BOW IN THE WAR CLOUDS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XXXVIII JANUARY, 1918 No. 1
     It has become a truism to say that we are living in a critical age. All the problems of the past and the hopes of the future seem to be concentrated in the activity of a single generation. And the Newchurchman looks on with a thrill of expectancy, asking himself what it all means, watching to see when the glory of God will at last reflect its rainbow in the war clouds. For beyond the tumult of armies and the cries of the defenseless there lies the great conundrum of the future ascendancy of the New Jerusalem. Any attempt to read the promises of the ages ahead between the lines of the history that is even now being chronicled is at the best a dangerous undertaking. For we are allowed to discern the workings of the Divine foresight only "from, the back,"-only when the Divine purposes are fulfilled.

     This, however, is only a part of the truth. The Lord does grant to each dispensation a prophetic glimpse of the future; a forecast too general to harm, too vague to convey a sure knowledge; and so the New Church has learnt to look forward to a time when the Gentiles shall come to her light and kings to the brightness of her rising. The spread of the Church among the Gentiles is foretold in the Writings, and the course of this movement is even intimated quite definitely. Time plays only a small role in this prophecy. But the state of the world must be changed under providential auspices and guidance, and usher in an era where conditions will permit the peaceful and secure establishment of the organized New Church in various parts of the world.

     THE CONDITIONS OF THE PRESENT.

     Reviewing the state of the world of today, we find the infant Church placed-an oasis in the desert-in the midst of that turbulent, restless civilization which at present dominates all others. The old church, dead as far as spiritual faith or charity is concerned, is losing its prestige even though, here and there, gaining in numbers. If we examine the present age in its moral aspects we see the corruptions of Phariseism yoked on the one hand with a bastard philosophy of the crassest and most openly atheistic quality, and on the other with the blind faith of literalism. The lack of a common moral goal has well-nigh driven the various elements of the civic organism up to the brink of social and industrial revolution. And now, finally, these symptoms of disorder have culminated in a war which baffles imagination and makes men ask in astonishment why God tolerates that its infamies should profane the earth. Armed hosts are encamped in a political Armageddon the issues of which are uncertain and vague and which, to the impatient and horrified mind, seems-alas-endless.

     But there are other conditions in our present environment which are not seen by the mortal eye and which yet must be taken into account. The establishment of the New Heavens in the spiritual world completed the organization of the Gorand Man of the heavens, by ordering the natural degree. For the Lord's first advent marked the organization only of its spiritual degree. Now, however, the heavens, as to all their planes, are organically ready to be perpetually perfected by a normal, not merely spasmodic growth. As a result of the last judgment of 1757 a balance of power has been established in the world of spirits, whereby the aggressive forces there are held in bands and from time to time are overthrown by recurring states of judgment. According to the new order Hell can no more disturb the balance in the spirit world and threaten a prolonged domination over the simple good spirits there.

     THE BALANCE OF POWER.

     The judgment in the spiritual world had its effects in the world. In modern history we find no analogy to the ancient empires which for centuries oppressed the rest of the world in vile slavery.

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But the balance between political powers became more even, and held aggressive dictatorial forces in check. The paen of the civilized peoples became "Freedom and Equality," as one by one they threw off the yoke of autocracy. The tendency to a balance became so strongly evident that many came to believe that wars would soon become impossible.

     It may be noted here that the Writings, in prescribing the duty of defense of one's country, in no way condone aggressive wars. Heaven does not attack; and thus its growth, however rapid, does no upset the equilibrium in the other world, nor does it even encroach in the least upon the "rights" mercifully granted to the hell's. Similarly, in the political arena, the situation is tolerable as long as no one combination of nations impress their will on smaller nations with a view of turning the balance in their favor by aggressive means.

     THE GREAT WAR

     The present war commenced, in the view of the writer, precisely through such contingencies. The ambitions of a certain combine of interests pressed into service the thinkers and industrial leaders of their country and carried on an aggressive campaign with the more or less deliberate purpose of dominating the minds and resources of the world, appealing for assistance in this scheme to the national conceit of their people as well as to motives of gain, honor, patriotism and fear. The campaign was at first secret and generally unsuspected or disregarded, until the world became cognizant of its organized strength in the fateful summer of 1914 when chaos came upon the civil plane and the terrors of hell shocked the self-righteous morality of the world into a partial and belated realization of how thin the veneer of civilization really is.

     This outbreak of the festering state of international malice which had made the common moral progress of nations impossible became necessary in order to heal the cause-or at least to give the world the opportunity to seek for the remedy. There were moral wrongs committed, to which history can scarcely show a precedent; wrongs against the instinctively acknowledged rights of non-combatants and neutrals; wrongs excused by Jesuitical utilitarians, and even glorified by a most audacious philosophy which claimed that the civil state was its own moral law as long as it had the physical force to put it into practice.*

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     * Compare this intrusion of civil force into the normal domain with the characteristic encroachment of modern science upon the field of philosophy and of human reasonings upon the plane of religious faith.

     And throughout the world, public opinion, which was the proper tribunal of moral law, saw and judged these transgressions upon its rights. One by one, the peoples of the globe were made aware of the wide scope of disconcerting effects that a victory by the aggressor would bring with it; and pooling their treasure they provided for the double-tongued spokesmen of Kulture and Atrocity what seems to be the greatest moral defeat to which history ever bore witness. The military decision is still in the distance. The world is aware that liberty is always bought dearly. It also knows that it is cheap at any price. But above all it seems at last to begin to realize that the physical might of the civil authorities or of the armaments of nations in themselves are inadequate to produce a permanent balance of power and a consequent state of greater external order; and that moral force alone can give a stabilizing tendency to that balance.

     THE BOW IN THE CLOUD.

     This is the rainbow in the clouds which extends the hope that the moral kingdom, upon which the church can rest secure, is being reorganized on firmer lines.

     We are taught that a spiritual kingdom or a true church must exist somewhere on earth as the heart and lungs of the church universal; and that at the time of consummation the moral and civil "kingdoms" are in imminent danger of perishing. At this day that crisis is past. A new church has been established and is performing its vital office to the church universal and to the race. The need for better environmental conditions for that church is being provided for. There is an increased "general" influx into the natural degree by reason of the last judgment and the ordering of the pathways of communication and influx in the spiritual realm.

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It is this which has paved the way for the wonderful progress of the last century, when natural sciences and uses have altered the very surface of the globe and bound the families of the nations by closer common interest into a mutual dependence that over-rules distance and differences of temperament. This greater "general" influx from the spiritual world is received wherever there is order in externals. And however the lusts of hell be latent within that order, it may be accompanied by a moral order. And this latter alone can endow it with stability.

     The difference between moral and spiritual good, or between the moral kingdom and the spiritual kingdom, is-to our knowledge-little or not at all observed except within the New Church. Yet that distinction alone can give us the contrast between the world and heaven. The Writings, therefore, speak much about moral (merely moral) good. We only wish to note here that those who confirm themselves in the belief that the evils forbidden in the Decalogue "are evils because they are hurtful to the commonwealth and thus contrary to the laws of humanity," are natural moral men; they are not spiritual, because they shun evils only as evils, not as sins against God. Wherefore with such natural moral men the root of evil is not removed but remains embedded in their spirits. (DOC. OF CHARITY, n. 108 et seq.)

     Moral order is nevertheless a part of that external condition which is required for the security and growth of the Church. There must not only be freedom of speech and of opinion, but also the general acceptance of moral standards of right and wrong. As far as such standards are lacking the New Church cannot publish its internal doctrines with any great effect, for the Writings teach concerning a more interior plane, of motives and spiritual truths. The external must be reformed before the internal can be regenerated. Civil and moral order is the requisite basis for the New Church. The Divine Providence, in preparing the way for the spiritual kingdom on earth, surely is working to establish such external order in the world-even while the hells are seeking to destroy every vestige of civilized restraint in the seething wrath of warfare.

     The standards of the "moral kingdom," if it is in order, are neither national nor racial, and do not discriminate against classes.

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They are what the Writings term "leges humanitatis," cosmopolitan, humanitarian. They teach a broader patriotism than that of the chauvinistic jingoist, the impatient agitator of class-hatred, or the swash-buckling militarist. They are intrinsically democratic. And the signs that such laws are rising from the land of dreams and coming out of their provincialistic captivity to champion the cause of autonomy and to ensure a reasonable freedom of peaceful development to all peoples and all classes, have become ever stronger since the Armageddon brought forth its first-fruits in the Russian revolution and the neutrals of the world were moved to take up the sword to prove that moral "right" is might. Public opinion, the guardian of the international moral law of natural fairness and equal opportunities, must become more and more, the real ruler of nations!

     THE NEW CHURCH AND THE CHRISTIAN WORLD.

     The main hope of the New Church lies with the Gentiles. But the influence of "civilization" has penetrated even to some of the most gentile of nations. The Christian nations constitute the dominant factor in the world of today. And thus the Church must first have a stronghold within the Christian civilization. There seems to be a necessity that each dispensation develop its own externals of spiritual-civil and spiritual-moral order, externals of tradition and organization, in the bosom of some great civilization. It was in Egypt that Israel acquired the rudiments of its national life. It was Rome that served in a general way as an unwitting protector of the Christians and as the matrix for their growing institutional life; nor was it the fault of Providence that Christianity was unequal to its opportunities. But the New Church requires a better and freer external order than either Egypt or Rome offered. Religious liberty is a sine qua non. And the Writings promise this quite definitely as a consequence of the spiritual liberty restored by the overthrow of the imaginary heavens of the Christian era (L. J. 73). Man, henceforth, can thus better perceive spiritual truths, if he wills to perceive them (L. J. 74) The Lord is operating, "both mediately and immediately, towards the establishment throughout the whole of Christendom" of a New Church based upon the Theology of the new heavens (DOCU. 245).

