is not to stretch our analogies too far, the Lord's personal "presence by aspect" is what would compare to this more revealing view of the body of man. To repeat, we compare the three degrees of Esse, Essence and Existere with the three degrees of soul, mind and body.
     Our immediate concern is the Divine Essence, thus the Lord's mind. This, too, not only His body, is visible to us. That is to say: Not only are we to visualize the Lord as a Man, but we are also invited to know the Divine character or qualities of this Divine Man, who is our God.
     His qualities are those of love and wisdom. "The Divine Essence itself is love and wisdom."* Love is like the substance of a thing, and wisdom like its form.
     * DLW 28.
     The nature of love is described in the Writings, and by implication so is wisdom; for, as we read, "love wills, and wisdom produces."*

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The more full statement, from which these words are taken, is as follows: "There are two things which make the Essence of God-love and wisdom. But there are three things which make the essence of His love-to love others outside of itself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself. The same three things also make the essence of His wisdom, because love and wisdom in God make one. . . but love wills those things, and wisdom produces them."** We notice the trilogy in the progress of love (and thus of wisdom): first, love makes for itself an object, outside of itself, in order that it may have someone upon whom to bestow its love; second, it prepares for a reciprocal conjunction with this someone; and finally, as a result of the conjunction, it pours out the blessing of eternal happiness upon him. It is clear that the last in the trilogy-the eternal happiness of others-is the end itself for which love lives. The two previous ones are the necessary steps towards that end.
     * DLW 28.
     ** Ibid.

     The passage we cite goes on to let the reader see the three things that make up the essence of love, as in mirrors. The first is mirrored forth in the human race, and all things which are created for the sake of the race. The human race is "outside of God" in the sense of not being part of God. It consists of distinct individuals, all of whom are created beings, all of whom are free, all of whom are given the 'as-of-self,' and all of whom are therefore possessed of the faculty of reciprocation. The second, which is the desire to be one with others, is reflected in the Lord's conjunction with the angelic heaven and with the church on earth, and with every angel of heaven and every man of the church. This conjunction is by means of the Word (the Word in both worlds). "There is conjunction with the Lord by means of the Word, because the Word treats of Him alone. . . . The conjunction is not apparent to man, but it is in the affection of truth and in the perception of it, thus in the love and faith of the Divine truth with him."* And the third, which is to make others happy from itself, is set forth in eternal life with the blessedness, happiness and felicity which belong to it.
     * SS 62.
     Thus, more briefly, the three essentials of the Divine love are reflected in the physical creation of the universe, especially the creation of man in the Word; and in the spiritual world. By these three things the Divine love pours itself forth, in that it has others outside of itself to love, has the means whereby it may be conjoined to them, and has the boundless and endless gift itself to hand over, namely, eternal life.
     And, as was said, wisdom, too, is reflected in these three things. Wisdom must not be thought of as apart from love. It can be thought of distinctly, but should not be thought of separately.

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For the Divine love, since it is infinitely perfect, is itself infinitely wise. Even with celestial angels wisdom is inscribed in their love. How much more so with the Lord Himself! Hence it is not as though the Divine love went outside of itself in order to consult its wisdom before acting; for love cannot be infinite unless it at once knows the modes whereby it may provide for its eternal goals. It follows, therefore, that the three essentials of the Lord's love are also the three essentials of His wisdom.
     But having seen, in the perspective of the final end in view, what love and wisdom are in their essence, we also face three predicates relating to that essence. These are omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence. Concerning them, and their relation to essence, we read: "The Divine love and the Divine wisdom have been treated of, and it has been shown that these two are the Divine Essence. What now follows is concerning the Omnipotence, Omniscience and Omnipresence of God, because these three proceed from the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, scarcely otherwise than the power and presence of the sun, by means of heat and light, [proceed] into this world and into all and every part of it." The passage adds: "As infinity, immensity and eternity, pertain to the Divine Esse, so omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence pertain to the Divine Essence."*
     * TCR 49.

     Now, a close analysis of these predicates is obviously beyond the scope of the present study, but three special points concerning them are required for our purpose. The first is that all three predicates relate to Divine order. "The omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God cannot be known (cognosci), unless it be known (sciatur) what order is, and unless these things relating to it are known (sciantur), namely, that God is order, and that He introduced order together with creation, both in the universe and in all and every part of it."*
     * TCR 52.
     The second point is that all three predicates "belong to the Divine wisdom from the Divine love."* This is very pertinent to our thesis concerning the visibility of our God; and we quote more fully: "That omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence belong to the Divine wisdom from the Divine love, but not to the Divine love by means of the Divine wisdom, is an arcanum from heaven which so far has not shed light upon the understanding of anyone."** In order to lead on to our conclusion, let us also set a parallel teaching before us: "The Lord operates out of Himself from the Father (ex Se a Patre), and not the converse (vicissim).

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By 'operating' is here meant the same as by 'sending the Holy Spirit.' . . . This, that the Lord sends the Holy Spirit out of Himself from the Father, and not the converse, is from heaven, and angels call it an arcanum, because so far it has not been disclosed in the world."***
     * TCR 50.
     ** Ibid.
     *** TCR 153

     What can be meant by this, that the three predicates belong to wisdom from love, and not to love through wisdom; or that the Lord operates out of Himself from the Father, and not the Father through the Son? On the face of it, what is described as "the converse" makes little or no difference. But the point comes out with clarity and power once it is realized that by "the Lord," or "the Son" is meant the visible God, thus the one God as visible, and that "the Father" means God as invisible. That this is so is not only clear from the context, but is also borne out by the teaching that the invisible God is in the visible God "as the soul is in the body" in the following teaching: "That this New Church is the Crown of all the churches that have hitherto been on the earth, is because it will worship one visible God, in whom is the invisible God as the soul is in the body."* This, paired with the familiar doctrine that "the Father and the Son, that is, the Divine and the Human, are united in the Lord like soul and body,"** makes the point quite clear: namely, that the Lord (the "Son") operates, or sends the Holy Spirit, from Himself as the visible God, and not as the invisible God (in our passage called the "Father"); or, in other words, that the virtues ascribed to the Holy Spirit, such as reformation and regeneration, renovation, vivification, sanctification and justification, purification from evils, remission of sins and salvation,*** are set forth intelligibly (visibly) to man's understanding, so that he may consciously co-operate with the Lord in all of these matters. The same all-important point is also in the Lord's words to His disciples: "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you."**** Who can fail to see that the whole matter of reciprocity, therefore man's co-operation as of himself, is involved in this teaching concerning the operation of the visible God?
     * TCR 787.
     ** TCR 98.
     ***See TCR 142.
     **** John 15: 15.
     The same universal idea comes forth from that other passage (that the three predicates of the Divine love and wisdom belong to wisdom from love, and not to love through wisdom). Wisdom is what stands forth and is visible, but love not so, except insofar as wisdom reveals it. What is implied, therefore, is that the Divine omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence are for man to see.

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They belong to the Divine Human. They are the predicates of God with us. True, of course, His power, His knowledge, His presence, are in themselves infinite. And in that sense they are predicates of love through wisdom, of the Father, the invisible God-predicates of the Divine that is above all human comprehension. Nor must we forget that the things we cannot see are beyond comparison more in number, also deeper in degree, than those that we can see. Yet this is not here the issue. What we are here concerned with is the Lord's work in teaching and leading the natural man-in the things of temporal life as well as those of eternal life, for temporal things are subservient; and this He ever does in such a way as to elicit man's participation and reciprocation, in fact, man's initiative as of himself.

     This is what is important in the doctrine concerning the visible God, or, as it is more frequently designated, the doctrine of the Divine Human. What else was the use of the glorification, except that men might thereby be saved? What else is the point of knowing the Lord, that is, of seeing or understanding His Divine Human, except that man may thus become an image of the Divine Human after His likeness? Do we not read: "In the union of His Human Essence with His Divine Essence the Lord had in view the conjunction of Himself with the human race, and this was His end, and this His love, which was such that the salvation of the human race, as beheld in the union of Himself with His Father, was to Him the inmost joy"? *
     * AC 2034: 3.
     Therefore our third point is that the predicates which belong to wisdom from love, and not from love through wisdom, are revealed predicates. They enter the ken of human understanding, because they operate by means of ultimates. Omnipotence is by means of the Word in ultimates and by means of the laws of nature, for unless Divine instruction and guidance came by way of the ultimate, man would not be free to receive or reject, or to co-operate or rebel. The Lord's power would be compelling instead of liberating. Omniscience, too, is by means of the same ultimates: the laws of order operating in the ultimates of nature, and the laws of order (those of the Word) operating in the natural minds of men. And, of course, the omnipresence of the Lord is by His proceeding Divine reaching forth to the ultimates of nature and, through the ultimates of the Word, to the ultimates of the human mind. It is on this account that He triumphantly declares Himself to be the Omega, the End and the Last, as well as the Alpha, the Beginning and the First.*

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     * Revelation 22: 13
     And now we have arrived at our particular quest at this time, namely, how man may get to know the Lord by means of His speech. I suggested earlier that we learn to know our God in the same way that we truly learn to know our fellow man. This, I think, is one of the things involved in the teaching that the Lord is our neighbor in the highest sense. Our fellow man becomes known to us: 1) By his physical appearance, especially his facial expressions, for the face, even in our dried-up age, is still capable of exhibiting something of the life of our thoughts and affections.* 2) By his speech, not just what he says at one time or another, but the general tenor of his conversation, his mode of expressing himself, his tone of voice, and his general bearing; also his writing. Note that in the spiritual world no one can speak otherwise than he thinks?** The same therefore applies to the internal minds of men on earth, on which account there is always a tendency of the internal to break through and show up in the external, though this tendency can be resisted by simulation (which is sometimes necessary on earth) or hypocrisy (which is never necessary). A discerning man will always look for the real idea, good or bad, in his neighbor's mind. 3) By his action, but again not just that of a single instance, but the over-all pattern and trend of his action, thus his use, and his way of performing it.
     * Cf. AC 9306
     ** DP 224: 3, TCR 111.
     These three modes of knowing the neighbor are all external. If any fourth mode is to be added, it would be an internal one, namely, that of perceiving spheres. There are such things as spheres. In fact, the Writings tell us that everything in creation gives forth a Sphere.* Spheres are comparable to the magnetic field around a magnet. On earth, however, the spheres of persons cannot be well discerned, although apparently some are more sensitive to them than others. The Writings give us the following: "But because these degrees [of love] are in the internal man, and this seldom manifests itself in the world, it is enough that the neighbor be loved according to the degrees which one knows. But these after death are clearly perceived, for there the affections of the will, and thence the thoughts of the understanding, make a spiritual sphere around them which is felt in various ways. But that spiritual sphere is absorbed in the world by the material body, and includes itself in the natural sphere which then exudes from it."**

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     * See TCR 44: 2, 499: 2, 521; SD 2087, 4195.
     ** TCR 410: 3.
     Obviously, there are profound things in the doctrine concerning spheres, probably more than anyone would at first imagine; but because they relate to affectional perception rather than rational observation, and because our immediate concern is with what is visible, we shall here do no more than give them this brief mention, adding only this from the Writings concerning the Divine sphere itself and its reception by man: "[The sphere of the Divine love] pervades the universe. . . . That universal sphere affects in a special manner those who receive that love of God in themselves, who are such as believe in God and love their neighbor."*
     * TCR 44.
     Returning to our theme we would cite a rule given in Conjugial Love 523, and this in the context of our proposition that we know our neighbor by his facial expressions and the like, by his speech and his actions. "A general judgment such as this is allowed: If in internals you are what you appear to be in externals you will be saved, or condemned; but a particular judgment such as this is not allowed: You are such in internals and therefore will be saved, or condemned." Clearly, the principle behind this rule is that internals tend to be mirrored in externals.
     In the case of the Lord this mirroring is absolute and perfect, because His speech and action are in the fullest sense in correspondence with His wisdom and love. As for His personal appearance the same thing applies, and this despite the fact that His appearance varies according to the state of the society in which He shows Himself.*
     * See HH 55.
     The Lord's speech is, of course, in the first instance His Word. Yet it is also the laws of order in nature. These laws are His alone. As for His speech in the Word we note that it is not just the words and sentences there. These are subservient, but they are not the essential speech. His real speech consists of the truths that He communicates. In the Writings these truths are as directly expressed in the words as is possible in human language; in the Old and New Testaments the same truths are, as we know, indirectly expressed, namely, by means of representatives, parables, etc. In either case it behooves the man of the New Church to look for the truths-the living truths-and to think in terms of truths, and not to be content with memorizing the words.
     The essential purpose of the Word is to reveal God and His kingdom. His kingdom is primarily in the spiritual world. The bodies of men and the things of nature are only tools. "My kingdom is not of this world." Nevertheless, the earth, too, is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, though it is His as a footstool, while heaven is His throne.*
     * Isaiah 66: 1.
     It follows that the laws of nature are subservient to the laws of His kingdom. Therefore the former must be viewed in the light of the latter. If not, then the footstool will be mistaken for the throne. It is eternal values that give meaning and direction to temporal values, which by themselves do nothing to the internal man.

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But external values do correspond, or rather, are capable of corresponding; and certainly the laws of order themselves in nature are correspondences every one of them.
     As we study the laws of the spiritual kingdom and the laws of nature underneath them, what is it of the Lord that we see mirrored forth? Is it not in the first instance omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence? Do we not see wisdom in operation? And beyond this, do we not perceive the purpose of love?
     In by-gone ages men were content to say that God created all things, and that God leads all men. Then they knew not how He did it. Our modern age, however, is skilled in the laws of nature, also in the laws in other natural fields, such as those of economics and history. It says: We know how things function. We have no need of God. But it is for the New Church to demonstrate that the laws of nature assembled and utilized by physical scientists, and the laws of human behavior studied by sociologists and historians, are nothing but the illustrations and confirmations that the faith of old lacked. Natural minds run into extremes. The faith of the church prior to the break-through of science and reason partook of magic. It was a faith that the Writings designate as "miraculous." And that is a natural faith; it is not spiritual. But from magic we have come to sensualism, when all things are explored by the physical senses and explained by their authority. The spiritual alone is balanced. The spiritual vision alone is truly dualistic; for it views external things, discovered by the light of the natural sun, in a light that is higher than its. The spiritual vision is that of God at work. It notes that, whereas God does create all things and does lead all men, He does it through means. He has methods. Nor are time and space hindrances to Him. (After all, He made these things, too.) For if by the laws of order aeons are required for a result to appear-as for instance the creation of man after millions of years of preparation-then this has no bearing on eternity.
     In a word, it is for the New Church to teach that the Lord God is order; therefore that He created the world and all things in it according to natural laws of order, and that He governs human affairs and leads men according to spiritual laws of order; also that the former are revealed to the physical senses through nature and her phenomena, and the latter to the spiritual sight and the spiritual hearing through the Word. Is not this the burden of New Church education in its instructional aspect? Is not our central use to show that laws of order, whether natural or spiritual, are so many mirrors of the Lord? And is there any other principle by which we may achieve unity throughout our educational system?

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REVIEWS 1968

REVIEWS              1968

SPIRITUAL SUBSTANCE AND NATURAL MATTER. By L. E. French. Swedenborg Foundation, Inc. New York, 1967. Paper, pp. 20.

     This is the revised reprint of an article which in its original form appeared in the March 1, 1963, issue of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER. Mr. French, a retired mechanical engineer and the son of a Convention minister, states that science, despite the great advance made in the last ten years, cannot explore or discover anything beyond the plane of nature. For that Divine revelation is necessary; and the Writings form the primary source on which he here bases his observations on the differences between the spiritual and natural planes. The nature of spiritual substance has long been a subject of discussion among us, and this article neither intends to nor does solve the problems involved. But at a time when science is being led to recognize the existence of discrete degrees in nature, it may help to lead others to the idea that there are two orders of created substance which are entirely discrete.

THE PANORAMA OF DIVINE REVELATION. By William F. Wunsch. Swedenborg Foundation, Inc. New York, 1967. Paper, pp. 28.

     In this pamphlet the Rev. William F. Wunsch first traces the mainstream of revelation past and to come; noting that the Old Testament books were written over a period of several hundred years; that there was an even more ancient revelation; and that while the New Testament was produced within a single century, this was done at intervals and by several men. No distinction is made between the books of the Word and the apostolic and other writings. Although the author presents the Writings as fulfilling the promise of further revelation to come, he distinguishes them carefully from the Word. For him the Sacred Scripture is the crown of revelations, and he sees Swedenborg's twofold task as the formulation of doctrine from the Word and the unfolding of its internal sense. This, of course, expresses an undoubted truth; but the thrust of the argument, a familiar one, is that the panorama of Divine revelation really ends with the New Testament.

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DIVINE MERCY IN REPENTANCE 1968

DIVINE MERCY IN REPENTANCE       Editor       1968


NEW CHURCH LIFE
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     In explaining why repentance cannot be predicated of the Lord, although it is attributed to Him in the appearances of Scripture, the Writings say that the Lord cannot repent, for He foresees and provides all things from eternity; wherefore "to repent" means in reference to the Lord to be merciful. Then it is added that repentance is applicable to him only who does not know the future, and who, when the thing comes to pass, finds that he has erred.
     Here is a teaching in which we may see the Lord's infinite love and wisdom accommodated to man's finite limitations. The repentant are they who will to do well in all things. But man, being finite, does not know the future. His knowledge is cumulative and often incomplete, and his interpretation of it may be influenced by factors of which he is scarcely if at all aware. Consequently, with the best of intentions, he may find that he has erred. But when this happens, the Lord in His mercy has provided repentance as the means whereby he may be led to better things; and in the infinite patience of the Lord this may happen again and again on his way to heaven.
     There must be few men and women in the church who, on looking back over their lives, do not wish that certain things had turned out better than they did. It is well to know then that the evil which was not intended is not imputed to man, and instead of dwelling on the past to make use of the Lord's merciful allowance for finite man: to repent and become better instructed in the Word, that the possibility of error may be reduced and intentions be carried out more perfectly in the future.

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PROVISION AND PERMISSION 1968

PROVISION AND PERMISSION       Editor       1968

     Within our culture there are men and women who believe that if God is the origin of good He must also be the source of evil. One, they say, implies the other; and as they find the second idea repugnant, they feel bound to dismiss the first. Good and evil happen; but God should not be thanked for the one or blamed for the other, since neither is of His sending. If the reasoning is difficult to follow, the conclusion is firmly held as offering the only solution to a baffling problem.
     How to account for evil in a world created and governed by a God of love without attributing evil to Him while acknowledging Him as the source of good is a problem that has long taxed theology. The Writings, however, train on it the steady light of revealed truth in the distinction they make between what is provided and what is permitted by the Lord. Everything that happens in both worlds is in the Divine Providence, is under the government of the Lord's Divine love and wisdom. But not everything is of Providence; there is much that is permitted.
     The Lord is the only source of all the power exerted by angels, spirits and men. From Him there proceeds only Divine truth within which is Divine good, and in its proceeding He wills only good. To the extent that this power is used for His purposes, the result is provided by Him; but to the extent that it is not, the result is a permission. It is permitted for an end of good that could not otherwise be achieved. But the evil is not from the Lord, nor is He in it. What He wills, what is from Him, what He is in, is that hidden end of good.

     This, the Writings tacitly admit, is difficult for the finite mind to understand; for they say that the Lord alone can permit evil without in the least degree willing it, or even concurring or acquiescing in it. Because this is so analogies fail. Nevertheless we can know and believe that it is so; and in the faith of that conviction, supported by a rational understanding of the doctrine of permission, can see the solution of the problem. We can see that while the Lord is indeed omnipotent, the source of good and the origin of power, evil is not from Him but in the perversion of what is from Him by spirits and men.
     Recognition of this distinction may help to resolve many difficulties. However, there is a danger to which we should be alert. The human mind is all too prone to identify happenings as provisions or permissions of Providence according as it does or does not favor, approve and regard them as beneficial. Thus it may easily be misled; and safety lies only in judging, as far as judgment is possible, on the basis of the Word rather than that of self-advantage or preconceived ideas.

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KINGDOM NOT OF THIS WORLD 1968

KINGDOM NOT OF THIS WORLD       Editor       1968

     By the kingdom of God is meant the Lord's kingdom, and the first thing to be recognized by those who would seek it is that, as the Lord said to Pilate, His "kingdom is not of this world." The context makes His meaning clear. The kingdom of God is not a natural and temporal dominion such as men had established by force of arms, but a spiritual and eternal one that could come only as a result of the Lord's advent. Thus it is not limited by space and time; and more interiorly, it is not of or from man's proprial loves but is from the Lord alone.
     Yet these words of the Lord have been misunderstood by some and ignored by others. Some, taking them literally, have held that the kingdom is not here now in the church; that it is to be conceived of as an afterlife; or that it will not descend until the Second Coming, when time will cease, history end in catastrophe, and eternity rule. Others, denying all eschatological implications, insist that the kingdom is an earthly society inspired by love in which men will dwell together as brothers in justice, co-operation and harmony.
     We find in these ideas both falsity and truth. If the kingdom of God is not in the church its ultimate is lacking. In one sense, of course, it is an afterlife, but the continuation of a life that has been formed on earth; and although its descent had to await the Second Coming, both the time and nature of that advent were misunderstood. Furthermore, social justice, much as it is to be desired, is not to be equated with the Lord's kingdom, and no society built on human ideas of justice, co-operation and harmony can be His kingdom.

     But the basic fallacy lies deeper. Although the Lord said that His kingdom is not of this world, He nowhere taught or implied that it is not in this world. His kingdom is the universal heaven, the true church on earth, and every individual man and woman who is in true faith and who is regenerated by the life of faith. Therefore it is a spiritual kingdom, and in the most definitive sense is not of this world in that it derives nothing from the world. That is, nothing that is of the essence of worldly things forms any part of its essence. Nevertheless it is established in the minds of men who are living in time and space; and we seek this kingdom by searching out, following and accepting eternal ideals and values in our temporal lives, by looking to eternal ends, and by yielding to the guidance of eternal truths. Certainly the kingdom is to rebuild earthly life, to produce a new culture and civilization, but it is in the mind. That is why the Lord said also that the kingdom is within man-a teaching to be examined next month.

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NEW CHURCH VIEW OF HISTORY 1968

NEW CHURCH VIEW OF HISTORY       ERIK SANDSTROM       1968

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     The provocative and highly constructive article by Dr. William R. Kintner in your November issue, entitled "A New Church View of History," deserves much more than polite applause, and also more than a letter or two to the editor.
     When I was a boy history seemed to me just like an endless series of mileposts of facts, and I did not see the road itself that was staked out by them, still less the surrounding landscape with its varying beauty and repulsiveness. The odd turnings, even backward windings, and the dips and climbs also evaded me, because I had been taught to number and name the mileposts. It is true that comparative history was introduced in the higher classes, but it was too late: I think we were all doing little more than sizing up one post against another. Only when that wonderful subject was no longer a compulsory study did I begin to realize what I had missed.
     Is not history to any given generation what the memory is to the individual? If so, the present cannot he justly evaluated, the future not intelligently planned, without recourse to history. It is difficult to see how there could be a real breakthrough for the New Church without a new perspective and a new appraisal of the past. Such a re-appraisal would be a sort of collective self-examination. We are heirs of history. We tend to honor our forebears simply because they were our forebears, and to despise their enemies for no other reason than that they were enemies of theirs. Our generation wears modern clothes, and our language has the benefit of an enlarged vocabulary; but our goals and anxieties cannot be expected to be different from those of bygone generations-that is, unless there is self-examination and a subsequent new way of life. After all, the Christian Church turned into "the night itself, in which former churches have come to an end."* To see this is essential for a fresh start.
     * TCR 760.
     Not that the past is all dark. Nor is an individual called upon to say that he has never done anything well. But we are concerned with a spiritual renewal (in each case), and therefore a review of the past in depth is required, not just columns of assets and liabilities in the ledger of life.
     Now, the task that Dr. Kintner envisages is tremendous. Of this he is himself aware, for he speaks of interim monographs, individual studies in special fields, a collection and building up of data in a central place set aside for the purpose, etc.

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The final product could well swell out to comprise many volumes. By the same token, the final product seems to be far off in the future, especially when we consider the fewness of our qualified historians and other specialists and their present commitments.
     But is it not right that a big thing like that should have many minor heralds preparing the way for it? In this manner the idea would be kept alive. This by itself would not obviate the initial organized effort that I think Dr. Kintner would like to see in the near future; but I feel inspiration and dedication must precede a major undertaking such as suggested, and these things are perhaps most likely to be built up by an increasing attention to the use on a smaller scale.
     There is also a more specific suggestion. This is that the first major work should be a History of the Christian Church, rather than the comprehensive world history that the author outlined in his article. The choice, as I see it, is not between one good and one bad alternative, but between what is more urgent and less urgent. Such a work should still be of the kind that Dr. Kintner is talking about: a scholarly, objective study of available documents, sorted out and interpreted under the guidance of Divine revelation.
     In fact, one might consider that there is a direct Divine injunction in this direction. The little work, Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church, has the following: "A new ecclesiastical history must be written, because now is the Lord's advent predicted in Matthew xxiv." There follows the observation that the church was different before the Council of Nice from what it became afterwards, and that it changed still more after the Athanasian Creed was composed; and finally the impact of the Writings themselves on the Christian world is discussed (these Writings being here referred to as "the books which were written from the beginning to the present day by the Lord through me"). Thus a brief and broad "Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church" is drawn up. Is it not meant to be followed through by men of the New Church? The Coronis (Summary iv-viii) gives more specific directives as to where to look in the Word for guidelines with reference to developments in the church.
     A final point: I think the Word is the guide in a true evaluation of history in at least two ways. The obvious and direct way is the immediate reference (especially in the Old Testament) to historic events. In addition, however, there is the circumstance that the Word was progressively written, book by book, in accommodation to the generation to which it was given. The date of the book can be quite accurately ascertained, and the nature of the people at that time can be inferred.
     ERIK SANDSTROM
Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     PUERTO RICO

     On Friday evening, November 24, 1967, the Jerome Sellner family arrived at the home of the Bryce S. Genzlingers after a two and a half hour trip over the mountains from Ponce.
     The men of the group, along with Bishop Pendleton, Laird Pendleton, and Reade and Eric Genzlinger, went on a native sailing cruise on Saturday morning to Hicaco, a small island which lies east of the mainland. Here we went swimming and skin-diving in crystal clear water where you can see the coral to a depth of forty feet. The sand is soft and white like new snow. On Saturday evening the adults gathered for a delicious dinner and an evening of entertainment.
     We converged on the Brent Pendleton home on Sunday morning for church. Bishop Pendleton conducted a combination children's, adult and Holy Supper service which had an attendance of twelve adults and ten children. After the service, Brent Pendleton proposed the traditional toast to the Church and the establishment of the Puerto Rico Group. The group was formally organized and Mr. Bryce Genzlinger was elected secretary.
     Our guests included Mr. and Mrs. Gelpi, Mr. and Mrs. James Junge and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton.
     BRYCE GENZLINGER

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The Rev. Everett K. Bray has passed the sixtieth anniversary of his ordination into the New Church ministry. Although retired from pastoral work, Mr. Bray is still active as General Pastor of the Massachusetts Association. In addition to three pastorates Mr. Bray has held the presidency of Convention and of the New Church Theological School. Recently he wrote a two-page introduction to Heaven and Hell, designed to slip inside the cover of the book and so help the new reader.

     General Conference. The retirement of three senior ministers in 1967 has sorely depleted the ranks of the Conference ministry. The Rev. Clifford Harley, the Rev. George T. Hill and the Rev. Eustace R. Goldsack are men of long and wide experience who have served the church in a number of capacities, and they will be missed in the Conference.
     The editor of the NEW-CHURCH HERALD recently invited readers to submit original hymns, under the general heading of prayer or praise, addressed to the Lord Jesus Christ and suitable for Sunday school use. Three entries have so far been received.

     Australia. The Rev. H. W. Hickman will retire next month from the pastorate of the Perth Society which he has served for more than thirty years. He will be succeeded by the Rev. Norman E. Riley, a Conference minister at present serving in England.

     India. It is reported that the Swedenborg Center at Katpadi which Mr. Chetty opened over a year ago is very active. Regular Sunday discussion meetings have been well maintained, special meetings have been held to celebrate important days, and many books have been lent both directly and by mail.

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ORDINATION 1968

ORDINATION       Editor       1968




     Announcements
     Goodenough.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, December 10, 1967, the Rev. Daniel Webster Goodenough into the second degree of the priesthood, the Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton officiating.
EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY 1968

EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY              1968

     Preliminary Notice

     Instead of the usual British Assembly, a European Assembly will be held at Essex University, near Colchester, from Thursday evening, July 18, through Sunday afternoon, July 21, 1968. The program and further general information will be published in later issues.
TENTH BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL 1968

TENTH BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL              1968

     The Tenth British Academy Summer School will be held at Cadogan House, Culford School, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, from July 27 to August 10, 1968. The school will be open to those born in 1953 or earlier. Fees: $21.60 (L9) for the two weeks; $12.00 (L5) for one week. Applications should be sent to the Rev. Frank S. Rose, 185 Maldon Road, Colchester, Essex, England.

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MEMORIAL ADDRESS For Sergeant David Richard Simons 1968

MEMORIAL ADDRESS For Sergeant David Richard Simons        Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968


Vol. LXXXVIII
March 1968
No. 3

     (Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, January 7, 1968)

     Much is said in the Writings concerning the love of one's country. We are taught that one's country is, in a higher degree, the neighbor who is to be loved and served. In essence, therefore, the love of country is the love of those uses which the country performs. To understand these uses we must look beyond the economic and civil aspects of our national life and reflect upon the ideals to which our country is committed.
     From its inception the United States of America has been devoted to the ideal of self-government and human freedom. While it is true that our policies and practices may not always have been consistent with our ideals, the potential has always been present. In this we, as a nation, bear a tremendous responsibility to the free world and to the world which is not as yet free. Let us have no illusions, therefore, concerning the responsibility that in providence has been placed upon us. At this time in history the United States of America has a moral obligation to all peoples and nations who would be free to govern themselves.
     Thus although there are many who question our judgment and also our motives, let us not lose faith in our country's commitment to an ideal. The spirit of cynicism breeds mistrust, and without trust in one another the free nations of the world cannot survive the challenge of godless materialism.
     The love of one's country, therefore, is not a blind allegiance to the land of one's birth, but an allegiance to ideals and uses which one's country seeks to promote.

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In the service of these ideals and uses we, as citizens of our own country, may be of service to all mankind. The love of one's own country, in so far as it looks to the good of all other nations and peoples, is a noble love, and it ennobles him who subscribes to it.
     In reflecting upon the love of country, however, we are well aware that some are called upon to make far greater sacrifices than others. In time of armed conflict it is our youth, and in this sense our future, that are called upon to bear the direct impact of war. To all human appearances it seems like a tragic waste of life and a disproportionate share of responsibility. But the death of the body is not the end of life; neither have those who have died in defense of freedom died in vain. As the Lord said; "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."*
     * John 15: 13.

     It is with this thought in mind that we have come into this house of worship today to take part in a resurrection service for our friend and companion, Sergeant Richard Simons. In enlisting in the armed services of his country he chose to serve in the Special Forces, and in so doing he was fully aware of the high degree of risk which such service involved. Trained for guerilla warfare deep in enemy territory, he wore the insignia of his service with courage and conviction. Writing from his base camp in Viet Nam, he said: "Here I am a Mobile Guerilla Fighter, dropping from the sky to. . . ambush and harass the enemy, working in units of six, twelve, or twenty man teams, using intelligence, air mobility, speed, stealth and surprise to disrupt the enemy."
     While many may question the necessity for our country's stand in Viet Nam, Richard did not. He was fully convinced of the necessity and of the opportunity it presents in the struggle for a free world. Speaking of this he said: "We build up ideals in the minds of the young, loyalty, dedication, tenacity, and willingness to fight for what we believe." And in speaking of Christmas, he said: "The Lord was born at a dark hour, and Christmas comes in the depths of our year when we are most aware of our ignorance and ignoble failings. But thence comes a new birth of thought, of prayer.., and true joy in the knowledge of what great things the Lord is working secretly . . . the freedom and salvation of all mankind..."
     These brief quotations afford us some insight into the character and quality of Richard Simons. He was an unusually thoughtful and sensitive young man who deeply believed in the ideals of the Writings. Although doctrinally minded, his primary interest was in the application of doctrine to life.

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As a student in school he at times expressed impatience with closely reasoned lectures which did not seem to be related to living situations. To him life was a challenge to be met on the plane of performance, and in this he kept faith with his ideals.
     Born of New Church parents and raised in a home dedicated to the truths of the Writings, Richard also enjoyed the privilege of a formal education in the Bryn Athyn Church School, and later in the Academy schools. On all levels, from the primary grades through second-year college, he was an earnest and inquiring student. It is notable, in this connection, that it was his hope to return to the Academy as a teacher, for in the tradition of his parents he loved the teaching profession above all other occupations. In this, however, he will not be denied, for in the life into which he is now entering there also are schools-schools in which he will be able to enter with far greater perception into the uses of education than is possible here upon earth. For this high calling in the Lord's kingdom he seems to have been well prepared.

     What seems to be our loss, therefore, may serve as a confirmation of our faith. This is one of the uses of which the Writings speak in connection with the time of death. For in the passing of our friends from one world to another our thoughts and affections go with them, and we are held for a time in the thought of what is eternal, and we reflect upon the true meaning and purpose of life; for the life of the body is but a temporary existence, whereas the life of the spirit is eternal. Concerning this the Lord said: "If it were not so, I would have told you."*
     * John 14: 2.
     It was to this end, that is, to the end that man "might have life, and have it more abundantly,"* that God created man in His own image and likeness. For man is a being who, unlike all other created forms, is endowed with the capacity to be conjoined with God. The evidence of this is found in the fact that of all created forms, man alone can think about God and form some idea of Him in his understanding; and because man can think about God, he can come to know Him, and thus be conjoined with Him, and as the Writings state: "Whatever can be conjoined to the Divine cannot be dissipated, but whatever cannot be conjoined is dissipated." **
     * John 10: 10.     
     ** HH 435.
     We do not think of man, therefore, as an earthbound being whose existence is terminated by the death of the body. We think of man in terms of what he is, that is, as a being whose ultimate destiny is the free life of the spirit.

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Neither is our concept of the life of the spirit vague or obscure, in that we know from the Writings that in the life after death a man is a man in every respect. For the body is not the man; the mind is the man. And it is the mind of man that is miraculously formed and fashioned while man lives upon earth.
     It is, then, with confidence born of faith in the Writings that we accept the passing of our friend who has been taken from us in the service of his country. His sacrifice is a call to remembrance; that is, a call to the remembrance of those ideals and principles for which he gave his life. To him this was not merely a matter of duty, but a matter of deep conviction of the importance of those ideals of human freedom in which he believed. We are mindful, therefore, of our debt to him and to those whom he loved who so bravely supported him in his convictions. For in his determination to serve in the most vulnerable branch of the armed forces he was sustained by those who were closest and dearest to him. To his parents, therefore, to the young woman he loved and to whom he was engaged, to his brothers and sister, and other relatives, we express our admiration and affectionate understanding.
     May this permission of providence, therefore, be the means of awakening in each of us an increased understanding and realization of the debt which we owe to others. The freedoms we enjoy at this day are a precious heritage for which many have labored, and others have given their lives. It is not, however, until one whom we have personally known and loved has made the full sacrifice that the real meaning of the devotion of others is borne in upon us. To those, therefore, who at this day stand between the free world and the carefully planned aggression of godless materialism, we are deeply grateful. And as the Writings say: "Who does not remember and love the man who, from the zeal of love for his country, fights with her enemies even unto death, that he may thereby deliver her from the yoke of servitude?"* In this way we will remember Sergeant Richard Simons.
     * TCR 710.

     READINGS:     Psalm 121. Psalm 144. John 14: 1-12. TCR 412: 1, 413, 414.

     [Editorial Note: Sergeant Richard Simons was the first General Church casualty in Viet Nam. This address has been published for that reason, and also because it speaks cogently on matters which are of deep concern to all of us. Sergeant Simons, a medical specialist in Special Forces, United States Army, was the eldest son of the Rev. and Mrs. David R. Simons (Zoe Gyllenhaal) of Bryn Athyn. In addition to his parents he is survived by three brothers and one sister.]

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"THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES SHOULD PERISH" 1968

"THAT ONE OF THESE LITTLE ONES SHOULD PERISH"       Rev. PETER M. BUSS       1968

     "These words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." (Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7)

     At the baptism of our children we enter into a solemn covenant with the Lord to keep for the children His commandments until they become of age, and can undertake to follow the Lord of their own free will. This is directly taught in the Writings in the statement that the uses of baptism are that a child should know, acknowledge and obey the Lord; and when we give this teaching serious consideration we cannot help but be awed at the tremendous responsibility which it entails. While our children are growing up, and are unable to fight evil from their own strength, it is our duty to carry the battle. A little child has a mind which could be opened as easily to evil as to good; it is up to us to instill a delight in the one and an aversion for the other. We may even go so far as to say that we are usually answerable in the eyes of the Lord if our children develop evil habits while they are under our charge.
     Yet most of us are fairly complacent about our rearing of our children. We feel that we are doing as much as could be expected. Doubtless we have some faults, but we are only human, we say, and because we love our children we are trying hard to do what is best for them. Yet in the light of the promise which we made at their baptism, it would seem that complacency, the feeling that we are carrying out our duties successfully, is the last feeling we could ever fully entertain.
     What do we normally consider to be our duty to our children? We have to prepare them to live in the world. This involves teaching them the manners and customs of the society in which they live-how to dress, how to behave, how to be polite and respectful, and so on. We must teach them the laws of the country. We must insure, not only that they go to school, but that they imbibe as well as they can what is taught there. We must try to make them proficient in the skills of the age-in sports, in culture, in various other recreational pastimes.

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They must learn to be independent and strong in a hard world. And when they grow older, they must realize that life involves an occupation, which they choose and prepare for, and in which they work hard to succeed.
     We acknowledge, too, that they must be prepared for the life of the church. They must attend its services of worship, and its classes of instruction. They must learn the Lord's Prayer. We teach them the Ten Commandments, and insist that they obey them in their child-like way: that is, they must not use the names of the Lord in swearing, they must not be impolite to their parents, they must not be cruel, they must not cheat and lie, they must not be envious of the things that their friends have; and when they grow older, they must learn to behave properly towards members of the opposite sex.

     Most of us as parents do these things, which is the cause for our complacency. We feel that we are preparing our children for life in this world, and are giving them a grounding for life in heaven.
     But we do know, deep in our hearts, that teaching our children the principles of life, and insisting that they obey them, is only half of our work. The other half, and the much more important one, is trying to give them an affection for the truths of religious life. We are aware-and with every sincere parent this must be a doubt constantly in the back of his mind-that if our children do not acquire an affection for and an interest in the truth, they will reject, or merely ignore it, when they come to adult age. Teaching is not enough; getting them to obey is not enough; the great challenge of parenthood is to inspire in the children a desire to obey the commandments of God, which will go with them into adult life, which is theirs, not ours with them.
     This problem, and the way in which thoughtless parents so often fail, are brought into relief by a representation which Swedenborg was permitted to see in the spiritual world. "There appeared children who were being combed by their mothers so cruelly that the blood ran down; by which was represented that such is the bringing up of little children at this day."* The hair is the most external part of the body, relatively dead; it represents the most external knowledges of life and of religion, which teach how to live in this world, and how to obey the physical commandments of the Decalogne. But the blood, the vital fluid of the body, represents the deeper truths of life, those living insights which can raise us to a truly human existence; those insights which come only when the mind dwells on truth and life with affection.

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The representation therefore indicated the danger of merely teaching the truths of religion in a mechanical way, and insisting on external obedience to them. If parents teach their children in this way, and fail to communicate an affection for what is taught, then they are harming the deeper, more vital sensitivities of the child's mind.
     * AC 2125.
     More strictly speaking, we do not instill an affection into the minds of our children. The affection is already there; it has been planted by the Lord. From the first moment of an infant's life, the Lord inflows with affections, endows the child, as it were, with a treasure of heavenly delight. The helpless trust of an infant, and the absence of any evil, enable the heavens to be constantly near, that they may communicate to a child their loves. They instill a delight in the teachings of the Word, and they inspire also an affirmative attitude towards the instruction of parents and teachers, a willingness to believe, and a desire to believe, what is taught.*
     * AC 1453.
     The role of the parent is to feed these affections with the correct instruction, and provide an order and an atmosphere in which they may come forth. This atmosphere is what is indicated by the words of our text. "These words which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest in the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

     The text is given in connection with the first Great Commandment, which is, of course, the center of all religion: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." And it is most appropriately applied to the education of our children in the home, for the greatest gift which we can impart to them is not merely a knowledge of the Lord and why we should love Him (which means, of course, to revere and obey Him), but a sense of His presence in His creation.
     We cannot be present with our children at all times, keeping watch over them; but the Lord is. We cannot be a law unto them forever; but the Lord can. And we cannot be a symbol to them at all times, for we have faults and weaknesses, and limitations of understanding; but the Lord can, for He has none of these finite things.
     This is the essential of our duty, to communicate to our children, so that the affection within them recognizes it, the sense of the presence of the Lord, and of the truth, the reality, of His laws. Children are so very aware of this world. They sense and feel its things so clearly, and are thus so often delighted with them that their minds are easily immersed in them.

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It takes an adult sphere and affection to recall to them the things of the other world, and the fact that the Lord is present with them. And there are thousands of opportunities in a week in which a truly loving parent can recall the child's attention to the universal, spiritual laws of life; not opportunities to drag religion in in a forced manner, but to introduce it into a conversation in which it conveniently belongs.

     It is a sad commentary on this day and age that to suggest to many children that the answer to a problem lies primarily with some law of the Lord is likely to meet with rather contemptuous condescension. It cannot be otherwise, however, unless in the mind of a child his two prime representatives of the adult world, his mother and father, acknowledge in the deeds of life the importance of the Divine law-unless, in effect, they speak of that law when sitting in their homes, and walking by the way, and when they lie down, and when they rise up.
     Let us take a small example, one of the many where opportunity knocks, and too often goes unanswered. If a child wins a contest, or comes top of his class, there is a tendency for a parent to feel a personal sense of achievement, and to communicate that basically selfish joy to the child. He may be tempted to reward the child also, secretly with the hope that he will achieve other things of which the parent can feel proud. In doing so he does not actually teach the child conceit, but by his actions, perhaps, and certainly by his sphere, he communicates a pleasure of conceit. Yet this could be an opportunity to rejoice with the child (for rejoicing in the accomplishment is certainly important), but to rejoice that the Lord has given him this ability, and even to point out that he should not be conceited, and should not look down on others who do not have that particular skill, because it is merely something the Lord has given him. This is a small example, and the way in which it is done must vary with each child. Yet instead of the child's mind being turned in towards himself, and downwards towards his reputation in the world, it can be turned upwards towards the Lord. And we can be sure that if we approach it in the right way, there is an affection, planted by the Lord, which will receive the instruction we are trying to give. It will make a small impression, no more; but these impressions grow into a general feeling of the Divine presence in His creation.
     The truth is, however, that a parent cannot communicate such an affection to his children unless he is striving to feel the same way himself.

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We live in an age where hypocrisy is very common-in politics, in business, in social contacts; and too many parents think that they can carry it into their homes, and teach their children principles which they are denying in their own lives, trying merely to keep that denial from showing. They must fail, for their own lives are a contradiction in spirit of what they say. Even if the children never consciously see the contradiction they will sense it, for the sphere of the parents dominates the home, and plants its offensive stamp on the children.
     And it will fail for another reason also. A parent whose mind is taken up with some evil or purely worldly concern does not have time to educate his children; his thoughts are too busy elsewhere. He may spend time with his children, and discuss their problems with his wife; but these are not the only times that matter. We will be sensitive to the opportunities for instilling affections for the principles of life only if our minds are constantly awake, searching for the right opportunities. There are two kinds of love of offspring. There is the natural love, which we share in fact with animals, and from that love all parents delight in their children, and provide them with the necessary ingredients of physical, social and even religious life. But the true spiritual love of offspring is something which lives in the mind, all the time, as a desire for their eternal well-being. It labors, when we sit in our homes, and when we walk by the way, and when we lie down and rise up, to find ways to make the laws of God seem real to our children. And because we are constantly awake to the needs of our children, we will hear when they silently call, and will find it in ourselves to give answer.

     The promise made at baptism-to keep for our children the commandments of God-is really a promise to seek this love. It is not merely the acknowledgment of a duty to instruct and discipline. It is a vow to put aside whatever will hinder the commandments of God from living in the home, so that we may surround the children of the home with the sphere, the affection, of the Divine law. The deepest use of human life, and the greatest responsibility, is the spiritual care of those small souls who as yet cannot protect themselves, and the attempt to do our small part to equip them to make the right choice in adult life. If it is the deepest use, it must be that the Lord regards its neglect as a serious sin: "Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."* On the other hand, the Lord has offered the fullest of human joys-the delights of marriage and of parenthood-as an inspiration to the right performance of our task. The final reward, too, is great-that in time we may share with our adult children the true friendship that comes from a mutual aspiration to everlasting values.

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There is so much that could be lost, and so much to be gained; "for it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."* Amen.
     * Matthew 18: 14.

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 6: 1-9. Matthew 18: 1-14. Conjugial Love 405.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 494, 436, 443.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 33, 123.
LOVE OF COUNTRY AND LOVE OF THE HUMAN RACE 1968

LOVE OF COUNTRY AND LOVE OF THE HUMAN RACE       Rev. GEOFFREY CHILDS       1968

     (Delivered at the eastern Canada District Assembly, Caryndale, Ontario, October 8, 1967)

     It is revealed that "one's country should he loved, not as one loves himself, but more than himself."* This is said to be a "law inscribed on the human heart"; and such love of country has its origins far back in childhood, in earliest remains. In times of peace it is for the most part quiescent, being expressed in meeting civil obligations honestly and in acting from conscience concerning civil politics. But on special peacetime occasions-such as visits by the country's ruler or a centennial-the love of country is awakened, stirring the thought and the imagination.
     * TCR 414.
     This is even more the case in war, when the nation itself is threatened and rises in unity and courage to defend itself. In fact, times of war, though horrible in their death and destruction, are never forgotten, for the deepest remains then come to the fore. Country is put before self, and it is almost perceived that within love of country are far higher loves.* Yet herein is a certain pathos about love of country in this age. This is, that so often war is connected with this love. And war is a pathetic permission of evil. It testifies to the sad spiritual state of the human race: how far the race is from charity, from the love and true order of heaven.
     * Ibid.
     Being a part of this age and accustomed to war-viewing battle from a distance, and perhaps seeing a certain epic courage within it-we possibly forget, or do not perceive, what a terrible permission it is. For hell expresses itself in war, and the angels must shudder at its continued existence.

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Nothing testifies more poignantly to the need of the human race for the Second Coming, and for reformation and regeneration through Divine truth, than war.
     Thus, though we love our country, we should not stop there. For on earth there is a higher and potentially a more powerful love: the love of the human race-love for its salvation. This was the Lord's love, for it is said that "the salvation of the human race . . . was to Him the inmost joy."* Man, on his own plane, may receive this same love. To defend one's country in war is a true commitment, but a higher purpose is to look to the salvation of the human race: to seek those Divinely revealed means that will bring wars to an end; the means that will lead to the further establishment of the New Church not just in our own country but elsewhere, so that its truths may be brought to the desperately tortured members of the human race.
     * AC 2034: 3.

     To see what is to be, we must see what once was. For in the early times of the human race there was innocence. Then nations and the human race in general were in true order. And to this end the Lord is working now: to a return of innocence and heavenly order; in fact, in a very distant future, to a new golden age-to the innocence of wisdom.
     To see the orderly relation of spiritual and civil things, both of church and country, we would turn, then, to the Most Ancient Church and to the Ancient Church in its times of universal charity. The complete innocence of the Most Ancient Church and its conjunction with the Lord and heaven are known. It is further revealed that "in the most ancient times . . . men lived distinguished into nations, families and households in order that the church on earth might represent the Lord's kingdom, wherein all are distinguished into societies, and these societies into greater ones, and these again into still greater societies, and this according to the differences of love and faith."* Thus there was a grand man of earth, composed of the various nations of the time, each nation corresponding to a function or use of that man. The human race of the golden age was one, a one composed of varieties of genius. In this there was a beautiful correspondence with the Gorand Man of heaven; heaven had its ultimate on earth.
     * AC 1259: 1.
     It is said that the "Most Ancient Church was a true church of the nations, and so afterwards was the Ancient Church."* With each of these churches the Lord was the source and center, and therefore a basic law of the Divine Providence met little hindrance.

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This law is that "by means of His Divine Providence the Lord combines the affections [of the whole human race] into one form, which is the human form."** The oneness of the Ancient Church is perhaps the most powerful example for us today, because the ancients were of the same genius as we are; they were spiritual, and they had hereditary evil. Yet in the silver age at its height there was peace, peace within and without, and there was a grand man of the human race in true order. It is said of this time that "the whole earth was of one lip, and their words were one."***
     * AC 1259: 6.
     ** DP 201.
     *** Genesis 11: 1.

     This signifies that "everywhere there was one doctrine [one lip] in general . . . [and] in particular [words were one] ."* "As regards the first Ancient Church, it was still one in lip and one in words, that is, one in doctrine in general and in particular, although it was so widely spread over the earth; when yet its worship, both internal and external, was everywhere different."** This oneness, composed of variety, is seen also in heaven, where "there are innumerable societies, and all of them different, and yet they are one, for they are all led as a one by the Lord."*** So is it also with the oneness, composed of variety, in the human body. There were as many varieties of worship "as in general there were nations";**** yet these nations formed one grand man of the human race. This unity came about because "all [were] . . . in mutual love or in charity. Mutual love and charity cause them all to be one, although they are diverse; for they make a one out of the varieties. Varieties . . . contribute to the perfection of the whole. For then, through charity, the Lord inflows and works in diverse ways, in accordance with the genius of each one and thus, both in general and in particular, disposes all into order, on earth as in heaven. And then the will of the Lord is done, as He Himself teaches, as in the heavens, so also upon the earth."*****
     * AC 1284.
     ** AC 1285: 2.
     *** Ibid.
     **** AC 1285: 3.
     ***** AC 1285: 3.
     This is such a beautiful number, not just because of what once was, but because it shows what the Lord would have come again to the human race; only this time, even more deeply, because the Writings have been given which allow to humanity a new depth. There will be a new silver age, and a new golden age, with separate nations perfect in one. Yet we are so far from this state today; and in this we should be utterly realistic about present conditions, because the Writings are. Before there can be any change or progress, true conditions must be unveiled.

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     Disunity and permissions have replaced unity and charity. What brought about this change? The Writings teach:

     "After those times [of the early churches] the love of rule from the mere delight of that love gradually came in; and because enmity and hostility . . . entered at the same time, tribes, families and households necessarily gathered themselves together into general communities and appointed over themselves one whom they at first called judge, and afterwards prince, and finally king and emperor. At the same time they began to protect themselves by towers, earthworks and walls. From judge, prince, king or emperor, as from the head into the body, the lust of ruling spread like a contagion to others; and from this arose degrees of dignity, and honors according to them, and with these the love of self and the pride of one's own prudence."*
     * DP 215.

     In the golden age the term, nation, referred to those people who were of the same general genius.* They were united in love to the Lord. Yet there were no earthly kings, no banding together in defense, no central civil government. The father of the family was the head; yet he turned his family, not to himself, but to the Lord. As in the celestial heaven, there was no need for earthly rulers; for love ruled, and the Lord in that love.**
     * AC 1259.
     ** Cf. HH 214.
     It was the love of dominion that changed all this. For defense against predatory nations, strong central governments became necessary. Innocence left, and force entered. The trend of government turned toward monarchy. In itself this was a falling away from the Lord, a retrogression. This is seen in Samuel's warning to Israel when it called for a king.* There is a number of passages in the Writings which treat of the change to a monarchy as being a falling away from the Lord.**
     * I Samuel 8.
     ** See AC 2015: 10, 6148: 2, 8770.
     In the beginning of the silver age-the period of the first Ancient Church-charity protected. There was still the rule of love in and between nations. The indications are that the form of government was that of judges who were both priests and civil rulers. But when the love of dominion began to predominate, the desire for a king rose up; and in the beginning the rule of a king represented the rule of truth separate from good, for a king represents truth. The separation of the priestly office from civil government was a withdrawal from truth of good, for priests represent good.* But note that this had to come, for the priests themselves became depraved.**
     * AC 8770, 2015: 10.
     ** I Samuel: 8: 3.
     What was a retrogression-a turning to love of rule-could be reordered by the Divine Providence so that monarchy could become a proper form of government for those of the spiritual genius.

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Kings could in time represent, not truth separate from good, but rather, a far different thing, truth from good. They could represent the spiritual kingdom, the spiritual genius. Thus, when the Lord came on earth, He was a King, the Divine truth.* The angel said to the shepherds: "Unto you is born this day . . . a Savior who is Christ the Lord."** He is called "Christ" as the Messiah, the King; and "Lord" as to His Divine soul.*** As a falling away, we would suggest that monarchy is of the Divine good pleasure, not of the Divine will.**** Nevertheless, the Lord calls Himself a King, because the spiritual need their Divine ruler.
     * See AC 1361: 2,1728, 2921e, 4581: 2, 9146; AE 433: 8; AR 20: 5, et al.
     ** Luke 2: 11.
     *** AC 2922e.
     **** See AC 1755, 1384e, 2447, 9940.
     But unless there are safeguards, monarchy can lead to tyranny; and tyrants can destroy nations, leading them into terrible evils. This is said, for example, of Charles XII of Sweden.* In history, as the ancient churches deteriorated, more and more tyrants appeared. Nations that were once good became predominantly evil. The grand man of the human race was destroyed; only the remnant of the good were left. To save the human race from a complete fall into evil, and thus from destruction, there were successive last judgments, during the Lord's first and second comings. But even today, after the Last Judgment of 1757 and the Second Coming, there are many predominantly evil nations on earth; and although the human, race has matured intellectually, as far as evils with nations go, things are not too different from what they were 3,000 years ago. Thus we read:

     "All wars, however much they may belong to civil affairs, represent in heaven the states of the church and are correspondences. Such were all the wars in the Word, and such also are all wars at this day. The wars described in the Word are those that the sons of Israel waged with various nations, as with the Amorites . . . the Philistines, the Syrians, the Egyptians and others. . . . Like things are represented by the wars of the present day, wherever they occur. . . . it is not known in this world what kingdoms in Christendom answer to the Moabites and Ammonites, what to the Syrians and Philistines . . . and the others with whom the sons of Israel waged war; and yet there are those that do answer to them."**
     * SD 4741.
     ** DP 251.

     As with the Jewish Church, so today. Wars among nations are from spiritual causes, for the Lord governs the earth through things spiritual. Astonishingly, it is the spiritual states of nations that lead to civil events -to revolutions and wars. Thus it is further explained:

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     "What the quality of the church upon earth is, and what the evils are 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, which are governed by the Lord on both sides correspondentially, in accordance with His Divine Providence."*
     * Ibid.

     Externally we live on earth in a world of effects. These effects are governed by spiritual causes. So it is with the nations on earth, with the human race. So it is in peace and war. If we would seek a spiritually rational view, then, we must turn to the world of causes. If we would understand what the Lord wishes for our country, and for all mankind, we must turn to Divine revelation, where His ends and His causes are unfolded.
     The universal law of the Lord with the human race and its many constituent countries is this: "By means of His Divine Providence the Lord combines the affections [of the whole human race] into one form, which is the human form."* In the confused state of the world, where many evils and predominantly evil nations exist, the Lord still works toward a grand man of this planet: a grand man from which evils have been removed and in which heavenly love unites-where each race and nation contributes its part and genius to making the whole perfect. This grand man includes new developments that did not exist a few hundred years ago. It would include new nations, formed out of migrants from many other nations; and it would include new types of genius, intermediates between Oriental, Negro and Caucasian that have come from intermarriage between the races; for these groups exist, whether directly of the Divine Providence or of permission, for the sake of future uses. In this work, "God cannot do otherwise than look to what is infinite and eternal in the great work of creation. . . . This He looks to in the human race, from which He forms the heaven which is His own. What else, then, can the Divine Providence have for its end than the reformation and salvation of the human race?"**
     * DP 201.
     ** DP 202.
     It is said that the "universal heaven represents one man, and the societies therein his members. . . . This shows how beautiful and delightful would be the interior representation of an empire, kingdom and society on earth, if they in like manner were conjoined among themselves by charity and faith. Moreover, wherever possible the Lord joins societies together in this way, for the Divine truth itself which proceeds from the Lord introduces this order wherever it is received."*
     * AC 7396.
     At present the Lord cannot join the nations of the earth into one grand man; there are too many evils in nations, and the ordering force of His Divine truth is too widely rejected.

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Nevertheless, it is His end that, in freedom, such an order should come to earth again. The present is a time of vastation, of the permission of disquiet, revolution, riots and war. For only in this way can evils rise to the surface, and be seen and thus eventually rejected.* Only as evils and falsities come to the surface, and are perceived and rejected, can the way be paved for acceptance of new truth, for the acceptance of the second coming of the Lord; and it is this Divine truth that alone can heal the nations.
     * DP 251.
     But in the meanwhile, there is still a grand man of this earth-a grand man in order. A true grand man "exists also on earth, but the societies which constitute it are scattered through the whole world, and are those who are in love to Him and in charity toward the neighbor. But these scattered societies have been gathered together by the Lord in order that they also, like the societies in heaven, may represent one man. These societies are not only within the church but also outside of it, and taken together are called the Lord's church . . . gathered from the good in the universal world."* This is the church universal, the heart and lungs of which are the church specific.
     * AC 7396.

     With spiritual hope, it is the part of wisdom to look to the future-to that future grand man of all nations and races; when the church specific will be widely extended as it was in ancient times, and when it will include the vast majority of mankind. But what of the present? Vital and immediate problems confront the human race, and our country as a part of the race. We love our country. How can we serve it today? What immediate things should we strive for and promote on both the civil and spiritual planes?
     On the spiritual plane, it should be recognized that this is an era of judgment-of the vastation and breaking down of falsities and the exposure of hidden evils. These must come out into the open before they can be evaluated for what they are, and then be rejected by those who are of good will. Since the first Christian Church is in false dogmas, it is not surprising to see these falsities gradually rejected. There is an increasing gentilizing of formerly Christian nations. Nor should this be regarded as a tragedy: it is a release to mankind that falsities are being rejected. This must happen before the new, the Writings, can be accepted.
     But in this difficult transition we must, putting it simply, stand for law and morality.

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Men of good will perceive the necessity of these, even though they are unaware that behind them, as causes, are spiritual law and spiritual morality. The Ten Commandments, in their letter and their spirit, are what must see us through this consummation of the age. And, what is vital, under law are civil freedom and the human value of individuals of every race. These are, of course, the self-evident goals of true men today; yet powerful forces oppose them. On much of the earth there is little civil freedom, and racial prejudice lies deep in many human hearts-perhaps even in our own. Yet the Writings speak of the high potentiality of the African and the Oriental genius-superior in some ways to that of the Caucasian.*
     * LJ post. 118, 119, 132; SD 4774.
     We hold to the worth of each individual, regardless of race, religion or nationality: this because the soul of each human being is above the heavens in the radiant belts surrounding the spiritual sun-called the heaven of human internals. From his soul each person receives a Divine endowment" which, if he is saved, leads him to a use in the Gorand Man of heaven. Thus each human being has a high potential worth, despite the threat of hereditary evil.
     How vital civil freedom is can he seen from this teaching:

     "Influx adapts itself to efflux, and in like manner the understanding from above adapts itself to its measure of freedom to speak and publish its thoughts.
     "Free nations, as regards the spiritual things of the church called theological, are like eagles which rise to whatever height they please; while nations not free are like swans in a river. And . . . again, free peoples are like the winged horse called Pegasus, which flew [not only] over the seas [but over the so-called Parnassian hills], and also over the hills [of the Muses] beneath them; while a people not freed are like noble horses handsomely caparisoned in a king's stable."*
     * TCR 814, 815.

     We spoke earlier of monarchy as a type of government. In recent times monarchy has been basically modified by representative, responsible and constitutional government. In many cases, monarchical government has been replaced by representative government. Is this a retrogression? We do not think so. Rather is it evidence that the human race will inevitably come into new forms of government as it progresses in freedom. This does not imply that monarchy is outmoded. Where it is conjoined with freedom under law it is a true form of government for the spiritual genius. So, too, we believe, is direct democracy. But it should not be felt that today's forms of government are final, or that democracy must be imposed on child-like countries which are unready for it. There will be many changes in earthly government as the new age dawns, and spiritual government begins to refine more and more natural principles of rule.

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     For one thing, civil freedom is not enough. One of the nations termed "wicked" in the Writings has relative civil freedom.* What is more interior, most deeply vital, is the spiritual state of one's country.** It is according to their idea of the Lord as Man, and of religion, that countries are arranged in the spiritual world. From this, through influx, comes their spiritual arrangement in the natural world,*** and their relative quality. Nations are seen in the other world according to their spiritual quality. "When it is the Lord's good pleasure, any kingdom is presented as a man before the angels of heaven, in a form that is the likeness of its quality. The form is the form of its spiritual affection; the form of the face is that of the affection of its spiritual good; the form of the body, its civil good."**** "Birth," we read further, "does not make one the neighbor more than another . . . neither does education. . . . Nor does nearness of abode, nor relationship, make one man more the neighbor than another; nor, therefore, one's native country. The native country is to be loved according to the quality of its good. But it is a duty to benefit one's country . . . because one thus promotes the good of all."*****
     * See SD 5037.
     ** Ibid. Cf. Char. 83-86 et al.
     *** See DP 251 et al.
     **** Char. 84.
     ***** Char. 85.
     In a beautiful number Swedenborg writes from the Lord:

     "I can love all in the universe according to their religion, not more those in my own country than in other kingdoms, nor more those in Europe than in Africa. I love a Gentile more than a Christian, if he lives well according to religion, if from the heart he worships God. . . . I do not love him according to his doctrine, but according to his life. For if he has the good of religion, he has also moral and civil good. They cannot be separated."*
     * Char. 89.

     If we are to benefit our country, then, we must above all benefit its spiritual good; and in this the hope of our country, and of the human race, lies with the New Church. It is the Divine truth of the Writings that will eventually heal the nations, and restore the grand man of the human race. In this we must not be afraid to take a wide view, that is, to love the human race even more than our country. It is Divinely revealed that the human race is the neighbor more than the country.* This love is the Lord's love. It is revealed that life from the Lord is the life of love toward the universal human race.** "In the union of His Human essence with His Divine essence the Lord had in view the conjunction of Himself with the human race; and this was His end, and this His love, which was such that the salvation of the human race was to Him the inmost joy."***

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     * Char. 72, 87.
     ** AC 6467.
     *** AC 2034: 3.
     In the salvation of the human race, the Lord is looking toward its again becoming a true grand man. To achieve this end, the operations of the Divine Providence are infinitely complex and far beyond our present understanding. It is He who is working inmostly, through the many problems that now confront us. It is He who permits, and allows vastation, for the sake of the final good. But no evil is permitted that will not lead to good. This may be said of the terrible permissions that now confront us: the permission of the cold war, of dictatorships, of burning racial prejudice. Evils and inequities must come out before they can be removed; and rather than our being helpless in this we can fight for those things which the Writings teach: for our church, for the spiritual good of our country, for civil freedom and human values.

     The highest use we can perform for country and the human race is to endeavor to be members of the church specific. To be of the church specific is a spiritual thing, a gift from the Lord. He alone can give it, to those who pray for it and shun evils as sins against Him. There is the powerful teaching that "the church where the Word is read, and thereby the Lord is known, is like the heart and lungs . . . For by means of the Word in the church, though it be among comparatively few, life is given to the rest from the Lord through heaven."* Life is given, and also, it is said later, light is given.** It is this "life and light" that can uplift the spiritual good of our country and the good of the human race. There is no higher use for the church specific; and as we love the country and the human race we must pray for this use. Here is the deepest hope, despite the present turmoil.
     * Verbo 40.
     ** Ibid.
     Where we cannot rectify terrible things, we must learn to trust in the providence of the Lord. He will lead, and inmostly He will lead in mercy. He has given that which will eventually bring the cure: the Divine truths of His second coming, which are the "leaves . . . for the healing of the nations."
     "And he showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."*
     * Revelation 22: 1, 2.

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GENERAL CHURCH TRANSLATION COMMITTEE 1968

GENERAL CHURCH TRANSLATION COMMITTEE       Rev. NORBERT H. ROGERS       1968

     Until now the General Church has not been very active in translation work. Concentrating its energies and resources in ultimating and expanding the principle of distinctive New Church education, in developing doctrine from the Word for the instruction of adults and for the life of the church, and in matters of ecclesiastical organization and government, it has generally been content to leave the use of translation to others, notably the Academy of the New Church, the Swedenborg Foundation and the Swedenborg Society. A number of General Church members have done translation work, but for the most part they have done so on their own initiative and in their spare time.
     The need has become increasingly apparent for the General Church to accept a share of responsibility in the use of translating the Writings for the instruction and worship of the church. Apart from other reasons, the fact is that after half a century of progressive de-emphasis of the classics in education, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find personnel sufficiently competent in both Latin and New Church doctrine to be properly qualified to translate the Writings. In this respect the General Church has a clear duty to enter into the translation use, not only because of its insistence that its priesthood be thoroughly grounded in the Writings and encouraged to develop a sound quality of doctrinal scholarship, but also because of its close association with the Academy of the New Church, which enables it to have recourse to the educational facilities and professional staff of that institution.
     As is the case in other bodies of the New Church, the General Church's interest in the translation field is essentially concerned with the Writings, and also with the Hebrew and Greek Word. This is because the Writings as well as the Old and the New Testament have relation to worship and to the life of religion, and so affect the church as a whole. Their translation is of interest to the whole church, and is properly a particular concern of its priesthood. To the priesthood belong the leadership and prime responsibility in translating the Writings; and in carrying out that responsibility the priesthood of the General Church will rely on the Academy for help and co-operation both in producing finished translation projects and in training personnel in the doctrinal and language needs of translation.

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     In taking up the work of translating the Writings, the General Church is entering into a use in which it has little or no experience in an organized way. It will have to develop its policies and practices as it goes forward in the work. In the meanwhile, to begin with, at least, and no doubt as a continuing practice, it will have to draw on the experience of others. While the translation projects of the Swedenborg Scientific Association have not included the Writings, its counsel should be of value. We have been in communication with the Swedenborg Foundation, seeking information and advice, and we look forward to taking part in a conference on translation which the body is organizing. Through Dr. Griffith, the Swedenborg Society has given us a great deal of most useful information, and has kindly supplied us with copies of the regulations and code governing its translation work. These present a very sensible and scholarly approach which will be of great use to the General Church in carrying forward its share of the work. In prosecuting its responsibilities, the hope of the General Church Translation Committee will be to work in close and fruitful co-operation with all others active in the field.
     One thing is clear: no church can rely on individuals working on their own initiative in their own spare time to meet its present translation needs. This leaves too much uncertainty as to what works shall be translated, when they will be finished, and the quality of the translation. It allows too much scope for individual idiosyncrasies and limitations to affect the translation, lessening its correctness and value. Existing translations need to be improved; the quality of translation needs to be standardized; and new translations should be as good as possible. For this there needs to be planning: the setting of standards and schedules; the selection of works to be translated according to the needs of the church; the assignment of translation work and the commissioning of qualified translators; and provision for systematic review of new translation before it is accepted for publication. All this requires the consultation and cooperation of numerous individuals. In brief, it requires organized effort.

     Organized translation work includes three distinct aspects or activities. On the one hand, there is the actual task of translating itself. This is the responsibility of an individual who, whether he has volunteered for it or not, is to work on the project assigned him according to established standards and procedures and in conjunction with others, as has been indicated.
     On the other hand, there is the function of selecting and commissioning specific translating projects and authorizing their publication.

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This is an executive responsibility which, since it properly involves evaluating the needs of the church and expending its funds, has to do with the episcopal office and the treasurer's office as well as with those carrying forward the translation work. This executive function could probably be discharged well enough to begin with in an informal way by the chairman of the Translation Committee consulting with the Bishop and the Treasurer as the need arises. Later on the need may well arise to establish a means for more formal and regular consultation, as, for example, a Translation Executive Council or Committee which would include at least representatives of the Bishop and the Treasurer and the chairman of the Translation Committee. But perhaps the most expedient way to provide for the executive needs of the translation work would be through the General Church Publication Committee.
     Between the two extremes, that is, between the translator and the executive, lie the principal functions of the Translation Committee itself. These would include establishing objectives and standards; developing rules and procedures; reviewing translations extant to determine which need revising or replacing; receiving and assessing suggestions; making recommendations to the executive branch on translation work to be undertaken; settling questions on translation; checking on work done to insure that it is up to standard before approving it for publication; and devising means to attract men to the work of translating and to improve translating skills.
     The Translation Committee should be composed of priests, and also laymen, skilled in Latin, Hebrew and Greek, in the use of English, and in doctrine. In so far as possible qualified persons fluent in other modern languages should be recruited. In addition, the head of the Academy's Foreign Language Department should be an ex officio member of the Translation Committee since the Committee will rely a great deal on that department for translators and for training future translators. And since many of the questions before the Translation Committee will have to do with proper phraseology and idiom, a representative from the English Department should also have a place on the Committee.
     It may take some time after the Translation Committee has been established before its work bears fruit; but when it does there is every reason to be confident that that fruit will be of real use to the New Church.

     [EDITORIAL NOTE: The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers has accepted appointment as chairman of the Translation Committee. The names of those appointed to membership will be published shortly.]

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VISIBLE GOD IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1968

VISIBLE GOD IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1968

     (The last in a series of three addresses delivered to the Educational Council, Bryn Athyn, Pa., August, 1967.)

     III. DISCERNING THE ESSENCE OF GOD FROM HIS ACTS AS A PERSON

     The laws of order are creative. This is because they are living, and they are living because they are Divine. In a universal sense all laws of order are the Word, for they are the means, or forms, by which the Lord communicates His creative life, therefore the means by which He creates. "By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth";* and "without it was not anything made that was made."**
     * Psalm 33: 6.
     ** John 1: 3.
     What they make is called use. Uses, however, exist on two planes, because there are two worlds. The universe, our world, and all things in the world are created by the Lord by means of the natural laws of order; and the spiritual world through spiritual laws of order. So also is the human body a creature of the natural laws of order, for it is an image of the world, and is called a microcosm; while the human mind or spirit is a product of the spiritual laws of order, is an image of the spiritual world, and is called a micro-uranos.* It should be emphasized that all laws of order are from the same source, namely, God. And though they operate on two planes of creation they are internally one, for they are all embraced by one universal order. Inmostly the Lord is order itself.
     * See TCR 71: 2, 604e.
     Uses, the product of order, reveal the Lord even more deeply than do the means, the laws of order, that bring them about. Uses are greater than truths, for truths serve uses-not the other way around. The Lord taught this, saying: "If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works."*
     * John 10: 37, 38.
     Uses testify to purpose, for they are the end in view; and purpose belongs to love. Uses are gifts, and love is the desire to give.

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Uses, however, are not properly perceived by those who have not learned contentment, nor gratitude. Such persons tend to be preoccupied with means, especially the means of procuring things for themselves. But those who themselves strive to give are open to the affection that accompanies gifts from others.
     The Lord's works are all Divine uses, and they are all gifts. The external works which He did on earth, and which He said testified to His being sent by the Father, were enumerated by Himself in answer to the query of John the Baptist. "Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto them."* But the internal works which He performs are the real ends in view, for they remain beyond the temporal to eternity. To understand what is true is better than to see by the light of the natural sun; to be constructively occupied from love and sound judgment is more than to be cured of leprosy. Yet the external miracles served as an introduction to the higher gifts the Lord had in store, for they demonstrated to the people that this Man, who "taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes," had power over man and nature.
     * Matthew: 11, 4, 5.

     External uses are, of course, not to be decried. Nor did the Lord depart from such uses as He departed from the world. Even to our day, blindness can never be cured except by means of the laws of order. The physician only opens the way for these laws. Therefore blindness is still, in a true sense, cured by the Lord alone. But there are times when He chooses not to cure blindness. In fact, He taught, saying: "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell."* Blindness or sight, sickness or health, physical death or physical life, are subservient things. They have values as servants. They have no values by themselves whatever. A servant who does not serve is like a dried-up tree or a stagnant river bed, or like an engine that is all rusted up, or like electric wiring without electricity. On this account the Lord governs all physical and temporal things in the perspective of eternity. He whose love is to give to others, to be conjoined to them and to make them happy to eternity, cannot be satisfied with empty gestures.
     * Matthew 5: 29.
     We note, then, that there are degrees of uses. Essentially these degrees are only two, for there are only two worlds. Yet there is also an intermediate, thus a third, degree.

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Of course, there are sub-divisions; but we are speaking of the uses that directly focus on man, who is-or whose happiness is-the purpose of creation. Let us set the following before us: "The end of the creation of the universe clearly shows what use is. The end of the creation of the universe is the existence of an angelic heaven; and as the angelic heaven is the end, man also or the human race is the end, since heaven is from that. From which it follows that all created things are mediate ends, and these are uses in that order, degree, and respect in which they have relation to man, and through man to the Lord."*
     * DLW 329.
     In this context the Writings set forth the three levels of use to which we have just alluded, and we read: "From this can be seen in what order, degree and respect uses (which are the mediate ends of creation) have relation to man, namely, 1) for sustaining his body, 2) for perfecting his rational, 3) for receiving what is spiritual from the Lord."*
     * DLW 330. Et seq.
     In this trilogy, two of the uses distinctly belong to one or other of the two worlds-uses for sustaining the body to the natural world, and uses for receiving what is spiritual to the spiritual world. But the intermediate does not distinctly dissociate itself from one world in order to associate with the other, for it belongs equally to both.

     Our passage, however, does not propose to analyze the rational, nor for that matter the body and the spiritual things with man. It is concerned with "mediate ends," namely, those that serve the use itself towards which the Divine works-the establishment of an angelic heaven, thus the formation of angels.
     Uses for sustaining the body are all the things that are provided for "its nourishment, its clothing, its habitation, its recreation and enjoyment, its protection, and the preservation of its state."* Uses for perfecting the rational "are all the things that give instruction about the subjects above mentioned, and are called sciences, and branches of study pertaining to natural economical, civil and moral affairs."** Uses for receiving the spiritual from the Lord "are all things that belong to religion and to worship therefrom, thus all things that teach the acknowledgment and knowledge of God and the knowledge and acknowledgment of good and truth and thus eternal life."***
     * DLW 331.
     ** DLW 332.
     *** DLW 333.
     We observe that these three groups of uses have one thing in common: that they are all coming to man. He receives them; he is not doing them, although others may serve to bring them to him. They are the means through which the Lord accomplishes His real and final use, which is the creation of the angel.

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(We are not using the word "final" in a terminal sense here, but in the sense of "highest"-the Lord reaching His highest product. Angelic development is without termination.)
     The Writings also give us another trilogy of uses, in fact, two: first, one that relates to this world only, and consisting of the three kingdoms of nature; and then a corresponding one belonging only to the spiritual world and composed of three ascending degrees there. The general doctrine is "that the uses of all created things ascend by degrees from last things to man, and through man to God the Creator from whom they are."* The last things (lowest things) should be given special emphasis, for we should note how the Lord, having descended through degrees of finition, and having thus created the lowest things-the rock and soil and water of the earth-builds from below in raising up man, and thus His kingdom. Of the last things, that is, those of the mineral kingdom, we read: "In these lie concealed both the end and the beginning of all uses, which are from life. The end of all uses is the endeavor to produce uses, and the beginning is the acting force from that endeavor.**
     * DLW 65, heading.
     ** DLW 65.

     We have here endeavor (or, to use the Latin word, conatus), and also acting force. The former is the end. It is the end in a twofold sense; for as soon as something is the final thing, the end product, in a formative and progressive series, it at once "wants" to set off a new series. This "want" is end in the sense of purpose. It is called "conatus." And if we ask why it is that there is such a conatus in all uses, the answer is simple: because all uses have the Divine touch in them. They have the Divine of use in them. Therefore they cannot but present an image of life, each in its own way. Moreover, to "want," that is, to have conatus, is nothing, unless there is also the ability. Hence there is also, again in all uses, the beginning, that is to say, the acting force (vis agens) which begins to produce. This beginning is therefore the means through which the end (the conatus) acts.
     Do we not see the operating presence of the Divine power and knowledge here? And are not the end and the beginning, which lie concealed in all uses, a remote echo of the highest End itself, that is, the Divine creative love, and the highest Beginning, namely, Divine wisdom, or the Word? "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.... Through it were all things made."
     Now we read that in the last (lowest) things "lie concealed both the end and the beginning of all uses." In this teaching I think we have the nucleus of a Divine doctrine of evolution, as distinct from the materialistic doctrine known by the same name.

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After all, to "evolve" means to unroll, or to be unrolled; and the teaching is there-the fact of geology, too, is there-that in the mineral kingdom "lie concealed both the end and the beginning of all uses, which are from life." But this I say without any intention to analyze the implications, at any rate at this time. The analysis should be done by more than one in any case. The present purpose is only to point to the fact that the Divine is not absent from the lowest things of its making, nor departs from any degree of new things, nor from any least thing in that degree; that it builds up as it ever raises uses towards man, inviting man to enter into them and see that they are from God, and acknowledge Him, and as it were return them to Him by using them in His name. "Thus the uses of all created things ascend in order from outmost things to man, who is first in order."*
     * DLW 65.

     What, then, are the three ascending degrees, that belong only to the spiritual world? The first answer that comes to mind is, of course, that they are the natural, spiritual and celestial degrees of the heavens. But the point is that these degrees also ascend, indeed continue the ascent that began with the rock and soil of the earth. The Writings, in the context of our present passages, refer to "the six degrees by which the uses of all created things ascend in their order even to God the Creator."* Let us look at the following as the key in our search: "Man can think analytically and rationally of civil and moral things that are within nature, also of the spiritual and celestial things that are above nature, yea, he can be so elevated into wisdom as even to see God."**
     * DLW 66.
     ** Ibid.
     We note that the burden of this passage is that man "can think analytically and rationally," and that the matters concerning which he can so think are civil and moral, and spiritual and celestial; also that he can be elevated into supreme wisdom.
     This ability is because of the manner in which he is made. For within him, that is, within his brain, there are organics which respond to spiritual light, in other words to the Divine truth, just as there are organics nearer the surface of the cortical gland which are formed to register the light of this world. All these organics are, as stated, in the brain: "for in the brain are substances and forms innumerable, in which every interior sense which pertains to the understanding and the will has its seat."* But it is the interior organization of these substances, and at the same time their marvellous circumvolutions (or is vibrations a better word?), which endows them with the faculty of response.

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They themselves are nothing but "dust of the ground"; but when the Lord God formed man "dust of the ground," He at the same time "breathed into his nostrils the breath of lives," and it was thus that man "became a living soul."*
     * Genesis 2: 7.
     Thus it is that the higher and the lower organics are so created as to be able to respond to-or, in the term of the Writings, to receive-light from both the natural sun and the spiritual sun at the same time; and I submit that it is because of the ratio between these two kinds of light, and, of course, between the two kinds of objects upon which the lights shine, that man is given rationality. Liberty comes at the same time, for it is seeing the truth that makes free.* And with freedom, love is born. It was thus that man stood forth, in the day that he was created, as an image of God after His likeness.
     * See John 8: 32.
     All of this points to the rational, and it should not come as a surprise to us what the Writings say about it. "The human begins in the inmosts of the rational."* This rational is born, if I may use such language, from the spiritual world as a father and the natural world as a mother. It is intermediate between the two worlds, and partakes of both. Nor does it cease to partake of both after man leaves the natural world, for spirits and angels rest for ever on mankind on earth. Also, the mechanism for this continued connection is provided through the retention of "the purest things of nature" after death.**
     * AC 2106e, 2194.
     ** See TCR 103.
     It is essential to note, however, that the uses which serve "to perfect the rational" do not themselves make the rational. Referring to such things the Writings say, in simple language, but with stupendous implications: "It is to be known that the rational is not formed and opened from these by man's knowing them, but by his living according to them."* Living according to them is what opens the will; and the will (or love) is the essential man.
     * HH 468.
     Probably for reasons of semantics the will is rarely associated with the rational in common speech. The Writings, however, leave the reader in no doubt that there can be no true rational without a will that is in good. To illustrate:

     "Man is born into no truth, but he has all to learn, and this by an external way, namely, that of hearing and seeing. By this way truth has to be insinuated, and implanted in his memory. But as long as truth is there only it is merely science; and in order that truth may pervade the man it must be called forth thence, and be conveyed more toward the interiors; for his human is more internal, being in his rational. For unless man is rational, he is not man; and therefore according to the quality and the measure of a man's rational, such is the quality and the measure of the man. Man cannot possibly be rational unless he possesses good."*

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     * AC 3174: 2.
     "A truly rational man is no other than he who is called a celestial man, and who has perception of good, and from good perception of truth; whereas he who has not this perception, but only a knowledge that a thing is true because he is so instructed, and from this has conscience, is not truly a rational man, but is an interior natural man."*
     * AC 6240.
     "The rational consists of good and truth, that is, of things belonging to charity and things belonging to faith. . . . It seems incredible that rational truth when separated from good should be of such a character [as represented by Ishmael, "the wild-ass man"], neither should I have known this to be the case unless I had been instructed by living experience. . . . The man whose rational is of such a character that he is solely in truth-even though it be the truth of faith-and who is not at the same time in the good of charity, is altogether of such a character. He is a morose man, will bear nothing, is against all, regards everybody as being in falsity, is ready to rebuke, to chastise, and to punish . . . for he looks at everything from truth, and at nothing from good."*
     * AC 1949: 1, 2.

     Of course, the term, rational, is used in the Writings with several shades of meaning, and is applied to three degrees of the mind. Divine Love and Wisdom 258, for instance, discusses "a rational from the celestial, a rational from the spiritual, and a rational from the natural." So also we read of "rational truth," the "first rational" and the "second rational," and so forth. Nevertheless, when the rational is spoken of as a degree in the mind, we may be sure that good is at the heart of the matter. If this were not so, it would be difficult to explain the teaching that "the human begins in the inmosts of the rational," for the inmost human is love, or will.
     That love, or will, which is the good of the rational, is the end of creation. It is the new man himself, who is an angel. The truth of the rational, that is, the true understanding of the rational, is also the man, but only because it is now the truth of good. It serves good, as form serves substance. All other things with the man are also as it were absorbed, for they become the body, or the garments, or the tools of the will. We recall that all the uses that come to the man-uses for sustaining the body, uses for perfecting the rational, and uses for receiving the spiritual from the Lord-are nothing more than "mediate ends." The real end, the final end, is the new man, "the son, or heir, of the Lord."* In him is the Divine of use at rest.
     *See AC 1799.
     To see the uses that the Lord provides for the upbuilding of man's body, his rational, and his spiritual, and to comprehend the uses that ascend from the ultimates of nature even to the height of heaven, and beyond to God Himself, and to realize the unity of them all, in that they all relate to the re-birth of man and hence to his eternal life-this is to see God.

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And as we indicated earlier, it is to see Him in an even deeper and fuller way than as He is reflected in the laws of order by which He brings forth uses. It is to see Him as Father.
     "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father."* Good cannot be seen directly, but it is revealed through truth-yet not by the truth that is mere language. It is revealed only by the truth of good, that is to say, by the truth whose purpose of good is perceived. The Word is Divine truth from Divine good. It is the Son of God (also the Son of Man), because it is the Son of the Divine good-the Son of the "Father." Moreover, truths, or laws of order, are not seen for what they really are, unless it is known what they can do, therefore unless they are seen in the context of purpose. How can anyone be said truly to understand something, unless he knows what it is for?
     * John 14: 8.

     It is significant that the Lord's Prayer, the charter of true Christianity, begins with "Our Father." It is significant, too, that it was given for special use in the New Church. "The whole of the Lord's Prayer, from beginning to end, has respect to this time, that is, to the time when God the Father will be worshiped in the Human Form. This appears when this prayer is rightly explained."* "At this day the Lord is establishing a new church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse, in which the Lord alone is worshiped, as He is in heaven; and thus will be fulfilled all that is contained in the Lord's Prayer from beginning to end."**
     * Inv. 37.
     ** AR 839: 7.
     The former Christian Church never saw the Lord as Father. This is because it digressed into an attitude of a self-sufficient faith. While on earth the Lord showed that this would be so, for He said: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now . . . but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in parables, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father."* To show of the Father is to reveal the Divine in His Human, that is to say, the Father in the Son.
     * John 16: 12, 25.
     Is not the same also involved in the Lord's conversation with Mary of Magdala after His resurrection? Mary, one of the women followers of the Lord, and the first to see Him risen, seems to stand for the church then about to be established. To her the Lord said: "Touch Me not, for I am not yet ascended to My Father."* To "touch" is to be conjoined.

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The church could not as yet be conjoined with the Lord as Father. Is not this what is involved? "I am not yet ascended": that is, in the eyes of the church He was not.
     * John 20: 17.
     Nor is this ascent in the eyes of the New Church a mere matter of proclamation, or self-persuasion. No man can see for another; nor can anyone see by merely looking. The mind must perceive what the eye lights upon. But what can be done is to preach and teach, so that all may know that God can be seen, and seen as He truly is: as Father. Truth testifies to this, and the testimony opens the way; but what it testifies about must be seen in a higher light than the testimony. The testimony is, after all, in natural language. But the vision is spiritual. We must not forget what was spoken to Philip: "Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me?" Nor His warning that the testimony of man will not show the Father: "Neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him."*
     * Matthew 11: 27.

     Therefore, as educators, we cannot pretend to reveal the visible God to our students by our testimony. We cannot see for them. But if we ourselves learn to "do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God," we shall certainly begin with desire to testify; and testimony is ever the prophet, the forerunner.
     What we can say is that the laws of the universe, and the laws of the spiritual world, show us the modes, the methods, whereby the Creator acts; and we can point to the harmony of uses that all assemble around man, the crown of creation, and that stand as a silent witness of purpose. We can therefore say that all things of earth and all things of heaven are one in man, and that they are one because from Him who is oneness itself.
     There is only one God, and He is the Lord Jesus Christ. It is He who is our Father, He who came into the world as the Son, and He who alone operates all things and is the author of truth. He is wisdom, but also the love that is in the wisdom, and also the power that He sends forth from His wisdom that does the words of His love. There is only one Personal God. No man must have a different mental view of the Father than that of the Lord, nor a different mental view of the Holy Spirit. The Lord who showed Himself to the three disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, again to John in Patmos, has three names: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is order itself, and it is His love that encompasses itself with that order, and that operates by means of it.
     Our day is getting increasingly skilled in the arcana of nature.

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But these are all falsities, unless they are seen to testify to the truth. The arcana of faith have been revealed to this age, in order that all things may be interpreted in the light of what is true. Let no man doubt that there is perfect correspondence between the one kind of arcana and the other.
     The True Christian Religion as it were declares this, and gives what might justly be regarded as the principle itself of New Church education when it states: "The Lord in the world put on also the Natural Divine, and from this He enlightens not only the internal spiritual man, but also the external natural; which two, unless they are at the same time enlightened, man is as it were in the shade; but while both are at the same time enlightened, he is as it were in the day."* This places both fields of study and inquiry under one light.
     * TCR 109.

     Is it not because of this ability to see heaven and earth united, and at the same time to see everywhere mirrored forth the purpose of love and the method of wisdom, that the New Church may develop, under the guiding hand of the Lord, into the crown of all churches? For if properly enlightened the church may obey in freedom. "This church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto been in the world, because it will worship one visible God, in whom is the invisible God as the soul is in the body. That thus and no otherwise there can be conjunction of God with man, is because man is natural, and thence thinks naturally; and the conjunction must be in his thought, and thus in the affection of his love, and this is effected when man thinks of God as Man."* Since man on earth thinks in the natural, and sensates his affections in the natural, therefore the Natural Divine, the visible God, has been revealed to him.
     * TCR 787.
     It is the Writings that show us the Lord. The Lord in His own coming bears testimony to Himself. Nor has He made Himself visible only in the Writings, but through them also in the Sacred Scripture, in the laws of order relative to nature, in the laws of order relative to man (the laws of the Divine Providence), and in all uses that point towards man and through man to an eternal kingdom and its King. The truth that is laid before us spans both worlds. Therefore it would be folly to teach anything without its light. "Enter hereafter into the mysteries of the Word, which has been hitherto closed up; for its truths, one and all, are so many mirrors of the Lord.*
     * TCR 508e.

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GOD MAN 1968

GOD MAN       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1968

     (The first of two articles)

     God is Man. God is not a Man; He is Man, the only Man, both as to essence and form. This truth is implanted in all men who receive any influx from heaven, for upon it depend all genuine religious thought and life. Every man has his place in heaven according to his idea of God as Man. The doctrine of the Divine Human unfolds and expounds the truth that God is Man.
     How God is Man cannot be comprehended from self-intelligence. It must be revealed. Self-intelligence cannot rise above its own finite limitations to any true idea of God; and there is therefore a tendency in thought from it to make God invisible, or non-existent, or to regard visible and perceptible nature as God. A true idea of God, or the Infinite, can be derived only from the Infinite through revelation from Him, and that revelation comes to man in two ways: through a revealed Word of God, and by influx through the soul and out of heaven which implant in man a perception of the genuine truths of the written revelation. Without this second source of light, finite man could not comprehend the genuine truths within written revelation. The Word in the letter must of necessity contain ambiguities and apparent truths, for it reveals infinite things which are above the sphere of time and space in terms of time and space accommodated to man's natural thought. Without influx through the soul and out of heaven man could not penetrate these ambiguities and perceive the genuine truths within them. In the spiritual or genuine sense of the Word ambiguity disappears, and the apparently contradictory teachings are seen to be different aspects of the same truth, and also, absolutely necessary to the full revelation of that truth.
     We read that "the sense of the letter is such as to separate what the internal sense unites; and this for the reason that man, who is to be instructed from the sense of the letter, cannot have an idea of a one unless he first has an idea of more than one; for a one with man is formed from many, or what is the same, from successive things is formed what is simultaneous."*
     * AC 3035.
     Also, we are taught that "many and numberless things make in man a seeming one, which, in very Man who is God, are distinctly, yea, most distinctly, one."*

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Distinctly one is defined as "what may be distinguished in thought but not in operation" or in "act." A one is the more perfect the greater the number of things that compose it, if they act in unanimity toward one end. A one composed of nothing is nothing. Since God alone is a perfect one therefore in Him infinite things are distinctly one. We learn of the qualities of God as if they were separate and distinct and we acquire our knowledge of them successively; and we then come to see how they are distinctly, yea, most distinctly, one in Him. Thus we learn of His mercy, compassion, love, wisdom, providence, foresight, omniscience, omnipotence and omnipresence, all as if they were separate qualities in Him; and we then come to see how in Him they are distinctly one, how in every Divine act they are simultaneously present.
     * DLW 22.

     How this applies to the truth that God is Man we shall consider later. First we wish to present the teaching of the Writings on the universality of the acknowledgment that God is Man. The idea of God as Man is universal. Even in idolatry this basic idea is present and God is pictured with physical human attributes, although often distorted and adulterated by being adjoined to animal features. Still, with the simple the idea of God as Man is preserved and can be corrected and purified in the world of spirits.
     The testimony of the Writings is that the same idea extends to the inhabitants of all planets and earths in the starry heavens. The inhabitants of all earths adore the Divine under the human form, and they rejoice when they hear that God has actually become "Man" by the incarnation.* The inhabitants of other earths "know that no one can be conjoined with the Divine in faith and love unless the Divine is in a form they comprehend with some idea; if not in a form the idea would be dissipated, like sight in the universe. And that form is the human form."** The inhabitants of Mercury saw the spiritual sun, and said that "this was not the Lord God, because they saw no face. . . . Then suddenly the sun appeared again, and in the midst of it the Lord encompassed with a solar circle. On seeing this, the spirits of Mercury humbled themselves profoundly and settled down.*** Men from our earth who had seen the Lord when on earth confessed that it was the Lord Himself. A similar thing occurred with the spirits from Jupiter.
     * HD 305.
     ** AC 6700.
     *** AC 7173.
     While the Lord appears for the most part to the angels in heaven as a spiritual sun, yet in a number of places they, and we, are warned not to think of Him as the sun of heaven, but as Man in the sun.

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The spiritual sun is the first emanation from Him in which His Divine love and wisdom appear; but He Himself as to His person is the Man within the sun.

     "Let everyone beware lest he think that the sun of the spiritual world is God Himself; God Himself is Man. The first proceeding from His love and wisdom is spiritual fire, which appears before the angels as the sun; wherefore when the Lord manifests Himself to the angels in person, He manifests Himself as Man."*
     * DLW 97.
     "When the Lord appears in heaven, which often occurs, He does not appear encompassed with a sun, but in the form of an angel, yet distinguished from the angels by the Divine shining through from His face, since He is not there in person, for in person the Lord is constantly encompassed by the sun, but He is present by aspect . . . I have also seen the Lord out of the sun in an angelic form, at a height a little below the sun; also near by in a like form, with shining face, and once in the midst of angels as a flamelike radiance."*
     * HH 121.

     Therefore all the angels in heaven treasure the idea of God as Man. For "unless in heaven they had an idea of God in human shape (species) they would have no idea, or an unbecoming one."* For "no one can believe in and love God whom he cannot comprehend under some shape (species)."** It is implanted in every man who receives any influx from heaven to think of God under the human shape (species)."*** For "God is perfect Man, in face like man, and in body like man, with no difference as to form but only as to essence; His essence is that He is love itself and wisdom itself, thus life itself."****
     * AC 7211.
     ** AC 9356.
     *** HH 82.
     **** AE 1124.
     The above numbers are, as far as I know, the only ones in the Writings that use the term, shape (species), in describing God as Man. The usual expression is that God is in the human form (forma). Forma is a more general term and suggests the essence that makes the form, whereas shape can easily become an empty term, holding the idea of the external apart from the internal.
     The Writings do not make the philosophical distinction between shape, or figure, and form. A philosophical definition of form is "the essential nature of a thing, as distinguished from the matter in which it is embodied."* Some seem to be able, or think they are, to conceive of form apart from its embodiment, as those who think of God as pure intelligence, not seeing that intelligence is the form of love and that without love it is nothing. On the other hand, embodiment or substance without form has no knowable qualities and thus also becomes an ens ratione. The Writings insist that God is substance itself and form itself and that the two in Him are inseparable; or, what is the same, He is love itself and wisdom itself.

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Wisdom is the form of love, and only in wisdom can the qualities of love be known.
     * Webster's New International Dictionary.
     So also human qualities can be known only in and through the human form, for that form is their subject. "To separate human qualities from their subject, who is man, is to say that they are not. Think of wisdom, and place it outside of man. Is it anything? . . . In a word, the form of wisdom is man; and because man is the form of wisdom, he is also the form of love, mercy, clemency, good and truth, because these make one with wisdom."*
     * DLW 286.
     So, in regard to God, "unless an idea is formed of God as primal substance and form, and of His form as the human form itself . . . [the mind] 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 as concerning emptiness or nothing."* And yet this is just what the learned of the Christian world do.
     * TCR 20.

     "It is remarkable that the more anyone deems himself to be superior to others in learning and judgment, the more prone he is to seize upon and appropriate to himself the idea that the Lord is a man, and not God, and that because He is a man He cannot he God; and whosoever appropriates to himself these ideas introduces himself into companionship with the Arians and Socinians, who in the spiritual world are in hell."*
     * TCR 380: 2.
     "Those who say that they acknowledge a supreme being, of whom they have no idea or perception, for the most part acknowledge no God, but nature instead, because they comprehend this. Very many of the learned among Christians are like this, and this also because they do not believe the Human of the Lord to be Divine."*
     * AC 4733.

     The difficulty many have in acknowledging that God is Man arises from the fact that they think concerning man from time and space. As the Writings say:

     "Those who have a corporeal natural idea of God as Man are wholly unable to comprehend how God as Man could have created the universe and all things thereof; for they think within themselves, How can God as Man wander all over the universe from space to space, and create? Or how can He, from His place, speak the word, and as soon as it is spoken, creation follow? . . . Bring your thought into the angelic idea of God as being Man, putting away as much as you can the idea of space, and you will come near in thought to the truth. His Human body cannot be thought of as great or small, that is, of any one stature, because this also pertains to space."*
     *DLW 285.
     "That God is Man can scarcely be comprehended by those who judge all things from the sense-conceptions of the external man, for the sensual man must needs think of the Divine from the world and what is therein and thus of the Divine and spiritual man in the same way as of the corporeal and natural man.

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From this he concludes that if God were a man He would be as large as the universe, and if He ruled heaven and earth it would be done through many others, after the manner of kings in the world."*
     * HH 85.

     Yet the Writings insist upon the truth that God is fully and truly Man.

     "God ... being a Man, has a body, and everything pertaining to it; that is, a face, breast, abdomen, loins and feet; for without these He would not be Man. And having these He also has eyes, ears, nose, mouth and tongue; also the parts within man, as the heart and lungs and their dependents, all of which taken together make man to be a man. . . . In created man these are many, and regarded in their details of structure are numberless. But in God Man they are infinite; nothing whatever is lacking, and from these He has infinite perfection."*
     * DLW 18.

     It is obvious that so to think of God the thought must be abstracted from the things of time and space. We can begin to do this by thinking of the parts of the human body in terms of use, and of the whole body as a perfect form of organized uses; thus of the organs of the body being, in their place and shape, an ultimate representation of the spiritual uses to which they correspond. For the Writings teach that the spiritual societies to which the organs of the material body correspond do not inflow immediately into the organs, but into the uses of the organs and through these into the organs, so that the organs of the body are merely the spiritual uses formed and fixed in material substances. Only in this way can the thought be gradually withdrawn from the things of time and space.
     Such thought is strongly suggested in the Arcana, which states apparently the exact opposite of the number quoted above from Divine Love and Wisdom. "It is known that Jehovah does not have ears nor eyes like a man, but that it is some attribute predicable of the Divine that is signified by the ear and by the eye, namely, infinite will and infinite understanding."* Thus the eyes of God are His infinite foresight; His ears are His providence; His arms are His power; His heart is His love; His lungs are His wisdom; and all these in God are distinctly one-they are all present in every Divine act. The body of man representatively and correspondentially presents the same picture, for in every act of the body all the numberless organs of the body have participated.
     *AC 3869.
     The apparent ambiguity presented in revelation concerning the truth that God is Man is in accommodation to the two types of thought with the man of the church-natural thought and spiritual thought.

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Children and the simple are in natural thought, that is, they think from time and space, and in accommodation to this God is presented to their view as a Divine natural man. Since they are in innocence, their minds are not closed by such thought, but on the other hand are held open even to the Lord, and they are led into spiritual thought after death.
     But many men-I would think most-when the rational degree of the mind is open in youth, come into self-intelligence and so destroy innocence with themselves. Their self-intelligence creates in them a tendency to think of God as invisible, and at length to worship nature in her primes as God; and if they go off into evils of life they are prone to deny God altogether. For such the Lord has mercifully revealed in the spiritual sense of the Word how God is to be thought of as Man.

     This division is suggested by the following. Certain boys in the care of an angel instructor heard some men in the world of spirits presenting false ideas concerning the nature of God. Later, they saw these men as dead horses. On inquiring about this they were taught that the men had thought of God from person and so had destroyed a true understanding of the nature of God. The boys told their instructor that they had thought of God from person and asked if they appeared as dead horses. Their teacher said, no; that they were boys and there was innocence in their thought, but that now that they had arrived at the age of reason they must change their thought. "Therefore, my pupils," he said, "think of God from His essence, and not from His person and from that of His essence, for to think of His essence from His person is to think materially of His essence also; but to think of His person from His essence is to think spiritually even of His person. . . . He who cherishes a material idea of God . . . cannot understand anything in the Word. The Word to him is a dead letter, and he himself, when he reads it or meditates on it, appears at a distance as a dead horse."*
     *AR 611.
     With the opening of the rational mind the thought of man must be inverted and all the ideas of his childhood must be rejected. For however Divine and heavenly the things a child knows, his ideas of them are sensual and corporeal-full of the things of time and space and person. This does not mean that the knowledges in themselves must be cast out, but the ideas concerning them. In regard to our present subject, the truth that God is Man is by a child received in sensual and corporeal ideas which, since the child is in innocence, do not close his mind to influx from the Lord out of heaven. But when the same child becomes a youth he must begin to invert his thought and think of the truth that God is Man from the essence that makes the form; that is, he must go to the Writings.

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This requires effort on his part, and he alone can do it, of course, from the Lord, that is, from the teachings of the Word. We want some one to tell us, but that is the only way. If he tries to elevate his thought from his own intelligence he will fall back into the sensual and corporeal ideas of his childhood, but now without the interior protection of innocence, and at length he will either come to the worship of nature as God or become an atheist.
     The most powerful confirmation of the truth that God is Man is the Incarnation. The seed from which the Lord was born was, as to its inmost, the Infinite. This seed in the womb of Mary formed for itself a body after its own likeness, a human body of flesh and blood. This was its very own body-Immanuel, God-with-us. By His life and teachings in the world He revealed in that body the qualities that made it Divinely Human, and thereby showed that only in His Human form Divine can the qualities of the infinite God be known. When we learn of these qualities, and acquire a spiritual affection of the truths in which they are revealed, we then see that form, not as human, but as the Divine love in human form. We then acknowledge God as one in person and essence and see that the Lord God Jesus Christ is He.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1968

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1968

     Writing in the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE for October 1967, the Rev. Alan Gorange comments that "literature of the General Church frequently tells us that the Writings are the Divine Human." He wants "respectfully to challenge this belief as contrary to the Writings themselves." Mr. Gorange's six points deserve an answer in the spirit in which they are raised. For the present, however, we can offer only this comment.
     Some General Church writers have said that the Writings are the Divine Human; others that they are a revelation of that Human. If this belief is contrary to the Writings it should be challenged, but we do not think that it is. When we so speak of the Writings it is surely obvious that we do not mean the books themselves, or even the language contained in them, but the body of Divine truth revealed in and through that language. If that truth is Divine revelation, then surely it is infinite? And since what is from the Lord is the Lord, then this revelation of His Divine Human is that Human; not in itself, but as it stands forth to view a body of Divine truth, the form of Divine love.

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REVIEWS 1968

REVIEWS              1968

The TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. AUTHOR'S GENERAL INDEX OF CONTENTS. The Swedenborg Society, London, 1967. Paper, pp. 32. Price, 12#.

A DIGEST OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG'S TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. The Swedenborg Foundation, New York, 1967. Paper, pp. 78.

     These two pamphlets are of particular interest at a time when the New Church throughout the world is preparing to celebrate, in 1970, the two hundredth anniversary of the completion of True Christian Religion. At the end of that work Swedenborg set out a General Index of Contents compiled from the headings of the chapters and the subheads of their sections. These give a concise statement of the doctrines expounded in the main text. This pamphlet-and a very attractive production it is, is the fruit of the Swedenborg Society's decision to publish the Index of Contents in order to provide in handy form a comprehensive view of the "universal theology of the New Church" as an introduction to study of the complete work.

     The Digest of Emanuel Swedenborg's True Christian Religion, of which this is the fifth printing, was originally prepared as a Talking Book for the Blind by the Rev. Arthur Wilde. First published for general distribution in 1945, it was an attempt to put the gist of True Christian Religion into simple language for people who had no firsthand knowledge of the Writings, and it is now made available in an attractive format for missionary purposes in the belief that a wider use may be found for it. After a short biographical introduction, some five or six pages are given to each chapter of the work, though a few related chapters are treated together; the whole serving as a descriptive survey of what has justly been called the crowning work of the Writings. The condensation seems to be well done, and a useful book list with short descriptions of each work follows.
     Undoubtedly the best way to prepare to enter meaningfully into the two hundredth anniversary of True Christian Religion is to study the work. Many New Church men and women are already doing that, either individually or under priestly leading. For them, and even more for those who have not yet embarked on such a study, either or both of these pamphlets may prove helpful.

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FROM NOTHING, NOTHING COMES 1968

FROM NOTHING, NOTHING COMES       Editor       1968


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.
     The orthodox Christian belief in creation out of nothing is seldom emphasized today. However, the idea itself has reappeared in a more sophisticated form in the philosophy of post-modern man. The existentialist thesis that "existence precedes essence" implies nothing else; for it means that since there are no pre-existent norms to determine essence, each man creates his own essence in effect out of nothing. The past becomes the nothingness out of which the man is to build his own unique identity.
     Man achieves real identity, the thesis is, only when he creates himself and his world by creating his own values, ideals and morality, and on the basis of them his human relationships. And in this process it is held that he begins, and must begin, de novo; that he avoids responsibility if he draws upon past experience, judgment or action; and that if he allows the past to determine or shape his humanity he surrenders all genuine freedom.
     Thus the existentialism of Sartre and others. However, it is as true of the mental world as of the physical that out of nothing, nothing comes. Essence does precede existence; for existence is the things-the qualities and activities-in which essence comes forth and manifests its presence, and it therefore implies something prior from which it is. Furthermore, in looking to the Word to determine and form his identity man is not looking to the past. For although its books were written in the past, its truths, being Divine and infinite, are timeless; and they look, not to a limited future here, but to eternity.

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MIRROR-IMAGE OF MAN 1968

MIRROR-IMAGE OF MAN       Editor       1968

     When man seriously contemplates himself as in a mental mirror, what is the image that he should see? If it is that of a self-confident and self-contained being, able from his own resources and by his own power to achieve his highest destiny, then the image is an idol. On the other hand, if he sees himself as foredoomed to failure in spiritual things because of his heredity and his weakness, the image may become a death- mask. In either case it is not mirrored in the truths of the Word.
     If it is so mirrored, the image will be that of one who is indeed natural but is capable of becoming spiritual or celestial through regeneration by the Lord. The Word does show that of himself the natural man is in evil and is bent for hell. But it also shows him as, in that state, the object of the Lord's infinite mercy and compassion; as nevertheless created for eternal life in an angelic heaven; and as provided by the Lord with all the endowments, capacities, faculties, abilities and means which are necessary for the attainment of that end. Unless all these elements are included the mirror-image is not true, but is either blurred or distorted; for man is not merely what he is but what he can become and the means for so becoming. Since man is the Lord's creature, the only self-image that is accurate is one that shows him in relation to the Creator and the Creator's will and provision for him.
     This accurate image is one that man may face, not with elation or a sense of failure, but with gratitude to and trust in the Lord. The fact is that man is created to become an angel!-and the Lord who wills the end does not stint the means. He is created to succeed in spiritual things; and if he will believe this, and believe that the as-of-self really works, he will find that everything is in his favor. The Lord and all the heavens are on his side. That is why the Writings say that man himself is at fault if he is not saved.
KINGDOM THAT IS WITHIN 1968

KINGDOM THAT IS WITHIN       Editor       1968

     As the Lord's kingdom which we are to seek first is not of this world but is nevertheless in it, it can be only in the mind; for the mind, being spiritual, is in the world but not of it, and it lives to eternity. Therefore the Lord said: "The kingdom of God is within you." This does not mean, however, that the kingdom lies latent in every man, to be opened and entered into by a process of self-realization; that man is inherently good and will manifest his intrinsic goodness if he is only allowed to develop and express himself freely!

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     What the Lord is here teaching is that the states of the interiors make heaven, wherefore the kingdom is within a man and not outside of him. A kingdom implies a monarch who reigns, and the Lord's kingdom is the Lord's reign-the reign of Divine truth looking to spiritual good in the life of use. This reign can be established only in individual minds which accept it freely, and it then extends among men within whom it is. Thus it comes forth into the external world from within. Outward forms alone, no matter how ideal, are not the kingdom of God.
     Now the implications of this teaching are tremendous. As the Writings put it very simply: those are received into heaven after death who have received heaven in themselves while they lived on earth; and these are they who have heaven in themselves in the life of good and the faith of truth. As is well known, heaven is not a place into which man is admitted as a reward-to enter at once into its joys. It is a state, the actualization of a state already within man. Heaven is within man, and hell; hell in an evil man, heaven in a good man. After death every man simply comes into that hell or heaven in which he had been while in the world. The only difference is that the hell or heaven becomes fully perceptible and everything else falls away.
     There is a truth in the idea that the Lord's kingdom is within man from birth. For no man can ever be what he was not created with the potentiality of becoming, and man can receive heaven into himself because he is created after the image of the three heavens. But this potentiality is realized only when he lives in charity. For this a radical change in his life is necessary. Therefore the Lord also said: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
ULTIMATE POWER 1968

ULTIMATE POWER       Editor       1968

     We are living in an age which is acutely aware of and concerned about power structures and power centers. Military power, political power, economic power and nuclear power are regarded with hope and fear. Yet all of them are limited, all can be misused, all can backfire; and all have built into them the danger indicated by the dictum: "All power, corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." The only power that does not corrupt is the power of love; not the love of the Flower Children but spiritual love. This alone conquers without injury to victor or vanquished. This alone truly sets men free. It is the ultimate power, and it is also the ultimate hope of the human race.

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NEW CHURCH VIEW OF HISTORY 1968

NEW CHURCH VIEW OF HISTORY       JOHN KANE       1968

     Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     I greatly enjoyed William R. Kintner's article on "A New Church View of History" in your November issue. It would seem to me that, above all else, the dynamic force in history being Divine revelation is glaringly evident in the modern age, whether men acknowledge it or not.
     The historical beginning of the industrial/scientific age may be hard to determine exactly, but most will agree that James Watt's steam engine, 1769, is an important date; and it comes sufficiently close to the Second Advent to be significant to a New Church man. Scientific and technological progress since that date requires no further comment.
     Since it is the supreme gift of self-awareness, and with it the power of conceptual thought, that makes man, it was the turning of this Divine gift to man's personal ends, together with the denial of God, that brought about the vastation of the Most Ancient Church and all others after it. If the greatly increased Divine influx since the Second Advent has so increased man's intellectual capacity to make the huge material advances possible, then it is equally predictable that the capacity for and extent of profanation are similarly enhanced, as we see today all too clearly.
     I believe that it is one of the great unsolved problems of anthropologists and pre-historians to find a suitable explanation for the unprecedented surge of material intellectual achievement in the modern age, when mankind's physical brain has remained unchanged since Neanderthal Man or even long before him. If this is the problem, then New Church men know the answer.
     Perhaps a further opening of the natural rational through the leaders of the Age of Enlightenment-the encyclopedists, for example-was a precursor to the Second Advent, as Greek thought was said to have prepared the way for the revelation through the Divine Human? Another interesting parallel is the fact that John the Baptist and Emanuel Swedenborg were both the sons of priests.
     JOHN KANE
Santa Brigida
Las Palmas
Canary Islands

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Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

     The Glendale Society, now officially the Los Angeles Society, arranged the church calendar this year to include requested pastoral visits to the San Francisco Circle every other week. These provide "the Bay" with an afternoon service, a children's class and a doctrinal class without interfering with Glendale's Sunday morning service. We feel a close bond with the Circle and congratulate its members on their effort toward growth and progress in church uses.
     Doctrinal classes were given last year in both places on the relationship between the books of the Word, the Writings, and general doctrines derived therefrom. This fall a new series, on conjugial love, was introduced, with good attendance and discussion. Refreshments are provided by the ladies, interspersed with open houses at the manse. "Hearts and Hands," the women's group, also met at the church, and the men held monthly suppers and council meetings in homes of members.
     Senior class meetings, at which Mr. Soneson instructed our teenagers in "The Life of the Lord," were held twice a month. However, these classes were so well attended, and so beneficial, that they are now held once a week in the homes of the young people. Their attendance record, regardless of distance, and their newly acquired knowledge, might put older folk to shame. It is felt that the instruction will provide a base for future studies at the Academy.
     In July a young people's weekend was held. Fifteen young guests appeared, bringing the attendance to over thirty. The Academy representative, the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton, and the Rev. Geoffrey Howard gave fine addresses. Instruction was supplemented with pool parties, a beach trip and a society picnic in our famous foothills. A gratifying camaraderie developed, and the weekend was an unqualified success.
     Immediately preceding this, a day camp directed by the Rev. Lorentz Soneson was held at David Campbell's home. The children studied the five churches and what they represent. Handcrafts, singing, discussion and lecture were balanced with swimming and fun. A display and demonstration were given to the Society by the children and the teenage assistants at the beginning of the young people's weekend. The Society noted with delight how much had been gained by their efforts.
     A beautiful wedding was held the following weekend. Miss Louisa Kline and Mr. Craig Bergner, since called to duty in Alaska, were married in a beautiful ceremony, and the Society rejoiced with them at a lovely reception afterwards. The ladies had held a shower for Louisa in June, hoping to express the affection and appreciation all of us feel for her many creative contributions to our growth.
     July 21 marked the tenth anniversary of the dedication of our building. We were most fortunate to have with us the Rev. and Mrs. Harold Cranch, who figured so greatly in its erection, and the Rev. and Mrs. Willard Heinrichs, who had come to the States for the Northwest District Assembly. A reception at Klippensteins, a moving service on Sunday morning, and another pool party at Hultgrens, followed by a farewell smorgasbord in our Sunday school building rounded out a very happy celebration. Mrs. Cranch returned later for another visit, and we hope she can do so again before too long.
     The Rev. Robert Junge was also a welcome and inspiring visitor last summer. He spoke to the Sons at a dinner in the lovely Nickel home. An experimental evening service made possible a second visit with the Rev. Geoffrey Howard-this time accompanied by his wife and children.

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The marvels of modern transportation have made possible a greater unity with the rest of the church.
     A carnival was staged at Halloween by the ladies to amuse the young and raise money for Christmas gifts and farewell presents to our young Academy students. Beautiful suitcases were presented to all of these, the Sons taking care of our young men. This fall we sent back east the largest group in our history; and although the loss is felt, it is the culmination of years of effort and a proud period in our development.
     The birth and baptism of two babies-Tracy Campbell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. David Campbell, and Joseph David, son of Mr. and Mrs. Raymond David-were significant to all of us. With only four pre-schoolers in our Society we can only hope that more young couples will settle among us. Since we live in a transient area, changes in membership are inevitable. We have just completed incorporation and are studying ways in which numerical and financial growth might be encouraged. We feel that there is much here for any dedicated New Church man. The fact that we do not form unanimous attitudes toward every facet of development is constructive. Opinions are expressed with charity and are derived from a genuine concern for the welfare of all members. Variety of ideas is a healthy sign that we are thinking. It is a privilege to belong to a society which has had from the start, and continues to have, a lively sphere. This sphere may be the result of having among us many determined individuals who have the courage to express their opinions. Yet all abide by majority rules. This year we were able to provide full support for our pastor.
     Our New Church Day celebration, worship followed by a family picnic, was an outstanding example of what societies offer in the early stages of development. Bonds are strong, and families mingled in games and sport in a way that is all too rare in current life. Our Sunday school is small, but nearly every adult member is contributing to it. Our members are scattered, but, thanks to the freeways and deep habit, attendance does not suffer. Our history is brief, but with each new undertaking we find our love for the Writings and our fellow New Church men increasing.
     Visitors, servicemen in particular, renew our hopes for the future. One such was Richard Simons, and our hearts reach out to his family and friends. We share their loss, for he had spent much time here and had entered enthusiastically into our uses. We became very fond of him and were sincerely impressed by his fine philosophy. The angels must indeed rejoice as they welcome his kind into their world.
     We on earth, in Los Angeles in particular, look forward to another year of work and increased effort toward establishing the Lord's church on earth.
     RUTH BARRY ZUBER
SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1968-1969 1968

SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1968-1969              1968




     Announcements





     Ninety-second School Year

1968

Sept.     4     Wed.     Faculty Meetings
     5     Thur.     Dormitories open (Students must arrive before 8:00 p.m.)
                    Secondary Schools Registration: local students
                    College Registration: local students
     6     Fri.     Secondary Schools Registration: dormitory students
               College Registration: dormitory students
     7     Sat.     8:00 a.m. All student workers report to supervisors
               3:00 p.m. Opening Exercises
               3:30 p.m. Lawn Party
               8:00 p.m. President's Reception
     9     Mon.     Classes begin in Secondary Schools and College

Oct.     25     Fri.     Charter Day
     26     Sat.     Annual Meeting of Corporation

Nov.     27     Wed.     Thanksgiving Recess begins after morning classes

Dec.     1     Sun.     Dormitory students return before 8:00 p.m.
     2     Mon.     Classes resume in all schools
     6     Fri.     Secondary Schools: End of Fall term
     20     Fri.     Christmas Recess begins after morning classes

1969

Jan.     5     Sun.     Dormitory students return before 8.00 p.m.
     6     Mon.     Classes resume in all schools.
     20-24     Mon-Fri.     College semester examinations.

Feb.     3     Mon.     College Semester begins.     
          Final date for applications for 1969-1970 school year.
     24     Mon.     Washington's Birthday holiday.

Mar.     14     Fri.     Secondary Schools: End of Winter term
     Spring Recess begins after morning classes
     23     Sun.     Dormitory students return before 8:00 p.m.
     24     Mon.     Classes resume in all schools
Apr.     4     Fri.     Good Friday. Holiday following special Chapel Service

May     16     Fri.     Joint Meeting of Faculty and Corporation
     30     Fri.     Memorial Day Holiday

June     2-6     Mon.-Fri. College: Semester examinations
     12     Thurs.     8:30 p.m. President's Reception
     13     Fri.     Secondary Schools: End of Spring term
     10:30 a.m. Commencement Exercises
     Note:          At the beginning of the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter recesses, student workers remain after morning classes for four hours of student work.