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"The great change which has been effected in the spiritual world does not induce any change in the natural world, as to external form," writes Swedenborg in the year 1758; "so that there will be, equally as before, civil affairs, states of peace, treaties, and wars, and other things which are of societies in general and in particular." As regards the church as to external appearances there will be divided churches as before, their doctrines will be taught as before, likewise the religious things with the gentiles" (L. J. 73).

     It might appear from these statements as if wars, for instance, would never cease until the Christian church has entirely passed away. "Henceforth" can here scarcely mean "to eternity" but we would suggest, it rather refers to a period of unknown length more immediately following the last judgment. This interpretation is supported by the context of L. J. 73, which seems to warn us against expecting a sudden and miraculous change in the world. The world must certainly change! But how?

     The question leads to a number of inquiries which the writer would such desire to see discussed in the periodicals of the Church. For opinions no doubt differ widely on these topics so enticing to the thought. And as they lie in the realm of speculation we must crave the reader's indulgence in drawing his attention to one group of suggestions.

     In a consummated church evils and falsities go on increasing, as hereditary evils accumulate. But there must come a stage when this cumulative degeneration stops. Every race once belonging to a consummated church would in such a case be doomed to practical extinction, like the Carthaginians and the Aztecs. But the nations with whom the Ancient Church had once been established were not all so utterly pervert that Christianity could never be received among them. With some, especially in Europe, a process of reaction towards a gentile state seemed to have set in. The question arises, whether we are to expect such a process to commence within the Christian nations. Will perhaps the states of men's heredities become ameliorated in proportion as the interior falsities of the Old Church are supplanted by more external falsities?

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It is more probable that the heredities remain much the same, and that the betterment is to be traced to changes in external and internal environments. But however this may be effected, we know that the Divine Providence turns all things into some use. And it would seem likely that the transfer of the Church from a consummated church to the "remnant" and the "gentiles," eventually benefits also the nations of the Old Church by an amelioration of their profane state until they fall into spiritual ignorance and become gentile in character. The internal truths and goods which they have perverted are removed from them more and more. And since it is the perversions of the most interior truths that confirm the most interior evils, they can soon no longer deliberately confirm their profanities in the same way as formerly. The tendency of the world is towards externals. Irresponsible indifference seems in a measure to be taking the place of the active hatred of interior truth. The love of the world everywhere neutralizes and opposes the lust of domination, for the desires for gain is anxious that external order and balance be maintained. It counteracts the schemes of those who wish to dominate. Thus the love of dominion is deprived of a free outlet; and where "efflux" is obstructed the influx also loses its strength.

     The present conflict of the nations seems to be a test whether the love of the world or the love of autocratic domination shall prevail in the world. The strength of moral law and of public opinion already-in every land-is asserting itself. Does not this in itself, reflect on the sullen sky the colors of hope the intertwining colors of all mankind-betokening that never again shall such great disturbances be tolerated. Nor can military defeats or bungling heroisms or even physical disasters change the moral law-the "leges humanitatis"-to which Swedenborg alludes. If public opinion remains steadfast, if the world stands the great test, perhaps, after all, the European nations can yet be saved from disruption and need not be supplanted be new, more virile races,-as some expect. But however the future will work itself out, there will be no effective "permeation" of truth from the New Church into the old.

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The Old Church must go its own course and the all-provident Father can only ameliorate its lot by closing its ears and its eyes to internal things-as was done with the Jews ages agone.

     And in some era of the vast, unmeasured future-we know not when-the New Church will have gained strength by reason of the general "gentile" state of the world, and will create around her a new spiritual-moral and a new spiritual-civil kingdom wherein the inhabitants of earth may dwell secure and beat their swords into plowshares, at last. What Newchurchman has never found solace in that thought during these anxious times! Providence is active on our behalf. And the laws of regeneration are the same whether applied to the individual or to the growing Maximus Homo of the human race. External order must first be vouchsafed; moral order will make it more stable and just and free; and lastly, spiritual order begotten from the perception of the spiritual truths of the Lord's own revealing will regenerate the whole.
FLIGHT OF TIME 1918

FLIGHT OF TIME       CHARLES LOUIS OLDS       1918

     A SONNET.

Roll on, O Time! Roll on! The setting sun
     Shall find me well prepared; ready am I
     For all emergency; nor does a sigh
Escape my lips. The goal is well nigh won.
O Time! thou reveler, I do not shun,
     But rather court thy presence; for a friend
     Thou art. Gray hairs a blessing ever lend
To hearts prepared. Joy comes when task is done.
The child, the youth, the man,-all, all must cease
     To live as such; they change, and with each breath
     Assume another state in which they move.
Then why should we fear age? The days of peace
     But then begin, and ripen into death,
          Which is the gate of Life; and Life is Love.
                                        -CHARLES LOUIS OLDS.

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SEVEN PARABLES OF 1918

SEVEN PARABLES OF        W. F. PENDLETON       1918

MATTHEW XIII     A SUMMARY VIEW

     In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew there are seven parables which the Lord spake to the multitudes and to His disciples. They are as follows: the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Tares, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Leaven, the Parable of the Treasures hid in the Field, the Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, and the Parable of the Net cast into the Sea.

     At the close of the preceding chapter we are told of His announcement to the people that He was no longer the son of Mary. While He was speaking "one said unto Him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. And He answered and said, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother," (Matt. xii:47-50)

     The Lord was born of Mary as to the flesh, but without a human father; and from now onward to the end, even to the Passion of the Cross, He does not acknowledge Mary as His mother; for He put away from His Human all that He had from the mother, and put on only that which was from the Divine; and in His character as the Divine Teacher and Savior of men, He goes forth out of the house where these things occurred, and sits by the sea; then on account of the press of the multitude, He enters upon a ship and teaches the multitude which stand upon the shore. But He speaks to them in parables, which have a two-fold use; first, they accommodate truth to simple minds; second, they conceal interior truth from the intelligent and the learned who would pervert and profane. Simple, external, or general truths are contained in the parables on their surface, so that even the mind of a child may understand. But the Parables in their bosom contain the mysteries of the kingdom, the arcana of heaven; these the simple cannot understand, and the learned would falsify, pervert, and destroy.

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Hence the use of parables made by the Lord in His teaching, while He was in the world as to the flesh.

     In a broad sense the entire literal sense of the Word is a parable; for what has been said of the parable applies to the letter of the Word throughout. But now in the day of the Lord's Second Coming, and to some extent to His disciples also, especially now to the spiritual disciples, the parable is unfolded, its mystery is explained, the arcana lying in its bosom is brought forth to view; far now the learned can no longer profane, because they will not believe; and some of the simple may become spiritually learned, and a New Church be established by means of them. This in general is what is meant by the Lord's words in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, wherein we read that His disciples came and said unto Him, "Why speakest Thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. . . . Therefore, speak I to them in parables, because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive; for this people's heart is waxed gross, acid their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear." (xii:10, 11, 13-16.)

     The first parable in this chapter is the Parable of the Sower. The Sower goes forth to sow his seed, and some fall upon the way or road, that has been trampled hard by the feet of men and beasts, and the seeds do not sprout; the birds come down and devour them. Some seeds fall upon stony places where there is scarcely any soil, and although the seeds sprout, the tender shoots perish under the withering rays of the sun.

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Some seeds fall among thorns and sprout, but the thorns also spring up and choke the young plant. But some seeds fall in good ground where the soil is rich and fertile; here they bring forth the fruit, some an hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty.

     The general sense of this parable the Lord explained to His disciples when they had gathered around Him; and the fulness of its meaning is now given in the Writings. The Sower is the Son of Man, or the Lord in His Word; the seed is the truth of His Word. But the seed of truth is variously received. There are in general four kinds of ground, or states of reception; but only one receives the seed in the heart and bears fruit in the life. With the other three classes of persons the seed perishes because it is received only in the memory and external mind, where evil loves or evil lusts and their falsities flourish and destroy the seed of the Word.

     The second parable is the Parable of the Tares. A man sows good seed in his field, but while men are asleep an enemy comes and sows tares, and the tares spring forth and grow in the midst of the wheat. This being observed by the servants of the householder, they ask permission to root out the tares. But the master of the house tells them that in so doing they would root out the wheat also; both must grow together until the harvest and then the reapers may easily distinguish the two and separate the one from the other. This parable the Lord also explains to His disciples in a general manner, and now in full in the Writings. The subject is the Last Judgment. In the beginning of the Church the truth is implanted; but heresies arise, which are the tares. Since the fruit of heresy is similar in the outward appearance to the fruit of genuine doctrine from the Word, they cannot at first be distinguished by the simple. Heresy and its fruit is, therefore, allowed to remain until the time of the harvest, or the judgment, when there is no longer any difficulty in distinguishing the good from the evil fruit.

     The third parable is that of the Grain of Mustard Seed. This also is sown in a field, and at first it is the least of all seeds; but afterwards it grows into a great tree, and the birds of the air lodge in its branches.

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It is not recorded that the Lord explained to His disciples this parable and the remaining parables in this chapter, but they are now fully unfolded in the Writings. The mustard seed is the truth of the Word, but it is said to be the least of all seeds, because when sown or revealed it is unknown and unrecognized by the mass of men in the world. Their thought is altogether occupied with natural things, hence the seed of truth is so perverted on account of natural loves, that the presence of the spiritual truth of the Word is unseen and unknown save by a few minds which are open and receptive; but with these few the seed sprouts and grows, and the Church gradually increases until the little plant becomes the greatest among the herbs, and finally a tree, in the branches of which the birds of heaven sing and rejoice. A genuine rational is formed in the Church, and when this takes place the Church increases from a few to many, and becomes a great institution in the world.

     In the fourth parable the Kingdom of Heaven, which is the Church, is compared to heaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. In this parable the Lord teaches that the Church is not established except by means of temptations, and the use which temptations accomplish in the growth of the Church, is set forth.

     In the fifth parable the Kingdom of Heaven, or the Church, is compared to treasure hid in a field, which, when a man findeth he hideth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field; for it is worth infinitely more than that which he already hath and he is willing to give it all in order to obtain the newly found treasure. The treasure hid in the field is the internal sense of the Word, and when this most precious of all treasure is seen to be in the Word, it is also seen that it cannot be acquired until all the ideas and affections of the natural man, or the proprium, are yielded up, in order that man as a clean vessel may come into the presence of the Lord, and be loaded with the riches of heaven.

     The sixth parable is concerning the Pearl of Great Price, which a man, who is seeking goodly pearls, findeth and selleth all that he hath to purchase it. The treasure hid in the field will be of no value without the one Precious Pearl.

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This one Pearl is the true idea of God, or the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Divine Human as the God of Heaven and earth. In order to obtain this one precious Pearl, man must give up all false ideas of God, and all love of false gods. When he does this he obtains that which vivifies and makes luminous all the treasure of knowledge of genuine truth in the Word; all these truths, all the gates of the city New Jerusalem become as it were one Pearl. When there is a true idea of God, or of the Lord in His Second Coming, or when there is a true and genuine Theology, or science of God in the Church, then can the judgment take place, and by the judgment a new heaven and a new Church be formed. Therefore, the seventh parable follows, which closes the series of parables in this chapter.

     The kingdom of heaven is compared to a net cast into the sea, which gathered fish of every kind; and when the net was full it was drawn to the shore and the good were gathered into vessels, the bad were cast away.

     Having spoken all these parables, "Jesus said unto His disciples, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yea, Lord. Then said He unto them, Therefore every scribe, instructed into the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old."

     In these words the Lord spoke unto them, as it were, an eighth parable, which sums up all that is contained in the other seven. The Church is now established, and the infinite store of the Word is drawn upon for its instruction and enlightenment,-drawn from the spiritual sense, signified by "things new" and from the natural sense, signified by "things old;" and now the Church enjoys spiritual increase and prosperity, and the end in view from, the beginning is fulfilled.

     The general ideas of truth running through the chapter as a whole, are, First, the Lord as the Word; second, the judgment, or the separation of the good from the evil; third, the formation and establishment of a new Heaven and a new Church; fourth, the regeneration of the individual man of the Church.

     The chapter opens with the idea of the Lord's presence in His Word, revealing Himself in His Divine Human as the God of heaven and earth.

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For He is now no longer the Son of Mary; He is God, or the Word made flesh, the Divine Guide and Teacher of men. The sea is the Word, the ship on the sea, from which He teaches the multitude, is true doctrine by which and from which He teaches. The Lord is the Sower which soweth the Word, and the Word of the kingdom is what the multitudes hear, and he that receiveth seed in good ground is he that heareth the Word, and understandeth it and beareth fruit.

     The Lord is also the Man which soweth good seed in His held; we are told in the explanation of the Parable of the Tares that that Man which soweth the good seed is the Son of Man, that is, the Lord as the Word. The devil also soweth his seed, which are the tares. The Lord is the Man that soweth the grain of mustard seed in His field. The Word as to its internal sense is the treasure hid in the held, and the Lord in the Word is the Pearl of Great Price. And the Word in both senses, the literal and spiritual, is meant by the things new and old, which the householder, who is the Lord, bringeth forth out of His treasure; the treasure or treasury is also the Word.

     The first and prime idea then is the Lord as the Word; then follows the judgment, which is executed by the Word, or by the Lord as the Word. In the first parable, the evil and good alike receive the seed, for the evil and good are together; but it is plain they cannot remain together always; separation must some time take place. In the second parable we are told that although the tares are in the midst of the wheat, they must remain together until the harvest, which is the general judgment when the separation is to be effected. For the householder said to the reapers when the harvest is come, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."

     In the third parable, all other seeds must be removed that the mustard seed, at first the least: of all seeds, may sprout and grow and become the greatest among herbs, and finally a tree.

     In the fourth parable the judgment again appears; the wheat is now turned into flour, and the leaven is also there and is made use of; but finally the noxious gases generated from it are expelled, and the good bread only remains.

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     We see the judgment also in the fifth parable, or the idea of removal and separation. The man selleth all that he hath, in order to buy the field in which the treasure is hidden. And in the sixth parable there is again separation and removal, the merchant selleth all that he hath in order to purchase the Pearl of Great Price.

     In the seventh parable the idea of the final judgment manifestly appears. A net is cast into the sea and when it is full it is drawn to the shore, and the good are gathered into vessels and the bad are cast away.

     The idea of the Church, in the spiritual world and in the natural world, appears throughout the chapter. The disciples are the Church itself, and the multitudes the Church with the simple and the gentiles. In all the parables the Church is called the kingdom and the kingdom of heaven; it is a spiritual kingdom which the Lord came to establish, and not a natural kingdom as the Jews vainly imagined, and the disciples first thought. The Church is also called a field in which the seed is sown, and by other names, such as ground, barn, and woman.

     In the last verse is described the state of the Church in its full establishment. It has as its center a true idea of God, or a true Theology, or science of God; a loyal and enlightened priesthood, signified by the scribes instructed into the kingdom of heaven; and all the stores of the Word of God in its spiritual and natural senses, all the treasury of heaven and earth, are opened unto it.

     And as it is with the Church in general, so it is with the Church in the individual; for where the establishment of the Church is the subject, the regeneration of the individual man is involved, and this chapter is no exception. The Lord soweth the Word in the mind of the individual man, and it must bring forth fruit in him; if not, he is cast out in the general judgment. But if he receives it in heart and life, the judgment will go on in him; that is, he must undergo temptations; for the devil soweth tares in the midst of the wheat, and they are not removed except through great tribulation.

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     The Parable of the Sower treats of man in the first stage of regeneration, the stage of instruction, or the stage of the implantation of the Church in him. The stage includes infancy, childhood, youth, and early manhood. But at this period the truth in him is mingled with falsity arising from the fallacies of the senses, and he thinks that he does good from himself, and consequently thinks of his own merit in his good works. But as each parable is in itself a complete form, the closing and final words look to a completed state of regeneration. So it is with this parable, though it treats in general of regeneration in its beginnings; but the closing words look to a full fruition of the regenerate life. "He that received seed into good ground is he that heareth the Word and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty."

     The Parable of the Tares treats of the second stage in regeneration following the first in which two opposite states likewise appear. In the first it is the evil and good ground, but now it is the tares and the wheat. The devil is doing his work also; he enters the held, even as the serpent entered the Garden, and sows tares among the wheat, that is, implants falsities in the midst of truths. In this state the falsities cannot be rooted out, because they are grounded in the fallacies of the senses which as yet have great power; and man still has an idea of his own merit. In order that falsities may be removed temptations are necessary, and temptations are to come.

     On account of the presence and activity of falsities, and the idea of merit, and because temptation has not yet done its work, there is but little positive advancement in regeneration, therefore, in the third parable we find the grain of mustard seed described as the smallest of all seeds. But the state is now to change, and in the next parable temptation and its effect and use is described. Falsities, having been spoken of as the tares sown in the midst of the wheat, are now mentioned as leaven hid in three measures of meal. By the fermentation of the leaven and its use in the making of the bread, is described the use which the falsities of evil are made to serve, when their presence is seen and known, and combat arises in consequence.

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     The use of the combat of temptation is the opening of the internal or spiritual mind, which is the same thing as the opening of heaven, or the opening of the internal of the Word. This introduces the fifth parable in which a man finds treasure that has been hidden in a field. This treasure is the spiritual truth that lies in the bosom of the Word; this treasure when it is discovered is valued above all things, and man is willing to give up all that he has hitherto possessed in order to obtain it, for it cannot be otherwise acquired. He must yield up all his own ideas, all the falsities he has cherished, all idea of his own merit, he must renounce all things of his proprium.

     This leads to the sixth stage in which the regenerating man, now called a merchant seeking goodly pearls, finally discovers a Pearl of Great Price, and sells all that he has in order to acquire it. In the process of self-renunciation and consequent spiritual advancement, he finds, in the midst of the treasures of the internal sense of the Word, one knowledge which is the universal of all; it is the idea of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Divine Human as the God of Heaven and earth. When this is seen, and known, and acknowledged from the heart, then self-renunciation is complete, and the time for the final judgment has come, or the last combats of temptation, described in the seventh parable, that of the net cast into the Sea; when the net is brought to shore, the bad fish are cast away, and the good preserved; evil affections are removed and the good are established and made whole.

     The last verse of the series, which is as it were, an eighth parable, describes the heavenly state, or regeneration completed, in which man becomes a scribe instructed into the kingdom of heaven, an inhabitant of a heavenly society, and all the treasures of the Word are open to him. And as was shown before, the last verse treats also of the final triumph of the Christ on earth, when intelligence and wisdom shall reign in it. The Church, conjoined with heaven, shall be the Lord's heaven on the earth; and the promise involved in the sowing of the seed, in the first parable, becomes a real fact in the world.