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SON OF MAN 1968

SON OF MAN       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968


Vol. LXXXVIII
April 1968
No. 4

     "Who is this Son of Man?" (John 12: 34)

     When the Lord entered upon His public ministry He was received by His disciples as the Messiah who was to come. Was not this He of whom the prophets had spoken? Had not John the Baptist proclaimed Him at the fords of Jordan, saying: "This is the Son of God"?* Yet although His disciples believed in Him, there were yet many things they did not understand. Thus, when He began to speak to them of His impending death and resurrection they were confused. So incredible were the words which He spoke that Peter openly rebuked him, saying: "Be it far from Thee, Lord. This shall not be unto Thee."**
     * John 1: 34.
     ** Matthew 16: 22.
     In this connection, however, it is to be noted that whenever the Lord spoke of His death and resurrection, He referred to Himself as the Son of Man, Hence it is recorded in Matthew that "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."* Also in Mark: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto the scribes; and they shall condemn Him to death and the third day He shall rise again."** But it is stated in Luke: "They," that is, the disciples, "understood none of these things"***
     * Matthew 17: 22, 23.
     ** Mark 10: 33, 34. See also Mark 9: 31; Luke 9: 22 and 18: 31-33.
     ***Luke 18: 34.
     So it was that when the Lord came up to Jerusalem for the last time He again spoke of His death and resurrection.

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For He said to His disciples, in the presence of the people: "The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. . . . [But] now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: But for this cause came I unto this hour. .. . And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto Me."* Then those who stood about answered Him, saying: "We have heard out of the law that Christ abideth forever: and how sayest Thou, The Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?"**
     * John 12: 23, 24, 27, 22.
     ** John 12: 34.
     
     "Who is this Son of Man?" This was, and still is, the question. To any reader of the Scripture it is quite apparent that in speaking of the Son of Man, the Lord was speaking of Himself. Yet why was it that at times He referred to Himself as the Son of Man, and at other times as the Son of God? The key to this is to be found in the fact that whenever the Lord spoke of His death and resurrection He referred to Himself as the Son of Man. For the Son of Man is the Word, that is, the Lord as He is revealed to the sight of the understanding. By the Son of God, however, is meant the Divine love which proceeds from the Lord and is present within the Word as the soul in its body. But as man can form no idea of the Divine love apart from the Word, it is as the Word that the Lord came into the world, and it is the Word that men have rejected. Hence the notable statement in the Arcana, where in speaking of the Lord's temptations, it is said: "The Lord's Divine rational as to good could not suffer, or undergo temptations; for no genius or spirit inducing temptations can come near to Good Divine, as it is above all . . . temptation. But Truth Divine bound was what could be tempted; for there are fallacies, and still more falsities, which break . . . [through] and thus tempt it; for concerning Truth Divine some idea can be formed, but not concerning Good Divine except by those who have perception, and are celestial angels. It was Truth Divine which was no longer acknowledged when the Lord came into the world, and therefore it was that from which the Lord underwent and endured temptations."*
     * AC 2813.
     By "Truth Divine bound" is meant truth as bound by the appearances in which the letter of the Word is written. Take for example, the doctrine of the Trinity. The appearance is that there are three Gods, or what is the same, three persons in one God. To think from the appearance, therefore, is to think fallaciously concerning Him. Nevertheless, there is a trinity in God, but apart from the spiritual sense of the Word this trinity cannot be understood.

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Or take for example, the appearance in Scripture that God the Father is an angry and jealous God, whose anger was finally appeased by the sight of His Son's suffering upon the cross. Or take for example, the appearance in Scripture that man is saved by faith alone. These appearances are there, and they are of such a nature that they admit fallacies and falsities which break in upon truth and lead the mind into states of temptation; that is, into doubts concerning the Divinity of the Lord and the integrity of the Word.
     At no time in the history of the Christian Church has this been more in evidence than in recent years. All about us, men in increasing numbers are repudiating the Divinity of the Lord and the validity of the Word. In reflecting upon the doctrine of a tri-personal God, the doctrine of the atonement, salvation through faith alone, and a host of other appearances which the Christian churches have extracted out of the Scriptures and set up as doctrines, men say, Can this be the Word? We have no difficulty, therefore, in understanding why many are now referring to this age as the post-Christian era; but what they do not know is that this is the new Christian era, for as the Writings state, at this day true Christianity is just beginning to dawn. For a corn of wheat has fallen into the ground, and, having died, it will send forth its roots and will yield much fruit.*
     * John 12: 24.

     The corn of wheat is the genuine truth which is contained within the appearances of the letter of the Word which, having been rejected by men, has been cast under foot. But within the letter there is life, and where there is life the power of renewal is present. Thus the seed is transformed; that is to say, it is raised up in a new form. This is the perpetual miracle of life, which is the miracle of the resurrection. Hence the Writings say that man does not die. It is his body which dies, and this in order that the spirit of man may enter into new life. Yet how many of the so-called learned of the day believe this? Even as Christian scholars derived doctrine out of the appearances of the letter of the Word, so modern scholars derive the materialistic doctrines of the present day out of the appearances of nature. But the Writings urge us to think spiritually, and not naturally, concerning these things; for to think spiritually is to think from the Word-not from the Word as it is bound by the letter, but from the Word as it is now revealed in its spiritual sense.
     It is, then, by means of the spiritual sense that the Lord has opened the way wherein man may enter with understanding into the mystery of the Lord's death and resurrection. It is spoken of as a mystery because all things are called mysteries which are not understood. But the reason it has not been understood is because men have thought of the risen Lord from the appearance; that is, from the appearance that He rose from the tomb with the material body.

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That this was not so is evident from the teaching of the Writings, where it is said: "As His body Was no longer material, but Divine substantial, He came in to His disciples when the doors were shut."* The disciples, therefore, did not see the Lord with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the spirit; howbeit, they saw Him as they had known Him as a man in the world.
     * Lord 35.
     It is to be noted, however, that although the Lord did not rise with the material body, He did rise with the whole body, and this differently from man, whose spirit is separated from the body at death.* This is the repeated teaching of the Writings; and although subject to various interpretations, the truth remains that the Lord rose with the whole body which He had in the world. The reference here, however, is not to the finite forms of nature which the Lord derived from the mother, but to that which is living and present within these forms, namely, the Divine substantial, which is substance itself. If this seems abstract it is because the mind cannot without difficulty form any idea of substance apart from time and space.
     * HH 316; Lord 35; DLW 221; AC 10252.
     But if we will think spiritually and not naturally concerning the risen Lord, we can perceive without difficulty that the Lord rose with the whole body; that is, with the whole body of truth which by process of glorification He took to Himself as Man in the world. Thus the Word, which in ancient times was known only through the representation of others, that is, through the human of some angel or spirit who stood in God's place, was now established in the Lord's own Divine Human which, as accommodated to the sight of man's understanding, is revealed in the spiritual sense of the Word.

     What we are celebrating today, therefore, is not an isolated event in the spiritual history of the human race which took place almost two thousand years ago. For the miracle of the Lord's resurrection is an ever-recurring miracle which takes place in the hearts and minds of all who in providence are led to the perception of the Divinity and authority of the spiritual sense of the Word. In the elevation of the Divine doctrine out of the letter, in which it has so long been entombed, the Lord has risen again, not as a Divine Man who is known to us as He was known to His disciples, that is, as a person in the world, but as the spirit of truth, concerning whom the Lord said: "When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth."* Hence the testimony of the Writings concerning themselves: ". . .[the] second coming of the Lord is not a coming in person, but in the Word, which is from Him, and is Himself."**

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     * John 16: 13.
     **TCR 776.
     While it is true that at this day there are few who bear witness to His rising, this will not always be so. Despite all appearances to the contrary, the day will come when men will again seek Him in His Word. But in going out to the sepulchre they will not find Him. Like Mary, who represents that primitive affection of truth which is miraculously preserved by the Lord with all in whom there is any remnant of innocence, they will seek Him among the appearances of the letter of the Word. But on looking into the sepulchre they will find two angels in shining garments, namely, the historic and the prophetic Word, who, in testifying to the miracle of the resurrection, ask: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen."* Amen.
     * Luke 24: 5, 6.

     LESSONS: John 12: 20-36. John 20. AC 2813.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 568, 564, 397, 562, 398, 560.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 16, 35.
RISEN LORD 1968

RISEN LORD       Jr. Rev. DANIEL GOODENOUGH       1968

     An Easter Talk to Children

     Before you children see or do something new and different, somebody usually tries to explain to you what it will be like, so that when it happens you will understand it. Now this usually helps; but when the thing actually happens, how often do you find that it is very different from what you had expected? In fact, you may not at first understand it at all, even though someone has already told you all about it. For example, the first time you go to school, although you have been told what to expect, you may find that what usually happens is so new and different that you can hardly understand it. It is the same when someone goes swimming for the first time, to a movie, to the circus, or to anything else really new. All during life, and especially while they are growing up, people find that having something explained to them does not make the thing clear and sensible until they themselves have seen or done it.

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After you have done something new for a while, like going to school or going swimming, then you begin to understand it for yourself. In fact, you do it so often that you may wonder how anyone could not understand something so simple. But remember, you did not truly understand it until you yourself could see what it was like.
     Remembering this should make it easier to see why the Lord's disciples were confused on the first Easter and in the days afterwards. The Lord had explained to them again and again that He was God; that He must suffer the crucifixion for man's sake; but that He would rise on the third day, because He was God. Many times He tried to show them this, especially in the days after what we call Palm Sunday. It was an idea the apostles probably thought they understood, just as someone going to school for the first time may think he understands what school is all about. But he does not really understand school yet, and neither did the apostles yet understand who the Lord was. They had been told, but they themselves had not seen it.
     In fact, after He was crucified they even thought that He was dead. That is why Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to the sepulchre to anoint His body with oil and sweet spices. They loved Him, but they did not understand. When they found the very great stone rolled away, they still did not understand; and even when, instead of the body of the Lord, they found a young man in white, who was actually an angel, they still did not understand. The angel told them about the Lord. "He is risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him."* Then he told the women to tell the apostles that the Lord would come to them while they journeyed north to Galilee.
     * Mark 16: 6.

     We may think that if we had heard the angel, we would have hearkened to him at once and understood about the Lord. But we would probably have been fearful, like the three faithful women who fled away and trembled so with amazement that they did not at first, as they were supposed to, tell the apostles. They knew that something most unusual had happened; but even though the Lord had explained it, and the angel, too, they were still full of fear and wonderment about what it all meant.
     Then something happened to Mary Magdalene to make her understand. The Lord came to her. Although He had been crucified, He was the Lord God, and God cannot be harmed. Now He was risen in even greater fullness, glory and power than before. He had explained this several times before He was crucified, but only now could Mary Magdalene see what His words actually meant. We can imagine the great joy she must have felt in understanding at last this wonderful truth, and beholding anew His Divine power and love.

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     Mary then tried to explain to the apostles, but they could not understand until He came to them also. So often they had misunderstood His teachings; but now, when He came to them, for the first time they, too, began to understand who He actually was-the God of all the heavens and all the earth. They saw for themselves that He was risen from the sepulchre, and that His glory and power were greater than ever before. Of course, the Lord continued to teach them; and as long as they did His work on earth He enlightened their eyes and inspired their hearts, so that they could teach men truly.
     The most important of all their teaching was about the Lord Himself. He had them write down most of this teaching in the four Gospels, so that men would not again misunderstand Him as they once did. Today we can understand the Lord and see why He was of course risen from the sepulchre on Easter morning; but the reason we can see this for ourselves is that the Lord has explained it in the Word which the apostles wrote down. We do not need to go to any distant land, to any sepulchre, or even to heaven to see the Lord and understand Him. He is revealed for us right now in His Word. If we will simply go to His Word, learn from it, and think about what we learn, we, too, can understand for ourselves the most important of all truths: that the Lord Jesus Christ reigns forever as the God of heaven and earth. Amen.

     LESSONS: Mark 16. Doctrine of the Lord 35: 9, 10.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 568, 562, 564.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C12, C17.
SOURCE OF LIGHT 1968

SOURCE OF LIGHT              1968

     "If it is accepted as a doctrine and acknowledged that the Lord is one with the Father, and that His Human is Divine from the Divine in Himself, light will be seen in every particular of the Word; for that which is accepted as doctrine and acknowledged from doctrine is in light when the Word is read. Moreover, the Lord, from whom is all light and who has all power, will enlighten those who acknowledge this. But on the other hand, if it is accepted and acknowledged as a doctrine that the Divine of the Father is another Divine than the Lord's, nothing will be seen in light in the Word; since the man who is in that doctrine turns himself from one Divine to the other" (Apocalypse Explained 200).

152


DOCTRINE OF THE LORD 1968

DOCTRINE OF THE LORD       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1968

     The Resurrection Body

     (The second of two articles)

     From the beginning of the New Church there has been a division in the interpretation of the teaching of the Writings on the resurrection body of our Lord. Specifically, the question has been: was the material body, the body taken down from the cross, glorified, or was it dissipated in the sepulchre? To state it in another way: was the material body part of that human from the mother, Mary, that was wholly put off and rejected; or was it part of that Human from the Father which the Lord put on and therefore glorified? In considering this question it is of great importance that we agree as to what is essential and reaffirm our faith in it. This was done by the Rev. John Clowes, who, in the first consideration of this doctrine in the Intellectual Repository wrote as follows in 1817:

     "Much ... as I lament that, in this instance, the children of the New Dispensation cannot be brought to think exactly alike, yet I am consoled with the reflection that the difference of their opinions does not affect the substance and real truth of that dispensation, neither has it a tendency to diminish the influence of that substance and truth on the minds and lives of those who receive the dispensation. For whether we say that the material body of the Lord was glorified, or not, we are all agreed in this, that He now reigns in heaven in a Divine Substantial Body, or Humanity, and in that Body or Humanity is the One Only Truth and Living God; the One Only Divine Fountain of All Life, Love, Wisdom and Benediction; thus the Creator, Preserver, Redeemer, Regenerator and Saviour of mankind and of all the host of heaven; consequently the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."

     The truths concerning the means by which the Lord glorified His Human are revealed to the end that the church may know, worship and love the Lord in His Divine Human. Several numbers in the Arcana say that he who is already in this acknowledgment and worship need not trouble himself with a consideration of the means.-Yet at the same time they say that thought on such things is of great delight to the angels, for he who understands the means by which an end is accomplished better understands the end.

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So while we may say that an understanding of the means by which the Lord glorified His Human is not essential to an individual's salvation if he is already in the acknowledgment and worship of the Lord, yet that understanding is at the same time of great importance to the church and to the development of its thought and life.
     A neglect of the means of the glorification may indicate a superficial acknowledgment of the Lord in His Divine Human, and may easily lead eventually to denial. For he who loves an end also loves the means by which that end is effected.

     In considering the holy and sublime subject before us, we must fully realize the limitations of our finite comprehension and also the grossness of our ideas concerning it, bound as they are by the things of time, space and person. Only as we succeed in removing these things from our thought can we advance in our understanding of the Lord's glorification.
     Also, we must try to enter into an understanding of it from the statements of the Writings, and not from the reasoning of our own intelligence. Further, we must avoid the spirit of controversy, in which we are led to defend our own understanding rather than earnestly striving to comprehend the teachings of Divine revelation. In the General Church we have, I think, succeeded in doing this; for although there is a difference of opinion on the nature of the Lord's resurrection body, we have never brought to the subject the spirit of controversy, being content to let each man present his understanding of the subject, giving others time for reflection upon it, apart from the heat of controversy. Yet I hope that we shall continue to present public and private studies on the subject, and not keep silent for fear of stirring up controversy. This could easily lead to an historical faith which would end in denial.
     Unfortunately, in the early days of the church, a heated and even acrimonious debate concerning the resurrection body arose between the Rev. William Mason and the Rev. Samuel Noble, particularly on the part of Mr. Mason. He took the extreme position that the teaching in Luke 24: 39, "a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have," was literally true and presented the doctrine of genuine truth on the subject. He held that the Lord's body was "wholly paternal and Divine when entombed," and that when it rose it still had upon it the imprint of the nails and the wound in the side. At one point in the controversy against the dissipationists he proposed forming a society within the church for upholding the literal truth of Luke 24: 39, and accused "H" (Hindmarsh) and "N" (Noble), as he referred to them, of basing their opinions upon human reasoning and not upon the teaching of Emanuel Swedenborg. Fortunately for the church this spirit passed, although the difference of opinion has continued.

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     In considering this subject we must realize that the teaching concerning the Lord must of necessity appear ambiguous, for man cannot see the Infinite such as it is in itself. He can see it only in part and in its "appearings," as the Divine in creation. The Writings are a revelation of the Divine Human in rational appearances of the truth; in other words, in the Writings the Divine of the Lord appears in rational truths, and the church is to enter into an increasingly interior perception of the Divine in those rational appearances. We read:

     "The sense of the letter is such as to separate what the internal sense unites; and this for the reason that the man who is to be instructed from the sense of the letter cannot have an idea of a one, unless he first has an idea of more than one; for a one with man is formed from many; or what is the same, from successive things is formed what is simultaneous. There are many things in the Lord, and all are Jehovah. This is why the sense of the letter makes a distinction; while heaven by no means does so, but acknowledges one God in a simple idea, and no other than the Lord."*
     * AC 3035.

     A one with man must be composed of many ideas, and the more ideas that compose it the more perfect is his idea of its unity. A one composed of nothing is nothing. So an idea of the one God whose particular attributes are unknown ends in a denial of God. We must learn of the nature of God through consideration of His particular qualities as though they were separate and distinct in Him, and we must progress in our knowledge successively. The greater our knowledge of His nature and quality, and the more distinct our ideas of them, the more perfect can our idea of the unity of God become; for in Him infinite things are distinctly one-which means that they can be separated in thought but not in actuality. It is of great importance to keep this in mind while reflecting on the nature of God.
     In considering the nature of the Lord's resurrection body, I am afraid that I shall present more questions than answers. But it is well to keep an open mind until an answer to one's question is seen clearly taught in the whole of the Word.
     To recapitulate what is clearly seen by all in the church. The Lord Jesus Christ is the one only God of heaven and earth in whom is the Divine Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We all acknowledge that He glorified the Human which He assumed in the world; that is to say, that He united it to the Divine from which it was. We acknowledge that He rose with the whole body which He assumed while in the world, and this differently from every man. We acknowledge that by the glorification He put on the Divine natural, so that He is now present with man immediately in the natural-present in a way that was not possible before the Advent.

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     Let it be clearly understood that when we speak of the Divine natural, or the Divine Human, we are speaking of the presence of the Infinite in and with the finite, not of the Infinite such as it is in itself. By glorification there was no change in the Infinite, in se. That would be to deny the Infinite. There was a change in its presence in the finite, or with men and angels. God always was Divine Man: from eternity there were the Divine esse, the Divine existere and the Divine procedere. The change brought about by the Advent was a change in the presence of God with man. Before the Advent the Divine was present with men and angels through a representative Human, called the Angel of Jehovah; by the glorification of the Human God became present with man in His own Divine Human Form-present immediately in the natural degree of man's life. This is meant by putting on the Divine natural.

     Now the question before us is: was the glorification of the material body a necessary part of the putting on of the Divine natural? One of the great dangers in considering this general subject is that we may conceive of the Divine as having descended into the world and then returned to the Infinite, leaving nothing but an historical record of His birth and resurrection, and that this historical record is the Divine natural. In that case the Divine Human would consist only in that record as impressed on man's mind. According to the Writings, however, the Divine Human is an essence by itself, and it is Divine substantial.
     The Writings are clear. The Lord rejected everything from the mother, Mary. The question is: what was from the mother? There is no doubt that the Lord received a maternal heredity, and that this He rejected entirely. But was the body, the material body, from the mother? Some say that the material body is not from the mother; that it is from creation, although supplied by means of the mother; and in a sense this must be true. But do the Writings teach that the material body is from the mother? I think they do. "All the spiritual," we read, "is from the father, all the material from the mother."* Again: "The Lord put off the human from the mother, which in itself was like that of another man, and thus material, and put on a Human from the Father, which in itself-was like His Divine, and thus substantial, so that the Human, too, became Divine."**
     * TCR 92.
     ** Lord 35: 2.
     On the other hand, the Writings further teach that the Lord rose with the body which He had in the world. A few quotations must suffice. "The Lord rose not only as to the soul but, differently from man, as to the body."* "He took from the sepulchre His whole body, both the flesh and the bones, unlike any other man."**

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"He glorified that of the body which with man . . . is rejected and putrifies . . . leaving nothing in the sepulchre, altogether otherwise than takes place with every man."***
     * AC 10738.
     ** TCR 170: 2.
     *** LJ Post 87.
     Bishop N. D. Pendleton suggested that these numbers referred to the corporeal life of the body; and the last number does say "that of the body," not "the body," which is rejected and putrifies. Also, a process of transmutation is forbidden.* But the question arises: what is meant by the body? For there are also these teachings. "He took, indeed, a body or human from the mother, but this He put off in the world, and put on a Human from the Father, and this is the Divine Human."** "The Lord in the sepulchre, thus by death, rejected all the human from the mother, and dissipated it . . . and so assumed a Human from the Father."*** "Within the Lord, prior forms, which are from the maternal, were completely destroyed and extirpated, and Divine forms were received in their place."****
     * Lord 35.
     ** AE 1108: 2.
     *** Ath. 162.
     **** AC 6872.

     What, then, is meant by, body, and how far is it legitimate to interpret terms in one part of the Writings by definitions given in other places? Certainly the Writings use the term to mean other than the material body. Heaven is called the Lord's body, and those in heaven are said to be in His body. The church also is called the body of the Lord; and the body of man's spirit is said to be composed of "the honest and just things that he does."* Man after death does not rest upon his own basis. In this he is not a complete man, but he rests upon the common base of men still in the world.
     * HH 475.
     The Human which the Lord glorified He put on while in the world, and that body was the Word of the Old Testament-the representative good and truths therein. Thus the descriptions of the glorification as given in the Arcana Coelestia are in terms of the dispersing of the appearances of the truths of the Old Testament as existing in the minds of men and angels, and reveal the Divine truths contained within them. Was it not this Divine body of good and truth that was revealed to the disciples at the Transfiguration?
     But the greatest difficulty in the thought that the material body was glorified is the teaching that the Lord put on and glorified the Human successively while He was in the world. It would seem certain that the material body was as material at the time of the crucifixion as it was at birth.

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What, then, is the explanation of the passage in Luke: "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have"?
     In the first place, this cannot be taken as literally true, for the teaching is clear in De Domino and in True Christian Religion that while the Lord appeared to His disciples in the body which He had in the world, that body was Divine substantial, not a refined material body; for in every instance the disciples saw Him with the eyes of the spirit and not with their natural eyes. The flesh and bones were the flesh and bones of His Divine substantial body; and of these the Writings say: "The Lord alone has proprium; by this proprium He redeemed man, and by this proprium He saves him. The Lord's proprium is life, and from His proprium man's proprium, which in itself is dead, is made alive. The Lord's proprium is also signified by His words in Luke 24: 39; 'A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have.' "* We read also:

     "The 'flesh and blood' ... signified by the bread and wine in the Holy Supper denote the Lord's Human proprium. The Lord's proprium itself, which He acquired to Himself by His own power, is Divine. His proprium from conception was what He had from Jehovah His Father, and was Jehovah Himself. Hence the proprium which He acquired to Himself in the Human was Divine. This Divine proprium in the Human is what is called His flesh and blood; flesh is His Divine good, and blood is the Divine truth of the Divine good. . . . The Lord's Human, after it was glorified or made Divine, cannot he thought of as human, but as the Divine love in human form; and this so much the more than the angels, who, when they appear . . . appear as forms of love and charity under the human shape, and this from the Lord; for the Lord from Divine love made His Human Divine."**
     * AC 149: 2.
     ** AC 4735.

     "A spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see Me have" signifies that the Lord, from His own proper power, overcame the hells and thereby glorified His Human; that thereby He, as to His Human, acquired proprium. No man overcomes evil by his own power. The power to do so is the Lord's with him, and therefore man's heavenly proprium is the Lord with him. No man rises into heaven with "flesh and bones."
     This passage, then, has no reference to the flesh and bones of the material body. These were dissipated in the tomb along with everything else taken from the mother, Mary.

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WHAT IS RELEVANT? 1968

WHAT IS RELEVANT?       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1968

     The most insistent demand of the modern Christian Church is that all religious teaching shall be relevant to the practical concerns of everyday life. It must point to the solution of the political, economic and social problems on which the external welfare of society depends. In consequence, there is widespread impatience with the teaching of abstract theological doctrines which were regarded as extremely important by an earlier generation.
     Because this is the prevailing attitude of the world around us, it cannot fail to exert an influence upon the New Church. There seems to be an increasing desire for sermons that more obviously explain the application of doctrine to life. This is important, because religion is primarily not a matter of intellectual faith but of charity in act, and thus of life. But what is meant is a life that looks first to what is spiritual and eternal, and only secondarily to what is temporal and worldly.
     Everyone regards as relevant whatever promises to promote the achievement of what he loves. To this he pays attention. To this he gives thought and study and persistent research. Other things he allows to pass unnoticed. As long as the love of the world dominates the minds of men they will look to the physical and the social sciences for the achievement of their goal, while the knowledge of spiritual things will appear to them as quite irrelevant.
     The supreme purpose of the Lord in His second coming is to kindle anew in the hearts of men a love of spiritual truth. To this end He has revealed the internal sense of the Word, the nature and reality of the spiritual world, and the laws of life that are essential to a spiritual religion. Regeneration is effected solely by the application to life of this newly revealed truth. Nor can it be so applied until it is known and rationally understood, any more than the laws of nature can be utilized for the achievement of external benefits to society except in so far as they are known and understood.
     As far as men are imbued with the love of spiritual truth, and therefore look to what is eternal, the teaching of the Writings will assume for them a new importance. The knowledge and understanding of that teaching will become an indispensable means to the attainment of their goal.

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They will search for it eagerly, and will persist in exploring it with the same zeal that men now give to the study of the natural sciences. It is the application of this Divine truth to life that must be the supreme purpose of all New Church teaching. And because that teaching is the only means whereby the goal of the New Church may be attained, the doctrines of the Writings will become for men not only relevant, but an absolute necessity.
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO 1968

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1968

     In your lifetime and mine, the most important year to commemorate the Gothenburg Trial is probably 1969. But it really got started in 1768, and we are coming to some important 200th anniversaries in this connection. One can hardly overestimate the significance of this trial, for Swedenborg sent a letter to the universities in Sweden stating "that this trial has been the most important and the most solemn that has been before any council during the last 1700 years, since it concerns the New Church."*
     * Docu. II: 381.
     This is the first in a series of occasional articles on events related to the Gothenburg Trial under the heading "Two Hundred Years Ago." April is the time to talk about a review of the Apocalypse Revealed appearing in Gothenburg. It had first appeared in a German magazine called The New Theological Library. This magazine, written and edited by Dr. J. Ernesti of Leipzig, appeared throughout the 1760's, always with the same cover picturing a bear sucking his paw.
     However, in the form in which it is of interest here, the review of the Apocalypse Revealed was published by a magazine in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the month of April, 1768. This was one of the most significant events leading up to the Gothenburg Trial, and it is an important part of the history of the New Church. The man responsible for the review, Dr. Johan Rosen, is mentioned in that phrase in Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church: "About those in Gottenberg: Beyer, Rosen, and the others."
     Why was this review so very significant? Reason enough would be the fact that the dragon of the Apocalypse is here identified with the falsities of Protestant doctrine.

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Imagine such a thing appearing in an authorized Protestant magazine! Even today there are Protestant publications which will not permit paid advertisements for the Writings.
     It should be noted that the Apocalypse Revealed brought things to light which had not been mentioned before. Take, for example, the fact that when Swedenborg had been writing certain earlier works of the Writings there had been furious opposition in the spiritual world. No hint of this was given in these earlier works, but it is brought out plainly in the Apocalypse Revealed. "When these doctrines were written, the dragonists stood around me, and endeavored, with all their fury, to devour, that is, to extinguish them. This news it is permitted me to relate, because of a truth it so happened. The dragonists who stood around me were from all parts of the reformed Christian world."*
     * AR 543.
     Another thing made known in the Apocalypse Revealed was the fact that certain bishops of England had secretly and effectively prevented the reading of Heaven and Hell and other books.* This must have taken place eight years before the Apocalypse Revealed was published; but it was first brought to light in the pages of that work that these bishops "had persuaded as many as they could not to read them."** And this opposition was compared to what proceeds "out of the, mouth of the dragon." Swedenborg knew that this book would cause a stir. He commented in a letter that in England "some noise is probably being made, on account of the bishops of England being somewhat severely treated in the memorable relations; yet necessity required it."***
     * SD 6098, 6101.
     ** AR 716.
     *** Docu. II: 240.

     The Apocalypse Revealed was available only in Latin, and it was a significant step when Rosen published his review in Swedish. This consisted for the most part of a translation of Dr. Ernesti's review; but Rosen also included direct quotes from the work itself and some comments of his own gently refuting the more negative parts of Ernesti's review.
     Ernesti had reviewed previous works of the Writings. In this review he mentions this and remarks, not very happily, that the Writings "have not remained without adherents." It is not always clear when Ernesti is quoting. He gives the following from the Preface-his own comments in brackets. "No one is able to explain the Apocalypse but the Lord [Jesus] alone, for each word therein contains arcana. On which account it has pleased the Lord to open my eyes and to teach me. No one, therefore, should believe that I have taken anything from myself, or from an angel. I have learned all things from the Lord alone [just like the apostle Paul]".

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     Although Swedenborg seems to follow the Latin of Schmidius in the Apocalypse, Ernesti says that it is the Vulgate that is used. He notices the Memorable Relations, this being the first book of the Writings to include them at the end of the chapters. "We promise that the latter will be received with applause by certain persons who themselves are having heavenly visions. We shall describe none of them."
     Summarizing from the twelfth chapter, Ernesti writes: "The Church is the woman, the doctrine her son. The Dragon is the doctrine of the trinity in God, the dualism in the person of Christ, together with a justification by faith alone. It treats further of the protection of the Church against persecution, and of the growth of that Church."
     He refers later to an "admonition to abandon the doctrines of the present church concerning faith without love." And of the nineteenth chapter we read: "It proclaims the Advent of the Lord, the New Church and its doctrine, the general call to it, the opposition of the Protestants."
     In reading the Apocalypse Revealed itself, we have a sense of an impending doctrinal conflict on earth. For in connection with the saying that the dragon was cast out into the earth we are told that the dragon and his angels communicate with those on earth who are in falsities.* One expects some on earth to "oppose the doctrine, to maintain that it is false, and to cry out against it."** It is clear that out of hatred "against the New Church" the dragon "will excite men on earth,"*** for he knows that the New Church upon earth is "about to be."****
     * AR 552.
     ** AR 554.
     *** AR 558.
     **** AR 559.
     The conflict and opposition are demonstrated in the Gothenburg Trial, to which we will refer in later articles.
SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN 1968

SON OF GOD AND SON OF MAN              1968

     "He who knows what in the Lord the Son of God signifies, and what in Him the Son of Man signifies, can see many arcana of the Word; for the Lord calls Himself sometimes the Son of God, and sometimes the Son of Man-always according to the subject treated of. When His Divinity is treated of, His unity with the Father, His Divine power, faith in Him and life from Him, He calls Himself the Son, and the Son of God; but where His passion, the judgment, His coming, and in general, redemption, salvation, reformation and regeneration are treated of, He calls Himself the Son of Man" (Lord 22).

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1968

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1968

     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 Hall of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, January 23-26, 1968, following an opening service conducted by Bishop Pendleton in the cathedral chapel at the beginning of the first session.
     In attendance were three priests of the episcopal degree, twenty-four of the pastoral degree, and one of the ministerial degree, a total of twenty- eight: namely, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, presiding, the Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms, and the Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton, Kurt H. Asplundh, Robert H. P. Cole, Harold C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Victor J. Gladish, Daniel W. Goodenough, W. Cairns Henderson, B. David Holm, Geoffrey H. Howard, Robert S. Junge, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Ormond de C. Odhner, Dandridge Pendleton, Martin Pryke, Norman H. Reuter, Norbert H. Rogers, Donald L. Rose, Erik Sandstrom, Frederick L. Schnarr, David R. Simons, Lorentz R. Soneson, Kenneth O. Stroh, Douglas M. Taylor and Willard L. D. Heinrichs. Also present by invitation was Candidate N. Bruce Rogers.
     A variety of doctrinal studies and practical matters were considered. A program committee consisting of the Rev. Messrs. Robert S. Junge and Daniel W. Goodenough, appointed last year to provide a major study for these meetings, had chosen as their subject the question of the application of the Writings to civil, moral and social affairs. Both members of the committee had circulated lengthy papers prior to the meetings, and then at the meetings themselves read second papers focusing on specific aspects of their representative studies. The subject of Mr. Junge's presentation was "The Authority of the Word in the External Life of the Church," and Mr. Goodenough's concerned "The Life of Justice." Both papers were heard with much interest and stimulated a great deal of discussion. Another major paper which was well received and discussed was on "The Continuous Internal Sense of the Word" by the Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard.

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Other topics raised for our consideration were: "Membership in the Council of the Clergy," by Bishop Pendleton; "Reincarnation," "The Wording of the Lord's Prayer" and "The Sense of Taste in the Spiritual World," all three by the Rev. Donald L. Rose; and "Questions Concerning the Blessing on a Marriage," by the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr.
     Of particular delight to the Council was a presentation by the Rev. Martin Pryke, Executive Vice-President of the Academy of the New Church, "Some Reflections on the Work of the Academy," in which he outlined some of the changes, projects, problems, hopes and needs of the Academy. Also of especial interest was the report by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom of a proposal to hold a weekend gathering of young people in the summer of 1968 at Oberlin College in Ohio, and of an alternate proposal to hold it at a camp site in a Pennsylvania State Park at Laurel Mountain, near Pittsburgh. For a number of reasons the Laurel Mountain camp site was generally favored, and the committee was recommended to pursue this proposal. Most other reports were circulated in written form and will be published elsewhere in this issue. However brief oral reports were made for the Sound Recording Committee by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson; the General Church Publication Committee and the Extension Committee by the Rev. Robert S. Junge; the General Church Religion Lessons and the Translation Committee by the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers.
     During the course of the meetings several recommendations were made. The most significant recommendation was that the Bishop call a General Assembly to be held in 1970, the two hundredth anniversary of the Lord's sending forth His twelve disciples throughout the spiritual world to preach the gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ reigns. Other recommendations were that the Bishop appoint a Program Committee for the 1969 Council of the Clergy Meetings, and that the period for ministerial and statistical reports be changed from a calendar year to a fiscal year ending August 31st. And, finally, the Secretary was instructed to express to the ladies the Council's appreciation of their kindness in providing delicious refreshments during the morning recesses.
     In addition to the regular sessions, the week of the Clergy Meetings was filled with numerous committee meetings, including two working luncheons, and social gatherings, all of which were most useful and delightful.
     Following the community supper on Friday evening, the Bryn Athyn Society was addressed by the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh on "The Lord's Temptations in the Wilderness." After the address, there was a well attended Open House at Cairncrest, the General Church office building.
     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
     Secretary of the Council of the Clergy

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JOINT COUNCIL 1968

JOINT COUNCIL       ROBERT S. JUNGE       1968

     JANUARY 27, 1968

     1.     The 74th Regular Joint Meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Directors of the Corporation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was opened by the Executive Bishop, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, at 10 a.m., on January 27, 1968, in Benade Hall Chapel by reading from Zechariah 2 and prayer in which all joined.

     2.     Attendance:

Of the Clergy: Rt. Rev. W. D. Pendleton, presiding; Rt. Rev. G. de Charms, Rt. Rev. E. C. Acton; Rev. Messrs. A. Acton, K. H. Asplundh, R. H. P. Cole, H. C. Cranch, R. Franson, V. J. Gladish, D. Goodenough, W. L. D. Heinrichs, W. C. Henderson, B. D. Holm, G. H. Howard, R. S. Junge, H. Lj. Qdhner, O. Odhner, D. Pendleton, M. Pryke, N. H. Reuter, N. H. Rogers, D. L. Rose, E. Sandstrom, F. L. Schnarr, D. R. Simons, L. R. Soneson, K. O. Stroh, D. Taylor. (28)

Candidate:     N. B. Rogers. (1)

Of the Laity: K. C. Acton, Esq., G. G. Anderson, L. Asplundh, R. H. Asplundh, A. B. Fuller, L. E. Gyllenhaal, F. Hasen, K. Hyatt, J. F. Junge, W. R. Kintner, E. B. Lee, W. B. McCardell, G. Pitcairn, L. Pitcairn, S. Pitcairn, O. I. Powell, J. W. Rose, R. Rose, R. Synnestvedt, R. E. Walter, G. H. Woodard. (21)

     3.     The following resolutions were offered and adopted with a rising vote and tribute of silence:

The Rev. W. C. Henderson, for the Rev. Raymond G. Cranch:

     Inasmuch as the Lord in His Divine Providence has called our brother Raymond Greenleaf Cranch into the spiritual world, we would record our affectionate remembrance of him as a member of this Joint Council. A graduate of the Academy of the New Church Theological School, Mr. Cranch was inaugurated into the priesthood of the New Church and ordained into the first degree in 1922, and for some time served as minister of the Advent Church in Philadelphia. Thereafter his working life was spent in the business world as a Certified Public Accountant. However, he ministered regularly to the Circle in Erie, Pennsylvania, on an occasional basis, for a number of years, and from time to time gave assistance to the pastoral office in other places. His interest in the uses of the priesthood, of the General Church and of the Academy, never failed and he was faithful in his support of them. He delighted in attending regularly the meetings of the Council of the Clergy, though, modestly, he took little part in the Council's deliberations; and as a member of the Corporation of the Academy for many years he supported the uses of that body by his presence and gave many gifts of books to the Library.

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     Mr. Cranch's interest in the social sciences led him to take further studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and to join the executive staff of the American Federation of Labor's research division. His deeper and abiding interest, however, was the problem of bringing into practice in social relations the principles of Divine justice revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine. This led him to an intensive study of the Writings in the course of which he gathered many teachings which bear on sociological and economic problems; and the results of this labor were given to the church in a book published some sixteen years ago.
     Be it resolved that this resolution be recorded in the minutes of this body, and that a copy of it be sent to Mrs. Raymond Cranch, together with an expression of our sympathy with her, and with the members of her family, in their natural loss, and of our conviction that he has been called to a world in which Divine justice reigns.

Mr. Roy Rose for Mr. Carl Hj. Asplundh:

     In the history of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, we have been blessed by Providence with many individuals who have contributed to the strengthening and growth of the New Church. We are fortunate that spiritual leadership provided by outstanding ministers has been supplemented by the work of laymen who have helped make such uses possible.
     Such a man was Carl Hj. Asplundh, who was called into the other world on July 2nd, 1967. Though the suddenness of this call was a shock to family and friends, we know from the Writings that his active and useful life, right up to the time of his call, was a preparation for eternal uses.
     From the time of his birth in 1903, Carl was deprived of the opportunity of knowing his father, who was the Treasurer of the General Church. Yet his mother was able to sustain the family and provide a family life that instilled a love of the church in her children, that has been demonstrated by the many uses members of the family have served.
     Carl had outstanding ability in leadership and financial management. After graduation from the University of Pennsylvania he and his brothers developed in less than forty years a highly successful, nation-wide business organization. Throughout this development Carl also gave unstintingly of his time and resources to charitable organizations, both within the church and those of surrounding communities. The General Church of the New Jerusalem is grateful for the many ways he used his talents to assist in its growth.
     Carl joined the Illinois Corporation in February, 1944 and the Pennsylvania Corporation in 1950. He was elected to the Board of Directors in 1951 and served twelve active and valuable years. Using his ability to develop leadership and provide opportunity for younger men he served as chairman of a committee which instituted a limitation of Board terms and set the example himself by stepping aside in 1963. The General Church, however, recognized the value of his ability and counsel and re-elected him to the Board in 1964 and he served actively until his death.
     Carl's work as a director demonstrated his devotion to the interests of the whole General Church. He was greatly concerned with the development of local societies and groups. He used his outstanding ability in financial affairs to try to assist those who were trying to build a church anywhere in the world. Through his personal efforts and through the Asplundh Foundation, he gave direct assistance to building programs and other encouragements to many of our circles, groups and societies.

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In his many travels, he was a frequent visitor, recognized as a warm friend and an inspiration to fellow New-Church men.
     Therefore, BE IT NOW RESOLVED that the Joint Council of the Board of Directors of the General Church of the New Jerusalem and the Council of the Clergy record their affectionate remembrance and deep appreciation of Carl Hj. Asplundh and that this memorial be inscribed in our minutes and that a copy be sent to Mrs. Asplundh and her family with our expression of affection and sympathy.

The Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, for Mr. Sydney Everdell Lee:

     Sydney Lee passed on to higher uses in the spiritual world on October 10 1967. This Joint Council of the General Church of the New Jerusalem hereby testifies to its appreciation of the many contributions made by Sydney Everdell Lee to the life and thought of the church. We further express our sincere affection for him and our thankfulness for the many uses he performed in this Council and in the church as a whole.
     Sydney Lee was born of New Church parents in London on March 2, 1886. He received part of his early education in the Academy School at Burton Road, London, under the Rev. E. C. Bostock and the Rev. R. J. Tilson, who both later became bishops in our church. He came to the United States in 1909 and settled in Glenview, Illinois. In 1912 he married Olive Theodora McQueen. Together they made their home and raised their family in Glenview and became active and loyal members of the Immanuel Church.
     Sydney Lee was a member of the General Church for sixty-seven years, and of its Corporation for forty-one years. He was elected to membership in the Board of Directors in 1951 and served faithfully and usefully for nine years. In 1960 he was elected an Honorary Member of the Board.
     Sydney Lee courageously and effectively bore testimony to the truth and the life of truth of the Writings. He had a great interest in doctrine and was always seeking ways in which it might be applied to thought and life. He was a student of the Writings, devoted to doctrine, firm and loyal in recognition of the priestly office, and an enthusiastic supporter of the use of New Church education. His studies resulted in a number of articles and papers which have contributed to the thought of the church.
     The General Church Book Center stands as a testimony to his foresight and devotion, for he with his wife conceived and first established it.
     It is a comfort and blessing to know that in his passing on into eternal life the sphere of his love and use will increase both here and there and he shall continue to labor with us in the Lord's vineyard.

     4.     The Council then heard the report of Bishop W. D. Pendleton. (See pp. 168-171.)

     5.     The Council then heard the report of The Joint Financial Study Committee of the General Church, Bryn Athyn Church and the Academy of the New Church. (See pp. 187-190.)

     6. The Council then heard the report of the Salary Committee. (See pp. 196-197.)

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     7.     The Council then heard the report of the Pension Committee. (See pp. 192-193.)

     8.     The minutes of the previous annual meeting were accepted as published in the April, 1967, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     9.     The Chairman called on the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, who announced that there would be a Young People's General Gathering at Laurel Hill Camp east of Pittsburgh over the Labor Day week-end. The idea is to provide an opportunity for the young people to think together concerning the uses of the church and also to celebrate our 200th Anniversary in 1970. He expressed appreciation for the support of the Council of the Clergy and the Board of Directors in upholding the hands of the young people.

     10.     Bishop Pendleton noted that there would be ample time for discussion of the reports in the Corporation meeting.

     11.     Mr. Lacklan Pitcairn said that while he was new to the Joint Council he wanted to express appreciation to the Bishop for his leadership and affectionate appreciation for the great work he is doing for us. (His expression was affirmed by standing applause.)
The Bishop replied that he wouldn't change his job for any other job in the world.

     12.     Rev. David R. Simons wanted to express appreciation to the General Church for sending his daughter to South Africa. She and Dorothy Rhodes were serving as teachers in away societies. He said he likes to call this the New Church Peace Corps effort. Those girls are getting the experience of a lifetime and the response of the Society has been wonderful. It brings a unity to our church. He hoped this would be publicized so that our young people get something of this spirit going. If this can be done he felt our education in the church will develop tremendously.
Bishop Pendleton replied that he was moved very much by Mr. Simons' effort to try to create in young people a sense of unselfish dedication. He noted that these young people are doing this without remuneration. These things mean so much. This is a tremendous thing.

     13.     Rev. Lorentz Soneson responded to Mr. Garth Pitcairn: "I'd walk a mile for a secretary."
The Bishop noted that perhaps many of the things involved in these so-called packages were mysteries to the ministers, and no doubt they were not familiar with what was involved in these packages beyond the spirit behind them. He noted that more specific details would be given in the next meeting, and suggested adjournment.
     Respectfully submitted,
          ROBERT S. JUNGE
               Secretary

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ANNUAL REPORTS 1968

ANNUAL REPORTS       Various       1968

     Report of the Bishop of the General Church for the Year 1967

     Ordinations. In order to meet the need for assistance in the episcopal office I ordained the Rev. Elmo C. Acton into the third degree of the priesthood on June 4,1967. By virtue of this ordination the uses of the episcopal office can be sustained in a way that would not otherwise have been possible. I would take this opportunity, therefore, to express my appreciation of Bishop Acton's support and my delight in his response to the uses of his office. On June 11, I officiated at the inauguration of Candidate Deryck van Rij into the first degree of the priesthood.

     Pastoral Appointments and Changes. This has been a year of pastoral changes in the General Church. The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, who was serving as assistant to the pastor of the Olivet Church in Toronto, accepted an appointment as an Instructor in Religion and History in the Academy of the New Church. Mr. Goodenough also accepted an appointment as visiting minister to the New York and the North New Jersey Circles, effective September 1, 1967.
     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers accepted an appointment, effective September 1, 1967, as visiting pastor to the Montreal Circle. He succeeds the Rev. Harold C. Cranch in this capacity.
     In October the Rev. Norman H. Reuter resigned from the pastorate of the Detroit Society, effective September 1, 1968. Mr. Reuter has accepted an appointment as a pastoral assistant to the Bishop of the General Church. This is a new office, and I am confident that in this capacity Mr. Reuter will be in a position to meet many of the needs and emergencies which arise in the General Church.

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There is a constantly increasing demand for an active priest who, by virtue of the nature of his assignment, is free to respond to special situations. Due to his many years of experience as a society pastor and as a visiting pastor to the isolated, Mr. Reuter is particularly equipped for this work.
     The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs, pastor of the Carmel Church in Caryndale, Ontario, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Detroit Society, effective September 1, 1968. In accepting this call, Mr. Childs brings to Detroit a wealth of experience as a pastor. It was Mr. Childs who was responsible for moving the Carmel Church from Kitchener to the site of their new community in Caryndale. This was a difficult and highly successful undertaking. For his foresight and leadership, Mr. Childs is to be congratulated.
     The Rev. Frank S. Rose, pastor of the Colchester Society, Colchester, England, has accepted a call to become pastor of the Carmel Church in Caryndale, effective September 1, 1968. Mr. Rose has achieved an outstanding record as pastor of the Open Road in England, and later as pastor of the Colchester Society. We would also acknowledge with gratitude his services as visiting pastor to Paris and The Hague. Among his many accomplishments we would particularly note his outstanding success in the development of the British Summer School. This school, which is open to young people from the Continent and young visitors from other parts of the world, serves as an example to future developments of its kind in other places.
     It should be noted here that as a result of the above-mentioned pastoral changes, several other changes are in process. But as this report is for the year 1967, those which were effected after the first of the new year will be recorded in my report for 1968.

     Assemblies.     Under the heading of Assemblies I can report that I presided over the First Southeastern District Assembly, held at Miami, Florida, May 20, 21. This being the first Assembly held in this district, it was characterized by the enthusiasms and affections that belong to first states. In July I presided over the Fifty-second British Assembly, held in Colchester, England, July 14-16. This was a notable occasion, inspired by thoughtful addresses and stimulated by an increasing awareness of the uses that can be served by the General Church in England for the benefit of our General Church membership on the Continent.

     Episcopal Visits.     In April I made an episcopal visit to the Colchester Society where I dedicated the addition to the Colchester Society School.

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This was an unforgettable occasion for all who attended. Not only does the new facility provide for expansion of the school, but it also provides for other pressing needs that come with growth and development.
     In June I celebrated the festival of the Lord's Second Advent with the Michael Church in London. It was a useful and rewarding weekend in which all entered with enthusiasm into the spirit of the festival.
     Following my visit to London I went to Scandinavia, where I spent from five days to a week in each of the following centers of the church: Oslo, Stockholm and Copenhagen. Traveling from one center to another with Pastor and Mrs. Boyesen, Mrs. Pendleton and I were deeply touched by the spirit in which we were received. A report of this nature does not allow for a detailed account of our many experiences, but I can report that we both were impressed by a variety of developments that have taken place in Scandinavia in the past several years. Each is a tribute to Mr. Boyesen's leadership.
     In September I spent a most encouraging weekend in Glendale (Cincinnati), Ohio. The same may be said of a visit in October to Denver. I couple these two visits in my report because each is a circle of the General Church and both places serve as the center of a district. In this their problems, hopes and circumstances are similar. It is in circles such as these, which are the centers of districts, that we may look for the future growth pattern of the General Church. In this connection I would report that I was much impressed with the work that Mr. Holm and Mr. Rich are doing in their respective districts. Each is engaged in the pioneer work of the church, and each is endeavoring to build a strong center to serve the circumference.
     In November I went to Detroit, and in December to Caryndale (Kitchener). In each instance the purpose of my visit was to provide episcopal leadership in the selection of a new pastor. I would express my appreciation to both of these societies for their affirmative response to my recommendations. The selection of a pastor can be a difficult and trying process. While seeking to promote what we believe to be to the best interest of our society in the selection of a pastor, we must also bear in mind the needs and uses of the General Church. In this I feel that we have made progress in recent years. Everywhere I have found a genuine desire to put the needs of the General Church before personal preference in the selection of a pastor.

     Other Activities. As this is a report to the Joint Council of my activities for the year, I should report also that in my capacity as Bishop of the General Church I also have served as Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church and as President of the Academy.

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The only reason I can retain these two offices, and thus give over-all supervision to the uses of the church, is because of the able assistance provided by the Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church, and by the Rev. Martin Pryke, Executive Vice President of the Academy. Whereas I accept the full responsibility for the administrative responsibilities of the General Church, the great share of the administration of the Bryn Athyn Church and the Academy is delegated to Bishop Acton and Mr. Pryke, respectively. I cannot speak too highly of the manner in which each of them is performing his office.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON


     SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     During the year 1967, sixty-eight members were received into the General Church. Three resigned. Thirty-three deaths were reported. On January 1, 1968, the roll contained three thousand one hundred and eighty-six names.
     Membership, January 1, 1967               3154
(U.S.A.-2028, Other Countries-1126)
     New Members (Cert. 5460-5527)     68
(U.S.A.-49, Other Countries-19)
     Deaths Reported               33
          (U.S.A.-24, Other Countries-9)
     Resignations     3
          (U.S.A-0, Other Countries-3)
     Losses (U.S.A.-24, Other Countries-12)     36
     Net gain during 1967          32
     Membership, January 1, 1968     3186
(U.S.A.-2053, Other Countries-1133)

     NEW MEMBERS

     January 1, 1967 to December 31, 1967

     THE UNITED STATES
     California:     La Mesa
Mr. Thomas Albert Oliver

     California:     APO San Francisco
Miss Susan Doering

     Colorado:     Littleton
Miss Mary Elizabeth Cronlund

     Florida:     Howey-In-The-Hills
Mr. Harold Jerome Brooks

     Illinois:     Chicago
Mr. Richard Ernest Nicholson
Mrs. Richard Ernest Nicholson (Carrie Yolanda Stevenson)

     Illinois:     Glenview
Mrs. Charles Kenneth Cole, II (Gail Patrice Bishop)

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Miss Martha Joy Gladish
Mr. Gene Ring
Mrs. Gene Ring (Katharine Ann Barry)

     Illinois:     Northbrook Miss Abbie Blair

     Illinois:     Urbana
Miss Meredith Glody

     Maryland:     Linthicum Heights
Miss Deena Nelson

     Michigan:     Ferndale
Mrs. Bernard Bruno Kellner (Mary Alice Sorter)

     Michigan:     Madison Heights
Mr. Willard Burton McCardell, Jr.
Mrs. Willard Burton McCardell, Jr. (Sheran Michele Gauzens)

     Michigan:     Troy
Mr. Norman Francis Norton
Mrs. Norman Francis Norton (Barbara Ann Harris)

     Mississippi:     Long Beach
Miss Janice Louise Archer

     New Jersey: Millburn
Mr. Kenneth Lindsay York

     Pennsylvania:     Bristol
Mrs. Victor D. Odhner (Terry Clifford)

     Pennsylvania:     Bryn Athyn
Mr. Richard Odhner Acton
Mr. Wallace Raymond Bochneak
Miss Katharine Ewing Davidge
Miss Diana Glenn

     Pennsylvania:     Hatboro
Mrs. William Angier Welch (Barbara Ann Camp)

     Pennsylvania:     Huntingdon Valley
Mrs. Dandridge Malcolm Kuhl David (Elisabeth Sharpless Miller)
Mr. Louis Christian Iungerich
Mrs. Louis Christian Iungerich (Sandra Read)
Mr. Prescott Andrew Rogers
Mrs. Frank Croswell Starrett      (Emily Austin)

     Pennsylvania:     Jenkintown
Mrs. Emery Harris (Frances Bond Mackie)

     Pennsylvania:     Philadelphia
Mr. Henry Knox Adams
Mrs. Henry Knox Adams (Lillis Nealon)
Mr. John Stephen Carle

     Pennsylvania:     Pittsburgh
Mr. Richard Walter Glenn

     Pennsylvania:     Wayne
Mr. Horace Binney Montgomery, Jr.
Mrs. Horace Binney Montgomery, Jr. (Maria Luisa Tamborrel)

     Tennessee:          Dyersburg
Mr. Allen Berger Croessman (Kressmann)
Mrs. Allen Berger Croessman (Kressmann) (Susan Charlotte Tillman)

     Tennessee:     Memphis
Mr. Michael Albert Nash
Mrs. Phillip Eugene Nash
(Selma Christine Brownlee)

     Texas:     Arlington
Mr. Argo Donatus Karallus
Mrs. Argo Donatus Karallus (Judith Lynne Farrell)

     Texas:     El Paso
Mr. John Paull Moore

     Utah:          Ogden
Mr. John Robert Gushea
Mrs. John Robert Gushea     (Virginia Leigh Brown)

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     Washington:     Redmond
Mrs. David Bruce Powell (Donna Ruth Lovel)

     Wisconsin:     Sun Prairie
Miss Mary Elizabeth Mergen

     CANADA

     British Columbia:     Dawson Creek
Mr. Burton Friesen
Mrs. Burton Friesen (Margaret Rae Champion)     

     Ontario:     Blair
Mr. Eric Emanuel Stroh

     Ontario:     Islington
Mrs. Norman Roy Hiebert (Selma Rose Abrams)

     ENGLAND

     Essex:     Colchester
Mr. Kenneth Glover

     Hertfordshire:     Letchworth
Mr. Roy Bede Evans
Mrs. Roy Bede Evans (Margaret Olive May Robinson)

     EUROPE

     Denmark:     Copenhagen
Mrs. Kai Willy Rasmussen (Frida Elise Hedegaard Christensen)
     
     Sweden:     Mangskog
Mr. Anders Gunnar Bryntesson

     Sweden:     Vasteras
Mr. Per Ulf Fornander

     SOUTH AFRICA
     Natal:     Durban
Mr. Donovan Gordon Cockerell
Miss Susan Joyce Dibb
Miss Louisa Anne Lumsden
Miss Angela Penelope Miller
Miss Glynis Lavender Ridgway
Miss Heulwen Moira Ridgway

     Westville:     Natal
Mr. Malcolm Gordon Cockerell

     Transvaal:     Carletonville
Miss Cathryn Amelia Dibb

     Zululand: Empangeni
Mrs. Owen Johnson (Gillian Grace Edley)

     DEATHS

     Reported during 1967

Alden, Mrs. Karl Richardson (Ersa Smith), October 14, 1967, Meadowbrook, Pa. (76)
Alden, Mrs. William Byrd (Irene Victoria Evens), August 9, 1967, Philadelphia, Pa. (48)
Areschoug, Curt Erhard Holger August, August 1, 1967, Bromma, Sweden (87)
Asplundh, Carl Hjalmar, July 2, 1967, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (64)
Bellinger, Miss Ina, April 21, 1967, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (84)
Bovee, Roy Edward, January 11,1967, Abington, Pennsylvania (81)
Crockett, Mrs. T. D. (Florence Belle Frost), October 7, 1967, Meadowbrook, Pa.
Cronwall, Miss Elma, December 8, 1966, Chicago, Illinois (70)
Elphick, Miss Janet Waters, June 16, 1967, Wallington, Surrey, England (74)
Goldhorn, John H., date and place unknown, (81)
Harris, Emery, August 23, 1967, Abington, Pennsylvania (77)

174



Hoffmann, Miss Emma Elizabeth, June 22, 1967, Warrington, Pa. (91)
Iungerich, Mrs. Alexander (Dorothy Smith), January 10, 1967, Salem, Oregon (57)
Kornelsen, William, February 28, 1967, Saskatchewan, Canada (79)
Lee, Sydney Everdell, October 10, 1967, Glenview, Illinois (82)
Lohmann, Miss Karen Brock, November 14, 1966, Copenhagen, Denmark (81)
Lynch, Donoch Willoughby, May 15, 1967, Pittsfield, Massachusetts (47)
Mastin, George Warren, May, 1967, Atlanta, Georgia (38)
Morse, Mrs. Richard (Annie Taylor), June 15, 1967, Hurstville, N.S.W., Australia (88)
Poulsen, Mrs. Roy (Ruth Victoria Cronwall), July 6, 1967, Chicago, Illinois (75)
Rantz, Mrs. John (Elizabeth Ann Worthington), February 16, 1967, Meadowbrook, Pa. (77)
Renkenberger, Attai V., July 30, 1967, Salem, Ohio (88)
Reynolds, Alpha Kersey, March 12, 1967, Baltimore, Maryland (67)
Shook, Mrs. Patrick (Mabel Anna Fitzpatrick), June 26, 1967, Baltimore, Maryland (69)
Smith, Mrs. Aldwin Curban (Hazel Carter Heath), February 6, 1967, Philadelphia, Pa. (66)
Soneson, Gustaf Walfrid, August 14, 1967, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (83)
Stephenson, Mrs. Roy Wilhelm (Dorothy Mima Higham), April 6, 1967, Caringbah, N.S.W., Australia (62)
van Haerst, Baron Joan Walrave van Haersolte, February 4, 1967, Bilthoven, Netherlands (79)
Waelchli, Richard Eugene, June 1, 1967, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania (64)
Watson, Mrs. George (Elsie Maud Clare), October 3, 1967, Auckland, New Zealand (83)
Wells, Mrs. Arthur Benade (Olive Mary Rose), October 27, 1967, Meadowbrook, Pa. (75)

     RESIGNATIONS

Lima, Miss Beatriz de Mendonca, Rio de Janeiro, South America
Starkey, Mr. John Healdon, Ontario, Canada
Starkey, Mrs. John Healdon (Donna Lee Sutherland), Ontario, Canada
     Respectfully submitted,
          ROBERT S. JUNGE
               Secretary

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     January 1, 1967, to January 1, 1968

     MEMBERSHIP

     During 1967, one of our members, the Rev. Raymond G. Cranch, passed into the spiritual world, and one young man, inaugurated into the first degree of the priesthood, was added to our rolls. One member was ordained from the second into the third degree of the priesthood, and one from the first into the second degree.

175


On January 1, 1968, the Council of the Clergy consisted of three priests in the episcopal degree, thirty-five in the pastoral degree, and four in the ministerial degree, making a total of forty-two members, the same number as the previous year. Of these, one is pursuing further studies, and seven are retired or in secular work; some of these are engaged in part-time priestly work or give occasional assistance to the pastoral office.
     Eleven of the thirty-four full-time priests reside in Bryn Athyn, eight of whom are wholly or essentially employed by the General Church and/or the Academy of the New Church.
     Other residences and fields of activity are as follows:

Elsewhere in the United States     11
Australia                         1
Brazil                         1
Canada                         3
Great Britain                    2
Scandinavia                         2

     In addition, the General Church has one priest of the pastoral degree in the Guyana Mission; and in the South African Mission, in addition to the Superintendent, there are five priests of the pastoral degree. A directory of the Clergy of the General Church and its Missions is published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, December 1967, pp. 567-571.

     STATISTICS

     Statistics concerning the Sacraments and Rites of the Church administered in 1967, compiled from 38 reports received from the members of the Council to date, are shown below, together with the corresponding figures reported five and ten years ago.

Baptisms:                    1967          1962          1957

          Children                    130          133          139
          Adults                         30          33          30
          Total                         160          166          169

     Holy Supper:     Administrations:

          Public                         169          166          138
          Private                         51          -          -

          Communicants               5807          5172          4439

     Confessions of Faith               24          38          33
     Betrothals                    19          30          21
     Marriages                    31          38          32
     Ordinations                    3          2          6
     Dedications:
          Churches                    0          1          0
          Homes                         5          6          14
          Other                         1          0          0

     Funerals or Memorial Services          39          39          45

176





     REPORTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY

     The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton served as Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, and President of the Academy of the New Church. The full text of his report appears on pp. 168-171 of this issue.

     The Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church, was inaugurated into the third degree of the priesthood, and presided over the Eastern Canada and the Midwestern District Assemblies.

     The Right Rev. George de Charms, Bishop Emeritus of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, President Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church, and Emeritus Professor of Theology, conducted one service of worship, served as celebrant at one interim administration of the Holy Supper, and preached three times in Bryn Athyn. He preached once each in Pittsburgh, Pa., Meadowridge, Pa., Wallenpaupack, Pa. and Washington, D. C. In Washington he also gave a children's talk and an address to the Society. In Bryn Athyn he also gave a Swedenborg's Birthday address, spoke to the second grade on the meaning of Christmas, and gave five Chapel talks to the College. He taught one course in the Theological School and two in the College, and also gave three group classes. He continued to serve as head of the Religion Department, and as a member of the Board of Directors of the General Church, of the Board of Trustees of the Bryn Athyn Church, and as honorary member of the Board of Directors of the Academy.

     The Rev. Alfred Acton II, Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Ill., and Teacher and Assistant to the Headmaster in the Immanuel Church School, notes a slight increase in the average attendance at Sharon Church and a slight decrease in the average age of its members. The Church continues to operate as a small but dedicated center.

     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh continued to serve as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society.

     The Rev. Bjorn A. Boyesen served as Pastor of the Stockholm Society and of the Copenhagen and Oslo Circles, and, until September, of the Jonkoping Circle; he also was the Editor of Nova Ecclesia.

     The Rev. Peter M. Buss continued as Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa and as Visiting Pastor to the South African isolated.

     The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs served as Pastor of the Carmel Church Society, Blair, Ont., and as Principal of the Carmel Church School.

     The Rev. Robert H. P. Cole acted as Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, as Instructor in the Immanuel Church School, and as Visiting Pastor, to the Madison and St. Paul Circles, and to the groups in Rockford, St. Louis, and Milwaukee. He also reports having preached twice in Bryn Athyn and once in Pittsburgh, and having conducted worship at the Immanuel Church Girls' Camp during the summer.

     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch was Pastor of Olivet Church, Toronto, Ont., and Visiting Pastor to the isolated in the Muskoka area, and, until September, to the Montreal Circle.

177




     The Rev. Roy Franson served as Pastor of the Miami Circle, and as Visiting Pastor to Groups in New Smyrna Beach and St. Petersburg, Fla., Atlanta, Ga., and Birmingham, Ala., and to isolated families in these states and in Tennessee.

     The Rev. Alan Gill, although retired, preached ten times in Colchester and five times in London. He also assisted at two special services.

     The Rev. Victor J. Gladish, in secular work, preached five times at Sharon Church, and once at Immanuel Church. On occasion he also acted as leader of a Philosophy Group.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, Jr. served as Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church until July 31, and since then as Instructor of Religion and History at the Academy of the New Church, and as Visiting Pastor to the Northern New Jersey and the New York Circles. In addition to his regular duties he organized and led a small two-and-a-half days camp for junior high boys in Muskoka, Ont., preached four times at Carmel Church, and once each in Montreal, Pittsburgh and Washington. He also gave an address at the 1967 Educational Council meetings.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs continued as Pastor of the Durban Society, and as Visiting Pastor to the Zululand area.

     The Rev. Henry Heinrichs until the end of August acted as part-time Assistant to the Pastor of Carmel Church where he preached five times, assisted twice in the administration of the Holy Supper, and officiated at a baptism. He also preached three times to the Dawson Creek, B.C. Group.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson was Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, Dean of the Theological School, and Professor of Theology at the Academy of the New Church. In addition to his regular duties, he preached four times at Carmel Church, twice in Bryn Athyn, and once each in Cincinnati, New England and Toronto, and conducted two services at vacation homes. He was also active in various committees of the General Church and of the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. B. David Holm, Visiting Pastor of the South Ohio Circle, resident in Cincinnati, and to the Erie, Pa., Circle, has added Mt. Pleasant, W. Va., to his scheduled stops, and expects soon to include Columbus, Ohio. He reports encouraging developments in Erie, Pa., and gratification that two young men in the South Ohio Circle have expressed a desire to enter the priesthood.

     The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard, resident Pastor of the Tucson Circle, Ariz., and Visiting Pastor to the San Diego Circle, Calif., and to the Phoenix Group, Ariz., notes some membership loss from the Tucson Circle, including six young people who are attending the Academy schools. He also reports that the San Diego Circle has purchased land and hopes to convert a building on the site for church uses, and that in Phoenix a new hall is being rented for services.

178




     The Rev. Robert Junge, Secretary of the General Church, reports that in addition to his usual and growing administrative work he made weekend visits to New York, Washington, D. C., St. Paul and Glenview. He also made an extended visit to Australia and New Zealand, supervised a summer Sunday School program in Bryn Athyn, and conducted classes for a young married people's group.

     The Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz served as Assistant to the Pastor in Stockholm, and as Pastor of the Jonkoping Society.

     The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, special teacher at the Academy of the New Church, taught one course in the Theological School. He also preached twice in Bryn Athyn, and at Paupack, Pa.

     The Rev. Dandridge Pendleton continued as Instructor of Religion at the Academy of the New Church, and since mid-year served as Principal of the Boys School.

     The Rev. Martin Pryke served as Executive Vice President of the Academy of the New Church. In addition to his regular duties, he conducted one service in Bryn Athyn, and preached three times in Bryn Athyn, twice at Muskoka, and once each at Olivet Church and Pittsburgh. In Pittsburgh he also conducted a children's service.

     The Rev. Morley D. Rich, Resident Pastor of the Denver Circle, Cob., and Visiting Pastor to the Ft. Worth Circle, Tex., the Oklahoma and Kansas Groups, and the West Central States, in addition to his regular duties, preached in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Miami, Fla., and Washington, D. C.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers served as Director of the General Church Religion Lessons and associated uses, and, until mid-year, Instructor of Latin at the Academy of the New Church, and Visiting Pastor to the Northern New Jersey Circle, and since September as Visiting Pastor to the Montreal Circle. While regretting the need to give up teaching Latin, he appreciated having the time and the opportunity to help establish the General Church Translation Committee, and to compile a Journal of the 1967 Educational Council meetings. He also reports continuing his efforts to up-date the materials and services of the Religion Lessons, and to gather and disseminate information relating to Sunday school uses.

     The Rev. Donald Rose continued as Pastor of the Michael Church Society (London). He also visited Paris once, and Bristol eight times.

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose, Pastor of the Colchester Society, and Visiting Pastor to Holland and to some isolated in Great Britain, in addition to his regular duties preached twice in London, gave classes at the Charmouth family holiday, and presided over the ninth British Academy Summer School. He also continued as Chairman of the British Finance Committee, Chairman of the British Academy, and Editor of the News Letter.

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom, Professor of Theology at the Academy of the New Church, and Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle, continued to serve on the General Church Publication Committee, and was Secretary of the Council of the Clergy.

179


He reports having instituted lay services in the North Ohio Circle in addition to his regular monthly visits, and that he visited members in Youngstown, Ohio, Toledo, Ohio, and Franklin, Pa. He preached four times in Bryn Athyn, twice in Pittsburgh, and once each in Toronto and Washington. He represented the Academy at a Sons of the Academy banquet in Toronto, and led a panel presentation of The Visible God in Education at the 1967 Educational Council Meetings.

     The Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr served as Pastor of the Washington Church of the New Jerusalem, Mitchellville, Md., and as Visiting Pastor to southern Virginia and to the Carolinas.

     The Rev. David R. Simons, Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, Principal of the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School, and Visiting Pastor to Connecticut, preached fifteen times as well as giving classes in Bryn Athyn and New England.

     The Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson was Pastor of the Glendale Society of the New Jerusalem (Los Angeles, Calif.), and Visiting Pastor to the San Francisco Bay Circle, and to the Sacramento Group.

     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, Instructor of Religion, Director of Music for the Bryn Athyn Church, and Visiting Pastor to the Massachusetts Group, conducted regular Sunday morning Children's Services at the Cathedral, taught Religion in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, and conducted the Bryn Athyn Church Choir and the Bryn Athyn Orchestra. He preached occasionally in Bryn Athyn, twice each in Pittsburgh and Massachusetts, and once in New York. He also delivered six doctrinal classes in Bryn Athyn.

     The Rev. Douglas M. Taylor, Pastor of the Hurstville Society, and Visiting Pastor to the Auckland Group (N.Z.) and to the isolated in Australia, reports the development of an Enquirers' Class in the Sydney area, and of a new sermon circuit of twelve participants, all drawn from the 1966 missionary campaign. He visited Auckland twice, Canberra once and Sorrento once. In New Zealand he participated in a series of "I believe" radio programs, and twice addressed non-New Church groups with encouraging results. He notes with appreciation the stimulating effect of the Rev Robert S. Junge's visit to Australia.

     The Rev. Jose L. de Figueiredo served as Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society.

     The Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs continued as Visiting Pastor to the Pacific Northwest, resident in Dawson Creek, B.C.

     The Rev. Deryck van Rij gave assistance to the Pastor of the Durban Society.

     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
               Secretary

180


GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1968

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Various       1968

     (A Pennsylvania Corporation)

     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY

     FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1967

     MEMBERSHIP

     During the year 1967 the number of persons comprising the membership of the Corporation increased from 316 to 331.

Members of                    Date of          Date of
                         12/31/66          12/31/67

Illinois Corporation only               4          (Corporation dissolved)
Both Corporations               312          -
Pennsylvania Corporation               -          331

Total Persons               316          331

The changes in membership consisted of:

23 New Members:

Bellinger, Walter H.
Brickman, Robert O.
Brickman, Theodore W., Jr.
Brueckman, Erwin D.
Childs, Geoffrey S., Jr.
Edmonds, Donald S.
Griffin, William T.
Heinrichs, Daniel W.
Heinrichs, Philip O.
Heinrichs, Robert L.
Keal, Hugh John
Kingdon, William S.
Kintner, William R.
Lermitte, Peter J.
Niall, Gilbert J.
Nickel, A. M.
Norman, Michael A.
Odhner, V. Carmond
Riepert, Melvin S.
Schnarr, Clarence R.
Synnestvedt, Ralph, Jr.
Umberger, Alfred A.
Williams, Bradford Kent

4 Deaths of Members:

Asplundh, Carl Hj.
     Cranch, Raymond G.
Gladish, Donald G.
Lee, Sydney E.

181




     DIRECTORS

     The By-Laws of the Corporation provide for election of thirty Directors, ten of whom are elected each year for terms of three years. The Board presently consists of thirty Directors. At the 1967 Annual Meeting ten Directors were elected for terms expiring in 1971.

1971 Acton, Elmo C.
1969 Acton, Kesniel C.
1970 Anderson, Gordon G.
1969 Asplundh, Lester
1970 Asplundh, Robert H.     
1969 Brewer, Horace H.
1969 Cockerell, Gordon D.
1969 De Charms, George
1971 Doering, George C.
1970 Ebert, Charles H.
1971 Fuller, Alan B.
1971 Hasen, Alfred H.
1970 Hyatt, Kent
1969 Junge, James F.
1971 Kintner, William R.
1971 Lee, Edward B., Jr.
1970 McCardell, Willard B.
1969 Pendleton, Willard D.
1970 Pitcairn, Garthowen
1969 Pitcairn, Lachlan
1970 Pitcairn, Stephen
1970 Powell, Oliver I.
1969 Pryke, Owen
1971 Rose, John W.
1970 Rose, Roy H.
1971 Stebbing, David H.
1970 Synnestvedt, Ray
1969 Walker, Marvin J.
1971 Walter, Robert E.
1971 Woodard, George H.

     OFFICERS

     The Corporation has four Officers, each of whom is elected yearly for one year. Those elected at the Board Meeting of June 9, 1967 were:

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

     CORPORATION MEETINGS

     The 1967 Annual Corporation Meeting was held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on June 9, this being the only Corporation Meeting held during the year. The President, Bishop Pendleton, presided, and the attendance numbered 55 members. Reports were received from the President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, and from the Committees on Audit of Securities and Nomination of Directors.
     The President reported that the fiscal year of the General Church was on a calendar basis. The present procedure of holding the Annual Meeting in June was not ideal as the information on financial statements and year-end accomplishments was already six months old. The members of the Corporation approved changing the date of the Annual Meeting to January or February to coincide with the Council of the Clergy meetings.

182




     Legal counsel advised the Corporation that the members of the Illinois Corporation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem at the 1967 Annual Meeting had voted to dissolve the Illinois Corporation.

     BOARD MEETINGS

     The Board of Directors held four meetings during 1967, the President presiding at each of them. The average attendance of Directors was 17 with a maximum of 21 and a minimum of 13.
     The business of the Board of Directors transacted during the first half of 1967 was covered in a report submitted to the Annual Corporation Meeting held in June 1967.
     Since that time the organization meeting and a regular meeting have been held. At the organization meeting Officers of the Corporation were elected, reports were received from the standing Committees, members were appointed to the various Committees, and the standard banking resolutions were passed. The Board approved the appropriation of $5,500 from the South African Mission Funds to provide headquarters for the Mission in the Durban Society's new church building. This area will be used by the superintendent of the Mission and would be so designed that it could be a part of the Society building to be used as a classroom or additional office.
     At the regular meeting held in October the Board of Directors accepted the resignation of Bishop de Charms as Vice President of the Corporation and expressed deep appreciation for his service over the many years. Bishop Elmo Acton was elected to membership on the Board of Directors to fill the unexpired term of Mr. Carl Asplundh and was also elected as Vice President of the General Church of the New Jerusalem incorporated.
     The Board approved entering into an agreement whereby the securities of the General Church of the New Jerusalem would be pooled with other specified New Church Corporations and held by The Fidelity Bank as custodian in a common undivided account. An investment adviser would handle the account, but all decisions relating to investment would be subject to the approval of the participants, and the General Church would have the right to withdraw at any quarterly evaluation date. The Treasurer pointed out the efficiency derived from this new procedure and the simplification of work in the Treasurer's office.
     A special grant was made to the Toronto Society under the provisions of the General Church Operating Policy to enable them to resolve a financial difficulty.
     A special grant was made to the Society in Australia to enable them to continue evangelization work through radio broadcasting. This work is being carried on by the Reverend Douglas Taylor.
     The President reported that he had accepted the Reverend Norman Reuters resignation as pastor of the Detroit Society and had asked him to serve as Pastoral Assistant to the Bishop of the General Church. In this capacity he would travel throughout the world to wherever the Bishop felt help was needed, fill in and he of assistance to Societies and Circles, and represent the pastoral use of the episcopal office. The Board of Directors approved allocating the necessary funds to support the Reverend Norman Reuter in this new work.
     The President reported that the Reverend Norbert Rogers had accepted Chairmanship of a new Translation Committee.

183


He said that the work of this Committee should be under the General Church, as all translation of the Writings should come under the Council of the Clergy and the priesthood. The first task of this Committee is to organize and outline the priority in regard to translations.
     A bequest in the amount of $16,985.00 was received from the Estate of Miss Emma Hoffman with a precatory request that the money be used to aid the elderly members of the General Church in various ways including a home for the elderly.

     Respectfully submitted,
          STEPHEN PITCAIRN
               Secretary

     TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     REPORT FOR 1967

     1967 was a year of unusual activity, resulting in substantial progress in all phases of the financial operations of the General Church.
     We started out the year with long-range financial planning. Under the chairmanship of Mr. James Junge, a special finance committee projected the potential resources of the General Church for the next ten years as compared with the estimated needs over the same period. This kind of modern financial planning is essential if we are to assure financial responsibility at each step in the programs we undertake.
     The results of these detailed studies encouraged us to take a more realistic approach to our plans for compensating ministers and teachers. To benefit from the thinking and talents in other parts of the Church, two special meetings of the Salary Committee were held; one in Bryn Athyn and one in Glenview. Representatives from seven Societies in the United States and Canada attended these meetings and helped to develop new plans that will he presented in 1968 for compensating ministers and teachers.
     As of September 1, 1967, the accounts of the General Church Religion Lessons Committee were consolidated with the General Church corporate accounts. Operations for the last quarter, therefore, are reflected in the financial statements. Prior to that time Mr. Byron Gates served as treasurer for the Committee. From our brief experience with these accounts, we can appreciate the great amount of detailed work and talent that Mr. Gates put into this use, and we would express the thanks of the General Church to him.
     Turning now to the financial results for last year, a record budget, in excess of one-quarter of a million dollars, was necessary to provide the services of the General Church. Compared with the previous year, this represents an increase of approximately 15 per cent or $30,000. The greater part of this substantial increase was due to the payment of a one-year special stipend to ministers and teachers and to salary increases under the Minimum Salary Plans, absorbed by the General Church.
     Operating income also was up substantially to a record $249,170. A change in policy with respect to the use of special endowment funds made available an additional $36,000 that was previously added to reserves. This more than offset the loss of the special dividends received in 1966 and largely accounted for the $33,000 gain in total income.

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At year end after appropriating $7,000 to the reserve for moving, $8,311 was added to unappropriated income surplus.
     Particularly gratifying last year was the substantial increase in contributions to both income and capital. Regular contributions to operating income were up by nearly $9,000 for a total of over $60,000. Also, from members of the Pitcairn families, we gratefully received the imposing sum of almost $200,000 in capital contributions. Both amounts exceeded our expectations and give great encouragement for future growth of the Church.
     Respectfully submitted,
          L. E. GYLLENHAAL
               Treasurer

     OPERATING INCOME

. . . . Where it came from

December 31
1967          1966
Contributions
Individual Gifts                         60,302          51,624
Religion Lessons                         1,812               -                                   
South African Mission                    1,507               1,376

     TOTAL                              63,621          53,000

Investment Income

From General Fund                         41,293          42,487
Special Dividend                         -               8,420
From Endowment Funds                    61,326          55,268
Special Dividend                         -               5,497
From Special Endowment                    63,172          26,656
Subscriptions
New Church Life                         5,234               5,003
New Church Education                    827               -
Moving Reserve Transfer                    4,931               14,019
U.S.A. Bonds-Reserve                    5,699               4,968
Sundry Sources                         3,067               327

     TOTAL                              249,170          215,645

. . . . What it was spent for

Administration     
Episcopal Office                         22,431          18,002
Secretary's Office                    23,531          20,393
Financial and Corporate Affairs          15,232          14,191
Office Building                         6,825               4,383

     TOTAL                              68,019          56,969

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Clergy                              30,892          25,752
Information and Publications               17,087          16,148
Education                              27,656          19,899

Pastoral Support
Grants to Societies                    13,600          9,106
Area Grants and Travel                    28,473          31,460
Nonresident Areas                         22,092          15,980
Special Services                         -               4,552

     TOTAL PASTORAL                    64,165          61,098

South African Mission                    21,454          19,133
Missionary                              720               1,487
Other                                   3,864               3,757

     TOTAL EXPENSE                    233,859          204,233

Special Appropriation for
     Moving Expense Reserve               7,000               6,000

Unappropriated Balance                    8,311               5,412

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     COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

Assets
                                        December
                                   1967          1966
GENERAL FUND

     Cash                              74,681          803
     Accounts Receivable                    15,170          16,315
     Loans Outstanding                    54,164          64,000
     Investments
          U. S. A. Bonds                         248,679          123,085
          Group Fund                         513,191          527,844
          Other Securities                    49,392          121,504
     Real Estate                         29,899          29,899
     Inventory-Publications                    7,558          7,287
     Prepaid Expense                         4,915          9,619
Due from Other Funds                    2,563          2,563

TOTAL                         1,000,212     902,919

LOAN FUNDS

Cash                              1,611          37,913
Loans Outstanding                    33,085          33,085
Investments-Group Fund                    81,067          40,788

TOTAL                         115,763          111,786
     
ENDOWMENT AND TRUST FUNDS
     
Cash                              90,603          103,629
Investments
     U.S.A. Bonds                         496          496
     Group Fund                         3,105,078     2,850,012
     Other Securities                         1,683,919     1,527,768

          TOTAL                         4,880,096     4,481,905

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION FUNDS

Cash                              11,531          13,683
Loans and Accounts Receivable               1,768          2,458
Investments-Building Society               66,386          67,153
Real Estate                         1,410          381

          TOTAL                         81,095          83,675
          TOTAL ASSETS                    6,077,166     5,580,285

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Accountability
                              December 31
                                   1967          1966
GENERAL FUNDS

     Accounts Payable                         14,410          11,497
     Contributions for Future Expenditures          21,627          20,374
     Due to Other Funds                    16,805          660
     Unexpended Funds
Restricted                    75,354          60,223
Appropriated                    4,180          5,284
Reserved for:
Contingencies-U. S. A. Bonds          247,641          122,048
Pastoral Moving                    13,034          10,965
Other                         8,619          8,765
Unappropriated Income Surplus               166,421          158,110
Net Worth                         432,121          504,993

          TOTAL                         1,000,212     902,919

LOAN FUNDS

Building Revolving Fund                    115,763          111,786

TOTAL                         115,763          111,786

ENDOWMENT AND TRUST FUNDS

General Endowment                    620,134          491,818
Specific Endowments
Income Restricted               1,027,967     869,152
Income Unrestricted               842,621          765,940
Special Endowment                    2,254,074     2,217,414
Trust Funds                         135,301          137,581

TOTAL                         4,880,096     4,481,905

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION FUNDS

Accounts Payable                         1,298          5,101
Mission Reserve Fund                    77,668          74,186
Trust Funds                         480          1,671
Special Funds                         1,649          2,717

TOTAL                         81,095          83,675
TOTAL FUNDS                    6,077,166          5,580,285

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     EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE"

     There was no need for additional pages in 1967. In order of space used, the normal total of 576 pages was made up as follows:

                    Pages
Articles               279
Sermons               68
Reports               51
Editorials               38
Church News               30
Communications          28     
Miscellaneous          27
Announcements          25
Reviews               14
Talks to Children          8
Directories               8
               
                    576

     With two exceptions, these figures show no departure from normal. There was a falling off of Church News in 1967, and because this is an important feature the aid of pastors has been enlisted in an attempt to correct this situation in 1968. However, there was a heartening increase in the number of Communications received, and it was particularly gratifying to find three other bodies of the New Church represented in this department. Dialogue in which ideas are presented and debated freely but without acrimony is surely one of the marks of a living church, and it is hoped that there will be more of the same and on an even broader front.
     NEW CHURCH LIFE in 1967 came from 56 contributors-28 ministerial and 28 lay, the latter including 10 ladies. Thanks are due to them for the quality and variety of their offerings, for without them the journal could not come out. In expressing sincere thanks as always to our reporters in societies and circles a special word of appreciation should be said to those who have withdrawn from the work during the year, some of them after long service, and a word of welcome to those who have replaced them.

     CIRCULATION

     Figures as of December 31, 1967, supplied by the Business Manager show that paid subscriptions increased by 6, and that there was an increase of 37 gratis subscriptions. Total circulation is shown in the following tabulation:

1967          1966
Paid subscriptions
By Subscriber     846          
Gift               297               1143          1137
Free to our Clergy, Libraries, etc     284          247

                              1427          1384

     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON
               Editor

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     JOINT FINANCIAL STUDY COMMITTEE

     Your Committee, appointed by Bishop Pendleton, consists of Stephen Pitcairn, Robert Walter, Leonard Gyllenhaal and James Junge. Although the membership is small, the representation is large, including the Boards of Directors of the General Church, the Academy of the New Church, and the Bryn Athyn Church, the Treasurers and Chairmen of the Salary Committee of each of the above institutions, and officers and directors of the Cairncrest and Glencairn Foundations.
     I think much of what the Bishop had in mind is clear from the title and the makeup of the Committee. However, he gave us the freedom to examine the financial situation of the Church on a church-wide basis and to develop ideas and areas for further study as these became apparent. Some might wonder about the inclusion of the Bryn Athyn Church as a special entity in this study. The Bryn Athyn Church is included not only because it contains a large portion of our total membership, but because it is the only society of the General Church with a substantial endowment in its own right. Hence, to study the finances of the Church as a whole without giving full weight to this factor would be futile.
     The first assignment the Committee took upon itself was to develop a more-or-less uniform system of reporting the financial status of each of these institutions which would give the clearest possible picture on where we stand. This was necessary to give the Boards of Directors the necessary information for decision-making on expenditures; and, of equal importance, to present a complete picture of the financial condition of each institution to the membership as a whole; and, therefore, a picture which potential contributors would understand and in which they would have confidence. This has been done. Today, there is not a man in this room who cannot gain a complete picture of what we have, where it comes from, and what we spend each year with one evening's study of the published financial statements.
     A second need the Committee saw was to take a long-term financial view of all that we are trying to accomplish in the Church. For, although the organizations are different, each with specific uses to perform, we are one church, with one membership, dedicated to the preservation and growth of the New Church and all for which it stands. Ultimately, then, each organization within the Church is dependent upon the same people for its membership and for its financial support.
     In the orderly growth of any organization, men remain true to the basic purposes for which that organization was established. As times change, in order to continue to promote the basic purposes, so must the modus operandi-the emphasis, the priorities, the mechanics-in three words, "the overall plan." Not the objectives! Not the purposes! Not the principles! But the means, the route by which we achieve our goals. In many ways, our "Overall Plan" must be a battle plan. Well conceived, well thought-out, but dynamic! And, we must have the courage to meet the challenge of our times.
     It is much easier to wave the banner of conservatism, and shout "we must not break faith with the past." But, I submit, inadvertently, this is the greatest break of faith of all. For, through lack of initiative, we may miss the very opportunities of which our founders dreamed and for which they planned.
     We might characterize the efforts of those who have gone before us as establishing the idea of "One Church"-based upon the authority of the Writings. What a tremendous step this was! What a heritage we have been given! In that era of our history, it was the Church's collective judgment that this could best be accomplished through maximum independence of one Church organization from another, from which it followed that, financially speaking, our members, as a group, felt a strong personal obligation to support their local society, circle or group, but little obligation beyond this.

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For example, members of the Bryn Athyn Church felt a responsibility for the support of the pastoral office and for primary school education in Bryn Athyn, but little responsibility for the support of a sister society, such as Kitchener, where the local church and schools were endeavoring to give similar services but with a tremendous handicap of fewer members and almost non-existent endowment.
     To the extent she was able, the General Church recognized her overall responsibility and raised funds to provide a minimum salary plan for teachers and ministers. This was a tremendous step in its time, and, for a while, kept the inequities in the system from growing beyond the bounds of human endurance. Yet, most members of the Church recognize that what was conceived as a minimum salary scale soon became the salary scale and that, once again, our teachers and ministers were being asked to make the greatest personal financial sacrifice while devoting their lives to the work of the Church.
     As our Committee began to function, we found a profound change was in progress in the hearts of our membership. Our Church, as an organization, was developing a corporate conscience. Now, the development of conscience is never easy; to the individual, it means voluntarily listening to an inner dictate, and this inner dictate is always asking us to give up a way of life we find delightful. For an organization to develop a corporate conscience is even more difficult, because organizations are made up of individuals each with his own opinions and desires. Yet, as a Church, we seem to have reached that stage of maturity where those who "have more are looking for ways to help those who "have less" and even more gratifying-those who "have less" are willing to cast aside pride and accept some help for a time for the good of the Church as a whole. I have described this as maturity, for, it is only in a mature organization that we find this willingness to focus the corporate strength in areas of greatest need and potential. If our generation is successful in meeting its challenge, I believe it will be said-the first generation established the concept of One Church with One Authority; the second generation solidified it; and the third generation gave it One Conscience, which I have chosen to call our Corporate Conscience.
     I have laid great stress upon this point because it illustrates the overall atmosphere in which your Committee operates. We have not created this atmosphere. The membership of the Church, as a whole, has done this. What we have tried to do is simply recognize the era in which we live. I also stress this because the only criticism I have had as Chairman of the Committee is that we may be moving too fast-that the Church is not yet ready to use its corporate strength-that individuals will let down and fail to do their part. Personally, I do not believe this, even for a minute. I know we can communicate the importance of individual effort to the Church at large. No one could have attended the meetings of the financial representatives of our societies held this past November in Glenview without realizing that favorable winds of change are blowing. I like to refer to this meeting as the "Spirit at Glenview." It was a thrill and I wish all of you could have been present. For the first time in my experience, the laymen of the Church faced their problems as one Church with one Conscience. This was the "Spirit at Glenview." And I was impressed-as I know each one of you would have been-with the professional experience of the men assembled. These men were not only the financial stalwarts or their individual societies, but, by occupation, the responsible officers of sizeable corporations-the planners, the attorneys, the financial and investment counselors, bank officers, corporate directors and the owners and operators of their own successful businesses.

191


Truly, I was amazed at the talent assembled-and for the most part, it was young talent (by my standards, this means anyone roughly my age).
     It is the desire of this Committee to enlist the help of all those qualified, and this list is legion. This will be done, not through this study Committee as such, but by creating an atmosphere where data for derivative studies is available. For example, over 20 men participated in the discussions of ministers' and teachers' compensations in Glenview. Ten individuals applied their talents to the problems of Academy compensation, yet, neither of these studies was the direct responsibility of this Committee. But we like to think that we helped create the atmosphere where a workmanlike job could be done. Simply stated, this Committee has no authority to act, it desires none! But, through the dissemination of financial information, others are enabled to act. And we have absolute confidence that our fellow New Church men, given the financial facts, will come to better decisions in their area of illustration than we could. It is my experience that, given the responsibility and the facts, a New Church man's sense of equity and fair play is unsurpassed.
     So much for our philosophy, our dreams, our expectations and the climate in which we operate. At the Corporation Meeting I will give a progress report on our programs. How about the accomplishments? What tangible results can we point to with all this opportunity? Not nearly enough, but some important beginnings:

     (1)     We have encouraged a policy in the Academy of the New Church, General Church and Bryn Athyn Church, of painting the clearest picture possible of our financial condition for directors and members alike. This is the cornerstone of all that follows.
     (2)     We have encouraged the preparation of 5- and 10-year budgets for those three organizations so that year by year we can measure our income and expense against these budgets as we go along.
     This kind of modern financial planning is essential to assure ourselves at each step that we are being financially responsible in the programs we undertake.
     (3) We have supplied the Salary Committees of the General Church and Academy with the overall financial picture so that these Committees could take a realistic long-term view of compensation. We all know that dedicated people are the future of the Church-far more important than tangible assets such as churches and school buildings. Our first obligation, then, is to see that these servants of the Church are fairly compensated. When this is done, then we can all rejoice as we see a new building rise. Good financial planning establishes priorities and these are reflected in the programs adopted, in our over-all plan.
     (4)     Treasurers of these organizations now have long-term budgets, so that, in soliciting contributions, a proper balance of uses can be presented.
     (5)     Probably the most significant idea the Committee is developing was the inspiration of Mr. Robert Walter. This is the New Church Investment Fund. Our lawyers-Drinker, Biddle & Reath-are working on getting Internal Revenue approval for this Fund and believe they will be successful, although it may take two or three more months.

     The idea of this Fund is simply this. By pooling the securities of our New Church Charities, we can form a $40,000,000-$45,000,000 Fund. Each organization will participate pro rata in the earnings and capital appreciation of the Fund. The size of the Fund will give the participants the economies of large-scale investing and the advantages of diversification and qualified professional management.

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The investment results of the Academy of the New Church, General Church and Bryn Athyn Church have always been good. With this plan, they should be even better. Once consolidated it is a simple matter to measure these results. If our results do not compare favorably with other funds, we will change investment management (and I will look for a new job). After we have obtained IRS approval, and have gained a little experience, other New Church Charities will be able to participate on the same basis if they so desire.
     From this report, I think you can see that I have enjoyed my job as Chairman of this Committee. In concluding, I want to thank the Bishop for the valuable advice he has given. (Bishop, if you should ever be looking for a job, we have one waiting for you at The Pitcairn Company, and the pay is pretty good.) Also, I wish to thank the Bishop for the dedicated men he appointed to the Committee who have worked far harder than the Chairman, and, finally, to thank you all for the wonderful support we have had.
     Prior to this experience, I would not have believed that so much good will and charity could be exercised by any group when discussing finances. This has truly been a rewarding experience.

     Respectfully submitted,
          JAMES F. JUNGE
               Chairman

     OPERATING POLICY COMMITTEE

     The Operating Policy Committee met once during the year. While our discussions are always stimulating and useful, no major recommendations were forthcoming.

     Respectfully submitted,
          ROBERT S. JUNGE
               Secretary

     ORPHANAGE COMMITTEE

     This Committee has been inactive during the past year as no applications for assistance to any orphans were received.

     Respectfully submitted,
          PHILIP C. PENDLETON
               Chairman


     PENSION COMMITTEE

     Bishop Pendleton and members of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, I'm afraid I don't have quite the enthusiastic, confident tone in saying "Jerusalem" that Mr. Taylor has, but, Doug, I am working on it.
     Yesterday I was most pleased that the Board approved a budget for a General Church Medical Insurance Program. We will work to implement it as fast as possible. I believe that the Medical Insurance Program plus the rest of the wonderful package Mr. Walter just presented to you will help take a little pressure off our over-worked clergy. I believe this package will give many ministers a feeling of relief and allow them to look at their every day, mundane problems of life with a new confidence.

193


In spite of this wonderful package worked up by Messrs. Junge, Gyllenhaal and Walter, we cannot stop here. An ounce of prevention is still better than a pound of medical insurance. Unfortunately, starting just a few days ago, and going back as far as I can remember, too many of our ministers have over-worked themselves to the point where they wrecked their health. Many over-did it during a period when candidates in Theological School were being told that there might not be an opening for them after they were ordained.
     Last Charter Day, Bishop Pendleton told the Board the number one problem of the General Church is the shortage of ministers. With only one theological candidate there is no relief in sight for at least five years.
     With this additional pressure on our over-worked clergy it is imperative we do something about it. We business men can rest on Sunday, but the minister works all week-plus Sunday is his big day. Time and motion studies prove that scientific rest periods can increase productivity. I think we should develop rest periods for the ministry and encourage them to develop recreational hobbies. I can remember some wonderful sermons on the importance of recreation.
     Would part-time or in some cases full-time secretaries increase the ministers' usefulness and conserve their precious energies? Should the Board study the possibility of secretaries for some of the ministers?
     After examining my father after his heart attack, Dr. Paul Dudley White told us boys the importance of walking at least fifteen to seventeen miles per week to prevent heart attacks and strokes. He also said, if people would take a leisurely walk before going to bed it would put the sleeping pill people out of business. Many of our ministers feel so pressed for time that they ride every place they go. This sounds funny coming from an automobile man, but you can't sell cars to people in a hospital or in the other world. How many of our ministers get yearly medical check-ups?
     Our Theological School might teach how to make the most use of a secretary and encourage the theologs to develop exercise programs and hobbies, and how to work them into a busy schedule.
     This all may sound strange coming from the Chairman of the Pension Committee. But we don't want to pay out premature pensions to the clergy, or, more important, pensions to young widows of ministers.

     Respectfully submitted,
          GARTHOWEN PITCAIRN
               Chairman

     PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch, the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr and the Rev. Robert S. Junge, Chairman.
     Our major publication this year was Saul, David and Solomon, a Parable of Three Kings by Dr. Odhner.
     We published Things from the Word in ABC, using the facilities of the General Church Religion Lessons.
     Under the auspices of the Book Center we have reprinted The Cathedral Church with the necessary revisions.
     In addition we have participated in revisions of the New Church in the New World by Dr. Block and the Religious Bodies of America by A. C. Piepkorn.

194



     We were delighted that the General Church Religion Lessons Committee published Rev. Dandridge Pendleton's Notes on Conjugial Love for use by those students who are unable to get to the Academy.
     We would also express our delight at having the Chairman of the newly formed Translation Committee become a member of the Publication Committee. We look forward to working with the Translation Committee as a vital use to the Church.
     For the future, we are still working on preparing three pamphlets for the Pastoral Pamphlet Series: one on prayer, one on the obligations of New Churchmanship and one on baptism and confirmation.
     The Committee is currently considering a manuscript for a children's book and has approved a pamphlet on Our New Church Vocabulary by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, based on a series of articles in NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     It has been a busy year for the Committee, and next year also promises to be busy, since it will probably he necessary during the year to oversee the reprinting of both the Liturgy and the Hymnal.
     The use of the Book Center continues to grow. We are grateful for the services of Mr. Richard Linquist and the many volunteers who assist him in the work.

     Respectfully submitted,
          ROBERT S. JUNGE
               Chairman

     RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE

     For the General Church Religion Lessons and associated uses 1967 has been a busy and gratifying year.
     A total of 503 children from kindergarten through grade 10 in various parts of the world currently receive our lesson materials and festival mailings. In addition, there are 119 children on our pre-kindergarten committee's roster. The process of reviewing and revising the lessons is continuing, with the second grade lessons receiving our particular attention this year.
     Last June New Church Education circulation reached 613. Since then, however, a number of subscriptions have not as yet been renewed, so that the circulation figure now stands at 582.
     Sunday school development efforts have concentrated in gathering and distributing information, and in serving as a lesson and teaching aid supply center. The development of supplementary lesson notes by the Rev. R. S. Junge continued, but none have reached final form. Two meetings were held with ministers concerned with Sunday school uses to discuss Sunday school needs and problems.
     Printing and publishing activities have continued to serve the General Church, the Academy and the Bryn Athyn Society in a number of ways. Noteworthy has been the printing of Professor Richard R. Gladish's History of the Academy, and the publication of the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton's lecture notes for his high-school Conjugial Love course.
     Our Olivetti justifying electric typewriter and our mimeograph machines have been replaced, and an IBM Selectric changeable face typewriter has been added to our equipment. The total value of equipment is estimated to be $10,000.00, with the write-off figure at about $700.00 per annum.
     As shown in the accompanying Income and Expense Statement our volume of "business" is in the neighborhood of $10,000.

195


This has been the case for the past number of years. Because of this volume and of the multiplicity of the uses served by our office, it has become increasingly clear that we could not continue to rely on volunteer and underpaid part-time workers, but would need a basic staff of competent and adequately paid personnel. Steps have been taken in this direction which will no doubt increase our labor expense item, but will also improve the reliability and efficiency of our services. Steps are also being taken to reorganize office departments and to assign specific areas of responsibility to personnel.
     Two major personnel changes should be mentioned. After many years of efficient service as treasurer, Mr. Byron Gates found it necessary to resign last summer. The treasurership has now been taken over by Mr. Gyllenhaal. And last fall, after devoted and inspiring service to the Religion Lessons work since its inception, Miss Margaret Bostock retired. She will be missed. She has been succeeded by Mrs. Theodore Doering, whose devotion and capability are well known.
     The loyal co-operation and help of our office staff, volunteer workers, counselors and teachers, as well as the support and contributions of Theta Alpha and of many families, have been much appreciated, and made possible the carrying forward of the uses of the Religion Lessons.

     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
               Chairman

     INCOME AND EXPENSE STATEMENT

     For Fiscal Year Ending August 31, 1967

INCOME

General Church Allotment-Rel. Lessons          $1,950.00
General Church Allotment-Sun. School          500.00
New Church Education-Subscriptions          964.86
Religion Lessons-Sales                    696.58
Contributions                         1,274.10
Theta Alpha Payments                    913.19
Printing & Publishing                    3,356.53
Sunday School Sales                    222.59
                                   _______

          TOTAL INCOME                         $9,880.85     

EXPENSES

     New Church Education                    $1,314.27
     Religion Lesson                         3,78180
     Printing & Publishing                    2,114.81
     Office Expense                         597.02
     Sunday School                         697.96
     Major Equipment                         1,952.40
     Maintenance and Repair                    354.81
Moving Expense                         -
                                   _______

          TOTAL EXPENSE                         $10,923.72
     EXCESS EXPENSE OVER INCOME               $942.87

     BYRON GATES
          Treasurer

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     SALARY COMMITTEE

     It has always been recognized that the financial transactions of our church organizations have been the responsibility of the laymen, rather than the clergy; however, when dealing with salaries, ministers' salaries in particular, it immediately became obvious that all of our principles were involved, for some would feel that the freedom or independence of the society was being infringed upon.
     Therefore, the General Church Salary Committee requested the Bishop to make a statement of principles by which the Committee of the General Church membership could be governed, while formulating certain policies. This statement was published in the January issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     The cost of living and standard of living vary almost from city to city, and, therefore, the ability of each society to support increases in salaries would be as varied as the number of opinions.
     It was then decided that the Salary Committee should not make recommendations or try to resolve the problem without consulting the societies, particularly those societies with established schools or contemplating schools. As you know, we met in Bryn Athyn last April and in November we met in Glenview.
     The overall proposal, which was formulated in consultation with society representatives, includes a substantial salary scale for ministers and teachers, a Savings Plan and Group Hospitalization. The details of these will be reported to the Corporation Meeting.
     The Federal government and our way of life have not made the life of a volunteer treasurer a very pleasant experience. Withholding taxes, both Federal and State, pension reports, Workmen's Compensation, Social Security reports and the year-end filing of W-2's and 1099's is a necessity, a must, and a complicated task.
     The increased salary scales very definitely mean that most societies will, for a time, find it necessary to accept grants from the General Church.
     In order to assist the local treasurer, as well as the treasurer of the General Church, who becomes most frustrated when certain reports are not filed, it has been proposed to set up a centralized payroll department, under the guidance of the General Church treasurer. Obviously, this will assist the local treasurer; but more than that it will mean that pension records are accurate, the Savings Plan kept up to date and the adoption of a free Medical Plan made possible.
     But even more important is that a centralized payroll department will assist in the making of grants; for each society would then make certain payments to the General Church to cover salaries, and the General Church, in turn, would make up the difference. The amount paid by the society would, of course, be pre-arranged with the General Church treasurer.
     This proposal of a centralized payroll department is not really a new innovation. Not too many years ago a number of circles and groups were supported entirely by the General Church; that is, the minister received his pay from the General Church. As time went on, the minister received part of his pay from the circle or group and the balance from the General Church; and only recently did the General Church make a grant to the circle, who in turn paid the full salary. In doing this, however, certain reports mentioned above were long overdue.
     Each society will negotiate with the financial team of the General Church to determine the amount of assistance needed. These teams, elected by the societies, being men of integrity, would naturally display a certain amount of confidence in one another. Without confidence the plan won't work, and without confidence in one another, we wouldn't have much of a church organization.

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     Although the Board of Directors has approved the overall report and proposal in principle, it is recognized that the General Church is made up of circles, groups and societies and that their wishes and opinions, whenever possible, will certainly be respected. While it is our opinion that the total package cannot be administered efficiently without a centralized payroll department, and even though approved by the Board, it is intended that this program be adopted by each society individually. More detail will be reported to the Corporation Meeting. There are other factors involved in any total program aimed towards benefiting our professional personnel and their effectiveness. Mr. Garth Pitcairn has some constructive suggestions in this area.
     Respectfully submitted,
          LEONARD E. GYLLENHAAL
          JAMES F. JUNGE
          ROBERT E. WALTER, Chairman

     SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE

     Last year a full Catalogue listing 1732 titles was prepared and distributed. A Catalogue supplement issued in 1967 added 209 further titles. These accessions came from Bryn Athyn, Colchester, Glenview, Pittsburgh and Toronto. The total of 1941 titles is made up as follows: services, 1197; classes, 473; General Church events, 116; Academy events, 135; secular addresses, 5; musical selections, 3; missionary subjects, 12
     In the twelve months ending September 30, 1967, circulation increased slightly from 1011 to 1019. It should be noted, however, that in accordance with accepted library practice these figures are based on outgoing material, not upon returns as in previous years. In addition to ordinary circulation, 95 gift tapes went to Australia for the Rev. Douglas Taylor's use; 59 blank tapes were mailed; 41 music tapes were requested, a sharp increase; and 11 copies were made; for a total of 1225 tapes handled.
     The treasurer reported that as of September 30, 1967, Committee net worth stood at $15,293.83. While there was an increase of $198.00 in special contributions for a total of $4,455.00, user contributions decreased by $172.18 to $1,307.85. Total expenses for the year, $5,975.73, exceeded income, $5,762.85, by $212.88. Although this deficit is not in itself serious, the need to replace much of the Committee's equipment remains and will call for a substantial increase in funds.
     Under the energetic leadership of the executive vice chairman, Mr. Willard Thomas, subcommittees on immediate and long-range objectives, services and public relations, and technical matters made comprehensive studies and reported. At the request of the secretary of the General Church an estimate of the future apace requirements of the Committee for the next ten years was prepared.
     Some time last June, the Visual Education Committee's slide holdings, numbering over 2,800 slides, were taken over by this committee, which had agreed to act as distributing agent. The slides have been in steady demand ever since, and as of the end of December a total of 983 slides had been mailed to borrowers.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON
               Chairman

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IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1968

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1968

     In the October 1967 issue of the NEW AGE, the Rev. John E. Teed, president of the Australian Conference, wrote: "The Old and New Testaments and the Revelation given through Emanuel Swedenborg stand as a perfect unit of truth from the Lord"; and: "The Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church are an authoritative revelation from the Lord alone." A later issue carries a communication from the Rev. Douglas Taylor, who asks whether there is really such a thing as an authoritative revelation from the Lord that is not the voice of the Lord and therefore His Word. What makes the Old and New Testaments to be the Word, Mr. Taylor argues, is not their form but their Divine essence and origin; nor is the mode by which they were given definitive. Mr. Taylor concludes that there is only one Word, properly speaking, the Divine wisdom or Divine truth itself. This proceeds from the Lord, and in its spiritual form appears as the Word in heaven, accommodated to the angels of the three heavens. On earth it appears in a natural form: first as the Ancient Word, next as the Old Testament, then as the New Testament, and finally as the Writings, which revelation "surpasses all the revelations that have hitherto been made since the creation of the world." The idea that a revelation so described should not be regarded as the Word he finds "quite beyond belief."

     "Thinking Realistically" in the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE, the Rev. Brian Kingslake suggests that in this age of unprecedented change the organized New Church is going to change out of recognition; perhaps disappearing altogether, to reappear again in an entirely different form. If enough people want it strongly enough, he says, the organized church will continue; otherwise it will die. If it dies, however, the main thing to which we have been called-the dissemination of the teachings of the Writings-can still go on; and Mr. Kingslake sees the Swedenborg Society and the Swedenborg Foundation then becoming the focal points of our work and taking over many of the functions now performed by the ecclesiastical organization: the theological schools, lectures, study groups and retreats. Later a new ecclesiastical body might arise out of these activities. All of this raises a fundamental question. What is the difference between the functions of a church and of a publishing and educational body? Surely the use of a church is to teach men the way to heaven and lead men in it, and this use cannot be replaced.

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REVIEW 1968

REVIEW              1968

THE SPIRITUAL WORLD. Essays on the After-Life and on the Last Judgment. By Hugo Lj. Odhner. The Academy Publication Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1968. Cloth, pp. 470. Price, $6.00.

     This book is, in every sense of the term, the major work of an author long known to the New Church reading public for his scholarly articles and for several books on doctrinal, philosophical and scriptural subjects. Its publication confers lustre on the Academy of the New Church Theological School, which he formerly served as Dean, and on the Academy itself; for it exemplifies that devotion to sustained, penetrating and meticulous doctrinal study which is the spirit of the Academy, and which Dr. Odhner has helped to make a tradition for others to follow. Formidable as the research must have been-there are 1561 footnotes in addition to references inserted in the text-it could probably have been done in a year or two, uninterrupted by other pressing business; but the book itself could not have been written without years of profound thought and reflection leading to a grasp of the philosophy which underlies and unifies the doctrine.
     Dr. Odhner's book is unique in the collateral literature of the New Church, and its appearance fills a gap that has existed too long. It is true that in Heaven and Hell, Last Judgment, and other related works, the spiritual world is revealed and an eyewitness account given of the great judgment which took place there in the year 1757. But these sources by no means exhaust those topics. Distributed throughout the Writings there are many other teachings about the spiritual world and the Last Judgment, and the author has been of outstanding service to the New Church reader in carefully collating many of these teachings to offer a comprehensive view of the revealed doctrine concerning the world after death and life in it. Yet there is more here than a scholarly presentation of the doctrine; the author touches illuminatingly on many of the problems which the doctrine poses for the reflective student, calls attention to teachings which are peculiar to the Writings, hints at the philosophy which underlies the doctrine, emphasizes the reality of the spiritual world, and shares some reflections with the reader.
     Although they are written as essays on the life after death and on the Last Judgment, the chapters of this book are so arranged as to offer a systematic survey of the "things seen and heard" concerning the heavens and the hells. The first three parts are titled, respectively, "From Earth to Heaven," "The Angelic Heavens" and "The Nature of the Hells."

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Part One discusses in a series of eight essays the revelation of the after-life given in the Heavenly Doctrine, immortal man, death and resurrection, the world of spirits, the disclosure of internal states, judgment and instruction, children in the other life, and spirits from the starry heavens. In an equal number of essays, Part Two takes up the spiritual sun and its atmospheres, the Word in heaven, the degrees of the mind and the three heavens, the two kingdoms and the three heavens, the societies of heaven and the occupations of the angels, and closes with an account of a day in an angelic society. After considering the fallacy of universal salvation, Part Three examines spiritual penalties, the nature of the hells, the government of hell, inequalities and Divine justice and phantasy and reality, and closes with a treatment of Divine foresight and providence. Part Four is especially valuable in that it places in their chronological sequence the many spiritual events recorded by Swedenborg in connection with the Last Judgment, and brings out some distinctive laws of the spiritual world.

     As a survey the book is a unified whole, and many readers will undoubtedly wish to use it accordingly. But each chapter is also readable as an independent essay, and some readers may prefer to browse through the Table of Contents and select here and there chapters which particularly arouse their interest as a means of getting into the book as a whole. Thus, to select a few at random, "Death and Resurrection," "A Day in an Angelic Society," "The Fallacy of Universal Salvation" or "Divine Foresight and Providence" might urge the reader to begin with it according to his background and particular interests.
     With the scholar's sense of obligation to his subject, Dr. Odhner points out that these essays can give only samplings of the extensive and profound teachings of the Writings, and that they do not cover all the aspects of the spiritual world which the Writings present. The doctrine of the Gorand Man, for example, is, he says, only lightly touched upon; and for yet another aspect the reader is referred to his Spirits and Men, published in 1958. Nevertheless, there is much here for the young people of the church, for the serious student, and for the mature New Church man who finds delight in thinking from doctrine and about life. The arcana of the spiritual world have been revealed "in the hope that ignorance may thus be enlightened and unbelief dissipated." These objectives are achieved with all who accept the Writings; but there are many degrees of understanding, and all may advance through this book.

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MEN UNDER AUTHORITY 1968

MEN UNDER AUTHORITY       Editor       1968


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.
     As his reason for suggesting that the Lord could heal by His word the centurion did not say, "for I am a man of authority," but, "for I am a man under authority." This subordinate officer knew how to obey because he was himself under authority, and he knew how the men under his command obeyed him without question. Yet he seemed to recognize that his power was not personal; that the power which his men obeyed in him was the same power to which, in his superiors, he was obedient: the power of the Roman army. And he was convinced that in the Lord there was undoubted power to which disease must submit at His command.
     The distinction here noted has an interesting application to the relation of the laity and the clergy. Priests are not men of authority; they are men under authority! They are themselves, in their teaching and preaching, under the Divine authority of the Writings. Priests may use the language of exhortation, though not, it is hoped, of command. But the power vested in them, and which they invoke, is not personal but is the power of Divine truth; and if they are good men, the authority to which they urge their hearers to submit is that to which they themselves have submitted freely, and both are obedient to the same power.
     An authoritarian priesthood would therefore be contrary to the spirit of the church, and so also would be a laity which wanted an authoritarian figure in its pastor. To follow the priesthood, therefore, is not to look to the pulpit for explicit personal direction in every detail of life but, under priestly leading, to go to the Writings in which the Lord, the Divine authority, speaks to His church.

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LIFE THROUGH DEATH 1968

LIFE THROUGH DEATH       Editor       1968

     Many people today subscribe without question to the dictum that Christmas is for the children. Now that this viewpoint has been established, a similar one is being advanced in regard to Easter; and in this northern hemisphere, where Easter coincides with spring, there are those who evidently feel that this is no time to think or talk about death, always an unpleasant subject anyway! Easter, with the earth awakening from its winter sleep, is, they say, a time to talk about life: the resurgence of life in field and fold, in forest and in garden, not something as gloomy as death.
     How true this is, though often how untruly spoken and out of how great a spiritual emptiness! Easter does speak of life, but of life attained through death. Perhaps the Christian churches are as much to blame as is the secularizing of society's values; for their emphasis on the Lord's passion has often caused His resurrection to be overshadowed, and the cross rather than the empty tomb has become their symbol. Yet the fact remains that without the events of Good Friday and the lifetime of temptations, each one a little death for the Mary-human, what happened on the first Easter morning could not have taken place.
     "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die," the Lord said, "it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit." It was through the death of the Mary-human that the Lord rose, fully glorified, in His Divine Human, to give eternal life to all who would believe in Him and keep His commandments. Therefore Easter does speak to us of life: of life in itself which the Divine Human is, and of that eternal life which flows from it-life through the death on the cross and the death of the proprium. But this is death that may be looked in the face without fear, for it is indeed the gate of life.
KINGDOM OF THE REBORN 1968

KINGDOM OF THE REBORN       Editor       1968

     Because it is established in the mind, in the will and the understanding, the kingdom of God is within man. However, its formation involves a change in man's life which is so radical that it can be called only rebirth. This was the change of which the Lord spoke when He said: "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God"; and to make clear that this is a spiritual rebirth He added: "Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."
     Physical birth introduces only into the natural world; by it man does not enter either heaven or hell by having one or the other enter into him as his own. For either a second and spiritual birth is necessary.

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The Lord referred to these two births when He spoke of those who are born of God and thus become "sons of God"-the regenerate; and those who are born "of blood, of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man"-those who become sons of darkness by choosing the infernal proprium.
     Why the formation of the kingdom is called in the Word rebirth or regeneration is explained by the well-known teaching of the Writings that love is the life of man. What the Lord does in forming His kingdom within man is to give him an entirely new love and therefore a new life: love to the Lord or toward the neighbor instead of the love of self or of the world which had been his ruling love before. And since thought and action are the effects of life, and derive their quality from it, He also gives man a new kind of thought and, interiorly if not exteriorly, a new kind of action. As spiritual love is established in man's mind he comes also into truth, not the mere knowledge or intellectual sight of it, but the truth of good, and his actions become goods of use. The Lord gives him a new will, a new understanding, and a new life in ultimates; thus a new life in a new mental world.
     This is a marvelous thing. In the process of regeneration the Lord takes a man who is self-directed toward hell, and without ever interfering with his freedom turns him completely around, so that he looks to the Lord and heaven. The Lord leads him through temptations by degrees in such a way that the evils he once loved as his very life attract him less and less, and eventually he begins to feel aversion for them, and can separate himself from them voluntarily and fully.
     However, while regeneration is a work wholly Divine, that part of the process which is called reformation, and the repentance which precedes, call for man's co-operation. Therefore the Lord warns: "Not everyone that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven."
OF TIME AND ETERNITY 1968

OF TIME AND ETERNITY       Editor       1968

     Some children, even young people and adults, occasionally find the idea of living to eternity rather frightening. Their difficulty, of course, is that they are thinking of an eternity of time. Living in time, as we do here, we can recall the past and imagine the future, and both may seem long indeed. However, the simple fact is that we shall never understand eternity if we think of it as endless time. When we pass into the spiritual world by death we enter into a new dimension, a new discrete degree; one for which we have only analogies here on earth.

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Yet these analogies can be helpful. When we are in the enjoyment of a delight, we do not put that enjoyment on a time scale. We do not reflect on how long we have had it or how long it will last, nor do we want it ever to end. We live only in the present. Reflection on this may help us to reach at least a simple understanding of what eternity is like, angels and spirits being in the delight of their life.
MATTER OF PRINCIPLE? 1968

MATTER OF PRINCIPLE?       RAYMOND B. DAVID       1968

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     I have just finished reading the Minutes of the Joint Council Meeting of 1960 as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, April 1960. One aspect of the discussion recorded there bothers me. Great emphasis was placed on what was several times called the principle that the offices of Executive Bishop and President of the Academy be vested in one man. I object to that policy being called a principle.
     I agree that the organizations of the church should not become two-headed, but would vesting the executive offices of the two organizations in two different men produce this effect? After all, they are two separate organizations. If we are a living church, and if the Academy is a living body, then the Lord is the head of each.
     I also agree that for the present it is good policy to vest these offices in one man, but it will not always be. We already have a British Academy and a Midwest Academy as well as the Academy in Bryn Athyn. Some day there will be a Pacific Academy, a Southern Academy, a Japanese Academy, an outer Mongolian Academy-you name it! The New Church is to fill the earth. Is the Executive Bishop of the General Church to be the president of all these academies? And if so, could this be anything more than a titular office? What would be the use of such an arrangement? Each such organization would require effective local control, executive control. The highest practical level would be diocesan.
     To say that the Bishop sets the educational policy of the church is one thing, but to say it is a principle that he should be the president of the educational institutions seems to me to overstate the case. The principle involved is that the Academy(ies) be under priestly direction, but not necessarily under the Executive Bishop.

     RAYMOND B. DAVID

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Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     GENERAL CHURCH

     On February 6, 1968, Mr. Christopher Ronald Jack Smith, a second-year student in the Academy of the New Church Theological School, was recognized by the Bishop as a candidate for the priesthood.

     DURBAN, NATAL

     On November 23-25, our hall was filled to capacity. Pam van Rij's production of My Three Angels was a masterpiece. I saw it twice, and wished that I could see it again. I have seen many first class plays, but this one was more enjoyable in every respect. Our own Durban Society players lived their parts superbly. Many strangers thought that they were professionals. They were astounded when they heard that Deryck, the impeccable swindler who kept us in fits of laughter, was a minister of religion! Any theatrical company would have envied us our stage set. Maurice de Chazal and the Rev. Deryck van Rij, with helpers, worked for days, building it to perfection; and what is more, the audience had an unobstructed view, for these two gentlemen borrowed a sloping floor.
     Kainon School closing on Friday, December 8, was a delightful occasion. There was, as usual, a short service, during which the principal, the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs, gave an address on "Happiness." He said that we all try to find happiness, which is what the Lord wants us to have; but we imagine that it comes from getting what we want, or from having fun. True happiness, he continued, comes from the Lord when we shun what is evil and do what is good after we have read the Word.
     After the service, Alix Mayer gave an excellent report. It showed that she had put her heart into her teaching and had kept the children in the sphere of the church, implanting good affections and at the same time keeping up a good standard of work in the school. She praised Gillian Simons for the help she had given during the few months since her arrival from Bryn Athyn. The children, looking smart in their new uniforms, entertained us with charming songs and the percussion band. They sang the Hebrew anthem Ho-dhoo adorably. A lump came into my throat when Wayne Millar, dressed as a shepherd, sang in answer to the other children singing, "Who is He in yonder stall?' Many other charming songs were sung, and every word was clearly heard. Every child received a prize for good work, for general knowledge or for good behavior. The four voluntary assistant teachers-Mrs. G. D. Cockerell, handwork; Mrs. Mumford, percussion band; Mrs. Schuurman, singing; and Mrs. Ken Waters, swimming-were each presented with gifts of appreciation. "Miss Alix" and "Miss Gillian" produced after the tea interval a charming little play entitled "Mr. Trim's Toy Shop." As you can imagine, each child was a toy and had an adorable little part to play, while the audience was enchanted.
     The Christmas festival included seven outstanding events following in close succession. These were the Carol Sing on December 10; the Mission Party on the 12th; the children's Christmas party on the 15th; the Carol Service on the 17th; the children's Christmas service on the 24th, followed by the tableaux; and, the climax, the Christmas service.
     The Carol Sing in the hall was the worst attended for a number of years, many people being away and others ill. But those who attended spent a happy evening singing most of the Christmas hymns from the Liturgy and the Hymnal; also many carols, including Good King Wenceslaus.

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     The Women's Guild arranged the Mission Party for children of Clermont and Kwa Mashu. About sixty children attended. Each child was given a cold drink, a cake and ice cream. Many of the parents were there, and they received the same fare. They were entertained by the Chipmunks, produced by Mrs. Bongers, Mrs. Neil Buss and Mrs. Palmer. The Superintendent, the Rev. Peter Buss, handed out the presents, while the children sat in silence and wonder. Every child received a toy, and each little girl received a pretty dress and each boy a shirt, which thrilled them. (All during the year the Women's Guild had acquired these things as each member brought a gift to the monthly meetings.) One of the mothers made a speech in Zulu, which Mr. Nzimande translated sentence by sentence. She wished the women of the Guild to know how much their kindness was appreciated. When they left for home each child was given a packet of sweets and a balloon.
     The Durban Society's children's Christmas party was given three days later and was enjoyed by all the children, including infants in arms. Many parents, grandparents and aunts crowded into the hall. There was a beautiful little Christmas tree with many gaily wrapped presents around it. The children sat on the floor and were entertained by the Chipmunks and by Shirley, Leslie, D'Renee and Pamela Waters, who sang and danced very creditably. While the children were enjoying the fare, Mr. Heinrichs took a picture of seven mothers with their babies born this year, including Lisa's twins. Thirteen babies were born this year in the Durban Society. What a pity they were not all in the picture! Mr. Heinrichs asked the children to sit quietly on the floor while he gave each child a present from the tree. They all opened their gifts at the same time, and you can imagine what excitement and shouting rent the air. Balloons were also distributed, so that bursts and bangs and screams of delight ended the party.
     The Carol Service on Sunday evening, December 17, was very well attended. The Rev. Daniel Heinrichs read five lessons, and eight Christmas hymns were joyously sung, bringing the sphere of Christmas into our hearts.
     We were inspired with "Peace on earth, good will toward men" during our beautiful Christmas services. The children's service on Christmas Eve began at six o'clock. Mr. Heinrichs preached on why we are joyful at this time. The tableaux followed immediately after the service, in the hall. Donald Ridgway produced ten artistic tableaux which followed continuously one after another, while glorious orchestral music was played throughout. Sentences from the Word introducing each scene were heard clearly and impressively. Each scene was a work of art and out of the ordinary. Appreciation was shown by the perfect stillness of the congregation, which included many children.
     The Christmas festival reached its peak on Christmas Day. The service was overwhelming in its beauty. It makes one happy to know that so many people were there to enjoy it; there were one hundred and ninety-nine-the largest congregation ever on record in our little church. Mr. Perry and Mrs. Heinrichs sang "Away In a Manger" in pleasing harmony. The Rev. Peter Buss gave a sermon on "The Virgin Birth in Man." He said that the Lord was born of a human mother, but had no human father. Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit, and the power of the Highest overshadowed her. The Lord was the mighty God, the everlasting Father. Now we know Him and can see Him in our mind's eye, and this is part of the joy of Christmas. But there is a still greater joy, because now it is possible for Him to be born into our minds, and to regenerate us and give us charity-charity which has a human mother but a Divine Father. The mother, Mary, is our affection of the truth, betrothed, or freely trying to understand the truth and live according to it; and the Father of this new birth within us is the Lord's Divine love and wisdom, or the Holy Spirit which comes upon us, and the power of the Highest which overshadows us; and the love or charity which is born is the Son of God. This sermon made the celebration of Christmas a living thing, for our minds were excited and our hearts stirred by the interior Divine things involved in it.

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     Larkin Smith and Alix Mayer were married at six in the evening on December 29 in our lovely little church, made lovelier by the glorious bowls of pink roses, carnations and antherium, and by many shining candle lights. While we waited in the church a beautiful soprano solo was sung by Mrs. Heinrichs. After the opening of the Word the bridal procession began with the Brahms wedding march. First came the little flower girl, Freya Heinrichs, followed solemnly by Michael Mayer and Eulalie Gillespie. Then came Paul Mayer and Gillian Simons, followed by the best man, Patrick Mayer, and the chief bridesmaid, Sylvia Cranch. Last came the groom with his lovely bride. They stood grouped at the chancel rail while "The Lord's Prayer" was gloriously sung by Mrs. Heinrichs. This was a most appropriate beginning to the moving marriage service which followed. Larkin and Alix, now husband and wife, were led down the aisle to Mendelssohn's wedding march by the little flower girl, who strewed rose petals in their path.
     After watching the photographer at work at the church steps we gathered at the Durban Country Club for a wonderful cocktail reception-dance. A delightful and happy sphere surrounded the newly married couple, who danced with the rest to their hearts' content until the end. An excellent band and singer added to the enjoyment, which began with champagne and a delectable array of savories. The toast to the bride and groom was proposed by the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs, who officiated at the marriage service. Larkin's reply was thoughtful and affectionate. Mr. Heinrichs then read a letter to the groom and his bride written by Larkin's father, Mr. Gilbert Smith. A humorous poem by Larkin's pastor in Pittsburgh, the Rev. Kurt Asplundh, was also read.
     It is noteworthy that the groom flew from the United States to marry his bride, and that Sylvia Cranch, the chief bridesmaid, also flew to South Africa for the occasion. She stayed at Mr. and Mrs. Percy Mayer's home and was enjoyed by all in the Durban Society who met her during her literal flying visit of two weeks.
     SYLVIA PEMBERTON

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     We do not set out deliberately to progress, develop and expand, but that is invariably what happens in this society. For instance, we found it necessary to employ a research and planning company to look over our physical assets, and suggest to us how buildings and grounds can be rearranged and better use be made of what we now have, and how we can allow for future contingencies, as we need more homes and more land.
     Our school has expanded to freshman and sophomore high school grades and it is always the opening of school that sets the torch to the society's activities. But Theta Alpha strikes the match that lights the torch-this year by having an old-fashioned social after church to welcome all the teachers and helpers in the school. Punch, wine, cookies and cake were served amid much friendly chatter, until the Rev. Louis King called for silence. Toasts to the church and those performing its uses were proposed, and Mr. King introduced all the personnel involved in the work of the school.
     The full-time teaching staff was listed last October in the Directory of Local Schools published annually by NEW CHURCH LIFE. Here is a list of the special instructors. Rev. Louis B. King: Religion and Speech; Rev. Robert H. P. Cole: Science, Composition, Religion and Speech; Rev. Alfred Acton: Science, Ancient History, Religion, Rostering and Curriculum Planning, head of secondary school; Mrs. Kenneth Holmes: Art; Mrs. Justin Synnestvedt: Girls Sports; Mrs. Robert H. P. Cole: Typing, Sports and Fencing; Mrs. Ernest Lorey: French, Grades 5-8; Mrs. Samuel Mayo: substitute teacher; Mrs. William Hugo: Librarian, School Secretary.
     During the year a special meeting was called, and Mr. King announced that the Rev. Alfred Acton was head of the high school and Miss Hasen was in charge of the grammar school, and that he must curtail some of his activities in the school to be able to devote more time to his pastoral duties.

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He also made it quite clear that the high school and the grammar school are distinctly separate from each other and are taught and administered by separate staffs.
     The library is the one joint organization of both schools. This year it took advantage, through the Glenview public schools, of the Title II program and received many new books and a set of Compton's Encyclopedia. This was through the efforts of our librarian, Mrs. Hugo.
     Just as school opening sets the Society in motion it also signals the time for the departure of many students to other schools. Thirty-one young people departed for the Academy in Bryn Athyn. As the high school here adds classes, it will be in a position to supply New Church education to our teenagers and enable them to stay at home.
     The Society also provides the Sunday school, which is designed for those children who do not attend the day school. It had been administered by Mrs. Robert Smith (Naomi Gladish) until the arrival of the Smiths' fourth child. Now Mrs. Raymond Lee (Nancy Synnestvedt) is in charge. The school is divided into two groups: the very young up to the 4th grade, and those over 4th through the 7th grade. They have two parties, one for Christmas and one for Swedenborg's birthday. The curriculum is worked out by a committee of our ministers.
     The Boys Club, a lively organization, is very fortunate this year in having a manual training room equipped with many tools and Mr. Duncan Smith as teacher and supervisor. Mr. Donald Edmonds had been the "Head Mackerel" of this club for many years; but when someone as willing and capable as Duncan came along he relinquished the position to him.
     Usually the Midwestern District Assembly is held in Glenview because it is the largest society in the district, but this year Detroit took over the hosting and did a superb job. Every program, meal, entertainment, accommodation and speech was thoughtfully planned. Thirty-two members attended from Glenview and returned full of enthusiasm for the solidarity of the church and gratitude for the warm hospitality of Detroit.
     If special services were not held in Pendleton Hall the walls of the church building would be burst through. The Thanksgiving attendance filled to overflowing the enormous room of Pendleton Hall. There is power in numbers and the sphere was indeed strong. Adding to the sphere was the fruit offering of the children and a huge gilded cornucopia pouring out colorful fruit and vegetables. This arrangement was a labor of love by Mr. Marshall Fuller. He spent many hours creating the cornucopia in his home for this occasion. Mr. Fuller does all the decorating for church services and special occasions, and keeps the plants he uses for this purpose healthy all through the year.
     In order to accommodate to all ages there were several Christmas services and two performances of the tableaux, which were awesome in their beauty. As is the custom, the church gave all children of the Society and visiting children a gift. Many of these gifts, such as lambs, dolls and other toys, were made by members of the Society.
     As is to be expected, we have had weddings, births, deaths and moves since the last report. The weddings were those of Sandra Synnestvedt to Douglas Ruch and Valerie Stevens to Bruce Reuter. The births: Martin Lindsay Caldwell, James Justin Streicher, Deborah Kuhl, Thomas Allen Oliver, Cynthia Brickman, Linda Kay Farrington, Sonia Stevens, Kelly Marie Lips, Alexandra Murdoch and Erik Raynor Synnestvedt. Those who have departed to the spiritual world are: Mr. Sydney Lee, Mr. Gerrit Barger, Sr., Mr. Otto Kitzelman, Mr. William Hugo and Mrs. Otho Brickman (Eden Kitzelman). These friends of ours were called into the other world within a few months, and this has left our society with a real loss. We have had a happy addition to our group in the Philip Horigan family, who occupy the former Dr. Donald Gladish home. Their two children have added to our school attendance.
     It is a pleasure to have folks move here, but a real sadness when they move away, as did Eddie and Elva Burnham.

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They had been here long enough to see some of us grow up and become parents of teenagers, and their contributions to our lives and the uses of the Society have been many and generously given. However, their grandchildren and children in the east will be blessed by their nearness. Another big loss has been the moving of the Donald Schnarr family, four children. Besides their friendship and help, which will be missed, the baby-watching force has been dealt a serious blow.
     This busy, complex, forward-going society has worn out its loving and conscientious pastor. Now he is getting a rest so that he can resume his services. In the meantime the Rev. Robert Cole has assumed many of his duties, and the Rev. Alfred Acton has increased his work with school and society. As usual, the Rev. Victor Gladish has come to our aid with his assistance.
     AGATHA S. FULLER

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS

     Award, 1968

     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Margaret Jo-Ann Snyder.
     Miss Snyder received her diploma at a special mid-year graduation ceremony held immediately after College chapel on February 5, 1968.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1968

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1968

     The Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Stockholm Society, effective September 1, 1968. Mr. Nemitz has also accepted appointment as Visiting Pastor to the Circles in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo, Norway, effective as of the same date.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.
ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH 1968

ALL POWER IN HEAVEN AND ON EARTH              1968

     "The Lord said that all power was given unto Him in heaven and on earth, as if it were then first given, because by the Son of Man His Human essence is meant, which, when united to the Divine was also Jehovah, and at the same time power was given unto Him; which could not be done before He was glorified, that is, before His Human essence by union with the Divine had life in itself" (Arcana Coelestia 1607).

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FIRST EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY 1968

FIRST EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968




      Announcements
     The First European Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at the University of Essex, Wivenhoe Colchester, England, Thursday, July 18, through Sunday, July 21, 1968, the Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
          Bishop
YOUNG PEOPLE'S GATHERING 1968

YOUNG PEOPLE'S GATHERING       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968

     A young people's gathering will he held under the auspices of the General Church over the Labor Day weekend, August 31- September 4, 1968, at Laurel Hill State Park (east of Pittsburgh, Pa.).
     All those who have completed high school and are thirty years of age or younger are eligible to attend.
     The following have agreed to serve as a committee to organize the gathering, and to be responsible for its operation:
     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom (Chairman)
     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh
     Mr. Gilbert M. Smith
     Detailed information will be distributed by mail.

          WILLARD D. PENDLETON
               Bishop
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1968

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       KURT H. ASPLUNDH       1968

     The 1968 meetings of the Educational Council of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., August 19-23. These meetings are open to all who are actively engaged in the work of New Church education, whether full-time or part-time, in the Academy and in the schools of the General Church, and by special invitation to New Church men and women in the educational field in other schools.
     We urge you all to set aside this time so that you may participate in the vital and growing use of the development of distinctively New Church education. This is a use worthy of your support, and in need of your unique and valuable contribution as New Church men and educators.
     The program this year, to be announced fully later, will center in the work of the newly-appointed "core" committees in the various subject fields. The long-range objective is the development of vital curricula at the elementary school level. Special emphasis will be placed this year on the fields of Religion, Foreign Language and Social Studies.
     A series of lectures on the application of doctrine to the field of education will be presented by the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton. Other topics of general interest will be featured at the evening sessions.
     KURT H. ASPLUNDH
          Program Committee Chairman

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SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1968-1969 1968

SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1968-1969              1968

     Ninety-second School Year

     1968

Sept.     4     Wed.     Faculty Meetings
     5     Thur.     Dormitories open (Students must arrive before 8:00 p.m.)
                    Secondary Schools Registration: local students
                    College Registration: local students
     6     Fri.     Secondary Schools Registration: dormitory students
               College Registration: dormitory students
     7     Sat.     8:00 am. All student workers report to supervisors
               3:00 p.m. Opening Exercises
               3:30 p.m. Lawn Party
               8:00 p.m. President's Reception
     9     Mon.          Classes begin in Secondary Schools and College
Oct.     25     Fri.          Charter Day
     26     Sat.          Annual Meeting of Corporation
Nov.     27     Wed.          Thanksgiving Recess begins after morning classes
Dec.     1     Sun.          Dormitory students return before 8:00 p.m.
     2     Mon.          Classes resume in all schools
     6     Fri.          Secondary Schools: End of Fall term
     20     Fri.          Christmas Recess begins after morning classes

     1969

Jan.     5     Sun.          Dormitory students return before 8:00 p.m.
     6     Mon.          Classes resume in all schools
     20-24     Mon.-Fri.      College: Semester examinations     
Feb.     3     Mon.          College semester begins
                    Final date for applications for 1969-1970 school year
     24     Mon.          Washington's Birthday Holiday
Mar.     14     Fri.          Secondary Schools: End of Winter term
               Spring Recess begins after morning classes
     23     Sun.          Dormitory students return before 8:00 p.m.
     24     Mon.          Classes resume in all schools
Apr.     4     Fri.          Good Friday. Holiday following special Chapel Service
May     16     Fri.          Joint Meeting of Faculty and Corporation
     30     Fri.          Memorial Day Holiday
June      2-6     Mon.-Fri.     College:     Semester examinations
     12     Thurs.8:30 p.m. President's Reception
     13     Fri.          Secondary Schools: End of Spring term
     10:30 a.m.           Commencement Exercises

     NOTE:     At the beginning of the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter recesses, student workers remain after morning classes for four hours of student work.

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OVERCOMING FEARS 1968

OVERCOMING FEARS       Rev. DOUGLAS M. TAYLOR       1968


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LXXXVIII
MAY, 1968
No. 5

     "Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day." (Psalm 91: 5)

     Even from the literal sense of Psalm 91 it is quite obvious that the subject is Divine protection: the protection from evil, harmful things-and the consequent cessation of fear-enjoyed by those who trust in the Lord because they are conjoined with Him. The evil, harmful things mentioned in the sense of the letter are the kind that frighten the natural man; but in the internal sense evils that are dangers to the soul or spiritual life of man are meant. From these, too, there is complete Divine protection for those who are conjoined with the Lord, and are thus "in the shadow of the Almighty."* They have nothing to fear.
     The text treats specifically of the influx of falsities-false reasonings and doubts that disturb the mind and lead it, openly or secretly, away from the Lord and His kingdom. The "terror by night" is the influx of falsities that are not known to be falsities of evil, that are not seen as such. The "arrow that flieth by day" is a falsity that is known and seen in light as something clearly opposite to the Divinely revealed truth of the Word.** We are to fear neither the one nor the other. If we are working in conjunction with the Lord, He will be able to save us from the influx of both secret and open falsities.***
     * Verse 1
     ** AE 336: 6.
     ***AC 6000: 9, 7102: 10.
     All things evil and fearful flow in from hell. This is the basic starting point in our thinking about protection from evils and about the consequent release from the often paralyzing grip of fear.

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The way the Lord guards and defends those who really do have confidence in Him, the way He controls the influx from hell, is the subject of this Psalm as a whole; and we are given a summary exposition of it in the Writings from which we are assured that, for those who are conjoined with the Lord, "there will be protection from every attack, thus there will be no uprising of the hells- not even against the church; and [thus] the heavens will serve the Lord. . . . There will be no fear from the hells, when the Divine has been made one with the Human."*
     * PP, Psalm 91.
     On the other hand, those who from evils do not acknowledge the Divine in the Human of the Lord, and those who do not acknowledge any Divine at all, can have no Divine protection. It is not that He does not will to give it, for the whole operation of His love and wisdom is towards the end that there will be a heaven from the human race, and He unceasingly wills to draw all men to Himself.* But those who do not look to the Lord cannot be conjoined with Him, and so cannot come under the covert of His wings, except in a very general way.
     * JOHN 12: 32.

     We are reminded here of the fear and anxiety for the future experienced by Cain after he had slain his brother, Abel, who represents charity. Of this the Writings say: "When a man deprives himself of charity he separates himself from the Lord, since it is solely charity, that is, love toward the neighbor, and mercy, that conjoin man with the Lord. Where there is no charity, there is disjunction, and where there is disjunction man is left to himself or to his proprium; and then whatever he thinks is false, and whatever he wills is evil.. . . Those who are in evil and falsity are in continual dread of being slain, as is thus described: 'Your land shall be a desolation, and your cities a waste, and upon those who are left of you I will bring softness into their hearts in the land of their enemies, and the sound of a driven leaf shall chase them, and they shall flee as fleeing from a sword, and they shall fall when none pursueth, and shall stumble every one upon his brother, as it were before a sword, when none pursueth' (Leviticus 26: 33, 36, 37). In [this] and other passages of the Word, those who are in falsity and evil are described as `fleeing,' and as in `fear of being slain.' They are afraid of everybody, because they have no one to protect them."*
     *AC 389, 390.
     Our fears are a very reliable index of what we love, for what a man loves that he fears to lose. Whether our fears are merely natural, or spiritual and celestial in quality, can be known from the things we love. Conversely, what we fear to lose, or have taken away from us, indicates very clearly what we love. Our fears and our loves make one.

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     For example, we may fear the loss of our health, our life, our wealth or our livelihood. We may be frightened of losing our good name, our status and prestige, our popularity. We may be terrified at the thought of what people will think of us, or say about us. We may be afraid of making a mistake, of failing to achieve what we long to achieve. We may have a great fear of being thought inferior-what psychologists have dubbed an "inferiority complex." We may be frightened of being laughed at or held up to ridicule. We may be afraid of punishments and disgrace. We may hold back in fear from committing ourselves wholeheartedly to the spiritual way of life, afraid of being robbed of the natural, worldly delights that we are enjoying in our present way of life. We may have all kinds of anxious fears about the future.

     These are but a few examples of the many forms that fear takes on, for fears are as manifold as loves. But all these fears have one thing in common. They are all from merely natural, worldly loves. They are all fears of being deprived of something connected with our life and well-being in this natural world. They are therefore natural fears, fears for safety and happiness in this life. The more we love ourselves and our life in this world, that is, the more we regard them as supremely important ends, the more will we fear the loss of them or anything connected with them. The quality of our fears may be known from the quality of our loves; the quality of our loves may be known by examining our fears.
     The fears just mentioned are those that we have in common with merely natural men, who have no religion at all. They flow into us when we lapse into sensuous and natural loves and consequent thoughts, especially if we reflect too much upon self,* and forget about the Divine Providence of the Lord.**
     * AC 6202
     ** AC 8478
     Yet even so, the Lord can make use of these fears; in fact, He must do so. The reason is that in the beginning of our regeneration, or journey from natural to spiritual life, we must perforce start from merely natural loves, which are what prevail in our conscious minds. These loves have their natural fears. So it is that the fear of losing our reputation, the fear of losing our employment or some advancement in the world, the fear of losing money, can all be used as means of saving us from depravity itself. These external natural fears, which even an atheist has, can spur us on to compel ourselves against the grossest evils of word and deed. In other words, because we love ourselves and our own worldly happiness and comfort, we fear to lose them, and are thus compelled to restrain ourselves in order to avoid pain.

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     But if we are instructed in the spiritual things of the Word and begin to acquire a love of coming into heaven, then, as we begin to learn more about the Lord and His providence, some of these fears are lessened. However, their place may well be taken by other forms of anxiety, which flow in as a direct result of our knowledge of the life after death. As we carry out even a cursory examination of our loves and longings, we may well begin to fear for our spiritual life. The prospect of a life to eternity in hell in the company of others who love only self and eminence over others, and who have no conscience whatever and are consequently cruel and vicious-this may fill us with terror. It is often only this fear, which may be described as a natural fear but with regard to spiritual ends, that moves us to reform our lives. It may be that this fear of hell and damnation is the only means the Lord can use to redeem us.

     In this first state of the church there is a certain fearfulness in our looking to the Lord. The picture of the Lord as our Judge dominates our thoughts. We have a fear of Him, because of our own evils. We are afraid of what He might do to us. In this state, if the sphere of heaven approaches too near, we are frightened and disturbed, ill at ease. This is the disturbance and fear meant in the Word when the angel of the Lord appeared suddenly to natural men; they felt full of fear and dread in the presence of the Divine, mainly because they believed that they would die if they looked upon the Lord. Hence, in the Lord's command, "Fear not," there is involved the exhortation to shun evils as sins against Him, so that charity can flow in from Him: and with charity there always comes faith, the internal acknowledgment of truth, or insight into truth; for as faith from charity increases, fear decreases, which is why the Lord said to the disciples when they were frightened of being shipwrecked:
"Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?"* Hence the statement in the Writings, that the more of faith there is in worship, and especially the more of love, the less there is of fear."**
     * Mark 4: 40.
     ** AC 2826: 13.
     The fear of damnation in hell to eternity is so devastating that man cannot remain in it for long. The proper way to escape from this fear, as just indicated, is to shun our evils for no other reason than that they are sins against the Lord; in other words, to desist from them out of regard for the Lord. This regard is what is meant by loving the Lord. But there are other, disorderly ways by which the natural man seeks to escape from the horror of looking upon hell; either by lapsing into disbelief in the life after death, so that he no longer feels obliged to consider the subject, or else by lapsing into despair or hopelessness with regard to salvation.

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Again the purpose is to escape the obligation of considering the subject, because if salvation is hopeless, then there is no use in thinking about it. But let us be well aware that both disbelief and despair are induced upon us by the hells. If we succumb to disbelief, we will give up the struggle; if we succumb to dark despair, the hells have us in their grip, because there is nothing more hopeless than hopelessness. If our fear of hell has paralyzed us into the inaction of despair, then we are indeed lost.

     In any warfare, or in any enterprise involving a struggle, we can either gather together all our strength and oppose the force that is threatening what we love and cherish, or we can capitulate passively and yield the field to our enemies. It is the same with religion and its life, in which from the Lord we have to struggle against our natural man; we can either be spiritual warriors or spiritual pacifists.
     If we decide to become a part of the "church militant" and take up arms in the warfare against our natural man, we will gradually come into loves of a different quality; or rather, new loves from the Lord through heaven will begin to flow into us. We will come into love toward the neighbor, or charity, and our faith will be strengthened, our natural fears weakened.
     But we will have in their place good fears. They will be heavenly, holy fears. Instead of being fears for self they will be fears on account of the neighbor's welfare. We will be anxious lest we do harm to the neighbor, lest we hinder his reception of good and truth from the Lord. Obviously this kind of fear is very different from natural fear; it is heavenly, spiritual, holy. It is a good fear.
     Even better and more holy is the fear that accompanies love to the Lord, or celestial love. This is a fear of harming the Lord, a fear lest we obstruct what He wills to accomplish. In this there is manifest a love and regard for the Lord. Hence the Writings say that love for the Lord and fear for the Lord are one and the same; for holy fear is in love, and without that fear love is, as it were, insipid, like meat unseasoned with salt."*
     *AC 3718.
     These fears that flow in from heaven-the fear of harming the neighbor and of harming the Lord-are meant in the Word when it is said that "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."* Hence we are commanded: "Fear God," which is the same as saying, "Love God," or "Worship God." It does not mean, "Be afraid of God," but, "Be fearful of harming God." Fearing God, in the sense of being afraid of Him, belongs to natural fears; it is a self-centered fear. But fear for God is a God-centered fear, holy fear.

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This explains why the Lord in His Word, on the one hand, exhorts us to fear God, and on the other sometimes tells us not to be so fearful, so lacking in faith.
     * Psalm 111: 10.

     Spiritual and celestial fear, or holy fear and reverence, flow in from the heavens; but natural fears, fears for self, flow in from the hells. The basic principle is so important, if we are to be delivered from infernal fears, that we would do well to look into it a little further. It is but part of the "eternal truth" that "all life flows in-the good of life from the Lord, and the evil of life from hell."* Hence the further truth, that "if the spirits and angels were to withdraw, man would instantly perish."**
     * AC 6325,     
     ** AC 50.
     The Lord has further revealed just what kind of spirits inspire fear into man, or from what kind of spirits fears inflow. We read that certain malicious spirits, who secretly explore minds for the purpose of doing harm, can move others to tears, and can also strike terror into their hearts. This ability they had acquired when they lived on earth from having deprived the sick and the simple of their possessions. If moving them to pity failed as a means, they inflicted terror, in this way plundering many a house.* In other passages we read of a spirit who did not wish to be seen or to confess who he was. He had been a pirate when on earth, and was described by others as one who was "most timid at the least sign of danger, and most courageous when there is nothing to fear,"** In another place Swedenborg reports the approach of a certain spirit, and goes on to say: "When he came near, he struck me with fear; this certain spirits can do, especially robbers, and therefore I was able to conclude that he had been a robber."***
     * AC 4951.
     ** AC 5387: 1, 2.
     ***AC 5566.
     What is it that all these spirits who inspire fear have in common? Is it not the fact that they love to take away or steal from people? And is it not this feeling of impending loss that we call fear? Furthermore, in the work Apocalypse Revealed, in explanation of the promise that God would wipe away all tears, and death and sorrow and crying,* it is said that this means that the Lord will take away, among other things, the "fear of damnation" and the "fear of evils from hell."** The reason that these things would be no more is that the "dragon," which was the cause of these woes, is cast out. By the dragon we are to understand those sensuous spirits who are thoroughly confirmed by their life in the doctrine of salvation by faith alone,*** which is a falsity that takes away the goods and truths of the Word and is antagonistic to the two essentials of the New Church.****

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Such spirits are meant by the dragon mentioned so often in the Apocalypse, and they are the cause of the "fear of damnation" and the "fear of evils from hell." Since such spirits take away from the Lord and the neighbor they are spiritual thieves, the emphasis once more being on taking away.
     *Revelation 21: 4.
     ** AR 884.
     *** AR 537, 841.
     **** AR 537.

     There can be no doubt that those who are striving to become of the New Church are especially prone to be attacked by these "dragonist" spirits, because it is clear from the Apocalypse that the dragon is bent on destroying the woman who gave birth to the man-child, by whom is meant the New Church. In this endeavor to destroy, fear is a powerful weapon. To the extent that the men and women of the New Church can be induced to become vessels for receiving this influx from hell, to that extent the establishment of the New Church is delayed and defeated. Let us beware, then, of becoming tools in the hands of those who would destroy the New Church! This we do if we allow ourselves to become paralyzed by infernal, irrational fears that prevent us from speaking confidently about the faith that we profess, or from attempting some project that would benefit the church.
     It has been revealed by the Lord at His second coming that the hells incessantly labor to destroy what is good and true-whether in heaven or in the church. If they cannot corrupt a man's intentions and lead him into evil ways, they will attack him on a lower plane. They will attempt to fill him with paralyzing fears whenever he strives to bring his intentions into act; they will seek to bind him to themselves by fears and phobias, making him a slave. If they cannot induce man to desire or do what is evil, or think and say what is false, then at least they will strive to prevent him from doing the good he intends.
     This is where the truth that our natural fears inflow from hell can be of great use. It has more than the power of dynamite within it. It can transform our lives, if we will but use it. If only we could learn to reflect, when we are obsessed with fear and anxiety, that such evil things have inflowed into our minds from the hells, with consequent changes of state even in our bodies; if we could realize that fears are not in us but originate outside of us-with robber spirits in the hells who wish to take away our happiness, our spiritual life, our peace of mind, our trust in the Lord; that fears do not have to be admitted into our minds; that we can shun them, lock out, and keep them separate from us and outside of us.

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     The reason this truth has such infinite power in it is simply that the Lord is in it. It we believe that the hells burn with hatred against the Lord, and that consequently anything at all that flows in from hell is against the Lord, are we not looking to the Lord first and foremost in shunning that infernal influx? If we act upon the teaching that natural fears are from hell, and are therefore to be shunned as sins against the Lord, are we not at the same time loving the Lord, being conjoined with Him and turning to Him for protection? If only we would do these things, we would know without the shadow of a doubt that "there will be protection from every attack; thus there will be no uprising of the hells, not even against the church, and thus the heavens will serve [the Lord]. There will be no fear from the hells."
     After all, the hells with all their terrors and evils and vicious punishments are only finite, even in the aggregate; but the Lord, who conquered the hells, is infinite, unending in love and wisdom and power, the Almighty. Whoever is conjoined with Him is, as the Heavenly Doctrine says, "in quietude and in peace; for he trusts in the Lord, and believes that nothing will reach him, and knows that lusts will not infest him."* "For peace has in it confidence in the Lord, that He directs all things, and provides all things, and that He leads to a good end. When a man is in this faith he is in peace, for he then fears nothing, and no solicitude about things to come disquiets him. A man comes into this state in proportion as he comes into love to the Lord."** Amen.
     * AC 5660.
     ** AC 8455.

     LESSONS: Psalm 91. Mark 4: 35-41. Arcana Coelestia 5660: 3.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 448, 460, 426b.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 23, 103.
HOLY FEAR 1968

HOLY FEAR              1968

     "Holy fear . . . is love, but love such as is the love of little children toward their parents, of parents toward their children, of consorts toward each other, who fear to do anything which displeases, thus which in any way does injury to love. Such fear is insinuated into love during man's regeneration . . . and is actually within or united to love. It is for this reason called holy fear, and is the fear of sinning or doing contrary to the commandments, thus contrary to the Lord. But this fear differs with everyone according to the love" (AC 8925: 2).

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LORD'S TRIUMPH IN THE WILDERNESS 1968

LORD'S TRIUMPH IN THE WILDERNESS       Rev. KURT H. ASPLUNDH       1968

     The Lord's baptism in Jordan marks a beginning of His public ministry. The Lord then came into His powers as the "Son of God"; for even as He went up out of the waters there came a voice from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."* Here was an open challenge to the powers of hell; and it was "immediately" thereafter that the spirit drove Him into the wilderness, "to be tempted of the devil."**
     * Matthew 3: 17.
     ** Mark 1: 12; Matthew 4: 1.
     The Lord's life was one of continual combat with the hells. We know this from the Heavenly Doctrine, because it does not appear clearly in the Gospels. On the face of it, we see only a series of three temptations which the Lord endured at the beginning of His ministry, and, in addition, the agony in Gethsemane and the crucifixion itself. These last, of course, were evidence of the greatest struggle of all between the Lord and the combined forces of hell. Such was the struggle that as the Lord prayed in Gethsemane He was in agony, and "His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."* And the depth of despair was reached when, as He was crucified, He said: "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"**
     * Luke 22: 44.
     ** Matthew 27: 46.
     By comparison, the wilderness temptations seem far milder. But three incidents are recorded. First, when the Lord had fasted forty days and nights, He hungered. In the extremity of His hunger the tempter came to Him, and said: "If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread."* "If Thou be the Son of God"! This was the challenge. The Lord's Divinity was in question. Was He indeed the Son of God and, as the voice from heaven had said at His baptism, "My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"?
     * Matthew 4: 3.
     The second incident involves a similar thing. The devil had taken the Lord up on a pinnacle of the temple in the holy city. There he said: "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down: for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up."* Again the devil tempted the Lord to prove His Divinity by miraculous means.

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     * Matthew 4: 6.
     In the third incident, the devil took the Lord into a high mountain to show Him all the kingdoms of the world, and offered to give these to Him if only the Lord would worship him. In answer, the Lord condemned the evil of worshiping any but the true God: "Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."* In rejecting this profane proposition the Lord implied that which He would not prove by compelling means: that He was the Son of God-the very and only Lord to whom all worship and service are owed.
     * Matthew 4: 10

     Aside from the hunger which the Lord endured as a result of forty days and nights of fasting, these temptations in the wilderness presented no physical test. In fact, it may be wondered that these encounters are called temptations at all. They seem to involve little more than an exchange of words. Yet we are told in the Writings that these were interior temptations of an unimaginable intensity, and that they represent a summary of all the temptations which the Lord underwent.*
     * See AE 730a: 41; AC 1690: 2.
     To understand how this is so we must know what the Writings mean by temptation. It is not necessarily a seduction or an allurement to do what is evil, what is forbidden. The Writings define temptation as an attack which induces doubt. The attack is directed against what a man loves. The effect of the attack is to arouse doubts that what is loved can be lived. For example, we feel that we cannot reach some cherished goal. We feel such discouragement and despair about it that we are inclined to give up our goal. Such is the nature of temptation; and the more deeply we love something, the more painful it is to see it challenged. But where there is no love, there can be no temptation. It follows, then, that a temptation is more or less severe according to the degree of our love for what is under attack.
     We will know the nature of the Lord's temptations, and their intensity, only when we know His love. The Lord's love is for the salvation of the human race; and the method of the devil's attack was to show the Lord how depraved man was, and to insinuate at the same time a feeling of hopelessness about it. It was as though the devil said: "You cannot save this human race; there is too much of evil in it. Why do you not give up trying?"
     That there was, and is, evil we know. In fact, the state of the human race was such that when the Lord perceived and thought about its quality He was stricken with horror, and, we are told, "willed to withdraw from the perception and derivative thought."* There seemed to be no hope for man; and yet the Lord willed, above all, to save man.

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     * AC 2222.
     As the Lord thought on these things the devil tempted Him, saying:
"If Thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." There seems little wrong with the tempter's suggestion, on the face of it. Why should not the Lord satisfy His own hunger with a miracle as He satisfied the hunger of the Jews with manna in the wilderness? It is only when we know the deeper issue involved, now revealed in the Writings, that we can appreciate the importance of the Lord's reply. For the Lord refused to make the stones bread, saying: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."*
     *Matthew 4: 4.
     It is well known that there is a hunger in man that is not simply bodily appetite. Men hunger for deeper satisfactions than those of the flesh. Do we not crave friendship, or appreciation, and have an appetite for doing the work we love? A spiritual appetite is created by our love for something. What we love, we hunger to live and it is the satisfaction and delight of ultimation that feeds our love.

     With this in mind we can begin to understand the Divine hunger here mentioned. The Lord, too, had a love which seeks satisfaction. When, therefore, it is said of the Lord that He "hungered," we must understand the "hunger" of His universal love of the human race. The Divine hunger is the desire to save man from damnation, to bring him into heaven.
     Little wonder that the Lord had fasted and hungered in the wilderness! For the wilderness signifies the state of the church to which the Lord had come. He had come among such as did not respond to His ministrations and did not want His salvation. His love went out to them, but found no satisfaction in a willing response. The church was indeed a wilderness-barren of truths, devoid of the fruitfulness of charity.
     Consider now the tempter's suggestion: make bread from stones. The "stones" were not the rock formations of the Judean wilderness but the "stony ground" or the stony hearts of the inhabitants of all Judea. It was indeed the Lord's will to make of these stony hearts bread of heaven, to save them; but not in the manner suggested. For when the tempter came to Him, he said: "Command that these stones be made bread." The devil urged the Lord to command men's souls, to force them to His will. If He was truly the Son of God could He not do what He willed?
     The insinuation was that the Lord was not, perhaps, the Son of God after all, for He lacked the power to soften stone. The insinuation posed a dilemma. If the Lord should change stone to bread, or, spiritually speaking, force unrepentant sinners into heaven, He would destroy human freedom, and thus heaven. If He did not change stone to bread, it would seem that He had not the power of God and lacked the ability to save mankind.

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Is not this the apparent dilemma involved in the relation of the Lord with man? Can the Lord leave man free, and yet save him? If He leaves man free, what power does He have with man?

     At the time of this temptation this was an attack on the Human of the Lord; an attack on His faith in Himself, if you will. Since, it has been an attack on man's faith in the Lord. This suggestion of the tempter is what is at the heart of all the doubt about God we encounter in others, and even in ourselves. But when these states come, we must remember the Lord's reply. He met this temptation in His own Human, and so made it possible for every man to meet it personally.
     The Lord said: "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone." This answered the apparent dilemma posed by the temptation by raising the thought to a higher level. "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is the answer. Divine power is in and with the Word. It does not compel, yet it can save. Eternal truth from the Lord sustains and nourishes the spiritual man. So, too, the written Word sustained the Lord's Human in this temptation. For it was written that "man shall not live by bread alone."* In answer to this temptation the Lord called this to mind, and affirmed it as the eternal truth which raised the issue of the Divinity of His Human beyond need for demonstrable proof.
     * Deuteronomy 8: 3.
     Two answers are contained in the scripture quoted. First, there was answer to the Divine hunger. The only real satisfaction of the Divine love comes when that love is worked out through Divine wisdom without compromise of the truth or yielding to states of evil. The Lord later said: "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me."* So as He fulfilled all things of the Word by His life, and conquered the hells, the Lord was sustained by spiritual nourishment-the assurance that thus the salvation of man was to be effected. Second, there was answer to the tempter's insinuation that the Lord might not be the Son of God. He gave no miraculous sign to convert the devil to this belief, for no sign was given to a wicked and adulterous generation. Yet He satisfied Himself in this matter by the testimony of the Word. He did not need to resort to vain proofs of that for which He had inner confirmation.
     * John 4: 34.
     The same faith grows with the man of the church who approaches the Lord in the Word. There the Lord is seen and known in His body of Divine doctrine.

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There He may be recognized by all who seek Him in sincerity as the Son of God, merciful and omnipotent.
     So much for the first of the temptations. It came immediately after the Lord's baptism, and it was a challenge to His Divinity. Does the Son of God have Divine power?

     It has been stated that the Lord's only love is for man; His purpose the salvation of the whole human race. Essentially two things oppose this love and purpose: the love of self with man and the love of the world with man. These loves are opposite to the heavenly loves which the angels possess. None who love self or the world more than the Lord or the neighbor may find a place in the heavenly kingdom.
     It is not surprising, then, that the two following temptations with which the devil attacked the Lord refer to these two loves. We are taught that the combat of the Lord against the love of self, and all the things that are of the love of self, is signified by the incident of the devil taking Him up to a pinnacle of the temple and urging Him to cast Himself down; and that the combat of the Lord against the love of the world, or all things that are of that love, is signified by the incident of the devil taking Him up into a high mountain and offering Him the glory of all the kingdoms He could see, if He would but worship him.*
     * AC 1690: 4, 5.
     This does not mean that the Lord ever thought or acted from the love of self or from the love of the world. Such loves are absolutely foreign to the Divine nature. Yet the Lord was able, by virtue of the humanity which He had assumed from Mary, to know the power of these loves. He could experience in His own mind the fallacious thoughts induced by these loves. In this way He could come to see the degree to which these two loves stood as obstacles to His desire to save the human race. Because all evils take their origin from these two loves, all temptation regarding the salvation of man could be summarized in the two incidents.
     Let it be said, again; there was no possibility that the Lord would be confirmed in any evil love. The devil had no appeal by which he could seduce the Lord to such a love. But it was possible for the devil to demonstrate to the Lord the exceedingly depraved nature of the love of self and the love of the world with man, and by this means attempt to discourage Him from further efforts to save man. Evil loves were something which the Lord regarded "with horror." He would never embrace them. The question was: could He overcome them in man?
     The devil took the Lord, in the spiritual world, to a city which was the counterpart of Jerusalem, and there took Him up to a pinnacle of the temple.

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It was here, on this tower, that the Lord was smitten with the horrible recognition of the degree of man's self-love. For even as He was taken up to this pinnacle, so had man exalted himself above others. An earlier story in the Word had foreshadowed this self-exaltation: men had tried to build a tower to heaven-the tower of Babel. The love of self is signified by that tower, as also by the pinnacle of the temple. Though the building of the tower of Babel had been interrupted by the confusion of tongues, the love of self had not ceased to grow in man. Indeed, the love of self, in subtle forms, had infected the holy city, Jerusalem, and even the temple. That is to say, it was to be found even in the church; and there, perhaps, in its worst form. When the love of self, with its insatiable lust for power and dominion, infects the church, it profanes holy things by turning them to diabolical ends. The truths of religion become tools in the hands of the devil to hold men in fear and subservience. This is illustrated in the present case by the fact that the tempter's appeal was to the written Word: "Cast Thyself down," the devil said, "for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning Thee: and in their hands they shall bear Thee up, lest at any time Thou dash Thy foot against a stone."

     This was the temptation: the Lord saw the nature of self-love, even among those who were of the church. There appeared to be no way to overcome this love in man, and so save him. Then it was that the devil made his suggestion: "If Thou be the Son of God, cast Thyself down." Here, as in the first temptation, appeal is made to the omnipotence of the Lord. If you are the Son of God, the devil is saying, you have the power to hold dominion over the minds of all men. Just prove your power. Cast yourself down. The angels will bear you up in a convincing demonstration of your Divinity.
     What the devil suggested illustrates the nature of the love of self. It wishes to prove itself. It seeks recognition and an acquiescence in its authority. It argues for its own cause, not with any use involved, not with sensitive regard for the states of others, but simply to prove its own rightness.
     The Lord's reply was swift and sure: "It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God."* The word, tempt, here means "test" or "prove." The Lord knew from inner perception that it would be wrong to combat man's self-love by resorting to a monstrous kind of Divine self-love such as the devil suggested. It was not the Lord's purpose to secure the most powerful dominion of all in a world where love of dominion flourished.

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He sought men's love and respect as freely granted and willingly given. Therefore He rejected the diabolical suggestion that He cast Himself down.
     * Matthew 4: 7.
     The Lord's response to the devil is a model for our own response when dealing with active states of self-love. We must remind ourselves that the chief business of our lives is to will well to the neighbor and perform uses of life according to our ability and enlightenment. When a matter of preserving personal prestige overshadows these primary goals, it is as though the tempter had taken us up to the pinnacle. We could cast ourselves down from our useful work, or redirect our energies simply to make ourselves a name or gain prestige. How often we say or do foolish and hurtful things simply because our proprium is aroused and our self-love appears to be challenged! How reluctant self-love is to ignore a challenge to its supposed importance. Yet how foolish and useless it can be for a man to expend his energies in trying to build himself up in the eyes of others. His only goal is the empty one of boasting over his cowed and beaten brothers.
     There is no need to prove ourselves in the doing of Divinely ordained works. The Lord did not. When the Jews asked Him, "How long dost Thou make us doubt? If Thou be the Christ, tell us plainly," He said:
"I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me. . . . If I do not the works of My Father, believe Me not. But if I do, though ye believe not Me, believe the works."*
     * John 10: 24f, 37f.
     So we must learn to work the works of God; sustained by the hope of His Providence, trusting indeed that He shall give His angels charge over us, to keep us in all our ways."*
     * Psalm 91: 11.

     We turn now to the final temptation, in which the devil took the Lord up into an exceeding high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them. There is no mountain on earth with such a view. What the Lord saw was a spiritual panorama of human states. This was the occasion on which the Lord sustained the temptation of the love of the world and of all things of that love.* The Lord did not have to fight this love in Himself. He had no desire for the gain or glory of worldly things. All things were created by Him. What need had He of receiving them from the devil? Obviously, it was not worldly things that tempted Him, but the love of worldly things in men. This was the obstacle blocking the Lord in His desire to give men the treasures of heaven.

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     * See AC 1690: 4.
     What the devil showed the Lord was not His own creation but the worlds of love which man had formed for himself. These worlds and their tarnished glories were indeed the possession of the devil. He ruled ever the princes of avarice, greed and corruption. His sceptre hung over the realms of pleasure and the lust of earthly possessions. Because the devil rules over these loves of material things, he tries to make it seem that he rules over material things themselves. So it sometimes appears to man. It appears that the only way to be rich is to cast aside religious principles and go about our business with cunning and deceit. It appears that pleasure is to be found apart from uses and responsibilities. It appears, in fact, that the only way to attain worldly wealth and glory is to fall down and worship the devil.

     So, in this temptation, the devil said to the Lord: "All these things will I give Thee, if Thou wilt fall down and worship me."* Then it was that the Lord knew the extent to which the devil could appeal to man's love of the world. The devil was not here attempting to attract the Lord to such a love; he was demonstrating the power he had over those souls which the Lord willed to save. He wanted to make it appear hopeless for the Lord to appeal to those in the love of the world: hopeless, that is, unless the Lord Himself would yield to the devil by abandoning Divine order and turn to the ways of the devil in manipulating men.
     * Matthew 4: 9.
     Once again, the Lord's doubts were dispersed by the truths of Scripture. So He dismissed the devil with the words: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."*
     * Matthew 4: 10.
     To worship and serve the Lord is to love and obey His Divine laws of order. These laws provide for every contingency of life. There are ways in which the Lord can overcome the love of the world in man without falling down to worship the devil. There are orderly steps of reformation and regeneration that can be begun on this earth and completed in the other world. But man is inspired to choose these steps by a higher appeal than that offered by the devil. Herein is the Lord's supreme power over hell. The Lord's spirit touches the heart of man to raise him up, while the devil sears the flesh to draw man down. The Lord, as the Son of God, appeals to what is inwardly human and immortal; the devil appeals to what is bestial and momentary. While there is an equilibrium maintained between the downward and the upward pull upon man in the struggle for his soul, the Lord has given man the rationality by which he may see ends and compare them.

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Man may think past the momentary passion to the harm and sorrows it may bring. Thus he may weigh, in a reflective mind, the emotions and feelings that he experiences, and control them. And the Lord has given man even more. He has given the Word. In it man may learn the true value of what he experiences. His reflections are given light and validity by its means, and in this light true comparisons may be made between the way of heaven and the way of the world. From the Word we know that the goal of life is spiritual, not natural, blessing. "What shall it profit a man," the Lord said, "if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"* If a man sell his soul for the world's goods, and then, die, then whose shall those things be which he has provided? "So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."** We read:

     "Everyone who duly reflects is able to know that eminence and wealth in the world are not real Divine blessings, although from the pleasure in them men so call them; for they pass away, and likewise seduce men, and turn them away from heaven; but that life in heaven and happiness there are the real blessings which are from the Divine. This the Lord also teaches in Luke: 'Make for yourselves treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where thief draweth not near, nor moth destroyeth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also' (Luke 12: 33f) "***
     * Mark 8: 36.
     ** Luke 12: 21.
     *** AC 10776

     And so the Lord's temptations in the wilderness were ended by His final dismissal of the hells: "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." The attack was ended, the fight over. The Lord reigned triumphant. In this His final rebuttal of the devil the Lord reconfirmed what had been taught at His baptism. He was that Son of God to whom all power in heaven and on earth was given. What He would not prove by compelling means is implied in these concluding words: that He was indeed the very and only Lord to whom all worship and service are owed. "Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve."

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BLAKE AND SWEDENBORG 1968

BLAKE AND SWEDENBORG       STEPHEN GLADISH       1968

"Little Lamb, who made thee?
Dost thou know who made thee?
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee,
Little Lamb, I'll tell thee:
He is called by thy name,
For He calls Himself a Lamb.
He is meek, and He is mild;
He became a little child."
("The Lamb," from Songs of Innocence)

     The recent and steady flowering of William Blake's popularity has resulted all too often in a denigration of the man most responsible for Blake's utterances. This man, Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772), was the most important influence on Blake (1757-1827). He was not, as countless literati misconstrue, merely a fellow mystic and fellow philosopher. He wrote as a servant of the Lord; His Divinely appointed mission-unfolding the internal sense of the Word-constituted the Second Coming of the Lord. However, Swedenborg, the author, was no more important than the authorship of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. So as most of the Christian churches accept the New Testament for what it contains, the General Church further accepts the Theological Writings of Swedenborg for what they contain. But our purpose here is to examine how Blake worked with the Writings: how he used them, and then abused them; and how he first "followed," and then vilified Swedenborg.

     I. As a child Blake had an exuberant fancy. He did not attend school. With nobody sympathetic to his vivid imagination-which had him seeing God's face at a window at the age of four, and a tree full of angels a few years later-he went further and further on his own way.* At nine, he began avidly reading books: Percy's Reliques, Scott's novels, Shakespeare's plays, Spenser's Faery Queen, and above all, Macpherson's Ossian. His reading peopled his imagination, yet simple, trustful Blake to his death ranked Macpherson with the great poets.** He had, from the start, a great desire to surpass all masters that he knew.

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The influences that came his way, for good or bad, were, it is safe to say, the determining factors in what he wrote.*** Blake had a mind badly in need of education: if he had had this, his writings might have been far different. Almost all of his output can be understood by study of the man.
     * Osbert Burdett, Willlam Blake (London, 1926), p. 10.
     ** Charles Gardner, William Blake The Man (London, 1919), p. 14.
     *** Burdett, Blake, p. 9.

     It was not until after he had read and meditated upon Swedenborg that he began to see visions such as Swedenborg's. Blake's account of his experience is identical with Swedenborg's account of the state of his body when withdrawn from it (Heaven and Hell 440). The influence of Swedenborg was supplemented by Boehme and the Cabalists, and by the development of his own mind in the same direction. In going to the same source, the Bible, from which Swedenborg had drawn his inspiration, Blake's vision became more and more his own. With all the richness of symbol and simile, metaphor and imagery present in the Bible, it is not hard to see how Blake diverged somewhat from his masters. Lavater's Aphorisms and Swedenborg's Divine Love and Wisdom were read by Blake between 1787 and 1790. His prophetical books became what they are in part through this contact. Swedenborg's undeniable contributions to science, his habit of exhaustive investigation, made him an almost overwhelming influence to all who came under his spell. However, Blake's annotations to Divine Love and Wisdom and Divine Providence show him anxious to preserve his mental independence.*
     * Burdett, Blake, p. 64.
     Nevertheless, here, to Blake, was a man who could not only understand him but could give a reasonable explanation of the working of the visionary faculty. This was the prime attraction. A man of Blake's education could not comprehend Swedenborg's vast system. Later Blake accused him of being a rationalist-a symbol of external control; to Blake the enemy of imagination, and thus anathema. For Blake stands or falls by his own inspiration. His complex gifts were complicated by his peculiar circumstances, his strange upbringing, his natural recoil from his over- intellectual age, and his limited influences.
Yet in 1788, he and his wife signed their names in token of membership and assent to the distinctive doctrines of the New Church, in Great Eastcheap, London, and attended the newly-formed (1787) group's first General Conference, and even a few society meetings.* We know that his father, his brother Robert, and his friend John Flaxman had been acquainted with, if not active among, Swedenborgians earlier in Blake's life. But Blake joined, I think, as a result of his own reading of Swedenborg.

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By 1790-called by some the dividing line between Blake's pre-Swedenborg and anti-Swedenborg years-his attitude had changed, due partly to association with the revolutionary group that gathered at bookseller Johnson's (Dr. Price, Dr. Priestley, who had published an attack on Swedenborg and the New Church in 1791, Fuseli, and Godwin, the political writer).*
     * J. Davies, The Theology of Blake (Oxford, 1948), p. 50.

II.

"To Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
All pray in their distress;
And to these virtues of delight
Return their thankfulness.
For Mercy, Pity, Peace, and Love
To God, our Father dear,
And Mercy, Pity, Peace and Love
To man, His child and care. .

And all must love the human form
In heathen, Turk or Jew;
Where Mercy, Love, and Pity dwell
There God is dwelling too."
("The Divine Image" from Songs of Innocence)

     But first let us see what of Swedenborg's Writings Blake digested, and used. Swedenborg wrote "God is Man,"* and explained in many ways how man was created in His image and likeness, without being a part of God. We could not love God, who is infinite love, if we were part of Him; so we were made recipients or vessels of love-or of hate, whichever we choose. Man, Swedenborg taught, is in freedom, and it is this equilibrium that enables him to choose between good and evil, between heaven and hell. Blake, refuting the doctrine of discrete degrees, agreed that God is Man, but taught "Thine own humanity Adore."** Man, he said, in his own creative acts as well as his perceptions, is a god. His twisting of Swedenborg's teaching is tantamount to saying that God cannot be perceived except as He exists in the perceiver. Who cannot see that anyone who says, "God is in me," will usually fight against absolutes outside of himself? Emerson did. So Blake, in defending his position, refused to acknowledge a local or concrete heaven or hell, saying they exist only in the mind. In answer to his refutation of discrete degrees, who cannot see, for example, that thought and speech exist on two entirely different planes? Yet one flows into the other. That is a discrete degree; just as discrete degrees separate the celestial, the spiritual and the natural in man.

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     * HH 60.     
     ** Jerusalem 622.
     Blake did, however, use Swedenborg's doctrine of correspondences extensively, calling it his "Divine Analogy"; and, to begin with, he agreed with Swedenborg's doctrine of uses, that, for example, "love by means of wisdom is expressed in use and is manifested as something real."* Blake wrote Thel in 1789, in part a lyrical expatiation on the theme "to live for others is to perform uses; uses are the bonds of society and their number is infinite."**
     * TCR 387.
     ** TCR 746; Thel ii. 25-27.

     Swedenborg taught a life according to the Ten Commandments-there being three meanings, each progressively deeper and far-reaching-to each of the commandments, the whole encompassing all of man's life. Blake somehow believed that Jesus had freed mankind from the commandments. Swedenborg's doctrine of the proprium, "self-love is the root of all sin,"* Blake accepted without reserve: "Man is by Nature the enemy of Man, in pride of Selfhood." "Annihilate the Selfhood in me."**
     * DP 206; HH 556.
     ** Jerusalem 43: 52-53, Ibid., 5: 21, 22.
     Blake's ideal sexual union was much like that described by Swedenborg,* but he disagreed with him for teaching that nuptials continue in heaven. Blake affirmed that "in eternity they neither marry nor are given in marriage,** a view based on Luke 21: 35; but Swedenborg, in explaining that very passage,*** taught that there the Lord referred to spiritual nuptials; meaning conjunction with the Lord, which must be effected on earth and therefore does not take place in heaven. Thus there is no need, in that sense, to marry or be given in marriage in heaven, for the marriage has already taken place. Yet even though the Lord did answer the Sadducees directly, the Writings teach that an angel is a man and a woman.
     * CL 143.
     ** Jerusalem 35: 15.
     *** CL 41.
     Blake in his reading appears to have derived the germ of his conception of "states" from Swedenborg. Witness, however, the change he makes. A man's state, of which there are progressively three-damnation, reformation and regeneration-is his natural or external and his spiritual or internal condition. To Swedenborg, the first was a condition from which man could be delivered by knowledge of sin.* To Blake it was a condition which excuses the sinner for his misdoings. "Iniquity must be imputed only to the state they are entered into."** Blake made the error lie with the state and not with the man. Thus Swedenborg's teaching was developed along far different lines-those to fit Blake's philosophy.***
     * DP 83.
     ** Jerusalem, 49: 65, 66.
     *** Davies, Theology, pp. 47, 47.

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III.

"Tiger! Tiger! burning bright
In the forests of the night,
What immortal hand or eye
Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

What the hammer? What the chain?
In what furnace was Thy brain?
What the anvil? What dread grasp?
Dare its deadly tenors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears,
And water'd heaven with their tears,
Did he smile his work to see?
Did he who made the Lamb make Thee?"
("The Tiger" from Songs of Experience)

     Next we come to the poems of Blake which affirmatively reflect Swedenborg's teachings. "The Lamb" contains a central doctrine: that God, the Creator of all things, clothed Himself with a human form, came into the world as a little child, and became the Savior of the world. It affirms the Divine Humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. "The Poison Tree" shows how nursed anger and lack of forgiveness contain the seeds of murder-a teaching of the Writings. The system of correspondences was helpful; enabling him to write intricately symbolic poetry, including within single images the individual, society and the universe, one lapsing into the other without fixed boundaries. The tiger is a symbol of Blake's active principle-energy; it is a picture of the other side of his conception of society, and universally it represents the shady side of the forces of good and evil in the universe. Further, "The Tiger" expresses the belief that only when man had fallen was the tiger created: "When the stars threw down their spears, and water'd heaven with their tears." This agrees with what Blake had read in Divine Love and Wisdom no. 336:
"Evil uses are not created by the Lord, but arose together with hell."*
     * H. N. Morris, Flaxman, Blake, Coleridge, and Other Men of Genius influenced by Swedenborg (London, 1915), p. 91.
     He followed Swedenborg in making microcosm and macrocosm the central objects of correspondence, but for a different reason: it was a metaphorical tool enabling him to counter the prevailing mechanical view of man and the universe with his own organic view.* His poem "London" mirrors this attitude. "On Another's Sorrow" stresses the need for compassion and commiserations for our fellow men, that brings in turn Divine consolation and sympathy.

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Again, his sense of the brotherhood of all beings, from the worm to the star, is beautifully seen in "The Fly." "The Little Black Boy" tells of a life-free from discrimination and full of love-after death. "A Cradle Song" speaks of angels guarding little children while they sleep. The paired poems-one from Songs of Innocence, the other from Songs of Experience-"The Chimney Sweeper" promised the happiness of life after death to those who have faithfully done their duties. "The Divine Image"-allegedly composed in the New Church, Hatton Gardens, London-is Swedenborg's influence at its best. The poem embraces the ideas that mercy, pity, peace and love are all qualities that man has in common with God, in whose image and likeness we are created. Swedenborg's teaching that all good in man is of and from the Lord is visible here.**
     * Mark Shorer, William Blake: The Politics of Vision (New York, 1946), pp. 108, 109.
     ** Morris, Men of Genius, p. 89.
     In addition to the many Swedenborgian references contained in Blake's Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, only some of which are traced above, the book of Thel comes to our attention. Thel, in addition to affirming the uselessness of love without wisdom, endorsed the Swedenborgian selflessness, extolling its lowliness, modesty and humility.* Later, Blake embraced the belief that after man has given himself passionately to Jesus-to him the eternal life and the eternal imagination-he no longer had to value the humility and modesty attached to selflessness.** In his longer work, Tiriel, Blake set up Tiriel as a product of the law, the antithesis of love, and then showed the disaster of such a person's life. Swedenborg showed the natural, worldly man as justified by love and mercy.
     * DLW 65, 216, 271, 297, 307-308.
     ** Gardner, Blake, p. 68.

IV.     

"And the Mills of Satan were separated into a moving space
Among the rocks of Albion's Temples and Satan's Druid Sons
Offer the Human Victims throughout all the earth
Where Satan, making to himself Laws from his own identity,
Compelled others to serve him in moral gratitude and submission,
Being called God."
(From Blake's "Milton")

     Religion to Blake was a matter of personal experience, not opinion. His religion had been fed by vision; he was driven to the mystics for food.* In rivalry to Swedenborg he began systematizing, wanting to construct his own cosmogony. Hardly fitted to the task, not being a logical thinker, and being an opponent of systems, his creation was chaos. No matter, to him, for in his deathly fear of losing his identity, he said: "I must create my own system, or be enslaved by another man's."

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If Swedenborg had visions, so had he; if Swedenborg had found in the Bible Divine wisdom, and had received a special Divine commission to be the interpreter of its spiritual meaning, Blake was impelled to the same task.**     
     * Alexander Gilchrist, The Life of William Blake (London, 1907), p. 340.
     ** Burdett, Blake, pp. 64, 65.
     Blake's cosmos took in both worlds, heaven and hell. What the religious called good and evil he called, respectively, the passive that obeys reason, and the active springing from energy. Energy was the desire for creation. Blake believed in energy, in the subjectivity of ideas, and declared that they constituted a principle of Christianity. To see the qualities of things as vital, necessary contraries, was to live as Blake did in a human world of vision and imagination; but to see contraries as negative was to live, according to Blake, in a fallen world of materialism with repressive social, religious and political laws, where contraries were distorted and called good and evil. Hell's prime quality, in the Blakean cosmos, was passion, energy or desire. And Blake believed that as long as man directs his energy by fixing its desire on God, he will be driven to greatness. This is the key to the Blakean defense, the inarguable doctrine behind which he stood.

     The typical man of passion was, according to Blake, the artist. The spontaneous outflowing which is art in the creative impulse is, in conduct, love, and that, says Blake, is Life, is God; it is the one ideal, the one reality. Love, for Blake, was the principle of life, its beginning and end. The moral life seemed to him to be life without love; abstract reason could dictate only to a cold heart. But the human heart is warm, and Blake felt it better to be sinful-if only to keep the heart warm-lest we shut out Divine radiance and heat. Somehow he believed that there was beauty in the very fact of sin, when it opens the heart to a new vision of the depth and tenderness of love.* He did not think that mercy, forgiveness, pity or compassion could be known if one was pure; if one was unpolluted, he would never have glorified the Lord's holiness, or rejoiced in His salvation. Blake felt that a man's sins were accidents, and not a part of his real nature; they were a denial of his real man, and therefore were negative. Every positive action, to him, was virtue: "Vice is a great negation. Every man's leading propensity ought to be called his leading Virtue and his good Angel."** To him, man's most valuable gift from God was "energy" or passion. Blake's Holy Ghost is "true poetic genius"-seen in the translators of the New Testament, while its authors are true poets.

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His mode of writing found its sanction in this principle.*** Blake even tried to reconcile religion and art, by stating that the man born anew worked by direct vision (religion) and his new prime quality was the imagination (art).
     * Basil Selincourt, William Blake (London, 1909), p. 55.
     ** Gardner, Blake, p. 54.
     *** Schorer, Blake, p. 112.

     An extreme man, he believed that truth existed only in extremes, that art was nothing but inspiration, that exuberance was the equivalent of beauty, that the remedy for excess was to make it more abundantly excessive.* Jesus, to Blake, was obedient to impulse-a true man of "energy"-which is all virtue. Jesus had been a Great Rebel, breaking many of the commandments, as when He exonerated the woman taken in adultery. The cardinal virtue to him was forgiveness of sins. Christ was crucified, exemplifying in His death the forgiveness of sins. Blake's idea of man's state allowed for universal forgiveness, by condemning the sin but not the sinner. Indeed, with no such thing as good and evil, heaven or hell, why should there not be universal forgiveness?
     * Burdett, Blake, p. 188.
     As is evident in his works, Blake's greatest religious sources were the Bible, Swedenborg and John Milton. In his desire to surpass his model, Blake carried Milton one step further. Where the imagination in Milton had broken away and made the Devil the real hero in Paradise Lost (we must read it as Blake did), Blake made the Devil's party the true church, and the rebellious spirit the spirit of Jesus! The Poetic Genius became Blake's God, the Imagination his Savior. His "Everlasting Gospel" (1818) is seemingly an attempt to recreate Christ in his own image; it is consistent with his earlier efforts in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1793).
     Blake was the most thoroughgoing of anthropocentrists: heaven, hell and all deities are within man. Heaven consists of man's capacities fulfilled; hell, his capacities denied; and God, created in the image of man, is the sum of all man's potentialities.* Compare the teaching of Swedenborg that man is but a receptacle of life, that heaven and hell are real entities, that heaven is a place of ordered spiritual life. To Blake, an ordered life, whenever or wherever it occurred on earth, was heaven.
     * Schorer, Blake, p. 108
     Blake really had no notion of use to society. Love, charity and faith, to him, were acts and moods that cast off the selfish interest of the individual and integrated his humanity. Swedenborg taught that man was created to perform a use, that life on earth is a preparation for heaven, which is a kingdom of uses. All man was created for, according to Blake, was unlimited self-expression in a life of constant choice between contraries.

238


Vision itself denied the possibility of any penalty.
     Swedenborg's announcement of the Last Judgment, ordering the heavens and the world of spirits in 1757, Blake saw only as the beginning of a new sect. He asserted that man can have many last judgments-each time he overcomes selfhood. He believed that man's real self was made in the image of God, and must therefore be loved, reverenced and obeyed: the recognition of the same Divine principle in others enabled one to love his neighbor as himself.* Evil, Blake felt, was just a negative condition resulting from an improper view of things; Swedenborg taught that evil was a large and positive element. To Blake it was a negation of the "Poetic Genius" that constituted hell, not the negation of the Lord's Divinity.
     * Gardiner, Blake, p. 72.
     When he realized that Swedenborg's good life depended on law, order and conventional morality, that the spirit could be saved only by expunging the evils of the body, Blake betrayed disappointment, anger and resentment. Swedenborg's Divine Human concept separated man's good from his bad; all good in man is from God, all evil in man has come from hell through man's proprium. The Human form Divine was the symbol by means of which Blake prohibited any such separation. He used the terms, heaven and hell, ironically, showing that they are meaningless as the orthodox intended them; they do not designate real moral qualities at all, just the contraries necessary to human existence. He wanted to free the creative vitality of life from the imprisonment imposed by the restrictive moral codes of the orthodox religions. He wanted to put back in their place the rational "angels," who were, he felt, self-righteously hiding behind moral virtue, or heaven. Swedenborg's idea of eternal life was a contrived "ratio" of a "rectified" existence, with no room for Blake's hope of a spiritually creative life. He exalted action and reaction, while Swedenborg taught that without the "ratio" of equilibrium there could be no action or reaction.* But Blake went ahead and made the Swedenborgian conception of hell his own highest realm (his heaven), thus denying any real existence of a heaven and a hell.
     * Martin K. Nurmi, "Blake's Marriage of Heaven and Hell: A Critical Study," Research Studies, Univ. of Kent State Bulletin (April 1957), p. 72. Cf. HH 589.

V.

(From) Proverbs of Hell
"The road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom.
Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth.
The tigers of wrath are wiser than the horses of instruction
One Law for the Lion and Ox is Oppression."

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     A Memorable Fancy

"Once I saw a Devil in a flame of fire, who rose
before an Angel ... and said, `Did not Jesus Christ mock
at the sabbath ... turn away the law from the woman taken
in adultery ... bear false witness when He omitted making a
defence before Pilate? So I tell you no virtue can exist
without breaking the Ten Commandments. Jesus was all
virtue, and acted from impulse, not from rules.'

"This Angel, who is now become a Devil, is my
particular Friend. We often read the Bible
together in its infernal or diabolical sense,
which the world shall have if they behave well."
(From The Marriage of Heaven and Hell)

     Some of the Blake-Swedenborg differences broke out in print, and study of The Marriage of Heaven and Hell (1790) provides a picture as complete as the iceberg above water. In the work, Blake repudiated Swedenborg: for his attitude toward reason and Nature, for his spiritual predestinarianism, for his approval of the law, for his pride, for his plagiarism, for his mistake of trying to eliminate evil in the interest of good, for emphasizing passive virtues, for taking portions of existence and fancying them the whole, for having failed to achieve a sufficiently visionary perception of life, for his teaching on hereditary evil, for his inferior knowledge of the invisible, and for his static world.
     But behind the charges we see the real divergences. Swedenborg taught: God acts, man reacts: if man reacts from, or out of, his hereditary evil-out of himself-it will be evil; but if man reacts out of God's action, it will be good, for all good is from God. The reaction itself is neutral. But it is based on the theory that man is born with hereditary tendencies to evil, that he is left in freedom, and that he can react and reciprocate the Lord's love. Blake, believing in the inherent goodness of man (somehow inconsonant with his view of the world), and rejecting the doctrine of hereditary evil, misunderstood the reaction aspect, equating it with evils only. Thus in a misunderstanding The Marriage of Heaven and Hell had its inception. Blake, believing in man being active, therefore admitted of no evil or good in man's actions; he merely abhorred passivity, which he associated with the moralistic reasoners. In being a prophet of activity, or in his word "energy," he ignored ethics and morality.*
     * Davies, Theology, pp. 50, 51.
     Blake conceived of heaven and hell only as present states and not as future places. He could not throw out reason completely, so he united heaven and hell: "Without Contraries there is no Progression."

240


His social application of contraries concerns the two classes of men, the energetic creators and the rational organizers-the "devils" and the "angels," respectively, in The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. He scorned Swedenborg's teaching that a man cannot do good which is truly so until evil is put away.

     The ironic point is that while most of the literati term it the Blake-Swedenborg Quarrel, none see the disparity of the "combatants" and what each stands for. Before a debate can take place, there must be a definition of terms. This there most definitely is not. Swedenborg's heaven, to Blake, was actually hell, the place of restraint, not energy. And Blake's hell was really his heaven, for he switched terms to satirize. The marriage of Swedenborg's heaven (Blake's hell) takes place with Swedenborg's hell (Blake's heaven). Blake not only makes his point about the marriage, as the co-existence of contraries being necessary in his cosmogony, but does so at the expense of Swedenborg's system, apparently transcending Swedenborg's teaching by contradiction.*
     * David Erdman, William Blake: Prophet Against Empire (Princeton, 1956), p. 160.
     Hell, to Blake, was only a negative way of looking at energy. The orthodox heaven was a delusion which sprang from a denial of his "true heaven" of progression, with good and evil. His seventy "Proverbs of Hell" exalt the superiority of the active over the passive. A moral order to Blake was passive. Furthermore, insistence on reason tended to produce pride, of which he accused Swedenborg. The perception of spiritual reality was to Blake beyond the scope of reason, so he condemned Swedenborg on these grounds. Because there is some truth in almost anything said, and because echoes of Swedenborg are seen in other works, he accused Swedenborg of being a plagiarist.

     Swedenborg's Writings are never to be regarded through their mouthpiece. They, being the second coming of the Lord, the rational revelation, are absolute truth. Blake, with his vivid imagination, needed an education, especially to understand Swedenborg. Absolute truth comes through learning, through the intellect. Blake received no education; it is only natural that he would then disparage the intellect. So he became a subjective idealist. He hated law and order, yet in his world he was the first to impose it. He was mistaken in his contraries. Contrast does not necessarily in itself mean progression: his idea of progress is more experiences; his idea of life is more life; his idea of heaven is what he was doing here. Blake was like the Jews, who, wanting a kingdom of heaven on earth, crucified Jesus: he, too, wanted heaven on earth, so he created it from the wreckage of Swedenborg's cosmogony.

241


Because he had visions, and called his imagination (in effect) Christ, because he called the Holy Ghost the "Poetic Genius," he rendered himself high-sounding enough to be above all else, out of the reach of laws, morals or revelation.
     But revelation testifies on behalf of itself. All the charges of Blake are easily answered by a comprehensive reading of the Writings. For example, his charge of predestination shows a scanty reading of the text. The only evil predestination is to hell. God predestines all men to heaven in His infinite love, but man is left in freedom to make his own choice. Further, there are contrasts or contraries in the world so that man may choose either in freedom. Contrast develops perception, so that one can choose rightly. Blake would have us choosing all our life, and not improving. Being his own world, he rejects the theory of equilibrium. He rejects a purposeful life, but advocates an active one, it seems, for activity's sake. Swedenborg's teachings agree that you must have both intellect and affection, but you cannot name them heaven and hell, as Blake did.
     In conclusion, Blake's system is admired by some, because they, in allowing his premises without actually realizing their significance, see only his conclusions, the brilliant castles in the sky, lacking any foundation. His poems are further enhanced by a method of engraved printing which combines both painter and poet. The growing recognition of this unique double talent has been the key to the surge of Blakean interest. Thus the outer beauties of both his engravings and his subjective conclusions overshadow the inner beauty of truth found in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.
INVITATION 1968

INVITATION              1968

     The Bryn Athyn Boys' Club is holding its summer camp August 3-17. Any New Church boy who has not had an opportunity to join the Club is also welcome to attend if he has completed the fifth grade; the oldest boys at camp are those who have just completed the eighth grade. Boys may attend either of the two weeks of camp and will not be separated by age groups. The charge will be about $25.00 per boy for a one-week stay.
     We do not yet know for sure where camp will be held, but if we cannot acquire a campsite in time we will return to the Delaware Water Gap site in New Jersey again this year. If you are interested, please contact me for further details before June 15. Due to the amount of planning necessary, no inquiries after that date can be considered. Daniel B. McQueen, Director, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

242


FALSITY OF ADULTERY 1968

FALSITY OF ADULTERY       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1968

     The "fundamental" (foundation) evil love is the love of adultery.* Since the Christian religion itself is to shun evils as sins, we may see that the Christian religion has its foundation in shunning adultery as a sin against the Lord. The conjugial of man and wife is called the very "repository" or resting place of the Christian religion,** and where this is destroyed the Christian religion has no place.
     * AE 993: 2.
     ** CL 457.
     The most devastating and powerful of falsities is that falsity which negates the commandment: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." It is a devastating falsity, not only because it strikes at the very foundation upon which religion rests, but also because, of all falsities, it seems to be the one to which man is most susceptible. Here is as it were the Achilles heel of religion in a church or in an individual. For man will entertain the proposition that adultery is not an evil, or that it is not to be shunned as a sin. He is unaware that this proposition and its attendant reasonings ascend "from the Stygian waters of hell.*
     * AE 982: 5.
     Of all evils adultery seems to be the easiest for clever men to defend. There are certain lines of argument which might seem reasonable enough; they are the arguments which evil spirits also employ, and the Lord permitted these arguments to be expressed by the evil and to be written in the pages of the Writings, that they might be there to see and that men might know from whence they come.
     Again and again we encounter in the Writings examples of those who do not regard adulteries as sins, and it is emphatically stated that these are especially from the Christian world.* The condition is so general that it is said that scarcely anyone believes that adulteries are actually infernal.** The truly Christian religion, the Lord's New Church, can exist only where the repository of religion is preserved by the shunning of adultery. Thus it is said that three things will be shunned especially by those who will be of the New Jerusalem: adulteries, the love of ruling and deceit.*** The teaching is that adulteries are of hell; in fact, that hell and adultery may be regarded as the same thing. "Since adultery is hell, it follows that unless a man abstains from adulteries and shuns them, and turns away from them as infernal, he shuts up heaven to himself, and does not receive the least influx therefrom."****
     * See SD 3194, 3197; AC 539, 825, 1032: 2, 1885.
     ** SD 6051.
     *** SD 6053.
     **** AE 982: 5.

243



     There is at this day "an insanity inseated in the minds of many from which it is thought that the question of adultery is not a religious question."* Men do say and do see that it is important that marriages should be maintained.** They reason that this promotes the order of the country and the better education of children.*** Men do "talk morally against [adulteries] and in favor of marriages," and yet on the spiritual plane they are not against adulteries, but even in favor of them."**** The man who can see reasons to preserve marriages at the same time argues that "marriages and adulteries are alike." "He does not know that these and other like reasonings in favor of adulteries ascend from the Stygian waters of hell." Such reasonings "possess the minds of most men in the Christian world."*****
     * See CL 243.
     ** DP 77.
     *** AE 982: 5.
     **** See CL 153.
     ***** See AE 982e; SD 4784.
     We meet these arguments in the world today. Note, for example, the methodical argument in favor of adulteries that is quoted in Conjugial Love, no. 500, typifying the view of nine hundred out of a thousand Christians. Most remarkable is the incident recorded at the beginning of the chapter on adultery in Conjugial Love:

     "Angels once convoked an assembly of some hundreds from among the clever, learned and wise men of the European world; and they were asked concerning the distinction between marriage and adultery, and were asked to consult reasons pertaining to their understanding. After the consultation all but ten answered: 'Public law alone makes the distinction, and this for the sake of some useful purpose. This purpose can indeed be recognized, yet it can be adjusted by civil prudence.' Asked whether they saw anything of good in marriage, and anything of evil in adultery, they replied: 'No rational evil or good.' Questioned as to whether they saw anything of sin, they said: 'Where is it? Is not the act the same?' Amazed at these answers, the angels exclaimed: 'Oh this age! What grossness and how great!' "*
     * CL 478.

     The truths of the New Church are in direct conflict with those insidious and powerful falsities which erode and destroy the very foundation of religion. "Ye have heard that it hath been said to them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery."* In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord showed that lust was itself adultery; and in the New Church it is shown that the intellectual confirmation that adulteries are not sinful is itself adultery.** The man has religion who sees that all good loves are given from the Lord and that the fundamental love, conjugial love, is holy and not to be violated in any way, for that is a matter of religion.

244


We can see "in no dubious manner whether a man is a Christian or not, and even whether a man has any religion or not. If from his faith and from his life a man does not regard adulteries as sins, then he is not a Christian, and neither has he any religion. On the other hand, if a man shuns adulteries as sins . . . then he has religion, and if he is in the Christian Church he is a Christian."*** External morality by itself is not the criterion, for there are many external considerations which prompt morality in men and women. It was granted Swedenborg to see in the other world maidens who had lived morally for the sake of preserving a good name and for the sake of being acceptable to a suitor. This being their only reason, they were surrounded with a dusky cloud. On the other hand, those who despised adultery for the reason that it is contrary to the Divine law, that is, from religion, were surrounded with a shining light, and they had communication with heaven.****
     * Matthew 5: 27.
     **SD 6110: 5, 38; Life 74.
     ***Life 77.
     **** AE 1009: 2.

     When the truths of the Writings answer the arguments in favor of adultery, it is not a matter of pitting one line of reasoning against another. It should be made clear that this is an issue of the heart, a question of whether a man is willing to see. The argument that adultery is allowable is compared to the argument that light is darkness and darkness light.* The way of wisdom is to see the truth in this matter, and this is not merely to descend into a contest of clever debating. A man can argue that darkness is light if he wants to; he can refuse to be convinced, if he wants to; and it is hardly edifying to match wits with a man on such a foolish proposition. On one occasion evil spirits who ridiculed the idea of the holiness of marriage advanced a series of reasonings in favor of adultery. The angels did not discuss their arguments, but said: "You are reasoning from the heat of lasciviousness, and not from conjugial love."**
     * SD 6110; 57, 58.
     ** CL 79: 11. Cf. DP 144: 2.
     It is hopeless to reason on this matter without truths, and it is folly to do so in the sphere of adultery. Man must be willing to elevate his mind. "No one can know that there is any evil in adultery if he judges of it merely from external appearances."* Especially is this true if one is unwilling even to consider that marriages are holy. We read of many, both men and women, who "laugh in their hearts" at the proposition that marriages are holy,** and we read of others who dismissed the words of the angels with laughter.*** Obviously there is nothing to be gained in that sphere, for adultery "shuts off the interiors of the mind"**** and is "diametrically opposed to the wisdom of reason."****
     * CL 478.
     ** SD 4661.
     ***CL 478.
     **** CL 497.
     ****CL 478: 3.

245




     In receiving the doctrines of the Second Advent the issue is whether men are willing to believe that conjugial love is in itself spiritual and therefore from religion.* In making His coming, the Lord approaches both mind and heart, and invites those who are willing to open their eyes and see. Man can respond to this and elevate his mind. He can consider something holy, pure, clear and beautiful. Even when he is young he can see this with joy. He is to learn that conjugial love is not only beautiful and desirable but is from the Lord Himself, and he is invited to see the quality of the love that is granted by the Lord. Then he is in a position to see the quality of the scortatory love that opposes conjugial love. The quality of the love of adultery cannot be known unless the quality of conjugial love is known; who can set before his judgment the filthiness of adultery "unless he has previously set before his judgment the cleanness of conjugial love?"** Those things that appear to the natural man as similar are totally different, for the delight of marriage comes down from the highest heaven, and the delight of adultery comes up from the lowest of the hells; and man is invited to the state from which he can see and feel that this is so, and can know that everything about marriage is pure and holy and everything about adultery is impure and unchaste.***
     * TCR 847.
     ** CL 424.
     ***AE 990: 2.
     Man can know the quality of adultery, and he should know it. He should consider adultery, or look down upon it, from a state of clear sight, thinking from conjugial love. He should look down upon the quality of the arguments in favor of adultery and take note that the arguments are from hell. For in subtle ways those arguments will attack, and he is armed if he knows their quality.
     We can thus see why the evil spirits were allowed to argue in favor of adultery. In the Spiritual Diary we note that Swedenborg conversed with a spirit who had been the general of an army.* As a man he had thought nothing of adultery. The conversation is set forth in Arcana Coelestia no. 2733, in Heaven and Hell in the chapter on marriages in heaven, and again in Conjugial Love no. 481. "He said that in the life of the body he thought nothing of adulteries. But it was given to tell him that adulteries are horribly wicked." He was told that conjugial love comes down through heaven from the Lord.

246


When he was told that to violate marriages is against the Divine laws he said that he had never known such a thing or given it thought. The account continues:

     "He wished to reason whether [such things] were so; but it was told that in the other life truth does not admit of reasonings . . . and that he ought first to think of the things that had been said, because they were true. Or he ought also to think from the principle most fully known in the world, that one must not do to another what he was not willing that the other should do to him; and thus if anyone had in such a manner beguiled his wife, whom he loved-as everyone does in the beginning of marriage-would he not himself also at that time when in a state of wrath about it, if he spoke from that state, have detested adulteries? And at the same time, as he was of superior talent, would he not have confirmed himself against them more than others, even to condemning them to hell? and thus he might have judged himself from himself."**
     * SD 4405.
     **AC 2733.

     Because everyone loves the partner at the beginning of marriage there is in the world the possibility of seeing clearly that adulteries are harmful and hateful. Among the hundreds of Christians to whom angels spoke there were some who saw evil in adultery. Yet one can see how great is the need for the spiritual truth concerning conjugial love. One can see it where there is immorality in the world and argument in favor of it, and one can see it even where external moral standards are maintained. No pendulum swing of public sentiment on morals can gain for the world the precious jewel of human life. No judicious pronouncement or ethical reasoning can effect it, any more than a social system which enforces strict codes. At the end of True Christian Religion Swedenborg tells the angels that he doubted whether those in the world were willing to regard conjugial love as spiritual and from religion.* But in His revelation the Lord has granted that those who are willing may see that this is so. The holding sacred of conjugial love as a spiritual obligation is the repository of true religion, and the Lord invites all who are willing to receive it in heart and in mind and in life.
     * TCR 847.
CONCERNING CONJUGIAL LOVE 1968

CONCERNING CONJUGIAL LOVE              1968

     "They who in the life of the body have lived in conjugial love are together in the other life for the reason that conjugial love is innocence. Conjugial love is such that one wishes to be the other's. It is thus mutually. Mutual love is such that it wishes better to another than to oneself; thus it wills to give to another what belongs to one-self, namely, one's goods" (SD min. 4604-4607).

247


ETERNAL VALUES 1968

ETERNAL VALUES       Rev. LORENTZ R. SONESON       1968

     It is common knowledge that a true religion deals with the eternal values of mankind. Revealed doctrine is addressed to man for the sole purpose of preparing him for his eternal life to come. Life in this world is meaningless without the establishment within the individual of eternal values. For this reason, it is imperative that man have a clear picture of what these everlasting values are, so that he may begin to seek them while on earth.
     However, earthly life is not conducive to keeping these timeless qualities in sharp focus. The pressures of daily survival, the inclinations of the will, and the power of the hells in the world around us do much to becloud these timeless goals. Temporary objectives, though useful and important in their own right, are often confused with those Divinely revealed and ordained objectives disclosed through the Word of the Lord. Therefore it is useful to re-examine periodically our direction and our values, comparing them with the true standards from heaven.
     Because earthly life is so demanding and time-consuming, it is easy to lose sight of its purpose. Occasionally one is tempted to discard all worldly cares and appetites in an effort to simplify life. But the doctrine of use discourages this alternative, for one cannot be useful in the world without being a part of it. The hermit may have time to deliberate eternal values, but he forfeits the means of serving the neighbor.
     New Church men are keenly aware of the import of establishing in their lives those eternal things that will survive with them after death. He who reads the Writings knows that they are acquired slowly, subtly and systematically. The qualities that man takes with him into the other world are not his by accident but are taken on through conscious effort, by diligent and intelligent work. He also discovers that the acquisition of these spiritual treasures is not something that can be postponed until his declining years. Their importance is seen with maturity, but their establishment in the individual's life begins in early childhood.
     Conscientious parents endeavor to initiate these eternal things early with their offspring. Their demand for unquestioning obedience from their children is not from the love of power or for the sake of convenience. They recognize that adherence to authority in the home will make for an easier transition to obedience to the Lord's law when the children are older.

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They demand the same respect for the laws of the school and of the land. Laxity in this training not only creates confusion and disorder; it deprives the child of learning this discipline at the time when he is most affirmative to it. Over permissiveness opposes the will of the Lord, who seeks to instill early remains of affection of an authority outside of the individual.
     Sound parenthood includes instruction in the Lord's laws. Honesty, kindness, respect for the Word and piety in worship all stem from the Ten Commandments. How difficult it is to enter into a more interior obedience to those commandments if habits are not established early in adhering to the letter of these God-given laws.

     Nor should this training be less enforced as the child enters youth and early manhood. Obedience should become second nature. But as the mind develops and experience broadens, a more interior obedience is possible. The moral virtues are learned. Industry, modesty and affirmativeness are stressed in training. The concept of fair play has immediate application in school life. But the summary of all the moral virtues, honesty, needs particular cultivation. Deception and hypocrisy are among the greatest evils faced by youth. Helping to develop the habit of frankness and open communication between youth and their authorities is one of the finest contributions one can make to this age. Because the developing rational mind creates during this period a natural rebellion against any authority, it is important to keep the lines of communication open. When the natural confusion of youth spawns countless questions, direct and sympathetic answers can keep their trust alive in an authority outside of themselves.
     Youth, just like adults, craves freedom. But freedom is just as good as the order that disciplines it. If young people can enjoy increased freedom as they become capable of accepting greater self-discipline and responsibilities, they will not discard these earlier acquired habits of obedience. If they are stifled, or denied intelligible answers, their childlike willingness to obey will be discarded. There is ample evidence in our country today of what chaos this can cause.
     The point is that the acquisition of eternal values is an accumulative process. If the habit of obedience to the letter of the law given in the Decalogue is preserved from early childhood, if the moral virtues are gradually taken on from precept and practice in the home during the adolescent years, the ingredient to be added in adulthood can be easily accepted. The mature person does not face a radical adjustment; he merely continues to live in his orderly childhood habits and ways of life, but does so because this is now seen to be the command of the Lord and not just that of parental authority.

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     Furthermore, the adult comes to enjoy the delights of an orderly way of life. Training in modesty and chastity equips a maiden to enter marriage ready to receive all the joys of its beginning state. The young man who has been trained by wise parents to think and act honestly, to question affirmatively, and to accept new freedoms with responsibility finds the life of useful industry and genuine charity towards others the natural next step in the sequence of life.

     Counselors and law-enforcement officers spend most of their time with those who have not enjoyed such a healthy upbringing. The neglected or over-indulged young ultimate their neglect by opposition to civil and moral order. They may know about eternal values, but they are ill- equipped to achieve them in their lives. Greed and lust are part of every man's inheritance, but discipline and respect for authority are the means of controlling them. Unhappy marriages are more frequent with those who were ill-prepared-thinking that happiness in marriage was an automatic reward rather than a goal that must be worked for systematically and intelligently. The unsuccessful are often those who were never instructed properly in what true success is.
     What is most unfortunate, however, is that these who were not prepared from childhood to accept eternal values readily when exposed to them in adult life are they who offer the greatest opposition to those who were so prepared. Young people who are products of a sound New Church home sphere and a solid New Church education find themselves bitterly opposed. The well trained masculine and feminine mind are prepared to perceive the importance of eternal values. The well-ordered student moves readily from the moral virtues to the spiritual virtues. If this were not so, the whole philosophy of New Church education would be without validity. But the adult world he enters is not similarly prepared. Not everyone accepts treasures that are immune to rust and corruption as true and worthy goals. The well trained person may be affirmative to the teachings of the Lord, and find little difficulty in shifting from the authority of his superiors to that of the Lord; but he is not without a difficult challenge.
     The transfer of good habits and acquired knowledges from the memory into the will is not accomplished in a moment. It involves a struggle which consumes most of adult earthly life. This no man can avoid, regardless of his training. It requires individual choice-the use of the rational in the realm of freedom. Every single individual must come to see for himself that what is "eternal" in eternal values is what is permanently conjoined to his will.

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He may perceive the value of spiritual truths, but they are not capable of surviving death for him unless they have been conjoined to his will through the practise of them in life. In fact, the "value" of eternal values is not seen until these gifts of good from the Lord are permanently implanted in the heart. No man can truly see good for what it is until he is in it.
     As a result, they who put their faith in temporal values are convinced that they have the answer. What is contrary to their conviction is to them evil and false. Consequently, they utilize every means at their disposal to minimize the importance of spiritual qualities. Every man opposes what is contrary to what he believes to be good and true.

     Consider the case of a young couple, both of whom have been well trained from their youth. They aspire to a life of honesty, integrity and industry. They endeavor to bring their knowledge of eternal values into their life, accepting the realization that the struggle will be long and arduous. But they face a world that consciously strives to keep eternal values vague and obscure. The subtle implication prevails that honesty is acceptable in generalities, but not required in every particular of life. The moral virtues of modesty and chastity are now outmoded and old- fashioned. If a sincere couple practice courtesy to each other it is considered quaint, naive and even childish. If they discuss religion with others it causes embarrassment. To express love to and trust in the Lord may be to invite such labels as "idealistic," "impractical" or "too demanding." Adherence to the law of the land is called "laborious," "tedious" and "expensive."
     When justified restrictions are enforced on children, the parents are accused of being "prudish, egotistical and domineering." Voiced opposition and action against current styles and fashion meet with raised eyebrows from those who accept them. Even passive resistance to offcolor humor or vulgar speech is regarded as stuffy and intolerant.
     This, unfortunately, is the world we live in. There is little or no protection from it. The only true defense against its sphere resides in man's willingness to make eternal things a part of his everyday life, in spite of all opposition. The influences of the hells in the world outside of us are effective only if we allow them to conjoin themselves with the influx of the hells from within. The heavens are ready to stand between these two forces, if we desire their intervention. Our signal to them is the practice of living externally the ultimates of eternal values. When moral and spiritual virtues are a way of life with the neighbor we build an immunity to the criticisms of those around us; and the life of honesty, integrity and industry is not without compensations. The joys of heaven that inflow far exceed any earthly pleasures we might receive at the moment from rejecting a life of eternal values.

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     So let self-examination include an evaluation of our values. Do we sense a growing immunity to the false standards of the world? Do our actions stem from a set of spiritual values that will stay with us when we leave the earthly body behind? Are these spiritual treasures the motivating factors behind the education of our young? When we sense a wavering in our values, and begin to question the importance of the doctrine of the internal man, we need but call to mind the words of the Lord Himself to the disciples: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1968

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1968

     The October-December issue of the NEW PHILOSOPHY contains a fascinating article, "The Presence of Spirits in Madness," by Dr. Wilson Van Dusen, chief psychologist at the Mendocino State Hospital, Talmage, California. Dr. Van Dusen first describes his work with mental patients experiencing hallucinations and the findings to which that work led him, and then relates his findings to the teachings of the Writings about the association of spirits with men which he first encountered a few years ago. It is his conclusion that the former confirm the latter.
     One consistent finding, Dr. Van Dusen reports, was that patients felt they had contact with another world or order of beings. Most thought these other persons were living persons; and after dealing with hundreds of such patients, he discovered about four years ago that it was possible to speak to their hallucinations. A relationship was struck up with both the patient and the persons he saw and heard. These persons were questioned directly, and the patient was instructed to give a word-for-word account of what the voices answered or what was seen.
     In his dialogues with patients the writer reports that he learned of the existence of two orders of experience, called the higher and the lower order. The lower order, who make up in quantity some four-fifths of the patients' experiences, have a persistent will to destroy, and their purpose was said to be to illuminate all the person's weaknesses. They seem to be imprisoned in the lowest level of the patient's mind. All of them are irreligious or anti-religious. In general the rarer higher order is richer than the patient's normal experience, respectful of his freedom, helpful, instructive, supportive and religious. These findings certainly deserve further study.

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SOME CONTEMPORARY QUESTIONS 1968

SOME CONTEMPORARY QUESTIONS       Editor       1968


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.
     Current events raise some interesting questions for the thoughtful New Church man. What, from the New Church point of view, are the ethics of heart transplants and of inter-racial marriages? Why has the human race been allowed to achieve its greatest potential for mass destruction at a time when, spiritually, it is at such a low ebb, and a growing capacity for self-destruction through air and water pollution? Why are men being permitted to attempt the conquest of space at a stage when the effect of our culture on the people of other earths is questionable? Why is the threat of famine increasing throughout the world in an age of unprecedented technological advance and unparalleled affluence?
     To say that these things are all under the government of the Divine Providence, while true, does not answer the questions. Nor is it enough to say that the answers are all in the Writings-and leave it at that; for there is a sense in which that which answers everything answers nothing. It is true that such questions invite speculative thinking, and that we must be extremely careful not to force answers or make the Writings fit preconceived ideas derived from other sources; but speculative thinking within the framework of the Writings is not itself a bad thing.
     It may be that as a church we are not yet ready to see the answers to some of these questions. But because we do not know this, the effort should be made; and perhaps the first requisite to finding answers is to know what questions to put and how to frame them accurately and clearly. If any of our readers are studying these questions, their views, however tentative, will be welcome in the pages of this journal.

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UNIVERSAL CHURCH 1968

UNIVERSAL CHURCH       Editor       1968

     All New Church men are agreed that the church of the Lord is universal. Wherever and however widely they are scattered throughout the world, and they are known only to the Lord, all those who acknowledge a Divine and live in the good of charity according to their religion form the Lord's church. In His sight they are one man, and they will all be saved and will enter into His heavenly kingdom.
     Where differences of opinion arise is in connection with the further teaching that the Lord's church thus distributed throughout the world is both specific and universal. The church specific exists where the Word is and where it is rightly understood, an important qualification, and where the Lord is thus known and acknowledged; and that church is the heart and lungs of the grand man of earth which is the universal church. The church universal consists of all those who do not have the Word and therefore do not know the Lord, but nevertheless believe in one God and live according to His revealed will as they understand it. They, too, are of the church, and they will be saved; but not until they have learned and accepted the truth of the Word-for the most part in the world of spirits after death.

     Some New Church men seem to assume that the church specific exists in the organized New Church and the Christian churches, Protestant if not Catholic, and that the church universal is to be found in the non-Christian religions. Others would place those in the Christian churches who are salvable in the church universal. They indeed have the Bible, but it is questionable whether they have the Word and certain that they do not have the right understanding of it. They know of the Lord, but they do not know who He really is, and do not acknowledge Him as the one God. That is the difference, and the view taken will determine our attitude toward participation in the ecumenical movement.
     Two things should be clearly understood. When we speak here of Christendom we are speaking of churches, their theology and the liturgy that grows out of it, not of the individual men and women who comprise their membership; and when we suggest that the church specific exists only within the organized New Church we do not imply that it is co-extensive with that church, or that it is all the church there is. There is no sanction in the Writings for that conclusion. Wherever we see signs of the church universal in individuals we can make common cause with them. But it is our belief that we must distinguish between such persons and their churches, and that only the understanding and life of the Word made possible by the Writings can build the church specific.

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KINGDOM OF THOSE WHO DO 1968

KINGDOM OF THOSE WHO DO       Editor       1968

     As those are received into heaven who have received heaven in themselves, and as the kingdom of heaven is thus built in the mind through a spiritual rebirth, it follows that entrance into the kingdom is not by admission from mercy apart from means. It follows also that not all men enter into the kingdom. Therefore when the Lord warned that not all who had called Him, Lord, Lord, would enter into the kingdom, but they who had done the will of His Father who is in heaven, He was not making a decree, but was revealing what it is that causes the kingdom to enter into the minds of men, and thus the essential condition for admission.
     By the Father in the heavens is meant, of course, the Divine in heaven-the good which is in the Divine truth that proceeds from the Lord, and which is united therewith. It is this proceeding Divine that makes heaven to be heaven, and it is by virtue of reception of it that the angels constitute heaven. To do the will of the Father in heaven, therefore, is to do that truth-to live according to the Lord's precepts in the Word from an affection of love and charity; and it is this that brings man into the kingdom of heaven, even while he lives on earth, because it introduces the life of that kingdom into his mind and life.

     The Lord's kingdom, the Writings constantly remind us, is a kingdom of uses; and faith alone, the mere calling upon the Lord, avails nothing to introduce man into the kingdom. Nor does charity and its faith unless there is ultimation in use. It is indeed a truth that those who merely know the doctrinals of faith, but are without love and charity and works, cannot enter into the kingdom. They have such coldness of life and such obscurity of light that they are unable to approach even the threshold of heaven, but flee from it. They cannot enter, not because they are prevented, but because they do not want to enter.
     If we would be prepared for the Lord's kingdom, therefore, we must go beyond saying certain things and thinking certain things. For it is not a kingdom of those who say and think, but do not; it is a kingdom of those who do, of those who do the will of the Father in heaven. Saying that we believe in the Lord and the Word, in the church and its doctrines, and even in the life of the church as the ideal, is not enough! It is works, and works only, that save man.
     However, the works that save are not those that man does by trying to lead himself to good. They are the works done by man from the Lord when he submits freely to the Lord's leading. Therefore the Lord warned also: "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."

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Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     The major undertaking in the Washington Society since we last reported has been the reorganization of our committees. The somewhat rapid expansion of our activities during the last few years has caused some confusion over the proper functions of the various committees. As needs arose, committees were created to meet them. In a number of instances, new committees such as chancel, education, sewing and Friday supper were placed under the Women's Guild, since their functions were to be carried out almost entirely by the ladies. However, as these and other committees established themselves as integral parts of society life, the conviction grew that their uses, if not their functions, required the benefit of both masculine and feminine thought. Therefore our pastor, the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr, asked Major B. Dean Smith to head a committee to examine and re-define the uses and functions of each committee. After months of extensive research and work, Major Smith's committee presented its reorganization plan to the Society membership at its semi-annual meeting in September 1967, where it received unanimous approval. To summarize the plan briefly: society functions have been divided into five main units-Worship, Education, Communication, Activities and Maintenance-and each committee has been assigned to one of these units. In addition, a member of the Board of Trustees is to serve as an ex-officio member of one of each of the major units, representing that unit when matters pertaining to it come before the Board.
     With the approval of the reorganization plan, those committees which had previously been under the Women's Guild were placed under the Society. Therefore, in October 1967, the members of the Guild met to disband that organization officially by unanimous consent. In her final report, Guild president Mary Cooper said: "We must remember that, in actual fact, not a great deal will change as far as function is concerned. . . . The difference really is that now each committee will have carefully defined functions, with less chance of confusion as to responsibility or conflict of purpose. Although a decision to disband the Women's Guild is perhaps unheard of in the church, and although it may seem strange to do so after some fifteen years of useful existence in this society, we believe this action to have been proper and in line with the growth and development of our society."
     Another recent innovation was the establishment of a men's discussion group, which has met periodically to hear papers on and discuss such subjects as "The Kramph Will Case" and "The Nature of Man's Seed."
     During the past year Mr. Schnarr has presented a series of doctrinal classes on "The Association of Spirits and Men," followed by a study of the New Testament which is now in progress. In addition, we have benefitted from the instruction given us by the several ministers who have visited this society from time to time. The Rev. Ormond Odhner gave a doctrinal class on "Preparation for Regeneration," which, he said, must be based on a knowledge of revelation, and on continual self-examination and acknowledgment of one's motives. He also preached a sermon on the Lord's life as an example which men should try to emulate. In his class on "Order and Society Today" the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton cited passages from the Scriptures and the Writings which are applicable to the civil and moral disorders of today's society. He delivered also a sermon on "Spiritual Temptation."

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The Rev. Erik Sandstrom chose as the subject of his sermon "The Degrees of Man's Will and Understanding"; reminding us that the elevation of man's will, unlike that of his understanding, depends entirely on the degree to which be shuns evils as sins against the Lord. The Rev. Robert S. Junge, Secretary of the General Church, presented a statistical account of the growth of the General Church since its inception, and spoke of the need for more communication within the church. He also preached a sermon on "The Special Use of the Remnant." The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers gave a doctrinal class on "The Nature of Natural Good," which, he said, while not to be confused with spiritual good, yet has an orderly and necessary place in man's life. He preached a sermon on "A Father's Love," and as Director of the General Church Religion Lessons Committee met with the local religion lessons committee and provided valuable information and guidance to that group. The Rev. Dan Goodenough presented doctrinal teachings concerning war in a class which evoked lively discussion. He also preached a sermon on the slogan "God is Dead," in which he stated that while God is unchanged and unchanging, it can be said that He is dead to those who choose to reject Him.
     In our last report we mentioned the plans for developing a New Church community, Acton Park, adjacent to the church property. At that time we indicated, somewhat naively, that lots would be available in the near future. We can only say that the mills of the gods are nothing compared to those of the State Health Department, the State Roads Commission and the Maryland Park and Planning Commission! However, if the final approval for which we are now waiting is really final, lots should be available shortly.
     For the past few years, the Society has welcomed the opportunity to house and entertain the seniors from the Academy secondary schools on their annual spring visits to Washington. It is always a pleasure to become acquainted with the students who stay in our homes, and the class of 1967 was no exception. The boys came first, in March, and swelled our ranks in church by arriving in time for the Sunday service. That evening we held a banquet in their honor, after which Mr. Donald White narrated a series of slides taken on his expedition to Africa to study a solar eclipse. The girls came at the end of April, and they too, arranged their schedule to arrive in time for church. As with the boys, we celebrated their visit with a banquet and a short program on Sunday evening, at the end of which the girls sang their school and club songs.
     The Sons' spring program featured Mr. Robert H. Johns as guest speaker. Mr. Johns, a science instructor at the Academy, spoke on the objectives of the Academy's science curriculum. He also emphasized his conviction that parents must stimulate and encourage that innate curiosity of children which is so vital to their lifelong learning process.
     The events of our Nineteenth of June weekend were enhanced by the presence of Bishop and Mrs. George de Charms. On Friday evening we gathered at the church for a delicious dinner, followed by Bishop De Charms' inspiring address on the birth of the New Church both in time and in the hearts of men. The subject was further explored as he answered the many questions which he invited at the conclusion of his talk. We gathered again at the church grounds on Saturday afternoon for a picnic supper complete with a treasure hunt and tractor rides for the children, baseball and horseshoes for those so inclined, and, to the delight of all, the wonderful tales of Uncle Remus as retold by Bishop De Charms. On Sunday morning Bishop De Charms preached a sermon on the account in Revelation of John's vision of the white horse and its rider, wherein is foretold the Lord's second coming. He stated that the revelation through which the Second Coming was accomplished was unique in that it was intended to serve both heaven and earth, and this by means of the Word. The service was followed by a Nineteenth of June program put on by the children, after which they received their gifts from the church.
     Two social events worth noting were held in the Society this past year. The first was our second annual Thanksgiving Dance, hosted by Mr. Jeremy Odhner and Miss Deena Nelson.

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The planning, entertainment, decorations and refreshments were handled entirely by the young people, and they outdid themselves in making this a gala occasion for all who attended. The second event was a first in this society-a combined bazaar and family night early in December. In addition to a great variety of items for sale there were games for the children, supper, and the world premiere of an original puppet show. The time and talent contributed to this effort produced an evening most enjoyable for the participants and most profitable for the Building Fund.
     During the past year circumstances have called from our midst several friends whose presence and participation in our little society cannot help but be missed. The FBI transferred Mr. and Mrs. Jerome V. Sellner and their family to a new post in Puerto Rico; the Air Force assigned Major B. Dean Smith to a tour of duty in Viet Nam; the Army sent Pvt. Kent O. Doering to Germany; a new job called Mr. and Mrs. Michael Rich and their son to Connecticut; and the Girls School in Bryn Athyn accepted Miss Orah Nelson as a student. In addition, Sabina Hyatt, two-year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Hyatt, passed into the heavens following an automobile accident on August 8, 1967. The Rev. Ormond Odhner came from Bryn Athyn to conduct the memorial service; assuring us that while the grief we feel over the death of another is natural, we are strengthened in the knowledge that each man is chosen for an eternal use, and the time of his death is determined by that use. He also reminded us that children are received immediately into heaven, where they know only the delight of being led by the Lord.
     Since our last report, Miss Jean Doering, Mr. Jeremy Odhner, and Mr. and Mrs. W. Robert Park have joined us, and we have welcomed the arrival of six infants. In addition, Mr. Jack Davis, who has attended society functions since he came to this area to study two years ago, was baptized into the church in May 1967.
     While a society's size is measured by its membership and the scope of its activities, the spirit of a society is that which gives life to its efforts. The following words were addressed by our pastor to the members of the Washington Society at their annual meeting on January 19, 1968. We include them here because they describe what we feel is the spirit of this society.
     "I believe we have growing here in our society a very precious and treasured possession. It is that very attitude concerning the Writings that the General Church was founded upon-the attitude that the Writings are the Word of the Lord, the sole guide and authority for all things of the life of the New Church. It is the growing strength and wisdom of this conviction that is sensed among us. it is the life blood of any truly New Church society. . . . However small and seemingly tenuous the life and form of our little society may be from time to time, let us continue to strengthen that which is our first concern, the quality of our conviction in the Divine truth revealed in the Writings."
     GAEL PENDLETON COFFIN

     GENERAL CHURCH

     Candidate Christopher Ronald Jack Smith will assist and gain experience of pastoral work this summer in the Toronto and Pittsburgh societies, respectively. He will be in Toronto for the month of June and in Pittsburgh throughout July.


     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The NEW CHURCH MESSENGER reports that at a Joint Meeting of Convention's General Council with the Boards of Managers and Directors of the Swedenborg School of Religion it was resolved to establish a central office for Convention at the Swedenborg School of Religion in Newton, Mass. The Rev. Ernest Martin, president-elect of Convention, has offered to serve full-time when he takes office at the close of the 1968 Convention in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. This offer has been approved by the General Council, and steps are being taken to provide temporarily for the Washington congregation until permanent ministerial leadership can be provided.

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FIRST EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY 1968

FIRST EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968




     Announcements
     The First European Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at the University of Essex, Wivenhoe, Colchester, England, Thursday, July 18, through Sunday, July 21, 1968, the Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
          Bishop
YOUNG PEOPLE'S GATHERING 1968

YOUNG PEOPLE'S GATHERING       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968

     A young people's gathering will be held under the auspices of the General Church over the Labor Day weekend, August 31- September 4, 1968, at Laurel Hill State Park (east of Pittsburgh, Pa.)
     All those who have completed high school and are thirty years of age or younger are eligible to attend.
     The following have agreed to serve as a committee to organize the gathering, and to be responsible for its operation:
     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom (Chairman)
     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh
     Mr. Gilbert M. Smith
     Detailed information will be distributed by mail.
          WILLARD D. PENDLETON
               Bishop
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1968

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1968

     The Rev. Alfred Acton, Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church in Glenview and Resident Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, has accepted a call to the Immanuel Church as Assistant Pastor, effective September 1, 1968.
GENERAL CHURCH TRANSLATION COMMITTEE 1968

GENERAL CHURCH TRANSLATION COMMITTEE              1968

The membership of this committee has been announced, as follows:

     Members

The Rev. Alfred Acton
The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough
The Rev. Ormond Odhner
The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers (Chairman)
The Rev. Donald L. Rose

     Members Representing Academy Departments

Mr. Lennart O. Alfelt (Swedenborgiana)
Miss Lyris Hyatt (English Department)
Prof. Eldric S. Klein (Latin)
Mr. N. Bruce Rogers (Latin)
Prof. Margaret Wilde (Foreign Language Department)

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1968

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1968

     The Board of Directors of the Academy of the New Church has approved the following appointments to the staff for the 1968-1969 academic year:

Mr. Michael A. Brown (Psychology, Counselling, Housemaster, College Men's Dormitory)
Miss Mary Beth Cronlund (Girls School French, Home Economics, Dormitory Assistant)
Mr. Burton Friesen (Boys School Science and History)
Miss Marion E. Swalm (Director of Admissions and Student Records)
Miss Merrilyn Wilson (Assistant Librarian)
Miss Margaret A. York (College French)

     The Board has also approved the following appointments:

Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., to be Assistant to the Vice President, the office of Dean of Schools to be discontinued.
The Rev. Martin Pryke (Head of the Religion Department)
Mr. Lennart O. Alfelt (Curator of Swedenborgiana)
Miss Lyris Hyatt (Head of the English Department)
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1968

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION       MORNA HYATT       1968

     The Seventy-first Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, at the Civic and Social Club, at 8:15 p.m., Monday, May 27, 1968.
     There will be brief reports and election of President and members of the Board of Directors, followed by an address by Dr. Grant R. Doering on "Some Aspects and Implications of Evolution." All are welcome.
     MORNA HYATT
          Secretary

     MINISTERIAL CHANGES

     The Rev. Donald L. Rose has accepted appointment as Visiting Pastor to the Circle at The Hague, The Netherlands, effective September 1, 1968.

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GATHERING OF THE ELECT 1968

GATHERING OF THE ELECT       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1968


VOL. LXXXVIII
JUNE, 1968
No. 6
NEW CHURCH LIFE
     "And He shall send forth His angels with the great voice of a trumpet, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other." (Matthew 24: 31)

     The Lord foretold His second advent in several different ways. He was to return to His church as the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; as a King judging from His throne; as a wounded Lamb who would open the seals of Scripture as a male child born from a celestial woman; as a Harvester with a sickle; as a Divine Bridegroom ready for the marriage supper; and as the conquering Hero mounted on a white horse and having the name of "the Word of God," and followed by angelic hosts on white horses.
     The confusing variety of these prophetic word-pictures was necessary to show that the Lord's second advent was not a physical or personal coming but a spiritual event-effected by a new revelation of His presence to the minds of men, at a time when the Christian Church had become so alienated from heaven and from the understanding of the Word that it could no longer serve as a source of spiritual enlightenment. And the New Church now sees that this second advent of the Lord was effected in spiritual fact by means of His servant Emanuel Swedenborg, whom He filled with His Spirit to teach from Him the doctrines of the New Church through the Word.*
     * TCR 779.
     In the natural world this second advent of the Lord went unperceived except by a few, even as was the case when the Lord was born into the world and only Mary and a few others pondered in their hearts what His birth might mean. It was in the spiritual world that the Lord was seen in great glory.

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It was there that the clouds which had concealed the way to heaven were dispersed by a great judgment, and angels were sent out to all quarters to gather the "elect" together into the New Heaven.

     All men are intended for heaven, in the sense that none are predestined to hell. All men can be saved in the other life, unless they have confirmed themselves in evils of life, and this whether they are pagans or Christians, or whether they die as babes or as adults. All can find salvation if they have acknowledged God and lived well. There are many mansions in the heavenly Father's house-many heavens with differing degrees of spiritual light. Yet only those spirits who have been in a spiritual affection of truth* can intellectually receive the Heavenly Doctrine in the other life, and thus go to compose the New Heaven whence the New Church on earth is to receive its strength. The New Church on earth, our revelation indicates, will at first be among a few. For the falsities of the former church must be removed before truths can be permanently received.** The faith of the New Church cannot be together with the faith of the old church, in one house or in one mind, any more than an owl and a dove can be reared in one nest.***
* AE 732
     ** AR 547
     *** BE 102, 103.     And because the state of the Christian world is such that in the official teachings of the churches no truths remain that are not entangled with and steeped in dangerous falsities which annul the power of the Word to enlighten men's minds and conjoin them with heaven, therefore the New Church is likened to a woman in a wilderness, preserved by a miracle and hidden by God from the persecutions of the "dragon."* Its growth in both worlds is slow, especially from the Christian world.
     * Inv. 38; AR 562.
     A new church, the Writings note, is seldom if ever formed from the people of the former church, but mostly from gentiles or those of other races. It was so also with the Christian Church, which indeed first commenced among the Jews, but was established mainly among former gentiles. Still, each new church or dispensation rests upon the Divine revelation originally given to the previous church. The New Testament rests upon the Law and the Prophets. The Writings rest upon the entire Scriptural Word. And this continuity in the giving of Divine revelation was illustrated when Swedenborg had completed his draft of the True Christian Religion. For he adds the "Memorandum" that when the book was finished, the Lord commissioned His twelve disciples who had followed Him in the world, and who were now angels, to go out into the whole spiritual world and preach the new advent of the Lord God Jesus Christ, whose reign will be eternal. "This was done on the 19th day of June, in the year 1770.

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And this was meant by these words of the Lord: 'He will send forth His angels . . and they shall gather together His elect . . . from one end of the heavens to the other.'*
* TCR 791.
     The spiritual sense of the Word is never confined to persons. The apostles who were sent out on the 19th of June, 1770, were not chosen because of their personal distinctions. In heaven there are many that are more worthy than they.* They had entertained many crude ideas as to their Master's return, and of their own position in His worldly kingdom. But after their death-and again after the Last Judgment in 1757-they had come to see the spiritual truths which were hidden beneath the symbolism of the Lord's words.
     * SD 1330; HH 526
     These twelve had seen the Lord in His ultimate Human. The form and features of His personality, His words, the tone of His voice, His touch, had been impressed upon their memories. In their hearts burned His promise to return-a coming long delayed. And their function now in the spiritual world was to testify to His identity: that He Himself had indeed made His second advent, as He had promised, in the clouds of heaven. Only they could confirm that the true Christian religion was the very teaching of Christ, at last clarified and revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem-in the foundations of which were collected all the gems of truth for which these apostles had labored in the world!
     Truths built by the Lord into a city of celestial life, rising secure above the clouds and obscurities, the conflicts and confusions, of earthly life.
      These twelve, who represented each in his own way the cardinal truths of the Lord's church, were the forerunners of an unending number of evangelists who are to proclaim the new reign of the Lord. The gathering of the "elect" proceeds in both worlds, not suddenly, but slowly and continuously, through the patient work of angels and also of men.
     The function of the priesthood in the New Church includes, as its first province, the announcement of the Lord in His second advent. This is the first priestly duty,* for without this new gospel there could be no New Church on earth. It is a work which can be done only by a distinct ministry-by men whose lives emulate those of the apostles in that they are dedicated to the work of the salvation of souls, the ingathering into the kingdom of God.
     * TCR 668: 2.     In one sense, all men are the Lord's elect, chosen or destined by the Creator for eternal life; and none are born who cannot be saved or find a place in the Lord's kingdom. In a narrower sense, only those who consent to the Lord's will, who walk the way of repentance, become His "chosen."

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Yet among those who enter heaven some are said to be "called," while others are said to be "chosen," and still others "faithful."* Those of the natural heaven are said to be "called," and these are described as a vast multitude. But while "many are called, few are chosen."** Only those who have fought the battles of temptation and have embraced the truths of the Word with a spiritual love are chosen as angels of the spiritual heaven. And the celestial, whose hearts are not defiled by hereditary evils, are especially called the "faithful" who never fall from their high estate.***
     * Revelation 17: 14.
     ** Matthew 20: 16.
     *** AR 744, 821.