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JOHN PITCAIRN: A BIOGRAPHY 1918

JOHN PITCAIRN: A BIOGRAPHY       C. TH. ODHNER       1918

     CHAPTER XIV.

     THE PITTSBURGH PLATE GLASS COMPANY, AND OTHER BUSINESS INTERESTS.

     It was in the year 1882 that John Pitcairn began to withdraw his interests from Petroleum and Natural Gas, gradually transferring them to the Plate Glass Industry.

     While associated with the Vandergrift and Forman Company, Mr. Pitcairn built and controlled the first pipe line ever laid for the utilization of the newly discovered "Natural Gas" for manufacturing purposes. This line was built at the lower end of Butler county, Pennsylvania, and carried the gas to Pittsburgh. Early in the year 1882 Mr. Pitcairn was consulted in regard to the piping of gas to a plate glass factory, which was to be erected at Creighton, Pa., by the "New York City Plate Glass Company," a firm organized in 1881 and controlled by Captain John B. Ford and his two sons. It was thus that Mr. Pitcairn first had his attention drawn to the manufacturing of Plate Glass, and he was quick to discern the great possibilities in the development of this important industry.

     On October 18th, 1882, he made his first investments in the stock of this company, which, on August 23rd, 1883, was reorganized as "The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company," with a capital of six hundred thousand dollars. The first factory of the company was built at this time at Creighton, and another factory was immediately afterwards erected at Tarentum, Pa. On January 27th, 1885, Mr. Pitcairn was elected vice-president of the company, his interests at the factories being represented by his cousin, Mr. Artemas Pitcairn, who had been associated with him for al number of years in the Oil and Natural Gas business. In 1887 the company built two additional factories at Ford City, Pa., and in 1895 five more factories were purchased: one in Missouri, two in Indiana, and two in Pennsylvania.

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The capital Stock was increased from time to time, until, in the year 1895, it reached the sum of ten million dollars. In 1897 Mr. Pitcairn bought the interests of the Ford family and was elected president of the corporation, an office which he retained until the year 1905.

     The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company has twenty-eight warehouses, located in various cities of the United States. Every warehouse carries stocks of rough and polished plate glass, plain and beveled mirrors, and bent glass, also a full line of paints, varnishes, brushes and painters' supplies. In all of these lines the company is the largest jobber in the world. The warehouses also maintain retail stores for the sale of glass and paints, and many of the branches operate plants for the manufacture of mirrors, thus offering an advantage to the furniture manufacturer. A number of the warehouses maintain plants for the manufacture of are glass. The company employs competent artists for this purpose, and furnishes special designs for churches, auditoriums and residences. When its first plant was in full operation, the company employed about five hundred men; it now employs about seven thousand. The present capitalization is about twenty-five million dollars.

     The Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company is not confined to the United States. About 1902 it purchased the Courcelles plate glass factory, in Belgium, made extensive additions to the building and equipment, and reorganized the Courcelles Plate Glass Company. The product of this factory was sold in all parts of the world, and the factory was operated continuously until the
occupation of Belgium by the German armies in 1914 put an end to all business by private ownership.

     This colossal company has completely revolutionized the method of manufacturing plate glass, and other manufacturers throughout the world have followed and profited by its example. Between 1890 and 1894, after spending over a million dollars in experimenting, the company developed the "Lehr annealing process," which more than any other factor has helped to revolutionize the manufacture of plate glass, and this process since has been adopted by all other manufacturers engaged in this industry.

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     In all its transactions the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company always has been above suspicion. The voice of criticism has never been lifted against it. The capital stock has represented real values, and the watchword of the company has been "Success with Honor." This magnificent organization is, indeed, a monument to the genius of John Pitcairn.

     The interests which claimed Mr. Pitcairn's attention were many and varied, and to each he gave careful consideration, allowing none to suffer for want of close and able thought and unwearied assiduity. He was the president and director of the C. H. Wheeler Manufacturing Company, the Loyal Hanna Coal and Coke Company and the Pittsburgh Valve and Fittings Company; he was also a director of the Central National Bank of Philadelphia, the Columbia Chemical Company, the Michigan Chemical Company, the Natural Gas Company of West Virginia, and the Owosso Sugar Company. While never a "club man," as that term generally is understood, he held membership in a number of local organizations, including the Duquesne Club of Pittsburgh, the Union League and the Art Club of Philadelphia.

     (To be continued.)
FAITH ALONE 1918

FAITH ALONE       CHARLES LOUIS OLDS       1918

The fairest flower may have a nauseous smell;
A wasp may sting you from a primrose bell.
Beauty alone can never fill the heart,
Unless of good and use it form a part.
                    -CHARLES LOUIS OLDS.

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BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 1918

BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW              1918

     CHAPTER V.

     1. And seeing the multitudes He went up into a mountain, and when He had sat down His disciples came to Him.

     The Lord teaching from a mountain sig. the Divine Truth from the good of Divine Love. E. 405.

     2. And opening His mouth, He taught them, saying,
     In the Sermon on the Mountain "the Lord teaches the Doctrine of Charity in its fulness, and the heavenly blessedness thence derived." E. 785.

     "The subject treated of in this chapter throughout is concerning the interior life of man, which is the life of his soul, consequently of his will and his thought; thus concerning the life of charity, which is spiritual-moral life. Of this life the children of Jacob were ignorant, because they were, even from their father, external men." E. 746

     3. Blessed are the poor in the spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

     "The Poor sig. those who are not in the knowledges of good and truth, and yet desire them." R. 208. "To be spiritually poor is to acknowledge in heart that no one knows, understands or is wise of himself, but from the Lord. In such acknowledgment are all the angels in heaven." E. 118.

     "To be blessed sig. to be enriched with celestial and spiritual good; and as these are they who are saved therefore to be blessed sig. to be saved." A. 2853.

     4. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.

     "They that mourn sig. they who grieve on account of possessing no truth and good." E. 372

     5. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

     "The meek sig. those who are in the good of charity." E. 304.

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     6. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be sated.

     "The hungry sig. those who continually desire truths and to be perfected by them." R. 323.

     7. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.

     8. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

     "To 'see God' means to believe in Him, or to see Him by faith, for God is in the faith, and in that which constitutes true faith." A. 3863

     9. Blessed are the peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God.

      "The peace-makers sig. those who wish well to the neighbor." A 3170.

     10. Blessed are they that are persecuted for the sake of justice; for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens.

     "The persecuted sig. those who fight and conquer in temptations induced from the evil, thus from hell." E. 695.

     11. Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute, and say every evil thing against you, falsely, because of Me.

     12. Rejoice and exult, for great is your reward in the heavens; for so they persecuted the prophets which were be fore you.

     "This sig. that heaven and its joy is communicated to those who are in the spiritual affection of truth, for they alone fight and conquer, by reason that the Lord is within that affection, and He resists and conquers for the man in the combats of temptations." E. 695.

     "Reward means the felicity of eternal life arising from the delight and pleasantness of the love and affection of good and truth." R. 526.

     "'For so they persecuted the prophets' sig. that the hells in like manner assaulted the truths of doctrine which were with those who were in the spiritual affection of truth; the prophets sig. the truths of doctrine derived from the Word. The reward is that affection itself; for whether we speak of that affection, or of heaven, it is the same thing. E. 695.

     13. Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt hath lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

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     "The salt of the earth sig. the truth of the Church, which desires good; the salt which has lost its savor sig. truth without desire for good;" A. 9207.

     "Salt which has 'lost its savour' sig. a longing from the proprium, thus from the love of self and the world." A. 10300

     "The reason salt has this signification, is from its conjunctive nature; for it conjoins all things [in food] and hence gives them savour; it even conjoins water and oil, which otherwise cannot be conjoined." A. 10300.

     14. Ye are the light of the world: a city that is set upon mountains cannot be hidden.

     "These words were spoken to the disciples by whom are sig. all truths and goods in the complex, for by light is sig. the Divine Truth and the intelligence thence derived. A 'city that is set upon mountains' sig. the truth of doctrine derived from the good of love." E. 223.

     15. Neither do they kindle a light, and put it under a bushel, but on a lampstand; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

     (To put a light under a bushel sig. to hide spiritual truth by external and literal interpretations, from worldly loves. To put it on a lampstand sig. to exalt the truth from the love of good.)

     "By the 'lamp,' here, is sig. truth from good, and intelligence thence." E. 223.

     16. Thus let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in the heavens.

     17. Think not that I am come to dissolve the law or the prophets; I am not come to dissolve, but to fulfil.

     "The literal sense of the Word is in no wise annihilated by the spiritual sense, but is rather confirmed thereby, for every single expression derives weight and sanctity from the spiritual sense which is within it." A. 9349.

     18. For verily I say unto you, Until heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall not pass from the law, till all things be fulfilled.

     "There is not even an iota, or apex, or tittle in the letter of the Word, which does not contain in it the holy Divine; therefore, also, by the Divine Providence of the Lord it has come to pass that the Word has been preserved as to every iota and apex, from the time in which it was written." A. 9349.

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     19. Whosoever therefore shall loosen one of the least of these commandments, and shall teach men so, the least shall he be called in the kingdom of the heavens; but whosoever shall do and teach. the same shall be called great in the kingdom of the heavens.

     (To loosen, etc., sig. to deny, in thought and in speech, the verity of any part of the letter of the Word.)

     "To be great in the kingdom of the heavens," sig. to be pre-eminent in humility and in the love of serving others. A. 3417.