     Yet in a relative sense the apostles were singled out as the Lord's "chosen." Indeed the Lord had said: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."* He had breathed upon them, and said: "Receive ye the Holy Spirit."** That these disciples were selected by the Lord in a unique sense, for qualities and characteristics of which they themselves were not aware, is peculiarly true. For they "represented" all the various cardinal things of the church, and thus all things of faith and charity by which the Lord builds the church.
     * John 15, 16.
     ** John 20: 22.
     The church is not built by men. Yet the Lord, who judges not by the appearance, sees beyond the personal qualities of men. He chooses His human instruments with Divine foresight, and performs through them the kind of work which is of use in each age and place-uses which are not necessarily foreseen by men, or even consciously intended by them; uses which do not stem from man's own power or merit, or reflect to his credit; uses which are not visible to man's dull eyes, but which, through the inscrutable wisdom of Providence, build up agencies which in time permit the Holy Spirit to pass "from the Lord through men to men," and thus heal and restore His church through spiritual enlightenment.
     Among the canons of the New Church we find the statement that the*Holy Spirit "flows into men who believe in the Lord, and, if according to order, into the clergy, and thus through them into the laity." The Spirit of truth "proceeds from the Lord through the clergy to the laity by means of preaching, according to the reception of the doctrine of truth thence."* The institution of the New Church priesthood, with its threefold function of instruction, worship and government, is an orderly contribution to and ultimation of the work of the apostles which commenced on the nineteenth day of June, 1770, in the spiritual world-the work of "gathering together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other."

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     * Can. HS IV.

     This gathering of the "elect" is also called a "harvest." The final harvest takes place in the spiritual world. But on earth it takes the introductory form of a collection of men who belong to the visible body of the church from their own free choice and conviction. Even the spiritual works of the church must be organized in an external form and order, to withstand the onslaught of its foes and to carry on its uses, which are prescribed in the revelation; and to bear fruit both visible and invisible.
     The priest of the New Church must think not only of persons but also of states. What is true of every man in his own sphere is true of the priest in the larger sphere of the church. The first fruit that he must harvest and preserve is found in the Word of God, in its threefold revelations, as truths of doctrine. But a ripening harvest also awaits in every tender state open to the influx of heaven. It is a priestly responsibility to protect and gather into fruitfulness the growing faith of infancy with its innocent charity and obedience; to bend the fancies of childhood and order the budding reasonings of youth with its ideals and its doubts; to watch against the falsities of self-intelligence and to challenge the thinking that stems from passion and sensual appearances or from the illusions of worldly glamor. It is the priest's work to sound the trumpet on the walls of Zion if falsities of doctrine invade or evils of life encroach. It is the task of the priesthood, as the servant not of men but of God, to guard the sanctities of conjugial love and to keep the holy things of worship from being neglected or violated by human ambition. It is the task of the priesthood to lead-not by own intentions but by revealed truth-to the uses of charity and mutual love, and to see that the freedom of every man's conscience is respected. In such leadership there must be no blind persuasion or compulsion, for only that which is implanted in freedom will endure.
     It is so that, we pray, the kingdom of the Lord may be increasingly established on the soil of earth, and the minds of successive generations of men be interiorly opened to see the spiritual wisdom latent in the Writings of the Lord's second advent. The priesthood is ordained to inherit the apostolic office, as an assurance that what is Divine may ever find a place among men and that the fruitful states of the church may be gathered together into organic unity in the uses of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ, of which there shall be no end. Amen.

     LESSONS: Matthew 24: 1-14, 29-31. TCR 779, 784a, 791.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 457, 452, 461.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 8, 128.

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WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY 1968

WITH POWER AND GREAT GLORY       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1968

     A New Church Day Talk to Children

     When the Lord was here on earth with His disciples, He told them about many things that were going to happen in the future: things that were going to happen very soon, and things that were going to happen much, much later-so much later, in fact, that He never even told them exactly when they would happen or exactly how they would happen.
     For example, He told them that very soon evil men would arrest Him and condemn Him, would crucify Him and put Him to death. But He also told His disciples that they should not fear because of this; for on the third day after His death He would rise again, to live for evermore.
     He also told His disciples about things to come that would not happen for a long, long time. As you all well know, when He was here on earth the Lord taught His disciples many new things, new truths that were hard for them to understand at first. He also wanted to teach them even more new truths, but He knew that they could not understand those things just yet. First they had to think for a long time before they could really understand what He meant even by the things that He had already taught them. Only after that would they be able to see what He meant by other things He still wanted to teach them.
     So He promised them that after He had risen from the sepulchre and gone back into heaven, He would come again to His disciples, to those who loved Him, and would lead them into all the truths that men on earth would ever be able to understand. He had come to men the first time as that Baby born in Bethlehem; and now He promised that He would make His second advent, His second coming, to men as the Spirit of truth that would lead them into all truth. And it is His second coming that we celebrate each year on the Nineteenth of June; for in the New Church we believe that He has already made His second coming to men, just as He promised He would.
     When He was here on earth, He told His disciples about many things that would happen around the time when He would make His second coming. It is about one of these things that I want to speak to you today: about what He meant when He said that at His second advent He would be seen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

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     What could He have meant by that? Has anyone ever seen the Lord up in the sky in the clouds? Of course not! And yet, as I have just said, in the New Church we believe that the Lord has already made His second coming. And we believe, too, that the Lord made His second coming just as He said He would-in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. We believe that, because we know that everything the Lord said is true, and that every promise He made is a true promise, a promise that would be kept.

     Now the Writings of the New Church tell us that everything the Lord said and did while on earth was said or done for the sake of its spiritual meaning, its spiritual sense, and that the real truth of what He said and did is to be found in that spiritual sense. Thus, as you know, when the Lord was on earth He healed sick people and made them well again. He really did, and that is wonderful indeed. But doctors can often heal sick people, too, although they cannot do it the way the Lord did, just by speaking to them, or by touching them. What, then, does it really mean to you and to me that the Lord could heal the sick? It means that He still can and does heal the sick through His words and His touch; not people who are sick with colds and stomach aches, especially, but people who are spiritually sick, sick because their hearts have evil loves in them and because their minds have wrong ideas in them. He can heal even you and me of our spiritual sickness, if only we will listen to what He has to say, will listen to His Word. He can heal even you and me if only we will let His Word reach in and touch our hearts.
     That, then, is the spiritual meaning of His healing the sick; and that is a good illustration of what the Writings mean when they say that the real truth of all that the Lord said and did on earth is to be found in the spiritual sense. So also it was of spiritual clouds, rather than of the rain clouds up in the sky, that the Lord was speaking when He said that at His second coming He would be seen in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
     Now, what are spiritual clouds? Well, to understand that you have to think about what the clouds up in the sky do for us. They do two main things, don't they? First of all, they give us rain; and without rain, without water coming down from the sky, everything on earth would eventually die-all plants, all animals, all men. Yet sometimes there are clouds up in the sky which do not give us any rain at all. What do clouds do for us then? Or maybe I should say, what do they do to us, rather than, what do they do for us? Well, on a cloudy day, what is the most important thing that we cannot see? It is the sun, of course. Clouds hide the sun.

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     Clouds give rain, but clouds hide the sun. Think of these two things a while, and you will be able to see what is meant by spiritual clouds, those spiritual clouds in which we can now see the Lord in His second advent, with power and great glory. The Writings say that such spiritual clouds represent the stories of the letter of the Word-those stories of the Word which you children hear at worship and in church, those stories that you now are learning to read.

     But why are those stories called clouds, the clouds of heaven? Do they give us rain? Do they give us water from the sky, water from heaven? Yes, they do. As all you children know very well, you wash yourselves with water in order to get clean. And that is why water, in the spiritual sense, means truth; for just as water washes your bodies, so do the truths of religion wash your minds and spirits of all that is evil and false. And where did you children learn the truths you know about the Lord, about heaven and about being good? In the last analysis, was it not from the stories of the Word, whether you read them for yourselves, or whether some older person read and explained them to you? That is the first reason that the stories of the Word are called the clouds of heaven.
     But, speaking spiritually again, do the stories of the Word rather keep you from really seeing the Lord as He is in Himself? Yes, sometimes-or at least to a certain extent. I have already mentioned the Lord's miraculous power of healing the sick, and that is wonderful indeed. But is it not even more wonderful to know that the Lord goes on forever healing those who are spiritually sick and making them spiritually well again, able to live with Him in heaven? When we see that truth, then we are seeing the Lord's real power and glory within the clouds of heaven.
     And so it is with all the stories in the Word, each and every one of them. In just the words that they are written in they tell us wonderful things about the Lord, about heaven and about how to be good. But when we see the spiritual meaning of these stories, then we learn much more about the Lord, about heaven and about how to be good. Then, as it were, the clouds of heaven open up for us, and we see in them the full power and glory of the Lord Himself, who is the sun of heaven.
     That is why in the New Church we believe that the Lord at His second advent was indeed seen in the clouds of heaven, coming with power and great glory. For about two hundred years ago the Lord opened the spiritual eyes of His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg, and showed him all the wonders of heaven, taught him the spiritual meaning of the Word, and commanded him to write these things down in the books we call the Writings. And thus it was that the Lord finally did what He had told His disciples that He would do-teach us all the truths of religion that men on earth can ever understand.

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And because those Writings were finished on the nineteenth day of June in the year 1770-showing us the power and glory within these stories of the Word that are the clouds of heaven-we therefore celebrate the Nineteenth of June as the anniversary of the birth of the Lord's New Church on earth. Amen.

     LESSONS: Matthew 24: 29-40. True Christian Religion 776: 1.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 421, 457, 472b.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C16, C17.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1968

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1968

     With the issue for March, 1968, the English edition of UMCHAZI, now under the editorship of the Rev. Peter M. Buss, commences its 26th volume. This number, which as usual samples the life and thought of the General Church Mission in South Africa, contains a sermon by the Superintendent, stories from the Word by Sigrid O. Sigstedt and "A Visit to Swedenborg" by C. Th. Odhner, as well as contributions by Africans. The New Church Day celebrations at Clermont and Kwa Mashu are recorded, and an address given at the latter, "The Crown of All Churches," by the Rev. Mafa M. Lutuli, now retired, is published. There is an interesting report on the winter school held at Hambrook in 1957, and a number of papers prepared and read by the students testify to the quality of the work done by the school.
     The Minutes of the 64th Annual Meeting and the reports of the President, the Director of Religion Lessons and the Journal Editor are all printed in the Spring Number of the THETA ALPHA JOURNAL, to give a broad spectrum of that organization's activities. However, there is also a variety of literary matter. Four teachers combine to present a panel discussion, "Whose Child Is He?" The question posed is: Why do parents and teachers sometimes stand on opposite sides of the child, tugging this way and that, when he belongs to the Lord but is entrusted to both? There are letters written as an assignment in ninth grade Religion; a short story selected from those written by seniors in the Girls School; a thoughtful article by Joy Synnestvedt McQueen, "Raising a Family in the New Church"; and a questions and answers column, answers supplied by various ministers, in addition to editorial and other matter.

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QUESTION OF VALUES 1968

QUESTION OF VALUES       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968

     Throughout the New Testament there is repeated emphasis upon self-denial for the sake of the kingdom of God. The implication is that the possessions and pleasures of this world are not consistent with the life of regeneration. As the Lord said to His disciples, on a certain occasion: "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me."* And as He said to the rich man who inquired concerning eternal life: "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and given to the poor . . . and come and follow Me."* Also, in commenting to His disciples upon this incident, He said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."***
     * Matthew 16: 24.
     ** Matthew 19: 21.
     *** Matthew 19: 24.
     It was these and similar teachings that in time led to the Christian doctrine of asceticism. While it is true that in the long history of the Christian Church relatively few have purposely impoverished themselves in order to attain to spiritual perfection, the fact remains that a literal interpretation of the New Testament involves the rejection of all things save the bare necessities that are essential to survival. What may be inferred from this but that poverty is a spiritual virtue? Yet curiously enough, the doctrine seems to be based upon an appeal to self, for "great is your reward in heaven."*
     * Matthew 5: 12.
     In this, however, the spiritual sense of the Word breaks with the letter. Nowhere do the Writings suggest that there is any virtue in poverty. On the contrary, they ask what good is done, or what use is performed, by him who wilfully impoverishes himself, for in so doing does not one become dependent upon the charity of others? Hence the teaching of the Writings that the first of charity is to provide for oneself, and this in order that by means of self one may be of use to others. Thus it is that by the poor and the needy to whom the Lord referred are not meant those who are in want of the things of this world, but those who acknowledge that, spiritually speaking, they are in need. Hence it is said in the Scriptures: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for their's is the kingdom of heaven."

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     * Matthew 5: 3.
     The basis of all religious faith is man's awareness that he is not a self-sufficient being. It is this inner awareness or perception that sustains faith despite the fact that the existence of God cannot be demonstrated by sense experience. It is true that there are those who deny God; but the logic of their position is dependent upon the assumption that the ordered universe and all things in it were the result of an unexplainable accident caused by physical forces to which neither intelligence nor purpose can be attributed. Yet men make this assumption because they believe they have no need of God, in that they are convinced that by means of their own intelligence they can provide for themselves all that is essential to human existence and social progress. But the question arises, what is social progress and by what standard is it to be measured? Is it, as taught in the Scriptures, a question of good and of evil; or is it, as many at this day seem to believe, a matter of individual adaptation to one's social environment?

     When considered in this way, faith and anti-faith become a question of values. To believe in God is to believe that in the doing of His will man does what is good. To deny God is to believe that man does what is good for himself, and that evil is nothing more than a matter of self-maladjustment. Yet many say: "What is God's will? Are we to believe that the Old and New Testaments are an authoritative statement of truth?" But the real question is not whether the Word in its letter is true as stated, but whether it contains a spiritual sense which constitutes an authoritative statement of truth. But again men say: "How do we know this is true? Who was Emanuel Swedenborg that he should speak for God? Did not the Lord Himself say, 'I receive not testimony from man.'?"* But the truth of the Writings does not depend upon Swedenborg's witness; for as the Writings themselves state: "It is the Divine which bears witness concerning the Divine, and not man from himself."**
     * John 5: 34.
     ** AE 635: 2.
     The reference here is to the two witnesses which were seen by John in heaven; that is, the two olive trees and the two lampstands which stood before the God of the earth. By the olive trees is signified the good of love, and by the lampstands the truth of faith. We have, then, two things which mutually testify concerning the Lord; namely, the good that is with man from the Lord, and the truth of doctrine from the Word. The one is the good of remains, the other is the truth of conscience.
     It is true, as the Writings teach, that every man is born into evil, and that of himself man is nothing but evil. What the Writings mean by this is that in all that he does, man's natural inclination is to self.

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Yet the miracle of life is that from being natural man may become spiritual; that is to say, he is endowed with the capacity to rise above self. Yet this would not be possible if there were not in man a disposition to good. Therefore, when it is said that man is nothing but evil, it is not meant that there is nothing of good in man. But what is good in man is not the man's-it is in him from the Lord. Indeed, it may be said that there is much that is good in every man. Moreover, it remains with him unless man turns what is good into evil in himself through the perversion of use. That is why the good that is with man is referred to in the Writings as "remains"; and as long as there is any remnant of good in a man he may yet be led by the Lord out of self into the delight of use.
     The very fact that man is capable of doing what is good is evidence of the existence of God, for of himself man could not possibly rise above himself, even as a stone cannot lift its own weight. But to see and acknowledge God, good must first be seen in the form of truth. There is no other way in which He who is good can be presented to the sight of the understanding. It is, then, as the Word that the Lord is revealed to man. Thus the Writings distinguish between the Divine Essence and the Human Essence; for whereas the Divine Essence is the good of Divine love, the Human Essence is the Divine truth from Divine love, that is, the Word which is from the Lord and is Himself.

     Here, therefore, are the two witnesses which testify to the Lord's Divine Humanity. These are the Word in its spiritual sense and the good of use. The Writings are the logic of faith. As the Lord said to the Jews: "Ye believe in God, believe also in Me";* that is, in the Word which He has spoken. But as the Word cannot be understood apart from its spiritual sense, it is to this sense that we must turn if we would perceive the truth of the Word. Yet many say: "How can these things be? Are we, indeed, to believe that these Writings are what they claim to be?" Like the Jews, who repudiated the Lord's claim to authority, they say: "Thou bearest record of Thyself; Thy record is not true."** But the Lord said unto them: "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. There is another that beareth witness of Me; and I know that the witness which He witnesseth of Me is true";*** "the Father Himself, which hath sent Me, hath borne witness of Me."****
     * John 14: 1.
     ** John 8: 13.
     *** John 5: 31, 32.
     **** John 5: 37.
     By "the Father" is meant the good of the Divine love. It is he who bears witness to the truth of the Word. The fact is that truth cannot speak for itself. The end and purpose of all truth is that man may know what is good.

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To see what is true, therefore, man must first will what is good; that is to say, there must be in the man a disposition to good. This is the function of those remains of good which the Lord implants in all men in infancy and in childhood. That is why the little child receives spiritual instruction with delight, for although in all that he does he is motivated by self, he is as yet capable of being affected with delight by the thought of a God who is good. This is the living essential of all faith, for unless in his heart man wills to believe, he cannot be convinced-not even by the truth as it is now revealed in the spiritual sense of the Word.

     The function of the Writings is not to persuade. It is to confirm that which is true. Hence the teaching of the True Christian Religion that "there is a universal influx from God into the souls of men of the truth that there is a God, and that He is one."* But as the knowledge of a thing must precede the perception of it, instruction is prerequisite to faith. But the testimony of truth does not compel. Man is free to accept or reject it, as he wills. If he wills to be led by his own intelligence, the truth has no hold upon him; but if he wills to be led by the Lord, the Writings open the way whereby man may enter with understanding into what heretofore have been referred to as the mysteries of faith.
     * TCR 8.
     The acceptance of the Writings, however, is not merely a matter of intellectual conviction. We do not believe because we see that a thing is true. We see that it is true because it is good. Were it not good it would not be true for what is truth but good appearing; that is, God as He appears to the sight of the mind? We believe in the Writings, therefore, not only because they are true, but essentially because they are good; that is, because they are good or God speaking to man. What the Writings offer us, therefore, is a new understanding of good-of a good that is not identified with the person of the man who does good, but with the use that the person performs.
     That is why we are taught in the Writings that we are not to love the neighbor because of his person, but because of the good which he does or the uses which he performs. The reason for this is that the real man is not the person. The person is but the manifestation of a deeper reality which in essence is the man. In essence, man is a form of good, that is, a living form capable of doing what is good from the Lord. In other words, man is a form of use; that is, a being endowed by his Creator with the ability to rise above self in the performance of use. It is in this that man differs from the beast of the field. And, spiritually speaking, man is a man only in so far as he does what he does for the sake of use.

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In acting from any other motive, man subverts and perverts what is human in himself, that is, he turns the good that is with him from the Lord into what is evil in himself.

     It is, then, in the exercise of his humanity, that is, through a life of devotion to uses, that man becomes man. There is no other way. Wherein, then, shall a man be profited, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? With every man, therefore, the ultimate issue in life is a question of values, for man values what he loves, and "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."* Hence the scriptural injunction: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust corrupt. . . . But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven."**
     * Matthew 6: 21.     
     ** Matthew 6: 19, 20.
     The treasures of heaven are delights of use; that is, the delight which is to be found in being of use to others. Yet how can a man come into this delight until he first shuns what is evil in himself? That is why the Writings place so much emphasis upon the evil or selfishness that is inherent in human nature, for how can a man do what is good to the neighbor if in all that he does his primary concern is not for the neighbor but for himself? As we read in the Scriptures: "No man can serve two masters."* The realization of what is evil in self, therefore, is basic. It is prerequisite to the life of regeneration.
     * Matthew 6: 24.
     But the life of regeneration is not a state of perpetual self-condemnation. It is a life of active participation in human affairs, for how else can man be of use to the neighbor? There is no justification for those morbid states of self-reflection in which the mind becomes so obsessed by the thought of evil that the man loses his perspective and undermines his ability to be of use. Genuine self-examination is a rational process and not an emotional excess, for if self-examination is to have any meaning it must open the way wherein man is led out of himself into the service of use.
     The life of regeneration, therefore, is not what many believe it to be. It is not some mysterious process whereby man is endowed with Divine grace. It is a willingness to be led by the Lord in the performance of use; that is, in the performance of those responsibilities that are implicit in human relationships. For all religion is of life, and the life of religion is to do good; that is, those goods which are of use to the neighbor. Yet if man is to be of use to the neighbor, his primary concern must be for the neighbor-not the neighbor as a person, but the neighbor as an instrumentality of use.

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In this, therefore, every man may be said to be neighbor to himself in that the use he performs is not his own, but is his from the Lord.
     Wherein, then, is a man profited if through self-seeking he deprives himself of the delight that is to be found in the service of use? That is the question that is inherent in the Lord's inquiry: "What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"* It applies not only to the occupation in which a man is engaged, but to every other human relationship-to marriage, to our responsibilities as parents, and to our obligations as members of a community and as citizens of a state. This does not mean that in the service of use, man is to deny himself those delights which are proper to self. But it does mean that man must subordinate those things in which self delights to the good of the use. In this the Writings differ from the New Testament, which seems to imply that man acquires spiritual merit through the denial of self. But as the Writings insist, the love of self is not necessarily evil-not when it is subordinated to the use it is intended to serve.
     * Matthew 16: 26.

     What is it, then, that the Writings offer us? Is it not a new sense of values based upon the acknowledgment and perception that the good of a thing is its use? Spiritually speaking, therefore, the true measure of a man is not to be found in "the abundance of things which he possesseth;"* that is, in his intellectual attainments, nor in his personal attributes, nor in his social effectiveness, but in his willingness to subordinate what is of self to the good of a use. For man is not man merely because he can think and reason, but because by virtue of these faculties he can see what is true and, if he will, do what is good. It is, then, in the doing of those goods which are of use to the neighbor that man becomes man. For in essence man is a form of use; that is, a living soul endowed with the capacity to be of use. In the final analysis, therefore, the issue of good and of evil becomes a question of values, for every man values what he loves, and such as the love is, such is the man. Or, to say the same thing in another way, every man is what he loves. In other words, we may be known to ourselves through the things which we value: "for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."**
     * Luke 12: 15.
     ** Matthew 6: 21.

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AUTHORITY OF THE WORD IN THE EXTERNAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH 1968

AUTHORITY OF THE WORD IN THE EXTERNAL LIFE OF THE CHURCH       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1968

     (Delivered to the Council of the Clergy, January 24, 1968)

     Introduction

     How does the Word tell the man of the church what to do in the ultimate actions of life? Man's regeneration depends upon his shunning evils in his external life as sins against God, not as sins against some relativistic standard created by human reason. He must pattern the things he actually does according to the Lord's will. The Divine authority of the Writings must govern ultimate actions. But how?
     Many of our people feel cut adrift by the traditional reply: "Be led through conscience through the Writings." The task we have set ourselves is to trace the place and eventual loss and abuse of Divine authority in the Christian Church. This is not from mere historic interest but because the Writings lay particular stress on how Christianity lost its integrity. This teaching must have a direct bearing on the authority of the Writings in the New Church.

     Early Christianity and Historical Faith

     The Writings point very clearly to the use of historical faith, or faith in the doctrines of one's own church. "Everyone must first obtain for himself truth from the doctrine of the church, and afterwards from the Word of the Lord."* The doctrine of the church is sufficient for reformation provided it contains some good of innocence and is not merely held in the memory. Falsities themselves are "regarded by the Lord as semblances of truth," or even received as "truths," according to the quality of the innocence with man.** "There are falsities which agree with the good of the church, and there are falsities which do not agree with it. The falsities which agree are those in which good lies hidden, and which, therefore, by means of good, can be bent toward truth."*** The Lord bends but does not break such a faith.****
     * AC 6822.
     ** AC 7887, 8311.
     *** AC 9258.
     **** AC 9039.
     Such faith is common in the spiritual church, where instead of perception of truth Divine they have conscience.

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Their conscience is formed from "the truth and good which they have acknowledged within their own church, whatever kind these may be. . . . Everyone within the spiritual church acknowledges as the truth of faith that which its founders have dictated, nor do they search further from the Lord whether it be the very truth; and, moreover, if they did search they would not find it unless they had been regenerated, and at the same time enlightened in an especial manner." * In the face of such teaching, is it just simply to tell our people to go to the Writings themselves when they face deep decisions in regard to birth-control, psychiatric counseling, alcoholism?
     * AC 7233; Cf. 8042, 8521.
     True, this teaching is carefully balanced. We read:

     "First there must be learned the doctrinal things of the church, and then the Word must be examined to see whether these are true; for they are not true because the heads of the church have said so and their followers confirm it. The Word must be searched, and there it must be seen whether the doctrinal things are true. When this is done from the affection of truth then the man is enlightened by the Lord to perceive, without knowing whence, what is true, and he is confirmed therein in accordance with the good in which he is. If these truths disagree with the doctrinal things, let him take heed not to disturb the church."*
     * AC 6047:2.

     The Christian Church began with the same kind of miraculous faith as existed among the Jews. About this we read:

     "A miraculous faith was the first faith with those among whom the new church was to be established; and such a faith is also the first with all in the Christian world at this day; and this is why the miracles performed by the Lord were described, and are also now preached. For the first faith with all is an historical faith, and this afterwards becomes a saving faith when man by his life becomes spiritual; for first of all it is to be believed that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that He is omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, infinite, and one with the Father. These things must be known; but as far as they are merely known they are historical, and an historical faith presents the Lord as present, because it is a looking to the Lord from His Divine nature. And yet that faith does not save until man lives the life of faith, which is charity; for he then wills and does what he believes, and to will and to do is of the love, and love conjoins to Him whom faith presents as present."*
     * AE 815: 9.

     With innocence, the early church respected the apostles as those who had learned directly from the Lord's own mouth and had seen His miracles. The church began with childlike confidence in the teachings it was given. But over the centuries the doctrine of the church began to take precedence, not only in time but also in end. The false doctrine of the Trinity splintered the doctrine of the Word as well. Men did not see the difference between the church as mother nourishing historical faith, preparing the way, and the Word as the Heavenly Father, the source of faith itself.

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The role of the church, like the role of Mary, became exaggerated. The clothing of tradition became the source of Divinity with men, even as Mary assumed Divinity and became to their minds the "mother of God."* So today the Catholic Church makes a great point that Scripture was given by word of mouth before it was written down, wherefore its origin is said to be tradition itself.**
     * Cf. DP 262: 8.
     ** Karl Rahner, Theological Dictionary, Herder and Herder, 1965, "Tradition," pp. 462-464

     Now we cannot place ourselves in any direct historical parallel to the Christian Church. However, in so far as that church could have remained in its integrity, yet turned away from the Lord, both its potential and its fall are most pertinent subjects for our reflection. For we are trying through the Word to preserve the integrity of the New Church.
     One of the elements in the fall of Christianity was an overdrawn allegiance to tradition. Every church and every generation faces such a temptation. We must mark well the rightful place and the abuse of historical faith whenever the truths seen in the past are said not to apply in the present generation. Tradition can provide continuity and stability, acting as the very structural bones of our organization. Yet it can also draw us away subtly from our course.
     Providence protected the New Church in that there were essentially no followers during Swedenborg's life who could establish a word of mouth tradition. Nevertheless, since the beginning spiritism with its emphasis on word of mouth conversations with spirits has tended to erode the authority of the New Church with some. On the other hand, others would somehow place the Memorabilia in a different category from the rest of the Writings. But the lesson of history is that the new revelation must stand integrally on its own as it was written by Divine command, or the church will ultimately yield to human authority.
     There are other possible sources of traditions: letters written by Swedenborg or about him which seem to describe his views; "wisdom literature" containing such things as his telling children to look in a mirror to see angels; even such things as his "Rules of Life," written before his call. As a whole, the preparatory works may qualify as "useful books for the church." There is no question that the language and times, even the development of Swedenborg's mind, help us to understand the form of the new revelation. But it is no light responsibility to be clear about their relationship to Divine authority itself.
     Historical faith must never be deified. But mocking the past, or even ignoring it, does violence to its true position in the church.

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It has been said that "those who will not learn from the past are condemned to repeat its mistakes." We seemingly have a woeful lack of a sense of history, of building upon past scholarship, for example, at the same time as we sift its traditions.

     The Use and Abuse of Respect for the Clergy

     Priests have a special responsibility to draw the doctrine of faith of the church from the Word.* "The Divine is [among men] through ministers."** The truth, including the doctrine of the church, is insinuated by "teaching ministers."*** But their goal should be to teach truth from the Word, because then they teach the way to heaven from the Lord.**** Thus they pass the Holy Spirit from man to man.***** Therefore they are inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit, and the "priestly office itself is holy."******
     * AC 9025.
     ** Char. 130, 131, 135.
     *** AC 6822.
     **** Char. 160; DP 172. Cf. HD 315.
     ***** Can. HS IV: 4.
     ****** Can. HS IV: 7; AC 3670.
     It is a grave responsibility of the priesthood to lead through historical faith to genuine faith in the Lord's Word. This is true, even though it is said of the priesthood: "It matters not from whom the voice of good and truth flows forth, provided their life is not manifestly wicked; for this life causes scandal."*
     * AC 4311, 10309.
     The early Christian Church seems to have fulfilled the injunction: "Dignity and honor ought to be paid to priests on account of the holy things they administer."* Without such response to the leading of the clergy, historical faith cannot contribute its vital basis for the regeneration of the spiritual man. But by the fourth century the transfer of authority from the priesthood to the Lord no longer really took place.** The love of dominion ruled. One evidence of the fall of Christianity because the manifest evil of the priesthood.
     * HD 317.
     ** Cf. LJ 56.
     Evil, however, is not always manifest. We would note that the love of self and of dominion was exercised through a holy external. Holy things were applied to "profane uses."* By subtly using the delights of men's loves they led them to believe everything they said.**
     * AC 9467e; LJ 54.
     ** AC 1106: 2.

     "Babylon, or Babel, means the church consisting of those who by means of the holy things of the church strive to gain dominion over the whole world, and this by dominion over the souls of men, claiming to themselves authority to save whomsoever they will; and these finally seek dominion over heaven and hell and make it their own.

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And to this end they draw and transfer to themselves all the Lord's authority, as if it had been given them by Him. The church consisting of such is very different in the beginning from what it becomes in process of time. In the beginning they are as it were in zeal for the Lord, for the Word, for love and faith, and especially for the salvation of men. But in that zeal the fire of domineering lies hidden; and in process of time as dominion increases this breaks forth; and as far as it comes into act the holy things of the church become the means, and dominion itself the end; and when dominion becomes the end the holy things of the church are applied to that end, and thus to themselves, and then they not only ascribe the salvation of souls to their own authority, but they also appropriate to themselves all the Lord's Divine power. And when they do this they pervert every good and every truth of the church, and thus profane the holy things of the church."*
     * AE 1029.

     The Writings make very clear that the Catholic Church acknowledges the Word solely to maintain the vicarship of the Pope.* But the Writings themselves can be quoted, twisted and abused, and made into a book of heresies with equal vigor, if we will. The check on this is a laity which affirmatively examines the doctrine of its church in the light of the Word.
     * DP 264: 2.
     Our people are not illiterate as were the early Christians who could not read the Word for themselves. Yet they do claim not to understand the Writings. Their dependence upon the priesthood can be a dangerously flattering thing to priestly love of dominion.
     Four things proceed in order with the clergy: enlightenment, perception, disposition and instruction.* Note particularly that perception is "in accordance with the state of mind in him by doctrinals."** The priest works in and through the doctrine of the church. The problem of relevance is in the injunction to lead by truth to the good of life. Doctrine looks to the salvation of souls, not primarily the administrative and social life of the church. We note particularly that the "ecclesiastical affairs" which priests order and govern are called "things which are of heaven."***
     * TCR 155. Cf. 146.
     ** TCR 155.
     *** HD 311, 312
     In simple Christianity the pastoral role was primary. The priests' concern was for charity and the life itself of the church. Later the bishops, who had been considered primarily as pastors, became apologists and scholarly defenders of the faith. But with its fall they become not so much defenders of the faith as of the doctrine and practices of the church. Incidentally, how much time do we as priests spend on the administrative practices of the church? How much of our teaching is based on general doctrinal background? Are we real leaders in inquiry, or do we strive to assert leadership through traditional doctrinal positions?
     In the early 300's the Christian Church undoubtedly suffered from a shortage of priests that would more than rival anything we can possibly foresee.

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At just such a time it came under the pressure of leading in public functions and administration, luring it away from pastoral leadership in worship and instruction. The dignity and honor of priests became associated with the externals of their office rather than the things which were of heaven. The love of dominion did not stand alone, but was soon accompanied by the love of gain.* The influence of the noble and wealthy also played its political part. For the first time the church had wealth and its accompanying "edifice complex." Priests became governors and administrators of wealth almost unrivaled in history; and through the natural association of economic laws with political laws they were soon the very center of political intrigue.
     * AC 8904: AE 741: 2.
     The converts were not properly absorbed into the life of the church. These great masses had been accustomed to household deities, perhaps even household priests, and they needed leadership. Special offices "had" to be created with limited priestly functions to meet the needs. Sheer weight of numbers thus had its effect on the degrees as well as the functions of the priesthood. The multiplication of a hierarchy of offices and titles was a symptom of the times.* This hierarchy more and more exalted the role of "properly trained men," and also emphasized the administration of the sacraments and externals of worship instead of leading through instruction to the good of life. The erosion of the priestly office showed itself in a myriad ways.
     * Fisher, History of the Christian Church, p. 103.

     The Effect of Persecution and Later Acceptance

     Prior to the Council of Nicea, the Christian Church was a grievously persecuted minority. It withdrew from the state of the world into what amounted to secret societies, with meetings in the catacombs. Simply being a member was often assumed to form automatically a new life, even as some might view simply living in a New Church community. Yet because charity ruled, their externals had in many ways a real depth of purpose.
     When persecuted it is proper to withdraw in order to bring forth the tender ideals of the infant church. But the tendency is first to idealize the vision and dwell only on its future. For example, some have questioned that we may be so idealizing conjugial love as to make the goals bear no relation to the problems our young people face. Christianity promised the Second Coming, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye." But a movement cannot survive if it consists in promises without some degree of ultimate fulfillment.

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     Such an idealized vision combined with the need to withdraw from the world is adequate only as a first state, for the bridge between spiritual truth and a natural life of use is not built. To relate spiritual values to the state of a sick and sorry world is perhaps the greatest single concern of the coming generation.
     The Lord's teaching in the world, and that of the Writings concerning the state of the world, are uncompromising. But when He spoke of judgment the question was raised: "By what authority?" The two go hand in hand. Historically and doctrinally an integral part of asserting the authority of the Writings is an acceptance of their clear teaching concerning the state of the world. This is a Divine judgment. Historical faith cannot justly make such a judgment.

     But the whole situation changes when those who have been persecuted become accepted. One of the most subtle falsities of the world today is the acceptance of everyone's way of life. Our way, like everyone else's is generally acceptable to the world. Acceptance is all too frequently reciprocal. Seemingly we face a situation which has some parallels with the time when Rome finally stopped persecuting Christianity. When we are accepted we are tempted to ask: "How can those who accept us be so bad?" The tendency is to shift the judgment to a human evaluation of external appearances rather than accepting the Divine judgment of internals and their accompanying externals. Careful readers of the Writings know that the Divine judgment reaches right down to ultimates: to the actions of councils, to the states of marriage, to the attitudes of the learned; in short, to the very fiber of life.
     We know that the New Church will at first be external.* We must, therefore, particularly resist the tendency of a minority religion to adapt to the state of the world in order to be accepted.
     * AE 403: 15; AC 4231.
     The Romans loved the pomp and show of a formalized religion. But the influence of their former mythological faith never ran deep enough to check the accelerating fall of a profligate empire. Nor did their acceptance of Christianity seem to reach the heart of the problem. Who can say if such an empire is at stake today, or what effect the New Church will have upon its course?
     Gradually the Romans came to admire such things as the Christians' mysterious willingness to accept death, yet they were intensely practical. No doubt they told many Christians: "I wish I could believe that, but. . . ." Their religion had told them when to go to battle; had promised success or foretold failure in many external things.

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As long as the proper libations were poured it did not interfere very much with their pleasures. Christianity yielded. There is always a danger of substituting sacramental salvation for religion as a way of life. Multiplication of externals and complexity of ritual, particularly if it does not really affect the worshiper, can be a sign of externalization. The proliferation of "proper" activities can be symptomatic of a "cult" rather than a church.
     There is also a tendency of historical faith not only to judge by natural appearances but also to claim merit for mediate good.* And there is also a tendency to confirm the doctrines of the church from the affection of "well doing."** Charity is done in order to be seen and recompensed.***
     *AC 4145.
     ** AC 8981.
     *** AC 8087: 2.
     When evils are obvious, and press in upon us, we will cling to the authority. So did early Christianity. But when the primary function of doctrine was no longer defense, it could not bring forth the ideas of a distinctive way of natural life with any but human authority. When it failed to relate the authority of God to life, it failed at the same time to relate the Divine to the human. Christians were too concerned for their own positions of power. Yet I doubt that many of them faced in the beginning any more subtle temptation than that of a teacher who must admit to his class that he does not know, or that of an administrator who yields to expediency and compromise rather than acting on principles.
     To protect against the evils of the world is easier than to define the positive life of use from the fulness, holiness and power of the Word. It is easier in some ways to inspire affection for the crucified Christ than to lead men to love the glorified Divinely-Human Lord.

     Historical Faith and Education

     The challenge of the academic world was one of the most significant factors affecting the development of Christianity. With an overdose of pragmatism, the Romans picked up the learning of Hellenistic times almost without question, in much the same way that those of our day sponge up as household attitudes Freudian psychology, existentialism, etc. There is a philosophy of each generation's life and times which is accepted essentially on the authority of others.
     Rome had made an ideal of much of Greek thought. If the new teaching were to succeed, it seemed that it must fit into the much admired learning of the day. So, too, must our teaching fit-but into genuine not spurious learning.
     Dedicated scholarship is needed. We need academic competence as well as theological standards to sift the theories and promises of our day.

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But no claim of Divine authority must be made for secular learning, as it was in Catholicism. At the same time, we need the humility to be patient, lest our inadequate scholarship either in the Writings or in secular learning trap us into failures which might undermine the very thing we are seeking.
     The time came when the Christian apologists were also faced with the need for judgment and accommodation to a social and political sphere which accepted them. When Rome accepted Christianity it expected the Christian to help preserve unity in the empire. Not only must the truth have direct bearing on the political and civil life of the empire, it must contribute in a "practical" way to it. Churches have always been tempted to gain acceptance by being on the right side politically.
     But political machines have little patience with spiritual freedom under the authority of Scripture. Rome lacked the vision or understanding to allow genuine unity to develop from within. In the spirit of compromise she therefore forced uniformity on the feuding bishops at the conference table, while providing Roman "peace and order."

     Today the ecumenical spirit, desiring peace, world-wide unity and so on, affects even the New Church. For example, the desire for good relations with other New Church bodies, the advantage of Academy accreditation, co-ordination of our financial and administrative affairs-all worthy goals-carry potential pressures within them.
     Young people particularly face the transition from historical faith to Divine authority. Distinctiveness and our relationship to the state of the world become for them primary concerns. Parents and teachers face a unique challenge as these young minds come in contact with the variety of opinion and the secular competence of the modern university. To them, distinctiveness and "tried and true" ideals seem to stand on the one hand, and visible progress and working for the church in the world on the other. We must use great care to encourage them to evaluate the world from the Word itself and not from historical faith in a teacher's or parent's interpretation. In every classroom the Academy establishes an attitude toward traditional or historical faith. Every day it is engaged in a defense or confirmation of the authority of the Second Coming.
     Rioting and blatant evils appear on college campuses throughout the country. Unseemly attitudes are expressed in college papers in irresponsible protest against the "Establishment." Completely disorderly behavior must be controlled. But this can result in wholesale suppression and censorship of the freedom of inquiry. The reaction can even extend to feeling of being baited by sincere questions.

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     None can really dominate without hardening the rules which create dependence upon him. Therefore those who use historical faith to obtain dominion try to ascribe special authority to it. They fear the use of reason, fear public debate, and are uncomfortable with discussion and inquiry in class. Like the later Christian priests, they are capable of acknowledging the authority of the Word solely for the sake of defending their own personal authority. There are many ways of keeping control. By appealing to cupidities such as self-righteousness in students we can create in their pliable minds an artificial holy external which inwardly houses our own love of dominion.
     Periodically we must examine ourselves honestly to see if our generation as the product of our teaching really knows the way beyond historical faith-the way of sincere doctrinal inquiry. The Writings clearly describe the need:

     "Everyone who is within the church first procures the truths which are of faith from doctrinal things, and also must so procure them, because he has not as yet sufficient judgment to enable him to see them himself from the Word; but in this case these truths are to him nothing but scientifics. But when he is able to view them from his own judgment, if he does not then consult the Word in order to see from it whether they are true, they remain in him as scientifics; while if he does consult the Word from the affection and end of knowing truths, he then, when he has found them, procures for himself the things of faith from the genuine fountain, and they are appropriated to him from the Divine."*
     * AC 5042: 2.

     The Reformation and Literal Authority

     The Protestant was determined that man should be free from papal dominion in conscience and life and be recognized as an individual under the law of Scripture. In Providence, Protestantism restored the Word when the papists had almost abandoned it.* Of the Roman Church's making traffic of holy things the Writings simply ask: "Who cannot see that if the papal dominion had not been broken at the time of the Reformation they would have scraped together the possessions and wealth of all the kingdoms in the whole of Europe?"** We need not review the Dark Ages to see the necessity for the Reformation.
     * SS 110.
     ** AR 759: 2. Cf. AE 1069.
     Ever since we separated from Convention and its "government by committee," we have defended the need for Divine authority in the church. There is, then, a sense in which the Academy was a reformation, re-establishing the individual under the law of the Writings. We should, then, perhaps reflect deeply upon the frequency with which the Reformers spoke of the "plain utterances of Scripture" as being their only law.

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To this they added the concept of the "analogy of faith"-that the clear teachings would take precedence over the unclear. Comparison of passages was also encouraged as a way to discover the true meaning.
     Yet their history has become splintered and fractured, casting out those who do not accept certain prescribed dogmas.* They have disputed about baptism, works, eschatology, government, piety, and even clothing. Everybody saw different applications, and even the sincere lost the lead of Divine authority. The Bible, taken without that spirit which leads to charity, simply did not provide the kind of authority which leads to genuine order. In face of their history, we must be very certain of what we mean when we say that we are ruled solely by the "plain teachings of the Writings."
     * AC 4689: 3.

     For a time they found common ground in their opposition to Catholicism.* But the Reformation, particularly in this latter ecumenical day, has also proved that unity cannot be founded upon opposition to a common opponent. The stimulus of controversy is a limited impetus to doctrinal development.
     * AE 1085.
     Retaining much of the Catholic faith, the Reformers united essentially on one dogma.* In reaction to the meritorious works of Catholicism, they asserted the doctrine of faith alone in the Word made flesh without the so-called dead works of the law. It is remarkable that in none of their three great branches-from Calvin, Luther or Melancthon-did they alter this article of faith.** On the one hand, they declared the Divine authority of Scripture, yet on the other hand they denied the necessity of the works which it clearly taught. The dilemma was never solved. Sadly, the Lord's Human could not be regarded differently from any other man's once they had separated faith from charity.***
     * Cf. BE 19, 21.
     ** AR 391.
     *** DP 262e; SD 5669a.
     The Reformers saw the gross evils and perversions associated with the human authority of the Pope. Yet even in the very first years they found it necessary to develop formulas in councils. Even as they divided the Godhead, so they separated the Old from the New Testament. They took the New Testament and made an authoritative letter of that which was the spiritual fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. But as soon as the relation of the spirit to the letter was lost, the relation of the internal to the external which leads to application was lost. They could not answer when asked: "If the Bible is literally true, how do you keep it relevant, up-to-date, and applicable?"
     If we make the Writings a literalistic source of truth we will face a similar dilemma.

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More and more we are asked: "Does this teaching apply to our day, or only to Swedenborg's?"; and when we speak of "plain teachings, we are asked: "Plain to whom?"

     Self-Intelligence and Fundamentalism

     The pride of self-intelligence took hold particularly of the leaders of the Reformation.* These leaders claimed that they knew all sorts of interior things, but were only reconfirming faith alone. "These are chiefly priests, professors of theology and lecturers in colleges, in short, doctors and pastors."** The loves of self and the world would break forth with many of these leaders even as in Catholicism, "if their power were not restricted and curbed."***
     * See AE 825. Too long to quote, but a devastating number.
     ** AR 677.
     *** TCR 754.

     One major thrust in the Reformation was its fundamentalist tendency. The dangers of dogmatism are carefully indicated in the Writings.* One element in the fall of the Ancient Church; for example, was a "kind of dogmatic system separated from charity."** Yet this same tendency is linked to those in the Reformation who openly and unequivocally declared the authority of Scripture. The following description of Fundamentalism is therefore worthy of note:
     * TCR 508: 3.
     ** AC 2243: 4.     
     
     "The mentality of fundamentalism is dominated by ideological thinking. Ideological thinking is rigid, intolerant and doctrinaire; it sees principles everywhere, and all principles come in clear tones of black and white . . . it wages holy wars without acknowledging the elements of pride and personal interest that prompt the call to battle; it creates new evils while trying to correct old ones."*
     * The Case for Orthodox Theology, p. 114.

     "Since the fundamentalist belittles the value of general wisdom, he is often content with an educational system that substitutes piety for scholarship. High standards of education might tempt the students to trust in the arm of the flesh. Moreover, if the students are exposed to damaging as well as supporting evidences, their faith might be threatened."*
     * Ibid., p. 119.

     "The fundamentalist laces theology with so many negative burdens that he often deprives the man on the street of the most innocent forms of recreation. And the fundamentalist defends his negations in the name of the very Lord who came that men might have life, and that they might have it abundantly."*
     * Ibid., p. 124.

     "The mentality of fundamentalism is by no means an exclusive property of orthodoxy. Its attitudes are found in every branch of Christendom; the quest for negative status, the elevation of minor issues to a place of major importance, the use of social mores as a norm of virtue, the toleration of one's own prejudice but not the prejudice of others, the confusion of the church with a denomination, and the avoidance of prophetic scrutiny by using the Word of God as an instrument of self-security but not self-criticism."*
     * Ibid. p. 141.

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     We cannot establish the real place of the Writings merely by discarding man-made historical faith and faith in councils. It is not enough even to add that the Writings have all the answers anyone needs. I believe that they do only in relation to the Old and New Testament. There is one holy body of Divine truth.* The early Christians failed to see the necessity for their relating internal to external in the Scriptures. Origen's and others' ideas of the spiritual sense were lost in the shuffle for dominion. Instead, Divine authority was asserted for human doctrine, allegedly in order to try to keep the application of Scripture up to date.
     * Hugo Lj. Odhner, The Holy Body of Divine Truth, NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1938, pp. 163-168.
     The fundamentalist Reformers, on the other hand, claimed Divine authority for the letter and confirmed their own intelligence by it. The New Testament as the inner fulfillment of the Old became a body rather than a soul. Thus they failed to lift the thought above time and space to see the doctrines of degrees and correspondences and so preserve the eternal relevance of truth.
     From time to time it is useful at least to reflect upon what our critics say. Other branches of the New Church have criticized what seem to them to be dogmatism and a fundamentalist outlook. At times it sounds as if we do say: "Keep your ideals high and your conscience pure, believe in the Divinity of the Writings; how you apply the truth to your life is relative and up to each individual." It is not at all impossible to develop a heresy that the Writings, as the Second Coming, brought about a judgment, and if men only accept and believe them their lives will somehow be New Church. Why else is so much of the Writings devoted to the condemnation of salvation by faith alone?

     The Missions, the Revival and Harsh Ethics

     As the Reformation wore on and the New World was beginning to open up, Protestantism was caught up in a mission movement to save the heathen. Bible Societies were formed to spread the Gospel, but with them went self-righteous formulas for conduct. For a time this missionary movement helped the church to relate its activities somewhat to the world. There are those among us who believe that a mission program could revive the vision of our present generation. It certainly could; but only if it draws its purpose from the Divine authority and avoids a package deal which includes our own pre-conceived notions of the externals that must make "New Churchmanship."

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     During the 18th and 19th centuries others turned the missionary zeal towards home and began the Revival Movement among the lost sheep. The American frontier was a notably fruitful field. Men needed to see their "sinful nature," and a curious re-emphasis took place. What happened was that men asserted their moral convictions and then looked for confirmations in the Bible. The dangers of the confirmatory-spirit approach to revelation are clearly set forth, for when human ingenuity rules "the fallacies of the senses chime in."*
     * AC 5008: 6, 6222: 2, 6856: 3.
     The revivalists applied their human understanding of the Bible with moralistic vigilance to try to convince man of his totally depraved nature. By damning all human desires as from the devil, they could show man his need for salvation. Everything from buttons to work on Sunday came before the elders, who helped their "brothers" to stand firm in the right path. They did not hesitate to judge, because the flesh of all was weak. The father in the home and the elders of the church were the law as to how the Bible applied to life.
     A significant number of our people claim that our teaching is too abstract. It sounds as if they want the same kind of pat answers and fixed rules that were given in the 19th century. Some undoubtedly do, but others are sincerely asking us to show them how to find the way to distinctiveness in their study of the Writings. Do we give effective leadership to the authority of Divine revelation? What of birth-control, communism, race, prayer in schools, and so on? As priests we are hard pressed to locate and find the time to study and adapt the passages which bear upon such subjects. It is not enough, then, to say to laymen that we will not put faith in traditions or in councils, and assert that the Writings are our only authority. We must lead specifically to their authority and to the application of it.

     Reason and a Rational Faith

     Very early in the Reformation Arianism reasserted itself. The Unitarian movement probed and asked embarrassing questions. First reason, then science used by those who denied the Humanity of Christ, came into opposition to the authority of the Bible. The Reformed retained from Roman Catholicism the tenet that "in theological things the understanding sees nothing."* In time, the letter of Scripture could no longer stand.
     * AR 914.
     Christianity in both its branches had done violence to the nature of human thought.

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For the Writings say: "Not anything of faith, not even its deepest secret, is comprehended by man without some rational idea, and also a natural one, but of what quality he does not know."* Unless man uses his rational he can be subjected to the most egregious heresies, as both his internal and external become dominated by evil.
     * AC 3394:3.
     While the angels of the third heaven do not reason on Divine things, whether they are so or not, the Lord is willing for man to reason concerning Divine things, so that he may see whether a thing is so or not.* Man simply cannot shed some idea which is analogous to worldly things.** Nothing remains in man without reflection.*** No one should be persuaded of the truth in a moment. Opportunity is even given in the other world for thinking and reflecting whether a thing is so, and of collecting reasons, and thence of introducing the truth into their minds in a rational manner.**** In Conjugial Love we read: "The things written in this book have for their end that, the reader may see its truths and thus assent. For in this way his spirit is convinced, and the matters whereof the spirit is convinced take a place in the mind above those that enter from the faith of authority and on the faith of authority, the reason not being consulted.***** The affirmative use of reason, then, supports an authority outside of itself, and confirms it. It claims no special authority of its own.
     * DP 219, 210.
     ** AC 2520.
     *** SD 2583.
     **** AC 7298; Cf. F 3, 4.
     ***** CL 295.
     The abuse of reason, however, is familiar. Man is urged to affirm the truth of the Word first, and then only will the shades of fallacy disperse.* Doctrine becomes null in proportion to the sensual scientific and rational from which it is believed to be so.** The use of these faculties is to confirm and corroborate what is believed.
     * AC 1911; DP 210.
     ** AC 2516.

     Yet we frequently say that the Writings are "rational," or that they "make common sense." But this can be misunderstood if a clear distinction is not made between the natural and the spiritual rational. Surely the Writings make common sense to those who accept them; but their arguments can never be convincing to the natural reason. That reason today tends to fit the following description. "The learning of the present day scarcely passes the point of debating whether a thing has any existence, and whether it is thus, or thus; the result of which is that men are shut out from the understanding of truth."*
     * AC 3428.
     Modern philosophy has taken great delight in tearing down the allegedly consistent systems of the rationalists. All metaphysical questions are termed "non-sensical," and today reason is no longer the real master.

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Logic, building upon a fickle experience, is essentially all that many have to guide them; yet it is sterile and purposeless in itself.

     In an effort to defend our faith we can be lured into an emphasis on reason which can do real damage to the basic authority of the Writings as a rational revelation. To acknowledge the real authority of the Writings is to see the good in them from the affection of truth.
     A graduate of our college recently said that when she tries to picture the Lord in her mind she sees a diagram of three degrees proceeding from the spiritual sun. This is typical of the problems of a segment of dogged but often rather joyless New Church men and women. They see the God of the Writings alone, trying to stand without reference to the letter of the Old and New Testament-the ultimate degree wherein the fullness of faith and love rests. The impression they give is of a way of life, partly traditional, partly drawn from the doctrines, but clung to stubbornly from a sense of duty. The dilemma seems to be one of our own making; made by isolating, or at least overemphasizing, the authority of the Writings alone, rather than of the Word as a whole. There is a living, human relationship between the internal sense and the letter. The sight of that relationship opens the internal affections and leads to spiritual freedom itself.
     Often in this Council and elsewhere it has been noted that as a church we do not have an adequate knowledge of the Old and New Testament. Some are immediately inspired to read a few books and give some classes on the history and geography of Canaan. But what we must renew in each generation is the knowledge of the letter of the Word used with deep affection as an ultimate in connection with the spiritual sense. If we fail to bring the soul and body of the Word together, we can create a theology which separates the God of the second coming from Jesus Christ, abhorrent as this sounds. Will we make it necessary some day for reformers of our church to write: "The God of the General Church is dead"? No one can pattern his life after a God who is esse, existere and procedure without being at the same time He who brought us out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage: He who bowed the heavens and came down and dwelt among us.

     Social and Pragmatic Authority

     Today modernist reactions to the spirit of fundamentalism are all around us, particularly in academic circles. We hear of one protest after another against established rules or law. The "proper circles" react themselves, with increasing concern, in an effort to "preserve order."

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We simply cannot claim that we are not influenced far more than we realize by the dichotomy in modern society. Yet sometimes one side, sometimes the other, condemns faults in that society which revelation itself has condemned with Divine judgment. Do we stand with law and order? Or, on the other hand, can we stand at times with the modern equivalent of the Barbarians, appealing to gentile cults and primitive free expression, even if these are clouded by misguided morality? Can we join them and advocate rebellion? When is rebellion the shunning of evil? Was it such for the early Christians, worshiping illegally, for Luther, even for Swedenborg publishing the Writings outside of Sweden to avoid Swedish law? Is it when we serve wine in Communion to girls under twenty-one?

     The Writings ask of us more than reform. They ask for complete spiritual separation, together with new forms of natural life. The dichotomy of the established way versus the reforming way, like regeneration, must be worked out in ultimates; and because of the place of historical faith in the development of the mind, it inevitably strikes us between generations.
     When we react against teaching application, when we fear lest councils make pronouncements in these things, we should bear in mind that the error is not in the individual's seeking the application of truth to life, or even in the accompanying judgment. The error is in claiming Divine authority for human intelligence. The Lord descended on Sinai because Israel needed more than man-made laws; and so do we. We answer by asserting the Divine authority of the Writings. Yet seemingly to condemn the world and withdraw from it; apparently to snuff out the natural delights of life; to resist change and newness for no reasons obvious to the individuals involved, and then hold out the acceptance of the Writings as the only answer: this can be a pretty Calvinistic formula to our young people.
     The background of our present generation included the literal acceptance of the arboreal theory, Swedenborg as the inventor of the submarine and the airplane, gloves for dancing, red woollen balls, homeopathy and anti-vaccination, Benade's bedtimes for children and Victorianism, all rolled into one. The whole weight of this background tends to bring on a reaction which might best be described as "do it yourself Newchurchmanship."
     The first reaction of Protestants to the black and white standards of the 19th century was one of rebellion. The churches suddenly discovered that they were losing their effective authority over the decisions of life. In response, the pulpit has become a lecture stand.

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To restore their sagging position in society the clergy, following humanism, pragmatism, and so on, have turned to social and even political leadership. Moderns would say that they seek a focussed and related ministry. Pastoral counseling is used as an opportunity for the secular priest to lead his flock, not to Divine authority, but to social acceptance, to becoming involved in the emerging scheme. Yet few can offer any positive notion of what the emerging scheme is.
     On the other hand, many in Christendom seek neither advice from the pulpit nor pastoral counseling. With free expression, every man can do what is right in his own eyes. There is no authority unless it is man's existence itself. Man has power, can do things, can be someone. The dynamics of the here and now are what count. Man needs a release so that he can find himself.
     To the religious modernist this is not self-centered, because the Holy Spirit is guiding the church from within. It is leading man's quest ever closer to a new era. Ecumenism, brotherhood, love, the search for self, all are part of an emergent civilization. Other branches of the New Church identify this with a New Age, sparked by the Writings but not formed by them. Rather is it to be a yielding to the onward thrust of Providence from within, as contrasted with the as-of-self and human responsibility which the Writings proclaim.*
     * Cf. TCR 208; AC 3508.

     Freedom is not just a Divinely guided interplay of human relationships. Nor is it a human struggle to relate love to a world of relativities, to live with the unresolved.* The purpose of creation becomes, and under such systems you do not talk of purpose but of existence, not a life after death according to a character freely chosen here. Heaven does not fit into such a scheme any more than hell. The purpose becomes that emerging New Age itself.
     * See Ernest O. Martin, NEW CHURCH MESSENGER, July-August, p. 118.
     You can place Divine authority in the doctrine of the church. You can place it in the letter of Divine revelation. You can place it in the spirit of Scripture, or in the Holy Spirit's guiding of each individual man's experience. But in none of these ways separately will you make Divine truth rationally and thus freely applicable to man's life.
     A rational revelation shows the ratio of the Divine to the Human, the ratio of the spirit to the letter, and the ratio of man's internal thought and will to his external word and deed. We lead rationally to the good of life when we show the relation of the Divine authority of the Writings, the internal sense of the Word, to the Divinely ordered ultimates of the Scriptures.

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In many ways we have scarcely begun the task. Yet that was the relationship which Protestant and Catholic failed to see. They could not see the Divine and the Human as one in the Word. Yet seeing the soul and body of the Word will uncover the oneness of that Divine authority which will always be relevant to life.
FIRST YOUNG PEOPLE'S GENERAL GATHERING 1968

FIRST YOUNG PEOPLE'S GENERAL GATHERING       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1968

     Chairman, Organizing Committee.

     As announced by the Bishop of the General Church (NEW CHURCH LIFE April, p. 210, May, p. 258), there will be a Young People's Gathering at Laurel Hill State Park (about 60 miles east of Pittsburgh) from August 31 to September 4, 1968. This gathering will be the first of its kind in that it is an international gathering, open to all young people and all young friends of the General Church between the ages of 18 and 30. In a sense it is born out of Oberlin, for at the General Assembly held at that site in 1966 some items of the program were designed for the young people alone, and the fact that about 170 of them attended all or part of the Assembly, and came away with much enthusiasm and much credit to themselves, gave encouragement to go ahead with plans such as have now crystallized for the forthcoming summer. Interest among our young people was explored through local pastors last fall; the Council of the Clergy and the Joint Council were consulted; and the Bishop decided to call the gathering. Early in March a general mailing went out to all of eligible age in all the societies and localities of our widespread church.
     Our young people find themselves entering as adults into a world of unrest. Apart from political upheavals, social and economic revolutions, and great changes in the religious areas, there are student movements everywhere, sometimes in the form of protest and not infrequently of a violent nature. Can anyone doubt that our own young people face major problems in their efforts to orient themselves in this world environment? Therefore, let them meet together and consult together, and let them have an opportunity to seek unified strength and enlightenment from the church.
     They are asking what the church means to them and what, through them, it might come to mean to others.

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What are other religions like, in teachings and in practice? In what essential ways do our standards differ from theirs? What do we as individuals have in common with other truth-seeking and forward-looking individuals?
     It is hoped that the gathering will provide a forum where our young people may begin to find their own voice and, even more important, their use in the church. Soon the church will depend on their generation for its further progress.
     The theme of the gathering will be spun around Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church, a work written as a preparation for True Christian Religion. The better acquaintance with that little work may serve, in its way, as a preparation for that grand commemoration of the completion of True Christian Religion which is planned for the whole church in June, 1970.
     At the first session the young people will listen to their Bishop, who will address them in an informal manner and answer questions. Subsequent sessions will be run by young ministers and young laymen. Considerable time will be devoted to group discussions, and in order to be the better informed with regard to matters that are uppermost in the minds of the young a questionaire is being sent out to all concerned. There will also be opportunities for sports, hikes, swims, "hoot-nannies," bonfires, etc.
     As for order in the camp, the State Park authorities issue certain rules. These we will honor. Our own intramural rules will essentially be those of consideration for the neighbor and respect for the church, and will be largely based on trust and self-discipline.
     The Bishop appointed Mr. Gilbert Smith (Pittsburgh), the Rev. Kurt
H. Asplundh (pastor of the Pittsburgh Society), and the Rev. Erik Sandstrom (chairman) to be an organizing committee and to be responsible for the operation of the gathering.
     This committee is hoping for affectionate and attentive interest on the part of the whole church, and the moral support of the young as they gather for the first time in their own forum.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1968

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1968

     The Rev. Robert H. P. Cole has accepted appointment as Resident Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Cole will continue to serve also as a Visiting Pastor within the Midwestern District. His appointment becomes effective September 1, 1968.

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FORM AND STYLE OF THE WORD 1968

FORM AND STYLE OF THE WORD       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1968

     In the truths of His second coming the Lord has given man the means of seeing the whole structure and form of Divine revelation in a new light. He has given man the means to see, and to understand from rational conviction, that the Word is Divine truth, ordered and organized from the Divine wisdom. Because the Word is the ultimate form of Divine wisdom, and thus is Divine wisdom, it is described in Scripture as being in the beginning with God, and indeed a part of God. Because the Word is the means by which the Lord gives heavenly loves to man it is described as the source of life. Because the Word is the means by which the Lord gives heavenly understanding and intelligence to man it is described as the "light of men."*
     * John 1: 1-5.
     But for countless centuries it had been true that the light of the Word "shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." The darkness which obscured the light of the Word was man's fall into evils and falsities. These brought to the human mind a spiritual night ruled by externalism and naturalism; and when the knowledge of the spiritual truths of heaven was completely lost, ignorance added its veil to complete the darkness of the night.
     In giving the spiritual truths of heaven in His second coming, the Lord has torn asunder the veils of darkness that have obscured and covered the Word, and this for all time. Now the man of the New Church can see the Word of the Lord in whole and perfect form. He can see why and how the ultimate form of the Word was changed throughout the states of man's history upon earth. We can see how the Divine wisdom ordered and organized its very style, so that it would serve in every age as a conjunctive medium between the Lord and man; and yet, so wonderful would be its order, that in no age would the use of its ultimate form cease to serve its Divinely ordained function.
     If we reflect upon the over-all history of Divine revelation, we will note understandable changes in the form and style employed. We will see a gradual progression from seemingly simple childlike stories to open spiritual-rational doctrines and truths.

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     The Writings describe the first form of the Word as it existed in the Most Ancient Church. It was not written in any ultimate form. It consisted of instruction given by the Lord through the media of angel companions. In dreams at night the most ancients would listen to the discourse of the angels, and would see the life and the scenery of heaven. Their particular revelation gave knowledge of the correspondences of all things on earth and all things in heaven. Knowing these correspondences, they would see imaged in the world of nature the kingdom of heaven, and thus would think constantly of the things of heaven as a part of their earthly life.

     Because the most ancients had a thorough knowledge of correspondences they used events, names and places to signify or represent things pertaining to the Lord, the church and man's regeneration. As the Most Ancient Church declined, this knowledge was passed on from one generation to another by word of mouth. It was near the time of the final fall of that church that those represented in the Word by Enoch gathered all such knowledges together and, under the secret guidance and inspiration of the Lord, connected them together into writings. This is how the first written revelation was formed, the revelation to be known in its final form as the Ancient Word.
     The Writings do not describe the Ancient Word in great detail, but they do mention certain books that formed a part of it-the Book of Jashar, the Wars of Jehovah, and the Books of the Prophetical Enunciators, or the Prophecies.* We are taught that the Ancient Word is still preserved among the people who dwell in Great Tartary. Indeed, in one passage we read concerning it: "Seek for it in China, and perhaps you will find it there among the Tartars."**
     * AR 11: 2; AC 2686; SS 103: 3.
     ** AR 11: 2.
     While the reason for the preservation of the Ancient Word and its possible future use with man may not be clear, we are made fully aware of the use and style of that part of it which has been retained. The first eleven chapters of Genesis, the Writings tell us, that is, up to the advent of Abram, Nahor and Haran, are all that has been retained from the Ancient Word, except for a few additional fragments. The stories included in this portion of the Word read like a series of fairy tales adapted to children. They include the stories of creation, of Adam and Eve, of their children, of the flood, of Noah and the ark and of the tower of Babel; and finally, a genealogy of Terah, the supposed father of Abram. We see from the Writings that in a sense these stories from the Ancient Word are fairy tales; they were written entirely in the language of correspondences and representatives, and do not in any sense portray historical events, personalities or places.

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Yet they are not like any other fairy tales, for these stories were ordered and organized by the Lord and contain within them instruction in spiritual truths that is to serve man for all ages. In these non-historical writings the spiritual knowledges of heaven are deeply hidden in the ancient style of correspondential language. So covered has been the spiritual knowledge within these writings that few have even imagined that they contain anything other than factual stories of early times, or purely mythological accounts formulated by ancient writers.

     Following the stories from the Ancient Word, the style of revelation changes abruptly to the historic account of the birth, growth and life of the Israelitish nation. From the call of Abram in the twelfth chapter of Genesis, through the books of Moses, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, the Scriptures read much like a historical journal. The Writings inform us that there are some exceptions to historical accuracy, in that certain numbers, times, places and miracles were either changed or inserted to serve the context of the spiritual sense. The spiritual sense within this history is buried deeply, but not as deeply as in the stories of the Ancient Word. We do find throughout the history of the sons of Israel various laws and commands which make clear certain fundamental spiritual truths, such as that Jehovah God is one. However, such instance of open spiritual truths being taught are few and widely scattered. We find certain moral laws, such as those contained in the last three commandments; and we find a veritable multitude of civil laws. But for all of this, nothing has shown man a spiritual sense lying consistently within. No one has ever guessed that every jot and tittle contains the truths of heaven.
     When we leave the books of Kings and turn to the Psalms and the Prophets, we note that the style of the Word in the letter changes abruptly. No longer is there a story to be followed: not the allegorical stories of the Ancient Word, nor the historical recounting of the lives of the patriarchs and the rise and fall of the Israelitish nation.
     In the Psalms of David we find a style of writing that is musical and poetic and filled with the expression of affection and love-a style that is intermediate between the prophetic and that of common speech. We are not able to see from the literal sense how the Psalms are formed into a connected series; indeed, even with the help of the spiritual sense from the Writings, we only begin to see an internal series within. The Writings tell us that inmostly the Psalms treat of the Lord's states of humiliation and glorification, and they outline for us the spiritual content of each Psalm.

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Yet, even with this, the student of the Writings will find that the series of the internal sense of the Psalms, and of the Prophets, cannot be examined in a progressive story as can that series in the other books of the Old Testament. The average reader, who perhaps has only a general idea of the internal sense, can nevertheless reap much benefit from reading the Psalms. Because the language of the Psalms approaches that of common speech, if we take each Psalm as a unit we will see clearly some particular aspect of the Lord's love and wisdom shining forth from the song and poetry of the letter. In many places the spiritual sense stands forth to view; warming and stirring the heart to acknowledge the Lord as Creator, the Lord as Preserver, the Lord as Protector, the Lord as Judge, the Lord as the Redeemer and Savior, or the Lord as mercy and love.

     When we come to the Prophets, beginning with Isaiah and concluding with Malachi, we find that much of the letter seems broken and unconnected. Yet we are made fully aware that what we are reading has some meaning, some signification. The style is still poetic, but the language is no longer that of common speech, as in the Psalms, but rather the symbolic language of prophecy. At times the letter is crude, and so vulgar as to raise a question as to its use in public worship; at other times a prophetic vision is given, clear and beautiful, and so powerful in its message and implications as to inspire a holy awe for the nature of the Divine wisdom. Such, for example, is the prophecy given in the ninth chapter of the prophecy of Isaiah which begins: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given."
     It is well to remember when reading the Psalms and the Prophets, indeed when reading any part of Divine revelation, that the language and the expressions employed, while chosen and ordered by the Lord for His Divine purposes, yet had to be chosen in adaptation to man's changing states. Spiritual truths had to be contained in all written revelation, and they had to be in their proper order and series; but most of the time such truths had to be clothed in language that would protect them from misuse and profanation, while still providing man with something of the light of heaven.

     When we turn from the Old Testament to the New Testament, we see the style and form of the Word undergo another great change; we find the whole nature and sphere of the expression to be different. It is true that in some manner we see all three styles employed in the Old Testament used again in the New Testament. In place of the correspondential stories of the Ancient Word we find the Divine parables. In place of the history of the Israelitish nation we find the historical movements and dramatic story of the Lord and His disciples.

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In place of the prophecies of judgment upon various cities and countries of the Old Testament we find the New Testament prophecies of the great Last Judgment. And finally, in place of the Old Testament prophecies of the Lord's birth, life and resurrection we find the New Testament prophecies of the Lord's second coming and the birth and life of the New Church.
     Where we see the change in form of Divine revelation from the Old to the New Testament is in the subject-matter, and even more in the manner of expression. We see the spiritual truths of the Word, hidden for the most part deeply in the letter of the Old Testament, coming much more to the foreground in the letter of the New Testament. In the Old Testament we find that the emphasis of the letter is upon law-Divine law couched largely in terms of civil law. In the latter, such Old Testament law appears rather harsh, abstract, cold, demanding, and sometimes unmerciful. In the New Testament we find the emphasis of the letter upon law also; but now we see Divine law couched largely in terms of moral law. We see more clearly the presence of love, mercy, charity, understanding, forgiveness, and the concern of a loving Human God for His children.

     In the Writings of His second coming we see the last and final great change in the style and form of revelation. We see a revelation presented partly in the form of exposition, partly in the form of spiritual heavenly doctrine, and partly in the form of descriptions of life in the spiritual world. We are presented with spiritual truths in the language of rational ideas. The veils of correspondence, of history, of prophecy and of parable-all are removed; and the Divine Humanity of the Lord, with all His purposes, qualities and operations, stands before us in perfection and beauty: the perfection and beauty of the Divine love and wisdom-the Lord in His Word, the eternal life and light of mankind.
     When from the Writings we can see something of the Lord's hand in preparing the style and form of Divine revelation from most ancient times to the present, we will have the means to appreciate more fully the nature of the Divine intelligence. We will have the means to treasure and use that wonderful presence of the Lord in His Word whereby He conjoins man to Himself.

     The Writings tell us that we are to seek the Lord each day in the reading of some part, however small, of His Divine revelations. They tell us of the use that such reading performs both to ourselves and our spiritual companions, even when we do not understand what we are reading. But this is not to say that we are not to make every effort to understand the Word.

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For the Lord has given the spiritual truths of the Word for the development of man's rational mind, that that mind may be formed into the rational of an angelic man-a man of heavenly wisdom.
     What he is able to see of the spiritual sense of the Word will depend with each man upon many things: his preparation, his study and reflection, his desire for the things of wisdom from the Lord, and his willingness to use the things of wisdom in performing the spiritual works of charity. It is of particular importance to those just beginning to read Divine revelation, especially the young, that they do not try to absorb too many details at once. The learning of the Word follows the same universal order as the learning of all other knowledge: elementary knowledge, general rules and laws, must come first before one can see the connection and relationship of particulars. Even in reading and learning the spiritual sense of the Word from the Writings it is easy to become restless and impatient. For we are presented with a view of the spiritual sense that staggers us in amazement and bewilderment, such is the complexity and detail brought suddenly before us. We are faced with a multitude of correspondences and representatives-of each word, name and place. And we find not just one story to follow in the internal sense but three: the story of the Lord's glorification, the story of man's regeneration, and the story of the states of the church.

     Yet what do we expect? The natural mind is born into darkness; and though the light of the Word shine in the darkness, the progress from darkness to light cannot be made in a moment, but must follow the laws of Divine order.
     If we approach the Word with patient understanding, and with confidence in the Divine promise of light therein, we will find that the light of Divine truth does not shine in the darkness for ever, but gradually illumines and enlightens the whole mind. We will find that there is no greater or more powerful confirmation of the Lord's existence, and of the reality and purpose of His love and wisdom, than to see how the Lord dwells in the internal sense of the Word: its order, its organization, its series within series-spiritual food from the Lord, adapted to all degrees of human life and prepared to feed man's spirit with heavenly intelligence and wisdom to all eternity. Such is the treasure stored in the Word-the Word that in the beginning was with God, and was God: the Word that is still and forever the presence of the Divine life with us, the life that is the light of men.

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IMAGE OF THE CHURCH 1968

IMAGE OF THE CHURCH       Editor       1968


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.
     Society today is much preoccupied with that intangible but demanding entity, the image. Some men, indeed, seem more concerned about their image-individual, corporate or national-than about the intrinsic quality of what they actually do; and we find, for example, those who appear to be more troubled by what a certain course of action may do to the image of their country abroad than by whether the course of action itself was a good, wise and just one to take. If we thought only externally, we might become equally sensitive about the image of the church; but in the present state of the Christian world this would probably be to the detriment of our real uses, and the image that should really interest us is surely the interior image that the church presents.
     We are told in the Writings that the universal heaven resembles one man, and its societies his members, and that when it is the Lord's good pleasure a kingdom is presented before the angels in a form which is that of its quality. Doubtless the organized church can be similarly presented. If its members are truly members of a general body, consociated by charity and faith in the spiritual uses of the church, then the form, the image, is living, human and truly beautiful, radiating and giving form to spiritual affections. But if too many members are self-sealing islands of criticism, resentment and non-co-operation, the image is marred or at best not as yet formed. Although we may not see it in this world, that is the image with which we should be concerned; and as it is the Lord's image in that collective man which is His church, we strive toward it by looking to Him in the ways which He has revealed.

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As we look forward to another New Church Day we may well ponder the future of the organized church. Some Christian writers see the churches as faced with a radical choice between remaining in traditional forms or becoming wholly involved in social action; and some New Church writers appear to share their views. They suggest that the organized New Church has perhaps served its use and may safely be dissolved, freeing its members for more urgent and useful matters in the world.
     But these are not true alternatives. Certainly Christianity is to be practised, but it also needs to be nourished and constantly renewed; and in this reading of the situation there seem to be some doubtful assumptions: that Divine worship is outmoded and essentially self-centered, and that Christianity needs no nurture but is to be taken to others. Yet how can men function in society as Christians without a base from which to function, and from which to draw inspiration and guidance? And if they try, for how long will they function differently from any secular social agency which has compassion and high ideals?
     The choice before the New Church man is not between the uses of the church and use to the neighbor; it is between seeing these as one or as two separate things. If the members of the church engaged in its uses solely for the sake of their own salvation the effort would be self-defeating and there would be no true church. But the New Church man has a unique contribution to make to society, and to receive from the Lord the qualities of heart and mind which make that contribution unique he needs the spiritual nurture that the worship, instruction and life of the church give. We need not fear, then, for the future of the church. The more its members become aware of their uses to the neighbor, the stronger will it become, because they will look to the Lord through the church for what they need to perform those uses.
KINGDOM OF INNOCENCE 1968

KINGDOM OF INNOCENCE       Editor       1968

     When the Lord said that those only should enter into the kingdom of heaven who did the will of His Father which is in heaven, He taught that heaven is for those who are in love and charity. These, however, are not genuine unless there is a certain quality within them. That quality is innocence; and as innocence is represented in the Word by little children, the Lord also said: "Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."
     By this the Lord meant that no one can enter into heaven to live there as an angel unless he has something of innocence; and this comes under the law several times mentioned in this series-that those are received into heaven after death who received heaven into themselves while they lived on earth.

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Innocence is the very human itself and the essential of heaven. It is, we are told, the esse of all good, good being good only as far as there is innocence within it, and is likewise the esse of all wisdom. Indeed it is a plane, and the only one, into which love and charity from the Lord can inflow; and it is those only who have this plane who can truly acknowledge the Lord, for acknowledgment depends upon spiritual sight, and the Lord cannot appear to anyone, even an angel, unless there is a state of innocence into which He can inflow and in which He can be present.

     That is why it is said that no one can enter into heaven unless he has something of innocence. But what is innocence? The answer may be seen in its scriptural representatives. Little children are in external innocence because they are entirely responsive to parental leading and because interiorly, it has been revealed, they suffer themselves to be governed by angels and not by proprium, differently from adults who govern themselves by their own will and judgment. Spiritual innocence, which is thus represented in children, is an interior willingness to be led by the Lord and not by self: to be led by the Lord's will by looking to the ends of his Divine love as they are revealed in the Word, and being guided by His Divine wisdom as it stands forth in the truths of the Word, His judgment, instead of by one's own will and judgment.
     Such innocence is, of course, a gift from the Lord, who is innocence itself. As enlightenment is the gift bestowed by His Divine wisdom upon those who receive it as truth, so innocence is the gift imparted by His Divine love to those who receive it as good. In the beginning man is not willing to be led by the Lord. His will is to be led by himself. But every man has from the Lord the ability to compel himself, against his own inclination, to do what the Lord teaches because it is from the Lord and should be obeyed; and if he will believe this, use that ability, and persist in using it, he will eventually find that, he knows not how, self-compulsion has been displaced by willingness.

     Innocence has been born within him, in truth as a little child; but that is sufficient to bring heaven into him, and him into heaven, and there it will grow from within to eternity. With innocence come other heavenly qualities. Perhaps the first of these is poverty of spirit; that poverty of which it is said that those who are in it are blessed. This will be discussed next.

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Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     MONTREAL, QUEBEC

     The activities of the Montreal Circle during the past year are noteworthy in that they mark a period of transition in the life of our group. Our worship and fellowship are still shared by a few staunch families and friends, and our hardworking wives who so ably provide the material sustenance so important to the social side of our gatherings in each others' homes.
     But circumstances are such that we cannot now provide for the same frequency of pastoral visits as in former years. The regular pastoral visits from Toronto being no longer available, we now welcome the ministrations of the Rev. Norbert Rogers of Bryn Athyn to lead our group.
     The last visit, the weekend of March 30-31, was most inspiring and perhaps a presage of new growth in our Circle. For on that occasion we witnessed a rare dual ceremony of baptism and confirmation: the baptism of the sweet little infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Dowden, Linda Gloria, and the confession of faith of David 'Sandy' Odhner, son of Mr. and Mrs. David Odhner, our good friends in the church from Burlington, Vermont.
     DOUGLAS MCMASTER

     DAWSON CREEK, B. C.

     1967 was an active year for the 54 children and 31 adults of the Dawson Creek Circle. Sunday morning services continued under the leadership of the Rev. Willard Heinrichs, the average attendance being 35. A Family Service was held once each month and on special occasions, including Easter Sunday, Thanksgiving Sunday and Christmas Day. The congregation enjoyed a visit from the Rev. Henry Heinrichs, who preached on three successive Sundays in June.
     "Spirits and Men" and "The Ten Commandments" formed the topics for the two interesting series of doctrinal classes. Each class was given twice. On alternate Friday evenings it was conducted in Dawson Creek, and on alternate Sunday evenings it was held by Mr. Heinrichs in Fort St. John at the home of Dr. Fred Hendrichs.
     Every Sunday morning, except on those Sundays when a Family Service was held, Mr. Heinrichs conducted a service for children of all ages in the Circle. In addition to this he taught religion lessons to four separate groups, including twenty students from grade four through high school. Grade three religion lessons were taught by Vanessa Heinrichs, grade two by Rae Friesen, and grade one by Adina Watson.
     Mr. Heinrichs was kept busy with pastoral visits. He was away for quarterly trips of three weeks each to the Pacific Northwest, as well as a number of shorter visits.
     On alternate Wednesday evenings the Ladies Group assembled in members' homes to enjoy tapes on "Conjugial Love" by Bishop Pendleton. The ladies raised funds by selling cook books, and by holding two cake sales and one rummage sale. In turn they financed a large portion of the cost of the religion lesson books required by the children; purchased suitcases as farewell gifts for the four young people leaving for their first year in Bryn Athyn; and kept the church supplied with some small but necessary items.
     1967 was a good year for improvements to the church building and grounds. The basement benefited from the installation of a separate furnace, and a new white ceiling added a finishing touch to it.

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The parking lot was graveled and appreciably enlarged. Each family was in charge of cleaning the church for a period of one month at a time.
     The social life of the Circle included monthly adults socials. An Easter dinner was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The Nineteenth of June picnic proved to be a very successful event, with the weatherman co-operating to the fullest extent. In August a corn roast was held as a farewell party for the eleven students leaving for Bryn Athyn. It was rather sad to think of these young people leaving us, but this feeling was completely compensated for by the knowledge that they would be spending the next year benefiting from an education at the Academy and living among a large group of New Church people at the organizational center of the church. The rest of the Circle's social life was high-lighted by a Thanksgiving dinner, a Halloween party and a Christmas party.
     Being rather far north and somewhat off the beaten track we immensely enjoyed the visitors to our Circle in 1967. They were as follows: Sarah Sawataky of Cold Lake, Alta.; the Henry Heinrichs of Caryndale, Ont.; the Steve Heinrichs from Las Vegas, Nevada; the Ed Lemkys, Wilfred Lemkys and the Ken Scotts, all of Crooked Creek, Alta.; the Walter Shellenburgs from Winnipeg, Man.; the Ray Fortins of Barrhead, Alta.; Barbara Charles and Sylvia Parker from Toronto, Ont.; Clara Gushea from King of Prussia, Penna.; Bob and Marcia Bradin of Detroit, Mich.; and the Ralph Kleins from Bryn Athyn.
     The church festivals are fondly remembered. They included Thanksgiving and Easter Sundays, when the children brought forward their offerings. The Christmas tableaux, which followed the Christmas service, were impressively performed by the young people of the Circle.
     So we, the members of the Dawson Creek Circle, went about our particular uses with confidence that the Rev. Willard Heinrichs was watching over our church organization, and from the Lord helping to produce spiritual nourishment and guidance for each of us.
     RAE FRIESEN

     PACIFIC NORTHWEST

     Many events have marked the past year for the Pacific Northwest Group. Shortly before the Assembly in Portland, Oregon, last July we welcomed little Matthew Kunkle, son of Harold and Ann Kunkle, to the Seattle group. He bounced into the world a healthy, happy boy, and has been laughing and cooing at us ever since. Ann and Harold had Matthew baptized in November when the Rev. Willard Heinrichs made his quarterly visit.
     The summer was a busy one for the Bertil Larsson family. In June their married daughter, Judy Rose, brought her two children from Bryn Athyn for a month-long visit. Shortly after Judy left, Bob Larsson joined the Navy. After a successful stint in boot camp at San Diego, California, Bob spent a month at home on leave. He is now stationed at Damneck, Virginia, where he is attending Submarine School. One more exciting event for the Larssons was their trip to Bryn Athyn at Christmas to see their brand-new grandson.
     Wedding bells have rung twice for members of the Seattle-Tacoma group. In August, Miss Barbara Johnson married Mr. Robert Purdy. Our members enjoyed both the shower which preceded the wedding and the wedding itself. In February, Miss Shirley Spracklin, daughter of Harold and Dorothy Jefferies, was wed to Mr. Charles Owen in a lovely service at the Jefferies' home. The entire Seattle-Tacoma group participated in the festivities. A week later the group held a potluck supper after church in honor of the young couple.
     In February we were saddened by the loss of Florence (Mrs. Sterling) Smith. She passed away quietly at home after a long illness. While the Pacific Northwest group gathered at the Smith home to offer comfort, we were instead inspired by Sterling's faith and strength. A delightful dinner was held at the Smith home after the memorial service. Now Sterling plans to do some traveling for the first time in many years after selling his last batch of chickens. Then he plans to return to Washington and aid us in our hope and dream of obtaining a resident pastor for the Pacific Northwest Area.

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     We have enjoyed very much the presence of Bob and Louise Pollock this past year. Although Bob's company keeps threatening to send them back to California, we hope they will be able to stay with us for a while longer at least. Most recent and welcome additions to our Seattle-Tacoma group have been two young fellows stationed at McCord Air Force Base. They are David Archer and Art Schoenberger. Various families in the group have kept them quite busy with dinner invitations to welcome them to our area and get better acquainted with them.
     September brought increased activity to the Seattle-Tacoma group. We are currently renting a small Lutheran Church in Renton, Washington, for our Sunday school and services, held alternate weekends. Approximately forty-five minutes before each service our children gather for their religion classes, which are divided into three groups. The youngest class, first through third graders, is taught by Mrs. Joyce Junge and Helena (Mrs. Cline) Schweichart. The older children, fourth through sixth grade, are taught by Donna (Mrs. Bruce) Powell and Ann (Mrs. Harold) Kunkle. Finally we have a junior high group, which is taught by Mr. Bruce Powell. The two younger groups are studying the Old Testament, while the junior high group is studying The Life of the Lord. When the Rev. Willard Heinrichs is not down for one of his quarterly visits, Mr. Harold Kunkle and Mr. Bruce Powell act as lay-readers. Much to our joy, Mr. Franklin Spracklin, college age son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Jefferies, recently volunteered to help with the reading of the services. Mr. Bertil Larsson provides organ music which we all agree adds immensely to the sphere of the service.
     On the Sundays when there is no church, the adults in the Seattle area gather in each other's homes for adult religion lessons. We are proud to be "guinea pigs" for the General Church in that we are trying out a new adult series of lessons for isolated groups which are based on the radio talks by the Rev. Douglas Taylor concerning the creation story found in the first chapter of Genesis. We have been taping these classes and mailing them to our minister so that he can help us across the miles. While we have some frustrating moments, I believe that much benefit has been derived from these discussions. Mr. Bruce Powell has been the lay-leader for this series.
     The Pacific Northwest has, to our knowledge, two infanticipating families: the Rev. Willard and Vanessa Heinrichs, their second; and Bruce and Donna Powell, their first. Forthcoming activities of the Seattle-Tacoma group eagerly awaited are Easter, with a special program put on by the children, and the New Church Day celebration.
     If anyone is thinking of moving, we here in the Pacific Northwest would welcome new members with open arms. We feel that we have grown quite a bit this year and we plan to continue this growth in the future.
     DONNA POWELL
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

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DEDICATION OF PENDLETON HALL 1968

DEDICATION OF PENDLETON HALL              1968




     Announcements






VOL. LXXXVIII
July, 1968
No. 7
NEW CHURCH LIFE
Pendleton Hall     Frontispiece
     Pendleton Hall, the new College Classroom and Theological School building was dedicated to the uses of higher New Church education on April 28, 1968. The service, conducted by the President of the Academy, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, assisted by the Executive Vice President, the Rev. Martin Pryke, was conducted in the chapel-auditorium of the new building, before the students of the College and the Theological School, members of the Corporation and Faculty, and other invited guests. Preludes, an Interlude and a Postlude were supplied by two men of the College, Mr. Mark Carlson (clarinet) and Mr. Tom Kline (piano). Mr. Kline also served as accompanist during the service.
     After a processional anthem, "Great and Wonderful Are Thy Works," during which the officiating clergy entered, Mr. Pryke presented the Word to Bishop Pendleton, who opened it and placed it on a table. The first part of the order of service for school opening was used. A doxology followed, "What tongue can tell Thy greatness, Lord," after which Mr. Pryke read two lessons: Matthew 7: 9-27 and Arcana Coelestia 6047: 2, 3. The congregation then joined in singing the hymn, "Thine Advent, Lord, we hail," after which the following dedication address was delivered by the Rev. Martin Pryke:
DEDICATION ADDRESS 1968

DEDICATION ADDRESS       Various       1968

     THE REV. MARTIN PRYKE

     It was in 1876 (92 years ago) that the Academy was founded. But twenty years before that the Reverend William Henry Benade had laid the foundation stone of a school house in Philadelphia, on Cherry Street, where the first school to be established on the now familiar Academy principles was to be opened.

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At the time of laying that corner stone Bishop Benade, while acknowledging the very small beginnings, dared to look into the future and see the time when New Church education would not only be offered to theological students, the elementary school and secondary schools, but also would have its own college and even it own university. The first beginnings in Cherry Street were shortlived, but in 1877, one year after the Academy was actually founded, a school was operating once again in the same building, and from that time on the institution has operated continuously and has seen a steady growth. Twenty years later, in 1897, the schools were moved from Philadelphia to the new community of Bryn Athyn and in 1902 the original Benade Hall was dedicated. The campus of the Academy was thus begun with a fine building which would house all its uses.
     Gradually the growth of the Academy has demanded a considerable building expansion and for a long time now the Board and Faculty have looked forward to a separate college and theological school classroom building and a separate college campus. Today we see this hope fulfilled, and our minds inevitably go back to that small group gathered about Bishop Benade in 1856 at the laying of the cornerstone on Cherry Street. The hopes which were his and which have been cherished with succeeding generations are gradually being fulfilled. We cannot help but feel that the early fathers (men like the Rev. Richard de Charms and Bishop Benade) would feel immeasurable encouragement and joy if they were to know of the development and achievements of the institution which they foresaw and inaugurated with such devotion and enthusiasm.
     It is obvious, of course, that a growing campus, the opening of new buildings and such material development is only an external. It is a sign of growth in numbers and therefore is a matter of great encouragement to us, but ultimates such as these are a means to an end and certainly are not the end itself. They are powerful and moving ultimates but must not be mistaken for the reality. A building is only the clothing of the real use which it is to house.
     Today, therefore, while we rejoice at signs of growth and are profoundly grateful for the provision of material means to meet the needs of this growth, yet our minds must, like William Henry Benade's, look into the future to the essential uses for which the Academy was established and for which these buildings were erected.

     This building includes greatly improved facilities for our Theological School. The work of the Academy began with the establishment of such a school. Even before its doors were opened on Cherry Street priests of the Academy movement had been training young men for the ministry in their homes, the students moving from priest to priest, and so from town to town, to receive their instruction from more than one mind.

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     Thus from the very beginning it was acknowledged that the first use of New Church education must be the training of the priesthood. Without this neither the Academy nor the church could exist. The whole work of the General Church depends upon an adequately trained and duly inspired priesthood. Our Theological School is the very heart of our institution providing the life blood of the church. In the past and in the present we have been blessed with outstanding scholars and leaders in this work and their labors have borne real fruit. It is our hope and prayer that these uses will be forwarded and will go ahead with renewed vigor in their new home.

     The work of our Senior College has also long been recognized as a concern of the Academy. From the beginning the need to prepare students for the work of the Theological School was seen. A liberal arts education which includes training in religion, philosophy, education and the ancient languages is a proper prerequisite for this post-graduate work, and is emphasized in the last two years of our College.
     The other prime function of the Senior College is, of course, to train teachers for the schools of the church-especially on the elementary level. This use, like that of the Theological School, is vital to the work of the General Church, which depends so greatly upon the effectiveness of its elementary schools. The Education Department now finds itself with improved accommodations which we hope will be used to the full by a growing number of prospective teachers.

     Our College, as we now know it, really dates from 1914, when the Normal School and the Collegiate Department were grouped into a single school which offered a four-year program with a bachelor's degree at its completion.
     The Junior College (two years leading to the Junior College Diploma) continued for many years with a very small enrollment (approximately 25). It was not until after the Second World War that it exceeded 50. Now we look for an enrollment of over 100 rising to 150 in the not too distant future. Beyond that we can confidently hope for further growth if we are true to our purpose and offer a thorough, sound, New Church education truly adapted to college needs.
     A distinctive education cannot properly finish with the secondary school, for the state of young men and women who have reached the age of searching questioning must be met. If they cannot see how the faith of their fathers meets their questions how can they be free to accept it for themselves and with sincerity?

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     Concerning the work of the Junior College Bishop Willard Pendleton wrote in 1946 in a pamphlet on "The Development of the Junior College":

     "Considered in themselves, scientifics and knowledges are neither good nor evil. It is the use which they serve that determines their value. If, therefore, at the time of life when the mind first contemplates the meaning of knowledge, the thought processes are determined to purely natural ends, the very purpose of learning is negated. This is the reason why a Junior College is essential to our purpose. In these two years of our educational system a service can be rendered to the Church which is not possible prior to that time. While the child is in grade school our purpose is to prepare the mind for the reception of truth; in the secondary departments our objective is to introduce the child to the truth; but the function of the College is to enable the student to think from the truth. The distinction is all-important, and only in so far as it is seen and recognized by the Church will the College assume its proper place in the work of the Academy" (pp. 14-15).
     "If, then, we attempt to define the specific function of the College, I believe that it can be said that it is the branch of our educational system which trains the mind in those modes of thought that look to use. It is not merely an introduction to doctrine, but the application of doctrine to those various fields of human knowledge which comprise the college curriculum" (pp. 16-17).

     The function of our College in this building will, then, be to develop further the application of the principles and philosophy of New Church education to meet the needs of our maturing young people. This is indeed a significant challenge in this age of skepticism and disbelief. On the other hand, perhaps the desperate need for this work has never been greater. We seek to inspire the young men and women of our College to respond with an earnest seeking of truth (both spiritual and natural) and with a sincere desire to find a philosophy of life based upon a genuine harmony between these two. If we can do this our young people will go forth into the church and into the world equipped to strengthen, in a very real sense, the work of the New Church. And they will be equipped to spread that work and its influence in a civilization which cries for the guidance of revealed truth as well as for dedicated men and women who seek to apply this truth in the realm of human affairs.

     It is now my pleasure to announce that the Board of Directors of the Academy of the New Church has authorized that this new College and Theological School Classroom Building be named "Pendleton Hall" in recognition of the many services rendered to the Academy by the Pendleton family, notably by:-

The Right Reverend William Frederic Pendleton who was a signatory of the Academy Charter, its Vice Chancellor under the Right Reverend William Henry Benade, Superintendent of Schools after the separation from Bishop Benade, and its President from 1902 to 1914.

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He will be remembered, among other things, for his inspired formulation of the Principles of the Academy, and for his emphasis upon the need for council and assembly in the affairs of the church.

The Right Reverend Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton who, in accepting the presidency in 1914, placed particular emphasis upon the bonds which exist between the Academy and the General Church. His ability as an administrator is evident in his restructuring of the institution in such a way as to provide for the direct control of the President over all the affairs of the Academy. During his term of office (1914-1936) he provided the leadership, and encouraged the scholarship, which led to a proper perspective of the relation between science and faith.

The Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton who became the Executive Vice President under Bishop De Charms in 1946 and was elected President in 1958. It was he who foresaw the rapid growth of the Academy schools and by means of detailed planning enabled us to meet our commitments to the church at this day. As an educator he has made notable contributions to the curriculum, and as an administrator he has implemented the vision of his predecessors by unifying the work of the Academy with our General Church primary schools. This has largely been effected through the work of the Educational Council which he reorganized on its present basis in 1948 and over which he has presided since that time.

     Each of these men, in his own distinct way, has made outstanding contributions to the Academy. We cannot think of the Academy without also thinking of them. The time is overdue when we should acknowledge our debt to the Pendleton family in a tangible way, and the importance of this building, now being named, provides us with the ideal opportunity to do so.
     We are here today, then, to witness the dedication of Pendleton Hall. This chancel is to be dedicated to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as He is now revealed in His Second Advent. He is indeed the center of our worship and is the life of the work which is to be undertaken here. The building itself is to be dedicated to the well-known purposes of New Church education, that our young people may be taught the knowledges of this world in the light of the teachings of Divine Revelation. We will therefore set this chancel and this building apart to these distinctive and vital uses for which they have been carefully designed and built.
     But this is also a time of rededication on the part of all of us here present. The Corporation and Faculty of this Theological School and College dedicate themselves to the provision of New Church education in its finest form.

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Our wives and patrons dedicate themselves to every possible support of these uses, both physical and spiritual. And the student body dedicates itself to a co-operative and faithful response to what, not we, but the Lord offers them in full measure, in order that they in turn may be the means of transmitting these same gifts to a succeeding generation.
     To these ends we dedicate ourselves, for these things we determine to strive, and for these Divine blessings we earnestly pray.

     PRESENTATION

     Mr. Lachlan Pitcairn, Chairman of the Building Committee, then came forward and addressed Bishop Pendleton:

     PRESIDENT PENDLETON, PRESIDENT EMERITUS DE CHARMS VICE PRESIDENT PRYKE AND FRIENDS:

     I welcome this opportunity to express my deep appreciation to all those who have worked so hard to make this building a reality. But first, I want to thank Bishop Pendleton for appointing me chairman of the Building Committee for this and several other buildings. The time spent working on these buildings has been challenging and most rewarding. On the whole, I am very pleased with this building and Alice Grant Hall. However, there have been enough little mistakes slip through to keep me in a proper state of humility. I am very grateful for having been given the responsibility and the privilege of performing this use for the Academy and the church.
     We would like to thank the members of the Faculty for the excellent program they developed for the architects. Robert Class, a partner in the firm of Stewart, Noble, Class & Partners, told the Academy Board that the program developed by our Faculty was one of the finest he had ever seen. Many long hours were spent by Dean Cole, Dean Boyesen, Dean Henderson and the Heads of Departments in working out details for this program. The co-ordinating work done by Dean Fitzpatrick was a great help. More recently, Vice President Pryke and Dean Glenn have given much useful advice and encouragement.
     I am sorry that Theodore Bartley, a partner in the architectural firm of Stewart, Noble, Class & Partners, was not able to be here today. He was the designer of this building. Often many architects are more interested in designing buildings that please themselves rather than the client. Mr. Bartley was able to do both. He was always open to suggestions and always tried to satisfy any of the Committee's requests.

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It has been a real pleasure working with Ted, and we are all grateful for the unique design he developed for this building. The fact that he was retained to design Alice Grant Hall, the new Stuart Hall and the new Glenn Hall shows the confidence the Committee has in him, and there is no doubt that this building is concrete evidence of his ability.
     Another man involved with planning is George Patton, a landscape architect, who has been most helpful in laying out paths and roads and developing a master landscape plan for the entire campus. I would like to tell you a little story that involved George Patton. At the time Pitcairn Hall was almost completed, a design was needed for the path and steps leading from Papermill Road to the steps at the front of the building. One day when my father was working on the building, George arrived with a plan for the path, the steps and the retaining wall and planting now completed in front of Pitcairn Hall. My father looked at the drawing for a few minutes and then said "All right, go ahead." I asked him if he meant that it was all right to go ahead and make a model of it. He said, "No, go ahead and build it." Ray Synnestvedt and I looked at each other in utter amazement. My father had never approved such a design without first putting it on the model. Perhaps he was getting tired of being pushed to get the building finished, but I like to think that George had come up with the perfect solution of the problem.

     Few people in Bryn Athyn, or even in the Academy, can realize how fortunate we have been to have had the firm of George Synnestvedt Co. build this and other Academy buildings. Many men in this firm have done outstanding work on this building-coming up with helpful suggestions and ways of improving the construction of the building. Particular thanks are due to Jack Bleeker, who was the superintendent. Jack's willingness and desire to satisfy not only the Building Committee but also those who will use the building have been greatly appreciated. Jack is a fine example of a man in his use performing acts of charity.
     In mentioning the contribution Ray Synnestvedt has made to this building it is very difficult for me not to become too personal. Ray and I have been good friends ever since we were kids. My fondness for him and my respect for his ability to handle his men, to work with the Building Committee and to use his excellent engineering sense, for his unique artistic ability to create and draw up designs for furniture and interior woodwork and to solve other last-minute emergencies, and for his willingness and almost tireless energy, is more than can be expressed in words. Hopefully, Ray can feel the affection and great appreciation we all have for him.

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The Building Committee has been most fortunate in having George Woodard as one of its three members. George, as most of you know, is a professional engineering consultant. He has taken many hours out of his very busy schedule to work on this building. Among many other things, George's ability to meet and discuss matters on a professional level with the architects has been most helpful and much appreciated.
     There are others who could and possibly should have been mentioned, but perhaps you are already feeling that too much time has been devoted to recognizing the contributions these people have made to the Academy. However, it is useful to realize the hours spent in planning; the energy, the ability, the talent, the co-operation that are needed to complete a building such as this. During the past twenty-two years that he has worked for the Academy there is one man who, along with his other responsibilities, has planned the financing, has checked the drawings both for function and engineering, has been by far the most active member of the Building Committee, has checked practically every stone and brick as it was put into place, has listened patiently to all the requests from the teachers and tried to incorporate them in the building, spent endless hours going over details with the builder, collected the requirements for furniture and placed orders for the same, and has made it possible for the Academy to get the finest building for the money. You all know this man's name-Leonard Gyllenhaal. Leonard has done his work so quietly and unassumingly and with such efficiency that very few of us realize the staggering amount of planning and detail work he has done on just this building alone. Were it not for him, this building committee could not have functioned. He did all the tedious detail work, leaving only the enjoyable part for the chairman of the committee. All of us are greatly relieved that several young talented men have been found to take some of the detail work off Leonard in an effort to provide some relief from his overwhelming responsibility. With this much needed relief he will have more time for long-range fiscal planning and campus planning, and more time to talk personally and write to the financial men all over the church.
     Leonard, your dedication, your loyalty and your friendship mean much more than I can say. I know that I am speaking not only for those here today but for the members throughout the General Church when I say, thank you for the uses you have performed and are performing so well.

     Plans for this building were started almost four years ago. During the planning and construction of this building there have been troubled times. The world is torn by an undeclared war. It was hard to study back in 1942 while waiting to be called into the service.

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How much more difficult for the students today to concentrate on their school work and plan their future with such uncertainty and lack of unity in the country. Let us hope that the students using this building in the near future will be able to study and prepare themselves to live in a peaceful world.
     These past years have not been easy for the Faculty either. There have been changes in personnel and changes in responsibilities. The design of this very building caused some teachers understandable concern lest more money be spent than was necessary to house the uses of the College. Let us hope that this building, designed with its central commons area to be the crossroads of the new College campus, will provide better communication between teachers and students, and that young and old, studying together, will help further the end of distinctive New Church education.
     Hopefully, there will be opportunity for adults to have evening classes, attend lectures, or just visit teachers in this building.
     My father loved to plan for the future. I do not know how he would feel about the design of the buildings built since the dedication of Pitcairn Hall, but I am sure that he would be delighted that the campus plan for which he worked so hard has been such a useful tool for the orderly growth of the new campus. He confidently looked forward to the day when the Academy would be a New Church university. Let us hope that Pendleton Hall is the beginning of that great university.
     President Pendleton, in turning this key over to the Academy, it is our hope as members of the Building Committee, the Board of Directors, the Corporation, and as members of the General Church, that this building will provide an atmosphere which will help to inspire teachers and students of all ages to dedicate themselves to the great use of distinctive New Church education.

     ACCEPTANCE

     BISHOP PENDLETON: In accepting this key I do declare this building ready for full occupancy and use. And may I express to you, Mr. Pitcairn, and to all who have worked under your direction, the appreciation of the Academy. Your devotion to the cause of New Church education, your unfailing patience, and your personal attention to every detail of construction have been an inspiration to all of us.
     In saying these things I am mindful of the measure of responsibility which you accepted when you undertook the Chairmanship of the Building Committee. I am referring not only to this building, but also to Childs Hall, to Alice Grant Hall, to the construction of the new Stuart Hall which is now in progress, and to the new Glenn Hall which is scheduled for September.

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This building program which is essential to the growth and development of the Academy has occupied, and will continue to occupy, much of your time and attention. But I do not want you to think that because, until this date, we have failed to make any public acknowledgment of our gratitude, we are lacking in appreciation. We have waited for the appropriate moment, and this is the time.
     I therefore take this occasion to express to you, and through you to your committee, the heartfelt thanks of the Academy. We have no accolade to bestow upon you, and words seem inadequate, but we know that your reward will be the sure knowledge that future generations of New Church students will be benefited by your efforts. May the Lord, the Giver of all good, therefore bestow upon you the blessings that belong to a life of service to society and the neighbor. I thank you in the name of the Academy.
     After a brief piano interlude the repository was opened and Bishop Pendleton pronounced the dedication.

     DEDICATION

     In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ I do dedicate this chancel to the worship of the Lord in His Divine Human, and I also dedicate this building to the uses of higher New Church education. As the home of the College and Theological School this building will serve a unique and unending purpose. May the blessing of the Lord, therefore, be upon those who serve those uses to which this building is dedicated and, in the words of Solomon, may "the Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers . . . that all people of the earth may know that the Lord is God, and that there is none else" (I Kings 8: 57, 60). Amen.

     The Word was then placed in the repository. Following a prayer and the Benediction, the service was concluded with the singing of the anthem, "Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem."

     PENDLETON HALL

     The new home of the Academy's College and Theological School, into which they moved on April 22, is built on the developing campus near Huntingdon Pike. Thus it forms a triangle with the two college dormitories and Pitcairn Hall, the institution's administrative center. In design and construction the new structure links with Pitcairn Hall, its walls of reinforced concrete forming roughly a square about a central court or commons. The latter is floored with brick which matches that used in the dormitories.

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     Set on a slope near the highest point on the campus, Pendleton Hall can be entered from the ground at two levels. The commons, standing midway between these, has only one room leading directly to the same level, the chapel-auditorium. This well-proportioned room has fixed seating for 166, with space for about 40 more, its several stages carpeted in red and focusing from three sides on the chancel and lecture platform. The chancel is simple in design, paneled in dark wood, with a floor length repository the walls of which cast a golden light upon the altar. On the paneling above stands the Academy seal.
     The other functional areas of the new building radiate from the central commons by broad stairs leading up and down on three sides. Half of the upper level is given to the uses of the Theological School, its red-carpeted rooms including offices, a seminar room, lounge and library. The rest of this level, looking out toward the campus, consists of administrative suite and faculty and student lounges, the latter a spacious and sunny room with bright furniture against a blue carpet.
     On the lower level are faculty offices and classrooms of two types, lecture and seminar. The latter, with handsome curved tables, provide an ideal environment for the small discussion form of class permitted by the size of the College. One wing of this level is devoted to the uses of the Education Department, so vital to the maintenance of our General Church schools.
     Its design imparts to Pendleton Hall a sense of openness and fluidity, while the slablike concrete columns and beams lend massive strength. The rooms are lit by wide windows reaching to the roof covered with cedar shakes; and the commons looks skywards through four lights. Everywhere the sun falls on brightly varied furniture and warm carpeting. A strong symbolic note is provided by flags, ten in all, which hang above the commons to represent the nations from which the College and Theological School have drawn their students this year. These flags are a gift from the general body of Theta Alpha.
     After the dedication service, the guests were invited to inspect the building and partake of refreshments served by the women of the College.
     E. BRUCE GLENN
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.

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EDITORIAL NOTE 1968

EDITORIAL NOTE       Editor       1968

     The address which follows was delivered to the Bryn Athyn Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, December 8, 1945. It is republished here, not only that it may be revived and preserved, but also because it relates much of the history of the Junior College of the Academy of the New Church not easily found elsewhere, and because the dedication of Pendleton Hall marks the fulfillment of much to which it looked twenty-three years ago.
DEVELOPMENT OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1968

DEVELOPMENT OF THE JUNIOR COLLEGE OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968

     (The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton was not ordained into the third degree of the priesthood until June 19, 1946.)

     We cannot say for certain what was in Swedenborg's mind when, in writing to Dr. Beyer, in February, 1767, he said: "The universities of Christendom are now first being instructed, whence will come new ministers; for the new heaven has no influence over the old [clergy] who deem themselves too learned in the doctrine of justification by faith alone."* The statement, however, is highly suggestive. Although in earlier years Swedenborg had hoped for a reformation within the existing church, he had, by this time, come to the realization that some other means would have to be found for the propagation of the new doctrine.
     * Docu. Vol. II, pp. 260, 261.
     The inference of the letter is that Swedenborg now looked to the universities of the day as the instrumentality whereby the doctrines would be disseminated among men. It was his hope that these centers of intellectual resistance to medieval dogma would look with unprejudiced minds upon the new faith. That this hope was not fulfilled is known to us today, for the universities were soon caught on the rising tide of materialism and were swept into the full current of agnostical thought. Throughout the years those copies of the Writings which Swedenborg presented to these institutions of learning have gathered dust upon forgotten shelves in some remote corner of their libraries.
     The fact that the first growth of the church did not come as Swedenborg anticipated does not discredit the thought which he seems to have had in mind.

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He saw, in part, what the church did not see until the middle of the nineteenth century, and that is that the heavenly doctrines cannot be propagated by ordinary means of evangelization. By nature the Writings are such that they do not lend themselves to those states of religious enthusiasm which result in mass conversions. They are, on their own testimony, a rational revelation addressed to the reason. We cannot, therefore, expect the New Church to grow by the same methods which were so successfully employed in the development of the first Christian Church. The two dispensations are not comparable in this respect.

     The question then is, by what means is the New Church to grow? We believe that Swedenborg's reference to the universities is indicative. It implies that the most fertile field of evangelization is the education of the rational. This was the mode of Swedenborg's own preparation. From early childhood he was a close student of the arts and sciences of his day. This same mode is also carefully described in the Writings, where we are taught that the rational is formed of scientifics and knowledges which, when interpreted in the light of Divine revelation, reflect the wisdom of God.
     Now had the universities of the world received the Writings there would have been no need for the Academy movement. This, however, was not to be. The ancient dragon-the doctrine of justification by faith alone-did but change its skin. The pride of self-intelligence doffed its cassock and put on more modern dress. In the intellectual arena of contemporary thought science is God. That very method which was the means of man's liberation from the persuasions of Christian dogma has, in turn, been subjected to the pride of self-intelligence.
     When we say that science is God, however, we speak according to the appearance. The fact is that it is self which men worship. It is to himself that man attributes the knowledge which the scientific method of research has garnered. This is the error-the tragic mistake-of a generation which has within its grasp the means leading to a true philosophy. After all, what is science but the revelation of the laws of Divine order as they operate in the physical universe? Here is a wealth of correspondences of which the ancients never dreamed-a source of knowledge which provides countless illustrations of the truth that there is a God and that He is one. This is the true function of science, yet the fact remains that in the world of today science is in bond to the illusion of self-life.
     We cannot, therefore, look to the universities of the world for the growth of the New Church. Unless knowledge is interpreted in the light of revealed truth, its purpose is not understood.

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It is seen as an end in itself-as something to be desired for the sake of self and the world. We must provide our own means of evangelization-our own universities where the rational minds of our students may be prepared for the reception of the Divine doctrines. Moreover, I believe that the growth of the church on earth will be measured by the influence of these institutions. By this I do not mean to imply that the membership of the church will be limited to, or identified with, the graduates of our schools, but I do believe that our growth will be proportionate to that sphere of devotion to spiritual truth which is the spirit of New Church education.

     II

     Although Swedenborg saw the possibilities of evangelization by education, it was more than half a century before it was seriously considered by the church. In 1836, however, a periodical appeared which was edited by the Rev. Richard de Charms, Pastor of the Cincinnati Society. The Precursor, as it was called, marks the beginning of the Academy movement. Living in the first half of the nineteenth century, when the forces of materialism had already gathered headway among the learned, this discerning clergyman had no illusions in regard to the universities of the world. To him it was patent that if the New Church was to realize its mission in an indifferent world the church must establish its own educational system.
     To this first champion of the Academy the church owes an enduring debt of gratitude. His was the vision that is ours today. Looking back over the pages of history we see this lonely figure who, despite his intellectual isolation, persisted in his efforts and stirred the hearts of that little group who later became the founders of this institution.
     It was not, however, the Rev. Richard de Charms upon whom the burden of organization and first measures fell. In Providence another was raised up to this task-a younger man who, having seen the need, entered into the labors of his spiritual predecessor.
     In temperament and in genius the two men present a striking contrast. In this we see the hand of Providence, for there was a great difference in the work that each was called upon to do. The one was the prophet of New Church education; the other its first lawgiver. Yet they shared a common faith and spirit, as is evident from the words of Bishop Benade who, at the last minute, was called upon to speak in the place of the Rev. Richard de Charms at the laying of the cornerstone of the Cherry Street School House, on September 11, 1856.

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Speaking for both of them, he said: "My brethren, we have this day actually begun a great work however small and insignificant may be its first appearance, and however weak and feeble may be the hands which have been laid upon it-a work which, as I verily believe, has a future of immeasurable extension and untold use. And having put our hands to the plough, it is not for us to look back, but forward and upward-to gird our loins for the labor which lies before us-to seek for strength and light where alone they can be found, and to do in our day and generation our duty as in the very presence of God."
     For many years to come, indeed, as long as there are new beginnings in the field of New Church education, these words apply; certainly they are of profound significance at this stage in the development of the Academy schools. As you know, it is now proposed that we enlarge our facilities to meet a new state within the church. I refer, of course, to the increasing demand which is being made upon our College Department. The fact is that in the minds of all save the most skeptical our College has proved its right to something more than a mere existence. If it is to develop as it should, it must have room in which to grow. The use which it performs to the church is too vital to disregard; it is the logical extension of the function of the Academy, and it belongs to that plane of education which Swedenborg had in mind when he spoke of the universities of the world.

     III

To trace the history of the College we must go back to 1878, one year after the Academy opened its doors to its first theological students. At that time it was decided to enlarge the curriculum to include certain collegiate courses because some of the theological students were deficient in these subjects. From that time on advanced studies were available when the Academy had the students and the teachers to instruct them. In 1914, however, the so-called Normal and Collegiate Departments were grouped into a single school and gave degrees which represented four years of study after the completion of a secondary education. This was the beginning of our present College and the foundation of the future.
     It is interesting to note that from 1916 to 1920 the number of students registered in the College was in the teens. During the twenties the enrollment averaged twenty-five students over a ten-year period. In the thirties, which were the depression years, there was no appreciable growth although the records show a small increase. The early forties were war years and in 1943-44 the College had only ten students. The following year there was a substantial gain due to the large number of graduates in the Girls' Seminary the preceding June.

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This year, however, the College had the largest enrollment in its history-some sixty students in all.*
     * 1945, the year in which this address was given.
     It is true that some of these students are returned veterans who, under normal conditions, would have attended the College during the war years. The large majority, however, are recent graduates of the secondary schools and the indication is that a trend is on-one which will continue if we are able to accept the challenge. According to reports we may expect an even larger enrollment for the next school year and there is every reason to believe that the Junior College will, in time, equal the registration of the secondary schools.

     This raises a problem which is a matter of concern to every member of the General Church. The fact is that our present facilities are inadequate. We have neither the dormitory nor the classroom space properly to accommodate the increased number of students. Possibly a temporary solution could be found by remodeling our present buildings, but this would not encourage real growth. If the College is to develop as it should, it must have its own environment and not be forced to struggle along in odd corners of buildings where other uses take precedence. The College, like the lower schools, should have its rightful place in the scheme of things and the opportunity to develop its own intellectual and social life. This is important; it is essential to normal growth and development.
     It would be a mistake to assume that the College, if left to its own devices, would, like Topsy, just grow. The purpose for its existence, as distinguished from that of the secondary schools, must be clearly understood. During adolescence the delight which a child finds in learning is that sense of self-accomplishment which the acquisition of knowledge imparts. As the mind matures, however, the rational faculty begins to develop and the child is subject to a new influence which is sensed as a growing interest in the meaning and use of knowledges. This love, or interest, becomes dominant at that time of life which is usually designated as the college age. It is a critical period in the life of man and from a spiritual point of view much depends upon the modes of thought that are established at this time.
     Considered in themselves, scientifics and knowledges are neither good nor evil. It is the use which they serve that determines their value. If, therefore, at the time of life when the mind first contemplates the meaning of knowledge, the thought processes are determined to purely natural ends, the very purpose of learning is negated.

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This is the reason that a Junior College is essential to our purpose. In these two years of our educational system a service can be rendered to the church which is not possible prior to that time. While the child is in grade school our purpose is to prepare the mind for the reception of truth; in the secondary departments our objective is to introduce the child to the truth; but the function of the College is to enable the student to think from the truth. The distinction is all-important, and only in so far as it is seen and recognized by the church will the College assume its proper place in the work of the Academy.

     IV
     For thirty-one years the College has been endeavoring to perpetuate itself. It has educated most of our teachers and some of our laymen. If, after this period of time, it is permissible to evaluate the work of the College, I think it can be said that it has more than justified its existence. It has, unless I grossly misjudge the evidence, pointed the way to that means of evangelization which will result in the growth of the church. I believe that experience has shown that the church cannot survive on a mere knowledge of doctrine, for even knowledge derived from the Word is sterile unless it goes forth into use. Uses, however, cannot be seen unless men think from the Writings. By uses we do not here refer to services, but to the Divine purpose in creation. When this is seen and acknowledged-when it is the Divine will and not man's will that is done-then the church is not merely an ecclesiastical body but a living organism, and where there is life there is growth.
     Right here I would stress that fact that I do not believe that a Junior College certificate is the mark of New Churchmanship. Many of our most faithful adherents have never had the opportunity to attend a New Church school. Nor will my point in this paper be proved by an examination of our list of college graduates. This group, as well as others, includes those who have lost interest in the church. Yet I do believe that the development of the Junior College offers an unparalleled opportunity for that kind of growth which, to use the words of Bishop Benade, "has a future of unmeasurable extension and untold use." The reason for this is that he who thinks from the Writings thinks in terms of use.
     If, then, we attempt to define the specific function of the College, I believe that it can be said that it is the branch of our educational system which trains the mind in those modes of thought which look to use. It is not merely an introduction to doctrine, but the application of doctrine to those various fields of human knowledge which comprise the college curriculum.

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Certainly history as it is taught in our schools presents a very different picture than that same subject as taught in other schools. With us history is not viewed as an evolutionary process whereby civilization emerged from the primitive forms of tribal life; it is the life-story of the human race from its celestial beginnings to the dawn of that rational age wherein man can "enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith." In both instances the facts are the same; the differences is one of interpretation. The same is true of literature, of language, and of the sciences. In the sciences, for instance, we find an ever enriched field of illustrations that, when seen from truth, serve as confirmations of the laws of Divine order. Yet science is science wherever it is taught, nor can it be anything else; the distinction lies in the end which is served.

     We mention these things, not because they are new to you, but because we are all inclined to evaluate institutions in terms of personalities rather than purpose. The fact that as individuals our teachers are limited in their gift of illustration does not mean that the potential possibilities of New Church education will not develop with time and experience. This is a new beginning in education and as yet we are only charting our course. One thing is certain, however: if the affirmative response of the church is withheld until all signs are favorable, higher New Church education will never be more than it is today.
     In this respect we must be men of vision-we must look to the future, although what can be done at any time must be determined by the present. Our goal is a New Church university with departments and schools that include every known field of knowledge and skill. Today this seems remote, but in the continued development of our Junior College the foundation for the future is laid. This development, however, cannot be forced; it must come as the need is seen. At present the demand is for a basic education which will prepare our students for the professional schools of the world. This is the work of the Junior College and as it is perfected the demand will come for a further extension of the use.
     In emphasizing the Junior College we do not mean to disregard the yeoman work of the Senior College. To date, however, the work of this higher department has been largely confined to the preparation of ministers and teachers. It is indispensable and, in one sense, is more important than the Junior College. Yet the problem to which I am addressing myself this evening does not involve the relative merits of departments, but the extension of our work so that it will serve many rather than few. For the present our growth lies in the age level of the Junior College.

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     We wish that it were possible for every child born of New Church parents to have the advantage of a New Church education until the time comes for specialization. Fully to appreciate the reason for this, we must understand that there is a basic difference between a professional training and an academic education. When a young man chooses a vocation or profession, and seeks training along these lines, he comes under the protection of a use. The same does not apply to a general course in the humanities and sciences. Whereas one is a matter of practical education and is confined to the mastery of specific skills and knowledges, the other attempts to interpret the meaning of life in terms of a philosophy which is subversive of the faith of the New Church. If you have any doubts in this regard, read for yourselves those tracts which are accepted as the most advanced interpretation of the philosophy of education.

     V

     Today the Academy is confronted with the problem of enlarging its facilities to accommodate a growing student body. Various plans have been suggested and none is without merit. It seems to me, however, that the plan which is finally adopted should recognize the fact that the primary reason the problem exists is due to the growth of the Junior College. It is my hope, therefore, that the needs of this department will receive first consideration. This applies not only to physical facilities but to the human equation as well. If the Junior College is to inspire the confidence of the church the efforts of its faculty cannot be diversified over a wide range in the educational field. The ideal for which we should work is the day when the College will have a faculty which is distinct from the personnel of other departments.
     There are other matters connected with the normal development of the College which are of interest, but we do not have time to speak of them here. I have mentioned a few because I believe that, although they are educational problems, the final solution must await the sympathetic response of the church as a whole. If, therefore, in this address I have taken the liberty to speak of matters which may seem quite outside your province and mine, it is because I am convinced that the real growth of the Academy, and its various departments, can come only as the church responds to the needs.
     In this regard it should be understood that I am not addressing you this evening as a representative of the Academy, but as one who, like yourselves, is interested in the growth and development of the Academy. My particular interest at this time is in a phase of our work which is already well begun, but which needs to be emphasized at this time due to the circumstances which exist.

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I have, therefore, endeavored to focus your attention upon the development of the Junior College, and I am sure that if Bishop Benade were alive today he would view this matter as a further extension of that use to which he gave his love and genius. I also believe that if Swedenborg had foreseen the Academy movement, his letter to Dr. Beyer would not have referred to the universities of the world, but to those universities which one day would arise throughout the world.
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1968

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION       MORNA HYATT       1968

     The Seventy-first Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held on Monday, May 27, 1968, at the Civic and Social Club in Bryn Athyn. Fifty-one members and 26 guests were present.
     Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., was re-elected president, and the following were elected to the Board of Directors: Messrs. Elmo C. Acton, Lennart O. Alfelt, Edward F. Allen, E. Boyd Asplundh, Charles S. Cole, W. Cairns Henderson, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Joel Pitcairn, and Tomas Spiers. At a meeting of the Board after the Annual Meeting the following officers were re-elected: vice president, Mr. Charles S. Cole; secretary, Miss Morna Hyatt; treasurer, Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh; editor, Mr. Edward F. Allen.
     In the Annual Address, "Some Aspects and Implications of Evolution," Dr. Grant R. Doering emphasized that evolution is a concept of how man got here and why; it does not properly treat of cause. After listing the premises for his thinking, Dr. Doering displayed diagrams outlining his tentative concept of man and his place in the creation series; the diagrams relating teachings of the Writings about influx and degrees to what has been learned from nature about the development of living things. He drew attention to the many statements in the Writings that God alone is living and we are organic vessels with an appearance of life, and asked why New Church men hesitate to accept the idea that this world of non- life follows material laws. Dr. Doering then described how the transition from animal to man might have come about, use producing the form. Finally, he developed the idea that there are three central values in evolution: scientific, theological and religious.
     Messrs. Joel Pitcairn, Daniel Goodenough, Leon Rhodes, Paul Simonetti, Wilfred Howard, Erik Sandstrom, Kurt Nemitz, Theodore Pitcairn and Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., joined in the discussion which followed and in thanking the speaker.

     (Continued on page 352)

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USES OF OLD AGE 1968

USES OF OLD AGE       FRANK S. ROSE       1968

     "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age." (Zechariah 8: 4.)

     So the prophet speaks to a people weary of conflict, longing for a return to peace. He strengthens them with the thought that the time would actually come when children would once again play in their streets, and when people would live to a good age.
     This is a picture of a balanced society, in which people of various ages dwell together and enrich each other's lives with their different spheres. When any one age group is for some reason lacking, society is less perfect, less full. Yet on the other hand it sometimes appears that old age is not so important, and that the old are an encumbrance to society. It is not uncommon to hear of instances in which one generation ignores another, particularly the old. They are for the most part outside of the stream of business affairs, bewildered by the tastes and attitudes of the young, unable to keep pace with the rush of events, and troubled by infirmities.
     Yet think how important it is to have older people to give stability and depth to life, and this for many reasons, not the least of which is that old age is a full state, as described in these passages. After speaking of the ages of man-beginning with infancy and childhood, when the person learns things from the Word and stores them in the memory; then of youth, when he thinks about these teachings within himself, and is pleased if he can add something from his own thought; and then of adult life, when he begins to think about use and not so much about doctrine apart from use-they say that this leads to the fourth age, which in general dates from the sixtieth year, "when comes the age of his regeneration, because the state is full."* "He loves the Word and doctrinal things that are from the Word, that is, truth, for the sake of the good of life. . . . Thus good comes to be in the prior place."** This new state cannot exist until the understandable but petty human ambitions and vain-glory have subsided.

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At that age the person is not so much concerned about making a good impression on the world, or through some great use becoming famous; but is rather content to live the life that is before him, no matter how restricted, in a spirit of trust in the Lord, and with a real concern to serve Him faithfully.
     * AC 2636.
     ** AC 3603: 3.
     The term, old age, as used in the Word does not refer to old age itself but rather to regeneration, in which the old man is put off, and in which the innocence of infancy returns and is joined with wisdom.* "For old age, in the internal sense, does not signify old age, because the internal man, or man's spirit, does not know what old age is; but as the body or external man grows old, the internal passes into newness of life, man's spirit being perfected by age as his bodily powers diminish."**
     * AC 3254.
     ** AC 4676.

     The remarkable thing about this teaching is that it shows a Divine purpose in the infirmities of advancing years. Just as the freshness and vitality of youth lead to states of discovery and intense activity, so by the slowing down of physical power people are brought into states of regeneration. The loves of this world begin to cool. Values change. Material possessions mean less, and simple gestures of love and thoughtfulness mean more. The illusion we all entertain at one time or another-that we will live in the natural world forever-grows thin, and people become more conscious of this life as a preparation for the next. And as the light of this world grows less demanding, the light of spiritual truth shines in greater splendor. As the Writings teach: "Old age is the last age, when corporeal things begin to be put off, and with them the loves of the preceding age, and thus when the interiors begin to be enlightened."*
     * AC 3492.
     Thus in the various ages of man the spirits associated with him change according to his affections. Certain ones are with him as an infant, others in childhood, still others in youth and manhood, and others again in old age; and these, we are told, are spirits who are in wisdom and innocence, and who form a link with the inmost or third heaven.*
     * HH 295.
     It is wonderful how the cycle of life seems to go full circle, with infancy and old age sharing some of the same qualities, like the similarity of color in spring and autumn, in the sunrise and in the sunset. In its way, the sunset is richer in color, when the light of the sun must pass through air charged with the results of the working day. So, too, with the autumn, whose colors are rich and deep, and full of "mellow fruitfulness." And this merely represents the human cycle, in which people return to the state of innocence like that of their childhood, but enriched by all the many experiences, hopes, frustrations, uses and maturing loves of an entire life.

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For "man has been so created that during his childhood he is in innocence, to the end that he may come by the former into the latter, and from the latter return into the former. For the same reason, when a man becomes old he dwindles in body and becomes again like a little child, but like a wise child, that is, an angel."*
     * HH 278: 3. Cf. HH 414; AC 3185.
     Therefore the angels do not think of old age; for how can the spirit grow old? And people speak of "growing old," but rarely of "being old," since the spirit grows younger by the very process of release from the tyranny of the body. "For human life, from infancy to old age, is nothing else than a progression from the world to heaven."* Through the transition which we call death they pass from an obscure world into a clear one, from the cocoon of infirmity to the "freedom and joy of eternal youth."** "They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."***
     * AC 3016.
     ** AC 1854.
     *** Isaiah 40: 31.

     We can say, then, that one of the greatest uses of old age is the use of regeneration itself. This is not to say that people regenerate because they are old, but rather that those who suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord through the infirmities and temptations of advancing years are brought into greater humility and wisdom, and their life is reborn and resurrected as a preparation for the resurrection that takes place after death.
     The use of age to the individual is, then, very important. But think of the value to younger people of having as friends those who are in this state! They form a vital link with heaven itself, by their sphere, by their example, by their very presence in our midst.
     Yet, paradoxically, one of the temptations of old age is a feeling of uselessness. But this is because many of the old are unable for various reasons to carry on with their life's occupation. Such occupations are, of course, a vital part of use, but they are not the only part. Even in the lives of those who are in the full stride of their life's work, some time and energy are spent outside of that work in various duties, kindnesses and relaxations. As a general rule it may be said that people ought to perform some active use to the neighbor, ought to devote themselves to the welfare of others. But this is not always possible, and in that case other uses can be strengthened.
     What, for example, of the use of reading and reflecting on the Word of the Lord? We are told that this forms a vital and essential use both to earth and to heaven.

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It is necessary to the very existence of all other uses that there be those who, though living on earth, have their thoughts and affections directed to heaven, and to the Lord as He is revealed in the Word. And by the very nature of life, this use is performed in a special way by older people. This is not only because they have more time for it, but also because they are capable of deeper thought and a more innocent acceptance of what is taught there. From long experience they know the reality of the Divine Providence, and are able to look back and marvel at its perfection and mercy. As it is said in the Psalms: "I have been young, and am now old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."*
     * Psalm 37: 25.

     The wisdom of old age is compared in the Word to a dream, as in Joel: "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions."*
     * Joel 2: 28.
     The new thoughts and perceptions of old age are represented in the Word in those stories in which an aged couple unexpectedly become the parents of a child, as Abraham and Sarah, and Zacharias and Elisabeth. For the things we learned in childhood were very general. In youth we learn certain particulars, and in adult life-as we read and hear again teachings of the Word we have long known-we begin to appreciate the finer details, so that the general doctrine is infilled and brought into sharp focus.* In later life the thoughts are ordered and arranged into heavenly patterns so that all of a person's beliefs may bow down to the spirit of love to the Lord and charity, which are then seen as the ruling principles of life. This reordering of the mind in old age is represented by the way in which Jacob arranged for the meeting with his brother, Esau, and ordered his family into groups so that he could approach him with humility and supplication.**
     * AC 4345: 4.
     ** See AC 4063, 4136: 2.
     Indeed humility is one of the greatest fruits of old age. And with humility there is a forgetfulness of self and the demands of self. The old are forced to relinquish to others the uses to which they have devoted their lives. They have to accept the fact that the use is more important than their contribution to it; that they may decrease, but the use will always increase. To grow old, then, with the conviction that uses are carried on that have been so dear to one's heart, and even to feel that although done differently they are being done effectively, and perhaps more perfectly, is to grow old in security and peace.

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But however things may change, each generation, while it may improve on the past, needs links with the past: living links as represented in the hearts of people who carry within them the ever brighter memories of events that took place before the new generation was born.
     The blend of generations therefore gives depth, balance and perspective. The old who live in trust in the Lord, who delight in reading His Word, who are devoted to their married partners, who rejoice in the possibility of worship, and who find pleasure in seeing new generations grow up to take their place, are themselves a delight to the society in which they live and enrich it more than they can understand. It is because through them the Lord brings enlightenment and blessing to His people on earth, and leads them to heaven.
     There are, of course, problems that are peculiar to old age, not just the problem of health, but also the problem of living in the present. It is easy for older people to live increasingly in the past. This may be in a spirit of regret and of unhealthy concern about things that ought to be forgotten; or in a spirit of self-indulgence, glorying in ancient memories as if they were the only important things in life. As a corrective, it is only necessary to turn their thoughts outside of self, to rest in the Lord, to take an interest in the welfare of others, to keep the lines of communication between the generations open as much as possible. These have much to learn from each other. The innocence of childhood together with the innocence of old age, the visions of the young together with the dreams of the old, the work of adult life with the maturity of experience and the knowledges of truth together with the affections of charity, the playfulness of love together with the staff of judgment and wisdom.
     "Thus saith the Lord of hosts: There shall yet old men and old women dwell in the streets of Jerusalem, and every man with his staff in his hand for very age. And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof." Amen.

     LESSONS: Genesis 17: 15-22. Psalm 92. Arcana Coelestia 3603.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 430, 475, 465.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 80, 134.

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LIFE OF JUSTICE 1968

LIFE OF JUSTICE       Jr. Rev. DANIEL GOODENOUGH       1968

     Presented to the Council of the Clergy, January 24, 1968.

     "Render therefore, unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's."* A true man of religion understands that he must render unto God the things that are God's. Yet it is not less a commandment of the Lord to render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's. The life of civil order-the life of justice-forms an important ultimate of regeneration. It is an obligation and responsibility owed to the Lord as well as to Caesar that the civil life must compel its due attention from us.
     * Matthew 22: 21.

     1.     Angelic Interest in Civil Things

     The intended use of the civil state is not limited to securing sufficient social order that the church on earth may grow and prosper. By means of the civil state a considerable number of uses are provided through which men can ultimate the spiritual absolutes of good and truth. Surely this is one reason for the existence of civil affairs in the heavens. Formal political organization seems to be virtually non-existent in the celestial heaven; but still matters of "justice" that pertain to life do come into question and are decided upon for all by the wise, who are enlightened by the Lord.* While the Writings use the term justitia in different senses, in most of the passages to be introduced in this study it seems to be restricted to the meaning of civil or social justice (Part 3, below). The reader's attention will be called to the fact whenever the word is used in a broader sense. Below the celestial heaven, civil government is considerably more organized. State and church are separated as to organization;** and although particular forms of government vary in accordance with the uses of the different societies,*** we do find formal civil government, laws, courts of justice, and organization of governors into ministries and administrative positions of higher and lower degrees.****
     * HH 214. Cf. AE 828.
     ** HH 388, 393.
     *** HH 217.
     **** HH 215, 218; CL 207: 3.
     Nor are civil affairs in heaven accepted as a mere necessity.

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Angels discuss among themselves not only spiritual and moral matters but also their civil and domestic concerns.* On occasion Swedenborg joined in the discussion and then knew no other than that he was talking with men on earth.** Investigation of the laws of justice is at least one means by which the angels become intelligent.*** One memorable relation describes the rather natural surprise of three newcomers at finding courts of justice in heaven, since they expected that everyone in heaven would be directly inspired by God so as to understand what is just and right. But the presiding elder replied: "In this world we are taught what is good and true and what is just and equitable, and we learn this just as in the natural world, learning it, not immediately from God, but mediately through others."****
     * HH 234; AC 4366: 2.
     ** HH 234.
     *** HH 393: 2.
     **** CL 207: 4.
     The newcomers' surprise is surely understandable, and it might easily occur to us at first glance that the affairs of civil life are, after all, just common sense, and that simply a life of regeneration, with its attendant enlightenment from the Lord, renders a man fit to determine what is just and right. Besides, so many of the issues that come up in the area of civil and social justice are concerned with external things, and the New Church is to be concerned with the life of the spirit. The temptation to regard the civil life as either too external to be given serious and detailed consideration or as having very simple answers that can be reached with no real study and with a minimum of reflection is understandable. Yet even the angels cannot simply perceive from their enlightenment what is just and right; they must learn about such things from others, just "as in the natural world."* Their attitude should make clear the need in the New Church for deliberate and thorough study of what constitutes civil justice. For "the knowledge of a thing must precede in order that there may be a perception of it."**
     * Ibid.
     ** AC 5609: 3. Cf. 3203: 2.

     2.     How the Civil Order Affects the Spirit

     Moreover, it is clear from the Writings that the civil forms of society are not mere externals lacking in eternal meaning for the people living under them. It is well known that creation proceeded from primes through intermediates to ultimates, but in preserving His creation the Lord rules and disposes "ultimates from firsts, and thus all intermediates from firsts by means of ultimates."* "For when the Lord operates, He operates not from firsts through mediates into ultimates, but from firsts through ultimates and thus into mediates."**

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In and from ultimates "is all Divine operation."***
     * AE 405: 24.
     ** AE 1086: 5. See also AE 41, 113, 328: 5 et al.
     *** AE 440: 5.
     An important application of this principle is that the mental characteristics of the people of different societies seem to be determined partially by the civil order under which they live. While the mental qualities of different peoples originate in some degree from within, the Writings give several instances in which civil laws have had permanent effects on the mind. Perhaps the best known example is that of the English, whose superior enlightenment in the spiritual world is said to have resulted from the freedom of speech permitted by the civil laws. Many passages praise the English for their "interior intellectual light." In the spiritual world the more excellent of them were placed in the center of all Christians. "This light they derive from the liberty of thinking, and thence of speaking and of writing, in which they are. With others, who are not in such liberty, intellectual light is darkened because it has no outlet."*
     *CLJ 40. See also CLJ 20, 48; LJ 48; TCR 807; and on the enlightenment of the English in general, see AR 675; TCR 808; LJ post. 6; SD 5357, 5369, 5577, 5629, 5705, 5951.

     Another passage mentions that while many Roman Catholic peoples allow themselves to be compelled in religion, "the English nation do not . . . . and as a consequence of this there is an internal in their worship."* This passage does not, like the previous ones noted, state whether the reason for this refusal to be compelled is from the English character-thus from within-or from the relative freedom of religion that obtained in England during the age of Swedenborg. In view of the other teachings about the reason for English enlightenment, and in view of the historical fact that of 18th century European states England was almost alone in permitting some real freedom of religion, it is not unreasonable to conclude that English civil laws contributed to an internal of worship. (The Dutch also permitted some degree of religious freedom, and it is not surprising to find that the enlightenment of the Dutch is likened to that of the English, in contrast to the relative obscurity of other nations.** Incidentally, Swedenborg was not able to publish any of the theological Writings except in England and Holland.)
     * DP 136: 4.
     ** See CLJ 48; LJ post. 5; TCR 814.
     Two nearly identical passages* explain further the source of English enlightenment and sincerity.**

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Why, Swedenborg asked some English spirits, are the English willing to see truths, once they have been uttered by someone worthy of belief, and why also do they then "easily conform to them?" Swedenborg noted also that this English characteristic distinguished their life "from the life of all other nations." While we might have expected the answer that the English simply were more deeply affected by the truth, and so made better spiritual choices, the explanation actually given shows the part civil laws can play in determining national character.
     * LJ post. 5; SD 5629.
     ** On the sincerity of the English see CLJ 41; TCR 808.
     The English government was compared with the nearly opposite government in Italy. Italians were not effectively prevented from killing and exercising deceit, as a result of "so many sanctuaries" and also religious dispensations. But the Inquisition altogether destroyed the freedom to speak and write on ecclesiastical and civil affairs. "Hence it is that the Italian race keeps all things within; and those of them who are evil retain a fire inwardly in themselves which is hatred, revenge, ferocity; which fire also is like that which lies concealed under ashes after a conflagration, and smolders."* With the English such a conflagration was not allowed to burst forth into act, because strictly enforced civil laws removed all freedom to murder, rob and deceive; "and if they do, there is no remission."** Thus as to actions the English were "kept in sincerity and justice, by means of its not being permitted them to cheat, to rob and to kill."*** What fire there was among the English was not concealed as among the Italians, but was permitted to flare up instantly and to burn out through the freedom to speak and write on civil and ecclesiastical affairs.****
     *SD 5629. Cf.
     ** LJ post. 5.
     *** SD 5629; LJ post. 5.
     **** SD 5629.

     Such is the explanation given by the Writings for significant national characteristics-among them sincerity, and the ability to see and obey truth. It is obvious that individual free choices of good must combine with effective civil order before a good character can be built up either in a person or in a society, but still the role played by civil organization is a fundamental one. Thus one of the passages quoted above notes that the governments in Italy and England "are perfect opposites; thence also it is that their geniuses differ."* It is possible also that the civil organization of England is partly responsible for the scarcity in England of a certain type of person who was idle but loved pre-eminence, honor and dominion over others; in England "they give attention to their domestic affairs and business concerns."**

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While the civil order of England did in fact encourage such practical industriousness more than was the case elsewhere, the Writings do not specifically say whether this virtue originated from the external condition of society as well as from the spirit within.
     * Ibid.
     ** SD 5791 1/2.
     The German nation provides no less effective an illustration of the importance of the civil order in molding eternal characteristics in man. The division of 18th century Germany into more than 300 politically independent, sovereign states of various sizes is used in the Writings to illustrate further the principle that a people's genius or character varies as government varies. We read:

     "It is well known that the inhabitants of every kingdom that is divided into several states are not alike in genius; and that these differ from one another in particular points just as those who live in the various countries of the globe have their general points of difference; but still that there is a common genius prevailing among those who are subject to one kingdom, and who consequently are under one constitutional law. Germany is divided into more governments than the neighboring kingdoms. There is an imperial government there, which exercises general authority over all, but the prince of each state enjoys despotic right in his particular state; for there are greater and smaller duchies, and each duke is as a monarch in his own state. Moreover, religion is divided in Germany; in some states the people are Evangelical, so-called; in some they are Reformed; and in some they are Roman Catholic. Such being the diversity of both government and religion, it is more difficult to describe the Germans as to their dispositions, inclinations and life, from those seen in the spiritual world, than other nations and peoples. However, as a common genius prevails everywhere among people speaking the same language, it may in some measure be seen and described from impressions gathered in that world."
     * TCR 813.

     This passage specifies three factors-religion, government and language-that together contribute to the formation of a national or social genius. It might at first seem that the word, genius, refers in this context to external characteristics only-to national features that are lost at death. But the two numbers that immediately follow the above passage make clear that genius here involves internal qualities. We read:

     "As the Germans live under a despotic government in each state, they do not enjoy freedom of speech and writing like the Dutch and the British; and where this freedom is restrained, freedom of thought, that is, of taking the widest view of things, is restrained at the same time. It is as if a cistern were walled round to catch the water of a spring which rises till it reaches an outlet, and higher the water cannot rise. Thought is like the inflowing water, while speech from thought is like the cistern. In a word, influx adapts itself to efflux; and understanding from above adapts itself to the degree of freedom that is enjoyed of uttering and carrying into effect what has been thought. This is why this noble nation devotes itself to matters of memory rather than to matters of judgment.

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Thus they particularly cultivate literary history, and in their books they show their trust in men of reputation and learning among them; for their opinions they quote extensively and subscribe to their views. Their state is represented in the spiritual world by a man carrying books under his arms; and if anyone raises a dispute on a matter of opinion, he says, 'I will give you an answer', and forthwith takes one of these books and reads from it."*
     *TCR 814.
     "One of the many results from this state of mind is that they keep the spiritual things of the church inscribed on the memory. They seldom elevate them into the higher understanding, but only admit them into the lower understanding, from which they reason about them; and in this they differ entirely from free nations. In the spiritual matters of the church, that is, in theological matters, free nations are like eagles, which soar to any height they please; whereas nations that are not free are like swans on a river. Free nations are also like the noble stags with lofty horns that roam the fields, groves and forests in perfect freedom; whereas nations that are not free are like deer enclosed in parks, and kept for the private benefit of some prince. Again, peoples with their liberty resemble flying horses, like that called Pegasus by the ancients, that fly not only over the seas but also over Parnassian heights, and over the seats of the Muses that lie below; whereas peoples who have not been granted their liberty are like high-bred horses adorned with costly trappings in the stables of kings. There is the same difference in their opinions concerning the mysteries of theology."*
     * TCR 815.

     Perhaps somewhat less well known than the case of the Germans is the effect on the Russians of the czarist government. Swedenborg naturally met Russians of widely differing spiritual states, at one time classifying some of them as being-together with the Italians-one of the two most wicked nations in Christendom.* Later passages reflect acquaintance with Russian spirits of a better sort. Russians carried their fear of the Czar into the spiritual world, believing him to be everywhere.** Swedenborg once heard some Russian spirits acknowledging in the presence of their Czar (Peter the Great, who died in 1725) that he (the Czar) had power over their lives and their professions, to such an extent that these "are not theirs but his."*** The Czar also said that everything of theirs was his, because the country was his. Swedenborg argued against this view of the civil order, contending that they and their riches were their own, not the Czar's; that he had no right over their lives; that their life was from the Lord; and that both he and they were under the law.**** How these spirits received Swedenborg's civil arguments is not recorded. The number goes on to note that when the Czar wanted all their belongings, the Russians gave him everything; and that they even worshipped him as their god. The passage closes by noting that they are free from the love of self, and yet are thieves, being willing to risk anything in order to obtain money.

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The paradox of thievery apart from the love of self is what we would expect in a peasantry so subject to the whim of their monarch that they are willing to impoverish themselves for him. Russian history and literature confirm the veracity of this report.
     * SD 5043. Cf. SD 5452 ff.
     ** SD 5452e.
     *** SD 5949.     
     **** Ibid.
     A few pages later in the Spiritual Diary some further interesting mental results of Russian absolutism are noted. After a comment that the Russians are not so wicked as the rest of Christendom, their willingness to give the Czar whatever he wants is spoken of:

     "They are in very great subordination . . . .In the other life they retain that faith, and live in the same subordination, but with this difference, that all their possessions are not the Czar's but God's, given them to apply rightly to uses." [While some abuse these possessions, the good Russians "purge" their society of evil members and so maintain a sphere of good affections. In fact, their sphere kept evil spirits of Christendom away from Swedenborg while he was with the Russians.] "They were in obedience, and were modest . . . . The reason that [they were better than evil spirits from Christendom] is that they can be kept in a good affection, owing to the fact that they are in obedience and subordination, and do not aspire to [high] places, and thus can be withheld from the will-proprium."*
     * SD 5963.

     Again it is obvious that individual good choices must accompany a strict social order before such a national character can be established; but no less obvious is the spiritual use to the Russian people of utterly autocratic government. This spiritual use does not negate Swedenborg's arguments against autocracy;* the Writings teach plainly elsewhere that the monarch is not above but below the law.** Blind obedience and subordination are lesser virtues than obedience from the affection of truth, or from the affection of good. Thus the passage concludes: "But they are scarcely at all intellectual." Presumably this was the result of the complete lack of freedom of speech and writing. Nevertheless, the willingness to obey is a virtue because there is innocence within it, and with the Russians the source of this virtue was at least in part the civil order. While the communications reported in these passages evidently took place in the world of spirits before the final judgment, it is clear that the spiritual qualities spoken of were not mere externals, but permanent characteristics of the Russian spirits.
     * SD 5949.
     ** HD 322-324.
     The Swedes also deserve some mention. One passage ascribes their addiction to inward thinking to a recent increase in civil freedom,* presumably since the death in 1718 of Charles XII. Since the introduction of non-absolute government, Swedes became more openly ambitious, and as with the English,** evil in their interiors could burst forth more quickly than when held in check by fear of the king's power.***

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Another passage notes that on account of the relative lack of wealth in Sweden, men were encouraged to seek after public employment, as opposed to business occupations. This is given as the reason that the love of exercising dominion was more prominent in Sweden than in other countries.**** It is axiomatic that only an individual's free choices can lead him to hell, yet it is evident that quite external circumstances may determine the particular direction his evils, or goods, will take.
     * SD 5057.
     ** See above SD 5629; LJ post. 5.
     *** SD 5037.
     **** SD 5046.

     Another example of this is a group of evil Mohammedan spirits who told Swedenborg they could not approach the Lord Jesus Christ because of their hatred for their Christian enemies.* Such an argument scarcely excused this group of evil spirits, but how many good Mohammedans were discouraged from thinking of the Lord Jesus Christ as God by the political fact of their endless warfare against so-called Christians? To ask the question in a modern form: how really free are the yellow, brown and black races to consider seriously the white man's religion as long as they are led to believe that the white man is their oppressor? Self-conscious colored races have become exceptionally sensitive today to the slightest insinuations that they are inferior to the white race. It is easy to say: "We are not oppressing you; now consider this religion." In view of the ferocity of racial pride in the 20th century, I suspect that the colored man will find it increasingly difficult emotionally to consider the religion of a white man until he can see in his own mind that that white man is not oppressing him and does not believe him inferior, but loves him as a human being.
     * SD 5665a.
     More could be said of the importance of the civil order in establishing an environment where true religion may flourish. The sword cannot convert, but at times in history the sword has been necessary to maintain a freedom to approach the Word. The Writings refer to the holocaust of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) as one such instance,* and they give considerable discussion to the half-political, half-ecclesiastical struggle between the Pope and the Gallican Church of France.** It is sufficient for our purposes to observe the implication that political facts can be crucial to the establishment of the Lord's kingdom on earth.
     *Inv. 24.
     ** See DP 257: 4; AR 740; AE 1070, 1071; LJ post. 103; SD 5980.

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     I have pursued this particular avenue in considerable detail in order to demonstrate that civil forms affect man's spirit, not merely in the sense that the quality of man's life in relation to these forms determines his eternal home, but also in the sense that civil forms themselves determine some things at least about his spirit. Civil laws and their enforcement limit, to a greater or less extent, the forms that man's evils may take, and also his ability to explore freely the delights of new evils. The enforcement of civil laws will never make a man regenerate; but if he chooses to be regenerated, it would seem that they can make it easier for him by curtailing certain temptations, while still allowing his evils freedom to express themselves to some extent-and so to be recognized-through speech, writing and thinking. The temptations man must undergo in order to be regenerated are spiritual and need not always imply likely opportunities actually to do evil. This is important, because defeat in some temptations is nearly inevitable. But if defeat in temptation results in some act of evil, a person's life may be far more seriously and permanently damaged than if the civil laws effectively prevent the defeat from being ultimated. Adultery may be just as severe a temptation under strict government as under lax government; but under strict government the act of adultery-in the event of defeat in temptation-would be less likely, and repentance from the intention of adultery would be proportionately easier. We may feel that the command to shun evil intentions as sins is a hard saying, but surely it is easier to shun an evil intention before it is ultimated than after we have experienced outright pleasure from its performance.

     If, on the other hand, a man is not regenerating, the civil laws can make it harder for him to fall into worse evils and to explore and enjoy his heredity. Effective civil laws can also protect the innocent, physically and spiritually. Everyone is free to choose heaven or hell, yet I cannot but think that the civil laws made spiritual progress easier in 18th century England than Italy. Civil laws and their enforcement encourage certain types of conduct and discourage others-each of which is more or less a suitable ultimate for the life of regeneration. The government which encourages certain forms of spiritual life, and discourages expressions of the loves of self and the world, would seem to make it easier to progress spiritually. I think it is as simple as that. The Lord from firsts governs intermediates by means of ultimates. Externals do matter.
     Now in Swedenborg's time the spiritually most important civil issue was freedom of speech in religion and politics, and so we find considerable discussion of this in the Writings, as demonstrated above. While today the matter is generally less crucial than previously, there may be other civil issues which have become as important to the establishment of the Lord's church on earth as civil freedom was two hundred years ago.

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For example, the Writings say relatively little of the importance of protecting the innocent from the abuses of free speech. One number notes in passing that man may be compelled "not to speak ill of the laws of the kingdom, the moralities of life, and the sanctities of the church," thus far, in fact, he is compelled "and ought to be compelled [cogendum est]."* Another number states: "In kingdoms where justice and judgment are guarded [or defended, protected; Latin, custodiunter], everyone is restrained from speaking and acting against religion."** Finally, the Arcana includes among the Old Testament laws "altogether to be observed and done" the command: "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of thy people."***
     *DP 136: 2.
     ** DP 129: 2.
     *** AC 9309: 4. See Exodus 22: 28.

     No contradiction is here implied with the passages cited earlier that extol freedom of speech; there is a vast area for freedom to discuss and criticize in religion and politics short of reviling God, cursing the ruler, or speaking against religion itself, morality itself, and laws of true justice. It is abundantly clear, however, that freedom of speech ought to have well-defined limits in order to protect society from evil. It is interesting to note in this connection that before the Lord openly castigated the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy, He first carefully warned His disciples to beware of their influence.* Protection of the innocent would seem to be a prior civil obligation to judgment of the evil.
     * Matthew 23: 1-13ff.
     In the 18th century the problem of protecting society from the abuses of free speech was relatively minor, and the Writings say relatively little about it. Most societies were considerably over-protected. Exploration of most news stands and book racks today-not to mention movie theaters and the mails-would indicate that proper civil control of free speech is every bit as spiritually important for us in 1968 as was freedom of speech in religion and politics in the 18th century. What the New Church can do in this area, even in alliance with concerned non-New Church men, may be little indeed. But the magnitude of the practical problem should not divert us from acknowledging its seriousness. Intermediates are governed from primes by means of ultimates, and as times and ultimates change we must consistently support the establishment of orderly civil ultimates-even if they have received relatively little direct discussion in the Writings.

344



     Other civil issues that may be more important to the church today than when the Writings were given include the opportunity to work; the problem of social organization among the very poor (we lack barbaric poorhouses, but in some ways urban poverty would appear to disrupt people's moral and spiritual standards more fundamentally today than previously); racial tensions; the question of to what extent national and racial genius may be altered by changes in the civil order; ideological warfare between different social theories (a phenomenon virtually unknown until after Swedenborg's death); and the question of how necessary to man's spiritual development are the economic "necessaries of life."

     3.     Justice and Regeneration

     The civil life, moreover, is important not only on account of the effects that laws and their enforcement have on the spirit. Because we are still so few in numbers, the more immediate use to us of the civil life is that part it plays in individual regeneration. There are a number of direct exhortations in the Writings to the effect that a man should love his country, pay its taxes "willingly and with good grace,"* and obey its laws-even to the extent that he ought to be willing to die in its defense.** In a country that was founded on an illegal, if just, act, and in which there lives a strong popular tradition that individual decisions as to what is just and right may, and indeed should, take precedence over written laws, it would seem obvious that these basic teachings about the civil life, and especially about the supremacy of law, can bear considerable repetition.
     * TCR 430.
     ** TCR 414.
     A still greater emphasis on the civil life can be seen in the Writings when it is understood how often the term, justice, (justitia) is restricted to the civil realm. "Justice," or in some translations, "righteousness," is frequently predicated of the Lord alone, and in such passages it clearly refers to the Divine justice He became by the acts of redemption.* A few passages use the term, justice, to refer both to the moral life and the civil life.** A surprising number, however, use the term, justice, in a stricter sense of civil (or social) justice only, while such terms as sincerity, honesty, or honorableness, are used to describe the life of true morality.*** It is also made abundantly plain in the Writings that all genuine justice, that is, all genuine civil good, is from the Lord alone.

345


A typical statement is: "Sincerity is moral good and truth, and justice is civil good and truth; and all good and truth are from the Lord and not from man because they are done from the internal through the external."****
     * TCR 95, 96.
     ** Wis. XI: 5, 2; AE 831; 6; SD min 5537; CL 164, 351: 3. Cf. TCR 341.
     *** AC 2831; 4, 2915, 4366: 2, 6598, 8861: 2, 8908: 2, 9283, 9812: 2; AR 865, 920; HH 468, 481, 484, 530; TCR 55, 444; AE 794: 3, 831: 5, 948: 4, 976: 3, 1112, 1167; Char. 130, 131, 135.
     **** AE 794: 3. Cf. AC 8123; AE 805: 3; Char. 58, 59; TCR 96, 459: 16, et al.
     Hence it may be seen that the Writings exhort man to lead a just civil life not only in those passages where the words, civil, law and kingdom are used. Many more passages which speak only of justice and equity, or of what is just and right, have particular if not exclusive reference to the goods and truths of civil life. For example, there is the oft-repeated teaching that the works of charity consist in doing what is just and right, everyone in his own office, from the love of what is just and fair and of what is good and true.* Indeed, a man should not merely act justly, but perceive in himself delight and affection for what is just and fair in his employment.** The internal bonds of the spirit include, as well as affections for what is good and true and fear of the Divine law, affections for what is just and fair and a sense of shame in doing harm to one's society and one's country.*** Not merely the literal but also the internal sense of the Eighth Commandment (against false witnesses) prohibits the perversion of civil justice.**** "Every falsification of truth, spiritual, moral and civil, which is done from an evil heart, is false witness."
     * AC 4730: 3, 4783: 5, 8123, 8253, 9210: 2; Life 83, 84; HH 360, 472, 530; DP 322; TCR 422, 459: 16; SD 5037e, et al.
     ** AC 3928: 2. Cf. AC 6318.
     *** AC 4793: 4.
     **** AE 1019: 2.
     Moreover, just as no aspect of life can be separated from the spiritual issues of good and truth, neither can any area of living be separated from moral and civil issues.* Restricting the realm of spiritual good and truth to only certain parts of our life leads to faith alone in religion; and similarly, to regard parts of our life as separate either from moral questions of right or civil questions of justice constitutes faith alone in these areas. Accordingly a man is exhorted to live laws not only as civil and moral laws, but also as Divine laws, and he will become a spiritual man.** Both of these passages refer to the commandments of the Decalogue, yet their contexts imply that the civil and moral laws that are meant include all genuine laws of civil and moral good and truth.*** Thus polygamists are saved if they have in the world acknowledged God and from religion lived according to the civil laws of justice."****

346


Again, while the first three of the Ten Commandments principally regard spiritual life, and the last three principally regard moral life, the four commandments against killing, adultery and stealing, and enjoining the honoring of parents, are said to be laws of civil life;***** again indicating the importance of this life. In outlining eight things in which the general or common good consists, Doctrine of Charity lists the following: that the Divine be among men; that there be justice and morality, and industry, knowledge and uprightness; that there be the necessaries of life, things necessary to men's occupations, and things necessary for protection; that there be a sufficiency of wealth, "because from this come the three former necessaries." Of the eight items, one relates to religion, two relate principally to morality, and five relate principally to the area of civil life.
     * HH 484. Cf. HH 530.
     ** DP 322; HH 530.
     *** Ibid. Cf. HH 533; AR 920.
     **** CL 351.
     ***** HH 531.

     The implication of all these teachings, with the possible exception of the last, is that the civil life is important in itself for man's regeneration: not simply for the maintenance of external order in the world, but in order that his life of civil or social justice may ultimate the regeneration of his spirit. Civil justice, including individual judgments of the civil and moral life of others,* is plainly necessary to maintain the external fabric of society-an external order without which the church would be seriously threatened. While this point is frequently stressed, the importance to the individual spirit of a life of justice should receive at least as much emphasis. If man believes he should obey the civil laws because this is necessary to society, he will still manage to disobey disagreeable laws if he can convince himself that his disobedience will not disrupt society. He will feel differently if he acknowledges that disobedience to civil laws is harmful to the spirit-just as moral weakness is harmful.
     * CL 523; AE 629: 14.
     We can be overscrupulous about insignificant questions, and individual judgment is needed in leading a life of civil justice. But it is all too easy to pass off disagreeable demands as the burden of a falsely scrupulous conscience; a few more scruples about some external things could be healthy for the New Church. In civil life especially more scruples may perhaps be risked pretty safely without danger from conscience-mongering spirits.*
     * AC 5386, 5724.
     The command to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, then, has a much wider relevance than the mere establishment of a stable society in which the church may thrive. It is, in fact, a law of regeneration. The Writings demonstrate this clearly by going far beyond such general statements about the civil life and justice as have been mentioned.

347


In the scope of this study a summary of these fuller teachings must suffice.
     While man is living in the world, the objects of his internal sight include truths of the civil state. There are in his natural understanding together with moral truths, natural truths. All of these truths originate with truths Divine, "which are the eternal beginnings of all things," in accordance with the teaching of John 1: 1.* The spiritual things residing in man's inmost make the head, his civil things make the body, and the knowledges belonging to science, experience and skill make the feet, or the seat on which the higher things rest. Therefore man is a perfect man when these three flow in proper order. Consequently the wisdom of life consists in shunning evils not only because they are hurtful to soul and body but also because they are hurtful to the commonwealth, and in doing goods because they are beneficial to the commonwealth as well as to soul and body.** Civil things from the natural world thus provide some of the vessels by which the spiritual body is formed in the natural body.*** Civil and political things occupying the lower regions of the mind are like little buildings on the outside of the temple, and like little courts leading to it.****
     * AC 8861: 2.
     ** CL 130. Cf. Life 13.
     *** TCR 583. Cf. AC 2718; SD min 4657.
     **** TCR 494.
     Because civil life is temporal and civil things are natural, they do not remain with man after death.* This teaching by no means lessens the importance of the civil life as an ultimate of regeneration while man lives on earth, as we shall see. The acknowledgment that party loyalties and favorite political causes will not remain with us more than a few more years may, in fact, make the true civil life easier to live. Yet surely principles of justice that become part of man from his civil life remain in his interior memory. The law involved here would seem to be the following: "All things that are in the natural memory and are in immediate conjunction with the things of bodily sense . . . [after death] become quiescent; and only such rational principles as are drawn from these then serve for thought and speech."**
     * TCR 414, 494
     ** HH 355. Cf. HH 353; SD 4744, 5785.

     Spiritual, moral and civil good are related to each other as what is highest, intermediate and ultimate, respectively.* Civil and moral good pertain to spiritual-natural good, or the good of the first heaven, which is the good of faith and of obedience.**

348


Accordingly, the degree of life in man which corresponds to the first heaven is opened by "a life in accordance with what is equitable and just," while the two higher degrees are opened by a life according to the truths of faith from the Word and the consequent goods of charity, and by a life of mutual love and love to the Lord, respectively.*** Equitable and just may here refer to the moral as well as the civil life, but see the teachings which follow. In a related series, the rational is opened to the first degree by a spiritual affection of, and life according to, civil truths, and to the second and third degrees by a spiritual affection of moral truths and spiritual truths, respectively.**** The passage referred to explains that to love what is just and equitable from spiritual affection is to love them for the sake of what is just and equitable. Before man truly understands and loves moral or spiritual truths, he must awaken to a perception of the truths of civil justice and must live according to them and love them.
     * Life 12.
     ** AC 9812: 2.
     ***AC 9594.
     **** HH 468.

     "Because . . . the heavens are successively opened in a man according to the good of his life, be it known that for this reason in some the first heaven is opened and not the second."* Accordingly, man may in some cases be saved by a life of civil good and truth. We have already seen this to be the case with the Gentiles who acknowledge God and live justly from religion.** Those are not saved whose civil and moral good is external only, that is, who have done such good for selfish reasons, not for the sake of civil and moral good itself; such are, of course, inwardly devils.*** Yet three thoroughly wicked atheists were able to receive the truths of faith temporarily after death because in this life they had "thought justly and uprightly concerning obvious matters, to wit, concerning worldly things; thus they had a plane, namely, justice and uprightness, in which the truth of faith could be implanted . . . . Natural, moral and civil good is the recipient vessel of the truth of faith."**** Others who had no regard for what is just and true, and wanted only to appear moral and civil externally, could not receive the truth as these three could.*****
     *AC 9594.
     ** CL 351.     
     *** AR 865; SD 5536, 5536, et al.
     **** SD 4396.
     ***** Ibid.
     What finally happened to the three "just" atheists is not recorded; one only is mentioned again in the Writings, and he was then evidently turning against the truths of faith, raging in externals.* In view of other teachings on atheism and interior evil it is clear that their conversion was temporary. The Diary passage nowhere states that they ever received spiritual good, only that they received the truth of faith; without good, truth, of course, cannot remain. Yet the power of their civil and moral good is notable.
     * SD 4397.

349




     In civil and moral good, then, there is a kind of conscience-provided that man does not merely seek to appear civil and moral externally, but is affected by what is honest and just for the sake of what is honest and just.* If it is to be permanent, there must be within such good something of spiritual good**-some love of the Divine which motivates obedience.*** Without acknowledgment of God and at least a vague sense that justice and morality are good because they are God's will, the principle could not be valid that "he who does what is just for the sake of justice" does good from the Lord.**** Few of the passages that follow state this condition, but in the light of countless other teachings on atheism and hypocritical good they clearly assume it.
     * SD 4396.
     ** Char. 58.
     *** Cf. CL 351.
     **** AE 794: 3.

     Even assuming this condition, the significance of a civil and moral conscience is impressive. A civil or social conscience of justice and equity is indeed exterior and exists with many (or did two centuries ago). Yet they who enjoy such a conscience are saved in the other life, "for they are of such a character that if they act contrary to what is good and true, or contrary to what is just and equitable, they are inwardly distressed and tormented . . . because they have acted contrary to good and truth, or to justice and equity."* The Lord can be with such, because His presence with man is in what is good, and therefore in what is just and equitable, and further in what is honorable and becoming . . . these goods succeed in order, and are the planes in man on which conscience is founded by the Lord. But with those who are not in these goods . . . nothing of heaven can be inseminated; for there is no plane or ground, thus there is no recipient."** Since the plane of civil justice is first opened in man, the Lord is first present with man in this good. Even if man loves himself more than others, and from this love is zealous to excel others in moral and civil life, in scientifics and doctrinals, and seeks to be exalted to dignities and wealth in pre-eminence to others; if he acknowledges and worships God, performs kind offices to his neighbor from the heart, and does what is just and fair from conscience, then good and truth can be mingled with the evil of his love of self.***

350


It is thus by means of an exterior plane of civil and moral conscience that "the Lord rules those who have not yet been regenerated, but who can be regenerated and also are being regenerated; if not in the life of the body, yet in the other life."****
     * AC 6207. That man is saved also by such a conscience, see also AC 8908; 2, and compare the implications of AC 3993: 9, 9119; HH 544; SD 5537, et al.
     ** AC 2915.
     *** 3883: 9.
     **** AC 4167: 2.
     The formation of this exterior conscience is, of course, gradual. Those who shun as sins against God the lusts of stealing and gaining wealth deceitfully, for example, "after some brief combats are withdrawn from that evil, and are led by the Lord into the good that is called integrity, and into the good that is called justice; and then they begin to think about these goods, and to look upon them from them, to look upon integrity from integrity, and upon justice from justice; and afterwards as they shun and turn away from the evil of this lust, they love the goods, and do them from love and not from compulsion. Such goods are from the Lord."* When there lives in man the affection of what is good and true for the sake of what is good and true, and also "the affection of what is just and fair," the spiritual in its essence is in him.** Because he is sincere and just his internal man is formed according to the image of heaven, and the external according to the image of the world as subordinate to heaven.*** And when he feels in himself delight and pleasantness, and still more if he feels happiness and blessedness, from the affections of good and truth, and also of what is just and right, he may know that this "is the spiritual in him, which comes . . . . through heaven from the Lord."****
     * AE 1167.
     ** AC 5639: 2. Cf. AE 794: 3; Life 13.
     ***AC 9283: 2.
     ****AC 5639: 2. Further on exterior conscience see AC 5145: 4, 8908: 29119; AE 831: 5, TCR 459: 16.
     Nevertheless exterior conscience is not in the rational, as is spiritual conscience, but in the natural.* Its motivation is external affection.** Suddenly to take away man's natural affections, even those of the love of self, "would be to extinguish the fire of his first life."*** Yet the spiritual value of his conscience is too evident to be denied, and its origin in natural affections ought not to mask its reality from us. As a social conscience develops, it is bound to derive much from simple, natural, perhaps even animal-like, good. So does the Lord lead the unregenerate man who is capable of being regenerated. It is possible that the avenue of salvation for today's host of lost souls and Gentiles is a rudimentary social conscience coupled with a simple acknowledgment of God; there may be no other good to save them.

351


We must beware of the insipid web of merely natural affections; yet we must also encourage the development of exterior conscience of justice and equity, before which interior consciences of good and truth cannot be formed. Justice and right are the neighbor, and he who "does any good whatsoever for the sake of good, and anything just for the sake of justice, loves the neighbor and exercises charity."****
     * AC 4167: 3. Cf. AE 654: 25.
     ** AC 9119.
     *** AC 3993: 9.
     **** AC 8123.
     Surely we should lead away from natural ideas to spiritual ideas of justice. In view of the stated qualities of exterior conscience, and the gradualness of all mental changes in man, however, it would seem that considerable care should be exercised, lest a budding love of justice should be squashed by the notion that it is not sufficiently spiritual. Those in exterior conscience may not yet have the interior conscience of what is good, yet they "have the capacity of receiving a conscience of what is good, and moreover do receive it when they are instructed"*-but not instantaneously. Enlightenment must be gradual.** A great many serious problems lie unanswered in the area of civil and social justice, and it is perhaps too easy either to discourage thought about social questions by exclusive emphasis upon the purely spiritual, or, far worse, to hide behind spiritual principles and so decide nothing at all. Exterior conscience is inevitably exterior, but without it man has no plane for spiritual good and truth.
     * AC 9119.
     ** Cf. AC 6313, 6598; SD min 4644; HH 533.

     4.     Need We Fear a Social-Gospel Approach?

     The increasing obsession of the Protestant, Catholic and Jewish organizations with external, non-spiritual, thoroughly political concerns has justly aroused considerable criticism in the New Church. As church bodies boldly pronounce their positions on various subjects about which they know little, we properly cringe and vow that we will never do that. I think we should be clear, however, that the reasons for this are the freedom of the priesthood and laity of the church, the danger of committing the church politically, and the warning against trusting in the decisions of councils;* not that matters of civil justice are unimportant. Distaste for the Social-Gospel approach by no means lessens the obligation to consider teachings from the Writings on what is just and equitable. Man is guided into spiritual-natural good not only by the doctrine of faith and charity but also by the doctrine of what is just and fair.**
     * TCR 489.
     ** AC 4988: 3.
     But the teachings must be from the Word and not from self.

352


Indeed, the Writings indicate that the mistake of the Social Gospel is not that concern has arisen over justice in external matters, but that the religiosities since the Last Judgment have turned away from the Word and have followed self-intelligence. In an amazingly prophetic passage we read:

     "It is extremely dangerous to enter with the understanding into dogmas of faith which are the product of man's own intelligence, and therefore consist of falsities; and still more dangerous to confirm them from the Word. For this closes the higher reaches of the understanding, and gradually the lower also to such a degree that matters of a theological nature not only become distasteful, but drop out of the mind completely, like writing from a worm-eaten book and the nap from moth-eaten cloth. [What could better describe modern views of the Word?] The understanding is then engaged only with political matters . . . with civil affairs . . . and with domestic affairs. . . . In all these a man devotes himself to nature, and loves her for the allurements of her pleasures, as an idolater loves the golden image he hugs to his bosom."*
     * TCR 508: 3.

     The clear implication is that such idolatry results not from a concern for civil, social and moral justice, but from rejection of the Word and the substitution of self-intelligence as man's only intellectual authority. As long as the plain teachings of the Word are accepted as authoritative, and conclusions about them are regarded as merely human, we need not fear seduction by a Social Gospel type of idolatry.
     The proper order is taught in True Christian Religion 601: "Religion occupies the highest place in the human mind, and sees beneath itself the civil matters that pertain to the world." Religion does not ignore civil matters; it sees them.

     (To be concluded.)
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1968

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION       MORNA HYATT       1968

     (Continued from page 328)

     The address, discussion and reports will be printed in the July- September issue of the NEW PHILOSOPHY. Those wishing to subscribe to the journal and/or to become members of the Swedenborg Scientific Association are invited to write to Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.
     MORNA HYATT
          Secretary

353


TRUTH AND APPLICATION 1968

TRUTH AND APPLICATION       Editor       1968


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 recent article discussed the apparently increasing desire in the church for sermons which more obviously explain the relation of doctrine to life. We believe that our people are very sensitive about being told exactly what they should think and do; and that they would be unhappy with if not resentful of categorical instruction from the pulpit as to what they should think and do about civil rights, racial integration, interracial marriages, birth-control and the war in Southeast Asia, and as to what their political affiliation should be. Yet there are evidently those who do not see the general applications which are made, and therefore conclude that none are being made at all; and there are others who see them, but do not find them specific enough.
     It will be obvious that if doctrine is not related to life it is not being presented as truth but as knowledge; and it should be obvious also that we cannot teach applications without teaching the truths to be applied. Yet the Writings, as a rational revelation, do not tell man precisely what he should do in every human situation, and this in such a way as to make it unnecessary for him to use the rational faculty. It may well be that more could be done to assist the laity to discover for themselves specific applications of the principles which are taught; and it may be that in its concern for a moral and spiritual conscience the church has not emphasized as it might the importance of a civil and social conscience. But it has been our thought that social action should not be the concern of the pulpit. There are other means through which that can he done; among them this journal should not be overlooked.

354


CHURCH AND CHANGE 1968

CHURCH AND CHANGE       Editor       1968

     Everything finite must change or die. The ability to change is therefore one mark of a living church. Yet the natural mind has an inbuilt resistance to change which it can easily justify to itself. The warning implicit in the teaching that the cupidity of innovation is one origin of the falsities of doctrine which have destroyed all previous churches can be so invoked as to discourage if not condemn any idea of change; and to suggest change may be to invite charges of disloyalty to the past and breach of faith with the founding fathers.
     Change in the church for the sake of change is not good, and change originating in the belief that human prudence can care for the church better than the Divine Providence is evil. Yet the states to which the church is to minister do change, and the church must accommodate itself to those states. However, it is one thing for the church to accommodate to a state and another to identify with it. In the first instance, the church retains and even sharpens its identity as an instrument of use; in the second, it surrenders its identity and merges into the state it should reach. In other words, it is one thing for the church, from doctrine, to re-form itself in accommodation to states; it is an entirely different thing for the church to allow those states to form it, to determine its objectives, and to dictate the means by which they are to be pursued. The church is to reform the world, not the world form it.

     If these distinctions are seen and acted upon, the church may change without fear of disloyalty. It could be said, of course, that our loyalty is not to the past or to the founding fathers but to the truth of the Writings. Yet this would be to do less than justice to the situation, for truth apart from reception and acknowledgment by men remains an abstraction. Our loyalty is to the truth that the Writings are the Word and the church's only authority; but we cannot entirely separate that truth from those who saw and proclaimed it, and then labored to build a church that would rest upon the acknowledgment of it. To break with that faith would indeed be a break with the past. Yet those who established it would surely be the last to wish to bind the church forever to their perceptions and applications. The very Divine authority they proclaimed would preclude the idea that any change in policy or practice must be a recession from the church's pristine integrity and a breach of faith. Change does not always mean progress, but it need not mean retrogression. We hope that we have a common faith with those who have gone before us; and as this is faith in truth that makes all things new, failure to change might be the greatest breach of all.

355


KINGDOM OF THE POOR IN SPIRIT 1968

KINGDOM OF THE POOR IN SPIRIT       Editor       1968

     We have seen that innocence is the very heart of the heavenly kingdom that enters into man while he lives on earth and into which he comes after death. We have seen also that spiritual innocence is a heartfelt willingness and desire to be led by the Lord in all things of life and not by self. Now it is obvious that those only will thus submit freely to the Lord's leading who believe that He, and He alone, leads to the highest good; that the truth which He teaches is the only means of reaching that good; and that the life of His precepts is the good life itself. The man who supposes that he can lead himself to a higher good by better means, that the sources of true development are in himself, is far removed from innocence; he has no wish to be led by the Lord.
     Therefore the Lord said also: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." By the poor in spirit are meant those who acknowledge from the heart that they know nothing from themselves; that they have no knowledge, understanding or wisdom in the things pertaining to the truth of faith and the good of love from themselves, but from the Lord alone. This acknowledgment, when it is from the heart, indeed brings heaven into man. It consociates him with the angels, all of whom are in that acknowledgment, and it opens his mind to receive those things of the Divine of the Lord which make heaven, and which in reception constitute heaven.

     The paradox is, however, that the poor in spirit are those who are spiritually rich. Their intellectual and affectional humility opens their minds to those truths of faith and goods of love which are the indestructible treasures of heaven. Because they not only know and perceive that they are entirely dependent upon the Lord but love it to be so, Divine truth, from which are intelligence and wisdom, flows in continually, and they receive it in the measure in which they are affected by it and therefore love it for its own sake.
     Evidently the first pre-requisite to learning is a full and frank recognition of one's need to learn-of the teacher's knowledge and understanding and one's own ignorance. The humble spirit is the teachable spirit. Yet in spiritual things man is prone to suppose that he can become wise from himself, that he is already very wise, or that he has at least sufficient wisdom for his needs. This illusion, deeply cherished as it is, must be put off before he can become poor in spirit. Therefore the Lord charges him, clearly with spiritual meaning, that if his hand or his eye offend, the offending member is to be cut off or plucked out; a charge that will be considered next month.

356


Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     PITTSBURGH, PA

     This year has been a busy one for the Pittsburgh Society. It started with a bang when aid was available for capital improvements but good communication was not. We have since gained a new school room, with projected use for library and class, and a lesson in "communicating."
     A number of our students went to Bryn Athyn: Lynn Horigan, Linda Abele, Lynne Heilman, David Alden and Craig Acton. This year thirteen college students are attending schools in the Pittsburgh area, which has added vigor to our society life.
     School opened on September 11 with 37 pupils. Interspersed throughout the year have been special activities, including the Swedenborg's birthday luncheon, to which all New Church children of school age, in and out of the immediate area, are invited. It is a revered festival shared in unity. Mr. Popper's Penguins, the school play, participated in by every school child, was a resounding success well directed by Mrs. Robert Blair and creatively costumed by Mrs. Gareth Acton.
     The Christmas season was heralded by a "Sing." Mr. and Mrs. Ed Lee led the occasion with a variety of songs, individual and group, in the auditorium, which was banked with pines and candlelight-a proper herald to the message of Christmas.
     Many engagements have lit our year and there were two lovely weddings. William Kronen and Carol Lindsay were married following Thanksgiving. The service was enhanced by a prelude-musical selections contributed by relatives and friends. Bill was baptized in September, and we are glad to have them join the "country set" of the Pittsburgh Society. Alfred Brown and Marlene Shoop were married early in the new year. As a new participant in our Society, Marlene was ably assisted by the Women's Guild in planning her reception. She had already become well known as "that little student nurse" rushing to and from Gorandma Brown's. Alfred and Marlene have made their home on Cornplanter Run-also in our country community.
     Social activities this year have been many and varied. We had an Eat `n Sing In, starting at the church and moving from home to home, which culminated in laughter and song at the John Schoenbergers' home. Also there was a Dinner and Entertainment evening in late December-a Pittsburgh special-that was thrilling, since most of us are hams at heart. The evening's highlight was Mrs. Marlin Ebert's pantomine to song which culminated in three curtain calls. We have come to know Linda and her children as a special part of our Society, and we join her in wishing her husband a safe and sure return from Viet Nam. We look forward to his open letters to the Society as expressing what is before him. We are so far from actualities of war that we know little of the experience. Our own Daniel Ebert shares the experience of Viet Nam, in another facet of this war.
     Several Baptisms and Confessions of Faith have taken place in our church this year, including those of Mrs. William Leezer, William Kronen, Alfred Brown and Don Dimon. We have been saddened by the loss of Bert Nemitz. He and his wife have been an important part of our Society since their marriage. We look forward to seeing Kurt on his visit home.
     We enjoy our pastor and his family greatly.

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Of special interest is his concern for our spiritual state as related monthly on the Pastor's Page in the Reporter, with such eye-stopping titles as "Do You Feel Like This?" He has again come before the TV camera in a special series on religions in the Pittsburgh area in which he had two opportunities to convey our teachings in depth and simplicity.
     ZARAH BLAIR

     TORONTO, CANADA

     Obituary. On Sunday evening, March 3, 1968, members and friends of the Olivet Church gathered in glad and humble thanksgiving to the Lord for benefits received from Him through the presence with us, throughout a full and useful life in this world, of our friend and brother, Reginald Sherlock Anderson. In his life here he had offered the many talents he had been given in service to his family, to his church, and to society at large. The quality of the last of these is evidenced by his rising in his employment to the position of executive vice president of a large Trust Company.
     Educated in the Olivet Day School and at the Academy, he married Olive Bellinger, and together, through fifty years of marriage, they made their home a church, bringing into the world and raising three children who have, in turn, become good and useful members of society and of the church.
     Reginald Anderson actively supported the Olivet Church throughout his life, serving as its treasurer, as chairman of the Board of Finance, as trustee, and crowning his use in this field as chairman of the building committee, in which capacity, acting on behalf of the Society, he presented our present building to the Bishop of the General Church to serve for the uses of New Church worship, education and social life. He was a founding member of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy and of the Forward Sons, and was an active member of the Pastor's Council at the time of his death. He served the church at large as a member of the Corporation of the Academy and as a Director of the General Church.
      Blessed until the close of his life on earth with good health, as with advancing years he gave up more active participation in the uses of society, he was ever present with us as a friend and trusted advisor. We will long remember New Year's Eve celebrations when Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, almost alone of their generation, invariably attended-a living link with that zeal for distinctive New Church social life which characterized their time and which gave such strength to the church. Their home, too, was a center of such social life.
     We remember Reginald Anderson as a wise man, but especially as a kind and affectionate person, truly a gentleman. When one thinks of him the teaching of True Christian Religion no. 155 comes to mind: "Disposition is from the affection of the will's love, and that which disposes is the delight of that love . . . if it is a delight of the love of good and truth therefrom it is outwardly mild, smooth, resounding and glowing, while within it is charity, grace and mercy."
     From one who is a true husband, father and friend there is no permanent separation, for the ties of conjugial love and of mutual love, which are to be the ties that bind the church, are enduring. It was, therefore, with gratitude and joy in his resurrection that family and friends bade a brief farewell to our friend in the closing words of our pastor's address: "The Lord bless thee, and keep thee; the Lord make His face to shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give thee peace."
     JOHN RAYMOND

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ACADEMY SCHOOLS Awards, 1968 1968

ACADEMY SCHOOLS Awards, 1968              1968

Senior College

     BACHELOR OF Science: Yadah Heinrichs Alden, Edward Brian Friesen, Alaine Lee Fuller, Alison Glenn, Christopher Ronald Jack Smith.

     Junior College

     DIPLOMA: With Distinction: Virginia de Maine, Nina Dunlap, Neil Wilson.
     DIPLOMA: Judith Abele, Abbie Blair, Peter Boericke, Mark Carlson, Cedric Cranch, Claudia Cranch, Shirley Friesen, Joan Fuller, Michael Gladish, Meredith Glenn, Michael Glenn, Ronald Horvath, Louis Iungerich, Thomas Kline, Lawrence Posey, Merrily Renn, Sheila Rose, Mark Schoenberger, Christopher Simons, Carol Smith, Hunter Smith, Nicholas Tyler.

     Girls School

     DIPLOMA OR CERTIFICATE: With Honors: Margaret Anne Parker, Lark Pitcairn, Gail Aline Reuter, Nancy Synnestvedt.
     DIPLOMA OR CERTIFICATE:     Martha Alden, Bronley Blair, Patricia Leanne Boericke, Barbara Kevin Brewer, Mary Lee Chisholm, Marianne Dunlap, Dianna Echols, Jeri Anne Elmont, Anna Louise Friesen, Edell Diane Friesen, Luella Jeanette Friesen, Barbara Anne Heinrichs, Diane Holmes, Emily Alexander Iungerich, Anne Louise Junge, Dinah Suzanne Lee, Deborah Lehne, Rebekah Leonard, Gloria Jean Morey, Elizabeth Mary Murray, Kristin MacFarlan Odhner, Kristina Grace Odhner, Janice Louise Packer, Selina Jane Posey, Rebecca Lucy Roschman, Gray Schoenberger, Peggy Ruth Schroeder, Suzanne Smith, Wendy Jo Soneson, Wanda Synnestvedt, Elizabeth Dickens Waddell, Carla Martha Washburn, Janet Thayer York.

     Boys School

     DIPLOMA: With Honors: Rey Scott Cooper, Grant Genzlinger, Stephen Roark Gyllenhaal, Hugh Davis Hyatt.
     DIPLOMA OR CERTIFICATE:     Daniel Alden, Wendel Ryan Barnett, Lach Ian Brown, Arne Carswell, Ernest Eldred Coffin,* Elvin Kingsley Day, Stewart Thomas Eidse, Christopher Byrne Glenn, Robert Grubb, Neil Peter Hansen, Robert Rex Herder, Jr., Lance Forrest Howard, Donald Stewart Latta, Alan Pendleton, Robert Bruce Ripley, Steven Carter Smith, John Day Synnestvedt, David Lowell Wade, Hugo Alfred Zollman.
     * December 19, 1967.

     Theta Alpha Award

     The "Alice Henderson Glenn Award" was given by the Faculty of the College to Sheila Rose.

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REMARKS ON VIOLENCE 1968

REMARKS ON VIOLENCE       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968




     Announcements







VOL. LXXXVIII
AUGUST, 1968
No. 8
NEW CHURCH LIFE

     Shortly after midnight on Wednesday, June 5, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was struck down by an assassin's bullet. He died the following morning. This senseless tragedy serves notice to all people of the horror of violence in any form.
     As a result of this sad circumstance we are forced to ask ourselves, what is the cause of this terror that is spreading throughout our land? Basically it stems from the pernicious persuasion that one can accomplish by violence what cannot be accomplished in any other way. It is the grim product of a developing state of mind that is symptomatic of an increasingly permissive society.
     The time has come, therefore, when all men of good will must appraise the situation in which we find ourselves, and reaffirm their faith in the basic principles of law and order. These principles upon which our society rests were originally derived from a higher authority; that is, from the moral and social teachings of the Old and New Testaments. These basic truths are the laws which should govern all human relationships, and they are as applicable today as in the time when they were revealed. Yet because so many at this day do not acknowledge their source, and hold that with few exceptions they are no longer relevant, there is a perceptible loosening of the bonds which hold society together.
     What men fail to perceive, however, is that the moral and social laws of Scripture are eternal truths, and that they constitute a body of Divine law which applies to all human conduct and behavior. "Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." And what is more: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

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When these laws are faulted, when they are ignored, perverted or denied, man falls into all manner of evil and excess.
     We cannot, however, hold the people of America responsible for the death of its public leaders. The entire nation has been stunned by these extreme and unrelated acts of violence. We must therefore avoid generalizations which do not fit the case. But we do know that moral permissiveness and disregard for properly constituted authority do breed a climate in which disorder and violence may flourish.
     So it is that in the death of Senator Robert Kennedy we are reminded for the third time in the past several years of our desperate need for a return to those fundamental laws of Divine order which are basic to the establishment of a moral and social conscience in each individual. There is no other way in which order may be restored.
     Let us pray that out of these events may come a new sense of individual responsibility and a recommitment to those basic laws of order upon which this and other nations were originally founded. Anything less than this will be meaningless, and those who have lost their lives through acts of violence will have died in vain.
DISTRICT OF THE CAROLINAS AND SOUTHERN VIRGINIA 1968

DISTRICT OF THE CAROLINAS AND SOUTHERN VIRGINIA       DOROTHY RADCLIFFE       1968

     GATHERING AT PAWLEY'S ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA

     Friday, May 24, marked the beginning of an important weekend at Pawley's Island, South Carolina, for the members and friends of the General Church from the Carolinas and Virginia. It was the second time such a gathering from this area had taken place, and the first time it had been presided over by the Bishop of the General Church.
     Bishop Willard D. Pendleton, accompanied by Mrs. Pendleton, arrived on Friday afternoon to lead the gathering in a weekend of worship, informal talks and discussion and social relaxation. We were fortunate in having, besides Bishop Pendleton and the Rev. Fred Schnarr, the Rev. Roy Franson, who drove up from Miami with his family. We were also joined by other members of the church from Florida, as well as from Atlanta, Georgia, Washington, D. C., and even Kitchener, Ontario. In all, a total of forty-two adults and twenty-three children participated in this occasion.

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     Due to some remarkable planning by Dr. and Mrs. Jack Fehon and the Rev. and Mrs. Fred Schnarr some sixty-five people were comfortably housed in four seaside cottages right on the beach, with one large cottage serving as the community dining room and social gathering place. Meals were cooked and served under the skilful direction of Dr. Fehon; his tour de force being his Saturday lunch, when he prepared fried fish and hush puppies for all of us. The fish were caught by Mr. Schnarr and daughter Karen, and Dr. Fehon and his father, who had arrived some days earlier to speed the preparations.

     Friday afternoon and evening were spent welcoming the arrivals, relaxing on the beach and chatting with old and new friends. On Saturday morning the adults gathered in the Pawley's island chapel to hear a thought-provoking paper by the Rev. Roy Franson on the dangers of exploring matters of faith by means of scientifics. The discussion that followed was evidence of the interest the paper aroused and several areas of the talk were further explored, particularly the attitudes we display toward the Jewish and Christian religions, whose doctrines cling to the "mysteries of faith." Bishop Pendleton then spoke with remarkable clarity in his resume of the discussion, pointing out that while the doctrines of the New Church do judge other religions, it is not for us to judge other people. The meeting ended on a note of deep conviction in the truths of the Second Coming, to be applied in our lives with knowledge and compassion.
     During this time Mr. Schnarr had been going over the religion lessons with all the school-age children in small groups. The afternoon was spent in various activities such as suited the individual bent. These included fishing, swimming, sunbathing, hunting for crabs or shells in the tidal canal, and getting acquainted with each other or reacquainted.
     The whole group gathered that evening in the main cottage for our banquet. The younger children where all bedded down in every spare room and co-operated by maintaining a reasonable amount of quiet. Everyone was served a delicious meal with amazing speed and ease by our chief cooks and their able helpers-Karen and Sarah Schnarr and Bill and Rick Fehon. After a toast to the Church, Bishop Pendleton gave an address on internal and external evangelization, touching on some of the questions brought up in the morning discussion. His three-point presentation centered in responsibility to the church: 1) in the home, through the marriage relationship; 2) in the education of children, to prepare their minds for spiritual life; and 3) in the world. In all, the preservation of order and freedom through the knowledge of truth provides the means for the Lord to build His church among men, thus looking to the spiritual freedom and protection of all.

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Mr. Schnarr offered our thanks to the many hard workers who had helped so willingly, but especially to Dr. and Mrs. Jack Fehon. Mrs. Gourdin, from Pineville, S.C., made the observation that only fifteen years ago her uncle had been the only New Church member in this area, and that it was indeed encouraging to see the small but steadily growing number of dedicated New Church people in the area now.
     Our good weather failed us on Sunday morning, but the rain in no way detracted from the sphere of worship as we gathered once more in the little chapel for our church service. The Bishop gave a children's talk on the Lord's Prayer, followed by a sermon on the importance of not forcing our beliefs on other people and of preserving their spiritual freedom. The sermon, "The Law of the Pledge," based on Deuteronomy 24: 10, brought together and expanded some of the ideas in the talks given, giving a sense of unity and great inspiration to the weekend.
     After church we again gathered in the main cottage for a buffet lunch, at which time Mr. Schnarr gave the children their Nineteenth of June presents from the church. The women of the Washington Society's Education Committee are to be warmly thanked for the time and ingenuity that have obviously gone into the making and selecting of these gifts for our children.
     By two o'clock most of the group had departed for home-a long trip for many. It had been a most satisfying and fulfilling weekend. The opportunity to worship, exchange ideas and work together with other New Church men and women under the leadership of the clergy is a rear privilege for the isolated, and hopefully it can be repeated each year.
     DOROTHY RADCLIFFE

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WAY TO FREEDOM 1968

WAY TO FREEDOM       Rev. ROY FRANSON       1968

     "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8: 31, 32)

     The Lord protects and guards His gift of freedom with every man as the apple of His eye. For freedom is distinctly human, and a life in freedom is therefore a life which is a distinctly human life. It is because the Lord perpetually protects and preserves man's freedom, it is because the very nature of the human soul requires freedom, that the cry for freedom is, and has been, so loudly heard throughout the ages. But what the human soul requires and what man demands are often two very different things. Today the cry for freedom among men expresses itself in the most horrid and destructive actions, as well as in the most cunning and clever ratiocinations. In the name of freedom mobs are organized to destroy and burn our cities; in the name of freedom our young men burn their draft cards. "Away with restrictions" is the cry at rallies on our university campuses. "Disobey the law" is the cry of freedom leaders. "Let me be free," are the muffled words of the turned on "hippie" as, dropping out of society, he is tuning in to the hallucinatory world of his warped imagination under the influence of marijuana and LSD.
     Yet most people never find freedom. They are taught, they know, and they perceive that they have a right to freedom. But they are not taught, and therefore they do not know, still less do they perceive the way to freedom. This lack of instruction, knowledge and perception, has produced a generation of men who, in their disillusionment and bewilderment, are demanding a life of freedom which is tantamount to privileges without responsibility and pleasures without value. Yet, this confused and destructive outlook on life, especially with the young, is most probably a desperate cry for a true definition of freedom and the way in which it can be attained.
     No man can respond to this desperate outcry for a true definition of freedom. For freedom, being a gift from the Lord, must of necessity be defined by the Lord Himself in His Word. "If ye continue in My Word . . . ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." This is the perfect way to freedom.

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For only by knowing the truth of human life can man pursue the freedom inherent in the life which is truly human. And the truth of human life can be found only in the Word, which contains the teachings of Him who is "the truth, the way and the life." But the vast majority of freedom seekers and freedom leaders renounce the teaching of the Word as an outdated mysticism. Modern man, it is argued, needs a modern code-a code which is fitting to this age of enlightenment and learning-and, most of all, a code which is more permissive than that which is prescribed in the Word of the Lord.
     Yet, as this more permissive, and so-called enlightened code is now being pushed to the fore by means of violence and open defiance of established law and order, the result is enslavement, not emancipation; indulgence, not integrity; incrimination, not discrimination; license, not freedom. And what renders the situation tragic, and in some instances comic, is that this result is often hidden from and always denied by the learned advocates of and gullible subscribers to the new code.
     But even more tragic is the fact that present-day cries for freedom- however much it is argued that they are the product of modern learning and enlightenment-are in essence as old as Adam and Eve. By yielding to the persuasions of the senses it is believed that the gates to human freedom are opened. Man, relying upon self-intelligence and sense-experience, persuades himself that God does not really mean what He says, and that Divine laws restrict his freedom rather than promote his freedom. And yet, both history and revelation testify that it is exactly this persuasion that has led the human race to the brink of extinction time and again in the history of the race.

     It must be evident to the thinking man, therefore, that human freedom consists in the freedom to obey the law of God, not to disobey it. Man has indeed the freedom to disobey Divine laws, but in exercising that freedom he becomes a slave-a slave of sin. For whether we say disobey a Divine law or commit a sin, it is the same thing; wherefore the Lord taught: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." To be a servant of sin, to be mastered by sensual lusts, selfish desires and worldly ambitions, is to deprive one's self of the life which is distinctly human. The choice is ours, and it will never be taken away from us, but the consequences are inevitable. Even as the Lord said to the Israelites: "See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil . . . I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live."*
     * Deuteronomy 30: 15, 19.

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     We should carefully note that the Lord does not hide the evil from our sight, but neither does He leave us in ignorance as to good and truth. He sets life and death, blessing and cursing, before us, urging us, but never compelling us, to choose life. The tree of knowledge of good and evil was a necessary part of Adam's environment, but when he chose to disobey the Divine law which forbade him to eat of its fruit, he deprived himself of a life in freedom, and became a slave to self and the world. So also the various nations, representative of evil and falsity of every kind, scattered throughout the kingdom of Israel, were necessary for the spiritual freedom of Israel. But when they chose to adopt the idolatrous practices of those nations in violation of the strict command of the Lord, Israel became a captive nation in miserable servitude. In abusing their freedom of choice they lost freedom of life.

     Because man has been gifted with freedom of choice, evil and disorder are permitted by the Lord. If this were not so, man's freedom would be a mere term. Yet it must be understood that evils are permitted for a Divine end of good. And the Divine end of good in permitting evil is that those who have chosen evil may, through punishment and conscience, learn that they are evil. The same Divine end is seen by the good in the permission of evil; for the actual manifestations of evil enable the good to confirm themselves, or strengthen themselves, in the life of good. The frequently asked question, "Why does the Lord permit evil?" has therefore a most simple answer. Evils are permitted for the sake of the amendment of life with the evil, and for the sake of enlightenment as to the nature of evil with the good, and the consequent confirmation in the life of good.*
     * See AC 592, 7633.
     A true acknowledgment of the necessity for evils being permitted by the Lord does in no way imply that the Lord permits them in the sense that He concurs. Nor must the notion ever enter our minds that the appearance of the Lord's absence-the appearance that the Lord does not care-is a fact. The truth is that wherever an evil is committed, there the Lord is mercifully and unceasingly at work to lead the man away from his evil, to lift him out of his hell, and, if possible, lead him into a state of heaven. But since it is a Divine law that heaven must be chosen by every man in a state of freedom, this merciful and unceasing leading and bending, can be done by the Lord only to the extent that man is willing to be led and bent. And what is more, the Lord must exercise His merciful and unceasing leading and bending in such a manner that man is never aware that he is being led and bent. For if he became aware of this, he would lose his freedom.

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     The Divine gift of freedom of choice to man is, at the same time, a Divine law of human life. And the Lord cannot violate His own laws. We read in the Word that the Lord "has all power in heaven and on earth," that He is omnipotent, and that to Him, "all things are possible." These are indisputable truths. Yet the Lord is omnipotent, not because He can act in various ways in any given situation, but because there is a Divine, perfect and immutable law for every situation that can possibly arise in His creation. From the beginning there has never been an addition to Divine laws; there has never been a change in Divine laws; nor has the Lord ever operated contrary to His laws. The Lord is omnipotent, therefore, not because He can do what men want Him to do-if He wills-but because His laws are perfect, all-embracing, and eternally the same. Finite beings, whether angels or men, cannot create a situation which calls for a change in Divine laws; finite beings, whether angels or men, however enlightened and wise, cannot possibly reach a point in their striving for happiness and freedom which makes Divine laws obsolete.

     It is interesting to note in this connection that any arguments in defense of Divine omnipotence without an understanding of the Divine law of human freedom, logically lead to the denial of man's freedom. Even as any argument in defense of human freedom apart from an understanding of it as a Divine law will logically lead to a denial of God and His omnipotence.
     A true understanding of the doctrine of freedom is therefore vital to the man in the church. Not only must he acknowledge that the freedom to do what he pleases is, in reality, the license which leads to chaos, enslavement and destruction, and finally to an eternal existence in hell; for something of this is forcefully brought home to every rational man in his dealings with his fellow men in the world. But he must also acknowledge that a life in freedom can be enjoyed only by the regenerate man, that is, the man who loves to live according to the law of the Lord. The freedom which man is called upon to exercise is therefore the freedom to obey Divine laws-doing this from an inner acknowledgment and perception that all the laws of the Lord "are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testimonies." In his imperfect and unregenerate state, the man in the church must humbly acknowledge that every time he properly exercises his freedom of choice there follows, and must follow, a period of self-compulsion. For the "imagination of man's heart is evil," thus contrary to the truths of the Word, which alone prescribe the way to freedom.

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It is this period of self-compulsion, accompanied by temptation and combat, that gives to man the appearance that the laws of the Lord restrict his freedom; it is in states of self-compulsion and combat that man labors under the persuasion that the Lord has left him alone; while yet the truth is that Divine laws are the laws of freedom itself, and that the Lord is even more present-even more powerfully working His ends in man-when he suffers temptations.
     When freedom is confused with license to such an extent as we experience it today, we should know that this is a Divine permission, and we should know that all Divine permissions are for a good end. But at the same time we should beware of assuming an attitude of fatalism. Knowing that the Lord is intimately present and unceasingly working with and in every man to the end that there might be a heaven from the human race, the man in the church must seek to co-operate with the Lord to this end. And this co-operation must commence by a re-affirmation of the merciful leading of the Lord according to laws which, although immutable, are nevertheless laws of infinite love and therefore the laws of freedom itself; for all freedom is of love. In our striving to become images and likenesses of the Lord we must indeed condemn every act of evil, and though the man through whom it is committed must be punished according to just laws, we must never condemn the man. Rather, we should show compassion and understanding, realizing that the merely natural man does not know of any other freedom than what the loves of self and the world demand. And we should meditate that the most constructive and positive way in which we can co-operate with the Lord in the formation of a heaven from the human race lies, perhaps, in an endeavor to radiate a sphere of confidence and trust in the future and in the merciful leading of the Divine Providence; doing this primarily within the realm of our chosen use in life. For the sphere of a man is more powerful than his words and deeds. Words may be deceptive; deeds may be done from habit, and even in a spirit of rebellion; but the sphere about a man conveys the true spirit within. And whether we realize it or not, the sphere about us has a powerful influence upon others.
     But such a sphere of confidence and trust in the merciful leading of the Lord can exist about us only if we "continue in His Word," only if we acquire an affection for the truths therein, and so gain an inner perception that a life according to Divine laws can alone lead to the freedom for which our inmost being yearns. To learn the truths of the Word, to understand them, to love them, and to apply them to the good of life, this is the endeavor which will create about us a sphere which partakes of heaven-and heaven is freedom itself.

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This is why the Lord taught: "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed, and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Amen.

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 30: 1-14. John 8: 12-47. DP 148, 149.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 498, 486, 440.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 14, 67.
LIFE OF JUSTICE 1968

LIFE OF JUSTICE       Jr. Rev. DANIEL GOODENOUGH       1968

     (Continued from the July Issue, pp. 334-352.)

     Priestly Teaching About Civil Justice

     Political impartiality must be the ideal. As soon as political conclusions are injected that are not directly warranted by the Writings themselves, we have a political, not a religious, presentation; and to day's politically-conscious layman is extremely sensitive to even the slightest political insinuation, especially from the pulpit-sometimes even if he agrees with the insinuation. I would strongly endorse Bishop De Charms' careful argument for not permitting adherence to any particular system of government to become a fixed principle of religion, lest rational judgment be inhibited.*
     * Principles of Government, Chapter 1.
     Priests do, of course, reach political conclusions of their own. The question is, to what extent can a priest, apart from his formal priestly functions, speak of his personal political opinions without harming his use? The value of such informal discussion is that laymen may perhaps see more clearly thereby than from a doctrinal class that the priest does indeed care about civil justice; moreover, informal presentation of a priest's opinions may give confused laymen a definite idea about how to think spiritually concerning civil matters. This is, of course, an extremely sensitive area, since too strong an expression of opinion may either cause disrespect for the person of the priest or curtail lay freedom of thought.
     But what can be done in formal preaching and teaching? I would suggest three things. First, a particular civil or social problem may be presented briefly as something that needs to be considered from religion. This is the principal value of Justice in Social Relations by Raymond G. Cranch. Of course, New Church men understand abstractly that all of life must be considered from religion, but that can be very different from understanding that racial tensions, and individual feelings about race, must be considered from religion.

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     Second, specific teachings relevant to the problem can be impartially presented. Doctrine concerning civil and worldly matters is as much Divine doctrine as other doctrine. But the priest's aim must be the teaching of Divine truth itself, and not the furtherance of any political cause, even if he believes thoroughly in the justice of the cause. The end of teaching the truth because it is from the Word and will lead to heaven is necessary for fulfilling the priestly office. Any worldly end, any end that centers in something beneath the truth itself, will lead to self-intelligence.
     A third step that I would suggest in priestly teaching, at least in doctrinal classes, is the careful suggestion of possible applications of the Divine teachings. Suggested applications would have to be accompanied by definite statements that this is only one possible interpretation and, in fact, an interpretation about which the priest himself may not be at all convinced. A tentative presentation of this kind allows freedom of thought, while bringing home the importance of forming an external conscience by making definite individual applications.

     If at all possible, more than one line of application should be suggested. This is in accordance with the teaching that enlightened thought sees a thing, not on one side only, but on each side; "on the one it sees reasons that confirm, and on the other it sees appearances that invalidate."* Enlightened thought makes up its mind, but after it has seen both sides.
     * DP 168: 3.
     The spirit of persuasion, on the other hand, is suffocating because "it deprives the understanding of the faculty to think freely and to extend its sight in every direction, as every rational man does."* "Think the matter over from every point of view," the Writings exhort.** A spirit of persuasion that sees only one side is just as suffocating in civil as in spiritual life. Such a spirit leads to men's concluding that "their private advantage is the common good," and that nothing is for the common good "but what is to their own advantage; in this case also the evil spirits who are present suggest so many things in confirmation that they see no otherwise."*** A formulation of this principle that is less distasteful to the proprium is the well-known adage that what is good for General Motors is good for the U. S. A., and vice versa.

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In any case, the spirit of persuasion results in the identification of self with the common good and of the common good with self.
     * AE 549. Cf. AC 831: 3, 1673: 4, 5096, 6610, 7298.
     ** Life 13. Cf. CL 183: 2.
     *** AC 1673: 4. Cf. DP 220: 8.
     It is ironic that a sphere of suffocating persuasion may arise simply from sincere convictions of New Church men who are doing exactly what they should do-applying religion to politics. While that should scarcely be discouraged, the existence of more than one side needs to be pointed out, not so much for the health of the political climate as for the spiritual good of New Church men. The danger of political persuasiveness lies not so much in the fact that some may be driven away from the organized church by suffocating political spheres-though that is a danger-as that the individual New Church man's judgment may be harmed by failure to see the other side. Freedom of thought is the responsibility less of law than of individual self-restraint and the willingness to consider, truly consider, ideas that are at first appearance disagreeable. Since any sphere of persuasion is harmful to spiritual development, I believe it is a priestly responsibility to teach and lead cautiously toward genuine freedom of thought.

     Indeed, in some instances the greatest use of priestly leadership on the civil plane might be to suggest the dangers of too great an interest in political affairs. The Writings point out the danger of too great a concern for politics among eighteenth-century Englishmen (who were generally less politically interested than twentieth-century man). "The political affairs of their country engage their attention, sometimes to such a degree as to withdraw their minds from studies which require deeper judgment and by which a higher intelligence is attained."* I think the evidence is ample among some that this danger is far greater today than when Swedenborg wrote.
     * TCR 808.
     It may be suggested that greater concern by the priesthood for the civil plane will only accelerate obsession with politics. I suggest, however, that many New Church men are already thoroughly interested in politics, and lack of priestly direction may simply deprive their political thinking of a balance which spiritual development requires. I think that a type of priestly leadership exists which would not only encourage thinking about civil things from spiritual principles, but which would also check the spirit of persuasion or near-obsession with politics. Simply the suggestion of different applications of the truth may in some cases be sufficient to stimulate a discussion in which individuals of different political shades themselves perform the use of demonstrating the existence of more than one side to a question. It is, of course, an extremely delicate area for a priest. It is difficult to resist publicly a spirit of persuasion that, regardless of the merits of its opinions, threatens to suffocate a sphere of free inquiry.

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Only by free discussion that is truly free, by forcing the mind if necessary to examine all sides of a question, can a genuine conscience of what is just and fair be formed.

     Two Applications: 1. Giving to the Poor

     The church seems to be generally familiar with the teachings that the donor should discriminate between good and evil potential recipients in order that his giving may not help the evil to do wrong. Just how this principle should apply to today's complicated poverty problems and welfare programs could make for some interesting discussions. I wish, however, to mention two other sets of teachings related to the relieving of poverty.
     The first of these is concerned with the "necessaries of life." In the Most Ancient Church the love of riches was limited to possessing the "necessaries of life, which they acquired by means of their flocks and herds, and their lands, fields and gardens. . . . Among their necessaries of life were also suitable houses, furnished with useful things of every kind and also clothing. The parents, children, servants and maids in a house were engaged in the care and labor connected with all these things.* It would seem that the necessaries of life involve more than bare subsistence.** The necessaries of life "require" even the spiritual man to care for worldly things to some extent,*** although he is corporeal and sensual who performs the duties of his calling only for the sake of food and the necessaries of life.**** There is obviously considerable room for interpretation as to exactly what is a necessary of life in the twentieth century, and also as to how the necessaries should be made available to or provided for people. But whatever the just applications, knowledge of the teachings themselves is required if we are to think from spiritual truth rather than from self.
     * DP 215: 4.
     ** See also DP 220: 5; Love XII; AC 6834; TCR 406; HH 364.
     ***AC 6810e. Cf. AC 8116.
     **** Char. 196. Cf. AE 1193: 3.
     Another statement should be mentioned that bears upon the current debate about welfareism: "A man's country is the neighbor because it resembles a parent; for in it he was born, it has nourished him and still nourishes him, and it continues to protect him, as it has always done."* What is implied in the word, nourish?
     * TCR 414. Cf. TCR 305.
     The other set of teachings about giving to the poor specifically mentions this work as forming an essential step in the development of charity with man.

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Performing benefactions of charity is a matter of free "choice and pleasure";* yet such benefactions are "advantageous in many ways, especially giving to the poor and to beggars; for thereby boys and girls, servants and maids, and in general all simple-minded persons, are initiated into charity, for these are externals whereby such are trained in the practice of charity, for these are its rudiments."** Those who from religious obedience help the poor "do well; for by this outward thing they are initiated into the internal of charity and mercy."*** Regeneration begins in childhood from such good as indiscriminate help for the poor beggars.**** Even as man advances in regeneration and is more enlightened, he still desires to do good "to all whom he believes to be in want and distress; but as yet hardly makes a distinction between the pious and the impious . . . believing everyone to be his neighbor in the same respect and degree."***** This distinction between these two early states seems to be that the child wants to help whoever he sees to be in want and distress; in the second state man wants to help everyone in need, whether he is personally familiar with him or not. Only after he is still further enlightened does he distinguish between the pious and the impious. His later state of spiritual charity is inverse in respect to the two former states. "But still at the beginning of regeneration he must needs do that good, because his knowledge of the matter then goes no further; and because the interior good of charity could not flow into any other truth."****** We are shown further that external forms of charity, including giving to the poor, are the goods from which regeneration commences;******* the implication is that not merely the young, but everyone whose regeneration is beginning, is in this low, natural good.********
     * TCR 425. Cf. HH 358.
     ** TCR 426. Cf. AC 561.
     ***AC 9209: 2.
     **** AC 3688: 3.
     ***** AC 3688: 4.
     ****** AC 3688: 5.
     ******* AC 3701.
     ******** CF the implication of SD 5777e.

     There is abundant room for interpretation. Possibly other forms of natural charity may be substituted for relieving poverty, although the Writings' frequent specifying of giving to the poor should make us cautious in this regard. Whatever forms of natural charity are encouraged will appeal to natural, external affections.* It would appear that during the beginning of regeneration a man or youth is simply not capable of grasping the spiritual principle of giving to the poor with discrimination. He may accept this principle as part of his historical faith, but the affections then active, and his enlightenment at that stage, impel him to give wherever he sees a natural need.

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     * Cf. AC 3701: 4.
     Our primary concern, of course, is the formation of an external conscience of civil justice. To neglect such teachings would seem to be neglecting doctrines essential to the beginning of regeneration. As for their ultimation with the young, some informal organization or institution for encouraging and supervising natural charity might be of use. It is an area that has perhaps received less than its due attention.

     2. Rebellion Against Civil Authority

     The Writings do not sanction a "right" of rebellion against civil authority. A few passages do, however, imply that withdrawal of obedience from an unjust ruler may in some cases be justified. The key here lies in a new and distinctive meaning of the word, royalty. Royalty has traditionally referred to a power somehow inherent in the line of nearest direct male descent from previous kings or, in a few cases, in the whole family descended from an original king. In both cases heredity conjoins royalty to a person or persons.
     In truth, however, the royalty, like the priesthood, is a Divine function. Speaking of kingship today as well as in ancient times, the Writings show that the royal office itself is holy, not the man who ministers therein; and that consequently the royalty is not conjoined to a person, but only adjoined. Therefore "no king can possibly claim for himself anything of the sanctity that belongs to his royalty. . . . In so far as he does evil, that is, acts contrary to what is just and equitable, and contrary to what is good and true, so far a king puts off the representative of holy royalty . . . and represents the opposite."* The ancient custom is clearly the ideal: the kings of old "did not ascribe the adoration to themselves, but to the royalty apart from themselves, although adjoined to them. With them the royalty was the law, which, being from the Divine, was to be adored in the king in so far as he was custodian of it. Thus the king ascribed none of the royalty to himself beyond the custody of the law; and in so far as he receded from this, so far he receded from the royalty, knowing that adoration on any other ground than the law, that is, any other adoration than of the law in itself, would be idolatry. That the royalty is Divine truth may be seen above . . . consequently the royalty is the law, which in itself is the truth of a kingdom according to which its inhabitants are to live."** Other passages show that royalty consists in ministering justly according to the law and is only adjoined to the person of the ruler;*** and speak of the holy origin of coronation and monarchical government, and of their correspondence with spiritual things.****

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     * AC 3670: 2.
     ** AC 5323: 2.
     *** HD 320-324. Cf. TCR 680; AC 4876: 10, 6482; DP 217: 13.
     **** AC 4581: 2,4966: 3; AE 427: 8.
     To suggest an interpretation of these teachings, I believe they imply that rebellion against the person of the ruler may in some cases be justified if the ruler has himself receded from royalty. By definition the unjust ruler is no longer royal. Such rebellion (whether against king, duke, governor, president, or simply dictator) will be for the establishment of a more genuine royalty. The criterion would seem to be the ruler's just or unjust administration according to the laws of the realm, and of course this leaves enormous room for differing opinions. Surely a distinction should be made between an administration with which we merely disagree and an administration that we feel to be fundamentally wrong-civilly, morally, spiritually. It would seem that quite serious disorders are required before a civil governor truly separates himself from the royalty.
     Applications of this principle lie not only in evaluation of various countries' history but also in evaluating the justice of civil revolutions today. Forms of government with built-in systems for changing officials without bloodshed greatly facilitate the life of justice in this area, but the question remains of what to do if a minority feels that a majority's decisions are so unjust as to amount to tyranny.

     Yet the Writings never openly justify rebellion. An evil king ought not to be loved just because he is a king;* but this does not justify rebellion. Another passage possibly implies some justification for refusing to obey unjust laws.** In a discussion with an evil, autocratic African queen, it was not "granted" to Swedenborg to say more than that she should have acted according to the laws, and respected the Deity, and that her coronation bestowed on her no absolute power to act ruthlessly;*** that is, Swedenborg was not "granted" to justify rebellion against her. (Compare also the passages on the Russians presented earlier. All of these passages from the Diary were written after September 15, 1749.) These passages come very close to justifying rebellion, but not quite, and the conclusion that rebellion can in some cases be justice remains a derived doctrine. It is doubtful if we can speak of sanctioning a right to rebel, since man has no rights whatsoever; everything he has is a free gift from the Lord.
     * SD min. 4589, 4590.
     ** SD 4432.
     *** SD min. 4740.
     The reason that justification for rebellion is not explicit in the Writings may be that a definite, clear statement could be abused by unscrupulous men in the future of our earth. However, there are probably occasions when, because of external circumstances, rebellion cannot be justified, however evil and unjust the ruler is.

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The more malignant govern in hell*-within limits, it is true; can rebellion ever be justified there? In history and in the world around us we see many examples where rebellion, even justly undertaken against frightful governments, can only lead to worse conditions.
     * HH 220.
     Yet the principle remains that royalty itself is an office, a Divine function that is only adjoined to the person, and which is separated from the person in so far as he administers it unjustly; for justice is Divine. The common good, or use, must be the final criterion in a given set of circumstances. However these teachings may be interpreted, discussion of political rebellion should begin from the Word, and not from the notions of self-intelligence.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1968

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1968

     The Rev. David R. Simons has resigned as Visiting Pastor to Connecticut. Candidate N. Bruce Rogers has accepted appointment, effective September 1, 1968, to minister to the Connecticut Group.
THIS AND THE NEXT ISSUE 1968

THIS AND THE NEXT ISSUE              1968

     In order that the editor might be able to go overseas for seven weeks this summer the August and September issues of NEW CHURCH LIFE were made ready for the press before his departure on July 7. This meant that no Church News and but few Announcements could be included in these two issues. The indulgence of those readers who will most miss these items is asked; they may be assured of a generous supply in the issue for October.

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"EVERY IDLE WORD" 1968

"EVERY IDLE WORD"       Rev. DOUGLAS TAYLOR       1968

     Speech or conversation is a Divinely given privilege: a precious gift whose value and use, or power for good, we can best appreciate, perhaps, if we try to imagine what life would be without it-without the ability to express our thoughts and ideas, and our tenderest feelings, by means of the spoken word. Of all the creatures and things made by the Lord our Creator, we human beings alone have the power of speech. Who could deny, that it is a privilege and a most precious gift? No mineral, plant or animal is able to reflect upon its Creator and give heartfelt thanks to Him for the gift of life. Only human beings can reason and think, and consequently talk and sing. To be able to utter prayers of thanksgiving and praise; to be able to sing songs of praise and thanksgiving-this is a privilege reserved for mankind alone.
     This use of speech in worship is mentioned first of all because it is the first in importance; it is the supreme use of speech, given so that man might confess and acknowledge the Lord, and so come into a state in which he can receive most fully from the Lord, who is eternally willing to give what is His own to others outside of Himself. Creatures and things below man on the scale of creation can only receive in silence; they can only take, and not give thanks to the Divine Giver.
     Every use has its delight; the more exalted the use, the deeper the delight or enjoyment. Consequently the delight of conversation can be very deep, a truly human delight; the word, human, being used here in the sense of all that is really an image of the Divine Human. Wherever there are human beings there is speech or conversation, whether on earth or in the spiritual world.* Indeed we are taught many things in the Heavenly Doctrine about the speech of spirits and angels; as, for example, that "in all angelic conversation there is a harmony like that of songs";** that when the subject of conjugial love and its origin was discussed, there was "an exaltation in the speech of the angels as from the fire of love."***

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We are also reminded that "since the speech of angels corresponds to their affection, and their affection belongs to their love, and as the love of heaven is love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, it is evident how choice and delightful their talk must be, affecting not only the ears but also the interiors of the mind of those who listen to it . . . for it [is] love speaking."****
     * AC 1634-1650; HH 234-245.
     ** AC 7179.
     *** CL 183.
     **** HH 238.
     "Love speaking"-that is the ideal, the true order of life for human beings! The more nearly we approach to that ideal, the more exquisite and indescribable is the delight of conversation; the further we remove ourselves from the ideal the more crude the delight. Speech that proceeds from love to the Lord and toward the neighbor by means of the consequent wise thoughts is truly angelic speech, or, what is the same, truly human speech.
     It is only to be expected that in the church there should be this angelic kind of conversation, in which it is love that speaks; for what makes heaven also makes the church.* Indeed, the function of the church is to be a recipient vessel for the warmth and light of heaven. In its early days the Christian Church was actually such a receptacle for the loves that prevail in heaven; there was a close conjunction between heaven and the church on earth. Early Christians greatly enjoyed conversing together. They had a deep appreciation of the exalted use of conversation, and saw to it that conversation was love speaking. We are taught:

     "At table they conversed on various subjects, both domestic and civil, but especially on such as pertained to the church. And because they were feasts of charity, whatever subject they talked about, charity with its delights and joys was in their speech. The spiritual sphere that prevailed at these feasts was a sphere of love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor, which cheered the mind of everyone, softened the tone of every voice, and from the heart communicated festivity to all the senses. . . . As to social gatherings, they . . . were also a consolation in the adversities of the church, seasons of rejoicing on account of its increase, recreations of mind after study and labor, and at the same time opportunities for conversation on various subjects; and as they flowed from spiritual love as from a fountain, they were rational and moral from a spiritual origin."**
     * HD 241.
     ** TCR 433, 434.

     From these and other teachings, and from experience also, the use of conversation as a means of recreation, of relaxing and re-creating the mind, is well known. Also well-known is the teaching that pleasant conversation at mealtimes produces conditions in the body that aid in the digestion and assimilation of food.*
     * AC 5576.
     All this about the high use that conversation is meant to serve should make us beware of talking without reflection and purpose, and so taking the privilege of speech for granted.

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It is important to appreciate the use first, so that we can see the abuse; for we are warned in the Gospels that "idle words"-words that do not look to use, that ignore, neglect or openly repudiate the Divine purpose the Lord had in granting man the gift of speech-will have to be accounted for in the day of judgment.*
     * See Matthew 12: 36.
     What an "idle word" is can be seen from an idle man. An idle man is a useless man; he does no good to anyone, but simply indulges his own inclinations and seeks his own pleasure exclusively. Instead of wishing well to others, he wishes well to himself alone. Instead of wishing to serve others and promote the common good, he wishes to have others serve him and to take from the common good what will satisfy his longings. He wishes to take, not to give. The love of self and the love of ruling over others for the sake of self are within idleness, which is the very opposite of use. Delight in idleness and self-indulgence is from hell, while the delight of use is from heaven. And it might be added in passing that a man Who is very active can still be in the love of idleness; as can be seen from those who, during their working days, are yearning for the days of their retirement, which they covet as a time of idleness.

     An idle word, then, is a useless word, one that does no good to anyone. The speaker of a useless or idle word is-temporarily at least-wishing well to himself alone and indulging his own pleasures. Frequently he is seeking to exalt himself at the expense of someone else, by belittling someone else and inviting comparison with himself. And it should be recognized that there are very few indeed who do not at some time succumb to the temptation to speak an idle word, a useless word. But whoever does this habitually, whoever is characterized by being a speaker of idle words and is known for his or her chattering tongue, ought to be very grateful to the Lord for His reminder: "Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned."
     We have to account for every idle word, or, as it says in the original, "give out the reason for it." It is well known in the church that in the other life "there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."* Nothing can be hidden, not even our basic ruling love whether good or evil, for this is the cause, the reason, for what we say. Our words correspond to our thoughts; they are simply our thoughts re-presented on the physical plane on earth.

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But our thoughts correspond to the affections which belong to our ruling love. Words are never empty; they contain thoughts, and the thoughts contain affections or feelings that belong to our love. Our love expresses itself in the form of thoughts, and these express themselves in the form of words. So in every word that comes out of our lips there is contained, and revealed, something of our love, whether good or evil. We reveal more about ourselves than perhaps we realize by what we say about other people and how we say it. That is why the Lord said: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."**
     *Luke 12: 2, 3.
     ** Matthew 12: 34, 35.
     What we love is always contained in what we say, and in the other life, in the world of spirits, when our interiors come forth to view-which is what is meant by the "day of judgment"-the reason or purpose or motive behind our words will become quite manifest. If a man has loved the Lord and the neighbor, this will become clear; it will be seen that his words were words of use, looking to a good end, that he habitually intended what is good for the neighbor, in what he said. But if a man has loved himself and the world above all else, this also will be manifested. It will be seen that his words were not words of use. He was not looking to the accomplishment of some good end in what he was saying; his words were idle, useless words, the product of self-indulgence-words that took away but gave back nothing good.

     The great point to bear in mind is that conversation is not an end in itself; it is always looking to some end or other that is loved. Whether we realize it or not, we are always trying to prove something in what we say; words are never vain or empty, even in apparently idle chatter. There is always some love or other that is speaking. What the Lord requires of us is that it be a good love-a love that looks to some good use, not to something useless.
     We are warned in the Heavenly Doctrine against thinking of conversation as an end in itself. In a well-known memorable relation it is shown how deluded and dismayed were those who thought that heavenly happiness consisted in nothing but conversation. The delight of the genuine use of conversation soon palled and turned into weariness-the self inflicted punishment of the abuse of speech.* We are likewise warned that among the causes of legitimate separations in marriages is a vitiated condition of mind in one of the partners which shows itself in the "utmost pleasure in gabbling, and talking of nothing but what is insignificant and frivolous, [and] an unbridled propensity to divulge the secrets of the home."**

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Conversation is never an end in itself, so there is such a thing as too much talk if use is not regarded as the end in view. Speech was given for the sake of use, and as we have seen, there are legitimate uses and delights in social conversation, not the least of which is the self- knowledge that comes from examining and reflecting upon our conversations with a view to making them even more useful. After all, who cannot see himself or herself in this teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine: "Whoever loves himself above all things bears himself in mind in the least things, thinks about himself, and talks about himself . . . for his life is a life of self"?***
     * CL 5.
     ** CL 252.
     *** HD 55.
     Use is the key, the criterion, the end! We are taught that "all things in the universe were made from use, in use, and for use,"* and that heaven is a kingdom of uses.** Let us be guided by the concept of use and the love of use in all that we feel, think, do and say. Use means the accomplishment of a good end, resulting from the marriage of love and wisdom in our minds; it means being an influence for good; it means speaking and acting from the Lord, who alone is good.
     * CL 183.
     ** HH 112.

     Because the Lord requires us to look to use, He caused this law to be written in His Word: "Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people."* This is not one of the laws that have been abrogated; indeed it is a part of the doctrine of genuine truth in the letter of the Word. For after all, what good does a talebearer do? What good use is served by repeating all that we hear about another's faults and weaknesses? Can we honestly plead that we are moved by a love of use, a love of the common good, a love of the Lord's kingdom, if we find it delightful to report on the shortcomings of our neighbor; so delightful, in fact, that it becomes a kind of obsession with us?
     * Leviticus 19: 16.
     Let us suppose, for the moment, that the talebearer is a little unusual in that he has taken pains to verify the story he has heard, and after a careful sifting of the evidence as in a court of law is convinced of the correctness of the report. Even so, what good does he do by drawing attention to what is from the natural man in the neighbor? Are we not taught by the Lord to look to and foster what is from Him in the neighbor?

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Of course, if people are being deceived and there is danger to the common good if the evil is not brought to the light, that is a different matter; a good man, moved by the love of use, would in that case certainly declare what he knows. Use is then being regarded and served.
     But what if there is really no danger to the common good, and the one whose lapse has been discovered or whose weakness has been exposed is performing a notable use to the community, which, in its ignorance of this, is being influenced for good by him? What then? Is it not obvious that the talebearer is the enemy of use, the enemy of the Lord's kingdom, if he or she repeats what has been learned, especially if this is done in a disparaging fashion? Is not the use of the victim murdered and destroyed by the bearing of tales? Surely it is incumbent upon us all to consider the use, the possible effect, of what we say.

     This appeal is not a plea for the protection of evil or evil-doers. It is an appeal to the love of use, a plea for the common good. And it should perhaps be pointed out that this illustration of the principle is no more than a hypothetical case introduced for the sake of illustration.
     In this hypothetical case it was assumed that the talebearer was repeating what was true. Even in that case harm could result, as we have seen. But how much greater the harm if the report that is repeated is false in any particular, or is only a half-truth! As far as the effect is concerned a half truth might just as well be a barefaced lie, a complete fiction. For this reason we have a sacred duty to the Lord, His kingdom, and the person and use of the neighbor to examine any disparaging report with all the critical judgment we would use if it were about ourselves or one of our family or friends. For we shall certainly be called upon to give out the reason that we passed on an idle, useless word to the detriment of our neighbor. Let use be our standard and guide, and nothing else.
     If we have allowed ourselves to become idle, useless bearers of tales, especially if we habitually believe with delight the worst about the neighbor, and repeat it immediately and gleefully without regard to use, how shall we appear in the world of spirits when our ruling love comes forth to view? Shall we say to the Lord: "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? and in Thy name have cast out devils? and in Thy name done many wonderful works?" If so, the Lord will assuredly answer: "I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity."*
     * Matthew 7: 22, 23.
     The temptation to abuse the great privilege of speech, that precious gift of the Lord, is very strong indeed while the natural man remains dominant in us.

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As a means to overcoming this weakness and eradicating this abuse, let us recall that words are never empty of some love or other. When idle words that look not to use are spoken, it is self-love that is speaking. When self is at the center it is most gratifying to be in a position to divulge what others do not yet know, even if what is divulged is harmful to the neighbor, and, of course, to the talebearer. For some there is a strong fascination in the moment of earthly glory when a damning disclosure can be made. Why is this? It is because the talebearer, filled with self-love, often in the form of self-pity, and clothed in the garments of self-righteousness, is able to invite comparison between himself and his victim, and impart, subtly or otherwise, the suggestion that he himself would never be guilty of such a thing.
     Let us recall also that anything idle and useless is connected with hell. The love that prompts us to speak without regard to use flows in from hell. It is certainly not the way of angelic people to dwell upon the faults and weaknesses of others and lay them bare. The teaching in the following is clear:

     "Where there is no charity, there is the love of self, and therefore hatred against all who do not favor self. Consequently such persons see in the neighbor only what is evil, and if they see anything good, they either see it as nothing or put a bad interpretation upon it. It is just the other way with those who are in charity. By this difference these two kinds of men are distinguished from one another, especially when they come into the other life; for then, with those who are in no charity, the feeling of hatred shines forth from every single thing. They desire to examine everyone, and even to judge him; nor do they desire anything more than to find out what is evil, constantly cherishing the disposition to condemn, punish and torment. But they who are in charity scarcely see the evil of another, but observe all his good things and his true things, and put a good interpretation on what is evil and false. Such are all the angels, which they have from the Lord, who bends all evil into good."*
     * AC 1079.

     Notice that the angels have this "from the Lord." This disposition to speak only useful words comes not from man or angel but from the Lord alone, who is use itself because He is good itself.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn for the opening exercises of the Academy schools, or any other occasion, who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.

385


CONTINUOUS INTERNAL SENSE OF THE WORD 1968

CONTINUOUS INTERNAL SENSE OF THE WORD       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1968

     Presented to the Council of the Clergy, January 25, 1968.

     The Writings state that within the letter of the Word there is an internal sense which follows "in a continuous series."* When the Writings speak of "the Word," they sometimes refer to the whole of Divine truth whether it be in the heavens or on earth. In some contexts the reference is specifically to the Old Testament, in others it is to the New Testament. Sometimes both Testaments are meant, and sometimes all forms of Divine truth on earth. The General Church is founded upon the premise that the Writings themselves constitute a statement of Divine truth, and are therefore also part of the Word of God. Yet we cannot escape the fact that the three revelations which have been delivered through the ages differ considerably as to external form. The question here arises: to which part of the Word do the statements concerning a continuous internal sense apply? The Writings are not specific in this particular context. Yet the answer is important, for no study which is dependent upon this question can evolve a sound conclusion unless the premise is well founded. This is the primary question that we wish to consider in this paper. We believe that the answer is implied or suggested in the Writings themselves.
     * AC 1659, 2102, 2654.
     The Divine truth of the Lord, as it is in itself, is infinite. As such it does not fall within the realm of finite comprehension, for "the finite is not capable of comprehending the infinite."* But knowledge of the Lord, and a knowledge of the purpose of creation, is essential to human survival. For this end were these knowledges Divinely provided by the Lord. He set forth His infinite truth in finite terms, enabling man to form in his mind a finite representative picture of the infinite truth, into which the Divine proceeding could flow. This has been provided since the commencement of human life. Revelation has been given successively from the time of the Most Ancient Church until the time when the Second Coming was effected, constituting the fulfilment of the prophecy in the Apocalypse.
     * AC 3404.
     Since the first creation of man, revelation has been given successively. In the celestial Most Ancient Church immediate revelation was given directly from the Lord through heaven.

386


Then the fall necessitated the separation of the will and the understanding in man. Since that time man has been created of the spiritual genius. He could be led to good only by means of truth. Provision was made for him to be instructed concerning Divine and spiritual things solely by means of a written Word, so that from truth he could be led into the good of life. This has been the heritage of all generations since the fall. Today we continue to rely solely upon the written Word, as it has been preserved in the providence of the Lord. In no other way can man obtain knowledge of Divine and spiritual things, and in no other way can he be regenerated.

     The Writings strongly assert that the Word is the Word because it contains an internal sense. In its broadest sense this term encompasses the internal historical sense, the spiritual sense and the celestial sense. These constitute the Divine truth of the Lord as provided in the three heavens. These interior senses are contained in the Word, and "the sense of the letter . . . is the basis, the containant, and the support of its spiritual and celestial sense."* Furthermore these interior senses of the Word exist "in a continuous series [and] represent the celestial and spiritual things of the Lord's kingdom, and in the supreme sense the Lord Himself."** It is indicated that the whole of the Word on earth has an internal sense. This internal sense is such that it treats "solely of the Lord and His kingdom; for this alone is what makes a book of the genuine Word."*** All genuine revelation treats of these two essentials, and this is true of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and indeed of the Writings. The Old and New Testaments both have a correspondential internal sense, for the symbolism used therein corresponds to the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord and His kingdom. The same is also true of the Writings, in the sense that they unfold the correspondences, the representatives and significatives of the Old and New Testaments, and therefore supply us with a "natural sense from the spiritual sense, which is called the internal sense, also the spiritual-natural sense."****
     * TCR 210.
     ** AC 4442.
     *** AC 3540.
     **** AE 1061.
     It is stated that the Word contains an internal sense which is present within the sense of the letter "in a continuous series." When we examine the literal composition of each of the three revelations and try to view them in the light of this teaching certain difficulties immediately present themselves. Certainly the ideas presented in each division of revelation are inspired from the Lord through heaven, and consequently there is a discrete relationship between the natural language of the entire Word and the interior things which are contained within.

387


The internal sense treats of the Lord and His kingdom while the letter is merely a Divinely ordered natural statement.
     As we examine the literal sense of the Old Testament, we find that the events are set forth in a chronological order. There is the story of creation, of Adam, and his fall. This continues into the story of Noah and the tower of Babel. Then with the mention of Eber true history begins.* There follows the account of the Patriarchs, who were succeeded by the judges, and finally the kings. The historical narrative concludes with the period of captivity, during which time so many of the prophets were inspired. They saw, through their spiritual eyes, representations of truth in the spiritual world. Their written testimony foretells the consummation of the Jewish Church, and bears the promise of the forthcoming day of the Lord. In relation to this historical chronology it is not difficult to see that herein "a continuous internal sense" lies concealed.
     * AC 1283.

     But from Malachi until the appearance of the angel of Jehovah to Zacharias there were four hundred years of silence when prophetic revelations from the Lord were scarce. The Gospels relate the circumstances of the Lord's birth, scarcely mention his developing years, but dwell at length on the period of His public ministry. They take us through the final temptation on the cross, and close with His post-resurrection manifestations. After this time His Human was made Divine; reunited to the Father from whence He was originally conceived.
     Here again it is not difficult to see that the Lord's earthly life was representative of the Divine itself, and of the spiritual and celestial things of His kingdom. Therefore in each of the four Gospels there must exist a continuous internal sense. Yet here we are faced with the question as to what is the relationship between the internal sense of one Gospel and another. In the literal sense each evangelist tells a different aspect of the same story. It would seem that the proposition recently advanced by Bishop De Charms would here have its plausibility. For he advances a tentative suggestion "that John represents the celestial degree, Luke the spiritual, Mark the spiritual-natural, and Matthew the celestial-natural."* Before we can arrive at any definite conclusion concerning the continuity of the internal sense of the New Testament, we must begin by admitting that its chronology differs from that of the Old Testament. In the Old Testament the literal story is a continuous chronology, from book to book, whereas in the New Testament each Gospel would seem to have, not a chronological relationship to the others, but rather a relationship of successive order.

388



     * New Church Life 1967, p. 228.
     Having examined those passages which speak of "a continuous internal sense," our tentative conclusion is that they refer to the Old Testament; to its being contained in those books which follow in a chronological series. To substantiate this assumption, we advance the following teachings for consideration.
     It is an historical fact that the Divine truth of the Lord has been successively given to the human race.

"Inmost Divine truths were revealed to those who were of the Most Ancient Church; more external Divine truths were revealed to those of the Ancient Church; and most external or ultimate Divine truths to the Hebrew Church, and afterward to the Israelitish . . . ."*
     * AE 948: 3.

     We would note from this teaching that a comparison is made between the revelations which were given to the first three dispensational churches. The Divine truths that were then revealed are said to be "inmost," "more external," and "most external or ultimate." Here, the Word of the Old Testament clearly constitutes the "most external or ultimate" plane of Divine revelation. Thus it would seem that the teaching concerning Divine truth existing "in its fullness, in its holiness, and in its power"* in the sense of the letter, has most universal application to the Old Testament.
     * SS 37.

"The Celestial, the Spiritual, and the Natural proceed from the Lord in successive order, and in the ultimate are in simultaneous order; and it is in this way that the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word are simultaneous in its natural sense."*
     * SS 37.

     However, two further revelations of Divine truth were given subsequently to the Old Testament. Of these we read as follows:-

"After the end of the Israelitish Church interior Divine truths were revealed by the Lord for the Christian Church, and now still more interior truths for the church that is to come. These interior truths are such as are in the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. All this makes clear that there has been a progression of Divine truth from inmosts to ultimates, thus from wisdom to mere ignorance; and that now there is a progression of it from ultimates to interiors, thus from ignorance again to wisdom."*
     * AE 948. Cf. AE 641: 2, 3

     This teaching establishes something about the nature of the New Testament, for "when the end of the Jewish Church was at hand the Lord Himself opened and taught the interior things of the Word, and especially revealed those things in the Word that had been foretold of Himself."*

389


Thus when the Lord came He revealed something of the internal sense of the Old Testament, making the New Testament a partial revelation of that sense. But the completion of this work was to be fulfilled in the Writings of the Lord's second coming.
     * AE 641.
     The New Testament and the Writings both serve to reveal something of the interior senses which lay concealed in the Old Testament. In revealing these things they restore holiness to the Old Testament. As far as the individual is concerned, there is holiness in the Word only when it is known "that the spiritual and the celestial [senses] are together or simultaneous in the natural sense which is the sense of the letter."* "Every Divine work is complete and perfect in its ultimate, which is a trine, because the prior things are together, or are simultaneously in it."**
     * SS 37.
     ** SS 28.
     These teachings give some of the reasons why successive revelations of Divine truth were needed on earth, but there are also others. There is an analogy between the development of the human race and the development of the individual. It is well know that instruction paves the way for intelligent action, yet the mind has to be supplied with knowledges accommodated to its mental ability to comprehend. Thus with advancement towards maturity more interior knowledges have to be supplied, if the need is to be satisfied. The same has been true of the mental and spiritual development of the human race.