     20. For I say unto you that unless your justice shall abound above the justice of the scribes and the pharisees, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

     "By 'justice' is sig. the good of life derived from the good of charity; and by 'abounding above that of the scribes and pharisee' is sig. that there must be internal life, and not external without internal." E. 746

     21. Ye have heard that it was declared to those of old: "Thou shalt not kin; but whosoever shall kill, shall be liable to the judgment."

     22. But I say unto you, That every one who is angry with his brother, rashly, shall be liable to the judgment; but he that shall say to his brother, Raka! shall be liable to the Sanhedrin; but he that shall say, Fool! shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire.

     "Three degrees of hatred are described by these words: the first is of depraved thought, which is to be angry; the second is of depraved intention thence, which is to say Raka; and the third is of depraved will, which is to say Fool. All these degrees are degrees of hatred against the good of charity." E. 746

     "To be 'angry' sig. to think amiss; to say 'Raka' sig. to have contempt of the neighbor, thus to account the good of charity as a vile thing; to say, 'Fool,' is to be altogether adverse to the good of charity." E. 746.

     "Three degrees of punishment are sig. by 'the judgment,' 'the council,' and 'the Gehenna of fire.' By the first is sig. punishment for lighter evils; by the second, punishment for weightier evils; and by the third, punishment for the most weighty evils." E. 746.

     ("Raka" is a word derived from a Chaldee term of reproach, meaning "empty" or "vain," and refers to the absence of truth in the understanding; but "Fool," in the Scriptural sense, denotes a wicked and reprobate person, and refers to the absence of good in the will.)

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     (The judgment here refers to the inferior court of Jewish judicature; the Sanhedrin was the supreme tribunal of the nation; Gehenna was a deep gorge to the south of Jerusalem, where all the refuse of the city, and also the bodies of executed criminals, were consumed by fires constantly burning. The "judgment," the "Sanhedrin" and "Gehenna" refer to the three successive hells.)

     23. If, therefore, thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath anything against thee.

     24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

     "This sig. that external worship is no worship, if there be in it anything from hell, such as anger, enmity, and hatred against the neighbor. The gift upon the altar sig. the worship of the Lord from love and charity; the brother is the neighbor, and, abstractly, the good of charity; having anything against thee sig. anger, enmity, or hatred; being reconciled sig. the dissipation of these things, and the consequent conjunction by love." E. 746.

     25. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

     26. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, until thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

     (The teaching here is that evil is to be shunned in this life, which is "the way." The "adversary" is the Divine law, against which a man has sinned.) '"Here is described the state of a man who after death is in hatred, because he had been in hatred against a brother in the world. By the prison is meant hell, and by the uttermost farthing, the punishment which is called eternal fire." E. 1015.

     27. Ye have heard that it was declared to those of old: "Thou shalt not commit adultery."

     28. But I say unto you, That every one who looketh on a woman, for to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

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     "Many believe that the mere abstaining from adulteries in the body is chastity; yet this is not chastity unless, at the same time, there is an abstaining in the spirit." C. L. 153.

     29. And if thy right eye cause thee to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from thee; for it will be better for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into Gehenna.

     "By the eye is sig. intellectual thought; by the right eye causing to stumble is sig. the understanding thinking evil. To pluck it out and casting it away sig. not to admit such evil, but to reject it." E. 152.

     30. And if thy right hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off and cast it from thee, for it is better for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not thy whole body be cast into Gehenna.

     "The reason it is said the right eye and the right hand, and not the left eye and the left hand, is because the right sig. good and in the opposite sense evil, but the left sig. truth and in the opposite sense falsity; and it is evil that causes stumbling, but not falsity, unless it be the falsity of evil." E. 600.

     "The eye sig. all that is of the understanding and thence of the thought; and the right hand sig. all that which is of the will, and thence of the affection. Hence to pluck out the right eye sig. to reject evil from the thought, if it enters into the thought; and to cut off the right hand sig. that evil should be dislodged from the will, if it enters into the will." E. 600.

     31. It hath been said, That whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a bill of divorcement.

     32. But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, except for the reason of whoredom, maketh her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is put away, committeth adultery.

     "The reason why whoredom is the sole cause of divorce, is that it is diametrically opposite to the life of conjugial love, and destroys it even to extermination." C. L. 468.

     "The Lord says this, because the putting away for this cause is a plenary separation of minds, which is called divorce, whereas the putting away for any other cause is separation." C. L. 255.

     ("Maketh her to commit adultery," i. e., causes her to be suspected of adultery.)

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     33. Again, ye have heard that it hath been declared to those of old, "Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths."

     "The sons of Jacob were allowed to swear, because they were altogether external or natural men, and such are willing to have truths confirmed and testified by oaths; but internal or spiritual men are unwilling to admit of such confirmations, yea, they hold oaths in aversion and think of them with horror, especially such as have God for their object, and the holy things of Heaven and the Church; being content to say and to have it said that a thing is true, or that it is not true." E. 608.

     34. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven, for it is the throne of God;

     35. Nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King;

     36. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.

     "By heaven is meant the angelic heaven; by the earth, the Church; by Jerusalem, the doctrine of the Church; and by the head is meant intelligence thence derived; wherefore it is said, 'thou canst not make one hair white or black,' by which is sig. that man of himself cannot understand anything." E. 608.

     37. But let your word be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: and what is beyond these is from evil.

     "Truth Divine ought not to be confirmed from man, but from the Lord with man; for they who from the Lord perceive and see truth, do not otherwise confirm it: this is the case with the angels of the inmost or third heaven, who are called celestial angels. "What is beyond these is from evil, because not from the Lord, but from the proprium of man, thus from evil, for the proprium of man is nothing but evil." A. 9166.

     38. Ye have heard that it hath been declared, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth."

     "Every evil has along with it a corresponding punishment, which is in it as if conjoined with the evil; from this flowed the punishment of retaliation, which was dictated to the sons of Israel because they were external men, and not internal." E. 556

     "'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth' sig. that in proportion as any one takes away from another the understanding of truth and the sense of truth, in the same proportion are these things taken away from him.

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By an eye is, sig. the understanding of truth, and by a tooth, the sense of truth, for a tooth sig. truth or falsity, such as is in the sensuous man." E. 5569.

     39. But I say unto you, Resist not the evil; but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also;

     "'Resist not evil,' sig. that evil is not to be fought against in return, nor paid back, for the angels do not fight with' the evil, still less do they pay back evil for evil, but permit them to do it, because they are protected by the Lord, and hence no evil from hell can hurt them. By the cheek is sig. the perception and understanding of internal truth; by the right cheek the affection and thence the perception, and by the left cheek, the understanding thereof." E. 556.

     "Internal men, such as are the angels of heaven, are not willing to pay back evil with evil, but from heavenly charity they forgiven; for they know that the Lord protects against the evil all who are in good, and that He protects according to the good belonging to them; also that He would not protect them, if by reason of an evil done to them they should be inflamed with enmity, hatred, and revenge, for these things turn aside the protection." E. 556.

     40. And if any one wishes to sue thee at the law, and to take away thy coat, let him have thy coat also;

     "This sig. that if any one is willing to take away the interior truth which thou hast, he should be allowed also to take away the exterior truth. The coat sig. interior truth, and the cloak, exterior truth. The angels also permit this when they are with the evil, for the evil are not able to take away anything of truth and good from the angels, but they can do so from those who on such account burn with enmity, hatred, and revenge, for these evils avert and reject protection from the Lord." E. 556.

     "By suing at law, and wishing to take away a coat, is sig. to debate about truths and to desire to persuade that it is not true. A coat sig. truth from a celestial origin, for the celestial angels leave to everyone his own truth, without further reasoning." A. 9992.

     41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go one mile, go with him two.

     "This sig. that he who is willing to draw thee away from truth to falsity, and from good to evil, should not be opposed, because he cannot do it. A mile sig. the like as by a way, viz., that which leads astray, and that which leads." E. 556.

     42. Give to him that asketh of thee; and from him that would borrow of thee, turn not thou away.

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     "This sig. that if he desires to be instructed he should be instructed, for the evil desire this, that they may pervert and deprive, but still they are not able." E. 556.

     "Borrowing and lending sig. to be instructed and to instruct from the affection of charity." A. 9174.

     43. Ye have heard that it hath been declared, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and shalt hate thine enemy."

     44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies; bless them that curse you; do good to them that hate you; and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you.

     "Charity towards the neighbor consists in willing good and doing good even to enemies, by loving them, blessing them, and praying for them for genuine charity regards nothing but the good of another. To love sig. charity; to bless, instruction, and to pray, intercession." E. 644

     45. That we may be the children of your Father who is in the heavens; for He maketh His Sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

     "The 'Father in the heavens' is the Divine Proceeding. By His Son is sig. the Divine Good flowing in; and by the rain is sig. the Divine Truth flowing in; for the Divine Proceeding flows in alike with the evil as with the good, but its reception must be by the man." E. 644

     46. For if ye love those who love you, what reward have ye! Do not even the publicans the same?

     47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more abundantly? Do not even the publicans so?

     "To love our neighbor on account of his goodness or usefulness to ourselves, is what a wicked man can do as well as a good man; but to love our neighbor on account of the good or use which we ourselves can do to him, this is what none but a good man can do." F. 21,

     48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father, who is in the heavens, is perfect.

     "The more perfectly the angels receive the Divine truth which is from the Lord, and thus receive the Lord, the more perfect human forms do they become." A. 9503. "But still no angel can ever arrive at absolute perfection, for the Lord alone is perfect. In Him and from Him is all perfection." A. 4803.

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     NOTES AND REVIEWS.

     After long delay and many complications we are at last able to announce the speedy publication of SWEDENBORG'S JOURNAL OF DREAMS AND SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES IN THE YEAR 1744, which appeared serially in NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1915.
Title Unspecified 1918

Title Unspecified              1918

     We are happy to note, in THE NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for Oct. 10th, a gentle but effective protest against the ill-natured attack of the Rev. I. Tansley, (editor of the NEW CHURCH WEEKLY), upon the Swedenborg Scientific Association: "THE NEW CHURCH WEEKLY for July 7th, commenting upon the Swedenborg Scientific Association, strangely remarks: 'We have never been able to see any particular use in this body.' Objections of a general kind are made which deeper consideration might tend to obviate. The article by Rev. Lewis F. Hite on 'The Swedenborg Scientific Association' in the July number of THE NEW CHURCH REVIEW will help to counteract the impression that this body is not engaged in research work and active uses of a very valuable kind. It said in the phototyping of Swedenborg's MSS., its cooperation with the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences in producing a monumental edition of the scientific works, and its transcription, translation and publication for the first time of some of the physiological treatises, are in themselves sufficient to commend the uses performed. Of its periodical, THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, Mr. Hite says that it is doing work of permanent value.'"


     The interesting notes from eminent Americans published in the NEW CHURCH LEAGUE JOURNAL for November, under the title of "My Opinion of Swedenborg," does not seem to give much confirmation to the permeation theory. Of the eight distinguished Bishops, Professors, and Doctors from various denominations whose opinions are published, only one, the Rt. Rev. Samuel Fallows, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church in Chicago, has noted the essential teaching of the New Church.

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His letter reads: "Permit me to say that I have been extremely interested in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. I have carefully read many of them and glanced through others. They have been of great value to me in many particulars. Some of my dearest friends, both ministers and lay people, have been members of the New Church. I prize especially the unshaken hold Swedenborg has of the Supreme Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ."


     In our September issue, (p. 547), we stated that our most recent contemporary, the MESSAGER DE LA NOUVELLE EGLISE, was published by "receivers of the New Church, associated with Prof. Charles Byse, of Lausanne, Switzerland," and that it is "devoted to general evangelistic propaganda." The society in Lausanne now desires us to state that the paper "is the property of the New Church of Lausanne, who has members belonging to the General Church. Mr. Byse has only sent us a few articles which we have published, because persons able to write, in French, articles in behalf of the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, are very few. Finally, our paper is not devoted to the evangelical propaganda in general, but to the diffusion of the new doctrines only."

     It would seem that the friends in Lausanne have misunderstood our use of the term "evangelistic," thinking that by it we meant "Evangelical," or "Orthodox Reformed." No wonder they felt "a little surprised" at this characterization. By "evangelistic propaganda" we meant general New Church missionary work.


     The Rev. George Henry Dole, Presiding Minister of the Maryland Association, in his annual report for this year makes a searching inquiry into the causes of Non-Growth in the Church, which is published in the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for November 21, and from which we extract the following significant item: "I have been told that if all the families of New Church people had remained in the Church from generation to generation, our body would now number some 600,000, which my own observation leads me not to doubt.

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To find remedies for the great drift away from the Church, it is necessary to ascertain the cause." Mr. Dole finds that one of the most potent causes is the lack of social unity among the members of the New Church. He also deplores the slackening of interest in doctrinal discussion among the laymen and adds: "The times not only are changing, but they have changed. The old-time student of the doctrine is now the exception among laymen, and the doctrinaire among the clergy is no longer popular. People do not, as formerly, care so much for the intellectual side of our faith. That this state is temporary, and taken on by our Church unconsciously from the sphere of the world, is without question. For the state of the Church everywhere, our doctrines declare, is according to doctrine."


     The Rev. Albert Bjorck has published his Thanksgiving sermon as an attractive little pamphlet, entitled VICTORY FOR OUR ARMS. Reflecting on the quality of the lusts of self and the world, he says: "A man or nation embued with them will, when he thinks he has power enough, and time and circumstances are favorable, enslave his neighbors, take their possessions and their toil for himself, deem their very lives of no account except as they contribute to the satisfaction he takes in those lusts; he will kill defenseless women and children, or use them for his evil pleasures, killing their very souls if he could, or abandon them to starvation, having first deprived them of every means by which they could help themselves." Nevertheless, these self deluded slaves of passion may be made to serve the eternal purposes of Providence, for, says Mr. Bjorck, "When their lusts break out openly and cause injustice, suffering, wars and devastation, destruction of life, acts of senseless hatred and cruelty, starvation and pestilence, the evils residing in those lusts are shown up. Men see them. And, seeing, they may turn away from them in abhorrence; join those who in obedience to God's spirit, fight against them; and try to learn the will of God, to be guided by it in the future, until the majority of men of all nations, through the guidance of the Divine light, become such a power for good that the evil become impotent, restrained from imposing their will on others.

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     "Thus are the wars between heaven and hell fought out among men on earth. Here many of the evil crew are, by force of external circumstances which all are made to serve the Divine Providence, aligned on the side of the righteous, and many of the righteous may, through ignorance or being deceived by appearances, or impelled by a sense of duty to their country, be on the side of the evil; but, seen as a whole, this war, more clearly than perhaps any previous one, is a war between principles involving good and evil, truth and falsity, and, therefore, a war between heavenly forces and hellish."


     In the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for November 28, we find the following notice of Professor Odhner's latest booklet:

     "A CATECHISM ON THE TEN COMMANDMENTS AND THE LORD'S PRAYER, Written by C. Th. Odhner, and published by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Bryn Athyn, Pa., is the most complete work of its kind, we believe, in the New Church. It is not intended for the youngest children, but for boys and girls between fourteen and sixteen years of age. The statements are not intended to be committed to memory, but to be grasped by the reason and thus understood. All the points are confirmed by Scripture quotations which are to be memorized as the foundations of true doctrine in the mind. A catechism of this kind, well mastered by the young, is the very best defense against false doctrine in after life."
SPIRITUAL HOUSE BUILDING 1918

SPIRITUAL HOUSE BUILDING       Rev. HOMER SYNNESTVEDT       1918

     FROM AN ADDRESS

     The work of education, like that of reformation or regeneration, is but the work of building a house wherein the spiritual things of life from the Lord may dwell, the habitude there being the state of conjunction with Him. Man's rational mind and his natural mind are indeed nothing but a house, or they are that form which constitutes man a receptacle of the good and truth flowing from the Lord, and which also determines the measure and manner of his reception thereof.

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     The deep foundation of this house is laid in infancy; the skeleton framework in childhood; the walls and partitions in youth, and the adornment and full use, progressively, in adult life. Teachers and Parents-or rather Educators-are, therefore, helpers in the building of the house, which is the man. In an eminent sense, the Lord builds the house, when His ends are adopted as the guiding principles by the builders, and determine all the lesser parts of the plan. As far as their work is crowned with the Lord's blessing of success, there arises under their hand in each individual, out of the chaos of raw concupiscence and phantasy, an orderly form of use-a mind capable of thinking and understanding, of seeing use, of loving it and finally doing it. This is the goal, the aim of education. To construct out of a loose and chaotic mass of materials an orderly abiding place for the goods and truths of Heaven-a form of use-an angelic form. The empty faculties of the newborn infant then become the actual functioning powers of willing and understanding, not the empty and perverted shams and substitutes they would otherwise have become.

     Furthermore, he who is permitted to labor in this service of the building of human character and of human minds, is also partaking in the divine work of building homes, for upon nothing but such a life of use received from the Lord through a life of religion, can the human conjugial be founded. To labor, therefore, for the building of the love of use from the ground of religion, or as an obligation to our Lord Himself, whom we know and love and obey as the Divine Man, is to provide at the same time and by the same means for the establishment of the conjugial, and that means to build a house which is a home, and such a one as will withstand all storms to eternity, for it is built upon a Rock.

     Nor is this all that is involved in this work, which depends in large measure upon the intelligence and upon the faithfulness with which this work is done. For it is well known that upon the purity and strength of the home ties depends the stability and strength of the State.

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In fact, it is through the home, and not without it, that the integrity of the individuals, which make up the sum of the strength of the State, is both provided and brought to bear.

     He who has not a Christian home dominated by the atmosphere of the fear of God and the love of the neighbor, together with their counterparts, the spirit of resistance to all that is contemptible and contrary to the Commandments, is like a man who is blind or crippled, or otherwise deficient from his mother's womb. For such a home sphere is to his spiritual life much what the womb of a mother is to his natural life, and the lack of it is just about as serious.

     Again we see that the same man or woman who has no home or partner, has not the chief incentive to noble and self-sacrificing effort. Of course, in this connection, the expectation and appreciation of such a blessing is enough. But without this, what would life be for Love, which is life, must go forth and find, or hope to find, reciprocation and a posterity, or it would dry up at its source. Such is the very essence of love,-and all this is provided for when an individual is prepared to become a form of use. And to Educators, whether at home or in school, (for home and school are but two phases of the same work and must be intimately related), is given the privilege and the responsibility of co-operating with the Good Father, who is the Educator of us all, to the extent of supplying vessels, chiefly scientific, and initiating the children into the use of them in their three-fold degrees.

     First, by teaching them scientifics, next by getting them to think and to understand, and lastly by encouraging them to apply or to do what they already know and understand,-thus may we assist in the building of their houses. Then, so far as the Lord's knocking is heard, and the door is opened, the house becomes a home, and at length a temple where the Lord Himself may abide and find there what He longeth for,-the reception of His love with all the joys of eternal life and activity in Him. "This is my rest forever. Here will I dwell, for I have longed for it."