"The church from most ancient times to the end of the Jewish Church, progressed like a man who is conceived, born, and grows up, and is then instructed and taught; but the successive states of the church after the end of the Jewish Church, or from the time of the Lord even to the present day, have been like a man increasing in intelligence and wisdom, or becoming regenerate. For this end the interior things of the Word, and of the church, and of worship were revealed by the Lord when He was in the world; and now again, things still more interior are revealed."*
     * AE 641.

     The comparison that is here made is between the development of the first three churches and the development of the natural mind. A further comparison is also made between the last two churches and the opening of the spiritual mind of man. It is not difficult to enlarge upon this comparison.
     There is a remarkable similarity between the states of the celestial Most Ancient Church and the celestial state of first infancy, when the Lord is implanting celestial remains "in the interior man."* In earliest infancy a perception is given providing the child with the ability to react to the quality of corporeal sensations, not from himself, but from the influx of angelic spheres.

390


Despite the prevailing ignorance of this state, the innocence that accompanies it allows the memory of angelic spheres to be retained in the form of remains. Following this initial state of life comes the first mental advertence. From this point on the inmost celestial remains are gradually withdrawn into the interior man, where they are stored for future use in regeneration. We are taught that "celestial things are insinuated into man both without knowledges and with knowledges; celestial things without knowledges from infancy up to childhood . . . but celestial things with knowledges from childhood onward to adult age."** We are reminded of how the perceptive wisdom of the Most Ancient Church was formulated into doctrinals in the Ancient Church in the form of the first written Word.*** In this succeeding church men had to be instructed in the spiritual and celestial truths of heaven through the understanding. A new will could be conceived therein only through strict obedience to the laws and statutes of Jehovah. Obedience is, of course, one of the principal lessons taught in the Old Testament. On countless occasions its necessity was exemplified in the life of the Jewish people. Obedience is the basis of all order within the mind. The celestial and spiritual remains, implanted previously, can only be mirrored in the sensuous degree of the mind if this is in order, that is, in a state of obedience. Truths which are learned in early childhood are called sensuous truths.**** These truths can he taught and thus learned, only because the prior formation of the child's intellectual life was from a celestial origin.
     * AC 1906: 3.
     ** AC 1451.
     *** Cf. AC 920.
     **** AC 3309.

"Sensuous truth . . . is the first truth that insinuates itself; for in childhood the judgment does not go higher. Sensuous truth consists in seeing all earthly and worldly things as being created by God, and each and everything for a purpose, and in each and all things whatsoever a certain image of God's kingdom."*
     * AC 1434. Cf. AE 543.

     Since the fall all such truths have to be insinuated into man through instruction, "the spiritual always accompanying."* In this way the celestial and spiritual remains formerly implanted are invited to show forth their internal beauty obscurely, in the innocence of the age.
     * DP 276.
     The erring ways of the sons of Israel stand as an eternal memorial to the fact that "when a man's external sensuous things begin to rule over his internal sensuous things, the man is lost."*
     * AC 5077.

"A man from his infancy even to childhood is merely sensuous, for he then receives only earthly, corporeal and worldly things through the senses of the body, and from these things his ideas and thoughts are then formed.

391


. . . By external innocence the Lord reduces into order what enters through the senses; and without an influx of innocence from the Lord in that first age, there would never be any foundation upon which the intellectual or rational faculty which is proper to man could be built.*
     * AC 5126.

     Therefore in the age from infancy to childhood the sensuous degree of the natural mind is opened, and this serves as a foundation upon which all future mental development rests. This lowest degree of the natural mind, the sensuous, is the basis of "the ultimate of thought and affection."* It is that plane of the mind which is derived most proximately from the corporeal senses. It is the plane of mental reaction to sensation. Its whole orientation is derived from the constancy of time and space, and "man cannot think otherwise than from such things as are of space and time."**
     * AE 543: 2.
     ** TCR 31: 2.
     "But afterwards, as the infant grows older and becomes a boy, a more interior sensual is opened, from which he thinks naturally, and is also affected naturally."* This "interior sensual" is an intermediate degree of the natural mind, between the sensuous and the rational. It is variously termed in the Writings. In most references it is called "the natural,"** while in others it is called "the interior sensual."*** This intermediate degree is opened "by learning what is becoming, what the civil law requires, and what is honorable, both by instructions from parents and teachers and by studies."**** This instruction includes instruction from scientifics,***** also truths of a civil and moral nature, truths from the Word which teach "concerning the life of man with the neighbor, which is called charity."****** In this connection it is interesting to recall that the New Testament abounds with such teachings.
     * AE 543: 2.
     ** AE 1956.
     *** AE 543.
     **** AC 5126.
     ***** AE 654: 12.
     ****** D Wis. xi 5a.
     Later in youth and early manhood the rational is opened, by means of which "a man who is imbued with knowledge is able to see things in series, that is from first and mediate things to see the last, which is called the conclusion, and can therefore analytically arrange, turn over, separate, conjoin, and at length conclude things even to a farther end, and at length to the final end."*
     * AE 569: 6.
     With regard to the opening of these three degrees of the natural mind, we are taught that the progression involved is in the order of continuous degrees.* Therefore the formation of the rational is not effected suddenly, but it is "opened gradually as man becomes adolescent."**

392


But in every man there are three degrees of life corresponding to the three heavens, and the rational is that plane of the mind upon which these three interior degrees of life may rest.
     * DLW 256.
     ** AE 996.
     The development of the rational gives man the ability to see the truth of God, for himself, for the first time. Seeing this truth is not merely an accumulation of ideas that have been derived from the Word. Indeed it is this, but together with the enlightening of the understanding by the Lord. When truths from the Word are enlightened in the mind, then for the first time does the Lord reveal something of Himself to man. This really amounts to a personal revelation from the Lord.

"This revelation is made by the enlightening of the internal sight, which is of the understanding, when a man who is in the affection of truth from good is reading the Word. This enlightening is then effected by the light of heaven, which is from the Lord as the sun there. . . . When the understanding is enlightened by that Divine light, it then perceives that to be true which is true, it acknowledges it inwardly in itself, and as it were sees it. Such is the revelation of those who are in the affection of truth from good when they are reading the Word."*
     * AC 8780.

     Our purpose in having considered these teachings about the human mind, in relation to our subject, might at first seem devious. The purpose has been this. As we mentioned earlier, the Writings state that the successive states of the church "from the time of the Lord to the present day, have been like a man increasing in intelligence and wisdom, or becoming regenerate."* In order to appreciate this comparison fully these teachings concerning the human mind must be held within the mind.
     * AE 641.
     The comparison implied in the passage above is not to the acquisition of scientifics. Nor does it refer to the acquisition of a knowledge of civil truths, moral truths, nor even knowledge of spiritual truths. The comparison is rather to man's "increasing in intelligence and wisdom, or becoming regenerate." Thus the comparison is not to various levels of instruction, but rather to a life from these. In this regard it is interesting to remember the Lord's own teaching: If any man will do the will of the Father, "he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself."* From this it is apparent that revelation from the Lord, which imparts an internal conviction about truth in man, cannot be imparted from the mere letter of the Word, but rather from an enlightenment which accompanies the spirit of humility and of willingness to obey.

393


Interior truths of the Word can indeed be seen rationally by all men whose rational faculty has been opened, but they cannot be seen with the full conviction of the heart until there is obedience to the Divine precepts; not until they are introduced into life.
     * John 7: 17.
     The internal sense of the Word is not a purely intellectual concept. The Writings unfold the internal sense of the Word, in the sense that they present us with a natural statement of the internal sense, for the true internal sense is that sense of the Word which exists in heaven. "The regenerate man is actually in the internal sense of the Word, and in the sanctity thereof, although he does not know it . . . [for] during his life in the world he does not attend thereto. . . ."* While in the world, the regenerating man sees and perceives the Divine presence within the Word, and he is able to perceive this with internal conviction. The Lord truly manifests Himself to those who are in a life according to genuine truths. Therefore it is said that "henceforth the spiritual sense of the Word will be imparted solely to him who from the Lord is in genuine truths."** "Elsewhere than in the Word the Lord does not reveal Himself, nor except through the internal sense."*** To be in "genuine truths" implies being in a life in which genuine truths are the sincere conviction of the heart, for it is taught that man's rational is not opened to receive heaven by a mere knowledge of truths, "but by a life according to them."**** If the internal sense of the Word could be revealed apart from the quality of man's life then anyone who had a knowledge of genuine truth, and who knew correspondences, could be in possession of the internal sense, and could do violence to it. But this internal sense, that sense of the Word in heaven, is guarded and protected lest anyone should attempt to approach the interior things of heaven and the Lord "except through love."***** To see the internal sense enlightenment is also necessary, and this is imparted only if there is a genuine affection for the truth.******
     * WH 10.
     ** SS 26; TCR 208
     *** AE 36.
     **** HH 468.
     ***** AE 1088.
     ****** Verbo 58.

"From this it is clear that the Lord teaches the man of the church mediately by means of the Word according to the love of his will that comes from life, and according to the light of his understanding that he gains by means of knowledge; and this cannot be otherwise, because this is the Divine order of influx."*
     * AE 1177.

     Thus it is possible for man to see the internal sense from the light of heaven, or from the light of the world. When statements which relate to the internal sense are read, either in the New Testament or in the Writings, and are understood, and if there is unwillingness to live according to these ideas, then man sees the internal sense from the light of the world.

394


But to see the internal sense from the light of heaven there must be a correspondence in the will to the things which are of heaven, and a desire to see truth together with an affection to aspire to the things which this truth teaches. Therefore "enlightenment and apperception are impossible unless there is affection or love, which is spiritual heat, and which gives life to the things that are enlightened by the light."*
     * AC 3138.
     From these teachings we can see that a mere knowledge of the teachings of the New Testament, and of the Writings, does not disclose the internal sense of the Old Testament per se. Indeed these revelations disclose something of the internal sense as far as this can be accommodated to natural language. These revelations really serve only to disclose the means whereby the internal sense can be revealed to the man of the church. Enlightenment is effected by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Everyone is "taught according to the affections of his love and the consequent thoughts of his understanding, those who are not in the good of life receiving very little, but those who are in the good of life receiving much, for these are taught through enlightenment from the Lord. . . . To be enlightened by the Lord through heaven is to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit is the Divine that proceeds from the Lord as a sun, from which is heaven." *
     * AE 1177.

     Thus in our effort to establish a relationship between successive revelations, as given to the five churches, and that which is given to the individual by the Lord, we would conclude that the Word of the Old Testament, being the Divine truth in its "most external or ultimate" form, serves especially in the formation of the most ultimate degree of the human mind, the sensual. It would further seem that the New Testament serves especially in imparting principles of civil and moral conduct of man with his neighbor, and that the Writings in revealing Divine truths in rational appearances are necessary if the rational is to be rightly oriented in matters of faith. Yet the real purpose of the entire Word is not to impart mere knowledge, but rather to provide the direction whereby the mind of man may be formed into a heaven in least form. Thus as the interior degrees of the mind becomes opened, it is said of the rational that it is "in appearance as if it were of three degrees, a rational from the celestial, a rational from the spiritual, and a rational from the natural."* Therefore the comparison suggested in the Writings, that "from the time of the Lord to the present day, has been like a man increasing in intelligence and wisdom, or becoming regenerate," is obviously a comparison to a regenerating man, and not a knowledgeable man.

395


It is a comparison made to the man whose spiritual mind has been opened, thus whose rational is in an appearance, as it were, of three degrees.
     * DLW 258.
     In this regard it is taught that "the natural degree of the human mind regarded in itself is continuous, but by correspondence with the two higher degrees it appears when it is elevated as if it were discrete." Thus the natural mind, that is, the sensuous, the natural, and the rational, is opened and formed by continuous degrees, yet the rational serves as the basis of all spiritual life. Therefore the whole of the natural mind by comparison with the spiritual degree, and this with the celestial degree, is discrete. These three general degrees of the mind exist in successive order, for they are discrete. When all three have been opened there is a succession "from highest to lowest."* But in the ultimate degree, in the natural mind, these exist in simultaneous order, for they rest upon the rational, the highest degree of the natural mind. "Thus is the simultaneous formed from the successive, and this in all things both in general and in particular of the natural world, and also of the spiritual world."** If we now compare this to the Word:-

"The Celestial, the Spiritual, and the Natural proceed from the Lord in successive order, and in the ultimate are in simultaneous order; and it is in this way that the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word are simultaneous in its natural sense. When this is comprehended, it may be seen how the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, is the basis, containant, and support of its spiritual and celestial senses; and how in the sense of the letter of the Word, Divine good and Divine truth are in their fullness, in their holiness, and in their power." ***
     * DLW 256.
     ** SS 38.
     *** SS 38.

     We would conclude from this that the Word of the Old Testament is a representative revelation of the Divine Natural of the Lord, being the most ultimate statement of Divine truth.

"From the Lord the Divine Celestial, and the Divine Spiritual, and the Divine Natural go forth one after another. Whatever goes forth from the Lord's Divine love is called the Divine Celestial, everything of which is good; whatever goes forth from His Divine wisdom is called the Divine Spiritual, everything of which is truth; the Divine Natural is from both of these and is their complex in the ultimate.*
     * TCR 195.

     Before the giving of the Old Testament, the Divine Celestial had indeed been revealed to the Most Ancient Church, for these were celestial men. And the Divine Spiritual was revealed to the Ancient Church after it, and this truth was such as was contained in the Ancient Word.

396


Although the celestial and spiritual wisdom of these times perished, for the most part, nevertheless this wisdom was preserved in the internal sense of the Old Testament. Thus it would seem that the Old Testament is indeed a revelation of the Divine Natural, for the spiritual and celestial senses are together "in their complex in the ultimate."* This seems to be further substantiated in a passage which speaks of the good that is formed from the Divine Natural truth. "Divine natural good . . . makes the first or ultimate heaven, [and] is the good of faith and obedience."** Does not the Old Testament strongly emphasize the absolute necessity of obedience?
     * TCR 195.
     ** AC 9812.
     Indeed it is said that before the Lord assumed the Human He had not a Divine Natural.* Nevertheless the manifestation of the Angel of Jehovah before the Advent merely represented the Divine Human or Divine Natural of the Lord.** When He came into the world the Lord put on "a Divine Natural" making this visible in ultimates.*** He came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, yet He put on the Divine Natural in ultimates that through it the Divine Spiritual might also be taught and thus revealed.
     * Ques. 2.
     ** TCR 109. Cf AC 6831.
     *** TCR 109.
     Thus we have assumed that the New Testament is a revelation of the Lord's Divine Spiritual. This we have assumed from the many instances where it speaks of the Messiah as being a King. The Divine monarchy of the Lord is everywhere spoken of in the New Testament. "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" * His name, "Christ," means the "anointed" or "King."** He rode into Jerusalem on the foal of an ass in the regal manner. There are many other examples. Concerning this the Writings say that "the Lord's Divine Spiritual is that which is called His `royalty;' for the Lord's 'royalty' is His Divine truth." *** Therefore it would seem that the New Testament is a revelation of the Divine Spiritual. This would seem to explain why it is said that "after the end of the Israelitish Church interior Divine truths were revealed by the Lord for the Christian Church."**** For the Divine Spiritual is interior to the Divine Natural.
     * Matthew 2: 2.
     ** AC 8543.
     *** AC 3969: 15. Cf AC 1728; AE 340: 7.
     **** AE 948: 3.
     To carry this further we have assumed that the Writings are a revelation of the Divine Celestial. In regard to the revelation contained in the Writings we are taught that "it surpasses all the revelations that have hitherto been made since the creation of the world."* And further that the New Church which is founded upon this new revelation is "the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth."** For what reason is the revelation given in the Writings spoken of in such exalted terms, other than that the Writings reveal the inmost of the Divine, the Divine Celestial of the Lord?

397


And why was the New Church called "the crown of all the churches"? We do not believe that the word "crown" was chosen arbitrarily, but rather that it was chosen for its significance. We are taught that the woman clothed with the sun, whom John saw in the Apocalypse, who had a crown of twelve stars about her head, was so appareled that she might represent this New Church. We are told that "by `a crown of twelve stars on the woman's head,' is signified the wisdom and intelligence of the New Church from the knowledges of Divine good and Divine truth from the Word."*** Yet the wisdom that is here signified is that wisdom which proceeds from the Divine good, the inmost Divine, the Divine Celestial.****
     * Inv 44.
     ** TCR 786; Inv 53.
     *** AR 534.
     **** See AE 272; 8-11, 340: 7.
Thus in the "most external or ultimate" statement of Divine truth, or the Word of the Old Testament, the successive order of the Lord, His Celestial, His Spiritual, and His Natural are present "in simultaneous order."* Although these interior senses lie concealed in the Old Testament, successive revelations were necessary in order to render them visible, or rather, to render the Natural, the Spiritual and the Celestial of the Lord visible, for only in this way can there be a conjunction of God with man.**
     * SS 38.
     ** See TCR 787.

"The angels of the celestial kingdom, who constitute the third or highest heaven, are in that Divine going forth from the Lord which is called celestial, since they are in good of love from the Lord. The angels of the Lord's spiritual kingdom who constitute the second or middle heaven, are in the Divine going forth from the Lord which is called spiritual, since they are in the Divine wisdom of the Lord. The angels of the Lord's natural kingdom, who constitute the first or lowest heaven, are in that Divine going forth from the Lord which is called the Divine natural, and they are in the faith of charity from the Lord. . . . Such as heaven is such also is the Lord's Word; in its outmost sense it is natural, in its interior sense spiritual, and in its inmost sense celestial, and in each of these senses it is Divine."*
     * TCR 195.

     Since the relationship between the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural is discrete, it would also follow that these senses disclosed successively in the three revelations are also discrete rather than continuous. Here we would again refer to the analogy of the human mind which we developed earlier. There we cited the teaching that "the natural degree of the human mind regarded in itself is continuous, but by correspondence with the two higher degrees it appears when it is elevated as if it were discrete."*

398


And in the Word is there not also an apparent continuity between the three revelations, and yet when considered as to the discrete aspect of the Divine which each reveals, then are they not discrete? We would tentatively hold that they are.
     * DLW 256.
     If we accept this conclusion, then it would seem that those teachings concerning the Word having a continuous internal sense would apply primarily to the Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi. Thus herein would be contained three interior senses: the internal-historical sense, the spiritual sense, and the celestial. For the most part these were hidden until future revelations were given to disclose the means whereby they could be seen. These senses are discrete in their relation one to the other, yet the Old Testament contains them all. Only in the Old Testament does it seem that these senses follow in a continuous chronological series, as to the very letters, words, sentences and books. To this Swedenborg gives testimony: "I have read the prophetic Word through from Isaiah even to Malachi, and it was given to perceive that every chapter, yea every verse, was perceived in some heavenly society."* "Hence from these and other proofs it was made plain to me that there is a correspondence of the whole heaven with the Word in its series." **
     * Verbo XVIII.
     ** Verbo XXV.

     Since the Old Testament serves as the basis and support of the internal senses, even as to every "jot or point, or little horn,"* these ultimates have been preserved from the time when it was first written. And we would note that "especially [has this been the case in] the Word of the Old Testament."** The Masorites counted every letter therein.*** When the Lord Himself referred to His fulfilling the Law and the Prophets, He added: "Verily I say unto you. Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the Law, till all be fulfilled,"**** meaning the Old Testament. All this has been said of the Old Testament, because it "contains so much that not even a syllable could be omitted without an interruption of the series."*****
     * AC 9349.
     ** AC 9349.
     *** SS 13: 4.
     **** Matthew 5: 18.
     ***** AC 7933.
     Again, because the Word of the Old Testament is Divine truth in its "most external or ultimate" form, and thus is the basis and support of the interior senses, it is said specifically "that the Word even of the Old Testament is most holy."* This is further supported by the several statements which are made concerning the Hebrew language, in which it was written. "The Hebrew language agrees with [the angelic language] in some things,"** and "has a more immediate communication with heaven."***

399


The continuity of the internal sense is most perfectly conveyed in the Hebrew language.
     * AC 8972.
     ** HH 237.
     *** LJ Post 261.

"In the original language one series is not distinguished from another by intervening marks, as in other languages; but the text appears to be as it were continuous from beginning to end. The things in the internal sense are also in like manner continuous and flowing from one state of a thing to another."*
     * AC 4987.

     From these statements, and from a study of those passages which speak of a "continuous internal sense" we conclude that the reference is to the Word of the Old Testament. By no means do we wish to convey the false notion that here alone is the internal sense continuous, for certainly the Divine books of the New Testament contain a continuous spiritual sense individually. But we question whether the spiritual sense of this Word is chronologically continuous from book to book as it is in the Old Testament. It would seem that each of the four Gospels might have been given to reveal spiritual truth to serve in the opening of the various degrees of the human mind. But the Lord came to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, and the New Testament record of this fulfilment rests upon the Old Testament, we believe, rather than being a continuation of the same discrete series of the Old Testament.
     Yet the New Testament enshrined even deeper arcana, which the world, at the time of the Lord, was not then able to bear. Something of the spiritual sense had indeed been disclosed by the Lord, but there was still a more interior celestial sense yet to be given to future generations. Thus the New Testament closes with a prophetical work, the Apocalypse, in which is described the descent of the New Jerusalem, the doctrines given in the Writings. These were things that were to come to pass in the future of the church, the New Church, "and such were the things that John saw."* During the lifetime of Swedenborg, the human race had attained unto a state of mental maturity, for, as was previously stated: "From the time of the Lord to the present day, [the successive states of the church] have been like a man increasing in intelligence and wisdom, or becoming regenerate. For this end the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were revealed by the Lord when He was in the world; and now again, things still more interior are revealed.**

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     * AC 1037
     ** AE 641.
KINGDOM OF THE RESOLUTE 1968

KINGDOM OF THE RESOLUTE       Editor       1968


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 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.
     Poverty of spirit cannot be achieved without resolution. It was to this that the Lord referred when He counselled that if the right eye or hand offended, or the foot caused to stumble, the erring member should be plucked out or cut off. Even a fundamentalist can see that the injunction is not to be taken literally-though some have so taken it-and can recognize at least the presence of hyperbole. But, the Writings reveal, the language is that of correspondence; and they ask who does not see that it is not the body that causes man to stumble, but the mind to which it corresponds.
     The reference is to the internal man, whose part it is to will and think, and the spiritual injunction is that if evil is thought of, it must be ejected from the thought; if evil is willed, the evil of the will must be cut off; and if the natural-which constantly opposes the spiritual and perverts all things unless it is purified-weakens truth, it must be destroyed. To do these things calls for resolution, even more than would be required for self-mutilation; for man naturally cherishes the thought and will of evil and the ultimation of it as far as he deems circumspect, and would feel deprived without them.
     Yet only through such a resolute rejection of these vital instruments of his self-life can man become poor in spirit and innocent, and thus receive the kingdom of heaven. This requires that he enter into temptation, for peace comes through victory in spiritual combat. However, it is in this peace that man receives blessing, the blessing of those who are persecuted for the sake of justice.

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TWO WITNESSES 1968

TWO WITNESSES       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968


VOL. LXXXVIII
SEPTEMBER, 1968
No. 9

NEW CHURCH LIFE
     For generations the most capable minds of the Christian Church have attempted to interpret the book of Revelation, but this portion of Scripture has defied human understanding. Unlike the Old Testament, which comes to us in the form of history, and unlike the New Testament, which presents a positive doctrine of spiritual morality, the book of Revelation speaks of strange and terrifying events which were seen by John in the spiritual world. Couched in the imagery of dream life, and dealing with things that seem fantastic to the point of incredibility, the book of Revelation is referred to as the book of mysteries.
     Nowhere in Scripture, therefore, do we find a more convincing illustration of the teaching that apart from the spiritual sense, the Word in its letter cannot be understood. As the Writings state: "There are many who have labored in the explanation of the Apocalypse; but as the spiritual sense of the Word had been hitherto unknown, they could not see the arcana which lie concealed therein."* From this it is evident that the book of Revelation was not actually intended for the Christian Church, but was given in the form of a prophecy in order that it might serve as a sign or testification of truths which were not yet revealed. Yet while many at this day are inclined to believe that the Scriptures in general, and the book of Revelation in particular, are allegorical in nature and that they possess a meaning that is not apparent in the letter, few are prepared to believe that the Word contains within itself an authoritative statement of truth. The reference in that book to the "two witnesses," the "two olive trees and the two candlesticks," is a case in point.**

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     * AR Preface.
     ** Revelation 11: 3, 4.
     According to the testimony of the Writings, the two olive trees and the two candlesticks which stood before the God of all the earth signify the two essentials of the church. These are the good of love and the truth of faith. Each, it is said, bears witness to the other, and mutually they testify to the Divine Humanity of Him who is God of all the earth. Hence the teaching of the Writings that "it is the Divine who bears witness concerning the Divine, and not man from himself;"* for the good of love and the truth of faith are not from man, but are with man from the Lord. Thus the truth of the Word does not depend upon man's acknowledgment of its Divinity, but upon the internal evidence of the Word concerning itself.
     * AE 635.

     Yet who at this day is prepared to believe the testimony of the Writings concerning themselves? This is a skeptical generation which, when confronted with any claim to truth, is prone to dismiss it as did Pilate, saying, "What is truth?" The implication is that one cannot speak with certainty of anything which lies outside of sense experience. Thus while many regard religion as needful, they tend to be suspicious of doctrine. Hence the frequent reference to the thesis that it does not matter what a man believes as long as he lives a good life. The assumption here is that man does good from instinct. But this is not so. Man does not do good from instinct, but from conscience, that is, from such truths as he possesses. Apart from truth man can form no idea of good, and unless we can form some idea of a thing it has no meaning to us. What, then, is truth but the form in which good is presented to the sight of man's understanding? It has no other function or purpose. In other words, truth has no end in itself. In all that it does it looks to good, and serves as the means whereby the way is opened by which man may come into the perception of good. Thus it was that in identifying Himself, the Lord said to the Jews: "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."*
     * John 14: 6.
     It is apparent that here the Lord was speaking of Himself as the Word, for it is through the Word, and not apart from it, that the Lord is known to man. By "the Father," therefore, He had reference to the good of truth; that is, to the good that is implicit within all truth. Thus in speaking to His disciples concerning Himself, He said: "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father";* "No man cometh unto the Father, but by Me";** "I and My Father are one."*** He was not speaking here of another person in a trinity of persons, but of the good of the Divine love, to which the truth of the Word testifies. This is the function of the Word.

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It has no other purpose. Are we not taught in the Old Testament that "thou shalt have no other gods [or goods] before . . . [My face]";**** and in the New Testament, that "there is none good but one, that is, God";***** and in the Writings, that all good is from the Lord, and that of himself man cannot do good? It is the primary teaching of all Divine revelation, therefore, that God is good, and apart from the Word man cannot form any true idea of good.
     * John 14: 9.
     ** John 14: 6.
     *** John 10: 30.
     ****Exodus 20: 3.
     *****Mark 10: 18.
     
     It is, then, the Word which testifies to the good of the Divine doctrine. As the Lord said to the Jews, "I speak not of Myself,"* for the function of truth is not to bear witness to itself, but to bear witness unto Him who alone is good. Thus when the scribes and Pharisees accused the Lord of false witness, on the grounds that a man cannot bear witness of himself, He answered them, saying: "If I hear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. [But] there is another that beareth witness of Me; and I know that the witness which He witnesseth of Me is true."** What is spoken of here, therefore, is the reciprocal relationship which exists between good and truth; for whereas in the first instance it is the truth that testifies to what is good, it is good that confirms and establishes what is true. Is not this what the Lord meant when He said that "the tree is known by . . . [its] fruits"?*** Is not this also what He meant when He said: "Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me: or else believe Me for the very works' sake"? ****
     * John 14: 10.
     ** John 5: 31, 32.
     *** Matthew 12: 33.
     **** John 14: 11.
     We do not believe in the Word merely because we perceive it is true. We believe it is true because we perceive it is good. Faith in God, therefore, is not merely a matter of rational conviction or of reason; for the function of reason is not to determine what is true, but to confirm what is true because it is good. Yet because, apart from truth, man could form no idea of good, truth is first in time. But truth does not speak of itself; neither does it bear witness to itself, but always to good. Thus it is that the Writings do not compel faith, for what is done from compulsion is not good. In all instances the appeal of the Writings is through truth to good. In this, man is free-free to accept or reject what the truth teaches concerning the life of good or of use.
     Yet were it not for the fact that the Lord Himself prepares the way for the reception of truth, no man would seek faith. In infancy and childhood, before the love of self has become calculating, the Lord provides those states of innocence which are observable in the child's willingness to be led by the Lord through the instrumentality of parents and teachers.

404


These states of innocence, which the Writings refer to as remains, are the means by which man is disposed to faith. While it is true that in later life these primitive affections may be consumed by the delights of self-intelligence, as long as there is any remnant of innocence with man he may yet be disposed to faith. The real issue, therefore, between faith and anti-faith is not merely a question of what is true. In its deeper implications it is a question of what is good. As the prophet Elijah said to the people: "If the Lord be God, [that is, if He be good] follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him."*
     * I Kings 18: 21.
     In speaking these words, Elijah put the people to the test, for the test of truth is the God, or the good, to which it testifies. As against that which is signified by Baal, that is, as distinguished from that which seems good to self, the Writings insist that what is good in man is not of self, but the use which self is intended to serve. Do they not teach that the good of a thing is its use; that apart from use man cannot do good; and that the true value of anything is to be determined by its use? Even as the Lord appealed to the Father as one who bore witness to the truth of His Word, so the Writings submit the question of their integrity to the good of use. For the Writings hold that what is done from the love of use is good, and that there is no other motive from which man may act that in itself is good. As the prophet Micah said: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."* To "do justly" is to act according to truth; to "love mercy" is to do those goods which are of use to the neighbor; and to "walk humbly with thy God" is to acknowledge that the good which we do is not of ourselves, but is with man from the Lord.
     * Micah 6: 8.

     The beginning of wisdom, therefore, is the acknowledgment that there is a God, that He is good, and that it is He who is revealed to the sight of the understanding in the truth of His Word. Of all created forms, therefore, man alone can become wise, for he alone is capable of seeing what is true, and from truth of perceiving what is good. It is in this unique ability that man's humanity consists, for man is not man because he is endowed with a human figure, but because he can see God; that is to say, because he can see what is good, and because he can see good he can, if he will, do good. Thus man is not born man, but becomes man in so far as he subordinates what is of self to the good that is implicit in a life of use. When understood in this way it may be seen that the life of regeneration is not some mystical process whereby man is endowed with Divine grace, but a humanizing process whereby man becomes a form of use.

405



     It is, then, in the exercise of his humanity, that is, through his God- given ability to be of use, that man becomes man. There is no other way. When seen in relation to life, therefore, what is of good, or of use, becomes a question of values; for every man values what he loves, and it is in those things which he values that man may be known to himself. Wherein, then, is a man profited if through self-seeking he gain the whole world, and in so doing lose his own soul? For spiritually speaking, the true measure of man is not found in "the abundance of things which he possesseth,"* that is, in his intellectual attainments, nor in his social effectiveness, but in his willingness to subordinate what is of self to the good of a use. This is the real issue in the life of regeneration; and it is only as this issue is resolved that man can attain to a true sense of values; that is, to the acknowledgment and perception of those spiritual values to which the Writings attest.
     * Luke 12: 15.
     But the life of regeneration is not a state of perpetual condemnation of self. It is, as the Writings repeatedly teach, a life of active participation in human affairs. How else can a man be of use to his neighbor? There is no justification for those morbid states of reflection in which the mind becomes so obsessed by the thought of evil that man loses perspective and undermines his ability to be of use. Genuine self-examination is a rational process, not an emotional excess. If self-examination is to have any meaning, it must serve as the means whereby man is led out of self into the service of use. Otherwise it defeats its own purpose, in that through the continual condemnation of self, man renders himself incapable of being of use. For while it is true that of himself man is evil, he can be held in good by the Lord through a life of devotion to use.

     It is, then, to the good or the uses of life that the Writings appeal in establishing the truth of the Word. Even as the Lord appealed to the Father as one who bore witness to the integrity of the Word which He spoke, so the Writings submit the truth of the Divine doctrine to the good of use. If, like Pilate, therefore, we ask, "What is truth?" must we not also ask, what is good? The reason for this is that the perception of the one can never be given apart from the other, for what is true is good, that is, good as it takes form in the understanding. It cannot be anything else. If it were, it would not be true. And what is good is true; if it were not, it would not be good. The understanding of truth, therefore, is dependent upon the perception that it is good, and the perception of good upon the understanding that it is true.

406


Is not this what the Lord meant when He said; "If I bear witness of Myself, My witness is not true. [But] there is another that beareth witness of Me; and I know that the witness which He witnesseth of Me is true"?* Is not this also the interpretation of the vision that was seen by John, of the two olive trees and the two candlesticks which served as witnesses to the God of all the earth? For is it not the good of love and the truth of faith which are with man from the Lord that bear witness to His Divine Humanity? For "it is the Divine who bears witness concerning the Divine, and not man from himself."** The function of reason, therefore, is not to determine what is true, but to confirm what is true because it is good.
     * John 5: 31, 32.
     ** AE 635.
READING WITH UNDERSTANDING 1968

READING WITH UNDERSTANDING       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1968

     "Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear." (Matthew 13: 16)

     It is well known that if a person is deeply interested in a subject and has an affection for it, he can learn with relative ease about that subject. The reason is that an affection draws the appropriate knowledge to itself. By the same token, we learn with difficulty concerning matters for which we have little or no affection.
     Our attitude to the Word falls under the same rule. In bygone days as in our time there have always been people complaining that the Word is difficult to understand. Its style has been criticized, and seeming contradictions have been seized upon, sometimes with ill-concealed satisfaction. Yet others, and among them persons who would be regarded as simple-minded, have not stumbled on difficulties, but have read the Word or listened to it with eagerness and real delight.
     In the New Church we have the same situation with regard to the Writings. Persons not of the church also divide up among those who find virtually only difficulties in them and those who read them with deep affection and joy, besides many who alternate between struggle and satisfaction. We hear of persons who pick up a work like Heaven and Hell and put it down as vain fantasy, and we also hear of who cannot lay aside that same work until it has been perused from cover to cover.

407


And, strangely, even such a deeply philosophical work as the Divine Love and Wisdom has been known to arouse the same profound delight with newcomers.
     Whence is this great difference in reception? As is commonly known, there are many who think that only those born with a superior intellect are truly able to comprehend these Writings, and a popular opinion among persons knowing of the New Church would have it that this church is a highly intellectual one. But the point that will be analyzed here is that the essential difficulty is from the proprium, and not from intellectual incompetence. Certainly, the proprium has a reason for complaining about difficulties, for it cannot possibly want to understand.
     This is what the Lord taught, saying: "Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved;"* and at another time He made the same piercing point by referring to the words that came to Isaiah the prophet: "Go, and tell this people, Hearing hear ye, but understand not; and seeing see ye, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."** And even more thunderous were His words in answering the Jews who sought to lay hands on Him and who openly took issue with Him:*** "Why do ye not understand My speech? even because ye cannot hear My word. Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do."****
     * John 3: 20.
     ** Isaiah 6: 9, 10.
     *** Cf. John 7: 30, 8: 20, 37.
     **** John 8: 43, 44.

     Yet it must be admitted that native intellectual capacity is not without consequence. But the depth of understanding is not gauged by inherited talents; only the width or span of one's comprehension is-and even then effort and search must be added to talent. It is love that reaches for the deeper realities of spiritual and celestial life, and it is thought from truth that widens the scope. For those familiar with the doctrine of discrete and continuous degrees it might be helpful to think of love rising on the ladder of discrete steps, taking its understanding with it in its rise, and of the understanding spreading itself out by continuous degrees according to the accumulation of knowledge within its grasp. It is true, of course, that the understanding is able to soar temporarily to any height, regardless of the regeneration of the will or love, but this it can do only in a borrowed state and from a borrowed love. The understanding can dwell and continue in the realms of light only when love, by shunning and abhorring evil, takes it there.

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Thus we read: "Those of the infernal crew, while they listened understood, but not when they thought within themselves. For while they listened light entered from above, and when they thought with themselves no light could enter except that which corresponded to their heat or love. Consequently when they had listened to and perceived certain arcana, as soon as they turned their ears away they remembered nothing. . . From which it is obvious that the understanding can be in spiritual light even when the will is not in spiritual heat; and from which it also follows that the understanding does not lead the will, or that wisdom does not beget love, but only teaches and shows the way . . It further follows that the will leads the understanding and causes it to act as one with itself . . . [thus] that it is the will that by influx takes the understanding into partnership with itself, and not the reverse."*
     * From DLW 243, 244.

     Now, returning to the case of the Writings, they themselves give ample testimony of foresight concerning the various ways in which they would be viewed and received by men. In the little posthumous work Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church we read: "The books are to be enumerated which were written, from the beginning to the present time, by the Lord through me. The writing there is such that it shines brightly before those who believe in the Lord and in the new revelation; but it appears dark and of no consequence to those who deny them, and who are not in favor of them on account of various external reasons."* And in the Spiritual Diary five distinct classes of reception are enumerated: "First, those in another persuasion and enemies of the faith, who wholly reject. . . . Another class, who receive these things as scientifics, and are delighted with them as scientifics and as curious things. A third class, which receives intellectually, so as to receive with sufficient alacrity, but who still remain in respect to life as before. A fourth class receives persuasively, so that there is penetration to the improvement of their lives, [for] they face (obveniant) these things in certain states, and make use of them. A fifth class, who receive with joy, and are confirmed."** And the revelator notes that he himself experienced the differences of approach, for when he read under the influence of a certain "cunning and sinister" spirit "the writings which he had printed," they appeared vain to him, but it was otherwise when he read them in the presence of good spirits or angels.***
     * Ecc. Hist. 3, 4.
     ** SD 2955. See also SD 5908 and TCR 848.
     *** Ecc. Hist. 4.
     It will be noted that it is the mental approach, and therefore the spiritual sphere that a person attracts to himself, that is the common denominator in all the above cases.

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Intellectual and scientific interests are indeed mentioned, but even then the purpose in reading, rather than the ability to comprehend, is the issue. After all, even persons with small intellectual capacity may take pride in struggling with books which are regarded as difficult by many.
     In a word, the crucial question is what the person is looking for when he reads. The Lord said, "Seek, and ye shall find"; and in so saying He certainly did not mean that someone seeking food for intellectual pride, or worse, someone seeking occasion to scoff and reject, would find the truth. Only those praying for the truth of life, praying to be guided by the Lord through His own Divine teaching, would truly find what was worth having.
     Can the Writings be read in that spirit? Can intellectual gymnastics be forgotten, and the heart humbled to look only for guidance, comfort and internal security, that is, for faith and charity? Can the emphasis shift from reading a lot and thinking little to reading (if necessary) only a little and meditating much? Let it be remembered that it is not having the Word that makes the church in man, but understanding it.* And this is certain, that no one can understand the Writings for what they are, unless he looks for the Lord Himself and His kingdom of beauty and use there. Truths will fall into place if this is done; concepts will seem easy which once were strange and complicated. Are not the Lord's words about His kingdom and His righteousness supremely applicable to the area of revelation itself, and in a very special way to the "crown of revelations"?-"Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness: and all these things shall be added unto you."**
     * SS 76.
     ** Matthew 6: 33.

     Such seeking can only be done from the Lord, that is, from His own Spirit. It is "the Spirit of truth that guides into all truth."* But no one is able to receive that Spirit who is not willing to receive it, thus who is not open to it. As the Lord also said: "The Father shall give you another Comforter . . . even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."** David in his Psalms was inspired to voice the matter most succinctly: "In Thy light shall we see light."***
     * John 16: 13.
     ** John 14: 16, 17.
     *** Psalm 36: 9.
     What then is meant by "hearing without understanding," or by "seeing without perception"? What in fact can be intended by preventing both understanding and perception: "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed"?*

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Words like these are a form of irony such as is occasionally found in the letter of the Word; for no real conversion, no real healing, is implied, but only the dangerous self-imagined conversion and healing which belong to hypocrites and profaners. The truth promulgated in the Writings as a law was true before it was formulated, even as it will ever be true beyond formulation: "Man is not admitted interiorly into the truths of faith and into the goods of charity, except so far as he can be kept in them even to the end of his life."**
     * Isaiah 6: 10.
     ** DP 221.
     The case is this. Every man has an internal and an external.* His internal belongs to the spiritual world, and his external to the natural world. Now, freedom consists in giving preference to the one or the other of these two. If the external is preferred, then the internal sinks down and becomes entirely like the external in quality; but if the internal spiritual is favored, then the external is lifted up and adopted by the internal, and becomes as to its quality entirely like the internal. This is why the Writings speak of "internal men" and "external men." Clearly, it is in the hands of everyone to turn into the one or the other; and clearly, anyone may read the Word in the context of the one or the other.
     * See HD 36 ff.

     And the way to become internal? The way to open the mind to the guidance of the Lord's Spirit, and to His leading "into all truth"? No doctor ever prescribed a cure more simple than that ordained by the Writings for spiritual ailment. Perhaps it is because it is so simple in essence that it is so difficult in application. But this is the teaching, indeed the pleading, of the Writings: "If any man thinks within himself, or says to another, 'Who can have the internal acknowledgment of truth which is faith? I cannot': I will tell him how he may: Shun evils as sins, and go to the Lord, and you will have as much as you desire."* And the Doctrine of Life reinforces the teaching by insisting: "So far as any one shuns evils as sins, so far he loves truths, [and] so far he has faith and is spiritual"**
     * F 12.
     ** Life 32, 42. Cf. F 12.
     No emphasis here on native intellectual capacity, but only on the willingness to be led: the willingness to remove the obstacles that prevent the Lord from entering with both light and life. It is the proprium of man that finds fault with the Writings, and with the earlier teachings of God. It is the proprium that ingeniously invents excuses,
     This, however, does not rule out intellectual alacrity and search. It only rules out frustration.

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Reading, study, comparison of passages, listening, conversation, meditation-these will all continue, and without doubt increase. But the spirit of delight will be added; hope and satisfaction will accompany the reader.
     Those who read and hear in that spirit, that is, for the purpose of being led by the Lord into the good of life, are the ones who will be of the Lord's New Church. To them it is permitted really to enter intellectually into the secrets of faith. For they alone will truly understand what the Writings are all about. It is true what the Writings teach when they say: "In the proper sense nothing can be called understanding but that which is from the truths which are from good . . . and therefore man's understanding is never opened except when the man perceives and loves truths; and the perception and love of truth are from good. Consequently it is truths from good that are the source of the understanding."*
     * AC 10675: 3.
     This, then, is why the Lord's words, used this time as our text, can only be spoken to His disciples, that is, to all who have the spirit of discipleship: "Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear." Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 6. Matthew 13: 10-17. Heaven and Hell 353.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 451, 452, 490.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 25, 81.
ART IN EDUCATION 1968

ART IN EDUCATION       YORVAR E. SYNNESTVEDT       1968

     For the Art Committee of the Educational Council.

     Every man is a unique form of use, motivated by love and directed by wisdom. The quality and character of his use are determined by heredity as shaped by environment and modified by the exercise of free choice. He lives in two worlds at once, receiving vivifying influx from one and vivid sense impressions from the other. He responds actively to both worlds, thinking and feeling in one, speaking and doing in the other. His existence is terminated in matter, but his essential nature belongs to his immortal spirit.
     The physical world is the ultimate plane of man's existence. It provides a natural stage on which spiritual forces play.

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Through the acts of men, qualities of spirit become fixed forever in human form. By means of their association with a world of physical extension, human souls are shaped and made permanent. Their uniqueness is developed and perfected against a background of natural life.
     It is a well-known teaching in the church that there is "power in ultimates." This power exists because physical things contain actively within them the two prior and higher degrees of the animating trine-end, cause and effect. Paradoxically, then, the ultimate or outermost plane of life-the one farthest from the Creator-is the plane on which a man stands or falls. His life choices are practiced there: he becomes his eternal self because of what he does on this outmost plane of life. His intentions find expression there and he is judged accordingly.

     In considering curriculum formation and methods of instruction it is important to remind ourselves that lofty goals will frequently find expression in lowly forms. There is "power in ultimates." And the ultimates are particularly powerful to children, whose minds are not yet capable of delighting for long in abstractions.
     Much of our education should be directed to the lower and middle degrees of the natural mind-the sensuous and imaginative. These planes provide the foundation for all higher activities of mind, and constitute the immediate support for rational thinking. When a mind's storehouse of sense impressions has been richly and wisely stocked, its ultimate potential can be more fully realized. There will be present an abundance of recollected items in the memory to be arranged and rearranged and enjoyed by the imagination. And the imagination, in turn, if it has been adequately stimulated and exercised, can provide the rational with a creative tool for performing uses from principle.
     We know that a man's mind opens by degrees, from the outmost to the inmost. These successive openings occur gradually over an entire life-time, and proceed at varying paces with individuals. However, during most of the years of a man's education, only the natural mind is opened. And during much of this time only the sensuous and imaginative degrees of that mind are active. Thus, what is first in time-and first by many years' time-is not first in end. For regeneration is man's ultimate goal, and it cannot be concluded in the natural mind. Yet because it is opened first, the natural mind assumes a significant position in a man's life. It is the foundation for his spiritual mind, and must be trained with care and intelligence. It is to this relatively external plane of mental life that much of education should be directed-not for its own sake-but because it is first to develop. What is internal and intrinsically more valuable follows in time. The quality and richness of the spiritual mind will be influenced by the quality and richness of the natural mind which forms its basis.

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     Education in its beginnings, then, might more properly be called "training." A baby reaches out eagerly through all his senses to sample the world, and parents stand by to direct and control the sampling. It is a "natural" occurrence, and parents respond intuitively to this reaching out to grasp the world. They give the child stuffed animals and handsome toys; they hug him, feed him, sing to him and talk to him. They shelter, clothe and comfort him. And when the reaching becomes too grasping, they discipline him.
     With the coming of the age of "no, I" a big change takes place in the parents-but not in the child except as a reflection of his parents' change. When crawling begins, it becomes necessary to restrict the child's sense investigations in order to insure his physical safety. The child remains at least as curious as before, but his sense experiments frequently elicit negative responses from his parents. Thus commences a period of tremendous sense awareness on the part of the child, accompanied by restriction and control by his parents. Wise parents will recognize both the need for control and the need for providing satisfying and diverse sense experiences. In fact, if the future value of a childhood rich in sense experience were properly appreciated, parents and teachers would do more than simply allow curiosity to express itself; they would deliberately set out to provide children with a wide range of orderly sense experiences. This planning and direction of experiences would constitute a major part of the training of children.

     However, because the senses operate satisfactorily with no "training" whatsoever, their cultivation is usually overlooked. Innate curiosity stirs up enough child activity-much of which must be squelched-so that parents often do not recognize that they might intentionally and usefully feed this curiosity. And so the training of the senses is quite naturally neglected. It takes care of itself. And besides, why ask for trouble?
     In the world of nature we are offered an abundance of exciting sensations, seemingly limitless in variety. Intriguing harmonies and contrasts present themselves at every turn, changing with each shifting glance. Mountains thrust gracefully into the sky, while green meadows close by roll out to piled stone walls, hedgerows and old red barns. Or, in another setting, a row of old hollyhocks blooms against a shaggy fence at the corner of a vacant lot. For the ear, there are the pure calls of birds on a summer morning, the love in a mother's voice, and the ringing magnificence of Bach.

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The nose enjoys the June fragrance of honeysuckle and roses, the aroma of a pine woods or roasting meat, the pungency of smoke. The tongue can taste fresh corn and tomatoes, salt, honey, peanut butter and ice cream. The rest belongs to touch-the softness of a pillow, fur or grass; the contrasting textures of bricks, wood and glass; the coolness of rocks and snow, and the warmth of a hearth fire in winter.

     An awareness of such sensations can be cultivated-not as ends in themselves-but as means to other ends. It is important to receive the sense messages of the world intensely, and with delight and discrimination. If such is the case, innate curiosity grows easily into wonder at the magnificence of creation, and wonder into awe at the love and wisdom of God, the maker and sustainer of all nature. Thus by an affectional approach through an external path the mind is led toward an internal acknowledgment of the Lord. Where this path up from the senses meets the path down from doctrine, we find the truly mature and educated man walking. Our education must proceed in both directions simultaneously, or be incomplete.
     With a child, appreciation of nature is spontaneous and unreflective. He is struck with awe by the size of the ocean, impressed by the intricacy of a spider web or the delicacy of a butterfly wing. With each new impression he feels the ultimation of love and wisdom on the outmost plane of creation (though he does not know it!), and it fills him with joy. The interplay of love and wisdom produces forms of beauty and utility in the natural world, whose value can be sensed even when not explained. A delighted response to the beauties of creation can lead to a habit of happiness in all things of life-a love of living strong enough to withstand the inevitable vexations of human society.
     An appreciation for the wonders of nature also results in a regard for order. Nature provides a compelling ultimate example of Divine order, which can have a deeply moving effect on a growing mind. And if a child can be led to discover for himself the beauty, complexity and order in nature, he will be more lastingly impressed than if he is simply shown and told.

     So far this exposition justifies the study of nature and science. But what of art? Why so much emphasis on nature? The answer is that art is wrought in nature. Materials from nature are the artist's media and tools, and his subjects are frequently expressed in forms which are imitative or suggestive of natural things. It is necessary for him to be keenly aware of the world of nature so that he can shape it effectively to communicate ideas.

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By means of manipulating natural forms, man can expose with affection the myriad faces of order. Through the medium of nature man's loves can take form and thus mature into uses.
     We have characterized man as a receiver-of influx from the spiritual world, and of sense impressions from the natural world. Man is also an actor; he responds actively to what he receives, and by means of this reaction his character is determined, his individuality established. Art is significant in the process of education because it provides a variety of opportunities to practice responses. And by means of this practice-in a relatively neutral and impersonal environment-many vital qualities of mind can be flexed and trained.
     Too often educators consider school an opportunity to pour knowledges and attitudes into students' heads by means of lecture. Teachers who talk too much produce listless, passive students, or rebellious, upset ones. Their "teaching" does not result in learning, but encourages escapism by daydeaming, absenteeism or misbehavior.
     It is essential to involve the will of the learner in the educative process. A student must become actively involved in his school work in order for it to be of lasting value to him. He must be reached affectionally as well as intellectually or he will appropriate neither knowledges nor attitudes. If a student is chiefly an observer his time is wasted. And this is true at every level of education.
     Projects in the arts provide a fine opportunity to involve and exercise the will-as well as judgment. Properly presented, such projects achieve eager participation, resulting in deep and lasting impressions. The student who dedicates himself to learning and performing a part in a play, for example, will be deeply touched by the experience. And, by the way, he will learn by experience something of what it means to dedicate oneself to a worthwhile end.

     It is because art operates largely in the ultimate world that it possesses great potential power as an educating force. The activity of carving a beautiful relief, for example, takes place in the physical world. But it is only the final step in a process which begins with a desire to carve something beautiful. This desire stimulates the imagination to picture various possibilities; the intellect judges the alternatives and helps shape the plan; and the work is carried to its ultimate perfection through physical effort. So we have end, cause and effect; or love, wisdom and use. All aspects of man's life are activated; he feels fulfilled, and is moved by the experience.
     Such is the general pattern of an art activity. A student is required to do something physical-to respond to and shape his environment, rather than simply sit and receive instruction. Because he himself is making something or doing something, he cares about it.

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The project becomes personal to him and he wants it to succeed. Therefore he is willing to concentrate all his mental and physical powers on the achievement of his visioned goal. This is the "as-of-self" principle at work. It constitutes a proper harnessing and directing of the love of self. It results in motivation and leads to a commitment to use. Because it directly involves the will it produces a powerful and lasting effect on the mind.

     Looking at art from a different perspective, we can explain its power to affect by an analogy. The Lord is the Creator of all things, and man is made in His image. Therefore man must be a creator, too. It is inherent in his nature to create-not in the originating way of the Divine, but by reassembling the things of nature in new and appealing ways. Thus it is easy to motivate a person to be creative, as creativity is an inherent human quality.
     Many important qualities of mind can be strengthened or developed through art activities. Perseverance and self-control are required to see projects to a successful conclusion. Patience is tested and strengthened. Humility can result from recognizing one's inadequacy to a particular task; and on the other hand, pride of accomplishment results in increased self-respect when a desired goal has been achieved. A desire for skill and knowledge is fostered-in order to accomplish projected ends.
     Self-criticism is continually being exercised in the act of creating. Judgment is used in selection of materials and their manipulation. It is crucial for the artist to be selective-discriminating-in his choice of subject, medium, and in every detail of execution. As he works he must be alert and receptive to the possibilities of the materials and to the promptings of his imagination. The excitement of discovering new relationships of color, line, form and texture inspires his imagination and increases his capacity for enjoyment. Through art he senses the value of contrasts in life. He sees and delights in order in a great variety of manifestations. His appreciation of creation is enhanced by means of creating.
     He learns that his actions produce consequences for which he is responsible; that for his every act there is a resulting reaction. Clay that is too dry cracks and falls apart; if it is moistened too much it cannot even be shaped. A piece of wood must be carved just right with respect to its grain direction or it will split and destroy the anticipated bowl or relief.
     He learns to take initiative, to make choices, and to meet challenges with equanimity in seeing a project through to its conclusion.
     He learns to work and to associate pleasure and satisfaction with work.

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At the same time he experiences recreation, as art work is of a different sort from most other school activities. By experiencing the mental renewal resulting from losing oneself in an act of creation, he learns to value recreation.
     Through practice on such impersonal media as paper, wood, metal and clay a student learns many valuable and diverse lessons for life. His mistakes cost nothing in terms of personal relationships; and all the while he is building qualities for future use in the complex world of human relations.

     In all creative efforts, the imagination is the chief actor. By means of the imagination a man can select, blend, compare and organize sense impressions. He can picture things a little withdrawn from the steady sequence of life in the world of time and space. He can envision things which have not yet taken place; and he can fashion ideas from all the growing sense experience in his memory.
     Love, acting on stored up sense impressions, activates the imagination to appreciate the wealth and potential of the natural world. Using his imagination, a man can look upon a scene and rearrange its elements according to his individual reception of it. The imaginative faculty permits him to form and relate ideas, to pattern thinking according to the inclination of his affections.
     The imagination opens the door to new affections. It begins to enable a man to be in the world of experience, yet not completely of that world. A book can carry the mind thousands of years and thousands of miles. A poem can lead to woodland brooks, or to personal delights and affections which might otherwise escape re-creation.
     The arts are ultimate means for exercising and cultivating the imaginative degree in a man's growth. The ability to see and long for something not yet attained-the ability to hope-can be cultivated through careful leading of the imagination.
     The imaginative arts, of course, do not regenerate man; but a man must be able to picture in his mind what he is, and what he would like to become. As a servant to higher loves, the imagination plays an essential role. Teachers who foster it, who lead it in unembarrassed growth, do great spiritual service to their pupils in a direct preparation for regeneration.

     The importance of developing fully the sensuous and imaginative degrees of the natural mind does not mean that this development should consist of an unbounded and undirected growth. Unrestricted immersion in sense experiences would encourage the emergence of sensuality and hedonism.

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Adults must guide and interpret a child's sense experiences so that they can be used for inspiring him to an eventual life of fulfillment in use. Adults must also guard the child against disorderly imaginings, and against excessive dependence on the imagination which can lead to a withdrawal into fantasy. In short, it is necessary to exercise rational control over the sensuous and imaginative faculties. They must be channeled toward use by means of the application of true principles.
     When the rational degree of the natural mind begins to open, the responsibility for control and direction of the sensuous and imaginative degrees gradually shifts from the supervising adults to the emerging youth himself. When this opening of the rational takes place, a youth stands at the threshold of mental maturity. He begins to grasp the meaning of dedication to use, and why it is essential to structure his experiences and his thinking from principle. He takes delight in analyzing, comparing and evaluating. He can be awakened to enjoy and comprehend new relationships in all fields. In art he can be led to appreciate the essential elements of a work of art-unity, variety, harmony, balance, integrity.
     The rational degree is as full of potential delight as the sensuous or the imaginative degrees. It is opened and inspired by love, and it is nourished by the sensuous and imaginative degrees. It is not merely a "reasoner," but finds pleasure in seeing and developing relationships.
     While the two lower degrees of the natural mind should receive their greatest enrichment before the rational opens, it is sensible to conclude that their increasing perfection should be provided for throughout life. One does not stop sensing and imagining when reasoned thinking flowers; these activities continue as before but are given new meaning, purpose and fulfillment by virtue of the activity of the rational.
     Art, then, as an educator, should foster sense awareness and develop a creative response to life. A man trained to creative awareness is powerfully stirred by the wonder and beauty of the universe, and is moved to action because of it. Art should exercise and stretch the imagination. It should encourage the orderly growth of the natural mind so that it can become a full and diverse basis for higher mental activities. The attitudes and habits developed through art should lead man toward absorption in an active, expressive life of use.

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TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO 1968

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1968

     It was in the month of September, 1768, that someone finally challenged the spread of "Swedenborgianism" in the city of Gothenburg. There had, of course, been opposition to the Writings before this, especially in Germany, where Oetinger was persecuted for translating parts of the Writings. The significant thing about the situation in Gothenburg was that the growing interest in the Writings was among the religious leaders. Was there going to be a permeation of New Church doctrine into the Old Church? Nay, was there going to be outright theological take-over? This was the city in which Swedenborg had described the great Stockholm fire while it was raging three hundred miles away. That was in 1759. He had visited the city again in 1765, and the contacts he made were by no means limited to the famous Beyer and Rosen. Men of position were impressed with Swedenborg and with the doctrines that were being published.
     As soon as Apocalypse Revealed was printed in Amsterdam, Swedenborg sent copies to Beyer, saying, "one copy for yourself, one for the Bishop, one for the Dean, one for Dr. Rosen, one for the burgomaster, Mr. Petterson, one for the library; the two remaining copies you may lend out to your friends."* Later the same year he sent a set of the Arcana, saying, "a present for the Bishop, to whom you will please give my best respects; as well as to my friends."** With the Bishop and a number of his Consistory among the favorable missionary contacts, what prospects one might have imagined for the New Church in that city! Beyer and Rosen were putting New Church doctrine into their university lectures, and a series of noticeably "New Church" sermons had been published with the blessing of the Consistory. In April of 1768, Rosen felt free to put a favorable review of Apocalypse Revealed in an official church publication,*** and a Dr. Magnus Roempke delivered a theological study advocating certain recognizably New Church doctrines.
     * Docu. II: 239.
     ** Ibid. 244.
     *** See New Church Life, April 1968, pp. 159-161
     It is in this context that we observe in the month of September a country priest speaking out against the spread of the Writings. We are naturally accustomed to viewing the "Gothenburg Trial" through eyes sympathetic to certain persecuted men. But at this point we must not picture those sympathetic to the Writings as "underdogs." Quite the contrary.

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In fact, the priest who spoke out against the Writings probably felt like an underdog. It is useful for us to see how this looks to the historian who is not sympathetic to the New Church cause. We have such an opportunity in a book published by Professor Robert Sundelin in Upsala in 1886.*
     * Swedenborgianismens Historia i Sverige. Footnote: Translation supplied by the Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz.
     From pages 65 and 66 we read the following:

     "What has now been said about Swedenborgianism's progress up to the year 1768 gives us to know that the `New Church' in that city had managed to win a significant development in a very short time. But since several of her leading men not only had a seat and a voice in the episcopal council but also were leaders of the young people studying, it would not be long until an opposition began to make its voice heard. This happened, and its nearest cause was that Rosen publicly and without hesitation did what no other Swedish author had hitherto done; he defended Swedenborg's theological name and standpoint. When, therefore, Gothenburg's priesthood in the middle of the year 1768 gathered for their meeting, the question of Swedenborg became a subject of interest and discussion in the episcopal council. But since the rumor was circulating about the personal position of the council's leaders, that even the Bishop and the foremost priests could be suspected of being Swedenborg's friends, even to the point that they visited gatherings where he was the chief person and that they even preferred to stand in social and theological company with him, it required even more than the usual amount of courage on the part of the priest who wanted to place his leaders' doctrinal purity in doubt. In such circumstances it is explained that the accusation finally came forth in the following indirect form. Pointing out that a work of Swedenborg had been reviewed in the clergy paper shortly before the meeting, priest P. Aurelius (died 1774) urged 'on his own and his absent brothers' behalf' that the episcopal council take the most powerful steps and measures 'to prevent the spread of such books, which have now begun to come out and which contain doctrinal statements which are in conflict with God's revealed Word and with the church's symbolic books.' At the same time the courageous priest maintained that Swedenborg's and similar works and explanations of the Scriptures 'might be forbidden to be imported and be placed under the control of the Consistory.'
     "That Aurelius did not even suggest that his brothers in the profession should voice their agreement with his memorial probably shows that there were not many among them, perhaps not a one, who had the same moral courage as he to give the Bishop and council to observe their responsibilities better than they had done. . . . The church's point of view at the meeting of priests did not have a theologically educated advocate who could successfully and clearly show wherein the dangers of the subject before the meeting of priests lay. . . . As one could expect, Aurelius' case was not gracefully taken up by the episcopal council and was left until a later time without any respect."

     Thus the Consistory apparently ignored this effort to "stop the circulation" of the Writings.* But another effort was to be made the following month, and this will be described in the October issue.
     * Docu. II: 284.

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COMPASSION 1968

COMPASSION       Rev. MORLEY D. RICH       1968

     We read that "when they who are in perception feel compassion, they know that they are being admonished by the Lord to give aid."* This is a Divine example of what the Lord meant when He caused His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg, to inscribe in the Writings: "Now it is permitted to enter intellectually into the arcana of faith." It is also a further confirmation of the general teaching of the Writings, that since the fall men are no longer instructed in the beginning by perceptions of truth from the angels, but through knowledges from the written Word.
     * AC 6737.
     Those who "are in perception" are they who are in the state of regeneration, who are predominantly in love to the Lord and toward the neighbor. Being in such a state, they are in the company of angels; and from that association they receive angelic perception, so that when they feel compassion they know it is from the Lord, and that the Lord is in this way admonishing or urging them to give aid to someone who is in distress, still more to him who is in error, as to the doctrine of faith.*
     * AC 1102e.
     Formerly it was only these who, from angelic perception, could know that they were being admonished by the Lord when they felt compassion. But now the Lord has told all men who will read. Plainly in His Word He has specifically and directly given men the knowledge. So now, even though a man may not be in angelic perception, he can know from this direct teaching that his feelings of compassion are from the Lord, and that they mean that he is being admonished by the Lord to give whatever aid he can that is wise. And he can know likewise that his feelings of cruelty, of brutality and revenge, come from hell through the channels of his love of self.
     But what is compassion? What are its results in man? From the Lord, again, we can learn that compassion is an affection of the inmost or rational mind of man. It is the affection he feels from his very core, because its seeds have been planted there in childhood; and it is the product of the Lord's love moving through a man's potential heavenly loves. So, indeed, the Writings tell us that "in the original language [Hebrew] compassion is expressed by a word which means the inmost and tenderest love."*
     * AC 5691.

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     We can also see that this affection must be of the rational mind if we reflect that the highest and most full compassion is felt toward others who are not merely in natural misfortune, but are in spiritual error and evil because of ignorance or hereditary tendencies. Such a compassion cannot be felt unless there is, in the rational mind, not only love but also understanding: an understanding furnished with the truths about humanity's general state of ignorance and evil; an understanding which has been developed by reasoning and reflection upon human nature as revealed by the Lord, and confirmed by observation and experience of human behavior.
     Compassion, indeed, is the affection produced only by the understanding heart. And this is not a blind love, an undiscriminating affection which is mere sentimentality. It prompts man to render aid to the neighbor which is wise and just as well as sympathetic and loving, and which may have spiritual and eternal benefits beyond merely natural help. Furthermore, it is a feeling of pity for those who may be plagued by an irritable disposition or a pessimistic temper, or possessed of a negative spirit.

     So it was, it is plainly indicated in the parable of the unmerciful servant,* with the lord who forgave his servant his debt. For to forgive a debt of ten thousand talents must have required a deep understanding and compassion indeed. It was not a light debt that could easily be dismissed. But the lord of the household must have known intimately the background and circumstances of the servant. He must have known how the circumstances had prevented him from accumulating enough excess to pay his debt. Perhaps he realized how difficult it is for one who has not been in a position of authority and learning to have any conception of how to save and invest money wisely, so that such a debt might be paid. Perhaps the servant, in ignorant foolishness, had dissipated the money lent to him in fruitless schemes and business ventures; and then, when these failed, had frittered away what was left in desperate attempts to obtain fleeting joys and satisfaction.
     * Matthew 19: 23-35.
     And so, when the servant pleaded with him to forgive the debt, the lord of the household forgave him all. Stirred with compassion-perhaps moved by the thought that is similar circumstances, and with a comparable character, he himself might have erred just as greatly-he relented, and took the servant's word that he would eventually pay all he owed.
     But the servant, in his turn, had no such feeling toward his fellow- servant. Such was the smallness of his mind that he felt no compassion toward him who owed him but an hundred pence.

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For he took him by the throat, and shook his fellow-servant; and when the latter could not pay, cast him into the debtors' prison. Thus is pictured the opposite of compassion, namely, cruelty and intolerance.
     The truth is that all men are debtors to each other. Every man owes to every other man one hundred pence; and all owe this to each. For uses are performed between each and every person, and no man can say who owes, or is owed, the most. In a sense, this debt can never be repaid in any direct way. Yet if there is compassion between men, if there is a feeling of gentleness and forgiveness, then the debt is repaid a thousandfold. Likewise the debt of ten thousand talents which every man owes to the Lord is in this way also repaid.
     It is true, of course, that it is very difficult for men to visualize the many uses and functions performed by each other, or even by themselves. When it is said, for example, that a certain well-known personage in history invented or accomplished a certain thing, every intelligent person realizes that thousands of others contributed to the product; that the one who finally brought it forth completely and successfully did so only on the basis of his background and previous knowledge, to which the whole human race contributed either directly or indirectly. Therefore it is humanly impossible even to see and evaluate, much less acknowledge and repay, the enormous and complex debt involved.
     Yet, in a most beautiful and wondrous fashion, such sight, evaluation and acknowledgment are not necessary for man's salvation. All that is necessary is that a man be stirred by and act from compassion and forgiveness and a willingness to help when he sees another who is in distress; still more when he sees one who is in error as to the truths of faith; and even more so when he sees another who is in evil through ignorance and heredity.

     It was from a Divine and infinite compassion toward the human race that the Lord came into the world to redeem and save men, and that He gave the truth by which all peoples might find the way to eternal life. And let us remember that the Lord knew, and knows, the secrets of every human heart; wherefore He knew, perfectly and most intimately, every evil tendency and sinful failing of the human race and of each member of it. Yet despite that awful knowledge, indeed because of it, He came to overcome and subdue the hells, and thus give to men once more the chance for eternal life.
     This knowledge of the human race which is the Lord's He has now passed on to us. He has given it to us through His second coming.

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And with it, by means of it, He has given us the opportunity and the capacity of feeling the inmost, highest and holiest kind of compassion toward all mankind: a rational and wise compassion-an understanding heart which, knowing from Divine revelation all the principal drives and passions of men, all their goodness and truth as well as their inmost evil tendencies and false concepts, longs to be of service; desires compassionately to render aid to those in distress, still more to those in error as to truth, and most of all to those who appear to be carried along helplessly in a flood of evils by their surroundings and ignorance and hereditary tendencies.
     It is comparatively easy for men to feel compassion for one another in natural distresses and calamities. A greater thing is for them to pity those who are in the errors of falsity; and the highest of all is the feeling of clemency toward those who are in evil through no fault of their own. But to know that this feeling of compassion-which may even cause pain and anguish in the heart-is of and from the Lord, this is a Divine gift. It is a gift which the Lord has brought to us with love in His second coming; and He has brought it to us in order that we may no longer have to wait upon a personal perception which may never come to us, but may have it merely by the opening of a book and the reading of a single sentence.
     Perhaps it is hardly necessary to reflect that there is comparatively little even of natural compassion among men for each other's external distresses and misfortunes. From this we may have some idea of how well-nigh non-existent is compassion toward others in matters of faith. Still less must be genuine compassion in relation to evils. So it is that against the brilliant and warm colors of compassion as painted in the Writings, there are portrayed dullness and the flaring reds of present-day cruelty and revenge by way of contrast. What the Writings say about these is like a lightning flash illuminating many spectacular modern events for which the civilized world has no real explanation:

     "The most deceitful are the modern antediluvians. They ensnare by pretense of innocence, pity, and of various good affections, with persuasion. When they lived in the world they were adulterers above others. . . . They are also cruel, having cared for themselves alone, and reckoning it as nothing even if the whole world should perish for them. There are great numbers of such spirits at this day, and it was said that they are from Christendom. Their hell is the most grievous of all."*

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     * AC 2754.

     When we read that there is a great number of such spirits, that they are from Christendom, and that they would think nothing of it if the whole world should perish for them, then we may understand for the first time many things in modern history which are regarded with horror, but with incomprehension, by many in the Christian world: terror and torture, the modern phenomenon of total war, and the entire complex of tyranny and physical brutality which still accompanies dictatorship in the present Christian world, which includes the ostensibly non-Christian world. We may likewise have comprehension of the less widespread instances of cruelty and intolerance and destruction which afflict even free societies.
     Yet we may, and ideally should, have compassion even for those who are in this complex of cruelty. For even as the Lord Himself said on the cross: "They know not what they do." Though some few are undoubtedly evil by choice-confirmed in their wickedness-the great multitude, like a mob, are deluded because of ignorance, led into cruelty by the unscrupulous; and once they are in it they are driven further by the hells which, gaining a foothold from the influences surrounding them, move impellingly through their hereditary evil tendencies to stimulate them to further excesses and obedience to their infernal masters.
     Such are a very few of the things which we may understand by means of revealed truth; and, wondrously enough, when we understand these external characteristics of the human race, then they become strong confirmations of the truth itself. Truth gives understanding of what we observe and experience; and what we observe and experience gives firmness and illustration to the truth itself.
     It is now permissible to paraphrase the passage from the Writings with which we began, thus: When the man of the church feels compassion, feels urged to give whatever degree of wise aid he is able to give, he may know from the Word that he is being admonished by the Lord.
DWELLING IN THE TENTS OF SHEM 1968

DWELLING IN THE TENTS OF SHEM              1968

     "When a man feels or perceives in himself that he has good thoughts concerning the Lord, and that he has good thoughts concerning the neighbor, and desires to perform kind offices for him, not for the sake of any gain or honor for himself; and when he feels that he has pity for anyone who is in trouble, and still more for one who is in error in respect to the doctrine of faith, then he may know that he dwells in the tents of Shem, that is, that he has internal things in him through which the Lord is working" (Arcana Coelestia 1102e).

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ATTENDANT ANGELS AND SPIRITS 1968

ATTENDANT ANGELS AND SPIRITS       Rev. VICTOR J. GLADISH       1968

     It is written in the Sacred Scripture that "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways";* and in the Heavenly Doctrine we read: "In order that the life of the Lord may flow in and be received according to all law in man, there are continually with him angels and spirits-angels from heaven and spirits from hell; and I have been informed that there are with everyone two spirits and two angels. That there are spirits from hell is because man of himself is continually in evil, for he is in the delight of the love of self and of the world, and in so far as man is in evil, or in this delight, so far angels from heaven cannot be present."**
     * Psalm 91: 11.
     ** AC 5848.
     These teachings bring before us the subject of man's attendant spirits: the angels and spirits who are in particular attendance upon each man, that is, who are in a particular state of consociation with each man because they act as emissaries, or subject spirits, for the inflowing of certain societies of heaven and hell, and thus as the final means, or agents, for maintaining the influx of heaven and hell into man, by which influx he is preserved in equilibrium and thus in freedom. Indeed, man could not even live-could not draw the breath of the body, to say nothing of thinking and willing, and learning to be a spiritual being in the image and likeness of God-if there were not maintained the mediate influx from the heavens and the hells as well as the immediate influx from the Lord Himself into each man.
     There are present with us angels and spirits of various types and qualities, varying according to the changes of our states of affection, internal and external. In these changes in accordance with the passing into consociation with different societies lies the explanation of the remarkable changes of state of mind which we undergo; in this lies the power of moods over us. But we are taught that there are always at least two angels from heaven and two spirits from hell in a special kind of attendance upon each one of us, and that they are the means of mediating, directing and moderating the influence of all the spirits who are adjoined to us, and also of mediating the inflowing of the heavens and the hells in general.

427




     It is written:

     "There are with every man two spirits from hell and two angels from heaven, who effect communication both ways. . . That there are two is because there are two kinds of spirits in hell and two kinds of angels in heaven, to which the two faculties in man, namely, the will and the understanding, correspond. Spirits of the one kind are called simply spirits and act into the understanding; those of the other kind are called genii and act into what is of the will. . . . That there are two angels with every man is because of these also there are two kinds, of which one act into what is of man's will and the other into what is of his understanding."
     * AC 5876-5878.

     Elsewhere we are told that the angels who operate into man's will are called celestial angels, and those who operate into his understanding, spiritual angels. The spirits of hell who inflow into his will are called genii, or devils, while those who inflow into his understanding are called satans.
     Actually the teaching is that the attendant spirits are neither devils nor angels, but are of the good and evil in the world-of-spirits state through whom the societies of heaven and of hell inflow into the thought and will of each man. It may be noted that in the several passages where the two good-celestial and spiritual-and the two evil-diabolical and satanic-attendants are spoken of it is said, "two angels from heaven and two spirits from hell."* That is, the angelic attendants are not in heaven, although of angelic quality, but are let down from heaven into the world-of-spirits state in order to act as emissaries of an angelic society, to act as what might be called subject-angels. So also the evil spirits are not in hell, although of infernal quality, but are sent up into the world-of-spirits state to act as emissaries of a society of hell, to act as subject-spirits. It is written: "The evil spirits with man are indeed from the hells, but while they are with him they are not in hell, but taken out from thence. The place where they then are is midway between hell and heaven, and is called the world of spirits, of which mention has often been made."**
     * AC 5848, 5976, 5993, 6187.
     ** AC 5852.
     Lack of complete collation and harmonization of the teaching on attendant spirits has caused some people in the New Church to say that there appears to be a contradiction in the teaching of the Writings on the subject, since in some passages it is said that there are many spirits with man, in some that there are four, in some that there are two, and in one or two places that "there is a consociate spirit who is similar to the affection of man's will and thence to the perception of his understanding."

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But to understand the various things which are said in the Heavenly Doctrine about the angels and spirits who are "with man," are "adjoined to man," are "attendant upon man," and so on, as integral parts of a united and harmonious teaching is by no means impossible. In fact, a general sense of harmony is readily obtained; the ordinary affirmative reader is not apt to feel that there is any contrariety of doctrine. For the most part it is only the scholar's search, if it does not search far enough, that yields any serious difficulty.

     Let the following stand as a summary explanation of the various numbers of spirits which are said, in different passages of the Writings, to be with men. We have drawn attention to the fact that there are many angels and spirits who operate into the things of man's affection and thought, but that there is mediation of all at any given time through four of different types: a celestial spirit, a spiritual spirit, a diabolical spirit and a satanic spirit. But it may be seen further that at any given time one of these attendants is more nearly consociated than any other in the whole spiritual world. For man undergoes alternating states throughout his life: now he is in a state in which the understanding predominates, and now in a state in which the affections of the will are especially active; and during the former he is closer to the intellectual spirits, that is, to the spiritual angel or the satan, while during the latter he is surrounded more immediately by the affectional spirits, that is, the celestial angel or the opposite devil. Hence came the ancient idea of two special attendant spirits, one an angel and the other an evil genius; and since man cannot be simultaneously centered in two states, but is either in a state of good or of truth, or in a state of evil or of falsity, we arrive by the process of elimination at the fact that each man is, most especially, in communion with one spirit who is at the time nearer to him than any other being in the whole spiritual world.
     This digest of the teaching explains also the ancient and modern notion of "wraiths" or "doubles" or "familiar spirits," together with the conception of the ancient pagans that a special spirit is born at the same time as every man and woman and remains with that person throughout life. There is no such thing as a "wraith" or "double," for every spirit in the universe has a distinct individuality, different from that of every other spirit or man; and our attendant spirits are continually changing, according to our own changing states.* It is written: "The states of a man are changing every moment; but into whatever state a man may come, spirits with whom a like passion has been dominant during their lifetime correspond and co-operate; thus they are not the same, but very many, and they all suppose themselves to be the man."**
     * AC 5851.
     ** SD 1928.

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Further demonstration of the need for the Lord's governance of man being mediated by the assignment of attendant spirits corresponding to the general states of his life may be derived from the following quotations taken from the section, "The Angels and Spirits with Man," which is subjoined to the unfolding of Genesis 45 in the Arcana Coelestia.

     "There are very many spirits at this day who desire to flow not only into man's thoughts and affections but also into his speech and actions, thus even into the things of the body; when yet the things of the body are exempt from the particular influx of angels and spirits, and are directed by general influx. In other words, when what is thought is determined into speech, and what is willed is determined into acts, the determination and transition into the body are according to order, and are not directed by any spirits in particular; for to flow into man's bodily things is to obsess him. The spirits who will and intend this are those who in the life of the body had been adulterers, that is, who had perceived delight in adulteries and had persuaded themselves that they are allowable; and also those who had been cruel. The reason is that both the former and the latter are more corporeal and sensual than all others, and have rejected all thought concerning heaven, attributing all things to nature and nothing to the Divine. In this way they have closed up interior things against themselves and have opened external things; and because in the world they had been solely in the love of these, therefore in the other life they long to return to them through man by obsessing him.
     "But it is provided by the Lord that such infernals should not come up into the world of spirits; they being kept in their hells, well shut up. Therefore there are no external obsessions at this day, but still there are internal ones, also the work of the infernal and diabolical crew; for evil men think such things as are filthy and also cruel towards others, and also such as are adverse and malignant toward what is Divine; and unless such thoughts were kept in check by fear of the loss of honor, of gain and of reputation, on account of these, of legal penalties, and of the loss of life, they would burst forth openly, and thus such men would rush more than the obsessed into the destruction of others, and into blasphemies against the things of faith. But these external bonds cause them not to seem to be obsessed, although they are so as to their interiors, but not as to their exteriors. This is very manifest from such as they in the other life, where external bonds are removed. There they are devils, being continually in the delight and desire of ruining others, and destroying whatever is of faith."*
     * AC 5990.

     Arcana 5993, the concluding paragraph of the section, begins with the words: "From all this it is now evident." "From all this" refers to the passage just quoted and other similar particulars about the spirits from whom man must be protected, also to teaching about the four attendants with man such as has been gathered together in summarized form in this presentation.

430




     "From all this it is now evident that for a man to have communication with the spiritual world there must be joined to him two spirits from hell and two angels from heaven, and that without these he would have no life whatever. For man cannot possibly live from general influx, as do animals void of reason (of which n. 5850); because his whole life is contrary to order; and being in this state, if a man were acted on by general influx only, he would necessarily be acted on by the hells only, and not from the heavens; and if he were not acted on from the heavens he would have no interior life, thus no life of thought and will such as is proper to man, and not even such as is proper to a brute animal, because a man is born without any use of reason, and can be initiated into it solely through influx from the heavens. From all that has been advanced it is evident also that a man cannot live without communication with the hells through spirits from them, for the whole of his life which he derives from his parents by inheritance, and all that he himself adds from his proprium, is of the love of self and the world and not of the love of the neighbor, still less of love to God. And as the whole of man's life from his proprium is of the love of self and of the world, it is therefore a life of contempt for others in comparison with self. . . . Unless spirits of a like nature were applied to these evils (and such spirits must be from hell), and unless the man were led by them in accordance with the delights of his life, he could not possibly be bent toward heaven. At first he is bent by means of his delights themselves; and by these is also set in freedom, thus at last in the faculty of exercising choice."*
     * AC 5993.

     How man is "set in freedom" and in the "faculty of exercising choice" by the concurrent influx from evil spirits and angels is shown in the same section. To summarize: Evil spirits attack and stir up man's evils; angels protect, moderating the influence of the evil and preventing the approach of those spirits whom the man could not withstand at that time. So he is set free to choose according to his conscience.
     The foregoing may stand as a general sketch of the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine concerning our attendant spirits. It may be well to note here, however, two exceptions to the general laws which have been outlined. First, it is taught that no evil spirits can approach infants, but only good spirits and angels.* Second, there is an exception to the law that the spirits with man are frequently changed in order to guard his freedom; for it is said that "with those who have lived in love truly conjugial, the spirit of the deceased partner dwells constantly with the spirit of the other."** It is not stated whether this consociation involves the attendant-spirit state, but from the laws in regard to these attendants it might be inferred that the conjugial consociation stands as a special relationship in addition to the mechanism of equilibrium provided by the four attendants spirits.

431



     * AC 5887.
     ** CL 321.
     A primary application to our daily lives of this teaching on attendant spirits is the ability which it gives us to recognize ourselves as subjects of influx, and thus as not responsible for the fact that thoughts and affections inflow into our minds, but responsible for how we use what inflows. We have seen that the influx of evil thoughts and affections as well as of good is a necessity for our regeneration; for without this the Lord could not lead us to see evil and good for what they are, and could not lead us away from self-life and into a life of use in His kingdom. It is the thought and affection that we consistently entertain and return to with the heart's affection that determines our character and makes the quality of our lives. "There is one only life, that of the Lord, which flows into all, but is variously received, and indeed according to the quality which a man has induced on his soul by his life."*
     * AC 5847.

     What has been shown of the permission of influx from evil spirits for the sake of our freedom of choice may not seem to accord with the scriptural assurance: "He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways." But there are two things which need to be borne in mind in this matter. One is that the angels are given charge and have the office of moderating the influx of the evil, so that the infernal desire to work harm to man can find only such outlet as may give him the ability to know and reject his evils. When the excitation of evils passes the bounds of use to man-the possibility of turning him away from hell, or of restraining him from the lower hells toward which his native love drives him-the angels are given the perception and the power to restrain the diabolical infestation. Thus is man "kept in all his ways," preserved in the best way that he will accept.
     Secondly, the word, angel, can include in its widest extent even the useful offices of the evil. Angel means, literally, messenger; the phrase, evil angel, is not without its truth. The Lord makes use even of devils as messengers or servants of His providence. By their evil loves themselves they are led to perform lowly services to the kingdom of God. It is their thought and will to attack, not to serve; nevertheless their vain and infernal efforts are made to meet the needs of mankind. For every man is permitted to make his love, his internal life, what he will, both here and in the world to come, but no one is permitted to be useless. The Lord's supreme end in creation, the preservation and protection of an angelic heaven from the human race, continues to be maintained; and for the provision of willing servants in the heavenly kingdom even the unwilling servants are led to contribute a certain use. That is to say, the lust of the evil to infest with falsities and to stir up the evils of others is used as a fermentation: a purifying process which, with the good, is preparatory for heaven, and with all serves to withhold from the deeper evils to which they tend.

432


This process of fermentation is a necessity for regeneration. The inborn evils need to be stirred up-to come to the surface and be known for what they are-so that they can afterwards sink to the bottom as dregs, leaving the purified wine. Only thus can the regenerate man receive from the Lord, as if it were his own, pure truth from the Word.
     The teaching concerning attendant spirits calls attention more than others to the completeness with which the Divine Providence provides for every contingency of man's nature. By it we see in detail how the Lord provides avenues of escape from our inherited and acquired evils. Nor need the knowledge of these means of salvation remain with us merely as knowledge. For in the consideration of these things there is a power to elevate the thought which in itself is a means of salvation. Such elevation of thought feeds heavenly affections-the love of use to others. It is true that knowledge of our spiritual consociations by itself will not make us better men, but thought about it from an affection of gratitude will do so. The acknowledgment that all salvation is of the Lord will be made by any professing Christian; but that acknowledgment does not have such power against the multitudinous impacts of the external things of life as has faith in the marvelous means of Divine leadership revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine. An immortal poet has said: "The world is too much with us late and soon. Getting and spending we waste our powers." Never was this more true than in our day. When we reflect on the continual impinging on our senses of the grosser things of life through the press, television, radio and ordinary conversation, and when we consider how much of our thought and act is bound up with getting and spending, we realize that the world is indeed "too much with us." No greater remedy for that condition exists than knowledge and thought about the spiritual world and its nearness to us. Such thought, both in a sphere of worship in church and at home, and in the sphere of reading and reflection, has power to help us see the many things of worldly thought and contact in their proper perspective. It gives that elevation of thought already spoken of which feeds the affection of eternal values. Such is one of the ways in which the Lord gives His angels charge over us to keep us in all our ways.

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SELF-EXAMINATION AND THE CHURCH 1968

SELF-EXAMINATION AND THE CHURCH       Editor       1968


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

Editor . . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Mr. L. E. 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 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     There are certain occasions which seem to invite self-examination. A change of occupation, entering into a new state of life, or simply returning to one's duties and responsibilities after rest and recreation are things that may move a man to re-examine himself. Organizations as well as individuals need self-examination from time to time; and this period of the year, when most of our societies and circles begin a new season, may suggest itself as such a time.
     An organization cannot examine itself, however; this can be done only by individuals within the organization; and it is important that those individuals who engage in the process enter into it as an extension of self-examination. The moment a person catches himself thinking of the church, or of his society, as "they," he is departing from self-examination. He is in danger of dissociating himself from whatever faults or weaknesses he may discover, and the process may become one of destructive criticism rather than of constructive self-examination.
     If it is to be effective, we must see ourselves as within the process and not just as applying it objectively to others outside of ourselves. If we feel that some reforms are called for-and we may be quite right in this- we should try to see ourselves not just as the reformers but also as among those who need to be reformed, for the church among men consists of those in whom the church is. But if we love the church, and really feel a part of the organization, we need have no fear; for we shall be engaged in affirmative self-examination, and the church will gain through the repentance on our part that follows it.

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FREEDOM AND LICENSE 1968

FREEDOM AND LICENSE       Editor       1968

     It has been suggested that the more a country's institutions provide for freedom, the greater is the opportunity for license. This is probably true, and the opportunity increases when there is such confusion that, far from the claiming of license in the name of freedom being effectively challenged, the law is bent to protect license in freedom's name, and in that name fractional but aggressive minorities are able to impose their will on the majority. This has raised in the minds of some the question whether, in the spiritual state of the world, any real establishment of freedom is possible.
     Surely the possibility is not to be doubted? Apart from its many connotations, the word, freedom, has several layers of meaning in its genuine sense. We believe from the Writings that spiritual freedom is being established on the earth, and from the same source we know that since the Last Judgment freedom on other planes of life has been restored to men. Evidences of this are not lacking in the social and political history of the years since 1757. The very fact that freedom can be abused, and the laws written to protect it can be manipulated, is negative evidence that it does exist, though the threat cannot be ignored.
     The saying that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty has become a cliche only because it is perennially true. Freedom will never perish from the earth, but it can be lost in any part of the earth, and the first requisite for its preservation is a clear recognition of the distinction between freedom and license. Freedom operates under law, is responsible, and respects the rights of others; license does none of these things. The second requisite is a firm determination to act on these distinctions on every plane of life: to promote true freedom and oppose resolutely that license which arrogantly claims to be the only freedom, but which denies any freedom to those who disagree.
KINGDOM OF THE PERSECUTED 1968

KINGDOM OF THE PERSECUTED       Editor       1968

     No man can cast away the things his proprium cherishes without coming into spiritual temptations, and his very resolution in attempting to do so invites such conflicts. Yet it is only through fighting and conquering in the temptations induced by the hells that man can receive the celestial and spiritual good which makes heaven. Therefore the Lord said also that His is a kingdom of those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, and He added that they are blessed.

435




     We stress as of importance, however, that it is they who are persecuted for the sake of justice who are said to be blessed and to have the kingdom. Men may submit to persecution, may knowingly invite and even court it, without advancing a single step toward heaven. Some religionists, taking these words of the Lord literally, have challenged the civil authority to move against them, mistaking prosecution for persecution and claiming merit for it; other men develop what is known as a "persecution complex," and in it find a perverse delight and satisfaction. But as the Lord said: "They have their reward." Unless justice, spiritual good and truth, is the issue, neither Divine blessing nor the kingdom is received through persecution.
     Few in the church can be unfamiliar with the main teachings of the Writings concerning temptation. In itself temptation is an evil thing. It is induced by evil spirits, and the reason they can induce it is that man is in evil and comes into states in which the proprium is dominant. Therefore temptation is not provided by the Lord. It is permitted by Him-permitted without His willing or even concurring in it-because it is the only means, since the fall, through which man can be regenerated. Therefore when the love attacked in temptation is a spiritual love of good and truth, and man fights and conquers as of himself, he receives from the Lord that eternal life which is Divine blessing and the life of heaven; for he has been persecuted for the sake of justice.

     What we would stress here is that those who are being persecuted for the sake of justice are already blessed and that the kingdom is theirs. To understand the state of those who are undergoing temptations we must rid our minds of the feelings normally associated with the lot of the persecuted. The man of the church is not called upon to commit himself to a life of grim, unrelenting and unrelieved combat, with the inner peace and happiness of heaven to be experienced only as a reward when the bitter struggle is over. States of consolation alternate with states of temptation-states in which man is given a foretaste of the joys of heaven to refresh him, inspire him to fresh efforts and renew his hopes; and even in temptation itself there is hope from trust in the Lord's providing. The life of regeneration is not one of enduring suffering stoically but passively; it is an active, vigorous life in which sustained, intelligent effort leads to victory.
     As long as man lives on earth he cannot know with certainty what his state as to regeneration may be. That is why the Lord also likened the kingdom of heaven to a seed growing secretly. But if man has confidence and trust in the Lord, and is faithful, the seed will grow, although he knows not how, and will yet yield an eternal harvest.

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CHARTER DAY 1968

              1968




     Announcements
     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 52nd Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Thursday through Saturday, October 24-26, 1968. The program:

Thursday Evening-College Open House and Program, Pendleton Hall

Friday, 11 a.m., Cathedral Service with an address by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson

Friday Afternoon-Football Game

Friday Evening-Dance

Saturday, 7 p. in., Banquet. Toastmaster: the Rev. Martin Pryke
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn for the opening exercises of the Academy schools, Charter Day, or any other occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.

437


ACCOMMODATIONS AND APPEARANCES 1968

ACCOMMODATIONS AND APPEARANCES       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1968


VOL. LXXXVIII
OCTOBER, 1968
No. 10
     "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared him." (John 1: 18)

     The words, "to go out," and other similar phrases, are used many times in the Word, and in the spiritual sense they embody several doctrines of vital concern to the church.
     Of what use and of what influence upon you is a man sealed up in a dark house, of whose very existence you are totally unaware? But when he comes out of his house to associate with others, then you see him; then he can be of use and influence. Or do you really see the man even then? Do you not usually see what he wants you to see? Does he not usually put on an appearance, true or false, to accommodate himself to the way he wants you to think of him?
     Accommodations and appearances-these are the two doctrines involved in such phrases as "to go out," "to go forth," "Thou wentest out." The thing or the person itself, accommodating itself to the apprehension of the beholder, and therefore putting on an appearance that the beholder can understand. We never see anything such as it actually is in itself-not even a chair. Who has ever seen a thought? Who has ever seen a desire? But we have all seen actions that express the desire.
     Accommodations and appearances are absolutely necessary, though they need not necessarily be false. Were I to give a long talk on the Lord's glorification to little children, though every word I said were true, I would be teaching them less than nothing of religion. No, instead of such an abstruse lecture, I tell them that the Lord was born on earth at Christmas, that He did great miracles and taught great truths, and that at Easter He rose from the tomb.

438


But, after all, these are the rudiments of the doctrine of the glorification-rudiments within the children's comprehension. (And what adult really understands much more? Which of us can fully explain the Virgin Birth or the Lord's resurrection?) Indeed, in any subject, of what use is it to have all the intelligence possible if you cannot get it across, cannot accommodate it, to those to whom you are speaking?
     And as for the relationship between the Infinite and the finite, there simply is none. Finite means limited; infinite means unlimited. How can a finite, limited mind comprehend-hold within its grasp, for that is what the word, comprehend, means-that which has no limits and therefore is infinite? It is impossible. No man at any time can see God as He is in Himself. Therefore the infinite God has accommodated Himself to man's comprehension by taking on the Divine Human. This is something that man can understand, to some extent, at least. The only begotten Son, He hath declared Him, He hath set Him forth to view.

     But there are two different kinds of accommodations and appearances. There are true appearances and false appearances; there is genuine accommodation, and there is accommodation not genuine.
     Let us take appearances first. It is a genuine truth that God is infinitely good, and therefore can do no evil. But how does this truth appear in the three Testaments of the Word? In the Old Testament the Lord is pictured, for the most part, as a jealous, angry, punishing, even an evil God. "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"* In the New Testament He appears more as a loving, heavenly Father: "He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good."** "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chicks under her wings***-albeit something of the Old Testament appearances lingers on: "Lead us not into temptation,"**** as though the Lord ever could or did! And in the Writings: "God . . . cannot act contrary to His own Divine order, since this would be to act contrary to His very self; and therefore He leads every man according to that order which is Himself."*****
     * Amos 3: 6.
     ** Matthew 5: 45.
     *** Matthew 23: 37.
     **** Matthew 6: 13.
     ***** TCR 500.
     There is no evil in the city that God has not done. (God never does evil.) Lead us not into temptation. (The Lord never has done so, nor ever would.) God cannot do evil, for that would be contrary to the infinite good which He Himself is.
     The statements seem contradictory, and yet they cannot be, for God is infinite truth and therefore cannot contradict Himself.

439


Did He, then, accommodate Himself in different ways to different ages of men, sometimes purposefully appearing in evil form, sometimes in the form of good? That, too, is impossible, for when the source of the appearance is truth, it can present itself only in the form of good, that is, in true appearances. But when the person who sees that appearance is himself in evil, that appearance of truth takes on the appearance of evil and falsity. The ancient Jew had very little of genuine religion, but knew at least that God is omnipotent. To him that meant that God not only can but also does do everything, including evil, even as the naughty child thinks that punishment comes from his parents, when it really comes from himself. The early Christian knew that following the Lord meant a lifetime of temptation, and so was taught to pray: "Lead us not into temptation"; but immediately thereafter was told to express his willingness to undergo temptation, in the words: "but deliver us from evil."
     The evil or falsity in any appearance of truth comes, not from the one who accommodates himself in appearances, but rather from the evil and falsity in the one who beholds the appearance. The Lord did not put on an appearance of anger and jealousy to the ancient Jew. The Lord can present Himself only as mercy and forgiveness. But to the ancient Jew, who removed himself from the merciful protection of Divine law, the Lord appeared to be angry and jealous. The Lord never leads anyone into temptation, though He leads His followers to spiritual victory through temptation. Yet because of our lingering evils, or perhaps simply because we are finite, it appears that He does lead us into temptation; for who can truly follow the Lord, save by victory in temptation?

     We repeat, then, that there are real appearances and false appearances, true accommodations and false accommodations. And we repeat, too, that if the source of the appearance is the truth, or one who is in the truth, then any evil or falsity in the appearance comes from the beholder, or because of the beholder, and not from the source.
     Are we who are striving to follow the Lord, then, never purposely to put on an appearance that is at variance with our real feelings? It is simply obvious that often we must. A loving parent never punishes his child in anger, but he must appear angry when administering the punishment-though the Writings prefer the word, zealous, to angry. When working with someone we dislike, working for a goal more important than ourselves, we must put on an appearance of friendship we do not feel. And no matter how genuine his internal charity may be, a soldier in battle can hardly show external friendship toward the enemy he is killing. Even in the spiritual world there are people, apparently good, who pretend to be persons they are not.     

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     Are such things hypocrisy? Of course not! The eighth commandment reads: "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." Against thy neighbor. That phrase, even when properly understood, can be twisted and perverted to make even the blackest of lies look like a necessary white lie. But it need not be. The neighbor is good-good in the abstract, or good in the individual. Thou shalt not bear false witness against anything good.
     Punishment may be good for a child; but punishment administered in glee would destroy everything good within him. Friendship pretended for a higher cause promotes good, does not destroy it. A friendly smile on the face of a soldier killing his enemy would destroy the good in the soldier himself; and even the impersonators in the other world impersonate for good reason-either out of deference to the somewhat frivolous desires of newcomers to the other life, or, in the case of famous historical characters, to enable them to carry on their appointed uses without being constantly interrupted by curiosity-seekers.

     We mortals must frequently present ourselves to the view of another in a form accommodated to the other's apprehension, though it is still ourselves that we present. But is this because we are mortal and finite and cannot see how to do it otherwise? Is it because there is still evil in us? Or is it because of evil or a lack of genuine wisdom in others? Probably all three factors contribute something to any appearance that is less than a genuine appearance.
     But there is one who presents Himself to our view now exactly as He really is. This, of course, is the Lord. The Infinite as it is in itself is beyond man's comprehension; but God's purpose in creation is that man may reciprocate God's love, and thus may enter into conjunction with Him and find eternal happiness. And in order that man may do this, he must be able to see and know his God.
     Yet God Himself is incomprehensible, and so the Writings state, in rather peculiar terminology, that the Lord's words concerning His disciples, "They knew of a truth that I went out from God," mean: "The Divine formed as a Man and thereby accommodated to the perception of those who believe."* The Lord has always appeared in human form-the Divine formed as a Man. Before the Advent He appeared as the Human Divine, the Divine flowing through the human form of the heavens, and thus the Divine formed as Man. During His sojourn on earth He appeared as a Man incarnate. And now He appears formed as Man in His own glorified Divine Humanity.

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     It is true that before the Advent the impurities of the angels impeded a perfect re-presentation of the Human Divine; hence some of the fallacious appearances found in the Old Testament. It is true that while on earth He sometimes appeared angry, or at least righteously indignant. On the last Monday of His life on earth, He, with zeal, drove the money-changers out of the temple, and on the following day cried out His woes against the scribes and Pharisees. But on the cross on Friday He endured His final temptation. It was on the cross that He cast out the last vestiges of His mortal humanity and fully glorified His Human. And from the cross there was never one word of rebuke or reproach, but only: "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."*
     * Luke 23: 34.
     And now, at His second advent, He has revealed Himself in His own Divine Human, revealed Himself to the utmost extent that man is able to comprehend Him. It is a vision still clothed in mortal words, of course, but words Divinely chosen and ordered so as to present a real and genuine appearance of Himself. "The Divine formed as a Man, and thereby accommodated to the perception of those who believe; [and] both of these are one." For though no man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son hath indeed declared Him-set Him forth to view as He is in Himself. Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus 33: 12-23. Matthew 23: 13-39. TCR 500.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 453, 457, 518.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 81, 79.
FIRST STEP TOWARDS WISDOM 1968

FIRST STEP TOWARDS WISDOM              1968

     "Everyone who is in a spiritual affection of truth is conscious that the things that he knows are few, and the things that he does not know are infinite. He is aware, moreover, that knowing and acknowledging this is the first step towards wisdom; and that those who pride themselves on the things they know, and believe themselves on account of these to be most intelligent, have not reached this first step. Such persons are commonly more puffed up by falsities than by truths, for they have regard to their own reputation, and are affected by that alone, and not by the truth itself. Such are those who are in natural affection only and in longing from that" (Apocalypse Explained 117: 2).

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TRANSLATION OF THE WRITINGS 1968

TRANSLATION OF THE WRITINGS       Rev. A. WYNNE ACTON       1968

     The Writings were written at a time when Latin was fast becoming a "dead language." For this reason there is stability and permanence in the Latin of the Writings; the meaning of the words and phrases is not undergoing slow and subtle changes, as is the case with every spoken language. The meaning Swedenborg wished to express by his Latin therefore will be understood for all ages to come. Few, however, read the original Latin, and those who do not wish to be assured that the translations which they read do not modify or change the meaning of the original. This is a matter of prime importance to every New Church man, for one who does not read the Latin must rely on the ability and faithfulness of the translator. It would be of great advantage if every New Church man would acquaint himself, to some degree, with Swedenborg's Latin. It is simple and straightforward, and anyone who has had two years of Latin in school could, through a little application, profit by looking at the Latin of the Writings. Without a great deal of study, it is true, one could not readily read the Writings in the original and enter into some of the finer shades of meaning which no translation can convey; but one could learn to appreciate Swedenborg's clear style, and his careful use of words.
     In this article I wish to consider what the chief aims of a translator of the Writings should be; and also to enumerate some of the difficulties which confront him.
     The qualities requisite for the perfect translator are very high and various, and no New Church man has entirely fulfilled them nor, in all probability, ever will. In general, we would put the qualifications into three categories: 1) Knowledge of Swedenborg's Latin; 2) Knowledge of the doctrine taught and a deep regard for it; 3) Knowledge of the English language. I purposely put this third category last, for while it is in itself very important, it is yet subservient to the other two. A translation in perfect English would be of no use whatsoever unless it were a faithful rendering of the original. And now let us consider these three requisites.
     1)     The first requirement for a translator is a thorough and profound knowledge of the language which he is to translate. In this case, this means not only a knowledge of classical Latin but of the Latin of Swedenborg's day, which had undergone many changes in the course of sixteen or seventeen centuries.

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Certain grammatical usages had changed, so that more than one classical scholar of this day, judging merely from those standards, has said that Swedenborg wrote bad Latin. (This is said of a man who wrote Latin verse for amusement when he was a boy, and wrote in Latin all his life.) More important, however, the meaning of many words had undergone certain changes. If this is not recognized, many errors will creep into the translation. Indeed, many of the Latin words from which we have English derivatives were used in the 18th century in a sense nearer to our meaning than to the original classical Latin. In addition to knowing that period of Latin in general, the translator would, of course, have to be thoroughly conversant with Swedenborg's style and use of words, in particular.
     2)     A second requirement is that the translator should have a thorough knowledge of the doctrines taught. Unless the man were to have a profound understanding of the ideas with which he was dealing he would simply be translating words, and many errors would arise. One additional reason for this requirement is that in translating there has to be a continual comparison of passages to derive the exact meaning which is to be brought out, as well as comparing Swedenborg's usage of different words and phrases. Also, there are cases where, grammatically, the Latin could be translated in different ways, involving different meanings, and in such cases the translator's general knowledge of the doctrines must guide him. Moreover, it is difficult to see how anyone who was not well conversant with, and deeply sympathetic toward, the doctrines could do justice to a translation. Hence the absurdity of asking someone outside of the church, no matter how fine a classical scholar he may be, to do our translations.
     3)     Our man would, thirdly, have to be a past master of the English language. He would have to possess an exact and precise knowledge of the connotations and finer shades of meaning of words; and he should also be able to write in an elegant and easy style, appreciated by the generation in which he works.

     While no one will possess all these qualities in perfection, we have had and do have men in the church who in some degree possess all three qualifications. So we may say of our past translations that they have, on the whole, been quite faithful to the original. Most of the translators must have approached their work with some realization of the solemn nature of it. They have probably erred in being too closely bound to the Latin forms of expression; in some cases the Latin idiom, and even the order of words, have been carried over into the translation, often resulting in rather awkward and cumbersome English.

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This is more apparent at this day than in a former generation, when a good English style was often expansive and inclined to be verbose. Yet we are fortunate that our translators have erred on this side, rather than on the side of sacrificing accuracy for the sake of elegant English.
     At the present day there is something of a demand in the church for freer and easier English translations. A desire has been expressed to render the Writings into an English translation which can easily be comprehended by the "outsider". This, of course, is a legitimate and a desirable aspiration, as far as, and only as far as, it can be accomplished with faithfulness to the original. (We say this, though we cannot subscribe to the thought accompanying this desire, namely, that many people are prevented from reading the Writings because of the English dress in which they are presented.) The desire to have the very best English in our translations is one which naturally appeals to all of us; but it must take second place to the desire for accurate translations. It seems clearly to be the task of those who are competent and experienced in the work of translation to determine how far both desires can be realized.

     Here I would pause to point out the great importance of our general approach to the Writings themselves, and our regard for what they in themselves are. Obviously, if we regard them as an "immediate revelation" from the Lord,* and as containing the very Word of God, we then shall be most anxious for integrity and faithfulness in translation. We will even be reminded of the closing words of the New Testament, which contain a warning against "adding to" or "taking away from" the words of revelation.** Whereas, if we think of the Writings simply as an enlightened man's commentary on the Word; if we suppose that the Lord revealed the Heavenly Doctrine to Swedenborg alone, and he then tells us about it in the best words at his limited command; then the words which he used, and even his illustrations, are not of importance, as long as we convey what we suppose to be the essential idea.
     * See HH 1.
     ** See Revelation 22: 18, 19.
     I believe that this latter approach has marred more than one translation which otherwise would have been excellent. An example of this is seen in a recent translation of True Christian Religion (Everyman Edition). Here we have an easy flowing translation, couched in fine English, but its usefulness is impaired by its freeness. To give an example-one which the translator himself has given as an example of the improvement of his translation over the former one, in that he has compressed 70 words into 8.* "Washing cleanses the body but not the spirit."

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The former translation, which is close to the original Latin, is: "What man of sound reason cannot see that the washing of the hands, face and feet, and all the limbs, indeed the whole body in a bath, does nothing more than wash away the dirt so that those who are washed may appear clean before men? And who cannot understand that it is impossible for any such washing to enter into man's spirit and render that equally clean?"** "Washing cleanses the body but not the spirit" does indeed give the general idea, but one can hardly call it a translation. Whatever verbosity the former translation may be guilty of is not the fault of the translator but of the work which he was translating; and one who regarded the Writings as an "immediate revelation" from the Lord would not predicate verbosity of them, nor dare to omit so much of that revelation, even if it did not seem of great consequence to him. Hence we see the importance of the approach of the translator to the works he is translating. Had this translator approached the subject with a different attitude, he could, by reason of his undoubted mastery of English, have given us an equally fine rendering, and have given us also exactly what Swedenborg said.
     * New Church Magazine, 1939, p. 101.
     ** TCR 672.

     While speaking of this translation I would note a more serious fault-one which is likely to arise when the Writings are not regarded as a Divine work. An accurate translation of no. 597 is: "No one has been admitted into any spiritual temptation during the centuries which have passed since the Council of Nicea introduced a belief in three gods." The Latin here is clear, and there can be no doubt about its meaning. But the translator calls this an "evident falsity" and so deliberately changes the passage to read: "Since the Council of Nice, nobody who has believed in three gods has been allowed to suffer spiritual temptation." The Writings say: "No one has been admitted into spiritual temptation." The new translation says: "Nobody who believes in three gods has been . . ." One may conceivably argue that, in the light of other teachings, this latter is the way in which the passage is to be understood, but one cannot possibly argue that that is what is here stated in the Latin. And if the English reader is to be dependent on what the translator conceives to be the interpretation, we are on extremely dangerous ground.
     I have dwelt on these examples-and many others from recent translations might be given were there time-to emphasize the great importance of the general approach to the work of translation. In most cases, admittedly, the general sense is given, but this is not sufficient for one who conceives that he is reading a Divine revelation.

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(Fortunately, such "free" translations have not been made in any of the standard editions of the Swedenborg Society.)

     Now, approaching the Writings from an attitude that they are Divine, let us see some of the difficulties which are presented to the translator. One general difficulty which can be easily resolved is the length and complexity of the sentences. In the Latin it is not unusual to have one sentence extended for many lines, and even a page or more. To retain the same length of sentence in translation, as the early translators for the most part did, makes heavy English. A shortening of the sentences, and a brisker style in general, could be introduced without at all taking away from the accuracy of the translation. There are, however, more serious difficulties connected with the words that are used. In the Writings we have the Divine truth presented, for the most part, in philosophical terms. Swedenborg, no different from any philosopher in this respect, had to use certain terms in a new and different manner than was usual in order to express his ideas. Swedenborg himself was aware of this difficulty, for he often complains of the inadequacy of natural terms to express spiritual ideas. Specifically, either in answer to critics of his own day, or in anticipation of future criticism, he refers to people who will say: "What is the internal man? Is it possible that it can be distinct from the external? What is the natural, and the rational? Are they not one? What is the spiritual, and the celestial? Is not this a new distinction?" And in reply it is said: "Nevertheless as such things are contained in the internal sense of the Word, and they cannot be explained without adequate terms, and we have no terms more adequate for expressing exterior things than the term, 'the natural'. . . it is absolutely necessary to make use of these terms, for without terms adapted to the subject nothing can be described."* The more we strive to enter interiorly into the spiritual teaching, the more shall we see the necessity of using adequate terms; and what terms in English could be more adequate than the translation of the ones used by the translator himself?
     * AC 4585: 3, 4.

     This explains why Swedenborg had to introduce new terms, and use words with a new significance. He adopted certain words and terms in a "technical" sense, if you wish, inasmuch as he gave his own definitions for such terms, and always used them in that sense. In this could be included such terms as naturale, spirituale, coelestia; universalis et singulis and communis et particularis; cognitio et scientia, etc. The "freer" translations get over the difficulty of translating these terms by simply ignoring the special use Swedenborg made of them.

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But more conscientious translators have tried to bring out the meaning of each word and term used. This has resulted in the introduction into the translations of new English words and of a new usage of certain words. Personally, I can see no objection to this, provided that the context makes the use of any word quite clear. Where it is not clear a footnote can be used, or it can be explained in a foreword. There are not many philosophers who have not enriched their language by introducing new words into it; and it is a wonder that more new words have not been introduced by the New Church. Conjugial and proprium are both in the larger dictionaries as New Church words, and quotations from Swedenborg are given to define them. Surely this is a good thing. The plea that new words and new usages of words deter people from reading the Writings cannot be sustained in face of the popular interest in modern psychology, despite the innumerable new words and usages which it has introduced. Perhaps we might be nearer the truth to say that interest has increased because of this.

     In order to form our ideas more definitely, let us look at the terms cognitio, scientia and scientifica, as used in the Writings. Here we have three different words meaning "knowledge," for which in English we have only one word. The question arises as to how we are to differentiate between them. The claim made by some that there is no need to do so cannot be maintained for a moment upon an examination of the way in which the terms are used. In one passage we are told, after it has described what scientifica are: "But for the sake of distinction those things which are of spiritual state and life, which especially are doctrinal, are said to be cognitiones."* In the Apocalypse Explained: "By scientifica from the Word are meant all things of the sense of the letter there in which a doctrinal does not appear; by cognitiones of good and truth are meant all things of the sense of the letter of the Word in which and from which is doctrine."** Again: "The truths of the natural man which are under the regard of the rational man are scientifica truths, those which are under the regard of the spiritual man are cognitiones of truth";*** and in the Arcana: "Doctrinals are the things which are from the Word; cognitiones are the things which are from these doctrinals on the one side, and from scientifica on the other; and scientifica are the things which are of experience by oneself and by others."**** From these and many other passages we form the general idea that cognitiones are those truths in the natural man which are most readily receptive of the spiritual; whereas scientia or scientifica are those truths, gathered from all external sources, which may be used to confirm or to reject spiritual truths.

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There is much overlapping of meaning of these terms, as there is in the things they represent, and yet the essential idea of each is clear. If we simply ignore this distinction we are invalidating something which the Writings are teaching us.
     * HD 51.
     ** AE 545: 2.
     *** AE 406.
     **** AC 6386.
     The question then arises as to how we are to distinguish between these terms in English. If we translate scientia as "science" we give quite a false impression, because "science" has come to have such a limited meaning with us at this day. The other term which has been used to translate it is "memory knowledge"; but this as a descriptive term is entirely inadequate, inasmuch as cognitiones are equally knowledges of the memory. In fact, the Latin scientia seems to be quite exactly covered by the way in which we now use, knowledge, and should be so translated.
     The case of scientifica is not so easy. Sometimes it can be translated as "the things of knowledge" or simply "knowledges." But very often, to differentiate it from scientia and cognitiones, it will be found necessary to translate it as "scientifics." In this case there should be a footnote or a foreword explaining it.
     What are we to do with cognitio? We cannot translate it as "knowledge" or it will be confused with scientia. The only alternative seems to be to translate it as "cognition," which is defined in Nuttall's dictionary as "knowledge, as from personal view or experience"-a definition which is not unsuitable for the idea conveyed by the word in the Writings. As soon as we introduce the word, cognitions, we have a word which is not in common use and is therefore criticized by some. Yet if we examine the necessities of the case, it is difficult to see how we can avoid its introduction; and may it not in the long run prove a useful thing to introduce these unusual terms? This may be a means of leading the "outsider" to realize that it is something new he is reading, and that it therefore demands a new viewpoint and investigation.

     Another unusual word which has been introduced into the translations of the Writings is "proprium," carried over from the Latin. This is an English word, though rarely used outside of the New Church. It is defined as a term used in logic; and, in addition, the larger dictionaries give it as a "Swedenborgian term." In the English versions the word has often been translated as "selfhood," but upon examination this hardly seems adequate. Proprium in the Writings refers to the sensations, thoughts and affections which man feels as his own. It is used both in regard to the natural life of his inheritance, which is entirely evil, and to the life of the new will and understanding born within him from the Lord which he feels and sensates as his own.

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In this latter respect especially the word, selfhood, is inappropriate, inasmuch as it is not his "selfhood" but in reality the Divine life, and it is only given him to feel it as his own. The inadequacy of the translation, selfhood, becomes even more evident when we read of the Lord's "proprium" which He had in Himself, and which He imparts to men. This is a case where a certain English word seems to be satisfactory at first glance, but when the various uses of the word, and the more general meaning of it, are examined, it is seen to be insufficient. The only alternative, as far as I can see, is to retain the Latin word, proprium, and allow it to give its own message.
     There is one entirely new word which the New Church has introduced, namely, "conjugial." This is a word which has become very familiar to English-speaking New Church men, and yet there is a desire on the part of a few to do away with it. It is true that Swedenborg did not coin a new word in Latin as we have done in English; it was not necessary for him to do so. But he certainly introduced a new idea. It would seem a great retrogression for the New Church now to depart from this word, especially when it has become so well established as to be incorporated in the dictionary. To the "outsider" it might present an initial difficulty; but the difficulty of a new word would be as nothing compared to the difficulty of grasping the new idea which is expressed by it; and the very fact of introducing a new word might help to emphasize that here is a new idea being introduced.

     In these last two cases the translators of the Writings are opening themselves to the criticism of not using English words, even though these words have actually been introduced into the dictionaries. An example even more open to criticism is the handling of the Latin words, Esse and Existere. These have been rendered "Being" and "Standing forth." But surely this is not really helpful to any reader. The English infinitive, to be, or the participle, being, would in itself be satisfactory; but to most people the word, being, suggests something more definite than this, something akin to a "human being," which is not the correct idea. "Being" in English does not suggest the abstract life which is suggested by Esse in Latin. Nor will "Stand forth" be seen to be satisfactory for Existere on close examination. The only alternative seems to be to retain the words Esse and Existere, with perhaps a footnote or a foreword explaining their use. Nor should we be surprised that the crowning truth of all the ages cannot be expressed without the use of certain philosophical terms.
     We would speak of another word which has caused difficulty for English readers, namely, goods, being a translation of the Latin bona. Bonum (plural, bona), is in reality an adjective of neuter gender, but according to Latin usage it may be used as a noun.

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In the singular this does not present a difficulty to the English reader, but when it is used in the plural he may be led to associate a different idea with the word. In general English usage, goods, mean material possessions, which, of course, is not at all the idea of bona as used in the Writings. The introduction of the word, goods, in a new sense comes first, but no reader of the Writings would really be misled by it. The great advantage of this translation is the very fact that it leaves the word indefinite, as the Latin bona is indefinite. As soon as you say "good deeds," "good actions," or even "good principles," you immediately limit its meaning in a way that it was never intended to be limited in the Writings. It is difficult to conceive how any New Church scholar could be led to translate bona as "good deeds." Here again, then, you can see the difficulty that the translator faces, and why in many cases it is necessary to carry over the indefinite English word, goods, as the nearest equivalent to the Latin bona.
     There are many other Latin expressions which are difficult to translate into English, such as affectio veri, which is usually rendered "affection for truth." The retaining of the genitive form by using "of" in English here, as in many other similar expressions, conveys a far more accurate and full meaning. The necessity for preserving the distinction between the Latin lux and lumen, facere and constituere, and many other special terms, comes to mind as an example of the many problems with which the English translator is presented. But we must pass on to our conclusions.

     It is our considered belief, then, that it is fully possible to translate the Writings accurately into good English. The first consideration must always be the accuracy of the translation. This may necessitate the introduction of new words, or the use of words in a new way, but in itself this is not to be deprecated when necessary as long as the distinctive meaning of these words is made clear, either in the text or in a footnote. After all, the chief concern of the translator must be to convey to the reader the true meaning of the text which he is translating. And he must feel his task all the more important and holy in that he is translating that which the Lord Himself has revealed.

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GRIEF 1968

GRIEF       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1968

     The letter of the Word contains much sensuous imagery which serves most powerfully to illustrate spiritual principles. A case in point is the imagery of these words from Isaiah: "We roar all like bears, and mourn sore like doves."* The roar or growl of a bear contrasted with the sore mourning of the dove! Consider these sounds and the affections they invoke, and a clear illustration of proper and improper grief will arise. The bear growls when he is afflicted. His gruff, deep cry fills the air when he is in pain, or when he is deprived of that which he desires. His roar rings to the skies. His anger at offense is obvious. The dove's cry of anguish, on the other hand, is not the gruff, harsh, angry roar of the bear. It is the gentle whimper of affliction, the quiet sob of the heart deprived of a loved one, the resulting anguish as the man of courage faces the evils of his life-a gentle though pitiful coo.
     * Isaiah 59: 11.
     How aptly the Lord has chosen these two images! How perfect is the correspondence which they reflect! Spiritually, we learn, a bear is the natural man cut off from the gentle influx of the spiritual man. He is the letter of the Word deprived of the spiritual sense. He is the external man who delights in evil and falsity. How loudly such a man bemoans calamity!* The dove, by contrast, is the rational man which makes one with the spiritual man, for she is the good of the rational.** Thus the dove is the spiritual man dwelling on earth, or the spiritual man who has not yet entered into the fullness of heavenly bliss but who is interiorly one with that bliss.
     * Cf. AR 49, 573; AE 781
     ** Cf. AE 601, 781.
     Both these kinds of men grieve. Both the bear and the dove suffer anguish from the deprivation of love. Both weep when sorrow afflicts them. Both long for release from their misery, crying out in despair for delivery. Yet the types of grief which these men endure are very different. But what is grief? How can there be different kinds of grief? In general, grief is the sadness which arises from antagonism to love.* It is a state of aloneness which brings anguish, despair and hopelessness. It is anxiety caused by the opposite of a love appearing as dominant over what is loved which, in turn, isolates the love within oneself and makes it appear inexpressible.