     "The essence of love is to love others outside of self, to will to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself." No otherwise can this happy result be accomplished than by such building as we have described.

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How can the Lord dwell in that which is not a house?' How can He love where there is no love in return? How can He be one with those whose sole effort is to be their own and not His, to turn as far away from Him as possible? How can He gift with happiness one whose only joy is in harming his neighbors! Indeed, it may not be. Without the work of education, that is of clearing away the debris, opening the ground, and building from corner-stone up, such a structure as He describes and such as alone is capable of becoming His habitation, there can be no fulfillment of the Divine ends of love. "Except the Lord build the house, the builders thereof labor in vain."

     JERUSALEM DELIVERED!

     "Breathes there the man with soul so dead" that he did not experience a thrill on Monday evening, December 10th, when the press brought the news for which the whole Christian world had been waiting for seven centuries?

     "Mere sentiment," someone may say, "what have the people of the New Jerusalem to do with that dilapidated old town in Palestine?" To such a question we would reply that New Church people should never be cynics; that the New Church is a Christian Church, the only genuine Church of Christ, and that the common joy of Christians everywhere should be in a supreme measure the joy of the New Church Christian.

     In the present world-struggle for human liberty of thought and speech and action, the capture of Jerusalem will have an incalculable effect, politically, morally, and even spiritually. Politically, or strategically, it will lay open the roads to Damascus and the whole Lebanon valley. Syria, the pearl of Turkey's remaining possessions, will, before long, be in the hands of the British, and by the junction, of the Palestine and the Mesopotamian expeditions at Aleppo the German dream of world dominion through an oriental outlet into "the sun" will hopelessly vanish, and the map of Turkey roll up forever.

     But it is the moral effect that will be the more immediate result of the recent victory, for it will take the very heart out of the desperate Turk.

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Next to Mekka, (already lost to the Sultan), there is to the Mohammedan world no place more holy than Jerusalem. The Koran recounts nearly all the traditions sacred to the Christian world and demands for them almost equal veneration. The Mosque: of Omar, on the site of the ancient Temple, has ever been the greatest pride of all Moslem; and there is a stone over the "Golden Gate" of Jerusalem upon which Mohammed was to sit, re-incarnated, to welcome Christ at His Second Coming. This will now have to take place under Christian auspices.

     And what will be the moral effect upon the millions of devout Catholics and Protestants in the Central Empires? Will not the proud memories of German, Austrian and Hungarian Crusaders recur to their descendants? Did not the scenes of the Nativity and the Crucifixion unfold themselves to German eyes at Christmastide, when the tones of "Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht" resounded in German ears to the inevitable thought that the birth-places of the Lord and of the Christian Religion have now been recovered from the allies of Germany. The shame of this thought, and the increased consciousness that they are fighting against the common cause of Christianity, are bound to have a relaxing effect upon the moral nerve of the religious people in the Central Empires, while to the Christians in the Allied nations the fall (or, rather, rise) of Jerusalem will be an added source of encouragement and inspiration.

     But what has a religious and distinctly non-political journal, such as NEW CHURCH LIFE, to do with the military occupation of Jerusalem? One might as well ask what we: have to do with the letter of the Word. Jerusalem, and the whole land of Palestine, are inseparably associated with the Word in the letter, and the more closely and accurately that the people of the New Church can study that letter, the better a foundation will they have for the correct understanding of the Internal Sense. By the recent victory of the British the whole land of Canaan will be opened for the safe and free explorations of archeologists and Bible students. The geography and history of the Word will now become new sciences, and at the same time the Ancient Word and the Ancient Churches will draw nearer to us of the New Church.

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OUR SOLDIERS 1918

OUR SOLDIERS       Editor       1918

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem numbers at present less than fourteen hundred members,-men and women,-and of this number more than a hundred young men have left their homes and their church societies to offer their services and lives in the cause of the country and the human race. The startling phenomenon of so great a proportion of our young men going forth to war will cause many to ponder upon the effect of this exodus upon them and upon the Church as a whole.

     From what has been observed, thus far, the immediate effect upon our young soldiers has been an increased appreciation of the home and of the Church, which now seem so distant. It is not only the enchantment lent by distance, however, but the sharp contrasts now afforded have caused the blessings of the faith and charity and life of the New Church to stand forth in stronger relief.

     The contact and association with so many new comrades, of most diverse conditions and forms of mind, are also bound to have a broadening effect upon our young men, brought up, as many of them have been, within the sheltering arms of a very distinctive, (and, some say, exclusive), Church. Not that their Newchurchmanship need become less distinctive, but their numberless new experiences will present a great variety of object lessons, illustrating the truths of the Heavenly Doctrine.

     "A city that is set on a mountain cannot be hid." From the numerous letters received from our soldiers, now in training camps or on the firing line, it is quite evident that some of their comrades have perceived that these New Church boys are "somehow different" in their conduct and point of view. This fact has led, and will lead, to inquiries and conversations on moral and religious topics, and here is where the men of the Church have the opportunity to lift the "bushel" from off their lamps.

     Deliberate efforts at "missionary work," it seems to us, should not be attempted while in the ranks, for the business at hand is war, not preaching. But if any one asks, or seeks, or knocks, he should receive, and find, and have the door opened to him.

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Already we have heard of soldiers and sailors becoming interested in the New Church through association with outspoken New Church comrades, leading in one case to actual conversion and baptism. If each of the Academy boys has the sacred fire burning in his own heart, he is bound to communicate some of the heat and the light to others, and thus, in the Providence of the Lord, it may be that a considerable extension of the Church may ultimately result from what now may seem a sad dispersion of our forces.

     In any little "fishing trip" that may offer itself, it will be well to follow the rule once for all laid down, to cast the net on the right side of the ship. It is not the intellectual falsities of the Old Church that are to be combated at first so much as its far more evident evils of life. Philosophical and theological abstractions are not of much use as bait in these waters, but the practical truths of the New Church in respect to the actual and terrible evils of life, especially sexual evils, which one meets with everywhere, these truths will prove attractive to some clean young fellows and also to some who would like to become clean. Then, having proved the New Church point of view in regard to such evils, it is time to "follow up" by showing how these evils are the inevitable results of the false doctrines of the Old Church.

     Finally, it may at times seem to a man that he would rather live for the New Church than die for some other cause, however noble. But it is most important for a New Church soldier to remember always that the cause we are fighting for is none other than, the cause of the Lord's New Church. You may call it the cause of democracy, or the cause of justice and righteousness, or the cause of human freedom, but it all comes to the same thing as the New Church, for that Church cannot possibly flourish under any political rule of autocracy, aristocracy or militarism.

     "Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori." How doubly sweet and honorable, then, to die for our beloved country when this at the same time means to die for our still more beloved Church! As a matter of fact there is no such thing as death. He who from a genuine love of country dies for it, in the other world lives for the Kingdom of the Lord. Still more so he who on this earth has lived and died for the Lord's Kingdom.

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"For the New Church on the earth will increase according to its increase in the World of Spirits; for spirits thence are with men, and with each man the spirits are from those who, have been in the faith of his own Church while they lived on the earth. . . . According to the increase of these spirits in the World of Spirits, the New Church is increasing on the earth. This also was the reason why the Christian Church increased so slowly in the European world, and did not come into her fulness until after an age." (A. E.732)
GERMAN NATION 1918

GERMAN NATION       Editor       1918

     The corrupt nature of the human proprium is much the same the world over, and there is nothing in the selfhood of an American or an Englishman that makes him inherently a better man than a German or a Turk. It is only by regeneration that either of them becomes a human being, and regeneration is an acquisition, not an inheritance. It is the same way with the nations of the world as greater individuals; each nation is constantly regenerating or degenerating, and in the process it acquires a certain "national genius" or common structure of the natural mind, shaped by principles and ideals prevailing in a certain cycle of centuries as expressed in the special form of government chosen by it or forced upon it.

     The revelations given in the Writings of the New Church concerning the genius of the principal nations of our earth are of particular interest in the present era of universal Natural Judgment, when nearly all the nations of this world have been cast into the fiery furnace of war and vastation,-a Judgment which is the manifest effect of the great Spiritual Judgment that took place in the other world in the year 1757. There can be no possible purpose in all this cataclysmic upheaval but the Divine end of the reformation and ultimate salvation of the human race. With this in mind we propose to present some of the most salient teachings of the Lord in His Second Advent concerning the characteristics of the various nations of the Christian world, and we will begin with those who have been the most apparent cause of the present devastation,-the German nation.

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     In regard to this nation we do not find so many statements in the Writings as in respect to some of the other nations, but what is said is amply illustrated and confirmed by present-day developments. Many of our readers may be familiar with the following teachings in the TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, which are always worthy of repeated study:

     THE GERMANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD.

     "It is known that the inhabitants of every kingdom, divided into several provinces, are not alike in genius, and that they differ from one another in particular ways, as those who dwell in the several climates of the globe differ from each other in a universal way; and yet that a common genius reigns among those who are under one king, and thus under the same law. As regards Germany, it is divided more than the surrounding kingdoms into separate governments. There is an imperial government, under the universal authority of which they all are; but still the prince of each division enjoys despotic power in his particular dominion; for there are greater and lesser principalities, and each ruler is a monarch in his own state. Furthermore, religion is divided there; in some principalities there are the 'Evangelical,' so-called; in some, the 'Reformed;' and in some, 'Papists.' With such diversity of both government and religion, the minds, inclinations, and lives of the Germans, from those seen in the spiritual world, are more difficult to describe than those of other nations and peoples. Nevertheless, since a common genius reigns everywhere among peoples speaking the same language, it may be in some measure seen and described from ideas collected into one.