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Its ultimates, or the things which show grief, are mourning, sobs and tears. There are two universal kinds of grief: grief of the heart and grief of the mind, or grief of the will and grief of the understanding. In other words, grief caused by the deprivation of truths loved or falsities accepted, and grief caused by the deprivation of good affections acknowledged or evils embraced.** Of these two types, grief of the will is more severe, since the loss of affection is the loss of life itself, while the loss of truth is the loss of that which gives affection form. For example, if our affection is for the loss of a married partner, the loss of that partner is the loss of a part of one's very life. It is grievous indeed. But if we knew the truth that we were loved, and later had that knowledge shaken, we could overcome this loss of truth by finding new forms for our affection. We could never express our love in exactly the same manner as before, and would grieve over this loss, but in time we could find new ways to show our love and so have new happiness.
     * Cf. AE 660.
     ** Cf. 464: 6, 526: 2; AC 2873.
     From this illustration we can see that jealousy is a form of grief. As the new Word teaches:

     "Fear and grief are inherent in all love, fear lest it perish and grief if it perish. The same are inherent in conjugial love, but its fear and grief are called zeal, or jealousy. That zeal with married partners who tenderly love each other is just, and of sound reason, is because it is at the same time fear for the loss of eternal happiness, not its own only but that of the married partner also; and also because it is likewise protection against adultery."*
     * CL 371.

     Jealousy is not the only example of just grief. Angels grieve. More than once the new Word tells us of the sorrow which angels experience upon hearing of evil or the state of disbelief in this world. In both instances their grief comes from the assault upon their heavenly love for all men. They can see that disbelief on earth will harm men spiritually, and so have genuine sorrow at news of such falsity. Their love for the neighbor is assaulted by men's atheism.* The Lord Himself grieved when on earth. This grief was caused by the perverted state of mankind. From His infinite knowledge the Lord saw men who were in something of good and truth confused and confounded by states of evil and falsity among men. Further, He could see that without new revelation man's future was hopeless. So He had grief from the devils assaulting His love for saving men. They caused Him sorrow by inducing upon Him doubt as to whether He could by life on earth accomplish His purpose. Isaiah describes Him in this state: "He is despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not."**

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     * HH 464: 6, 526: 2; AC 2873.
     ** Isaiah 53: 3.
     As with the Lord, so with good men on earth. They have grief. Since they delight in spiritual things, grief follows when they are deprived of these things. But note that in the cases of the Lord, angels and good men on earth, it is not the good that causes the grief. Grief arises from evil loves and falsities. It is these which assault good principles. It is these that cast doubt on the power of God to help. It is these that seek to have us fall into the utter despair which arises from the heresy that God does not care for all His children. The truth is that God does care for all of us. He will not allow us to face spiritual situations which will destroy us. Our despair, if hopeless, is from hell; yet if it is despair over our power to help ourselves, even as it recognizes that God's power can help us, then it is good.

     Now although grief is from evil, it can still serve for good. Since man is born into the loves of self and the world it is important that he give them up, else he will never regenerate. Grief is one of the means whereby man may be led out of his evil loves. This does not mean that grief forces men out of evils; but it does mean that by grief men are very often shaken to the point where they can be restored to freedom between accepted evil loves and good loves which have tried in vain to inflow. Consider grief in another and our reaction to it. We immediately strive to help that person in his or her affliction. We have sympathetic grief. We can see from the state of grief we have for our friends what love to the neighbor is. Our grief naturally leads us to acts of kindness. These good acts are not our own. They have been forced upon us by the natural circumstances we faced. But the very fact that our grief has led us to see what is good can shake us from our former complacency. When grief is past, we may well be able to continue in the path of charity which we began to walk through grief. We may well amend our lives and make what we have done from grief living in ourselves. When freedom returns we may well pick up the pattern which our grief has forced us to adopt, and at length find happiness in that pattern. The loves of self and the world which may have caused our first sorrow can then be replaced. We can be regenerated. We can find new life, spiritual happiness. Thus grief is a tool used by God in aiding us in our regeneration.
     Such grief is called grief of initiation.* When a man immersed in the loves of self and the world is to be initiated into truths and goods he comes into grief.

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His former loves cause him pain as they are exposed in their hideous nature. So we read:

     "The reason why there was grief at first is that when truths are being inserted into natural good, they at first cause pain, for they oppress the conscience and induce anxieties because there are concupiscences present, against which spiritual truth combats; but this first grief by degrees diminishes, and at last vanishes away. It is as with a weak and sickly body, which is to be restored to health by painful means; in this state at first it has grief."**
     * AC 6539.
     ** AC 3471.

     Evils grieve man as they are removed.* Immersion in falsities hurts truths. In this connection we might note that if we have such grief from conscience or perception of truth, grief caused by despair of the evils we see in ourselves, there is very real hope that the Lord is even then removing those evils, for grief from recognized evil is a sign that evil is being vastated. We must have some good if we are sorry for our evils.**
     * AC 4496.
     ** AC 6559: 2.
     All the grief we have described so far is the grief of the dove. The grief of the good man oppressed by initiation into the life of good, grief caused by evils as painfully they are removed; grief that comes from assaults upon good loves.
     But there is also the grief of the bear. This grief comes from assaults on evil loves. It is the grief that punishes devils in hell. It is the grief caused by envy, the love of self or the love of the world; the grief which springs from seeing others have more than us; the grief of self pity; the grief which denies the mercy of God, yea, even God Himself, and is lost to unreconcilable sorrow over fate's unfair dealings. It is angry grief, the growl of the bear.
     Evil men have no conscience. They cannot be regenerated. Yet at times their grief appears to be from conscience. Of this we read: "Sometimes these persons seem to feel a pain as of conscience, but it is not conscience. It is a pain arising from the loss of their delight, such as that of honor, gain, life, pleasures, or the friendship of people like themselves, and this because the terminations are in delights like these."*
So also these evil men can appear merciful:

     "Mercy sometimes shows itself in the evil, who are in no charity; but this is grief on account of what they themselves suffer, for it is shown to their friends who make one with them, and when their friends suffer, they suffer. This mercy is not the mercy of charity, but is the mercy of friendship for the sake of self, which regarded in itself is unmercifulness; for it despises or hates all others besides itself, thus besides the friends who make one with it."**
     * AC 5145: 4.
     ** AC 5132: 2.

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     From all these examples of the causes of grief it becomes apparent that grief or its close facsimile appears with both the evil and the good. Is it possible to judge as to the nature of grief?-in ourselves, in others. The only possible way to judge the nature of grief is to judge the nature of the love assaulted which causes it. Such judgment is spiritual judgment, and we cannot exercise such judgment upon others. But in ourselves we can to a limited extent do so; indeed we must. For if we do not judge the nature of our grief its use in us may become perverted. If, for example, we dwell on our grief, refusing to leave it and return to the uses of the world, we would be indulging selfish loves. If we remain in states of grief we cannot enter into the states which grief is trying to introduce. If we are hopeless, then God can give us no hope. If we have despaired, we can never find strength. It is the grief of the bear that seeks to remain with us; the grief of the dove finds solace.
     But what is it that in the end will lead us out of grief? What is our help in despair? As the Psalmist has said, when the heart is overwhelmed, it is the rock that is higher than man which will give him comfort.* Doctrine is the answer to grief. Truth is the remedy which leads men to the happiness that grief introduces. For example, grief at the death of a loved one finds comfort only in the truth of doctrine which announces clearly that that loved one is not dead, but is risen. This truth alone can wipe away the tears from our eyes. It alone can lead us through the valley of the shadow of death. If we ever turn from it to the false appearance that death is the end of life rather than the beginning of new life-life more perfect in every way than earthly life-our grief can become unconsolable. We dwell in the self pity which our grief imposes upon us. We delight in the forced attention of others which our grief demands, rather than seeking usefulness and the attention of service to the neighbor which brings true happiness.
     *Psalm 61: 2.
     But truth and doctrine are cold in themselves. Unless we couple truth with the love which it expresses we may still fall victim to uncontrolled grief. So it is that hope and trust in God is the true remedy for our grief. If we really believe that God has the power to remove the evils and falsities which are causing our anguish, He can do so. He can "wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall labor be any more; for the former things are passed away."*
     * Revelation 21: 4.
     Let us remember the true use of grief. Let us realize that God in His wisdom has allowed us to suffer spiritually because He sees that by our grief we can be elevated above our evils into the bliss of heaven.

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Yet at the same time let us remember that even angels grieve over evil, and let us never be ashamed of sorrow which arises from this source. If we have hope in the Lord, and if our loves are good, our grief will strengthen us. Our hope in the Lord will sustain us, and we will rise from our tears into new life, stronger from confirming what is good in us.
     Let us shun the grief of the bear-the grief of the natural man which arises from assaults on selfish loves-even as we accept the necessary grief of the dove which elevates us out of our evils into the rational good of the spiritual man, into the bliss of heaven. We are frail mortals. Within us are both the bear and the dove, both the selfish and the unselfish; but the one may, if we trust in God, prevail over the other. We can find happiness. "We roar all like bears, and sore mourn like doves."
TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO 1968

TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1968

     In October of 1768 a clergyman sent a letter to the Consistory of Gothenburg. This country parson, the Rev. Anders Kollinius, might have prepared this little epistle for the sole purpose of causing embarrassment to the Consistory, which had once reprimanded him for contemptuous conduct.* He well knew that members of the Consistory, including the Bishop, had been friendly to Swedenborg and had received copies of the Writings. And so, perhaps with a mischievous smile, he requested that "the Bishop and the members of the Consistory, as the most competent judges in theological matters, would enlighten the clergy, as to how far the Writings of Swedenborg are really objectionable; so that in case these writings contain merely innocent theological problems, a mistaken zeal may not raise up heaven and earth against them; but in case they really militate against, and present as irrational, the evangelical doctrine in the form in which it is explained from God's Word in our symbolical writings, it may be looked upon as a real crime, at least in those who exercise the function of teachers, to seek to imbue others with the religious principles of Swedenborg."**
     * See New Church Life, 1910, 9. 224.     
     ** Docu. II: 284.
     Such a letter did not really disturb the Consistory. It asked Dr. Beyer to draft a reply at his convenience, and he did so four months later.

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Besides the Bishop there were only eight members, who met at least once a week. They had their problems to deal with. During the twenty years between 1755 and 1775 no fewer than 137 clergymen were charged with various offenses.* This included more than half of the clergymen in the diocese! There seems to have been considerable rivalry and hostility among the clergy; indeed among members of the Consistory itself. And as we shall later see, it was really personal rivalry and hatred that sparked the Gothenburg Trial. The memorial of Kollinius only provided the fuel.
     * See the statistics in New Church Life, 1910, p. 155.
     Of the nineteen letters from Swedenborg to Dr. Beyer only one is dated 1768. This letter, written on October 1, indicates the lack of opposition to the Writings in Gothenburg at that time.

Highly honored Reverend Herr Doctor:

     By Captain Magnus Sjogard I am sending off a copy of the work on Conjugial and Scortatory Love which has just come out. If the work is desired by anyone in Gothenburg, enclosed in the copy will be found a slip, where it can be obtained on payment here in Amsterdam, and as soon as I receive notice thereof, they will be sent off at the first opportunity. The address where I am living will be found on the slip.
     With my respectful greetings to the Herr Bishop, Dean of the Cathedral Ekebom, Burgomaster Petterson, and to Dr. Rosen

I remain, with constant affection,
the highly honored Herr Doctor's
obedient servant and friend,
Em. Swedenborg"'

     Petterson, mentioned in the above letter, was not a member of the Consistory. He was the Chief Magistrate and also the Recorder of the City of Gothenburg. The Dean of the Cathedral was Olof Ekebom. In five months time he would be the one to cry "heresy," and to carry forward the suggestion made in October, 1768, that it might be considered "a real crime . . . to seek to imbue others with the religious principles of Swedenborg."*

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     * Letters and Memorials, P. 644.
HONESTY 1968

HONESTY       KENT HYATT       1968

     (Delivered at the Commencement Exercises of the Academy schools, June 14, 1968.)

     Today I am going to offer some thoughts on what it means to be a New Church man in the old church world. In the world, but hopefully not of the world. What are some of the problems that face us because we are New Church, and what are some of the problems we do not have because we are New Church? I will dwell primarily on the matter of honesty.
     Every one of us has contacts outside of the church-some more, some less. Most of you who are graduating today will now or within the next few years be having greatly increased association with people who are not New Church. In telling you of some of my experiences, I do not want to imply anything particularly important. It is my hope that much of what I have to say has general application, wherever you may go from here.
     When you do meet and associate with people outside the church, what are they like? In spite of alarming crime rates, loose morals and a multitude of other things you hear and read about, I believe you will generally find them to appear to be decent, honorable and dependable people. Unless you know them very well, they may not appear to be different from New Church men. Many of them recognize that satisfaction comes from doing a good job day in and day out, apart from pay. Many work harder than necessary to earn their pay, without any hope of more money or promotion.
     Of course, there are exceptions, but the large majority seem to hate a liar, do not want to do harm to anyone, believe in the Golden Rule and claim or admit to a belief in a God. Apparently they accept the challenge in our lesson from the Word "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God."* In other words, they at least give evidence of being in natural charity.
     * Micah 6: 8.
     But let us look a little more closely at this question of honesty. Outright lying is abhorred. Most people seem to consider themselves honest and are highly insulted by any implication that they are not. For the most part they subscribe to the code that honesty is the best policy, which may be fairly good from the viewpoint of practical dealings among people.

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But how about when the day comes that honesty does not seem to be the best policy in a particular instance?
     Standards of honesty vary greatly, even among those who claim to be scrupulously honest. I recall two men recounting with relish the tactics they had used as boys to get into Franklin Field without paying to see the University of Pennsylvania football games. When someone suggested that this was dishonest, one of the men seemed genuinely puzzled, and explained that they took nothing from anyone. It was just an innocent boyhood game. He apparently saw nothing dishonest in it, and after further discussion he concluded that the one who had raised the question "just didn't understand." He loudly proclaimed that he would stack his integrity against anyone's.
     If you look closely, there is much evidence of loose standards of honesty. I am convinced that among people who become quite incensed at the idea of one individual stealing from another, there are many who are quite willing to steal a little bit from a big corporation, or the federal government, or a rich person who "will never miss it." "What he doesn't know won't hurt him" is a common expression. The expense account form is commonly referred to as the "swindle sheet," and all too often, I am afraid, the reference is at least partially accurate. Many employees' homes are stocked with pencils, scotch tape and other small items that they just happen to take home.

     There is an obvious need for improved standards of honesty in the world, and many outside of the church as well as within the church recognize this. It is sometimes said that what is needed is intellectual honesty-honesty in thought and intent as well as in word and act. This kind of honesty is appreciated even by some who recognize no Divine authority in the Ten Commandments.
     To a New Church man the question of honesty has to be one of right or wrong rather than "what is the best policy?"; or, as it is commonly rationalized, "will it hurt someone?" This latter implies that one needs to know the effects of words and deeds, which obviously requires wisdom. The New Church man also needs wisdom to determine right and wrong. The two approaches may appear to be similar, but they are not. One is based on human prudence and the ability to see and judge what is best for those concerned. The other is based on determining what the Lord's will is and on shunning evil as a sin against Him.
     Perhaps your reaction to what I have said is that you do not or will not have a problem with respect to honesty. You do not lie or cheat. This may well be true, for the most part; but it is my experience that there can be problems for the New Church man in trying to be honest, not just in the sense of temptation to be dishonest for personal gain, but first in deciding what is right, and, second, in the application.

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Sometimes you may feel confident as to what is right, but problems arise from the fact that you are dealing with people who do not understand or accept your basis. You cannot always apply or force your standards on others.

     The organization for which I work has relatively high standards of honesty in the business world. A sincere effort is made to treat employees, customers, suppliers and the communities in which it has facilities as fairly as possible. There is a definite policy of technical honesty. In part, this means that we will not make claims for a product that we do not believe to be valid. As might be expected, the application of this policy varies with individuals. Some obviously feel hampered by the policy, and they struggle to get around it. As an individual you can often ignore what you see because it is not your responsibility. But sometimes it is your responsibility, and it is not always easy to tell someone he is not being honest-especially if he is your boss! I had a boss years ago who would sometimes introduce me, even to customers, as his conscience. A common saying of his was: "It is not dishonest; it is just a little crooked."
     Tougher problems can face you when you are put in a position of authority and expected to carry out policies about which you have some basic reservations, or when problems of discipline require application of codes that differ from your own.
     A problem of honesty to which I have never found a satisfactory answer involves what is commonly referred to as "government work." For those who are not familiar with the term, it means personal work, or work done for an individual, on company time, using company materials. Individuals at the bottom of an organization can be fired for stealing, while a vice president can do the same thing with impunity. What do you do when your boss, several rungs above you on the ladder, sends down a request for personal work? If you have a satisfactory answer, I would like to know it. Actually, I do not believe that there will be a satisfactory answer until the general standards of honesty are raised.
     Another aspect of the problem of honesty is evidenced in the field of advertising. I do not wish to make a blanket condemnation of advertising; but exaggeration, misrepresentation, distortion and bias have become so commonplace that we automatically discount much of what we see, hear and read. Claims may be based on fact, or may actually be true, but all too often the claims omit so much of the truth that they can scarcely be termed honest.

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     I will do no more than mention the credibility gap in the Administration in Washington which has been so well publicized.

     In dwelling at some length on the subject of honesty, primarily with regard to temporal problems, I may have given a couple of wrong impressions. First, the basic question must be that of eternal value. We are here to prepare for eternal life in heaven; and we should act with this in mind, rather than with a view to apparent advantages or pleasures of the moment. Second, I certainly do not want to imply that being a New Church man is a handicap. There are specific instances in which, from a worldly viewpoint, it can be a handicap. Some situations can be intolerable for a New Church man that would not bother others at all. But it appears to me that the situations in which what is right is in conflict with what is wrong, even in worldly goals, are relatively rare.
     In fact, in day to day living, and in the discussion or thinking about the problems that surround us, the New Church man has a basic advantage over most other people. He knows that there is right and wrong, or good and evil, and he knows where to go to find out about them. It may take a lot of studying, and he may not come up with an answer that is entirely satisfactory to himself or to others. But this is to be preferred to the bewildering position so many people find themselves in when they believe that truth, in so far as it exists, changes with time or with man's understanding of it.
     Many examples could be cited of this enviable position in which the New Church man finds himself in facing the multitude of problems everyone encounters. Often these can be the means of stimulating one's thought, and perhaps confirming one's belief, as well as being simply problems.
     I will conclude by drawing attention to one other advantage we hold over all others in the world: the opportunity to get a New Church education, the fundamental purpose of which is to open the way for the individual to discover heavenly truth for himself. You have something no other college or secondary school graduates have. Probably no other graduation ceremony in the world has in attendance the number of parents, students, friends, administrators and faculty members in relation to graduates as we have here today. This attests to the dedication that exists in New Church education. I urge you to value it. Use it. Develop it. Support it in every way. You, the Academy, the church and the world will benefit.

     [EDITORIAL NOTE. Mr. Kent Hyatt is the elder son of Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Hyatt.

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After graduating from the Boys Academy in 1940, he attended the Academy of the New Church College for one year and then transferred to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from which he graduated in 1947, his studies having been interrupted by three years of service in the army. An automotive engineer, Mr. Hyatt is engaged in research and development for the DuPont Company in the field of combustion of gasoline and diesel fuels.]
INTERESTING HISTORICAL DOCUMENT 1968

INTERESTING HISTORICAL DOCUMENT       A. STANLEY WAINSCOT       1968

     In the Library of the Swedenborg Society there is a copy of Thomas Robinson's A Remembrancer and Recorder, published in Manchester, and in Boston, U. S. A., in 1864. Previously this volume had been preserved in the library of the Bath New Church Society. On the flyleaf is an intriguing statement in the handwriting of John Wickham Barnes, who for many years was a leading member of that Society, and who, at the Conference held in Bath in 1833, was nominated for ordination into the New Church ministry.
     The statement reads as follows:

     "In allusion to the dispute between Messrs. Clowes & Proud, I will state what I have never yet seen in print; I can vouch for the truth of every word. In the year 183[3], when the Conference met in the city of Bath, Mr. Hindmarsh sojourned with me during the week and for some days after. In a conversation I had with him respecting the Rev'd Mr. Clowes as to his not coming out of the Old Church and putting forth his great powers as a Separatist, Mr. Hindmarsh said: `In the very last interview I had with Mr. Clowes, he energetically & without hesitation made the following declaration': "Friend Hindmarsh, I now see clearly that if [I] had come forth as you & many hundreds have done, & left the Old Church, I could have done twenty times the good I have done.""

     No reference to this incident, either printed or in MS, has come to my notice since the time the above statement was written by Mr. Barnes, which was obviously either in 1864 or after.
     Despite a slight flavor of "hearsay" in regard to Mr. Clowes' declaration, there is little doubt, nevertheless, of the historical value of the document itself.
     If any reader of this journal knows of any confirmatory reference or comment on the matter, I would be grateful for details.

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REVIEW 1968

REVIEW              1968

THE SECRET PATH. By Olin Dygert. Published by the Author, Angola, Indiana, 1968. Paper, pp. 88.

     This delightful pamphlet is less the brief and partial summary of the Writings which the author considers it to be than a ranging over the broad terrain covered by the Writings which is far less random than might at first seem to be the case. Mr. Dygert describes himself as a country lawyer interested in Swedenborg, whose Writings he discovered in his mother's library at an early age; and while he presents many of the general teachings of the Writings clearly and simply, what is offered here is rather his own response to those teachings as an interested layman, and this in an easy, almost conversational style, graced with dry humor here and there, and above all practical in its conclusions.
     In this vein, and often with pithy commentary, Mr. Dygert begins with a discussion of Johnny Appleseed, that legendary figure now almost lost to the New Church, and of Swedenborg's attitude to his mission. This leads him to assemble some of the tributes paid to Swedenborg by greats and near greats; though one wonders whether some of them command in the intellectual world today the respect they did even half a century ago. However, the author's point is made-that a well-read man can scarcely avoid having heard of Swedenborg; though he offers some realistic appraisals of the first reactions of some people to the Writings. In a series of short chapters he then discusses the teaching of the Writings about the inhabitants of other planets and galaxies, with emphasis upon the things about them in which Swedenborg was interested; the philosophy of Swedenborg; the spiritual world; the three heavens, children, the rich and the poor, and governments in heaven; charity; and the men of heaven-the angels from other earths as well as our own.
     Random gleanings, not set forth in any special order but to afford glimpses of the enlightenment that may be found in the Writings, are followed by a chapter on man's guardian angels and attendant spirits. In the final chapter, from which he takes his title, the author is, perhaps, most appealing. The secret path, he says, is that of believing that all good and truth are from the Lord and all evil and falsity from hell and neither claiming merit from the one or making oneself guilty of the other by appropriating them to oneself.

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CARRIER OF LIGHT 1968

CARRIER OF LIGHT       Editor       1968


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH 0F 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.
     In referring to certain truths as yet unrecognized, the Writings remark that these can be both recognized and comprehended, provided the mind takes any interest in them; for interest carries light with it because it is from love. Provided the mind takes any interest in them! Interest is an essential ingredient in secular learning. Students who performed indifferently in a general academic course sometimes find that their comprehension increases immeasurably when they enter a specialized program in which their love is engaged, and the same becomes true when spiritual truth arouses man's love.
     There are some who find much in the Writings that is incomprehensible when they begin to read them. But if love furnishes interest, interest will bring light, and what is obscure and difficult will become clear and easy. Only, since it is in the Lord's light that we see light and thus comprehend spiritual truth, this must be a love that comes from the Lord: not mere curiosity, not intellectual delight, but the love of truth for the sake of the uses of life.
     Full understanding will not come instantly in a blinding flash of light. Nor will a man always be interested in spiritual things, for in regeneration he alternates between states of interest and non-interest, each of varying intensity. But as he persists in reading, and as the truth affects him more and more, his love of it will increase slowly but surely. As this happens, so will his interest grow; and in the as-of-self effort to understand to which his interest impels him, more and more light will be given by the Lord, and comprehension will increase.

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BY MEANS OF THE WORD ONLY 1968

BY MEANS OF THE WORD ONLY       Editor       1968

     When the existence of writings in heaven was being demonstrated to Swedenborg he saw and was able to read various samples; but, he records, he was allowed to get from them only an idea here and there. The reason was that it is not in accordance with Divine order for man to be taught by writings from heaven. He must be taught by means of the Word only; for only by means of the Word is there communication and conjunction of heaven with the world, thus of the Lord with man.
     How much more would this hold true of writings from other parts of the spiritual world! Yet the organized New Church has not been free from literary frauds-books alleged to be "writings from heaven" in the sense that their authors purported to be simply the amanuenses of spirits who dictated what they wrote. However, the matter extends also to speech. Some New Church men, perhaps misunderstanding the nature of the future celestial church, have dreamed of a second golden age in which men would again have open intercourse with angels and, presumably, would be taught things they cannot learn from the Writings; and others have been known to express the view that if only the teaching of the Writings could be reinforced by such instruction their faith would be infilled.
     But the teaching concerning writings from heaven applies also to speech with angels. We recall Swedenborg's insistence that he did not receive anything pertaining to the doctrines of the church from any angel, but from the Lord alone while he was reading the Word; and that no angel had wished, and no spirit dared, so to instruct him. It is the teaching of the Writings that mediate revelation, which is effected through the Word; surpasses immediate revelation through spirits; and that far from man being more enlightened and becoming wiser through speech with spirits and angels, the reverse would be the case. Only enlightenment by means of the Word is effected by an interior way, wherefore the Lord teaches and leads by means of the Word only.
KINGDOM GROWING SECRETLY 1968

KINGDOM GROWING SECRETLY       Editor       1968

     We are assured by the Lord that they who are persecuted for the sake of justice receive the kingdom of heaven and are therefore blessed. Yet how the kingdom enters into his mind and is built up there is beyond man's understanding, and the process itself is outside of his perception. Man does not comprehend how the knowledges he has acquired from the Word grow into the truths of faith, or how these in turn yield those goods of charity which, as the bread of heaven, nourish his spirit unto everlasting life.

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Nor is he aware of these things happening within him, even whether they are happening. Until the regenerate man enters the spiritual world by death, he cannot reap the harvest from what has been implanted and brought to fruition by the Lord within him; cannot be certain, indeed, that there will be a harvest.
     Therefore the Lord also likened the kingdom to a seed growing secretly, saying: "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how." This parable describes the upbuilding of the kingdom, and it will be observed that there are two ideas in it: the work that man does in those spiritual states which alternate with natural ones, and the secret work of the Lord in causing the seed to germinate and grow; and without both of these there will never be a harvest. The Lord's part is most secret; man can never understand how he is led by the Divine Providence from earth to heaven, for the ways by which he is led are inexplicable and beyond his ken.

     However, it is not necessary for man to know! As the Writings observe, it is enough for him to know how to plow and harrow the earth, to sow the seed, and when he reaps his harvest to bless God. But this "enough" is essential! Without man's as-of-self co-operation the harvest willed and provided for by the Lord, which is His harvest, will never ripen. In truth, it is the Lord Himself who is the sower; but since He gives man to act as if of himself, man is here said to sow the seed. The man of the church must believe from doctrine, because he cannot feel it in himself, that all the good he thinks, wills and does is from the Lord, not from himself; but he must think, will and do it as if of himself, acknowledging that it is from the Lord, and this he must do faithfully, diligently and patiently.
     One additional quality is called for, however, and that is the quality of perseverance. In view of the fact that man cannot know his state of regeneration with certainty, cannot know beyond a doubt that he is even in a regenerating state, he must persevere through the cycles of his life in preparing the soil, sowing the seed and tilling the ground, with trust in the Lord and confidence in His secret leading. Having once begun, he must go on without flagging, believing that if he but perseveres in the work entrusted to him, the Lord on His part will do in secret that which will regenerate him and bring him to an everlasting harvest. Therefore the Lord also said to His disciples: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God"-a teaching that will be considered next month.

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WRITINGS 1968

WRITINGS       FRANK S. ROSE       1968

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     Suppose a person wanted to know how many theological works Swedenborg wrote. If he consulted McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Knowledge, he would find thirteen titles listed and a note to the effect that there are "a number of minor treatises and tracts" which happen to include such works as Spiritual Diary, The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, etc. If he consulted any other reference work he would find a different list. I doubt if there are any two reference works with the same list and if there are any with a complete list. The Liturgy gives 43 titles, Potts' Concordance 45, and in Posthumous Theological Works, Vol. II there is a list which seems to contain 83! But beware. There seems to be no limit. This is why, when reference is made to the Writings, authors usually say something like this: Swedenborg wrote a number of theological works, among them the following. . . .
     Your interesting series of articles, "The Writings: A Survey," while clarifying a number of points, leaves this question unanswered. May I suggest that there is a simple way of listing the Writings that gives a very clear picture of their general outline. List the theological works published by Swedenborg and in chronological order. These were the works presented to the world as the new revelation, and although the posthumous works are of immense interest and importance, they ought to be seen in relation to the published volumes.
     How many such works of the Writings are there, then? The answer is: eighteen. (No, not 30, in spite of the Swedenborg Foundation's 30-volume Standard Edition.) These are the eighteen, with dates of publication.

1749-1756          1) Arcana Coelestia (in 8 volumes, 5 on Genesis and 3 on Exodus, published a volume a year)

1758               2) Heaven and Hell
3) The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine
4) The Last Judgment
5) The White Horse
6) The Earths in the Universe
(Taken in the order given in Lord, Preface)
1763               7) Doctrine of the Lord
8) Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture
9) Doctrine of Life
10) Doctrine of Faith

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11) Continuation Concerning the Last Judgment
12) Divine Love and Wisdom
1764               13) Divine Providence
1766               14) Apocalypse Revealed
1768               15) Conjugial Love
1769               16) Brief (or Summary) Exposition
17) Intercourse of the Soul and the Body
1771 18) True Christian Religion.

     The first six, and the next to last, were published in London. All the others were published in Amsterdam.
     There are some interesting gaps. 1757 was the year of the Last Judgment and so no works were published then. From 1759 to 1762 nothing was published, but that is when the Apocalypse Explained and a number of posthumous works were written. Most of these were evidently first drafts of works published later: De Domino in preparation for Doctrine of the Lord, De Verbo in preparation for Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom in preparation for the Divine Love and Wisdom, and material at the end of Apocalypse Explained in preparation for the Divine Providence, etc. An interesting study of this has been made by the Rev. A. Regamey called "Swedenborg au Travail" and more work could be done.
     The main point is that the unpublished works are best seen in relation to the principal series of works published during Swedenborg's lifetime. Indeed, apart from the long posthumous works, Spiritual Diary and Apocalypse Explained, the others represent about 10% of the total, in relatively small works and fragments. The impossibility of making a complete list arises from the fact that some of these fragments are so clearly first drafts of passages in published works that they can hardly be called separate works, and others are merely extracted from Swedenborg's letters. This does not mean that they are unimportant, merely that they are difficult to list and classify.
     It would help if people, in answering the question about how many theological works Swedenborg wrote, would say: "He published eighteen, and left a great many unpublished manuscripts, among them the following . . . .
     FRANK S. ROSE
     185 Maldon Road
     Colchester, England.

469


Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

     A Going-Away Banquet

     On the first of September Pastor Boyesen's service with the Stockholm Society is officially terminated, for then he enters upon his new position in England as pastor of the Colchester Society and principal of its school. But since he had to be in Colchester in July to participate in the European Assembly and in the British Academy Summer School, he and his family moved from Stockholm at the end of June.
     The members of the Stockholm Society all felt that they would like to thank the Boyesens and show their appreciation of them before the vacation rush began and while most of them were still in town. Therefore the church board decided upon June 9 as a suitable date.
     The banquet committee was composed of Mrs. Martha Carlson and Messrs. Peter Areschoug and Rolf Boley. They had the good fortune to obtain the use of Elfving Garden's homey facilities and arranged for proper service by a first-class catering firm. As soon as the participants-nearly fifty people-had gathered in the banquet ball, wine was poured, and Peter Areschoug proposed a toast of welcome to the guests of honor. At the table the traditional toast to the New Church was drunk, and this was followed by a song.
     Toward the close of the meal Peter Areachoug introduced a few speakers. The first of them, Miss Senta Centervall, one of the oldest Society members, pointed out how much the uniquely hospitable home of the pastor had meant as a central point for the life and work of the Society. This was thanks to Mrs. Boyesen's inexhaustible work as hostess, housewife and initiator. She had, indeed, been a great help to her husband in his efforts to inspire active participation in Society matters. Following this, Rolf Boley, as representative of the church board, expressed appreciation of Pastor Boyesen's work as teacher and leader and presented as a proof of the Society members' gratitude a few going-away gifts: a pair of signed tin candlesticks, a huge, exquisitely formed silver dish, and a bouquet of flowers.
     In conclusion, Peter Areachoug related the circumstances of the acquisition of the house which was to be used as the manse. His father had taken an active part in the negotiations, and when these had been well and happily concluded he wrote a little poem, which was now read. And now the time had come for Pastor Boyesen to speak. He dwelt especially on the importance of everyone attending the services of worship, and brought home how meaningful devout participation in the communal worship of the Lord is to the vitality of the Society. It was a deeply serious and thought-provoking speech. The gathering continued in good spirits in the lounge with song and music.
     SENTA CENTERVALL

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     The Rev. Douglas Taylor is making valiant efforts on the Sydney radio to spread the knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrine. One of the chief interests in Hurstville now is the response to his talks and to advertising in a Sydney newspaper. There was considerable success with a special program in honor of Helen Keller. This was a review of her book My Religion, and the talk brought sixteen requests for the book, which was offered free of charge. The best response to a single talk previously was six replies. It has been a great help to have printed copies of the talks available free.

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     We have enjoyed a most interesting series of doctrinal classes this year, the subjects being creation, the doctrine of the Word and, currently, the doctrine of charity. The pastor has been giving a class to young people on church history.
     The addresses at the New Church Day banquet dealt with ways in which the New Church faith may be applied to life: man's responsibilities to himself, to the angels and to his fellow man. The application of doctrine being the New Church life itself, this was considered an appropriate subject for the celebration of New Church Day. It was nice to see again Mrs. Aline Weatherup, who brought along a friend, Mrs. Clark.
     Talking of visitors, it is always refreshing to meet Mr. Basil Lazer, who spent an Easter vacation at Hurstville. His delight in learning from the Heavenly Doctrine, and in talking and writing about it, is infectious and stimulating. Mr. and Mrs. Bill Ansell, from the South Coast, were able to pay a visit to Hurstville also.
     A surprise visit of two young Americans was a highlight in June, Capt. Dan Ebert, U. S. Army in Vietnam and Miss Lauren Brown of Bryn Athyn. These two young people were betrothed at a private ceremony on Sunday morning, June 9. After church they joined in a delightful social gathering.
     On the social side there has been plenty of fun. A car trail brought many amusing incidents as cars followed difficult clues. Some young people from the Clarence Street, Sydney Society (Conference), joined with us for a happy day. The square dances were very enjoyable, as were the Bug Nights. Time does not permit me to explain what a Bug Night is, except that it is not what you think it is! It will be nice if we have a couple of overseas entrants in our Talent Quest in September.
     The pastor made a visit to Auckland, New Zealand, in June and found that a banquet had been organized. Held at Auckland's newest hotel, it was a great success. The theme was "Gates to the New Jerusalem." There are now more frequent visits to Adelaide, South Australia, and to isolated members. A new inquirers class has been started at Umina, north of Sydney. It is composed of people gathered by advertisements, radio talks and personal contact.
     NORMAN HELDON

     AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

     There was a very satisfactory response to advertisements in the daily papers for Helen Keller's book, My Religion. Free copies were sent to inquirers. These advertisements were timed to coincide with the display of religious books by the British Publishers Society, which included some of the Writings.
     On July 4, 1967, the Rev. Robert S. Junge and his son Kent arrived, and after meeting the Auckland members of the group flew to Hawera to stay with Mr. and Mrs. Beveridge. Then, driving north next day, they called on Mr. Hobcroft and returned to the city in time for Mr. Junge to give a talk on the General Church. Mr. Junge visited as many New Church people as he could; conducted family worship when the Bartle family was in town; and gave talks for the adults while the children illustrated their lessons. On Saturday there were about twenty-five Conference and General Church people gathered in Mr. and Mrs. Mills' sitting room to hear Mr. Junge's very wonderful talk on New Church education for young and old. This clearly showed the value of the remains stored up from infancy, and encouraged to increase through true instruction, so that students in the Academy can learn how to live according to the truths of the Word and then, returning home to their particular society of the New Church, can become mainstays of their community.
     Our second student to the Academy, Stephen Mills, has left a big gap in our group. We are, of course, happy that he is there, but we will be even happier to see him return again.
     In August, the talk which the Rev. Douglas Taylor had prepared on a previous visit was broadcast on two evenings in the "I Believe" series, which the Listener described as a collection of "Neo, Non and Anti Religious Talks."

471


The General Church theme shone with added lustre from being among such a motley assortment of man-made ideas, being the only one to regard the Lord's Word. Mr. Taylor gave a very comprehensive and satisfying quarter-hour talk. On October 4, our friend and member, Mrs. Glare (Elsie) Watson passed into the spiritual world.
     Miss Elaine Cooper visited New Zealand in September and, starting in the South Island, contacted as many New Church folk as she could while working her way north. She showed us slides and gems and talked of the correspondences of the stones and metals. Mixing business with pleasure, Miss Cooper visited jewelers and gem merchants and included some of our group in the thrill of an amphibian flight over the Hauraki Gulf and the Coromandel Peninsula to Whitianga to see more gem stones and some of the processes of manufacture. Miss Cooper's newspaper interviews helped to publicize the General Church.
     At the end of October Mr. Taylor spent another short but busy stay here. Worship on Sunday morning was followed by a lecture in the afternoon. Entitled "The Parable of Creation" it took us through the stages of regeneration and was well received by the public. Then the Holy Supper was administered in the evening. The group was augmented for the weekend by seven distant members.
     The first week in December the sermon circuit of contacts from lectures, broadcasts and advertising was commenced with fifteen weekly and four monthly receivers. Through absence, sickness and two cases of indifference the numbers have become a little fewer, but those who are interested continue.
     Mr. Fleming compiled the Christmas message, which was sent out to fifty people. A taped Christmas service was held at the Mills home and was followed by a luncheon prepared by Mrs. Mills, as was the luncheon which followed the New Year service. Mr. H. Beveridge was present at the latter, and in February we had the pleasure of his company, and also that of Mrs. and Miss Beveridge, for a few days. We also had a short but very pleasurable visit from Mr. John Acton of Bryn Athyn.
     In March Mr. Taylor brought a tape expressing the wonderful sphere of the meetings of the clergy held in Bryn Athyn in January, and slides of some of the people at the meetings, views of the cathedral, the Academy buildings, and the surrounding countryside. The two classes on the messages to the seven churches, from Revelation, brought us up to Pergamos and the states of regeneration represented therein. These were followed and discussed with interest. The sermon on Sunday described the degrees leading up to the glorification of the Lord, and the service was well attended. The Holy Supper was administered early that afternoon so that distant visitors could attend. Our thanks go to the General Church for these inspiring visits.
     RAY TUCKEY

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO

     The Carmel Church Society enjoyed a busy, useful and eventful 1967-1968 season. In the fall-immediately, it seemed, after our day school re-opened and classes and meetings resumed-the happy hustle and bustle of preparing for an Assembly was upon us, for in October we were hosts to the Eastern Canada District Assembly. It was the first Assembly over which Bishop Acton presided in his new office. His obvious delight in the performance of this duty and the presence of his gracious wife set the tone of the Assembly. Professor and Mrs. Richard Gladish, also honored guests, added greatly to everyone's enjoyment of the Assembly. Professor Gladish was the entertaining and informative speaker at the banquet which concluded three full days. There were three sessions, at which Bishop Acton, the Rev. Harold Cranch and the Rev. Geoffrey Childs delivered inspiring addresses. Meals enjoyed together in the church hall, a dinner-dance on Saturday evening, and open houses before the banquet provided ample time for friendly chatter-an important part of all Assemblies.
     In April we were busy hosts again, this time to the Annual Meetings of the Sons of the Academy.

472


These meetings were well attended, partly due, perhaps, to the fact that the president of Theta Alpha called a special meeting which was attended by 73 women in our adjoining school rooms while the men were holding their business meeting in the church hall. This gave the women of the Society an opportunity to entertain many women from other centers while the men were entertaining Sons. It was the first visit to our new community for some of our guests. It is always a delight to conduct a "first timer" on the "grand tour."
     In the late fall our pastor, the Rev. Geoffrey Childs, announced his resignation as he had accepted a call to be pastor of the Detroit Society. Mr. Childs has been our pastor for twelve eventful years, during which time he shepherded the Society through the sale of its old property in town, the building of a new church and school, and the opening of our new community. The Childs family were the pioneer dwellers in Caryndale, being the only residents the first summer. We have watched their lovely family grow from babies to teenagers while attending our day school, and Helga and the children have been a lively part of our Caryndale community life. If one looks out on the roads, lawns or fields surrounding our community, one is sure to see at least one Childs at any hour of the day. Needless to say we will miss them all when they go in September, and they will always hold a very fond spot in our memories of these developing years of our Society. This year we tried to express this feeling to the Childs, in spring as our activities drew to a close for the season and Mr. Childs had his last classes and meetings with us. The Sons, the Women's Guild and the school children each presented gifts to try to express our affection. Our last gifts, goodbyes and good wishes will be given at a farewell banquet in August.
     In December we enjoyed a short, delightful visit from Bishop Pendleton. He came to lead us in the call of a new pastor. At an open house following the special Society meeting we were happy to hear the Bishop announce that the Rev. Frank Rose had accepted a call to be our new pastor. We look forward to welcoming the Roses at the end of August, and to beginning a new era in our Society. Each pastor, because of his special abilities, loves and understanding of the Writings, tends to emphasize different uses or phases of society life. Thus we look forward to the broadening of our uses under Mr. Rose's leadership.
     We were fortunate to have many visiting ministers during this past season. The Rev. Ormond Odhner delivered a much enjoyed talk at our Swedenborg's birthday banquet. The Rev. Kurt Asplundh preached the Sunday of the Sons' Annual Meetings. The Rev. Robert Junge gave a Friday doctrinal class in May and preached on Sunday. The Rev. Norbert Rogers gave a talk to the Society about his work while on a visit here to meet with the Theta Alpha women who act as Religion Lessons teachers. The Rev. Norman Reuter was the speaker at our New Church Day banquet, and Candidate Christopher Smith and the Rev. Kurt Nemitz each filled the pulpit one Sunday in June while on short visits to Caryndale. We are always grateful to the Rev. Henry Heinrichs, who conducts services while our pastor is away on vacation or at other times if a need for his services arises.
     This year we were delighted to welcome three new families into our Society. The Henry Weibe family moved here from London, Ontario, in August, in time for September school opening. Their new house was built rapidly and they moved into it in time to celebrate New Year's Day in Caryndale. The Erdman Hendricks family moved to Kitchener from Toronto in the fall and hope to build a home on their lot in Caryndale in the near future. In April, Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Allan and their four children were baptized into the New Church at a Sunday morning service. We welcome the presence of these people at our services, classes and functions.
     We are happy to report that the steady growth of our community continues. Last August the new extension of Chapel Hill Drive was begun and now boasts two houses. Five families have moved into new homes since we reported last summer. Our numbers now stand at 20 homes (three containing apartments) and 95 Caryndale residents.

473


We have great hopes that we will pass the 100 mark in the coming year as a number of people are looking forward to building in the near future.
     RITA K. BRUECKMAN

     TORONTO, CANADA

     In September, 1967, the Olivet Church entered upon a new season with but a single priest attempting to maintain the work of the priesthood in Toronto. For the previous three years, years in which uses and responsibilities were multiplied, there had been two priests here. If, as this report will indicate, the essential uses of Divine worship, doctrinal instruction, New Church education, missionary activity and distinctive social life have been maintained in the Olivet Church, it has been only through the heroic efforts of our pastor, the Rev. Harold C. Cranch.
     During the period covered by this report-September 1967 through May 1968-Sunday services have included a series of sermons on Genesis. The first service of the month has presented a series of sermons on basic doctrines suitable for newcomers, thus satisfying the commanded use of missionary work while meeting the needs of the members. At Thanksgiving, Christmas and Palm Sunday, family service was held, with the children remaining for the whole of the service. The sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered following Christmas and at an evening service on Good Friday, also mid-quarterly at early morning services. Average attendance through February, exclusive of festival services, was 152. Services under a lay reader had to be held on three occasions with an average attendance of 101.
     The Christmas tableaux service, with the usual worship in the chapel, solemn procession to the hall to "see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us," and a succession of scenes concerning the birth of the Lord, ended with an innovation. The pastor in his robes presented to our children from the church gifts ranging from the soft wool ball for infants through gifts such as a stuffed toy lamb, a story book, a Bible, and so on-all gifts designed to promote the uses of the church.
     Members of the Society enjoyed attending the Eastern Canada District Assembly, held this time at Caryndale, with the Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton presiding.
     The Society doctrinal class, held on Friday evenings and preceded by a "feast of charity," has presented series of classes on worship and ritual, evangelization, and the Doctrine of Life; also a series of eight missionary classes on comparative religion today, designed also to satisfy the more advanced needs of members. Average attendance has been fifty-eight. These evenings also include the singing practice, which has received increased attention with emphasis on mastering material in the new Liturgy.
     Other classes included the high school young people's class under the leadership of the pastor, although, because of the removal of priestly assistance, the leadership has been given mediately through a layman as instructor for 75% of the classes. This group has considered the faith of the New Church in its universal form, the meaning of John's vision of the New Jerusalem, and the doctrines concerning the Lord, the Second Coming, the spiritual sense of the Word, regeneration, conjugial love and the life after death. Attendance has averaged 87%. Special attention has been given to promoting the love of New Church social life with the young people. The pastor has given classes to the young married people on the importance of religion in marriage.
     The Philosophy Reading Group has met to consider New Church philosophy of history. Theta Alpha and the Ladies' Circle have continued to meet in alternate months to support their respective uses and to be addressed by the pastor on the elementary school curriculum and on apparent contradictions and falsities in the Word. The Forward Sons at their monthly meetings, after dining, have enjoyed papers by the members on such subjects as earthly government, sex education, and the approach of the General Church to missionary work-an address by the pastor. A joint meeting with the Kitchener Sons was held in February.

474



     The Olivet Day School opened with an enrollment of thirty-four pupils in eight grades, and a new teacher, Mrs. Norman (Selma) Hiebert in the intermediate room, joining Miss Sylvia Parker in the junior room and Miss Barbara Charles in the senior room. In March the ninth grade students made their annual week's visit to Bryn Athyn, where they attended classes at the Academy and became acquainted with the Society.
     Special visits from members of the priesthood have again provided highlights in recent months. Although last in time, we must place first the visit of our beloved Bishop De Charms who, with Mrs. De Charms, came in May to give a doctrinal class on morality, to address the annual Sons' Ladies Night, and to preach on Sunday on preparation for the Holy Supper. The preceding weekend we were visited by our former pastor, the Rev. Martin Pryke, in his official capacity as Executive Vice President of the Academy. Mr. Pryke, who was accompanied by Mrs. Pryke, addressed the Society on aspects of the Academy and preached on Sunday on the subject of the potter's vessel (Jeremiah 18). The annual celebration of Swedenborg's birthday was addressed by the Rev. Ormond Odhner, on the nature of Swedenborg's inspiration. Mr. Odhner also preached on the subject of the Paraclete.
     Society social life has included a dance, "Centennial Capers," in November, celebrating one hundred years of Canadian nationhood; a family Christmas party; a delightful dinner party in December at which our pastor and his family played hosts to the whole Society; a games night; and a gala New Year's Eve dinner served a la carte by the young people under the direction of Miss Korene Schnarr.
     Under the leadership of the pastor and the Executive Committee, the Society is looking to planning for developments in the next quarter century, for to neglect long-range planning as far as it is possible would be foolish indeed. The Olivet Church is the third largest society of the General Church; it is the largest society operating and successfully managing a school in a large metropolitan area; and it needs thoughtful planning lest the pressure of metropolitan existence should compromise its uses. Although the loss of priestly assistance has been keenly felt, uses have thus far continued to be sustained. We trust that they will be sustained if the members co-operate with the Divine leading, using that proper prudence concerning which the Writings state: "If, therefore, you wish to be led by the Divine Providence, use prudence as a servant and minister who faithfully dispenses the goods of his master. . . . This is the prudence with which the Divine Providence acts as one" (DP 210). To do this is simply to acknowledge in thought and will the teaching of Scripture: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."
     JOHN RAYMOND

     DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA

     The Durban Society began the year with what was probably the most successful New Year's Eve dance yet. Our excessive summer heat was not felt because a huge marquee was erected in the school playground, and the sides were rolled up to let in the cool night air. The whole marquee looked most festive with the dance floor in the center, festoons of balloons, and candles on the tables. The "live hand," organ and drums, made the evening go with a swing. A luscious supper was laid out at eleven o'clock, and one was tempted to eat far too much. The revelries reached their pitch at midnight, when Auld Lang Syne was sung with great glee.
     On Wednesday, March 27, the Durban Epsilon Society sponsored another public lecture, this time on the subject of the Divine Providence and entitled "Why Does God Allow Evil?" It was held in the Mayor's Parlor of the City Hall. The total attendance of 66 included 29 visitors. The Rev. Daniel Heinrichs gave an excellent address in a way that was very much to the point and easily understandable for strangers. The discussion afterwards was very encouraging; many visitors asked leading questions.

475


They did not comprehend that the Lord permits evils so that man may be in freedom; that the Lord, who is love itself, cannot break His own laws, for love is a law unto itself; or that when evil exists God has control, but permits evils that in some way can be bent to good use. Afterwards members mixed with the visitors over tea, discussing many of the difficulties. Mr. Heinrichs is to be congratulated on a successful lecture.
     Janelle (Schuurman) Cranch's visit to her family and the Durban Society was a very happy one. When her husband, Walter, arrived the social committee gave them a reception at the Maurice de Chazal home, which was decorated with bowls of glorious roses and dahlias-mostly out of Renee's garden. Deryck van Rij welcomed the couple on our behalf and said that we all rejoiced in their happiness. Walt replied with a warm speech and said that he was very happy to be in Durban. Janelle and Walt stayed for another month before returning to Glenview. They were entertained day and night by their friends here and saw a great deal of our country. Walt was most favorably impressed with all he heard and saw.
     The New Church Day celebrations began on June 14 with the children's banquet. It lasted for one hour, which was just right-especially for the little ones, who enjoyed it thoroughly. Eight little people sat at the head table with the Rev. and Mrs. Heinrichs: Dale and Deborah Johnson, Warrick Schuurman, D'Renee Waters, Hylton de Chazal, Wayne Miller, Clinton Cockerell and George Elphick. Each gave a short, clearly heard speech; the speeches being interspersed with toasts and songs, the singers including two groups of Kainon School children who sang Hebrew anthems and a quartet consisting of Gillian Simons, D'Renee and Pam Waters and Marlene Cockerell. Mr. Heinrichs, as the toastmaster, felt that he had no need to add anything to the children's splendid efforts, and he brought the evening to a close with the singing of "Our Glorious Church."
     On Sunday night, June 16, tableaux were presented by Mrs. Ed Palmer in a praiseworthy manner. Simple and effective, they depicted Swedenborg's experiences in the spiritual world, first showing him receiving his inspiration from the Lord while reading the Word. The supporting music was beautiful and lent color to the themes, while Mr. Don Ridgway was clear and inspiring as the narrator. The tableaux were very impressive and gave good pictures of some of the Memorable Relations suitable for New Church Day.
     The June Nineteenth banquet was a joyous and thought-provoking occasion for the one hundred and four people who attended. The approach to the venue at the Ocean Terminal gave a feeling of splendor, and the red-carpeted stairway and the banquet hall presented a sense of warmth and pleasure. Those who went early stood around chatting while drinking cocktails. The four-course meal was daintily served, though the portions of chicken were so enormous that many of us wanted to take some home! The Rev. Daniel Heinrichs made, as usual, a splendid toastmaster. After giving gifts to two first-comers, Jill Cowley and Leslie Waters, he read greetings from absent friends, many of whom were from overseas. The three speakers, who included himself, were then introduced with witty remarks. Mr. Don Ridgway and Mr. Robert Mansfield gave fine papers on "The Home" and "The School," respectively. Mr. Heinrichs' subject was "The Church." He pointed to the importance of a unifying triangle with the church at the top and the home and the school at the other angles: the home and school looking to the church and to each other, and the church looking to both; each with the same thought and teachings from the Word, and not-as is so general these days-separating the home, the school and the church into three distinct functions, more than likely contradicting the teachings of one another, causing insecurity of life and social upheaval among the young. It is noteworthy that five of our menfolk entered into the discussion. Mr. Heinrichs brought the banquet to a close at 10:45 p.m., with a toast to the Church.
     The Relocation Committee has been working very hard and with great patience, for there have been many delays.

476


The Berea Planning Committee held up any possibility of selling our present property for months and months. When at last the planning was passed, the Relocation Committee lost no time in entering into firm negotiations for its disposal. So far the Society has heard nothing but rumors of offers and rejections.
     The survey of the new property was almost complete in March, so it should be possible to start building the church when the architect has drawn the plans and had them approved; subject, of course, to the sale of 125 Musgrave Road. Recently the architect, Mr. John Frost, presented a series of four lectures describing the problems and methods involved in designing a church, hall and school complex. He also showed slides of the interiors of various styles of churches all over the world. The architect said that the accommodation to be built would include the church, with organ loft, vestry and recording rooms; a hall, with stage, changing rooms, kitchen and store rooms; a library; pastor's offices; school rooms with cloak rooms; playing fields, tennis courts, swimming pool; and a manse a little distance away. This complex will take into account possible developments in the next fifty years; thus enabling future planning considerations to be made in the light of the over-all development, rather than, as so often happens, in isolation.
     In the meantime the exodus to Westville has begun in earnest and is quite exciting. The Brownes, Roddas, Haygarths, John Lumsdens and Peter Busses have been residents at Westville for some time. Lately homes have been built by the Malcolm Cockerells, the Gillespies and the Willard Mansfields. A few miles beyond Westville the Wilkinsons, Frosts and Fred Parkers are well established. In August the "Pemlodor" Company_ which means Pemberton, Lowe, and Doreen Buss-will be moving to Westville. The Neil Busses hope to be next door to them by Christmas time. The Lesters are busy drawing plans. The Gordon Cockerells, Schuurmans, Adele, and the Millars have bought land there. Fifteen other people have indicated their wish to purchase sites on the church property when they are available.
     SYLVIA PEMBERTON
MOTION PICTURES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NEW CHURCH FILM COMMITTEE 1968

MOTION PICTURES AVAILABLE THROUGH THE NEW CHURCH FILM COMMITTEE              1968

     The Film Committee's library of films includes several complete 16mm sound films; also material such as silent films not yet edited into actual productions. Color sound films (16mm) include:

Water of Life
Animals of the Bible
     A Sermon in Stone (The Story of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral)
     Noah (The story of the Flood presented in pictures by students)
     The Academy: A Snapshot (The ANC College, a film by students)

     Write to: New Church Film Committee, c/o Leon Rhodes, Bryn Athyn, Penna. 19009

477


ADDRESSES UNKNOWN 1968

ADDRESSES UNKNOWN              1968

     The addresses of the following people have been unknown for three years or more. Before they are dropped from the roll, an appeal is made for word from anyone who might be able to supply information about them.

Miss Kay J. Orr
17540 Foothill Blvd.
Fontana, Calif. 92335

Mr. and Mrs. Edward T. Burton
11130 N. W. 58th Avenue
Hialeah, Fla. 33010

Sr. Joao Ubiratan de Neigrerio
Rua General Glicerio 326
Apt. 501, Laranjeiras
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Miss Marie Louis Hunt
2840 Myrtle Avenue, N. W.
Washington, D. C.

Snra. Antonia C. da Silva Lima
Rua General Glicerio 364
Apt. 1202, Laranjeiras
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Mr. Louis P. Matthias
816 N. Harvard Blvd.
Hollywood, Calif. 95023

Mrs. Gladys May
5940 N. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, III. 60600

Mr. Harry Pletcher
Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

Mr. Richard Salinas
San Lorenzo 224-2
Col. Del. Valle
Mexico, D. F., Mexico

Mr. Alfredo Max von Sydow
Rua Paula Freitas 83
Rio de Janeiro, D. F., Brazil

Mr. John J. Walker
120 Gorand Avenue
Englewood, N. J., 1763 1

     Please send any information to: the Rev. Robert S. Junge, Secretary, General Church of the New Jerusalem, Bryn Athyn, Penna. 19009.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn for Charter Day or any other occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.

478


CHARTER DAY 1968

              1968




     Announcements
     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 82nd Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Thursday through Saturday, October 24-26, 1968. The program:

Thursday Evening-College Open House and Program, Pendleton Hall

Friday, 11 a.m., Cathedral Service with an address by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson

Friday Afternoon-Football Game

Friday Evening-Dance

Saturday, 7 p.m., Banquet. Toastmaster: the Rev. Martin Pryke
NEW CIRCLE 1968

NEW CIRCLE       Editor       1968

     On July 2, 1968, the members of the General Church living in the Transvaal, Republic of South Africa, were recognized by the Bishop of the General Church as the Transvaal (Republic of South Africa) Circle of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Peter M. Buss.

481


ABIGAIL 1968

ABIGAIL       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1968


VOL. LXXXVIII
NOVEMBER, 1968
Vol. 11

     A THANKSGIVING SERMON

     "And David said to Abigail, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, which sent thee this day to meet me: and blessed be thy advice, and blessed be thou, which hast kept me this day from coming to shed blood, and from avenging myself with mine own hand." (I Samuel 25: 32, 33)

     We should bless the Lord.* This means that we should consciously call to mind what the Lord has done for us. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits."** Ingratitude on the part of the natural man is a kind of forgetfulness, a failure to reflect on what we have been given, a failure to bless the Lord. Thus we are admonished in Deuteronomy not to forget the Lord. "When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which He hath given thee."*** The gratitude and thanksgiving we owe to the Lord are portrayed in David's words to Abigail: "Blessed be the Lord God . . . which sent thee this day to meet me."
     * See AE 340.
     ** Psalm 103: 2.
     *** Deuteronomy 8: 10.
     In order to be sincerely grateful, we have to do the opposite of forgetting. We have to recall with conscious effort, each one of us personally, what the Lord has done for us in life. "When one who has been regenerated (that is, who loves his neighbor, and still more who loves the Lord) reflects upon his past life, he will find that he has been led by many things of his thought and by many of his affection."* Notice from this passage that it is not only a recalling of things he already knows. It is a kind of discovery of things which have not yet come to his attention. When he "reflects upon his past life, he will find that he has been led by many things of his thought and by many of his affection."
     * AC 4364: 2.

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     The past life of every one of us is filled with instances of being led by the Lord. The leading we have had in our past is especially a leading away from evil-many things in our thoughts and affections by which the Lord has led us, and for which we should bless Him. Even the past life of an evil and ungrateful man is full of instances of the Lord's leading. We have a striking illustration of this in no. 6484 of the Arcana Coelestia. Here was a man who epitomized ingratitude. He "had confirmed himself in the notion that nothing is of the Divine Providence." He regarded every benefit in his life as being either the result of his own intelligence or else a matter of fortune or luck. Thus he rejected the idea of blessing the Lord. There had been much in his life for which he had reason to be grateful. That the angels might see this, and that we might see it also, this man was reduced into the state of his infancy. He was taken back through his past even to that state, "and the Lord showed the angels what his quality had been at that time . . . and that every detail of his life had been led by the Lord, and that he would have plunged into the most atrocious hell if there had been even the least cessation of the continual providence of the Lord." The passage goes on to say: "This can be presented to view before the angels."
     Another specific example is given in no. 3177 of the Spiritual Diary. Here was a man who would have fallen into terrible excesses had not the circumstances of his life prevented it. The life of each one of us is an example of prevented evils. In Providence we have all been fed and sheltered by parents or guardians, and we have all benefited from discipline that has kept us from doing what otherwise we would have done.

     How greatly does the Heavenly Doctrine increase our capacity to render thanks to the Lord! For it makes us aware of many things that the Lord has done, and is doing for us, which we could not otherwise realize. It shows that in many things of affection and thought the Lord is constantly benefiting us, delivering us from evil; and we can know with certainty that if it were not for the Lord's intervention we would have gone into many evils. David knew well that if it had not been for the intervention of Abigail he would have gone into vengeful slaughter, and he blessed the Lord. The way the Lord regulates our thoughts and affections is by the agency of angels. "Angels from the Lord lead and protect man" by regulating his affections and dispersing influxes of evil that threaten him. It is said that "scarcely anyone believes that the Lord takes such care of a man"; but it is true, and it goes on continually "from the first thread of his life" and "continually thereafter."*
     * AC 5992: 2, 3.
     Evidently, then, we have all been led or delivered from many evils and dangers of which we were not even conscious.*

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Thus the Psalmist says: "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse Thou me from secret faults. Keep back Thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me."** We should be grateful for these deliverances; but we are especially interested in those deliverances in which our free and conscious choice has been kindled, and it is this that we particularly see in the story of Abigail.
     * See AC 9336: 3.
     ** Psalm 19: 12, 13
     "Blessed be the Lord God . . . which sent thee." The word, sent, is closely related to the word "angel";* and how aptly does this comely person, so notably wise, typify the angel of heaven. The employments of angels are various, but there is a general statement made about angelic societies. "In general, angels from each society are sent to men to watch over them and lead them away from evil affections and consequent thoughts, and to inspire them with good affections as far as they will receive them in freedom; and by means of these they also control the deeds or works of men by removing as far as possible evil intentions."**
     * AC 6280, 10561.
     ** HH 391.
     Abigail approaches David. She wishes to give him gifts of bread and sheep and grain, raisins and figs. This is the angelic desire to "inspire [men] with good affections as far as they will receive them in freedom." But the primary thing is for David's wrath to be turned away, or that man may be led away from evil affections. One of the verses noted in the Writings is that in which Abigail says: "Let thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the servants of my lord." This washing of feet means to cleanse evils.* The Lord is one who washes the feet of His disciples, and His ministering angels are constantly in the endeavor to remove evil from man.
     * AC 3147: 8.
     Remarkably it is said that the angels "perceive nothing more delightful and happy than to remove evils from a man and lead him to heaven."* The delight of Abigail is evident, for she hastened to her mission, and hastening signifies keen affection.** Then it is said twice that she bowed herself down. This, we are told, is a gesture of joy; a joy most notable when she bowed herself down at David's asking to take her to wife. The name, Abigail, means "source of delight."
     * AC 5992: 3.
     ** AC 9223.
     When Abigail is engaged in her mission we read, in the King James Version, that "she came down by the covert of the hill." The word, covert, here means a "secret place," and the phrase says literally that she was in the secret place of the mountain.* The operation of angels seldom takes place manifestly. It goes on "imperceptibly," and is wholly unknown to man.** In the story the picture is given of Abigail in the secret place of the mountain, during the time in which David is talking to himself, ruminating his angry thoughts and resolving to take the most violent revenge.

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We are especially unaware of the operation of angels-and it is well that we should be-when we are absorbed with evil thoughts. The operation is there, however, working against the evil feelings and thoughts that fill our minds.
     * AC 2927.
     ** AC 5893: 3.

     Our being unconscious of the work of angels does not mean that our freedom is not involved. David must of his own free will respond to the gentle plea of Abigail. He must say: "See, I have hearkened to thy voice, and I have accepted thy person." It is said that the angels inspire men with good affections "as far as they will receive them in freedom."* This freely receiving the good affections of the angels may be seen in a more literal translation of "I have accepted thy person." It reads: "I have received thy faces." The face is the index of the affections, and the face signifies the affections. Recall that in the process of resuscitation of the dead, the angels wait until they see that their thoughts are received by the man, and that his sharing of thoughts is effected by looking into the face.** The faces of all angels are beautiful, being formed from the good of love and characterized by innocence.*** Abigail with her beauty of countenance aptly represents this.
     * HH 391.
     ** HH 449.
     *** AC 3080.
     It is said that the angels take great delight in leading man from evil affections and inspiring good affections. But what of the man involved? To be dissuaded from something we intended to do, or from certain thoughts and feelings, can often humiliate us. But is it not true that it can be eminently delightful? Actually, one of the highest delights to be experienced is associated with the feeling that we are not our own masters. This is the delight of innocence. "Because innocence is the inmost in all the good of heaven, it so affects minds that when it is felt by anyone-as when an angel of the inmost heaven approaches-he seems to himself to be no longer his own master and is moved, and as it were carried away, by such a delight that no delight in the world seems to be anything in comparison."*
     * HH 282.
     Innocence is a willingness to be led. When we are willing to be led, it means that we are willing that our affections may be changed. For that is what leading is. The Lord leads us by an influx into the affections.* "Spirits who desire to direct themselves suppose that this would be to lose their own will, thus their freedom, consequently all delight, thus all life and its sweetness.

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This they say and suppose because they do not know how the case really is; for the man who is led by the Lord is in freedom itself, and thus in delight and bliss itself. Goods and truths are appropriated to him. Goods and truths are appropriated to him; there is given him an affection and desire for doing what is good, and then nothing is more delightful to him than to perform uses."* Abigail comes, laden with good things.
     * AC 6325.

     How aptly, then, does the story itself picture the joy of being delivered from evil! For was it not a pleasure for David to give in to this lovely person? And were not her words and her advice so evidently wise that David could see that what he would have done was sheer foolishness? Why pursue Nabal, whose very name means foolishness? When we see the quality of the evil loves that we may have cherished in the past,* we are thoroughly relieved and grateful. "Blessed be the Lord that hath kept His servant from evil."
     * On David's anger towards Nabal see SD 2618.
     Abigail became David's wife. When in temptation we resist evil and falsity we are given a permanent association with an angelic society. And in those who are being regenerated, those who make the Lord's harvest, this happens repeatedly with ever more interior heavenly societies, "and into whatsoever societies [the man] has once been introduced, he there remains."* Abigail continued with David as one who is willing to wash the feet. The angels with whom we are associated become a guard for us against certain evils, always ready to help us in so far as we are willing.
     * AC 6611. Cf. AC 8367: 2.
     This teaching about the benefit we receive through angels is a marvelous one indeed. And we may reflect that every time we have been enabled to turn from evil affection to good affection of our own free will we have genuine reason for gratitude; even if this means something as small as foregoing a cutting word, for cutting words are foolish and the affections behind them are to be rejected. We pray, as in the Psalm: "Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth; keep Thou the door of my lips. Incline not my heart to any evil thing."*
     * Psalm 141: 3, 4.
     It is our prayer that the Lord will continue to cleanse us from secret faults, to hold us back from proud things. And for every good love we experience, for every truth that enlightens us, we will gratefully bless the Lord. "Blessed be the Lord God . . . which sent thee this day." Amen.

     LESSONS: I Samuel 25. Psalm 19. Arcana Coelestia 5992: 2, 3.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 577, 483, 509.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy nos. 46, 103.

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YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD 1968

YET I WILL REJOICE IN THE LORD       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1968

     A Thanksgiving Talk to Children

     In one of the shorter prophetical books of the Old Testament we find words that may seem strange to us at first. The prophet Habakkuk was inspired by the Lord to write: "Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."* What can this mean-that even if the fruit trees and the vines fail, the fields yield no crops, and the flocks and herds no meat, the prophet will yet rejoice in the Lord? What is the Lord teaching us here?
     * Habakkuk 3: 17, 18.
     If we think of Thanksgiving only as a time to rejoice in all that we have, to be grateful to the Lord for the many things He has given us, we shall never understand. It is true that most of us enjoy many if by no means all of the good things which life in this world has to offer. We live in free countries. We have attractive and comfortable homes, good clothes and plenty to eat. Our education is provided for, and we have recreations and friends with whom to enjoy them. All of these things really come from the Lord, although we receive them directly from our parents, our community and our country. When we think about them, we may feel that we do indeed have much for which to thank the Lord, and it is especially fitting that we should do so at this time of year.
     But suppose that things were entirely different. Suppose that your country instead of being rich and powerful was poor and weak, and that its people had little or no freedom. Suppose that your homes were drab and uncomfortable, that you had to wear the same shabby clothes until they became threadbare, that you never had quite enough to eat, and that you had few pleasures because there was no money to spare for them. Would you then have little or nothing for which to be thankful to the Lord? Of course not!

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     The Lord's aim is not to make us rich, looked up to, and powerful. Wealth, position and power are not the true blessings He sends us; and if we do not reach these goals, or grow up among them with the feeling that some day they will be ours, it would he very wrong to think that the Lord has therefore not blessed us. The Lord's real aim for us is that we should so live in this world as to become angels in His heavenly kingdom. And in the mind of every child born into the world, no matter what his outward life may be, the Lord is storing up secretly all the spiritual things he will need to bring him into heaven if he so chooses, and to prepare him to be useful and happy there forever. Also, if you were the same children that you are, you would still have the Word and the church to teach and lead you in the way to heaven; and you would still have the love and care of your parents, who from the Lord are trying to do the same thing. You would have friends who are being taught the same things, and who could encourage you as you could encourage them to work for the same goals in life.

     These are the real blessings the Lord sends, blessings that do not come to an end when we die but last to eternity. These are the blessings for which we should most truly give thanks to the Lord. For the most part you cannot see them or feel them. But you can know from the Word that they are being given to you every day; and if you believe this, you will want to give thanks to the Lord from the heart.
     So when you count your blessings at Thanksgiving, do not think only of the good things of this world that have been given to you. To do that can be dangerous. If you think that these are the Lord's blessings, and know that you have received much more of them than others, you may come to feel that the Lord must love you more than others because He has given you so much more; and that is not the case at all. It may make you selfish. It may keep you so busy thinking how fortunate you are that there will be no time for thought and concern about those who are less fortunate; and it may fill you with feelings of pride and gratification rather than of humility and gratitude to the Lord. Also, it may give you the false idea that success in life is to be measured in terms of money, position and influence rather than in terms of a good and useful life, and thus cause you to direct your ambitions and energies toward the wrong goals.
     On a certain occasion the Lord said to His disciples: "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."*

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At another time He said: "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you."** These are the teachings that should guide you in deciding what should be valued most and therefore in setting your goals in life, and they are also teachings that you should be thinking of when you are trying to make up your minds as to the real blessings which the Lord sends you.
     * Matthew 6: 19-21.
     ** John 6: 27.
     Now, perhaps, we can understand better those seemingly strange words of the prophet Habakkuk, the words with which we began. It would be difficult to imagine a more desperate situation for people who live by the land, as did the people of Israel, than to be without figs, olives, grapes, grain and meat. Yet if you will think about what has been said, you should be able to see to some extent how the prophet could be led to say that even in such a situation he would still rejoice in the Lord and joy in the God of his salvation. Never think that the things of this world are of no importance at all. They are. But they come to an end when life on earth comes to an end, and they are far less important than the treasures and the meat of heaven which endure unto everlasting life. That is what the Lord is teaching us here. That is what we should have in mind when we count our blessings at Thanksgiving. And it is important that we should do this. For, remember: "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Amen.

     LESSON:     Habakkuk 3: 1-6, 17-19.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 571, 574, 578.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C16, C20.
LAW AND JUSTICE 1968

LAW AND JUSTICE              1968

     "The law which is justice ought to be enacted in the realm by persons skilled in the law, wise, and who fear God; then both the king and his subjects ought to live according to it. The king who lives according to the enacted law, and in this precedes his subjects by his example, is truly a king.
     "There ought to be obedience to the king according to the laws of the realm, nor should he be injured by any means either by deeds or words; for on this the public security depends' (Heavenly Doctrine 323, 325).

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BEAUTY 1968

BEAUTY       Rev. LORENTZ R. SONESON       1968

     One of the more difficult words in the English language to define is "beauty." One reason is that it is often misused. Another reason for its elusiveness is that the quality of beauty appears to be relative: what is beautiful to one person is ugly or distasteful to another. Beauty also seems to be a cultivated taste; education and training can develop the eye and the ear to appreciate the beauty in poetry, music and the arts.

     There are certain characteristics of beauty, however, that seem to be universal. If what the eye or the ear takes in brings pleasure and a deep delight, it is described as beautiful. A love is satisfied within the viewer or listener. Furthermore, the delight is heightened the more closely the form approaches order. A fine painting must satisfy the requirements of balance and composition. A piece of poetry should meet certain rules of rhythm and rhyme. A musical composition, if it is to be classed as beautiful, must of necessity follow the laws of harmony and progression.
     This requirement is readily seen by contrast. The discordant, the distorted, the chaotic, the confused and unharmonious is distasteful and undelightful. Ugliness is almost synonymous with disorder. The observer is disturbed by the lack of order, whether it appears in a poem, a painting or a piece of music. It even holds true when there is confusion and disharmony in society or in the home. A beautiful room or a beautiful friendship must first of all be orderly.
     Lasting beauty, however, must have depth. It should bear up under closer scrutiny. It is possible to adorn a woman's face with cosmetics, bringing out and highlighting the inherent natural beauty if it is there to begin with. But the eye looks deeper than the surface. The truly beautiful woman will radiate an inner glow that stems from something within the person. The comely face of an evil woman may be pleasing to the eye at first glance, but sooner or later the true character will betray itself in the face.
     By the same token, a good woman, regardless of her exterior features; has a way of expressing her genuineness, her sincerity, her wholesomeness to the observer. To all but the most hardened and lascivious eye a good woman is discernible through her smile, her eyes, and a facial expression that can only be described as beautiful.

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     Because the natural world is nothing more than a representation of the spiritual world the Writings have a great deal to say on the subject of beauty. We read, for example:

     "Spiritual beauty is the affection of interior truth . . . because truth is the form of good. Good itself, which is from the Divine in heaven, is that from which angels have life; but the form of their life is given by means of the truths which are from this good. And yet beauty is not produced by the truth of faith, but by the affection itself within the truths of faith, which is from good. Beauty that is from the truth of faith alone is like that of a painted or sculptured face; but beauty from the affection of truth, which is from good, is like that of a living face animated by heavenly love; for such as is the love or affection that beams from the form of the face, such is the beauty. From this it is that the angels appear in ineffable beauty; from their faces beams forth the good of love through the truth of faith, which not only appear before the sight but are also perceived from the spheres coming from them. The reason they have beauty from this is that the universal heaven is a Gorand Man, and corresponds to all things in man both in general and particular; and therefore the man who is in the good of love, and thence in the truth of faith, is in the form of heaven, and consequently is in the beauty in which heaven is, where the Divine from the Lord is the all in all. It is for this reason also that they who are in hell, being against good and truth, are horribly ugly, and that in the light of heaven they appear not as men but as monsters."*
     * AC 5199.

     This remarkable passage opens up a new understanding of what beauty really is. What meets the eyes, both of natural and of spiritual sight, is form. That form is more in order or less in order. The more in order it is, the more beautiful it appears. The classic example is nature itself. The symmetry and graceful lines of the human body, the harmony of colors in a sunset, or the resplendence of a magnificent forest-all can be called beautiful to the eye because of the order in them. The beauty of nature, untouched by man, is a perfect representation of the order in its Creator.
     But as this passage explains, the order must contain something deeper. True beauty must not only be seen, it must be felt by the emotions. The beautiful moves the heart-to joy, to humility, or to tears. The artist or composer uses his medium to express a feeling to the public through the medium of his discipline. But even this is limited, for the painted or sculptured face is as nothing compared to the living face. The animated one can reflect the love beneath it.
     The same holds true when it is the beauty of the Lord Himself that is viewed. He appears to man in the form of truth. The beauty of truth is its orderliness. But there are some who are only captivated by that order of truth and perceive nothing of its source. We are told that it is impossible to see truth really without seeing something of the good in it from which it springs.

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To see the purpose or use of a truth is to see the good in it.
     Unfortunately, there are those who fall in love with the form, but fail to see the inner purpose of truth. They love to talk about truth, to manipulate and study it, but they never come to the point of seeing its purpose. It is the same with one who loves the form of a beautiful face, but is blind to the beauty radiating from within-from the good within the form.
     We are told in Divine Love and Wisdom that "love from within shines forth in the faces of the angels, and wisdom in their beauty, and the beauty is the form of their love."* In fact, the beauty of all in heaven is a direct result of their loves. The finer the love, and the more orderly the life on earth, the more beautiful the countenance in heaven. The internals of men are there reflected in their externals, and the variety of the beauty reflected is as diversified as the kinds of loves there are.
     * DLW 358e.
     Since conjugial love is the highest of all loves, we are not surprised to read the following:

     "I saw a beauty, very slightly, and veiled as with a cloud to prevent me from seeing it; and a perception was given at the same time that it was the beauty of conjugial love. It was perceived to be such by virtue of a certain affection imparted, and scarcely anything else can be said of it than that it was beauty itself; for conjugial love, that is to say, the very essential principle of this love, gives itself the form of this superlative beauty affecting the mind to its deepest recesses; indeed all beauty is from this source."*
     * SD 4175.

     From this we can see that all beauty, wherever it appears, stems from and reflects the essence of conjugial love. Whatever is opposed to that love is ugly, however delightful it might appear to the adulterer. But the radiance of innocence in children, the splendor of harmony in nature's colors and designs, the peace and tranquillity of an ordered life-all reflect the beauty of conjugial love.
     This marvelous doctrine of beauty has many applications in our lives. Our response to what we think is beautiful is an indication of what we believe to be orderly and good. If we are blinded by overt materialism, then only those things which satisfy our loves of self and the world appear beautiful to us. We will be captivated by the so-called beauty of "things?' and possessions, rather than subordinating them to their minor usefulness to higher ends.
     The person who concentrates on beautifying the face and body, as an end in itself, is no different than the person who holds to faith alone without charity!

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But the woman who perfects her beauty both in self and in her home for the purpose of expressing conjugial love to her husband knows the real meaning of what is beautiful. She knows, too, that her love of wisdom, her pursuit of chastity, and her cleansed conscience will reflect to her mate a beauty that far surpasses any additions she can make to the beauty of her physical body.
     Everyone seeks and admires the beautiful. However, if our delight comes in seeing the beauty within revelation, then we know that we are inspired by an affection of order and truth-the essential of regeneration. When evil and falsity begin to appear ugly to our eyes and taste, then we know that our loves are coming to the point of appreciating the beauty of heaven. The man who cultivates his appetite for the disorderly loves selects that environment in the spiritual world. To him it appears beautiful; but to the angels it appears as hell itself.

     In one sense, then, beauty is in the beholder's eye. But in a larger sense beauty is what is from the Lord, and it awaits entry into the man who seeks the gift of eyes and heart from the Lord to appreciate true beauty. "Good itself when it flows in from the internal man into the external makes beauty; and from this is all human beauty."* The truly human, then, is what is beautiful. But not all men and women are human! Nature is a re-presentation of what is human, for it flows from the good in the internal man. The doctrines in revelation are both beautiful and human, for they reflect the Divine Human. Heaven is human and therefore beautiful beyond description.
     * AC 3080.
     Man's remains, given early in life from the Lord, are human and beautiful to behold. Those tender affections that occasionally rise up into our conscious life point us in the direction toward eternal beauty. They reveal to us the splendor of the Lord's Word, the genuineness of unselfish acts, and the unquestionable beauty of one man and one woman united in a common love of God. Poets, authors and artists often draw upon these deepseated remains in mankind to reflect back the beauty of what is orderly and good. These remains respond automatically to what is orderly and good, to integrity and wholesome love. It is the hells that seek to pervert our vision of what is beautiful by the appeal of the sensual-the externals without internals. By contrast, revelation presents us with the view of a beauty that is eternal, by disclosing to us the sight of heaven.
     But even if we are temporarily attracted to the form of heaven, the order of truth appealing to the understanding, we must look beneath its beautiful face for the good from which it stems. To see and feel that good in our lives is truly to see the Lord.

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     So if we are discouraged by the ugliness of the world around us, let us muster the courage to perfect a lasting beauty within ourselves that will reveal itself fully in the next world. For this is the promise of the Lord:

     "They who are in mutual love in heaven are continually advancing to the springtime of their youth, and to a more and more gladsome and happy spring the more thousands of years they live, and this with continual increase to eternity, according to the advance and degree of mutual love, charity and faith. Those of the female sex who have died in old age and enfeebled with years, and who have lived in faith in the Lord, in charity toward the neighbor, and in happy conjugial love with their husbands, after a succession of years come more and more into the bloom of youth and early womanhood, and into a beauty that surpasses all idea of beauty such as is ever perceptible to the natural sight; for it is goodness and charity forming and presenting their own likeness, and causing the delight and beauty of charity to shine forth from every least feature of the countenance, so that they are the very forms of charity. Some have beheld them and been amazed. The form of charity, as it is seen in the other life, is such that it is charity itself that portrays and is portrayed, and this in such a manner that the whole angel, and especially the face, is as it were charity, the charity both appearing plainly to the view and being perceived by the mind. When this form is beheld, it is unutterable beauty that affects with charity the very inmost life of the beholder's mind."*
     * AC 553.

     Such is the promise. The passage concludes: "Through the beauty of this form the truths of faith are presented to view in an image, and are even perceived from it. Such forms, or such beauties, do those become in the other life who have lived in faith in the Lord, that is, in the faith of charity. All the angels are such forms, with countless variety, and of such is heaven."
BRUISED REED SHALL HE NOT BREAK 1968

BRUISED REED SHALL HE NOT BREAK              1968

     "The truths of conscience are various, being according to everyone's religion; and these, provided they are not contrary to the goods of faith, the Lord is not willing to violate, because man is imbued with them and attaches holiness to them. The Lord never breaks anyone, but bends him. This may appear from the consideration that there are some of all denominations within the church who are endowed with conscience; though their conscience is more perfect in proportion as the truths which form it approach nearer to the genuine truths of faith" (Arcana Coelestia 2053).

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NEW CHURCH ATTITUDES TO RACE RELATIONS TODAY 1968

NEW CHURCH ATTITUDES TO RACE RELATIONS TODAY       GRETA L. DOERING       1968

     (Delivered at the Young People's Gathering, September 2, 1968)

     Last month NEW CHURCH LIFE came out with a very provocative editorial: "Everything finite must change or die. The ability to change is therefore one mark of a living church. . . . Change in the church for the sake of change is not good, and change originating in the belief that human prudence can care for the church better than Divine Providence is evil. Yet the states to which the church is to minister do change and the church must accommodate to those states."* In trying to meet the states of the world, then, our loyalty must be to the truths in the Writings, not to the past and the perceptions and applications of the generations before us.
     * New Church Life, July 1968, p. 354.
     What, then, do the Writings say about race relations, or, to be specific, the Negro race? Most importantly, and again I quote NEW CHURCH LIFE: "The Writings are clear that the manner and degree in which a man is the neighbor should be determined by his individual character, not by his race or color. And only the myth of intrinsic superiority buttressed by prejudice can support any other view."* On the African race itself the Writings contain no possible implications of Negro inferiority. On the contrary, all the passages quoted in the Concordance emphasize the delightful good qualities of the African. Finally, the teachings of the Writings concerning the inviolate freedom of all men before the Lord must put to an end any doubts about the essential equality of all mankind.
     * Ibid., August 1967, p. 368.
     This is what the Writings say, yet is it not strange that most of us are still caught up in the web of prejudice? Prejudice often so deep and subtly veiled that we would like to pretend it is not there. Is it not strange that despite the Writings' revolutionary concept of the Gorand Man many of us can still find no place in our society for the black man?
     When the cities burn, and rioters pillage and destroy, all of us are horrified. But, I wonder, are we more upset over our shattered peace and interrupted business than we are over the constant and continuing denial of justice to black people in our country? I would have to say, Yes.

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American journalist John Howard Griffin sees this typical white reaction as both laudable and tragic. "I, too, say, let us be peaceful: but the only way to do this is first to assure justice. By keeping `peaceful' in this instance we end up consenting to the destruction of all peace-for, so long as we condone injustice by a small but powerful group, we condone the destruction of all social stability, all real peace, all trust in man's good intentions toward his fellow man."*
     * John Howard Griffin, Black Like Me, Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1960, p. 171.
     Just what is our problem? As I see it, it is the stubborn or ignorant refusal of the white man to recognize and work within what Charles Silberman calls the "vicious circle."* If white people were to stop all discriminatory practices, this alone would not solve the Negro problem. Most of us see and realize this fact, and thus are tempted simply to toss the ball back to our Negro compatriots. We tell them to become educated, to assume the responsibilities of citizenship, and then try to enter the game of democracy. But in saying this we grossly fail to see that this assumption is the very cause of the behavior we deplore. "For as long as Negroes feel excluded from American society, they are not going to feel bound by its constraints."**
     * Charles E. Silberman Crisis in Black and White, New York: Random House, 1964, p. 13.
     ** Ibid., p. 13.
     De Tocqueville, the French historian, pointed this out two decades before the Civil War. "To induce whites to abandon the moral and intellectual inferiority of their former slaves, the Negroes must change; but as long as this opinion persists they cannot change."* This, I repeat, is the vicious circle, a circle that must be broken by acts of understanding and charity on both sides if any progress is to be made.
     * Ibid., p. 13.

     Why, today, as young New Church men and women, should we be particularly concerned with this issue? I have found three convincing reasons.
     First, as most of us are citizens in America, we must realize that our society-democratic though it professes to be-cannot long exist on the base of poverty and despair which is the ghetto. Moreover, American treatment of the Negro is regarded by many as the index of her moral capacity to lead the free world. How can we possibly expect the support of the Asian and African countries when we treat our Negroes at home as second-class citizens?
     Second, as most of us will eventually become the parents and teachers of tomorrow's young people, we must realize what a profound influence our actions will have on their concepts of integrity and justice. How can they possibly believe what we profess to be the truth if we make no effort ourselves to live that truth?

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     Third, as members of the New Church how can we deny the essence of the Judeo-Christian tradition which is brought to fruition in the truths of the Writings: the insistence on the potential worth and dignity of every human being? John Howard Griffin poignantly pictures what the white denial of that tradition means to the black man. "One can scarcely conceive the full horror of it unless one is a parent who takes a close look at his children and then asks himself how he would feel if a group of men should come to his door and tell him they had decided-for reasons of convenience to them-that his children's lives would henceforth be restricted, their world smaller, their educational opportunities less, their future mutilated."*
     * Black Like Me, p. 120.
     Finally, as the editors of the Negro magazine Ebony, write: "The great, unadmitted crime is what he (the white man) has done to himself. A man is a man, a woman is a woman, and a child is a child. To deny these facts is to open the doors on a chaos deeper and deadlier and within the space of a man's lifetime more timeless, more eternal, than the medieval vision of Hell."*
     * James Baldwin, The White Problem in America, Chicago: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc., 1966, p. 180.
Do we dare deny these facts any longer?

     [EDITORIAL NOTE: The above paper and the one which immediately follows it were written to introduce informally discussion of the subjects with which they deal. It is hoped that one or more of the formal papers read at the Young People's Gathering may be made available for publication at a later date.]
DIVINE END IN CREATION 1968

DIVINE END IN CREATION              1968

     "The end of the creation of the universe is that there may be an angelic heaven; and as the angelic heaven is the end, so is man or the human race, because heaven consists of the human race. Hence all things that are created are mediate ends and uses in the order, degree and respect that they have relation to man, and by man to the Lord" (DLW 329).

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DATING AND MARRIAGE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH 1968

DATING AND MARRIAGE OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH       BRUCE HENDERSON       1968

     Read at the Young People's Gathering, September 3, 1968.

     It may sound a bit strange that a man married for over two years-and to a New Church product at that-would look forward to a discussion of dating and marriage outside of the church. But I did. This is a legitimate issue within the church and a practical issue for most of you, and I think that a frank, open discussion could help to strengthen the church, not weaken it.
     I am grateful to have the opportunity to lead off this important discussion, though I am not sure just why I was accorded the honor. I'd hate to think it is because I'm just under that magic age of thirty and that soon you won't be able to trust me any more. Perhaps it's because I went out from Bryn Athyn and the Academy to spend my single years in such bachelor havens as Penn State and New Orleans before finding what I was looking for back at home. I suppose that is what's called getting a perspective. Anyway, if I could start writing a column for The Bride's Magazine called "One Man's Marriage" two months after we were married, I suppose I can call myself qualified enough to offer some thoughts and pose some questions for your discussion on dating and marriage outside the church.
     It was not surprising that when we polled some early registrants for suggested discussion topics, this topped the list. You might start out by asking yourselves why. That marriage is uppermost in most of your minds is normal. But why is the issue of dating and marriage outside the church so important to you?
     Again I think it is normal that many of you who have looked over the field within the church now want to know what else is available-especially since it becomes much more available when you go away to college, or just go away period. Don't rule out the possibility that you, too, may wind up back in familiar hunting grounds sooner or later, for reasons we'll get into later. First, a question we should consider is this: if you do venture across traditional New Church boundaries-especially if New Church companions are available-are you trespassing? Or do you feel as though people are going to say you are, no matter how much greener the grass looks on that side of the fence?

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Our attitudes-and the attitudes of the church as we understand them-should be an important part of this discussion.
     Quite naturally, the church promotes the idea that dating and marriage within the faith is the best way to preserve and increase the church. Any church does this, and the reasons are obvious.
     But there's no accounting for human chemistry, and let's be realistic. Let's suppose you meet a cute girl on the beach and strike up a friendship; if you enjoy each other's company, it's not immediately important if she's a Catholic, Jew or Presbyterian. Besides, for all that the closed-shop dating and marriage may be ideal, it just doesn't work for everyone-especially when the shop's so small. And we must admit that there are many realistic arguments in favor of dating outside of the church, such as:

     1) that marriage outside of the church has given us some of our best members-a point which cannot be disputed;
     2) that consequently marriage outside of the church is one of the best missionary means available-and more fun than the rest;
     3) that once you get outside the sphere of Bryn Athyn and the Academy, you discover that what we have derisively labeled as "the old church" is made up of many fine people who are just as moral, good and dedicated to the principles of their religions as you and your New Church friends are;
     4) that the field within the church is undeniably small, and you can't be expected to be a social recluse if you go away to Arizona State or Yale and there doesn't happen to be a datable New Church man within a hundred miles;
     5) that you will-or definitely should-have contact with non-New Church people for the rest of your lives, and dating them now is an excellent way to learn what the differences and similarities are: and not between Catholicism and Swedenborgianism, but between a Catholic person and a New Church man. (And I might add parenthetically that it is also an excellent way for New Church young men and women to learn to appreciate the real value of their religion.)

     I am sure that you'll be able to advance many more reasonable arguments, but I think that more pertinent to this discussion is not whether it is either permissible or advisable to date and marry outside of the church, but when it is and why. Under what circumstances might such an arrangement be useful or not useful to the individuals concerned and the church itself?

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     How about our high school students, for instance; should they be permitted to date outside of the church? You are all, hopefully, mature college students and young adults, not far removed really from those high school dating days. Do you think it best that a still maturing student should accept the structured, orderly social life, which provides a common ground to make the sometimes agonizing relationships of dating a bit easier. Or if a Lower Moreland girl catches his eye, should he be given a free hand to pursue her instead of going to the Sigma-Deka dance. When is the New Church fisherman ready to move out into the open waters with everyone else? Or should it depend on the fisherman?
     I happen to think that during a student's enrollment in the Academy- particularly in high school-it is neither fair nor sensible to date outside of the established social life. You can debate that, too, but whether or not you agree, upon what do you base your viewpoint?
     The reasoning should be positive, not negative. But is it? Are our high school students for the most part willing to accept the idea that the system is best because it is orderly for their states? Or are they given the impression that "old church" boys and girls will corrupt their innocence if they dare expose themselves, as though they had better arm themselves with doctrine before taking on the infidels stalking the borders of the church?
     I think New Church adolescents are perfectly capable of corrupting themselves-and unfortunately some feel called upon to prove it. It is not hard to do in this world. And doubtless we all could be helped in some ways by non-New Church friends. But that is not the point. What is vital-and vital to all of your discussions here revolving around the Brief Exposition and the Gathering's theme of "Accommodation Without Compromise"-is attitude, the way we feel, the why.

     This discussion on dating and marriage outside the church is, incidentally, one of the best forums you'll have for applying the "accommodation without compromise" philosophy. For nowhere is it put to a more critical test than in the close relationships of dating and marriage. And nowhere is the outcome more important. In business you can accommodate all day long without ever compromising a principle, then escape to home, but when you marry outside the church, the proving ground is home. So I hope you'll keep this viewpoint of "accommodation without compromise" central to your discussion.
     It would be well to bear in mind also that while discussion should not degenerate into individual case histories (interesting as that might be) it is difficult to generalize about this most emotional thing of all-love-when every individual is convinced that he is an exception to the what's-best-for-all routine.

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Nevertheless, consideration of the issue must ultimately be personalized if it is going to be of any benefit in your own application to life. So let's look at it briefly from the perspective of personal involvement.
     Many of you have probably already experienced dating outside of the church and found that it is not such a revolutionary experience after all. You weren't struck down by lightning, and that "forbidden fruit" may seem on the surface the same as you might find on any tree-some good, some bad, perhaps one just right. I think you'll agree that dating outside of the church in your present state has become generally acceptable within the church. Part of the reason surely is that so many of those who have married outside of the church have proven that they have not weakened the church but strengthened it with the quality of the husbands and wives they have brought to it. But without getting into personal experiences, it should be useful to discuss what general differences have been noted in dating inside and outside of the church, and what effect this should have on our attitudes toward the issue.
     Perhaps you have found more often than not in dating outside of the church that no matter how cute and refined the girl, no matter how wise and smooth the boy, they just don't have the same depth as your New Church friends. Remember that there are always exceptions, but especially in these uncertain times when we (and I hope I still qualify for your generation) are asking more and more probing questions about what we and society stand for, I think you'll find that as a New Church man you stand apart. Your basic sense of knowing what is right and what is wrong-and most importantly, why-should go even deeper than the straight-A kids in philosophy who can spout Descartes and Kant but have never heard of Swedenborg, and thus can only guess at truth.

     What I'm really saying is that marriage is just easier if both partners are already in the church. I certainly don't mean to write off non-New Church youth as forever inadequate. That's just not so, and we all know many examples that prove the point. But you definitely should have an advantage over them. If what you have in your faith is important enough to you, it may ultimately become a problem in relationships with non-New Church friends and potential partners-if you are not willing to compromise your beliefs. This is the real core of the issue of dating and marriage outside of the church.
     We know that the most basic part of what you stand for-the real you-is found in what you believe in. Fundamental to that is your belief in God. And fundamental to conjugial love is two minds conjoined in thought and looking towards God.

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     This is not to say that a couple should undergo a thorough conjugial love check-up before they're allowed to marry to assure that their beliefs are all properly attuned. But it is only common sense that the more in harmony two people's beliefs are, the more compatible they'll be. Hopefully, even Kenneth Rose will never develop a computer capable of measuring conjugial potentials, for it's much more fun to leave that up to private research. It is only right, too. We all must make our own decisions, right or wrong, for the directions we will follow in life, and the choice of who we marry is most important of all.
     Of course, nothing provokes more rationalizing than the emotionalism of love, and it is easy to overlook potential problems. But even these are no indication that a marriage would not be right. Only the individuals involved can honestly evaluate whether marriage is right for them or not. Marriage outside of the church only increases the complexity of the problem; it does not preclude it.
     So all this discussion can do really is provide guidelines which can help to make these eventual decisions easier. But if you can do that, you will make a real contribution to this Gathering-and to each other.
MILITARY SERVICE COMMITTEE 1968

MILITARY SERVICE COMMITTEE              1968

     Please send names and addresses, or changes of address, of persons who are associated with the General Church and who are presently serving in the armed forces of their country to: The General Church Military Service Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009.
     The Committee will be glad to send a military address list to anyone in the General Church who wishes to write to men and women serving in the armed forces. Requests for this list will be answered promptly.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, do Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Penna. 19009.

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YOUNG PEOPLE'S GATHERING 1968

YOUNG PEOPLE'S GATHERING       KURT SIMONS, TOM ANDREWS AND ALISON GLENN       1968

     A SUMMARY REPORT

     Over an extended Labor Day weekend, a hundred New Church "young people" (defined as over-high school, under-30), met on a mountain top near Pittsburgh and discussed the state of the Academy, the church and the world. During one memorable morning the dialogue extended between the group and the Bishop of our church. The Bishop received a standing ovation for his explanation of the rationale and realpolitik of the Academy (plus a masterly fielding of some hard line-drive questions). As expected, the Gathering served more to clarify problems than to justify extant solutions.
     The work of the Writings chosen as keynote was the Brief Exposition, which presents basic differences between new and old church doctrine. The choice of this book, symbolically at least, turned out to be an apt one, for the over-riding theme of the Gathering was a concern with the relationship of the church and the Academy, both as organizations and as collections of individuals, to the world "outside."
     On the doctrinal level, questions were raised as to why the Academy teaches about the Writings with relation to the 16th century (and earlier) European churches rather than in relation to the 20th century American anti-church and European existential philosophies, or even the seemingly timeless Oriental religions. In fact, several people suggested that these latter two might be compatible with our doctrines in some fundamental ways. In any case, it was argued, the student should be able to discern more clearly both the truth and the confusions in the major ideas of his era. This could be accomplished more effectively if they were presented side by side with the doctrines in an Academy classroom rather than being presented alone in some distant multiversity. From the point of fair play as well, will the student be as inclined to give the Writings "equal time" at the multiversity when the multiversity's ideas were not given equal time at the Academy?
     Of greater concern than "theoretical" doctrine, however, was church practice, involving both: a) the relationship between our social practices and those of the old church, or of un-church ideologies; and, b) the relation between our own avowed doctrine and actual application of that doctrine.

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At the outset there was a feeling that the church organization should provide more than just that "theoretical" doctrinal orientation. While few thought it proper for the church to become an "activist" body, there was a strong feeling that it should address itself-in the role of teacher-to clarifying current issues, though not necessarily to providing solutions. It should be concerned, to use an oft-repeated term at the Gathering, with relevance: relevance to our time, to the people and problems that inhabit our time.
     There was also a widespread feeling that while traditional concerns with family, school and society are necessary, there has been a strong tendency to make the necessity a compulsion, to the exclusion of wider concerns. Part of the problem may lie in the fact that, while we have principles with which to judge problems on the social plane, it has often been such a long and involved journey from the general to the specific that the trip was never made. This was seen as contributing, perhaps importantly, to a separation of doctrine and life that, in practice, approaches the justification by faith alone that we decry in sectors of the old church.
     More specific questions were raised, with varying degrees of intensity, about particular practices deriving from these general trends. Some of the more salient were:

     1) To what extent do practices of exclusiveness originally adopted to protect the "infant church" apply today?
     2) Does the preponderance of one political persuasion among teachers at the Academy have an adverse effect on certain aspects of the instruction there?
     3) Should the General Church, the Academy or a society, then, sponsor or encourage community action programs? (Put in another way: what relevance does the "Social Gospel" or "social Christianity" approach of several branches of the contemporary old church have for us?) A paper related to the concern was delivered on thoughts concerning a New Church man's responsibility in racial relations. A member of the audience's suggestion that the paper should be tacked to the Cathedral door brought loud applause. Looking back on their society and school experiences in the church, a large majority of the group felt that they had not been adequately informed about even the nature, let alone the seriousness, of this problem.
     4) Why do our sermons so often have to be "coldly" intellectual and remote from the world? A number of people said they derived more from children's service than from "grown-up" church.

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Even a rational religion is based on the emotion of belief. What could be done to promote additional, perhaps more informal, forms of worship within the Cathedral for those who desire such? Why is the Cathedral not open daily for individual worship?
     5) Are New Church societies useful in spreading the doctrine, or do they become inevitably ingrown and conducive to intolerance toward the non-New Church neighbor to an extent that makes a mockery of this function?
     6) Do we, in fact, need a separate Church of the New Jerusalem (or four of them, for that matter) here on earth amid the profusion of churches already in existence? Why could we not work within the framework of other churches which are themselves in a period of upheaval sufficient to allow, say, a Catholic to reject papal authority, celibacy of the priesthood, the doctrine of faith alone and the idea of three Gods, yet still term himself a Catholic? Would it be possible for a believer in the Writings to be a conscientious member of other churches today? What is the application of the teachings on the church universal and the church specific?
     It is worth iterating that these questions were not all given equal approbation by the majority of the Gathering. But they were all raised. If the Gathering can be taken as indicative, very little that is traditional is being taken for granted by the young people; no necessary correlation is seen between the extant and the relevant. This is not to say that all that is traditional is to be rejected; it is only to say that it needs to be considered, and perhaps rejected, in the light of contemporary development.
     It is easy to give too simplistic a picture of the alternatives of church involvement or non-involvement. Having raised the questions, we do not expect neat answers from the Authorities. Indeed, dogmatic replies are just what we want to avoid. In the church, the school and the societies we are concerned with process, not product-that questions be openly and fairly considered, not just answered ex cathedra or ignored. We are aware that there may, in fact, be no simple answers on many issues. We do not expect positions to be assumed on these. However, we do not think lack of a position justifies suppression of a question, any more than lack of a clear social doctrine justifies lack of participation in community action programs.
     Once again, then, as in the original Academy movement, we feel a need for internal evangelization as a prelude to external. But not this time on an abstract doctrinal level alone.

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The "message" of the Young People's Gathering is, perhaps, that only through the involvement of doctrine in the lives of New Church men as individuals and involvement by those New Church men in the life of the world can we not simply spread the church but make it meaningful.
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1968

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1968

     AUGUST 19-23, 1968

     Ninety-four members and a number of guests attended the 1968 Educational Council. While the meetings maintained the tradition of being most useful and stimulating to New Church educators, they were characterized by a number of noteworthy innovations. For one thing, they were held for the first time in the newly built Pendleton Hall which, except for the as yet unsolved problems in tape-recording the proceedings, proved to be a most suitable venue for the meetings. Then, the meetings began with an opening service bright and early on Monday morning instead of on Monday evening as had previously been the rule, and they ended with a banquet on Friday evening which for the first time had a program of serious speeches. Another first was the scheduling of committee meetings, some concurrently, in choice morning hours.
     The first hour each morning was allotted to Bishop Willard D. Pendleton, who gave a series of five excellent studies on "The Formative States of the Human." These studies sought applications to education of what is taught in the Arcana Coelestia about the internal meaning of chapters 12, 13, 14 and 16 in Genesis.
     In the evening meetings subjects related to curriculum development were presented by different speakers. Bishop De Charms spoke on the "Curricular Development in the Academy" from an historic point of view. The Rev. Harold C. Cranch, in a paper entitled "A New Aspect of New Church Education," proposed the establishment of an Archeological Museum and Institute of Biblical Research. Miss Sally Smith outlined the comprehensive curricular changes planned for the Academy's Girls School, and the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton, corresponding ones for the Boys School. The Rev. Messrs. Martin Pryke and Erik Sandstrom described the progress that had been made in developing a proposed Education for Marriage Curriculum.

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     Committee reports heard and discussed dealt with Foreign Language, Mathematics, English and Social Studies.
     Among other matters taken up at the business meetings was how to increase the usefulness of the Academy's Summer School for teachers. A suggestion which attracted a good deal of interest was to try a traveling summer school; that is, to have Academy teachers go to other New Church school centers to give the teachers and other interested adults intensive courses.
     At very pleasant luncheons served at the Civic and Social Club House the Rev. David Simons described the work of the Building Committee in planning for a multi-purpose athletic building for the Bryn Athyn Elementary School; Mr. Jack Smith, of the British Foreign Service and presently Consultant to the Minister of Education in Botswana, spoke of the educational state and needs of that recently independent country in Southern Africa; Mr. Willard Thomas discussed the use of audio-visual aids in the classroom; Mr. Carl Gunther gave an account of his experiences and impressions at the 1968 British Academy Summer School; and Mr. Kenneth Rose spoke of the articles he had written for the Britannica Junior Encyclopedia.
     At the concluding banquet, held at the Casa Conti restaurant, the toastmaster, the Rev. Frederick Schnarr, arranged for Messrs. Paul Funk,
E. Bruce Glenn and Alfred Acton to discuss the nature, causes and problems of the current generation gap.
     NORBERT H. ROGERS
          Secretary
LORD AND THANKSGIVING 1968

LORD AND THANKSGIVING              1968

     "That the Lord 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 permits or gives leave. Of themselves they can do nothing, and because those things which proceed from themselves, or from what belongs to their nature, are evil, no praise or thanksgiving should be made for them. 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. But this was made more manifest to me in spiritual idea, that the Lord never demands anything for His Divine benefits from souls, spirits and angels" (Spiritual Diary 2098).

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NEW CHURCH WORLD ASSEMBLY, 1970 1968

NEW CHURCH WORLD ASSEMBLY, 1970       Various       1968

     Progress Report by the London Committee

     The main lines of the Assembly have now been determined and the committee has kept in close touch with the General Convention, the General Church and other New Church bodies throughout the world. It is hoped that a meeting of the Executive Committee will be held early in 1969 to agree to final arrangements. This committee consists of the Rev. R. H. Tafel, Rev. Othmar Tobisch, Rev. R. S. Junge (all of the U. S. A.), Rev. C. H. Presland, Rev. D. L. Rose and Mr. D. F. C. Mann.

     Program for the Assembly

     The Assembly will be held at the Victoria Halls, Bloomsbury, London, W.C. 1, from Thursday, July 2, to Sunday, July 5, 1970. Meetings and exhibitions may also take place at Swedenborg House. There may be events for Convention visitors on the preceding Wednesday, and on that evening there will be a major meeting organized by the New Church Women's League and the Women's Guild of Michael Church. The main program is provisionally as follows:

THURSDAY:     Morning     Opening service followed by brief speeches and discussion on the theme "Our Hopes, Our Problems and our Policies."
          Afternoon     Discussion continued
          Evening     For ministers: a meeting in Swedenborg Hall For laymen: informal discussion groups or "workshops"

FRIDAY:     Morning     Opening service followed by three papers on the Lord, Charity and Faith as the three essentials of the church.
          Afternoon     A discussion led by the ministry
          Evening     Social gathering

SATURDAY:     Morning     Opening service followed by three papers:
                    "A Survey of New Church History"
                    "Can We Learn from the Past?"
                    "Union and Unity"

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          Afternoon     Services celebrating the Sacrament of the Holy Supper at three London churches (probably the General Church at Burton Road, and Conference churches at Camberwell and Kensington) organized by the General Church, Convention and Conference.
          Evening     A banquet with short speeches from delegate representatives

SUNDAY:     Morning     A united service at the Victoria Halls
          Afternoon     Tour of Swedenborg's London
          Evening     A meeting of ministers

     In addition, it is hoped to arrange certain attractions concurrently, such as showing of New Church films, and the British Museum is being asked to consider a special display of items related to Swedenborg, including the first edition of the Brief Exposition containing an inscription in his own hand, similar to the exhibition arranged in 1956.
     It is hoped that exhibitions in Swedenborg House will include items of interest owned by the New Church organizations in America.
     There are expected to be several publications in conjunction with the Assembly, including a Missionary Society pamphlet explaining the reason for celebrating June 19, 1970, and books published under the aegis of Conference and Convention and a special issue of True Christian Religion with a distinctive binding. The Sunday School Union is to produce a pamphlet for children.
     The General Convention and the General Church have several projects in hand in connection with the Assembly, and they are hoping also to arrange a tour to Stockholm and Uppsala. The Derby Society is organizing an interesting program for those visitors who, following the Assembly, wish to see something of the English countryside and to join in events such as a special play with the Rev. C. V. A. Hasler's marionettes. It is hoped that a number of visitors will wish to remain in Britain for the Holiday Center and the Summer Schools.

     Dates

     It will be observed that the Assembly will not include the Nineteenth of June. After very careful consideration and correspondence with associated New Church bodies, the committee decided that as many New Church people throughout the world will not be able to come to London, churches and organizations should be free to arrange local celebrations on this date. Members attending the Assembly will, therefore, be able to attend their local celebrations as well.

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     Finance and Accommodation

     Luncheon and light refreshments will be served each day at the Victoria Halls. Tickets will be issued which will cover both the general costs of the Assembly and meals, both for the whole four days and (as available) for individual days.
     Visitors are asked to make their own arrangements for accommodation in hotels or with friends, but the London Committee will assist as necessary. There is a possibility of a hall of residence of the University of London being hired for the duration of the Assembly if there is sufficient demand.

     Secretary of the London Committee

     Miss Lynda M. Ford has acted as secretary of the London Committee since it was formed and has done excellent work on our behalf. On moving to Bournemouth, however, Miss Ford felt unable to continue in this office. We are most grateful for her efforts and sorry to lose her from the committee. We are pleased to announce that Miss M. G. Waters, c/o Swedenborg House, 20 Bloomsbury Way, London, W.C. 1, has kindly agreed to take over this important task. Communications from organizations about the Assembly should be addressed to her; individual members are requested to communicate with their own organizations and not directly with the London secretary.
D. F. C. MANN, Chairman
C. H. PRESLAND
D. L. ROSE
MARY TALBOT
R. WARWICK

510


CLERGY REPORTS 1968

CLERGY REPORTS       Various       1968

     Report of the Bishop of the General Church

     January 1- September 1, 1968

     Whereas in the past the members of the Council of the Clergy have submitted their annual reports to the Bishop in January, it was agreed that it would be more realistic to file reports in September. The obvious reasons for this are that it is in September that all pastoral changes are effected, and what may be referred to as the church calendar year actually commences. This report, as all the other reports in this issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, covers a period of eight months, beginning January 1, 1968.
     During this period I made three episcopal visits, and also met with the Young People's Gathering at Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania, in early September. The episcopal visits referred to were: Tucson Circle, March 22-27; District Gathering, Carolinas and Southern Virginia, held at Pawley's Island, South Carolina, May 24-26 (see NEW CHURCH LIFE, August 1968, pp. 362-364); Washington Society, June 21-23.
     During the summer months I devoted much of my time to a study of four chapters in the Arcana Coelestia which directly concern the formative states of the human. This was done in preparation of a series of lectures which were given to the Educational Council of the General Church at the meetings held during the third week in August at the Academy. As always, these meetings of the Educational Council were an inspiration and a delight. In this connection I would emphasize that this Council is making continual progress, and I would emphasize its importance in the development of the educational uses of the General Church.
     In a report of this kind it is not possible to consider all the activities of the episcopal office. When we consider the functions of the episcopal office, and all the activities of the church for which it is ultimately responsible, the best I can do is to select a few of these activities for brief consideration in any given year. This year I would make note of the outstanding work that has been done by the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr in the development of the Washington Society and the district under his care; of the able performance of the General Church Salary Committee, which has met difficult problems with judgment and foresight; of the continued success of the British Summer School, under the direction of the Rev. Frank S. Rose; and the success of the Young People's Gathering at Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania, which was the result of the vision and determination of the Rev. Erik Sandstrom.

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These are only a few of the accomplishments of recent years in the growth and development of General Church uses, but they serve to illustrate that the General Church is a living and growing organization of the New Church.
     As last year, this also has been a year of pastoral changes. Below you will find a list of the pastoral changes which were effected since January 1,1968. If some of the pastoral changes which took place on September 1, 1968, seem to be missing it is because the arrangements for these changes were made prior to January 1, 1968, and were reported in the April issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     Pastoral Appointments and Changes. The Rev. Robert H. P. Cole, former Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, accepted appointment as Resident Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Cole will continue to serve also as Visiting Pastor within the Midwestern District.
     The Rev. Donald L. Rose, Pastor of Michael Church, London, England, accepted appointment as Visiting Pastor to The Hague, The Netherlands.
     The Rev. David R. Simons resigned as Visiting Pastor to Connecticut. Candidate N. Bruce Rogers accepted appointment to minister to the Connecticut Group.
     The Rev. Alfred Acton II, former Resident Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois, and Assistant to the Pastor of Immanuel Church, Glen- view, Illinois, accepted a call as Assistant Pastor of Immanuel Church.
     The Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, former Pastor of the Stockholm Society and Visiting Pastor to the Circles in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo, Norway, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Colchester Society, Colchester, England.
     The Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz, former Assistant to the Pastor in Scandinavia, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Stockholm Society, and also accepted appointment as Visiting Pastor to the Circles in Copenhagen, Denmark, and in Oslo, Norway.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON


     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     January 1 to August 31, 1968

     MEMBERSHIP

     During the eight-month period covered by this report one member of the Council, the Rev. Deryck van Rij, resigned from the active priesthood to serve the church in a secular capacity.

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There were no other changes. On August 31, 1968, the Council of the Clergy consisted of three priests in the episcopal degree, thirty-five in the pastoral degree, and three in the ministerial degree, making a total of forty-one members. Of these, seven are retired or in secular work, but when called upon served priestly uses.
     Eleven of the thirty-four full-time priests resided in Bryn Athyn, eight of them being wholly or essentially employed by the General Church and/or the Academy of the New Church.
     Other residences and fields of activity are as follows:

Elsewhere in the United States               12
Australia                                   1
Brazil                                   1
Canada                                   3
Great Britain                              2
South Africa                              2

     In addition, the General Church has one priest of the pastoral degree in the Guyana Mission; and in the South African Mission, in addition to the Superintendent, there are five priests of the pastoral degree. A Directory of the Clergy of the General Church and its Missions is published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, December 1967, pp. 567-571.

     STATISTICS

     Statistics concerning the Sacraments and Rites of the Church administered in the eight-month period ending August 31, 1968, compiled from thirty-six reports received to date from members of the Council are shown below. No comparative figures are given as statistics previously reported were for twelve-month periods, while these are for only eight months.

Baptisms:
Children                         77
Adults                         16
     Total                         93
Holy Supper: Administrations
Public                         74
Private                         15
Communicants               2743
Confessions of Faith               18
Betrothals                    23
Marriages                    26
Ordinations                    0
Dedications:
Churches                    0
Homes                         10
     Other                         1
Funeral or Memorial Services               31     

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     REPORTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL

     The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton served as Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, and President of the Academy of the New Church. The full text of his report appears on pp. 510, 511 of this issue.

     The Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, in addition to his regular duties as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church, assisted the Bishop of the General Church and presided at the First European Assembly, in England. He also gave classes on conjugial love and Hebrew at the British Academy Summer School.

     The Right Rev. George de Charms, Bishop Emeritus of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, President Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church, and Emeritus Professor of Theology, preached twice in Bryn Athyn and once in Toronto. He delivered an address to the Forward Sons in Toronto, addressed the Educational Council in Bryn Athyn, and gave three chapel talks to the College. He conducted three group classes for members of the Bryn Athyn Society, one Theological School course, and, during the second semester, one Senior College course. He served as Head of the Religion Department in the Academy, continued his membership on the Board of Directors of the General Church and the Board of Trustees of the Bryn Athyn Church, and was an honorary member of the Board of Directors of the Academy.

     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh continued to serve as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society.

     The Rev. Peter M. Buss continued as Superintendent of the South African Mission and as Visiting Pastor to the South African isolated.

     The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs served as Pastor of the Carmel Church Society, Blair, Ontario, Canada, and as Principal of the Carmel Church School.

     The Rev. Robert H. P. Cole was Assistant to the Pastor and Acting Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, Instructor in the Immanuel Church School, and Visiting Pastor to the St. Paul and Madison Circles, the Rockford Group and the Milwaukee gatherings.

     The Rev. Alan Gill, although retired, preached four times.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, Jr. served as Instructor of Religion and History in the Academy of the New Church and as Visiting Pastor to the New York and Northern New Jersey Circles. He participated in the work of the Program Committee for the Young People's Gathering, attended the Gathering, and was responsible for one of the programs. In addition to making three pastoral visits to Northern New Jersey and two to New York, he preached and gave a class in Washington, D. C., and preached once each in Toronto, Troy, Michigan, East Waterford, Pennsylvania, and at the Convention church in Orange, New Jersey. In Bryn Athyn he gave four doctrinal classes, preached twice, conducted one family summer service, addressed the Women's Guild and addressed the Council of the Clergy. He also began work as chairman of the Social Studies Curriculum Committee of the Educational Council.

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     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs continued as Pastor of the Durban Society, Visiting Pastor to the isolated in Zululand, and Principal of Kainon School. Besides making two quarterly visits to the isolated in Zululand, he reports having visited the Transvaal Circle on two occasions and the isolated in Rhodesia on behalf of the Rev. Peter M. Buss. He gave a missionary lecture on "Divine Providence and the Permission of Evil" in the Durban City Hall. With the Rev. Peter Buss he shared responsibility for a young people's discussion group which meets twice monthly.

     The Rev. Henry Heinrichs, although retired, conducted services at the Carmel Church four times and twice assisted in the administration of the Holy Supper.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, Dean of the Academy of the New Church Theological School, and Professor of Theology, in addition to his regular duties preached three times in Bryn Athyn, twice in London, once each in Washington and Puerto Rico, and on Visitors' Day at the British Academy Summer School, gave a class in Washington, Puerto Rico and London, and taught for one week at the British Academy Summer School. He continued to serve as chairman of the Sound Recording Committee and as a member of publication committees; taught in the Theological School and the Senior College of the Academy; and was chairman of the Religion Department's Curriculum Committee.

     The Rev. B. David Holm continued as Visiting Pastor to the South Ohio Circle, resident in Cincinnati, and Visiting Pastor to the Erie, Pennsylvania, Circle.

     The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard, Resident Pastor of the Tucson Circle, Arizona, and Visiting Pastor to the San Diego Circle, California, and the Phoenix, Arizona, Group, in addition to his regular duties made one visit to El Paso, Texas, and preached twice in Pittsburgh. He participated in a study session with four other priests and attended the Educational Council meetings. He reports that in San Diego a new chapel has been completed which will benefit the work of the church in the area, and that in Tucson a continuing interest shown by visitors encourages hope for an increase in membership. One of his principal efforts in the coming year will be to reach a greater number of people by systematically presenting the philosophy of the New Church through advertised lectures.

     The Rev. Robert S. Junge served as Secretary of the General Church. In the spring he visited Pittsburgh and Kitchener, and in August he helped to organize the first ministers' seminar, in which he and four other priests took part. In addition, he was active in the Educational Council as chairman of the Committee on States and as a member of the Religion Curriculum Committee.

     The Rev. Louis B. King continued as Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, and Headmaster of the Immanuel Church School.

     The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, special teacher at the Academy of the New Church taught one course in the Theological School and completed the editorial work on a book, The Spiritual World. He also preached twice at Paupack, Pennsylvania, and did some translating from the Swedish for the Academy's Swedenborgiana Research.

     The Rev. Ormond de C. Odhner served as Instructor of Religion and History in the Academy of the New Church.

515




     The Rev. Dandridge Pendleton was Principal of the Boys School of the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Martin Pryke continued as Executive Vice President of the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter was the Pastor of the Detroit Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     The Rev. Morley D. Rich served as Resident Pastor of the Denver, Colorado, Circle and Visiting Pastor to the Fort Worth, Texas, Circle, the Kansas and Oklahoma Groups, and the Central-West District.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers served as Director of the General Church Religion Lessons and associated uses, Chairman of the General Church Translation Committee, and Visiting Pastor to the Montreal Circle.

     The Rev. Donald L. Rose, Pastor of Michael Church, London, while in Bryn Athyn to attend the Council of the Clergy, gave talks to the elementary school, the Academy's secondary schools chapel and the Bryn Athyn Society. He acted as Deputy Headmaster of the British Academy Summer School and addressed the European Assembly. He continued as President of the New Church Club, served on the Advisory and Revision Board and the Council of the Swedenborg Society, and represented the General Church on the London Committee for the 1970 World Assembly.

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose, Pastor of the Colchester Society and Visiting Pastor to Holland and to various parts of England, in addition to his regular duties preached twice in London, continued as Editor of the News Letter and as Chairman of the British Academy and the British Finance Committee, and was Head of the Tenth British Academy Summer School.

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom, Professor of Theology at the Academy of the New Church and Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle, continued to serve on the General Church Publication Committee. He reports that the North Ohio Circle has been in the process of trying to find new quarters for its meetings. In conjunction with the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh and Mr. Gilbert Smith, he organized the first General Gathering of the Young People of the General Church, held at Laurel Hill State Park, Pennsylvania over the Labor Day Weekend and attended by over 100 young people. He speaks of it as a happy and useful occasion, and makes special mention of the willing and efficient co-operation of a number of young people, notably the editor of a three-issue special Bulletin. He also preached three times in Bryn Athyn, gave a doctrinal class in Pittsburgh, and has been conducting a bi-weekly series of classes in Bryn Athyn on the work True Christian Religion.

     The Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr served as Pastor of the Washington Church of the New Jerusalem, Mitchellville, Maryland, and as Visiting Pastor to the District of South Virginia and to North and South Carolina.

     The Rev. David R. Simons, Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, and Visiting Pastor to Connecticut, preached five times in Bryn Athyn, took charge of the Boys' Club, and made three pastoral visits to Connecticut.

516




     The Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson continued as Pastor of the Glendale Society, Los Angeles, California, and as Visiting Pastor to the San Francisco Bay Circle.

     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, Teacher of Religion in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, Director of Music for the Bryn Athyn Church, and Visiting Pastor to the Massachusetts Group, continued to conduct the regular Sunday morning children's services. He also conducted the Bryn Athyn Orchestra.

     The Rev. Douglas M. Taylor served as Pastor of the Hurstville Society, Visiting Pastor to the Auckland, New Zealand, Group, and to the isolated in Australia and New Zealand. He reports having broadcast weekly talks from a Sydney radio station since April 21, and that a small group of receivers has begun meeting each month in Umina, some sixty miles north of Sydney. While in Bryn Athyn for the Council of the Clergy meetings he preached twice and gave three doctrinal classes, preaching once in Tucson, Arizona, en route.

     The Rev. William Whitehead, retired Professor of History at the Academy of the New Church, hopes to be able to resume work on completing the updating of the Annals of the New Church.

     The Rev. Gudmund Boolsen reports being in secular work until July 10. Since then he has been engaged in translating Heaven and Hell and Earths in the Universe into Danish.

     The Rev. Jose L. de Figueiredo continued to serve as Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society.

     The Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs continued as Visiting Minister to the Canadian Northwest Area and the Pacific Northwest Area of the United States, resident in Dawson Creek, British Columbia.

     Respectfully submitted,
          NORBERT H. ROGERS
               Secretary
FREE WILL OFFERINGS 1968

FREE WILL OFFERINGS              1968

     "The peace or eucharistic sacrifices were voluntary sacrifices, and those things which are voluntary are from man's freedom. That is called free which is done from love, thus which is from the will, for that which a man loves he wills. The Lord flows in with man into his love, thus into his will, and causes that what a man receives he receives in freedom; and that which is received in freedom also becomes free and is loved by him, consequently it becomes of his life. Hence it is plain what is meant by worship from freedom" (Arcana Coelestia 10097).

517


THAT HE IS GOOD 1968

THAT HE IS GOOD       Editor       1968


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.
     In the familiar scriptural grace before meals-"O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good: for His mercy is for ever"-the word "for" could be rendered "that" or "because." "0 give thanks unto the Lord, that He is good"! Here is, perhaps, the most comprehensive and the most exalted thanksgiving that man can offer, and the one most removed from self. It transcends gratitude for particular and even more for tangible gifts received. Simply in the truths that the Lord is good and His mercy is eternal it finds the all-encompassing reason for thanksgiving.
     Surely this is the supreme cause for thanksgiving? If at this time of the year we review our past thoughtfully we shall find much for which to be grateful to the Lord. Yet we may find also that which we can only try to understand. Tragedy as well as fulfillment may have entered into our lives; sorrow as well as joy may have touched us deeply. But all can be put into the perspective of a living faith if we believe that the Lord is good and His mercy eternal, and spiritual content may be experienced if we can rejoice that the Lord is good.
     Subject as we are to flux and uncertainty, change and danger, we can find abiding assurance in the unchanging truth that the Lord is good. However, only the heart that is in good can truly give thanks that the Lord is good: that He is good itself, love itself, mercy itself. So every utterance of this thanksgiving should be inmostly a prayer to the Lord that it may come from a heart which has been touched by good from Him-the good which finds inmost joy in the truth that the Lord is good. "0 give thanks unto the Lord, that He is good."

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WHEN GOD IS DEAD 1968

WHEN GOD IS DEAD       Editor       1968

     Our aversion to the so-called death of God theology should not close our eyes to the truth that there is a sense in which it may be said that the Lord is dead. There is sanction for this in the Sacred Scripture and in the Writings. We are told that the Lord is said to be dead when faith in and love to Him are no more; for with those who are in love and faith the Lord lives, but with those who are not in love and faith He does not. With these He is said to be dead because He is rejected, because He does not live in their minds.
     Thus it is possible to think and speak about the death of God, though not in the sense apparently meant by some recent theorists, or even only in relation to concepts of God. The Lord is life itself, infinite and eternal; but whether He lives in and with men depends upon whether they receive Him in faith and love. If men openly reject the Lord He is as dead with them because He does not live in their minds; and if a church rejects the Lord interiorly by making no effort to enter into the life of faith and love, while nevertheless continuing in external worship, it may be said that the God of the church is dead. This could happen to any church established by men.
     When it does, then the church also is, of course, dead. So the first essential for a living church-one in which the way of eternal life is open and there is teaching and leading in that way-is the living presence of the Lord in His Divine Human in the hearts and minds and lives of its members. Such a church not only serves the spiritual welfare of the flock; it is of service to society and to the country in which it is. It provides for the first thing in which the common good consists-the presence in society of what is Divine.
SINS AGAINST REASON 1968

SINS AGAINST REASON       Editor       1968

     Dante, in writing his Divine Comedy, placed in the lowest circle of hell those who had wilfully misused their minds. In his moral system this was the direst sin of all, for the mind is the one thing which distinguishes man from the beasts, and his mind is that which sets a man apart from all other men. In this we may feel that Dante was being led toward a fundamental truth; for the faculties of reason and freedom which constitute the human mind are the image of God in man, and to misuse them deliberately is to sin grievously against the Lord by attempting to destroy that which is His image in man.
     Every student of the Writings is aware that the ability to reason and to choose is what distinguishes man from all the rest of the Lord's creations, and that the proper exercise of these two faculties is the very human itself-that which makes man to be truly a man.

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He knows that the only spiritual things which remain permanently with a man are those which are received in states of rationality and liberty. He has learned also that reformation can neither begin nor progress in states that do not spring from rationality and freedom; that in such states man's spiritual development is as it were arrested.
     These teachings, so familiar to all of us, have serious implications; implications which may seem farfetched unless we are willing to face the truth squarely. States not of rationality and freedom, which include unhealthy mental states, may come upon us through no direct fault of our own. But they can also be deliberately sought! Men can engage, knowingly and with intent, in practices the sole purpose of which is to introduce them into states that are not of reason; states which isolate them from their fellows in a world of fantasy and illusion. Through such misuse of the mind unreason displaces reason, and the image of God is obliterated at least temporarily.
     Is it too much to say, then, that intentional misuse of the mind, at least by those who should know better, is a sin against reason and thus against the Lord, and that this is its real quality? Surely not. The New Church man must learn to cut through to essentials and not be diverted by rationalizations, no matter how persuasive. If the human mind is the image of its Creator and reason is an essential of that image, then surely to misuse reason purposely is to offend against the Lord, whose own with man the faculty of reason is. If we believe in the assumptions, can we do other than accept the conclusion to which they lead?
KINGDOM OF THE PERSEVERING 1968

KINGDOM OF THE PERSEVERING       Editor       1968

     Because the kingdom of God grows secretly in the mind, the man of the church cannot know with certainty his state as to regeneration. He cannot even know beyond a doubt whether he is being regenerated. Therefore he must persevere. Having begun to follow the Lord in the regeneration, he must go on without a backward glance. He must commit himself wholly to his task, believing that if he does faithfully the work entrusted to him, the Lord on His part will do in secret what must be done to regenerate him.
     That is, quite obviously, the general spiritual meaning of the Lord's words: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." He who guides the plow must look forward; otherwise his work will be marred. And the man who looks back as well as forward, the man whose mind is therefore divided, is not adapted to the kingdom of God because his mind is not adapted to receive it.

520


Regeneration calls for total commitment, for complete dedication. Nothing less than man's undivided attention will suffice to make him of service in and to the Lord's kingdom.
     Therefore the Writings teach that after a man has examined himself, acknowledged his sins, and repented of them actually, he must remain constant in good and truth to the end of life. The warning implicit in this teaching is, of course, against profanation. Yet there is another way in which the man who has put his hand to the plow can look back than by repudiating the good he has once acknowledged. He can forsake good by reverting to earlier states, states in which he was immersed in the doctrinal things of faith, forsaking the sight of truth from good in an attempt to see good from truth. This, too, is guarded against when the man of the church remains constant in good to the end of life.

     If it should be wondered whether this is possible, we should recall that the Writings never ask the impossible of men and realize that the doctrine must be examined further in order to see how it is indeed possible. The regenerating man does not, and indeed cannot, give his undivided attention and affection to spiritual things. He alternates between states in which he does so and states in which he leans toward the proprium-states in which the concerns of the proprium become dominant in his consciousness and will not be ignored or put aside. Nevertheless, interiorly he does go forward. Because he is being regenerated by the Lord, every such deviation becomes the occasion for more interior repentance, temptation and purification. His inmost will is constant.
     No man who has entered into the life of repentance should therefore feel that, having put his hand to the plow, he has turned back if some evil should again seem to become dominant, and conclude that he is unfit for the Lord's kingdom. If it is not his will to turn back to the proprium, if he remains steadfast in repentance, he is remaining constant in good and truth. He is of the persevering, and he is fit for the kingdom of God. In all the vicissitudes of his spiritual life on earth he has the Lord always before him, and that is what is determinative; not the fact that in externals his gaze cannot always be directed forward.
DISCRIMINATION IN GIVING 1968

DISCRIMINATION IN GIVING       CHARIS P. COLE       1968

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In his "Life of Justice" (NEW CHURCH LIFE, August) the Rev. Daniel Goodenough says that the church seems familiar with the teaching that the donor should discriminate between good and evil in a potential recipient.

521


But he adds that perhaps in beginning states of regeneration, or natural states, we are incapable of discriminating and thus should not concern ourselves too much over it.
     But I wonder if many realize how important this doctrine of natural good is, or how much harm natural good can do? Of course, it would be wrong to go over every generous impulse with a fine tooth comb, especially with children and the simple. But any normal adult has to start discriminating between good and evil before regeneration can begin. The natural good of beginning states of regeneration is not a completely irrational thing. In this regard the Writings speak of two naturals. One natural has no spiritual quality or end of use in it. It is not from conscience and has no religious motive. It is from heredity and like the good of gentle animals. The other good natural has something of what is spiritual in it. It is discriminating, looks to use, and is from religion. It is proper to the man who acts from reason. The two have something in common in external form but are entirely different in internal form.*
     * See AC 4988.
     The Writings teach that the natural with no rational or end of use in it is what gives evil men their power. Attacks on discriminating good take away the natural truth from which good men fight, and thus hurt their ability to serve church and country.
     What is good? Good is wishing the happiness of all men to eternity. Looking to another's happiness is good. But if we look to momentary happiness at the expense of long-range happiness, or the happiness of the few at the expense of many, then it is no longer good.
     We even expect some discriminating from our adolescents. For example, they know not to give knives to younger brothers and sisters. They know they may help a friend with his homework but not do it.
     The seventh volume of the Arcana, where it is telling the internal sense of Genesis 39, teaches about these two naturals, and shows how purely natural good does much harm. I am not a minister so I cannot be sure of my interpretation, but this is what the Arcana appears to me to teach; and, of course, there is a deeper meaning. Potiphar's wife, or truth natural not spiritual, wanted to be adjoined to Joseph or good spiritual natural.* This means that the purely natural truth wanted to be adjoined to Joseph or good spiritual natural.** This means that the purely natural truth wanted to appear to be genuine truth. It snatches away Joseph's garment, or ultimate truth. That is, the purely natural snatches away from the spiritual the ultimate truth that good should be done to the needy, and consequently the spiritual no longer has anything with which to defend itself against the merely natural.***
     * AC 4986
     ** AC 4989.
     *** AC 5002.

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     The rational man looking to the welfare of church and country is careful in his giving. He checks those who claim to be poor or who want to help the poor. The merely natural snatches away the ultimate truth by saying of the rational man: "He is selfish. He is against doing any good."

     "It is a truth natural not spiritual within the church that good ought to be done to the poor, to widows and to the fatherless, and that to do good to them is the charity which is enjoined in the Word; but truth not spiritual-that is, they who are in truth not spiritual-understand by the poor, the widows and the fatherless only those who are so called; whereas truth spiritual natural-that is, those who are in this truth-do indeed confirm this, but put in the last place this meaning of the poor, the widows and the fatherless; for they say in their hearts that not all are poor who call themselves poor, and that among the poor there are some who live most wickedly, and fear neither God nor men, and who would rush into every iniquity unless withheld by fear.. . . They who are in truth spiritual natural regard everyone as the neighbor, but yet all in different respects and degrees; and they say in heart that those who are in good are in preference to others the neighbor to whom good is to be done; and that those who are in evil are also the neighbor, but that good is done to them when they are punished according to the laws, because by means of punishments they are amended; and in this way also care is taken lest evil be done to the good by them and by their example. Those within the church who are in truth natural not spiritual also say that everyone is the neighbor, but they do not admit of degrees and distinctions; and therefore if they are in natural good they do good without distinction to everyone who excites their pity, and oftener to the evil than to the good, because in their knavery the evil know how to excite pity."*
     * AC 5008.

     Regenerating is learning to do the Lord's will or working toward His ends, and God's ends are eternal happiness for all. So in our regeneration we are working to get rid of those evils in ourselves which will hurt others and learning to put others' happiness at least equal to our own. In short, we are to serve others; but if we are truly to serve, we must use our God-given rationality. We will make mistakes, but at least we must try. When we are too lazy and indifferent to think and carelessly give honor, money and power to all who call themselves needy; when we say it doesn't matter whether or not our leaders are wise and God-fearing; when we make it no concern of ours whether children are taught God's laws or not as long as they have an abundance of natural things; then we corrupt the children, encourage evil and destroy society.
     CHARIS P. COLE

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LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1968

LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY              1968

     1968-1969

     Local schools report the following teaching staffs for 1968-1969:

BRYN ATHYN:
     Rev. David R. Simons                    Principal
     Mr. Carl Gunther                         Assistant to the Principal
     Miss Mary Louise Williamson               Kindergarten, Section I
     Miss Eleanor Cranch                    Kindergarten, Section II
     Mrs. Edward Cranch                    Grade 1, Section 1
     Mrs. Thomas Redmile                    Grade 1, Section II
     Mrs. Grant Doering                    Grade 2, Section I
     Mrs. Prescott Rogers                    Grade 2, Section H
     Miss Claudia Cranch                    Grade 3, Section 1
     Miss Elsa Schoenberger                    Grade 3, Section II
     Miss Alison Glenn                         Grade 4, Section 1
     Mrs. Kenneth York                         Grade 4, Section 11
     Miss Kathy de Maine                    Grade 4, Section HI
     Mrs. Huard Synnestvedt                    Grade 5, Section 1
     Mrs. William Griffin                    Grade 5, Section II
     Mr. Bradley Smith                         Grade 6, Section 1
     Miss Ginny de Maine                    Grade 6, Section II
     Mr. Robert L. Brown                    Grade 7, Boys
     Mrs. Christopher Smith                    Grade 7, Girls
     Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt                    Grade 8, Boys
     Mrs. Daniel Echols                    Grade 8, Girls
COLCHESTER:     
Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen                    Principal
     Miss Hilda M. Waters                    Grades 1-7
DURBAN:
Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs                    Principal
     Mrs. Neil Buss          )               Grades 1-3
     Miss Gillian Simons     )               
GLENVIEW:
Rev. Louis B. King                         Headmaster
     Mrs. John Barry                         Kindergarten
     Miss Sylvia Cranch                    Grade 1
     Miss Peggy Snyder                         Grade 2
     Mrs. Kenneth Holmes                    Grade 3
     Mrs. Ben McQueen, Jr                    Grade 4
     Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt Jr               Grade 5
     Mr. Richard Acton                         Grade 6
     Miss Gertrude Hasen
(Assistant to Headmaster)                    Grades 7-8
     Rev. Alfred Acton                    
Headmaster,Secondary School
     Mr. Justin Synnestvedt                    Grade 9
     Mr. Charles Ebert                         Grade 10

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KITCHENER:
     Rev. Frank S. Rose                    Principal
     Miss Dorothy Kuhl                         Kindergarten
     Miss Laura Gladish                    Grades 1-4
     Miss Joan Kuhl                         Grades 5-8
PITTSBURGH:
Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh                         Principal
     Mrs. Robert Kendig                    Grades 1-3
     Miss Viola Friesen                    Grades 4-6
     Mr. Dirk van Zyverden                    Grades 7-9
TORONTO:
Rev. Harold C. Cranch                         Principal
     Mrs. Sydney R. Parker     )               Kindergarten
     Mrs. Robert Delyea     )
     Miss Sylvia Parker                    Grades 1-3
     Mrs. Norman Heibert                    Grades 4-6
     Miss Barbara J. Charles                    Grades 7-8

     Part-time teachers are not included. The teaching staff of the Academy of the New Church is listed in the Catalog Number of The Academy Journal, pp. 4-6.
Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     PUERTO RICO

     This group of New Church men, located on the semi-tropical island paradise between the Atlantic and the blue Caribbean, was indeed fortunate to have the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson to lead us in church activities through the Easter weekend. On Friday, April 12, Mr. Henderson presented a unique and comprehensive account of the Lord's trial, reflecting the judicial process afforded Him immediately prior to His crucifixion. Discussion followed into the evening while we enjoyed a delicious repast prepared by Mr. and Mrs. Brent Pendleton.
     On the following Saturday morning, our children attended a childrens' class conducted by Mr. Henderson, who focused on the New Church significance of Easter time. The Easter service, on Sunday, April 14, saw nine adults and eight children gathered together in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bryce Genzlinger for worship. Regular service and the sacrament of the Holy Supper followed a children's talk.
     Social activities included an outing to Isla Icacos on the Genzlingers' spacious sail boat and golf for the men. Joining us in the festivities were Mr. Gordon Pritchett and his fianc?e, Miss Jill Pendleton. We are grateful to Mr. Henderson, who gave us of his time to come down, for his spiritual guidance, and we also enjoyed the informal visiting which brought us up to date on current Academy plans and changes.
     With the arrival in Puerto Rico, a free associated state of the United States, of the Rev. and Mrs. David R. Simons for the weekend of September 13-15, 1968, New Church men and their children from the capital, San Juan, and the second largest city, Ponce, gathered together to worship, to receive instruction, and to have fun. On Friday Mr. Simons held class for the children. Sailing and spear fishing from the Genzlingers' sail boat was the order of the day on Saturday.

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Mr. Simons commented enthusiastically on the pleasure he derived from spear fishing in the crystal-clear waters off the Puerto Rican coast. A fisherman, in the spiritual sense of the Word, signifies a man who investigates and teaches truths. Very fitting is this, as he is the principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School.
     That evening ten adults were in attendance at the Brent Pendleton home for doctrinal class, which was followed by a typically Puerto Rican buffet supper of seafood. Mr. Simons' class was directed toward the taking of the Holy Supper and our participation in this sacrament.
     On Sunday morning our visiting minister conducted children's service, Divine worship and the Holy Supper in the Bryce Genzlinger home. Especially of interest to these reporters was the treatment of the sense of sight, and specifically that of taste in the spiritual world, it being more akin to the sense of smell than in the natural world.
     Seven children and eight adults came to church. Those of us in circles and groups who reside far removed from New Church societies are deeply inspired and delighted by the occasional visits of our traveling New Church ministers who can incorporate our needs into their busy schedules and give their particular type of spiritual leadership.
     Muchas gracias y hasta la vista, estimados Senores Henderson y Simons.
          JEROME AND ELIZABETH SELLNER

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN

     We in Detroit had expected this past summer to be a rather quiet one as far as church activities were concerned. However, we soon realized that this would be a good time to fete our pastor, the Rev. Norman Reuter, and Mrs. Reuter. Mr. Reuter had resigned as pastor of the Detroit Society after twenty-seven years of service. A committee of four couples was named to plan a program of events. The children's program, arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Tom Steen, took place during the Independence Day celebration. The day's activity began with the flag raising ceremony on the church lawn, after which Mr. Robert Genzlinger gave a talk to the children on "Freedom." Everyone then moved to the ball field for the traditional games with prizes, planned this year by Justin Reuter and Bill McCardell. During the picnic supper the children surprised Mr. and Mrs. Reuter with a little program and then presented them with gifts. With happy tears, Mrs. Reuter accepted a lovely gold bracelet, and Mr. Reuter was most pleased with the desk pen set he received. Each gift was affectionately inscribed. During the picnic, pictures were taken of each family by Barry Genzlinger. Later the pictures were put into an album and presented to the Reuters as a keepsake.
     That same week, on July 6, there was a potluck supper at the church building in honor of the Reuters. Mrs. Robert Genzlinger was in charge of the supper and Mr. John Howard was master of ceremonies. A complete history of the Reuters' years in Detroit was presented by John, as only he could present it. Mr. Walter Childs read some of the many messages and good wishes sent to the Reuters from people formerly associated with the Society. Gifts were then presented to the Reuters in appreciation of their many years of faithful service. After the supper and program there was an open house at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter Childs. We were especially pleased that several persons came from quite a distance to help celebrate this occasion.
     The Rev. Geoffrey Childs, formerly pastor of the Kitchener Society, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Detroit Society. We welcome Mr. Childs, his wife, Helga, and their children. We are happy to have them in Detroit.
     In the church program for the past year Mr. Reuter was desirous of bringing all age groups together in greater understanding and communication. A monthly doctrinal class was planned with this idea in mind. As most people are very concerned with current problems, Mr. Reuter used this as a basis for the class. Open discussion was encouraged, and, of course, this was in the light of the Writings.

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There was a good attendance at these classes as well as a mixture of age groups. It was felt that the classes helped to accomplish the end in view.
     One of the highlights of the year took place the weekend of October 20-22. The Detroit Society was host to more than fifty guests from five states and Canada for the Midwest District Assembly. The Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton presided. An average of 95 persons attended each session; there were 125 persons at the banquet, and 115 at the Sunday service of worship. It was a successful, stimulating and rewarding experience for all those participating.
     In June, 1967, Mr. Warren David presented a generous gift to our Society to be credited to the Hildegarde David Memorial Fund. As a result of this gift, plus the substantial fund already established as a memorial to Hildegarde, we were able to purchase a new and more suitable organ for our church.
     The New Church Day service was held on Sunday, June 16. We were pleased to have the Rev. Norbert Rogers with us for this special service. Mr. Rogers preached the sermon and gave the talk to the children. He and Mrs. Rogers were on an extended tour to visit Religion Lessons Committee members. The New Church Day celebration continued the afternoon of June 23. A program was presented by the children and young people of the Religion Classes. This was followed by a buffet supper for the children and adults.
     The Rev. Daniel Goodenough and Mrs. Goodenough visited with us the last week in July. Mr. Goodenough served on the chancel with Mr. Reuter, who was making his last appearance as pastor of the Detroit Society.
     The number of young men from our Society who are now in the service of their country is increasing. Those serving are Jeff Childs, Ricky Field, Robert Bradin, Brian Genzlinger and Ralph Curtis. Soon to be added to the list is Elvin Day. The first two named are serving in Vietnam.
     We have seven young people attending the Academy schools in Bryn Athyn, and there are also seven attending our local institution, Oakland University. There are also two studying at the University of Michigan. It is fortunate that some are close enough to attend church functions.
     We happily anticipate another church year, this time with our new pastor, the Rev. Geoffrey Childs. Regular Sunday services have been resumed, as have the doctrinal classes and the children's religion classes. It is good to be back again working together for the uses of the church.
     FREDA BRADIN


     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH

     Enrollment for 1968-1969

Theological School          3
College                    102
Girls School               126
Boys School                    129
                         360

     LOCAL SCHOOLS

     Enrollment for 1968-1969

Bryn Athyn                    401
Colchester                    -
Glenview                    134
Kitchener                    33
Pittsburgh                    33
Toronto                    35

Total enrollment in Academy and General Church schools     1017

527


Title Unspecified 1968

Title Unspecified       LOUISE KINTNER KRAUSE       1968




     Announcements





TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION 350Alone in the morning
the woman walks in her garden
She looks to see
the size of the flower,
the bursting forth of a seed.
She smells the fragrance
of the green grass
and knows the sun has started
on his daily journey.
And she thinks of the Word of God
as He gave it to us-
     seed meaning truth;
     a field, doctrine;
     and a garden, wisdom.
Over it all stirs the human mind
that can increase in wisdom
to eternity.

     LOUISE KINTNER KRAUSE

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FIELDS OF THE FOREST 1968

FIELDS OF THE FOREST       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1968


NEW CHURCH LIFE

VOL. LXXXVIII
DECEMBER, 1968
No. 12
     A Sermon on David's Prophecy Concerning Ephratah

     "Lo, we have heard of Him in Ephratah, we have found Him in the fields of the forest, we will come into His habitations, we will worship at His footstool." (Psalm 132: 6, 7)

     In the days when David was king of Israel, the Messianic prophecy was not as yet clearly defined. It was not until the days of the later kings of Israel and Judah that the voice of prophecy became both emphatic and distinct. Nevertheless, the one hundred and thirty-second Psalm, from which our text is taken, is the continuation of an earlier theme which, although obscure, obviously dealt with Israel's destiny as a nation. It concerned one who was to come in whom Israel's destiny would be fulfilled. It was Jacob, the father of this people, who in the blessing of his sons had said: "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah . . . until Shiloh come."* Again, it was Moses who had assured the people that "the Lord thy God will raise up . . . a Prophet . . . like unto me; unto Him ye shall hearken."** And again, it was Balaam, a prophet of the east, who took up his parable, and said: "There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel."***
     * Genesis 49: 10.
     ** Deuteronomy 18: 15.
     *** Numbers 24: 17.
     It was not, however, until the days of David, the greatest of all of Israel's kings and psalmists, that the Messianic prophecy was cast in the kingly mould. It was David who, in his Psalms, patterned the Messiah after his own image, that is, as the "king of glory,"* who would "inherit all nations,"** and be the "judge [of all] the earth."***

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It is to be noted that this forecast of the Messiah came as an answer to the most Pressing need of the time; that is, to the need for one who, like David, would unify the people and perpetuate the kingdom that David had established. What is more, this Man was to be born of the house of David, and as a direct descendant of the royal line He would make the name of the house of David "to be remembered in all generations."**** But where and when the Messiah was to be born was not yet known. It was not until the days of Micah, a later prophet, that Bethlehem, which was formerly known as Ephratah, was designated as the place of His birth.
     * Psalm 24.
     ** Psalm 82.
     *** Ibid.
     **** Psalm 45: 17.

     In this connection we note with interest that Bethlehem, or Ephratah, was also the birthplace of David. It was here in the hill country of Judea that David, when a youth, tended his father's flocks. As a shepherd, David knew every stream and pasture, and in all probability was conversant with the scattered remnant of a previous civilization which at the time of David still survived in the more remote regions of the land. Concerning this the Writings state that following the conquest of Canaan by Joshua there still remained in the land certain descendants of the Most Ancient Church, particularly among the Hittites and the Hivites.* Indeed, the Writings say that the reason the Israelites were introduced into the land was because "the church had been in the land of Canaan from . . . most ancient times, and . . . [because] the Word could not have been written . . . [anywhere but there] . . . because all the places . . . in . . . that land . . . as the mountains, the valleys, the rivers, the woods, and all . . . [other things] had become representative of celestial and spiritual things."**
     * AC 4429, 4447.
     ** AC 10559; see also HD 5; WH 12.
     We can understand, therefore, why the Lord was born in Bethlehem, and not in some other place. For by Bethlehem, or Ephratah, as distinguished from all the other dwelling places in the land, was signified the Word. Here, and here alone, is the Lord to be found. Thus there is reason to believe that of all the cities in the land of Canaan, the little town of Bethlehem was the most ancient in origin. While we have no direct evidence of this, we assume it from the signification of Bethlehem, for "in the beginning was the Word."*
     * John 1: 1.
     There is reason to believe, therefore, that as a youth, David had become familiar with the ancient prophecy of one who was to come through association with those direct descendants of the Most Ancient Church who still dwelt in Canaan.

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In all probability this was still preserved in legend, although in what form we cannot say. This, however, would account for David's testimony: "We have heard of Him in Ephratah, we have found Him in the fields of the forest." How else can our text be explained? All prophecy has some basis in the life of the prophet; and David's reference to Ephratah, although seemingly obscure, becomes meaningful when we reflect upon the antiquity of the little village and its representative function in Israel.
     In this connection it is also to be observed that the Psalm from which our text is taken is an expression of David's desire to build a habitation for the Lord. Here the promise of the Messiah and the construction of a dwelling place for "the mighty God of Jacob" are directly related. In words which touch sublimity, David vowed that he would not go up to his couch, nor give sleep to his eyelids, until he had found a place for the Lord.* It is quite apparent that in David's mind the coming of the Lord and the building of the temple were two related events.
     * Psalm 132.
     It was not David, however, but his son who built the temple in Jerusalem. Frustrated in his ambition by enemies within and without, David was yet assured that the temple would be built by his own seed after him. Thus it was Solomon, not David, who built the house of the Lord. This costly edifice, which became the center of Israel's worship and the symbol of its national hopes and ambitions, awaited the Messiah who was to come. We can readily understand, therefore, the sense of utter disillusionment which must have followed the destruction of the temple by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar. Yet despite the apparent hopelessness of Israel's situation, the voice of prophecy still persisted. Had not Micah, a prophet who immediately preceded the fall of Jerusalem, taken up the thread of David's reference to Ephratah and identified Bethlehem as the place of the Messiah's birth? Like all prophecy it came in response to the need of the time.

     In this later day, when many have lost faith in the integrity of the Scriptures, and few recall David's testimony concerning Him of whom he had heard in Ephratah, we pause to reflect upon the meaning of the one hundred and thirty-second Psalm. For we too have heard of Him in Ephratah, that is, in the letter of the Word. As children we found Him among the fields of the forest, that is, among the appearances in which the letter of the Word is written. In these later years we vividly recall those affections of awe and wonder which were inspired in our hearts by the story of the Lord's birth. These affections, which the Writings call "remains," open the way to a renewal of our faith.

532


Like the remnant of the people of the Most Ancient Church who dwelt in the land of Canaan in the days of David, these innocent affections of childhood dispose our minds to the reception of the Divine doctrine. He it is who is born to you this day in the city of David, which is Bethlehem.

     It is from out of the past, that is, from out of the affections of earlier states, that man derives the desire to be led by the Lord. Like David, who had heard of Him in Ephratah, we will to prepare a place for Him so that He may dwell with us and be our God. But unlike the child, who is governed by his affections, we must first form a meaningful idea of Him in the understanding. The faith of childhood is not sufficient to the more advanced states of life; it is but an opening of the way. For to know the Lord we must come to know Him as the Word, for it is from the Word, and never apart from it, that a true idea of Him is formed in the understanding. Thus although as children we heard of Him in the Scriptures, we must look for Him in Bethlehem, which is the spiritual sense of the Word. Here, and nowhere else, will we find Him.
     Yet in seeking for the Lord we have not far to go to find Him, for the spiritual sense is contained within the letter. Here are not two Words, but one Word, even as Ephratah and Bethlehem were one and the same. But although the Word in its letter and the spiritual sense are one Word, there is a difference, and this difference is described in the Writings as "the spiritual of the celestial in a new state."* If this seems arcane, it is, and it is not. It is, in that it has reference to the most profound aspects of the glorification, but it can also be directly and simply understood. For by the spiritual of the celestial is meant the truth of good, or what is the same, truth that is from good. This is the Word. By the spiritual of the celestial in a new state, therefore, is meant the truth of the Word as it is revealed in the Writings; that is, truth as presented to the sight of rational understanding. It is in this that the Writings differ from the letter, for as they themselves testify: "It is now permitted to enter . . . [with understanding] into the mysteries of faith."**
     * AC 4585.
     ** TCR 508.
     By Bethlehem, as distinguished from Ephratah, is signified the Word made flesh, that is, the living Word. He it is who is born to you this day in the city of David; He it is who is revealed to you in His own Divine Human in the spiritual sense of the Word. "And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."*

533


The Babe is the newborn doctrine of the Divine Human; the swaddling clothes in which He is wrapped are truths of innocence, and the manger in which He is laid is the doctrine of truth from the Word in the understanding.** Like the shepherds, therefore, who watched over their flocks on the night when the Lord was born upon earth, "let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us."***
     * Luke 2: 12.
     ** AE 706: 12.
     *** Luke 2: 15.
     What "the Lord hath made known to us" is that He is the one God of heaven and earth. This is the faith of the New Church, and this is the true meaning of Christmas. What was seen in obscurity in ancient times has now been brought to the light. Him whom we first found among the fields of the forest, that is, among the representative types and images of Scripture, has now been made visible to the sight of the understanding. Thus it is that David's desire to build a place for the Lord in which He might dwell with men has at last been fulfilled. For at this day the Lord, the mighty God of Jacob, has come into His holy temple, that is, into the doctrine of the Divine Human. Like David, therefore, let us not go up to our couch, nor give sleep to our eyelids, until we have entered with understanding into His habitation and worshiped at His footstool. Amen.

     LESSONS:     Psalm 132. Luke 2:1-20. AE 700: 9; AC 4594: 1, 2.
     MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 533, 530, 539, 540, 546.
     PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 15, 106.
FIRST CHRISTMAS PRESENTS 1968

FIRST CHRISTMAS PRESENTS       Rev. KENNETH O. STROH       1968

     A Christmas Talk to Children

     This afternoon I would like to talk to you about the first Christmas presents that were ever given. You all know what Christmas presents are, do you not? You have been making and buying gifts to give to your family and to your friends. And are you not wondering what nice surprises you will find when you open the packages that will be given to you tonight or tomorrow?
     Giving presents is fun, is it not? It gives you a chance to show that you love your friends, and that you want them to go on being your friends.

534


And it is nice to receive gifts, too. For then you know that the person giving you the gift has been thinking about you. And the present is a sign of that person's love. So giving and receiving presents helps to make Christmas a happy time, does it not?
     But do you know what were the first Christmas presents ever given? Do you know where they came from and to whom they were given? Of course, they came from the wise men who gave them to the Lord.
     These wise men came from a country far to the east of the land of Judaea. They belonged to families who, for many years, had known that the Lord was going to be born into the world, and would be called the King of the Jews. These men sometimes could see into the other world and could talk with spirits there; so they were like prophets, and could learn things about heaven that other people did not know. Over fourteen hundred years earlier, one of their own countrymen, by the name of Balaam, had been told from heaven that the Lord was going to come down and be born in the land of the Jews. And he had told how that, when the Lord was born, a special star would be seen. For Balaam had said, "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."*
     * Numbers 24: 17.

     A sceptre is a beautifully decorated rod or staff that is a sign that the man who holds it is a king. So when these wise men saw the bright new star in the east, in heaven, they knew that at last what Balaam had said had come true. They knew that the Lord, for whom people had been waiting for so many years, finally had come down from heaven, and had been born as a little baby, in the land of the Jews. So these wise men, wanting to sec this wonderful thing that had happened, 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."*
     * Matthew 2: 1, 2.
     When they came to Jerusalem, they learned that the Word said that the Lord would be born in Bethlehem. So they left Jerusalem. And as they left they saw the same star which they had seen before. When they saw the star again, they were very, very happy. The Word says that they "rejoiced with exceeding great joy." The star went in front of them. And they followed it until it came to the little town of Bethlehem, and stayed over the house where the young child was, with Mary, His mother. When the wise men had come into the house, they lay down on the floor and worshipped the Lord. And after they had done this, they gave Him the presents they had brought for Him: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
     These were the first Christmas presents ever given. The gold was a costly metal.

535


The frankincense was a kind of gum, which came from a tree, and which gave off a sweet smell when it was burnt as incense, at times when people worshipped. And the myrrh was also a gum, which came from a shrub, and which could be used in making both medicines and perfumes. These were expensive presents. They were precious gifts, such as you would give to a king. And the wise men gave them to the Lord, who is King over all.
     But did you know that, at the same time, the wise men were giving to the Lord gifts which were even more precious, and much more important. And these gifts were their love of Him, their longing to see and worship him, and their desire that He would be their king and would rule their lives. The gold, frankincense and myrrh which they gave were only the signs of their love and their worship. And is it not the same with the presents you give and receive? The important thing is the love you feel for your friends. And the presents you give and receive are the signs of that love and friendship. But the real gifts are the gifts of love.
     Then how do you give these real gifts to the Lord? You know how to give them to your friends and your family. But how do you give them to the Lord? First, like the wise men, you must learn what the Word tells about the Lord: you must learn what He is like, and how great is His love, wisdom and mercy. And when you learn from the Word, this knowledge will be as a beautiful star, lighting up your mind and showing you the pathway that leads to heaven.
     If you follow the leading of this wonderful star, if you follow the teaching of the Word and learn to love to do what the Lord says, then the Lord, as it were, will come and be born in your minds and hearts. And you will be able to give Him those true heavenly gifts, the gifts of love and worship. The wise men presented unto Him gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. And your doing of the Lord's commandments will be like the myrrh; your worship and your prayers will go up to the Lord like the smoke from the burning of sweet-smelling incense; and your love of the Lord will be as precious as pure gold.
     These above all are the gifts you should give to the Lord at all times, and which you should remember at Christmas time, the gifts of love and worship. And those who give these gifts will be happy and wise like those men of old who loved the Lord and who saw His bright and heavenly star in the east. When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And, bringing gifts, they came to worship Him. Amen.

     LESSONS:     Luke 2:1-7. Matthew 2:1-6. SS 23: 3.
     MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 542, 532, 528, 523.
     PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. C6, C7.

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TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS 1968

TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1968

     Every year the whole Christian world celebrates December 25th as the day when Jesus Christ was born. The mode of celebration varies in different countries, and in different sects of the Christian Church, but all unite in songs of praise and thanksgiving to Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world. No one really understands, however, what is meant by "saving" the world, or in what sense this task was accomplished by Jesus Christ during His life on earth. Men differ widely in their ideas as to who Jesus Christ was, and as to what He did. The traditional belief that He was the Son of God, born of a virgin, and that He redeemed mankind from the power of hell is steadily losing its hold upon the minds of men. To the modern scientific thinker, a virgin birth is a miracle beyond all possibility of belief. And after more than nineteen centuries there is no tangible evidence that evil has been banished from the world.
     As doubts are multiplied, as vital questions remain unanswered, the light of faith grows dim. To this extent the celebration of Christmas reflects less and less of any deep religious conviction. In increasing measure it becomes an occasion when men recall to mind a beautiful legend that they had believed and loved while they were children. The "spirit" of Christmas, as its best, is a resurgence of that childhood memory, together with its joys, its hopes, its sense of trust in God and of good will toward men. But because this "spirit" is based on no rational understanding; because it seems to be at variance with the obvious facts both of nature and of human life, therefore it has no depth of root, and it withers quickly under the burning sun of worldly loves that make everything seem unreal except man's constant struggle to overcome by his own will, his own strength and his own intelligence, the obstacles that stand in the way of achieving his natural ambitions. More and more, even while men sing the song of the angels, the spiritual significance of Christmas is minimized, while its observance is exploited, commercialized, and sentimentalized. Nor can it be otherwise as long as the real meaning of Christmas is not truly understood.
     He who was born in Bethlehem in the dark hours of that first Christmas night is in very truth the God of heaven and earth, the Creator and the perpetual Preserver of the universe, the infinite Father of all mankind, whose love and wisdom direct the destiny of the race toward that world-wide kingdom of lasting peace and happiness Divinely promised in the Word.

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This is the essence and the living soul of Christian faith. It is the core of the "good tidings" proclaimed by the Lord Himself, spread abroad by the apostles, and preserved for posterity in the Gospel record. If this be not true then Christmas is indeed but a childish dream from which it were well that men should be awakened to face the grim realities of life. Those in the Christian world who still believe it do so blindly, like little children, because they profoundly wish it to be so, although they have not the slightest understanding of how it can be so. Such a belief cannot long be maintained in opposition to the growing mass of seeming evidence arrayed against it. If Christian faith is to survive, the objections raised by naturalistic reasoning must be met and answered clearly, to the full satisfaction of man's rational mind. Nor can this be done by any one except the Lord Himself. He alone can reveal the hidden secret of His incarnation, the inner purpose of His life on earth and what He accomplished thereby, and the mode whereby the promised redemption of the race is to be achieved. This knowledge could not be given to the apostles while He lived on earth. It was beyond their comprehension. Wherefore He said to them: "I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."* "These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs; but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father."** He promised therefore to come again when the time was ripe for men to understand more deeply, when they had been prepared to receive openly what at first they could be taught only in parables. It is clear from this that the Lord did not complete the work of redemption at His first advent, and that only at His second coming could the real meaning of His birth, the real significance of Christmas, be revealed to men.
     * John 16:12.
     ** John 16:25.

     The early Christians believed that Jesus Christ was born of a virgin, and that therefore He was the Son of God. In regard to this they accepted the testimony of Mary, and the plain teaching of the Lord Himself. They did not understand how this could be true, but they believed it, and they worshipped Jesus Christ as their God. Accepting the testimony of eyewitnesses, they believed also that He rose from the tomb in a glorified body. But what was meant by "glorification," or how it was accomplished, they did not know.

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On these two things, the Virgin Birth and the glorification, all intelligent faith in Jesus Christ as God depends. Because men, in the light of rapidly accumulating scientific knowledge, have found it impossible to believe these two things, therefore modern biblical scholarship has sought systematically to discredit the testimony of the Gospels. Theories differ as to how the New Testament came to be written, and how the accounts of the Lord's birth and of His resurrection came to be included in it. But they all are intended to show that these accounts are purely mythical and legendary. This view is now almost universally accepted among the learned in the Christian world. Against this view, supported as it is by a mass of supposed scientific evidence, those who still cling to a belief in the literal truth of the Gospel narrative concerning the virgin birth and the resurrection of the Lord have no defense for their faith.

     The Lord now explains in the Heavenly Doctrine how these two things can be true, He does so in reasonable terms, supplying thereby a rational foundation for the simple faith of the early Christians-the faith that Jesus Christ is indeed the one God of heaven and earth.
     On the basis of their scientific knowledge men confidently assert that a virgin birth is an impossibility, a miracle beyond belief. The Writings proclaim that it is indeed a miracle, but one that can be understood only if we acknowledge God as the Divine Creator of the world, and as the infinite Father of all mankind. Indeed the birth of every infant is a miracle. Human parents have no conscious part whatever in the marvellous weaving in the womb of a perfect little body and brain. The Lord Himself is truly and literally the Divine Father, whose wisdom foresees, and whose love provides all that wonderful coordination of tissues and organs, of blood vessels and nerves, that go to make up the human body. To what other cause can we reasonably ascribe that wisdom and that love which we see openly at work in the birth of every little child?
     The Writings teach that the living soul which builds the body in the womb is nothing but an inmost vessel which receives life from God. It is a little instrument through which God Himself operates to create a human being. The life of God is infinite. It is boundless love, and unlimited wisdom. But that inmost vessel which is called a human soul is a finite thing. It has a special, a completely individual form, insomuch that no two souls can ever be exactly alike. And the law is that "influx is according to the form of the receiving vessel." To understand what this means we need only reflect that power, considered in itself, is relatively limitless. But when it inflows into a machine it can move the parts of the machine only in accord with the way in which they are constructed and put together.

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The action is entirely in accord with the form of the machine as a receiving vessel.
     Every human soul is a special finite form of love. It is so created as to receive the infinite life of God, and direct it to the performance of a particular use or function in heaven. This little vessel is created by the Lord Himself in the brain of a human father. The Lord not only creates the vessel, but He Himself operates into it and by means of it to build the body in the womb of the mother. What is produced is a finite human being, destined for a particular use, and endowed with the special qualities of mind, the special aptitudes and abilities required for the performance of that use. This because the infinite life of the Lord is channeled through that little vessel called the soul, and is limited by the form of that vessel, just as any force is limited in its operation by the nature of the machine into which it inflows.

     What do the Writings tell us as to the difference in the birth of Jesus Christ? He, they say, was born without a human father, that is, without that little vessel that is called a human soul, the vessel that limits the inflowing Divine life, and directs it to the production of a finite being capable of loving, of comprehending, and of performing only a single use or function in heaven. Instead, it was the Divine life itself unlimited by any such vessel, the love, not of a particular use, but of all uses, the love of God Himself for the salvation of the whole human race, the love that created the universe in the beginning, that has governed and maintained it through all the ages. This infinite love it was that formed the body in the womb of Mary, and that dwelt as the soul in Jesus Christ.
     Now consider. If the God who created the universe, operating through a little limiting vessel or machine that we call a human soul, has power to form the body and the brain of an infant in the womb, is it impossible or even difficult to believe that He could form such a body without those limitations: a body and a brain capable of responding to all His love, and all His wisdom-a body and a brain in which and through which He Himself could act to teach men and to lead them, that they might learn to know Him, to see Him as He really is, and to understand and keep His law, and thus to worship Him in spirit and in truth?
     Now if it is true that the soul of Jesus Christ was not, like the souls of other men, the love of some particular use, but was God's own love for the whole human race, is it not understandable that the mind, inspired by that Divine love, animated and formed by it-even as every man's mind is inspired, animated and formed by his own special love-was capable of correcting the errors of human thought, and of teaching, both by word and by example, the Divine way of life?

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     The Writings tell us that except for the fact that His soul was infinite love, Jesus Christ at birth was like every other infant. He was in complete ignorance, and had to grow by successive steps into knowledge, understanding and wisdom, just as is the case with every man. We may often wonder how a being with a soul of infinite wisdom could be in ignorance. Yet the same thing in a finite sense is the case with all men. Each one is born with a soul in which there is the wisdom that builds the body and the brain, and that maintains all the physical organs in health and in the perfect performance of their special functions. Each one is born with a soul that contains all the wisdom of the man's particular use-all the wisdom into which he has the ability to grow throughout life, and to all eternity. Yet each one is born into complete ignorance, and his growth in knowledge and intelligence is but a progressive realization of that wisdom which is the characteristic of the soul. In this respect the Lord was no different from other men. He differed only in the nature of the wisdom inherent in His infinite soul-a wisdom which could come to conscious realization only by degrees.

     But as the infant Jesus grew in knowledge, the love that was His soul gave Him a wondrous insight into the real meaning of what He learned, an insight that is not possible to any ordinary man. As His mind developed, therefore, He could, by successive degrees, dispel the false appearances, and correct the errors of men, ordering all things in perfect accord with the very Divine truth itself. By rejecting falsity and replacing it with truth in His own mind, the Lord glorified His Human. But this took place secretly within Himself. The truth He saw with infinite perfection could be imparted to men only by means of teaching, and this teaching was necessarily limited to what men were prepared to understand. At the time when the Lord was on earth, only the most general idea of the truth could be grasped by His followers, who were simple men in a state of mental adolescence. The learned of His day could not be taught at all because in their conceit of their own intelligence they closed their minds against His teaching, and listened to His words only to refute them. To those who hearkened in childlike faith, the Lord imparted the generals of Divine truth, making them clear by parables and by homely illustrations. He imparted the truth that He was the Son of God, the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, and that He was to establish the kingdom of heaven among men. He made it plain that this Divine purpose would be accomplished as far as men learned to love Him and to keep His commandments. He could not explain those deeper truths that lay concealed within His parables.

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He could not make known in any way that they could understand, how He, apparently a finite man, subject to the physical laws and the weaknesses of other men, could nevertheless be God Himself, one with the infinite Father. He could not make them understand what was really meant by the "kingdom of heaven" which He had come to establish. For this reason He could not reveal that Divine understanding of truth which was taking form in His mind, unseen of men or of angels.
     This is why, although He completed the glorification of His Human during His life on earth, He could not finish the work of redemption. The completion of this must await centuries of secret preparation, and a second coming at a time when the minds of men might be capable of understanding Divine truth in rational terms. This second coming is none other than the open teaching of those truths which had lain concealed in the internal sense of His Word-teaching whereby men might see as never before what He really meant, the spiritual truth that constitutes His glorified Human, and reveals the true nature of God, the quality of His infinite love and wisdom, the laws of His providence and the essential attributes of His heavenly kingdom. In the light of this teaching the doubts that have darkened the minds of men can be dissipated; the objections raised by a misunderstanding of the Sacred Scripture; the errors of materialistic thinking-all this can be removed that men may now see in Jesus Christ the very incarnation of God, may behold the wonders of His operation in the whole of nature, may realize the immanent presence in all things of human life of His power, His love, His guiding wisdom and His protecting providence. When this is seen, the Lord can be acknowledged and worshipped from the heart, and for those who thus acknowledge Him it may be truly said that He has come.

     This inner vision of God is what gives meaning, holiness and power to the story of the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem, and makes the celebration of Christmas an occasion for the joy and thanksgiving of heart that is expressed in the song of the angels: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." For it is an occasion for the worship of Jesus Christ, the ever-living, ever-present God, to whom we look for the teaching of truth that alone can guard us from evil, and direct our steps in the way of peace. This is what Christmas should mean to all who have in mercy been led to see the Lord Jesus Christ, now livingly present in the Heavenly Doctrine-present in His glorified Divine Human as the one only God of heaven and earth.

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VIRGIN BIRTH 1968

VIRGIN BIRTH       Rev. HUGO Lj. ODHNER       1968

     No truth can be seen by a man unless his mind is first prepared to grasp its significance. The more profound the truth, the more thorough must be the preparation. But it is equally true that many ages may pass before men can understand the deeper meaning of an event long known.
     So it was with the Lord's coming. He was made flesh and dwelt among us, and many beheld His glory. But the full significance of the unique manner of His birth and of His actions and words was never actually revealed until at His second advent-in the doctrines of the spiritual sense of the Word.
     The Christian Church, which spread over the Mediterranean world wherever the disciples preached the Gospel, accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, who in heaven and earth had power to save all who believed in His name and followed His teachings. They saw in His miraculous birth the testimony of His teachings. They saw in His miraculous birth the testimony of His Divinity. What they did not comprehend was that the Lord was born into the natural world in such a way that it would represent the manner in which He comes in any age to any human mind that will receive Him. Nor did the Christian Church ever come to understand in what the work of redemption really consisted or how the Lord was by glorification united to the Father.
     The Gospel of Luke tells how-in the fulness of time-an angel- whose name was given as Gabriel, "the Power of God"-came to a young virgin in Nazareth and announced to her that she would bear a son, whom she should name Jesus and who would be called the Son of the Highest. This troubled the virgin, whose name was Mary; for she was not yet married, although she was betrothed to Joseph, a man of the house of David. But the angel told her: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee; wherefore the holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God."
     The Writings show that Gabriel-who also had appeared with prophetic announcements to Daniel and ages later to Zacharias the priest-was an angelic society whose special ministry was to teach from the Word concerning the advent of the Lord and the assumption and glorification of His Human.*

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Ever since the fall of the race there had been prophecies about the seed of the woman who would bruise the head of the serpent.** Among the Hebrews, these prophecies had become ever more definitive, and many of the Jews were in the expectancy of a Messiah or an anointed leader sent from God to deliver the restless people from their foreign yoke. While there was no knowledge as to how this Messiah or Christ was to come, the many Messianic prophecies served the obvious use of preparing the people for His advent. Mary also must have been well aware of what the prophets had promised. And her reply to Gabriel's message was: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."
     * AR 548
     ** Genesis 3: 15.

     It was pointed out in the Writings that it was of order that the Lord should be born of a virgin, but under the protection of legal marriage.* Joseph was clearly needed as a guardian and provider. It was necessary that Mary should be looking forward to the security of a home where her mother-instincts could find an orderly fulfillment. Yet it was also necessary that there be a tender understanding on Joseph's part as to the circumstances of the Lord's birth; that both Joseph and Mary might be in the common endeavor to protect and rear the tiny infant when born. To this end Joseph-who, it is said, was a "just" man-was informed by an angel in a dream that what was conceived in Mary was of the Holy Spirit, and that Jesus would indeed save His people from their sins. And he was reminded of the prophecy of Isaiah: "Behold, a virgin shall l be with child and shall bring forth a Son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."**
     * God the Savior, n. 38, 37.
     ** Matthew 1: 23.
     Matthew cites these words from the then current Greek version of the Old Testament, the Septuagint. The actual Hebrew word used by Isaiah for "virgin" was [Hebrew] (almah), which is translated, in the recently much-publicized English version of the Old Testament, as "a young woman." This is indeed not incorrect. But the fact remains that at the time of the Lord (and several centuries before) the Greek-speaking Jews all translated the word almah with the distinctive Greek term for "virgin" (parthenos, one put aside).*
     * Isaiah 7: 14.
     That the Lord was born of a virgin, and thus had no human father, marks Him as utterly different from other men. In the Christian world the reasons for the Virgin Birth are not clearly seen. But from the Writings we know that the soul of every man is an offshoot from his father's soul or entire spirit which is his character and disposition, with all inclinations and affections of the father's love.*

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With man, the soul from its very inmost is finite and limited. It is capable of only a finite and limited development; it is a form receptive of life, adapted for limited usefulness. Its love has only finite objectives. Thus the offspring of a human father can never overcome these finite limitations, or transcend the bounds of finition.
     * TCR 103.
     But in addition, the paternal inheritance of man contains tendencies to evil which can indeed be resisted through repentance and regeneration, and thus be removed from one's life; but which are nonetheless so deeply engraven upon the organics of his spirit that they cannot to eternity be expunged.
     It was therefore necessary that the Lord should have a soul which was not from a human father, but from Jehovah God; an infinite soul, capable of infinite love for all men and angels and spirits from all the earths of the universe and of all human beings that were yet to be born to all eternity. His soul was Jehovah, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, life itself, infinite love and infinite wisdom! And so we read that the angel said to Mary: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee." The Most High means the Divine love-the Divine Being itself which made the paternal soul of Christ; and the Spirit of God meant the Divine truth itself which proceeded to form the body of the Lord-by assuming flesh in the virgin's womb.

     Here we come upon what the Writings call an arcanum-an angelic secret now disclosed. This is that the spiritual origin of all human seed is truth from good. Not Divine truth from Divine good. Not infinite and uncreate as in the Lord. But truth from good "in its own form finite and created."* But the Divine seed of our Lord from His Father or Jehovah, was the Divine truth in which is the Divine good. The Lord's Human was thus conceived from the infinite and uncreate truth.
     * Canons, Trinity iv.
     This was the reason why the "holy thing" that was born of Mary must be called the Son of God. In descending into the world to reveal its Divinely Human essence, the Divine truth (which as the Word was in the beginning with God and was God and created all things) must needs appear as separate and distinct from the Divine Being or Jehovah; appear as the Son of God. Yet in reality there was no separation of the Divine truth from the Divine itself: the Lord's soul was in no sense a separated part or portion of the Divine, but was the Divine in its totality. For the infinite cannot be divided. The Divine is in all space apart from space!

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As to His soul, the Lord was omnipresent, omnipotent and omniscient even as a babe. His soul was not only the soul ruling the infant body born at Bethlehem, but was the Ruler of all creation, the infinite Father of eternity.
     Even as Mary was amazed that she should bear a child, not knowing a man, so many students of the Writings have wondered how the infinite Divine itself could have assumed material flesh without some intermediate or some intervening link or instrumentality. Mary was satisfied with the angel's assurance that "to God all things are possible." But that does not mean that we should not seek an ever clearer enlightenment-entering with our understanding into these mysteries of faith.*
     * TCR 508.
     Some students of the Writings have supposed that the Lord in the process of His incarnation assumed from the heavens a spiritual mind with "whatever of impurity adhered to it . . . from the proprium of the angels," and also a natural mind from the world of spirits, as well as the material body with its heredity from Mary.* According to this idea, His natural mind was assumed "from the vast mass of spirits then in the world of spirits and not yet judged who were mainly evil and false within but apparently good and true without."** This natural mind assumed from the spirits would be, it was thought, distinct from the heredity through Mary. The suggestion was implied that the Lord derived a finite heredity from the angelic heavens and the world of spirits to take the place of the heredity which a finite man has from his father.
     * N. C. Burnham, Discrete Degrees, Philadelphia 1887, pages 122-130.
     ** ibid., p. 122.
     We do not find support at all in the Writings for such ideas. The emphasis in our doctrines is placed on the fact that there was no merely human paternal heredity in the Lord. We read:

     "It may cause surprise that it is said that there was with the Lord hereditary evil from the mother . . . but it cannot be doubted that it was so. For no human being can be born of another human being without thence deriving evil. But the hereditary evil derived from a father is one thing, and that derived from a mother is another. The hereditary evil from a father is more internal, and remains to eternity, for it cannot possibly be eradicated; but the Lord had not such evil, because He was born of Jehovah the Father and was therefore as to internals Divine or Jehovah. But the hereditary evil from the mother is of the external man; this did exist with the Lord . . ."*
     * AC 1573.

     Thus the Lord was born with infirmities, through which He could undergo temptations; temptations far more grievous than any man's. Yet these evils, through the presence of which He could meet the forces of hell, were all inherited through Mary.

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     To avoid contradicting this clear teaching, it has been suggested that the heavens, and presumably the whole spiritual world, including evil spirits, acted not as a father but as a "great spiritual mother" to the Lord.* But the mother does not contribute any spiritual element at man's conception and birth: only a natural or material basis for the reception of various spiritual influxes. In fact, the Lord was in no sense the offspring or son of heaven. He was the Son of God, and the Son of Man.
     * Ibid., p. 130.
     As the Lord grew up, He did indeed enter into association with all the societies of the spiritual world. This was necessary for the upbuilding of His mind and for His performance of the work of redemption. But they were never part of His being, nor did they contribute of their imperfections to veil the Divine seed in its descent to assume the human from the virgin.

     We fall back, therefore, on the revealed teaching that "the Divine truth, which is the Word and in which is the Divine good, was the seed from the Father from which the Human was conceived"; and that this-unlike man's-was infinite and uncreate.* And if we are awed by the idea that the Infinite-which to us seems so remote-could descend into the natural world to assume its human in the virgin's womb, let us reflect that every atom of material substance of the ground is constantly maintained by the creative presence of the Lord within it. Nor is matter-the stuff of our bodies-a simple substance. Within it are discrete degrees, ascending up to the first natural substance; and this indeed, we are now informed, is an end-result, an effect in space and time, of congeries or complexes of spiritual substances which in turn contain their discrete components; until, in thought, we reach the substance of the spiritual sun, the first and only finite substance of creation in which the Divine directly operates.**
     * Canons, Trin. IV: 5.
     ** TCR 280-8; DP 5, 6.
     Matter, then, is but the termination of a chain of substances and forms in discrete order, creatively proceeding from God Himself who is present in them all. They are but the tools of His action, and in them all He is present immediately as well as mediately. He does not need the help of angels, although He graciously allows them to help at times, by consciously helping each other and unconsciously helping men.
     But before the time of the advent the angelic heaven had failed. The Lord indeed inflowed through the celestial kingdom of heaven and by means of the angels there He caused His presence to be represented before other angels and spirits and also before the prophets who on earth were inspired to write the Word.

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In other words, before the Lord assumed a Human in the world He could not appear to angels and men in the natural form of a Man, Or-to put the thing in theological language-He did not have the Divine Natural degree except potentially; and instead He was present in heaven by influx and appeared to angels and prophets by filling some angel with His Divine, so that this angel could represent Him in angelic form and speak from and in the name of Jehovah. But in this way the Lord's operation was limited and could not be effective among spiritual and natural men. For the heavens-even the celestial heavens-are not pure in the Lord's sight. The power lodged in the celestial kingdom owing to the transflux of the Divine was indeed great, but it did not suffice to judge the rebellious hells or liberate good but ignorant spirits from their control. Thus the Lord said to Isaiah: "I looked, and there was none to help, and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore Mine own arm brought salvation unto Me."*
     * Isaiah 64:5.

     The Lord bowed the heavens and came down-and the angels had no part in His coming except as announcers and witnesses. He descended within and by means of the successives of His own creation-so that the soul which quickened the womb of Mary into new life had none of the imperfections or defects of the angelic hosts, nor any human limits, but was the infinite Divine love itself-a love embracing the universal human race, and proceeding to form a body of flesh which could bear our griefs and carry our sorrows, and on which was laid the iniquity of mankind.*
     * Isaiah 53.
     It was this body, newly born, that the shepherds came to adore, because they heard an angel proclaim that this was to be the Savior, which is Christ the Lord. They found Him wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger, and attended by Mary and Joseph. Mary, of course. Her role is so important that we must refer to it repeatedly. When the world of human minds was closed by evils and errors to shut out the saving influx of the Divine truth, it was the womb of a virgin-a bodily organism which is not under the mind's control, but functions both with the good and the wicked in secret accord with life's own laws-that became the plane in which the Divine truth could take human form.
     Because the tissues of her body carried the burden of inherited evils which were thus transmitted as latent tendencies to her child, Mary comes to represent the whole race from which this accumulated heredity of human perversity was derived. This does not mean that she was evil, for no one is condemned because of inherited evils. And since she consented to her office of mothering the Son of God she also represents the church, or that in the church which receives and welcomes the Divine truth.

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And thus she stands for the virginal affection of truth, which perceives the value of a truth even before its full significance is generally recognized or realized; wherefore it is said of Mary that she observed the marvelous things which occurred in connection with the birth of her child and "kept all these sayings and pondered them in her heart."

     But beside the manger there was not only Mary. We note also the presence of Joseph, the carpenter, her wedded protector. Joseph had no part in the Divine birth. But he had been told by an angel in a dream about the miraculous conception of Jesus, and was an agent carrying out on earth a commission imposed by the prophetic foreknowledge of the heavens. Joseph had a necessary part which required both loyalty and judgment. There was Mary, helpless, exposed to slander, and in need of human kindness as well as of Divine favor! There was Jesus, a waif without an earthly father, a babe in need of support and protection, a child who like all others must have instruction and guidance. "In the Lord recently born" there were as with every man a soul and a body and-between the two-"communication."* But the mind by which these two were to be conjoined, was yet to be formed and furnished. It must be formed in human fashion, by gradual steps. It was-before glorification-a finite mind, built up by means of the knowledges that the bodily senses served to convey. From infancy the child Jesus was in need of instruction in order that His understanding might be furnished with the tools which His Divine soul required. Joseph represents such initial instruction.
     * Canons, Redeemer iv. 6, 7.
     The swaddling clothes in which the infant Savior was at first garbed; the manger in which He was laid; even the gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh which the wise men brought as an offering; all these were significative of the truths of innocence and love by which the Lord's mind was being prepared.
     In outer fact, little is known of Joseph, apart from his service as protector of Mary and her holy Babe. But in a spiritual sense, his function widens. Three times he is instructed by an angel in dreams. His faith in the Messianic prophecies given in the Hebrew Scriptures was the means by which the celestial heavens could extend their protective spheres. The hopes of the ages, the dreams of the ancients, the perceptions of the angels of the Most Ancient Church, were-through Joseph's simple faith-focused around the new born child, so as to give to those closest about Him a growing sense of the continuous miracle of the Divine incarnation.

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     In their totality, the inner sense of the prophecies and significative rituals of the Hebrew Scripture and the appearances of the Divine through successions of angels, presented before spirits of men what the Writings call "the representative Human" of the Lord, which is distinguished both from "the Divine Human from Eternity" (which was invisible) and from "the glorified Human" of the Lord. The representative Human was a loan from the angelic heavens partaking of finite imperfections, and was so veiled in heavy symbolism that it was only able to protect the Divine arcana from the danger of profanation. It was not the representative Human that descended and became flesh. But during His life on earth, the Lord received into His mind-from without-all the forms of Jewish prophecy, as they were transmitted in the Hebrew Scriptures; and also all the angelic representations of the Divine. The Writings declare that in that manner the Lord as to His Human became a form of truth Divine, so that He "fulfilled all righteousness," accomplished all prophecies, not as men or even angels had understood them, but in a Divine and infinite sense.
     The representations wrought through the heavens before the advent were like the dreams of the prophets, who heard without right comprehension-even like Joseph who was guided by the dreams of the night.
     Yet is was Joseph who took Mary and Jesus to Egypt-which specifically signifies a knowledge of representatives.

     It seems so distant, now, this advent of the Lord on earth. The Gospel reads like a tale of long ago, remote from the absorbing events of our own day. Yet the Lord can come as fully to us as to those of ancient Palestine. He can descend miraculously into the bustling world of our own minds, if we but provide as much as a manger for His birth. Instead of a Gabriel to announce His coming, we have the Word. Instead of a Mary, there may be some virgin state affected by prophetic truths, an affection of truth which can receive the Word of God as of Divine origin and infinite meaning even though it may not fully understand and even though it is bent on human uses.
     If the Divine truth of revelation can thus be received in a man's mind, remnants of charity will gather round like faithful shepherds to hail the Prince of Peace who would lead by truths to a life of good. And the truth-as yet in its tender dawning-will find a gentle protector, a Joseph, in all the remembered prophecies and traditions and in the historical faith of the church.
     The truth of Divine revelation, which thus becomes incarnate in the world of our minds, is not of human origin. It is at very birth the Son of God. It is Emmanuel, God-with-us, patiently laboring for our salvation amidst entangling evils and fallacies which seek to veil its powers.

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It was never conceived by our understanding, but when it first comes to our perception, it comes as an announcement from heaven and fills the world of our mind with portents and signs of its Divine mission.
     Such is the advent of the Lord to every man who is truly of the church:
His presence can be received only in the virginal affection of truth which admits nothing but the Divine Word itself and does not pretend to contribute anything to this truth Divine except an unworthy and temporary veiling. Such is the Virgin Birth of the Lord in every mind wherein there is a Mary who will humbly set aside her natural ambitions and dreams and say: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy Word."
REDEDICATION TO THE LORD 1968

REDEDICATION TO THE LORD       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1968

     (Delivered at the Cathedral service on Charter Day, October 25, 1968.)

     As we marched here this morning, how many of you understood, or wondered, why the observance of Charter Day begins with Divine worship? Commencing with a service in the Cathedral is certainly a fitting acknowledgment that everything the Academy truly is and has begins with and comes from the Lord. But within that acknowledgment, what is the purpose of this service? Is it that we may rededicate ourselves to the Academy? In a sense it is, yet for that it would not be necessary to "go into the house of the Lord." Rather is it an occasion on which the Academy may rededicate itself to the Lord; one on which we, the Academy-its administration, faculty and student body, its Corporation, alumni and other friends and supporters-may rededicate ourselves to the Lord.
     Now to dedicate is to set apart to a use; and as every use has an end, a cause or means, and an effect, to dedicate oneself to a use is to devote oneself to the means from love of the end and thus ultimate it in the effect.

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For those who comprise an institution believed to have been established under Divine leading to dedicate themselves to the Lord is to devote themselves in this way to the use for which the institution was founded; in this instance, the use of the Academy. And what is that use? What is the use that sets the Academy apart from every other institution of secondary and higher education in the world? The question might be answered in terms of the stated purposes for which the Academy was chartered. However, these purposes may all be seen under one idea: the use of the Academy is to serve as a center, in the church and in the world, for the revealed Word of the Lord.
     In saying this we are not unmindful of the fact that the church itself, its societies and its homes are also centers for the Word. But the use which distinguishes the Academy from them is that of serving as such a center in a particular way. Its function is that of the study, teaching and learning of the Word, and this in a much wider sense than you might think is implied. Certainly it is the Academy's concern to teach the religion of the Writings, and also their theology and philosophy; but it is also the Academy's concern to organize the facts and knowledges of all the subject fields in the light of the Writings, and to present them in that light, so that the real truth about them may be seen and knowledges that look to use may be learned and understood; for such knowledges also are knowledges of the Word-knowledges which are open to the Lord.

     By this the use of the Academy schools is clearly distinguished from that of all others. In the eighteenth century, during which the Writings were given, there were many who questioned or denied that there was any real need for the Word. It was held that man was born with a knowledge of certain fundamental truths-that there is a God, that man is immortal, that he has a responsibility to God and to the neighbor, and that a future life of rewards or punishments awaits him after death. While the existence of God was not then in question, the Word was therefore held to be unnecessary; and it was believed that far more could be learned about God from the scientific investigation of nature than from the study of the Word and of theology. Today, when faith in an authoritative Divine revelation has declined sharply, and many in the Christian world deny or at least question the existence of God, nature is more and more regarded as the only teacher; and the hope of mankind is seen to lie in man himself and in his inevitable destiny. But the Writings dispel these illusions. They show that nature without the Word reveals nothing, but only confirms what is known from the Word; yet that confirmation from nature by means of rational light corroborates spiritual truths; and it is the use of the Academy to present spiritual truths, and in rational light confirmations from nature, that its graduates may be equipped rationally to perform spiritual uses to the neighbor in this world and in the Lord's heavenly kingdom in the life to come.

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     It is in this way that the Academy serves as a center for the Word, and it should be evident that this is not a use men can perform from themselves. It is a use of the Lord with men, and to devote ourselves to it is therefore to dedicate ourselves to Him. But how do we do this? If the Academy is to be a center for the Word, then evidently the Word must be the center of the Academy, and to seek to make it such is to dedicate all our efforts to the Lord. This does not mean that the books of the Word in the Sacred Scripture and the Heavenly Doctrine are to be constantly before our eyes, in our hands and on our lips, though that should frequently be the case, or that the Academy should function in an atmosphere of self-conscious piety! But it does very definitely mean at least two things.

     On the part of the faculty it means that in preparing to teach and in teaching, and in the scholarly work which gives depth to teaching, the Word should be the center of light and the focus of thought; that research in the subject fields should be accompanied by search of the Writings for that which throws light on the facts and knowledges of the field and can organize them into ideas which are open to the Lord. On the part of the student body it means a willingness to submit their ideas and questions, their problems and concerns, to the Lord's teachings in the Word, rather than looking for answers and solutions in man-made theories and direction in current trends.
     But far more important, it means that the love of the Word should be central-the love of studying and teaching from the Word, and the love of learning from and living by it. If this seems abstract and somewhat unrealistic because it is felt to be unattainable as yet, it may, perhaps, appear less so if it is put in this way. The love of the Word is simply the love that the Lord's will may he known and done. For that is what the Word is: a revelation to men of what the Lord's will for them is, and of how it may be done on earth as it is in heaven. To love the Word is to seek, from the affection of it, to try to see and understand the Lord's purpose in all things, the spiritual as well as the natural uses for which all created things are intended by Him that they may contribute to the eternal happiness and welfare of men as well as to their temporal prosperity and wellbeing; and to seek this knowledge, not only in the Word itself but in the humanities and the sciences as viewed in the light of the Word; to seek spiritual truth about natural things. And in the goals we set for ourselves and the ways in which we strive for them, the values by which we live, and the choices and vicissitudes we face in life it is to try to see what is the Lord's will for us, and then desire that His will be done.

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If this love of the Word is central it will be within everything we do-in the classroom and the study hall, in the dormitory and the athletic field and in social life-whether we are consciously thinking about it or not.

     Thus to be a living center for the Word because the Word is its living center is the use itself of the Academy as an educational institution. The Academy accepts this as its use because it is founded upon a conviction that the Word is an authoritative revelation of Divine truth. In so doing it sets itself apart further, and takes what many today regard as a position of weakness, but we consider one of strength. It is true that we begin with an act of faith. Our conviction of what the Word is we base on acceptance of what it claims to be. This has been referred to as reasoning in a logical circle, and we admit freely to so doing. But at the same time we insist that this is inevitable. If the Word is what it claims to be, then the simple fact is that there is no higher authority to which we can refer to determine the validity of its claims, no superior criterion that can be used. If it is the Word, it is itself the highest I authority. The Word is its own testimony, and we can only accept that testimony and submit our intellects, our loves and our lives to its claims. However, it should be noted well that we do not accept the Word as true because it says that it is true. We accept the Word because long study of it has led us to see that it is good and because when the Word is seen as good it is then seen to be true. As the Lord said: "If any man shall do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself."*
     * John 7: 17.
     We may say, then, that the use of the Academy is to serve as a center for the Word, not as a system of infallible truth, but as good from the Lord. To this use the Academy rededicates itself. For this we, the Academy, rededicate ourselves to the Lord. "Accept, [we] beseech Thee, the free will offerings of [our] lips, O Lord."*
     * Psalm 119: 108.

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FIFTY-THIRD BRITISH AND FIRST EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY 1968

FIFTY-THIRD BRITISH AND FIRST EUROPEAN ASSEMBLY       FRANK S. ROSE       1968

     This was the first European Assembly of the General Church, the first Assembly in England to be held in a university, the first to be presided over by the Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, and the first in which group discussions were incorporated as part of the Assembly. And what a delightful Assembly it was!-in spite of little teething problems. The weather was pleasant, the setting delightful, the meals delicious, the companionship heartwarming, and the sessions and services stimulating. There were people from Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, England and the United States to give it a truly international flavor.
     The Assembly began on Friday afternoon, at 4:00 p.m., with a service at the church on Maldon Road. This, too, was something new, a welcoming service and the only opportunity some of our guests had of seeing the Colchester church. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen preached the sermon, to a congregation of more than 120 people. After the service the car-lift began to the University of Essex, five miles away. People without cars of their own were taken in a 12-passenger bus especially hired for the Assembly and driven by Mr. Denis Pryke. Young boys were on hand at the University as traffic wardens, and Mrs. Boyesen and Mrs. Frank Rose were at the reception desk; but the newness of the premises, and the rush of visitors, strained the welcoming facilities, and the University was sprinkled with people lost in a seemingly endless maze of corridors and staircases.
     Eventually the visitors in residence at the University (altogether 55 people stayed there) found their way to their rooms, and most managed to find the Hexagon Restaurant in time for dinner at 6:45 p.m. It was worth searching for-a delicious salmon dinner with all the trimmings.

     First Session. The first session was at eight o'clock in the Lecture Theatre Block. We had a large room like an amphitheater, with seats rising steeply back in rows. The acoustics and amplifying systems were very good indeed and, being far removed from traffic noises, people could hear without difficulty. The Assembly received messages from Bishop Pendleton, the Rev. and Mrs. Erik Sandstrom, and the Rev. and Mrs. Frank Coulson.
     The Rev. Donald Rose gave the opening address: "The Sweet Meditation of Conjugial Love." This delightful and affecting paper was well received, but a tight schedule made it impossible to have a long discussion.

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After the session the Assembly was invited to an open house at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Warren David, 28 St. Clare Road, Colchester, with lanterns on the lawn, refreshments, and crowds of people engrossed in conversations in at least three different languages. A bus trip back to the University brought the first day of the Assembly to a close.

     Second Session. By Saturday morning we were much more at home. The second session began at 10:00 a.m., with the presidential address by Bishop Acton, on "Appearances of Truth." Instead of the usual discussion, we adjourned for coffee, and then split up into groups for more intimate discussion of questions circulated by Bishop Acton in advance. Each group had a chairman and elected a secretary to report back to the Assembly, and each group took a different question from the list prepared by Bishop Acton. It was intensely interesting to hear the answers as the secretaries made their reports: Dr. Norman Berridge, Mr. Fred Elphick and Mr. Norman Turner for the three English-speaking groups; Mr. Peter Areschoug for the Scandinavian group; and Mr. John Posthuma for the Dutch-speaking people. These smaller discussion groups were quite a feature of our Assembly, allowing a better exchange of ideas for more people and giving everyone a greater sense of participation than we usually have.

     Third Session. After lunch in the Hexagon Restaurant, and time to enjoy the beautiful setting of the University, we returned to the Lecture Theatre Block for the third session. This opened with business: adoption of the Minutes of the 52nd British Assembly; the report of the chairman of the British Finance Committee, the Rev. Frank Rose, and the report of the treasurer, Mr. Kenneth Pryke; the ratification of Bishop Pendleton's renomination of Mr. Norman Turner as a member of the Committee, and of his nomination of the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen as a member and as chairman of the Committee. Messrs. Thomas Hugill and David Appleton were elected as auditors, and the Rev. Donald Rose was elected as the new editor of the News Letter. But the most important item was the discussion of a possible incorporation of the General Church in Great Britain. A draft instrument of incorporation had been discussed at several meetings of the British Finance Committee and was presented to the Assembly by Mr. Roy Griffith, with a covering letter of encouragement from Bishop Pendleton. After a discussion of the importance of such a development, and some expressed concern that we ought not to act too hastily, it was agreed that the Board of Finance of Michael Church nominate three members and the Colchester Society Executive Committee nominate three members to meet with three members of the British Finance Committee to discuss the matter, and circulate a report in good time with a view to a decision being made at the next British Assembly.

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     It was suggested from the floor that the British Finance Committee should spend some money in advertising the Writings. It was agreed to consider this at a later meeting of the Committee.
     The third session was addressed by the Rev. Frank Rose on the subject of "Peace." During these Saturday sessions the children were supervised elsewhere by a team under the direction of Mrs. Warren David. There was then a break until the dinner-dance in the evening: time for the people in residence to enjoy the facilities of the University, and for the Colchester people to make the return to their homes through crowded Saturday streets.

     British Academy. The British Academy had a general meeting On Saturday afternoon. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen was elected chairman, and the Rev. Donald Rose as headmaster of the 1969 Summer School.

     Dinner-Dance. The dinner-dance and social on Saturday night was full of spirit and fun. The program was organized by the members of Michael Church, with Mr. Norman Turner as M.C. Special, unrehearsed items were thrown in, including songs in Dutch, Danish, and Zulu (Bishop and Mrs. Acton), and an American medley by the three Rose brothers (Frank, Don and Jack). As an added attraction, there was a showing of the 1967 Summer School film in a nearby lecture theater, with so many people interested that a double showing was necessary.

     Sunday. Sunday, always the most important day at our Assemblies, was nearly perfect. There was the Assembly service in the morning, with the children's talk by the Rev. Donald Rose and the sermon by Bishop Acton; lunch, with some picnicking on the lawn; and a Holy Supper service in the afternoon, with an address by the Rev. Donald Rose. At the same time as the Holy Supper Service, some children were going through last minute preparations for their Assembly performance in the next lecture room, so that after the service the people could walk right in and see the play. It was a play depicting the false ideas of heaven (adapted from TCR 731-752), and it was a little gem. The children, some from Colchester, some from London, represented the groups with their vain ideas of heaven, and were instructed by angels (Stephen Gimbrett and Alan Rose) and Swedenborg (Jonathan Rose).

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In all, it was a most delightful and moving performance: a credit to the work of Miss Agnes Noar, with help from Miss Hilda Waters, Miss Nancy Stroh and others.
     It was then after five o'clock, and the sun shone triumphantly on the garden of the University, where we had our garden party. The contrast of the stark modern towers of the new University, the old red brick of the manor house that originally stood at Wivenhoe Park, and the clusters of people around a perfect green lawn made a picture of peace, tradition and progress. As a fitting conclusion to the Assembly, the adults were invited to a cocktail party at "Hillcroft," home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wyncoll, and scene of many a happy Assembly gathering.
     Although the above describes a very active Assembly and a full program, there were times for people to relax, discuss in informal groups, or visit the exhibition of paintings, four dozen in all, done by the Rev. Frank Rose during his sixteen years in England.

Statistics. Attendance figures were as follows:
First Session     116     Friday Service     120
Second Session     109     Assembly Service     242 (47 children)
Third Session     120     Holy Supper          121 (111 communicants)
Dinner-Dance     144     Garden Party     208

     FRANK S. ROSE
          Secretary

     New Church Club

     The Assembly was preceded by a meeting of the New Church Club at Swedenborg House in London, with some two dozen people, men and women, attending. Bishop Acton gave the address.
SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE 1968

SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE              1968

     The location of this Committee's office has not been changed. All mail should be addressed: General Church Sound Recording Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Inquiries about slides should be addressed to: Visual Education Committee, Mrs. Anne B. Finkeldey, Agent, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Mail intended for these Committees and addressed to Cairncrest, the General Church office building, is delayed by re-routing.

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MILESTONE IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1968

MILESTONE IN NEW CHURCH EDUCATION        NANCY E. STROH       1968

     The 10th British Academy Summer School

     Ten years ago a modest beginning was made in England in the field of New Church education. Under the auspices of the British Academy, a summer school was established for young people. Its first session was for one week in August with eleven students and a teaching staff consisting of the three pastors resident in England at that time. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, December 1961, p. 560.)
     Since then, this little effort has shown steady annual growth and we are very happy to report that the Tenth Annual British Academy Summer School, which met in August of this year for two weeks, proudly enrolled seventy-two students from seven countries and had a teaching staff of five ministers and seven laymen and women assistants.
     The growth has been far beyond the dreams of its initiators and we can all join with them in their delight at seeing a need met so usefully and happily. The unmasked joy which students and staff exhibit toward the school (attested to by the return of many students year after year), is an indication of its success and a tribute to the Rev. Frank Rose who has been headmaster since the school's inception.
     The original purpose of the school was to provide an opportunity for the scattered young people in Britain to receive instruction in the doctrines of the church at a time when it was not possible to establish a longed-for secondary school due to scarcity of pupils and of staff. During the past ten years, however, when the school has met annually in one hired boarding school or another, its uses have expanded and become international in scope. Occasional visiting Americans to the school in past years had returned with such glowingly enthusiastic accounts that this year a British Academy Summer School Group Tour was arranged from Philadelphia. Joined by others traveling independently, this brought the American contingent to twenty-seven. The British, being twenty-eight in number, was the largest, but the international flavor was predominant as there were also six from Denmark, six from Sweden, three from Holland, and one each from Norway and South Africa.

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In addition to sharing lessons and discussions, the uses served by getting to know each other-to appreciate each other's national customs and characteristics, to compare points of view held about the church by those who have had considerable education in its sphere and those who have had little-all of these provide powerful ultimates toward the future growth and development of the organized world-wide General Church.
     By now there is a well-established sphere about the school, no matter where it is held. There is a delightful mixture of serious attention to study and doctrinal discussion, generally cheerful and willing acceptance of the routine duties of the work teams, vigorous participation in sports competitions, and originally prepared creative entertainments of all sorts-just the right balance of intellectual stimulation and recreation. For, it must be remembered that the school is also the summer holiday of many of those who attend. A typical daily schedule includes morning worship at nine-fifteen followed by classes from nine-thirty until twelve-thirty. (Classes this year were divided into three groups as they spanned an age range of from fourteen to thirty-five years). After lunch and the necessary dishwashing, afternoons are devoted to sports or expeditions. Organized entertainments follow supper, a brief evening worship is at nine-fifteen; and, after a snack, the younger students are sent off to bed at the appropriate hour, while older students gather with the staff for doctrinal discussions.

     The heart of the school of course lies in the classes. In addition to their regular pastoral duties, the Reverends Frank and Donald Rose and Bjorn Boyesen prepared fine series of lectures for the two-week period, The Last Judgment and Rational Psychology being among the works studied this year. Bishop Elmo C. Acton also gave daily lectures on Conjugial Love during the first week, followed by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson with a series on "Freedom" during the second. And occasional lectures on a variety of subjects were given by Fred Elphick, Carl Gunther, Nancy Stroh and Charles S. Cole. As was done last year, a journal of the school is being prepared which will include the work of the students.
     Pastoral duties having transferred him to Canada, this marked the last year for the Rev. Frank Rose as headmaster. The beloved "Mr. F" will be sorely missed by the young people of England and Europe. What the future holds for this summer school which he has established so firmly and successfully remains to be seen. Its phenomenal growth this year extended organizational plans and facilities to their limits, and new approaches may be necessary in the future if the large enrollment continues. However, growth of such a type is a happy "problem" and one which we feel sure will be met successfully by the Rev. Donald Rose who has been appointed by the British Academy to succeed his brother as headmaster next year.

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We all look forward with interest to what the next ten years will bring to the British Academy Summer School. May an ever-increasing number of students be lustily singing then as they do now: "We have a good time at the Summer School."
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1968

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1968

     Applications for admission to any of the Academy schools for the 1969-70 school year should be completed before April 1, and applications for student work and/or specific scholarship funds should be received before May 1. Therefore letters requesting application forms should be sent as soon as possible.
     Applications for readmission of students already in attendance should be made as soon as possible on the forms sent to parents or by letter.
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1968

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1968

     General Church of the New Jerusalem

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Board of Directors of the Corporation of the General Church have been scheduled to take place in the week of January 19-25, 1969, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
     ROBERT S. JUNGE
          Secretary
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1968

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1968

     People coming to Bryn Athyn on any occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation please communicate with the Guest Committee, c/o Mrs. Henry Dunlap, 2683 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, Penna. 19006.

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DILEMMA OF MODERN MAN 1968

DILEMMA OF MODERN MAN       Editor       1968


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, ?a.
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. Subscription, 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.
     We are taught in the Writings that man is not able to perceive the lusts of his evils. He does perceive their delights; but he does not think much about them, for the delights divert the thought and banish reflection. Consequently, the teaching continues, unless one knew from some other source that his lusts were evil he would call them good, and from freedom in accordance with the reason of his thought would express them and thereby appropriate them.
     Does not this teaching throw light on the situation of many people today? Not acknowledging any authoritative Divine revelation they find no source outside of themselves, or that extension of self which is the consensus of many in their generation. Without any means of correction, they tend to elevate into principles those commonly accepted practices which experience shows to be delightful and gratifying; and, calling their evils good, to exalt as a higher morality than any conventional code the free indulgence of what affords gratification and commit themselves to a system of ethics that is entirely relativistic.
     Given this situation, it is difficult to see how men may be delivered, and there can be no deliverance until they themselves desire it. Fortunately, however, the voice of conscience-even if only a spurious one-has not been silenced! There are still many who believe in a higher authority than man; and among those who are experimenting there seem to be some who are desperately seeking an authority that will order their lives. We have been given to know the authority for which they search. Our need to refer and submit to it is as great as that of any.

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FOLLOWING A STAR 1968

FOLLOWING A STAR       Editor       1968

     The star seen by wise men in the east appeared only to them. No others were led by its light, first to Jerusalem, and then to the house in Bethlehem where the infant Lord lay. This does not surprise us, for we know from Divine revelation that what the Wise Men saw was not a new heavenly body but a spiritual star, visible to them because their eyes were opened. However, we may well ponder the significance of the fact that the vision was for them alone; for again there will be many whose experience of Christmas will not include the appearing of the star which leads to the Lord, and whose night sky, spiritually, will contain only distant gleams of light, if even that.
     If the Wise Men had not known from ancient prophecies that the Lord was to come, and that His birth would be announced by a star, they might not have studied the night skies and from long familiarity with them been able to recognize what appeared to be a new star. If they had not known that a star would come out of Jacob, and a scepter rise out of Israel, they would not have been led to inquire in Jerusalem: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" And if they had not possessed the faith of love in what they knew, they would not have been moved to follow the star-to lay their gifts in homage, worship and love before the Babe in whom they recognized the King of heaven and earth.
     It is in the Word that the Lord appears, and it is those who know about His advent and patiently search the Word for signs of His coming who may be led to Him. The knowledges of interior good and truth which they study are as so many stars. But the star which leads to the Lord is the realization, come to in the light of Divine revelation, that the Lord is to be found, not in the truth of the Word, but in its good. This realization will lead us to the Divine doctrine with new zeal; yet as long as we are in the doctrine, but the life of the doctrine is not in us, we shall not come into the living presence of the Lord. For that presence is in the conjunction of good and truth in the mind, and in that conjunction we find and worship our King.
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM 1968

MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM       Editor       1968

     In considering various teachings of the Lord about the kingdom, we have seen that those are received into heaven who have received heaven into themselves, and that reception of heaven is regeneration. On a certain occasion the Lord said to His disciples: "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."

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In its own context of thought this is true; but the complete fulfillment of these words is in and with those later disciples who are of the Lord's New Church.
     A rational concept of regeneration could not be given to any of the pre-advent churches because the Lord had not yet come into the world and glorified His Human. When the Christian Church was established the Lord had, of course, come and had made His Human Divine. Yet the word, regeneration, is found only once in the Gospels, and the process. of glorification, and thence of regeneration, could not then be revealed in rational form. The Apostolic Church had no more than a simple idea of regeneration as a miraculous removal of evil and an instantaneous change of heart. As the church declined further thereafter, regeneration was connected with justification and with conversion; and although regeneration is usually presented as instantaneous, the time element is thought of as unimportant.
     Practically the only truth which remained is that regeneration involves a radical change in the human mind. In the Writings, however, the Divine Human is revealed and the process of regeneration unfolded. The teaching there given shows that regeneration is a gradual process, which involves a structural change in the spiritual substances of the mind; and it shows also that this process results neither from a life of piety nor yet from an emotional response to religion, but from the life of religion-the life of obedience to the Lord's precepts in the Word.

     Thus the mysteries of the kingdom have been opened. It is true that there are limits to man's knowledge of these mysteries. The regenerating man cannot know how or when his regeneration is taking place. He cannot see or understand the labyrinthine ways by which the Lord leads the interiors of his mind secretly from evil into good without touching his freedom. To that extent, a man's regeneration is a mystery to him. But the doctrine of regeneration has now been revealed in rational form; and man may enter with the understanding into its arcana, and may enter also into the life of the doctrine which has been made known from the affection of the truth now given.
     Ours is indeed a great privilege, if we are moved so to regard it. The truth which was only hinted at to the disciples-that salvation is achieved not through external obedience to Divine law but through a radical change of heart and mind, of will and understanding-has now been opened to man's fullest comprehension. As we prepare to celebrate the Lord's birth, and to approach another crossroads of our lives, may we resolve to enter into that truth and thus come into the mysteries of the kingdom which we have been given to know.

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DIRECTORY 1968

DIRECTORY              1968

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

     Officials and Councils

Bishop:          Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Bishop Emeritus:     Right Rev. George de Charms
Secretary:          Rev. Robert S. Junge

     CONSITORY

     Bishop Willard D. Pendleton
Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton; Right Rev. George de Charms; Rev. Messrs. Harold C. Cranch; W. Cairns Henderson, Secretary; Robert S. Junge; Louis B. King; Hugo Lj. Odhner; Martin Pryke; Norman H. Reuter; Erik Sandstrom.

     "General Church of the New Jerusalem"

     (A corporation of Pennsylvania)

     OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

     Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, President
     Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Vice President
     Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, Secretary
     Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Treasurer

     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CORPORATION

Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Right Rev. Elmo C. Acton; Right Rev. George de Charms; Kesniel C. Acton, Esq.; Mr. Gordon Anderson; Mr. Lester Asplundh; Mr. Robert H. Asplundh; Mr. Horace W. Brewer; Mr. Gordon D. Cockerell; George C. Doering, Esq.; Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Jr.; Mr. Alan B. Fuller; Mr. Alfred H. Hasen; Mr. Kent Hyatt; Mr. James F. Junge; Mr. William R. Kintner; Mr. Edward B. Lee, Jr.; Mr. Willard McCardell; Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn; Mr. Lachlan Pitcairn; Mr. Stephen Pitcairn; Mr. Oliver I. Powell; Mr. Owen Pryke; Mr. John W. Rose; Mr. Roy H. Rose; Mr. David H. Stebbing; Mr. Ray Synnestvedt; Mr. Marvin J. Walker, Mr. Robert E. Walter; Mr. George H. Woodard.

     The Clergy

     Bishops

PENDLETON, WILLARD, DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 18, 1933; 2nd Degree, September 12, 1934; 3rd Degree, June 19, 1946. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

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ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928; 3rd
Degree, June 4, 1967. Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

DE CHARMS, GEORGE. Ordained June 28, 1913; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1916; 3rd Degree, March 11, 1928. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. Vice President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

     Pastors

ACTON, ALFRED. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd Degree, October 30, 1966. Assistant Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Instructor in the Immanuel Church School. Address: 2700 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois 60025
ASPLUNDH, KURT HORIGAN. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 6901 Yorkshire Drive, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15208
BOYESEN, BJORN ADOLPH HILDEMAR. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2nd Degree, March 30, 1941. Pastor of the Colchester Society. Address: 30 Inglis Road, Colchester, England.
BUSS, PETER MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd Degree, May 16, 1965. Superintendent of the South African Mission. Visiting Pastor to isolated members and groups in South Africa. Address: 42 Pitlochry Road, Westville, Natal, Republic of South Africa.
CHILDS, GEOFFREY STAFFORD. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Pastor of the Detroit Society. Address: 280 East Long Lake Road, Troy, Michigan 48084
COLE, ROBERT HUDSON PENDLETON. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, October 30, 1966. Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago. Visiting Pastor, Madison, St. Paul-Minneapolis Circles, St. Louis Group. Address: 5220 North Wayne Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60604
CRANCH, HAROLD COVERT. Ordained June 19, 1941; 2nd Degree, October 25, 1942. Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Address: 2 Lorraine Gardens, Islington, Ontario, Canada.
FRANSON, ROY. Ordained June 19, 1953; 2nd Degree, January 29, 1956. Visiting Pastor to the Southeastern States, resident in Miami, Florida. Address: 6721 Arbor Drive, Miramar, Florida 33023
GILL, ALAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Address: 9 Ireton Road, Colchester, England.
GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928. Address: 3508 Linneman Street, Glenview, Illinois 60025
GOODENOUGH, DANIEL WEBSTER. Ordained Jones 19, 1965; 2nd Degree, December 10, 1967. Visiting Pastor to the New York and North Jersey Circles. Instructor in Religion and History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
HEINRICHS, DANIEL WINTHROP. Ordained June 19, 1957; 2nd Degree, April 6, 1958. Pastor of the Durban Society. Address: 1 Mowbray Place, Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, Republic of 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. 1, Blair, Ontario, Canada.
HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, April 14, 1935. Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Dean of the Theological School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

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HOLM, BERNARD DAVID. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, January 27, 1957. Visiting Pastor in South Ohio and to the Erie Circle. Address: 10613 Le Marie Drive, Sharonville, Cincinnati, Ohio 45241
HOWARD, GEOFFREY HORACE. Ordained June 19, 1961; 2nd Degree, June 2, 1963. Resident Pastor of the Tucson Circle. Visiting Pastor to Phoenix, Arizona, and San Diego, California. Address: 2536 N. Stewart Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85716
JUNGE, ROBERT SCHILL. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, August 11, 1957. Secretary of the General Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
KING, LOUIS BLAIR. Ordained June 19, 1951; 2nd Degree, April 19, 1953. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Address: 73 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois 60025
NEMITZ, KURT PAUL. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, March 27, 1966. Pastor of the Stockholm Society. Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen, Jonkoping and Oslo Circles. Editor of Nova Ecclesia. Address: Aladdinavagen 27, Bromma, Sweden.
ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGBERG. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2nd Degree, June 24, 1917. Special Teacher of Theology and Philosophy, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
ODHNER, ORMOND DE CHARMS. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, October 11, 1942. Professor of Church History and Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
PENDLETON, DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Principal of the Boys School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
PRYKE, MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, March 1, 1942. Executive Vice President, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastoral Assistant to the Bishop. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Visiting Pastor of the Central Western District, resident in Denver, Coloraao. Address: 1055 Vine Street, Denver, Colorado 80206
ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. Director, General Church Religion Lessons. Chairman, General Church Translation Committee. Visiting Pastor to the Montreal Circle. Address: 3375 Baldwin Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006
ROSE, DONALD LESLIE. Ordained June 16, 1957; 2nd Degree, June 23, 1963. Pastor of Michael Church, London, England. Visiting Pastor to the Circles in Paris and The Hague. Address: 135 Mantilla Road, Tooting, London, S.W. 17, England.
ROSE, FRANK SHIRLEY. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, August 2, 1953. Pastor of the Carmel Church, Blair, Ontario. Address: R. R. 1, Blair, Ontario, Canada.
SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained, June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, August 4, 1935. Visiting Pastor to the Cleveland (North Ohio) Circle. Professor of Theology and Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
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: Box 1248, 116 Enterprise Road, Rt. 556, Mitchellville, Md.
21109
SIMONS, DAVID RESTYN. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church in charge of elementary education. Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

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SONESON, LORENTZ RAY. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, May 16, 1965. Pastor of the Los Angeles Society. Visiting Pastor to San Francisco. Address: 346 Riverdale Drive, Glendale, Calif. 91204
STROH, KENNETH OLIVER. Ordained June 19, 1945; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Director of Music, Bryn Athyn Church. Visiting Pastor to the Massachusetts Group. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
TAYLOR, DOUGLAS MCLEOD. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Pastor of the Hurstville Society. Address: 22 Dudley Street, Penshurst, New South Wales, Australia.
WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained June 19, 1922; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Professor Emeritus of History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

     Ministers

BOOLSEN, GUDMUND ULLRICH. Ordained June 19, 1961. Address: DCC, APO 23, New York, New York 09023
FIGUEIREO, JOSE LOPES DE. Ordained October 24, 1965. Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society, Brazil. Address: Rua Henrique Fleiuss 155, Apt. 405, Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
HEINRICHS, WILLARD LEWIS DAVENPORT. Ordained June 19, 1965. Visiting Minister to the Pacific Northwest, resident in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. Address: 1108 96th Avenue, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada.

     Authorized Candidates

ROGERS, NORBERT BRUCE. Authorized February 1, 1965. Visiting Preacher to the Connecticut Group. Instructor in Religion and Latin, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009
SMITH, CHRISTOPHER RONALD JACK. Authorized February 6, 1968. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009

     Guyana Mission

     Pastor-in-Charge

ALGERNON, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2nd Degrees, September 1, 1940. Pastor of the General Church Mission in Georgetown, Guyana. Address: 85 William Street, Kitty, EC. Demerara, Guyana.

     South African Mission

     Pastors

BUTELEZI, STEPHEN EPHRAIM. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Hambrook Society. Address: Hambrook Bantu Community School, P.B. 912, Ladysmith, Natal.
MBEDZI, PAULUS. Ordained Mardi 23, 1958; 2nd Degree, March 14, 1965. Pastor of the Enkumba Society. Address: Enkumba Bantu School, PB. Bulwer, Natal.

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NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Assistant Superintendent. Pastor of the Clermont Society. Address: 1701-31st Avenue, Clermont Township, P.O. Clernaville, Natal.
SIBEKO, PAUL PEFENI. Ordained October 3, 1948; 2nd Degree, March 23, 1958. Pastor of the Alexandra Society, Pastor of the Mofolo Society, Visiting Pastor to Greylingstad and Balfour. Address: 159, 111th Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal.
ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the KwaMashu Society. Address: C.847, KwaMashu Township, Durban, Natal.

     Candidates

MBATHA, A. Authorized 1965. Assistant to the Pastor of the Alexandra Society. Address: c/o the Superintendent.


     Societies and Circles

     Societies
BRYN ATHYN CHURCH                         Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
CARMEL CHURCH OF KITCHENER, ONTARIO          Rev. Frank S. Rose
COLCHESTER SOCIETY, ENGLAND               Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
DETROIT SOCIETY, MICHIGAN               Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs
DURBAN SOCIETY, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA          Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs
HURSTVILLE SOCIETY, N. S. W., AUSTRALIA     Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor
IMMANUEL CHURCH OF GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS     Rev. Louis B. King
LOS ANGELES SOCIETY, CALIFORNIA          Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson
MICHAEL CHURCH, LONDON, ENGLAND          Rev. Donald L. Rose
OLIVET CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO          Rev. Harold C. Cranch
PITTSBURGH SOCIETY                    Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh
RIO DE JANEIRO SOCIETY, BRAZIL          Rev. Jose Lopes de Figueiredo
SHARON CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS          Rev. Robert H. P. Cole (Resident)
STOCKHOLM SOCIETY, SWEDEN               Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
WASHINGTON SOCIETY, D. C.               Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr

Circles

                                   Visiting Pastor or Minister

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK                    Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
DAWSON CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA     Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs (Resident)
DENVER, COLORADO                         Rev. Morley D. Rich
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA                    Rev. B. David Holm
FORT WORTH, TEXAS                         Rev. Morley D. Rich
THE HAGUE, HOLLAND                    Rev. Donald L. Rose
JONKOPING, SWEDEN                         Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
MADISON, WISCONSIN                    Rev. Robert H. P. Cole
MIAMI, FLORIDA                         Rev. Roy Franson
MONTREAL, CANADA                         Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
NEW YORK, N. Y.                         Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough

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NORTH JERSEY                         Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough
NORTH OHIO                              Rev. Erik Sandstrom
OSLO, NORWAY                         Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
PARIS, FRANCE                         Rev. Donald L. Rose
ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA          Rev. Robert H. P. Cole
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA                    Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA               Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson
SOUTH OHIO                              Rev. B. David Holm
TRANSVAAL, REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA          Rev. Peter M. Buss
TUCSON, ARIZONA                         Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard

     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,
          Bishop

     Committees of the General Church

                                             Chairman

British Finance Committee                    Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
General Church Publication Committee          Rev. Robert S. Junge
General Church Religion Lessons               Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
Operating Policy Committee                    Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Orphanage Committee                         Mr. Philip C. Pendleton
Pension Committee                              Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn
Revolving Building Fund Committee               Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal
Salary Committee                              Mr. Robert E. Walter
Sound Recording Committee                    Rev. W. Cairns Henderson
Translation Committee                         Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
Visual Education Committee                    Mrs. Anne B. Finkeldey (Agent)

Address all Committees, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009 except the following:

Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen     30 Inglis Road, Colchester, England
Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn      600 Woodward Drive, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006

570


Church News 1968

Church News       Various       1968

     NORTH JERSEY CIRCLE

     The North Jersey Circle said "farewell" in June last year to the Rev. Norbert Rogers after ten years of service. We had a picnic with poems, family skits, and games recalling some of the happenings and fun we have had with the Rogers over the years. The Circle presented them with a certificate for a rose garden.
     Then, in September 1967, we started the year with a new visiting pastor, the Rev. Daniel Goodenough. Mr. Goodenough has been kept busy with his duties, teaching in Bryn Athyn and traveling both to New York and to New Jersey, but we are pleased that our Circle is "under his wing." We are so enjoying his visits as times of learning and pleasure with him and his wife, Ruth.
     We met five times last year, once with the Convention church in Orange for Sunday service and the other times at the Women's Club in Morristown. It is our custom to have a class on Saturday evening in one of the homes and a service on Sunday morning. Over the years we have met at several locations, but we find that the Morristown Women's Club provides the best atmosphere and facilities for our needs. It is also fairly convenient f or the various families in our group, who stretch over a fifty-mile area. Mrs. James York plays the piano ably at all our services.
     On the occasion that we met with the Orange New Church for a joint Christmas service our pastor was invited to conduct the joint service. The Rev. Harold Larsen and the members of the Orange Society were cordial in their welcome. After the service, the ladies of the Orange Society served a delightful luncheon, which offered a nice opportunity for all of us to join in a social gathering.
     Since our last report we have been saddened by the passing into the spiritual world of our friend Edsell Elliot. Ed was an active member of our Circle and did an outstanding job as our treasurer. We all miss him, but are pleased that his wife Lillian and their two sons, Bruce and Mark, have continued to live in our area and form a vital part of our group.
     A Circle as small as ours always welcomes a large family moving into the area. So it was here when the Bryce Genzlingers arrived from Detroit with their five children. But disappointment followed when business dictated that they move to Puerto Rico after only a few months.
     Children are always such a joy! A year and a half ago the John Lindsays adopted a little girl, Laura Ann, and this January had a boy, William Ross. Along with Chuck Lindsay and the two Elliot boys, our children now total five.
     As is always the case within the North Jersey Circle, we fluctuate in numbers. At the moment we are just about at our smallest number in some time; but living in a metropolitan area as we are, we are usually in the process of losing and gaining members, and we look with hope to growth in the future.
     MARY B. LINDSAY

     SOUTH OHIO CIRCLE

     The South Ohio Circle is a sizeable and flourishing (though seldom heard from!) territory in the south Ohio River valley tended by the Rev. David Holm. The borders shift and change as members must move to and fro over the country, but fortunately many of the members seem as permanent as the organization.

571



     A fair portion of members live in the Cincinnati area, as does the pastor, so it is to Glendale that we all go for church services whenever possible, and for annual meetings, special occasions and celebrations as the years go by. Last September we were fortunate in having Bishop Pendleton visit the group, and many were able to spend the weekend enjoying the scheduled affairs and the general hospitality of our hosts. The Bishop met with the children on Saturday afternoon, and in the evening he addressed the other and older body of the assemblage after a pleasant banquet. AU attended the Sunday morning service, during which the Bishop gave the sermon and administered the Holy Supper, and after a lawn picnic on the church grounds the annual business meeting took place.
     As is the case in most metropolitan groups, the Cincinnati folk live at considerable distances from one another and from the central place of worship, and they travel a good deal for worship and instruction. Services are held monthly and adult doctrinal classes every other week; young people's classes are also scheduled every other week, and so are the afternoon periods of instruction for divers groups of children.
     In the intervals the pastor starts his travels in earnest. Most of his trips involve several days away from home and mean driving to such points as Louisville and Lexington, Kentucky, the Columbus, Ohio, area (Grove City and Urbana), Dayton, Alma and South Shore, Kentucky, Point Pleasant and Athens, Ohio, and the Indianapolis area in Indiana.
     It is hard to know what goes on in other spots, but I do know that when the group's calendar notes a monthly visit to the Indianapolis area a great deal of ground is covered both physically and mentally. Last winter it meant, as for some time in the past, that Mr. Holm drove either to Bloomington or to the Anderson area on Friday and gave individual classes to at least six or seven children as well as an adult class in the evening; and I can testify that he does not stint time or effort in either case! On Saturday he drove from there in a zig-zag pattern, and by dinner time in Franklin had taught another eight children and made divers pastoral calls as necessary. Another doctrinal class followed in the evening, and on Sunday the scattered members gathered for a service of worship in Franklin. Those from Anderson drove about sixty miles, and members from Bloomington about fifty. We enjoyed visiting and a pitch-in dinner, and after that Mr. Holm filled in any missed classes before he and the rest started homeward.
     The circle has a special pride in the affection and effectiveness of Mr. Holm's work with the children and young people, and is delighted to have seven students in the Academy schools this year.
     SHIRLEY G. GLADISH


     MIAMI, FLORIDA

     It has been quite a few months since an account of the activities of the Miami Circle has appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE. Since the Rev. Roy Franson took on the pastoral duties in our midst, our beautiful little church in vacationland has been the scene of many varied activities.
     To date, there have been seven weddings, followed by receptions in the patio, which is always gaily decorated with palms, flowers, and colored spotlights. This area lends itself beautifully to many other occasions, such as banquets, luncheons and the Christmas tableaux. There have also been six baptisms and three confirmations. We have had one Resurrection Service, and that was for the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ted Farrington, Sheri Lynn, who lived in this world for only thirteen hours.
     In addition to the talk to the children which precedes the Sunday sermon, Mr. Franson has weekly children's classes, a young people's class, and doctrinal class for the adults. Mrs. Franson initiated the Women's Reading Group, meeting weekly at the various homes, at which time many future activities are planned. These meetings have proved to be very useful; in addition to stimulating doctrinal reading and discussion they provide the ladies with some social life.
     Our monthly luncheons, under the supervision of Mrs. Vida Schnarr, are well attended, and Mrs. Schnarr is to be commended on her choice of menus and the efficiency with which these luncheons are served.

572


Our suppers have been held notably in connection with Swedenborg's birthday and the Nineteenth of June.
     Under the direction of Mrs. James Carlson and Mrs. Ernest Morris, we have enjoyed exceptionally lovely Christmas tableaux. All of us are looking forward eagerly to attending the next presentation.
     The Sunday school room has been redecorated and we have added an air-conditioned nursery for the convenience of the young mothers. To date, Mrs. Franson has faithfully served as Sunday school teacher, with the occasional assistance of Mrs. Vida Schnarr. The Women's Group has completed two robes for the chancel girls, and this addition adds to the reverent sphere of the Sunday
service.

     First Southeastern District Assembly.-The First Southeastern District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem took place at Lago-Mar on the ocean at Fort Lauderdale. This historic event was well attended, not only by Floridians, but also by several members and friends from Georgia and Alabama. The Right Rev. Williard D. Pendleton, who also brought his charming wife, presided. The Assembly was officially opened with a short business meeting on Saturday afternoon, May 20, 1967.
     Before the banquet, on Saturday evening, refreshments were served in the courtyard to eighty members and friends. Mr. Franson acted as toastmaster, and in his words of welcome he spoke briefly of the obvious uses which smaller District Assemblies have in the building of the church. The subject of the evening was "Why I Am a New Church Man." On this subject Mr. Leonard Lattin, of Lake Helen, Florida, spoke as a representative of those who have joined the church as adults; Mr. Elmer Simons as a representative of those born in the church; and, lastly, Bishop Pendleton as a member of the priesthood. After having answered several questions from the floor, the Bishop also made some very inspiring concluding remarks. Perhaps a young housewife- a neighbor and friends of the Fransons, but not yet a member of the church-expressed the consensus when she said: "I only regret that my husband was unable to attend this most inspiring event." Thus the banquet ended on a happy note- happy in the knowledge that we had made new friends, and that this occasion was but a forerunner of similar Assemblies in the future.
     On Sunday morning, May 21, the attending adults at the Southeastern District Assembly and six children gathered in the church for the concluding service. Bishop Pendleton spoke to the children on the Lord's Prayer and preached a beautiful sermon on "Values." During the service the Bishop was assisted by Mr. Franson in the administration of the Holy Supper.
     During the past year the attendance at church has increased by reason of newly interested friends, several of whom have become members.
     BETTY OWENS DOERING


     CHARTER DAY

     Charter Day 1968 reflected and reaffirmed the continuing commitment of the Academy-students, parents, teachers, administrators and friends-to the goals of New Church education. As Bishop Pendleton stated in his Charter Day banquet remarks, this little institution, seemingly so insignificant in size, is the hope of the future.
     On Thursday evening more than 200 guests attended the Open House at Pendleton Hall, the new college and theological classroom and office building. More than 100 visitors filled the auditorium to hear presentations by six college men and women of the life and spirit of the Academy College. The form and layout of the college building reflects the function and spirit of the college. Using different rooms as a focus, the students portrayed the uses of higher New Church education, uses which have as their inspiration the doctrines of the Writings. Visitors to the classrooms saw the slide projector, overhead projector, opaque projector and tape recorder in operation.

573


The repository doors were opened for a few moments, at which time the auditorium becomes the chapel, to show the Word first placed at the dedication ceremonies in April.
     The following day, Friday the twenty- fifth, students, faculty and Corporation marched to the Cathedral, following the banners of school, country and past graduating classes. The Dean of the Theological School addressed the gathering in the Cathedral. (See pp. 550-553.) The returning procession trailed out in a long line, giving substance to the hope for a growing and enduring Academy.
     The banquet Saturday evening was the largest Charter Day banquet ever held in the Asplundh Field House. The theme of the evening, presented by the Toastmaster, the Reverend Martin Pryke, was, "What Does the Academy Means to You?."
     Mr. Lester Asplundh stated that the Academy is all of us- -priests, teachers, and laymen. The education at the Academy is to cultivate, protect and preserve remains. This is the job of all of us: parents who send their children to our schools, dedicated administrators and teachers, and a hard working business organization. From kindergarten to theological school we seek the best education possible for all our students. We seek to develop curricula, to build our staff, to enlarge the campus to meet growing needs, and to maintain a business organization and support the Academy. The dedication of priests, teachers and laymen alike promotes a true and steady growth.
     Mr. N. Bruce Rogers noted that it is not a simple question to answer, "What does the Academy mean to you?." Students in the Academy are taught to seek and to understand principles; to comprehend the truth in relation to self, society and the church. He contrasted this philosophy of education with the prevailing scholastic approach at the University of Pennsylvania. The modern university expects students to gain a great deal of knowledge, and to use that knowledge accurately. The primary goal of many or most institutions of higher learning seems to be knowledge for the sake of knowledge. This view is in sharp contrast to the philosophy of the Academy; a philosophy which seeks to educate for use, "through knowledge to be of service." In its emphasis on use and service to the common good-a stress on understanding of basic principles-the Academy seems to stand alone. The Academy is a place to study, to learn and to work-to educate its students for wise service on improving the lot of man.
     Miss Margaret Wilde spoke of the privilege of teaching at the Academy. New Church education is a unique profession, dedicated as the arm of the church to teach from the Writings. Future generations will see the Academy as a vital link in the establishment of true education. The Academy does not need to make a splash in the world in order to fulfill its use. Education at the Academy seeks to influence the real man, the spirit itself, to learn to think from the Heavenly Doctrine. Teaching at the Academy is an opportunity to lead students-both in and out of the classroom-to guide students by the precepts that the Lord alone teaches. It is the responsibility of home and school to teach and to lead from the love of what is genuinely good.
     Mrs. Leon Rhodes voiced the importance of the Academy in forming ideas about raising a family. The Academy- attractive and a source of comfort as an institution of many generations-has grown and changed, but has kept the same and enduring spirit. In an atmosphere of common purpose, parents, faculty and administrators all accept the work from the same source of truth, the Writings. In a world of uncertainty where truth is relative, the Writings provide a source of truth, a source from which springs the underlying philosophy and dedication of the Academy.
     Mr. Bruce Henderson expressed the acute appreciation for the Academy held by alumni who work in a foreign world. Today we live in a world where many have become disillusioned, where credibility gaps have grown, and where there is confusion about aims and purpose. We live in a country that is developing a generation of cynics-fed on advertising, deluding themselves, and holding the false faith that man of himself can create truth and thereby overcome.

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The churches of our modern world fail men. We must recognize the value and the need of the Lord's truth. We have an opportunity and a duty to put the Lord's truth to work. Our role is to spread the light of truth-an awesome responsibility. We must grasp, dissect, and examine this truth. The world has not lost its potential to understand truth. As men and women we must put the principles we have learned at the Academy to work. To serve-with dedication, as did Captain Dan Ebert and Sergeant Richard Simons. The Academy, as the educational arm of the church, passes on the Lord's truth to each new generation; now we must use that truth.
     Bishop Willard Pendleton, in response to the theme, "What Does the Academy Mean to You?," spoke of happy memories of student years; of attendance at the Theological School, where he studied under great minds; of happy years as a teacher in the Academy; and of duties as an administrator in preparation for the increasing attendance in our schools. "I believe with all my heart," he said, "that this little institution, insignificant compared to present universities, is the hope of the future. Bishop Pendleton noted some of the currents presently running in the modern world: the rapid disintegration of the organized Christian Church, the disintegration of moral fiber, and the growing disrespect for any kind of lawful authority. The world is today witness to social upheaval-an upheaval with profound intellectual roots. Yet this should not come as a surprise to New Church men, for do the Writings not teach that the Christian church is dead? The deadly persuasion of modern thought is existentialism-existentialism, which holds that there is no God and no significant purpose in the life of man. Its key words are anxiety, despair, death and nothingness. A grim outlook, with one basic question: "Is life worth living?" Where to find the answer? There is no going back to primitive Christianity; man can only go forward. Man must have hope and faith in the future; man must believe in something beyond himself. The Academy, in its teaching of the Writings, holds the faith of the future. The Writings open new vistas of spiritual thought. The Writings give meaning and purpose to human existence. The ideal of the Academy, composed of so few-like a small band of warriors-is to propagate the heavenly doctrines of the Writings. What the world needs, we have-a genuine source of truth. Dedicated people gave their lives to further the uses of the Academy; it is now your opportunity and privilege to serve the world via the Academy.
     The applause of the 800 banquet guests echoed the warmth and inspiration created by the speakers. Included in the program as interludes between speeches were a song, composed in 1943, rendered by 22 members of that class; the Sigma fraternity in a song dedicated to all Deka members-past and present-in recognition of the sixty-second birthday of the Deka; and a toast to the class of 1918. The songs of our own Academy sent the guests on their way.
     Other events of Charter Day-the football game, meetings of the Sons and Theta Alpha, a young people's meeting, the Sunday worship service- -all contributed to the happy sphere that was Charter Day 1968.
     MICHAEL A. BROWN

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GENERAL CHURCH SEAL 1968

GENERAL CHURCH SEAL              1968

     Owing to a Continued interest and demand the General Church is arranging to have another lot of bronze seals cast. It is hoped that some will be available in time for Christmas. The seal makes a most appropriate as well as a welcome and lasting gift.
     If you are interested, please contact Walter Horigan promptly. Phone: (Area Code 215) WI 7-0895, or write P. O. Box 41, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009, and we will add your name to the list.