     "Because the Germans are under a particular despotic government in each principality, they do not have liberty of speech and writing, as the Hollanders and the British have; and when liberty of speech and writing is restrained, then liberty of thought, that is, of exploring anything in its fulness, is also kept under coercion at the same time. It is then as when a fountain is dammed up, so that the imprisoned vein can no longer spring into the air; the thought is like the vein, and the speech thence is like the basin.

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In a word, influx adapts itself to efflux; and in like manner the understanding from above adapts itself to its measure of freedom to utter and express the thoughts. For this reason that noble people devotes itself little to matters of rational judgment, but rather to things of the memory. It is for this reason that they apply themselves especially to the history of letters, and in their books they trust men of reputation and learning among them, quoting their opinions abundantly, and subscribing to the opinions of some one of these. This state is represented in the spiritual world by a man carrying books under his arm, and when one disputes about any matter of judgment, he says, 'I will give you an answer,' and immediately be draws a book from under his arm and begins to read.

     "From this state of the people proceed many things, and among them this, that they keep the spiritual things of the Church inscribed upon the memory, and seldom raise them into the higher understanding, but only admit them to the lower, from which they reason about them; thus they act altogether differently from free nations. These latter, in relation to 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 free nations are like large deer with lofty horns that roam the fields, groves and forests in complete liberty, while nations not free are like deer kept in parks for the use of a prince. Moreover, free peoples are like winged horses, such as the ancients called Pegasus, that fly not only over seas, but over the hills that they called Parnassian, and also over the seats of the Muses beneath them; while peoples that have not been emancipated are like noble horses beautifully caparisoned in king's stables." (T. C. R. 813-815)

     This judgment of the German national genius would not be quite complete without the following revelation from the SPIRITUAL DIARY, which we have never seen quoted:

     "All these [spirits] are of such a quality that they take away the government of the Lord from every one whom they assail; for they arrogate this government to themselves, and rise up even to the point that they believe they are gods, and the Divine not anything; that the Lord, indeed, rules universally, but they particularly, thus, that they are deities, and that this is heaven.

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They say that to rule is heaven, because this is the very delight of their lives. They therefore never submit to the Lord, nor receive anything of obedience, but wish to do all things from the proprium." (S. D. 5790)

     "The majority of such ones are hypocrites. As long as they are able to rule they acknowledge the Divine, but as soon as they are deprived of dominion they deny it. They carry this denial in the heart the acknowledgment they carry only in the mouth." (S. D. 5790e)

     "The majority, who are of such a character, ascend into mountains and rocks, and when they come there they seek nothing else than to be able to gain pre-eminence over others; thus they decline to be in, any employment, saying that they do not know anything else, and that they were of such a character. When inquiry is made as to what sort they are, they were found to be such as performed no other functions than solely to rule over others, and that they are good-for-nothings and idle, but wish to be honored by others: and when they do not obtain this, they betake themselves outside that society, and look down and domineer over all whom they see. They also do evil to them, because they love no one but themselves. Such are to be found for the most part in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and elsewhere; but there are few in England, because there they pay attention to their own domestic and business concerns." (S. D. 5791 1/2)

     It is self-evident that no nation is doomed to remain for ever in the state in which it was at the time of the Last Judgment. Indeed, that Judgment was effected in order to deliver all mankind and thus each nation from its falsities and evils, and thus to produce, by means of a new freedom, a modification of the national genius that shall make possible the ultimate reception of the Second Coming of the Lord.

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WILLIAM D. HOWELLS ON SPIRITISM AND SWEDENBORG 1918

WILLIAM D. HOWELLS ON SPIRITISM AND SWEDENBORG       Editor       1918

     As is well known, the venerable "Dean of American Literature" is the son of an early and prominent New Church pioneer, William C. Howells, who, in the year 1843, published a New Church weekly, entitled THE RETINA. Though his far more celebrated son has never been connected with the New Church, but is supposed to be somewhat of an agnostic in matters of Religion, yet he has never concealed the remains of "Swedenborgianism" implanted in childhood and youth. In nearly all of his writings he has introduced certain New Church ideas or New Church characters, sometimes, it would seem, by way of ridicule, but more often by way of half-veiled admiration. His most recent and most open expression of interest in Swedenborg is found in the November issue of HARPER'S MAGAZINE, in an editorial review of Sir Oliver Lodge's much-reviewed book, RAYMOND. Speaking of the phenomenal increase of interest in Spiritism, at: the present time, in the learned world and elsewhere, Mr. Howells suggests a thought which may have occurred also to some of our own readers:

     "But now again we seem to find motion in the dead-a stir, a thrill which somehow seems to persuade literature, and by no means only the books which we happen lately to have been reading. Is it because the dead are super-abounding now beyond the ratio of all the past pestilences and a most powerful people is dedicating itself, body and soul, to the destruction of human life in the most murderous war that ever was? Is it because the innumerable hosts of the slain, swarming up from scores of battles, miles long, weeks long, must needs return to the living and entreat them to believe that they, too, are living?"

     To Mr. Howells, as to us, Sir Oliver Lodge's book is "most tedious and unconvincing," and after quoting from it some salient passages, he concludes as follows:

     "The passages chosen here not quite at random will not convince the reader; but we hope they will make him feel the lovableness of the family affection which pervades the narration.

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It is grossly material, helplessly grotesque in great part, with such a moment of exaltation as we have reported. But its baldness, its unpoetic outrightness, its effect of scientific practicality, is in keeping with the methods of the inquiry which turned us from believers to agnostics when Evolution cut the ground of our old faith from under us forty or fifty years ago. Now, apparently, science, in the tolerant inquiry of a Lodge, a Crookes, a Wallace, a Ramsay, is willing to let us affirm our belief again, and is paying us the debt contracted two generations ago. The faith which it restores cannot be the religious faith that it took away; but in suffering us to say that our souls are our own, or even that we have a soul upon any terms, science is doing something very interesting.

     "What is a little odd about such interviewing of immortality as Sir Oliver Lodge's book records is that he takes no note of the great, full, and most explicit affirmations of spiritual life by a most eminent scientific man who observed it a century and a half ago, and who has in these later days, come into such satisfaction as his immortal spirit may enjoy from the recognition of his scientific forecast of the great principles supposed to be the discovery of much more modern inquiry. It is as if Emanuel Swedenborg's claims as a savant might have been invalidated through his acceptance as a seer by the followers who have made his religious doctrines their cult, or as if scientific research had ignored the results of his vast scientific learning in the proportion that religious inquiry had accepted the authority of his spiritual revelation. The investigations of none of the modern scientists in the region which he explored here seems to have suggested their recurrence to the vast mass of his spiritual memoirs, so abundant in circumstantial statement and so strenuous in deduction from the things he continuously claimed to have been seen and heard. Modern spiritualism has found something alien or averse in this mighty mystic who so unmystically unfolded the inmost and most recondite actualities of a life beyond this; and when science began to use the means of modern spiritualism in its researches into the unseen and the unknown, it may have been repelled by the serene adequacy of those inexhaustible confidences.

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But it would have been very interesting if science had shown at least some consciousness of them, and it could apparently have done so, and still kept every advantage of novelty in the disclosures now; painfully and tediously made by the processes of writing, rapping, or tipping mediumship.

     "There is, in fact, nothing in the things reported from Raymond which may not be paralleled and amplified a thousand fold from the Memorabilia of Swedenborg. His one work, HEAVEN AND HELL, is a storehouse of experiences and observations which, whether we allow them to be genuine or not, are still of an extent and variety which far transcend all subsequent communications. The things told by Raymond of the housing and clothing of people in the spiritual world, of their moral as well as spiritual conditioning, of the constitution and polity of a state where each chooses his destiny according to his life here and his preferences from it, are the commonplaces of Swedenborg's revelation and philosophy. Raymond's facts, if we may call his fragmentary and disconnected responses so, with the struggles of the mediums for intelligible statements, might all have been derived from the superabundant testimony of the books where every fact of a, world neither unknown nor unknowable is so amply set down that curiosity is almost sated. It is true that the hunger for personal and particular reunion must remain unsatisfied from the savant who mapped the unseen world as if it were some terrestrial region, and portrayed its civilization as if we were studying some planet in make and material like our own, it appears that they who sit in the dark and dole of immediate bereavement cannot have the comfort brought them by the broken messages directly sent them, with, however, little effect of credibility for those outside their sorrow. For those who outlived their anguish, but have remained with the old, ever-new question, 'If a man die shall he live again?' the circumstantial answer of the authority ignored equally by physicist and psychist may always have interest. One need not go to the works of the seer which voluminously report his experience and embody his doctrine; one may, perhaps, wholly satisfy the curiosity which Sir Oliver Lodge's book awakens in several summaries which exist and which we have ourselves since recurred to.

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There the reader may learn indefinitely more of the world of spirits, which is, comparatively, not more than glimpsed in the interviews with Raymond Lodge; he will he told not only how the spirits of men are awakened from death, (in three days, not seven), and then follow to eternity the life they love best in the fellowship of those they like best; but also how they are housed and clothed in the heavens and hells; how they feast together as spirits may, and how they employ and how amuse themselves; how they commune with one another, how their abode is not a place but a state, which they characterize from themselves; with a thousand other details which shall make all other reports of the life after death seem poor and meager. If the reader chooses to dwell in these wonders, he may, but if he chooses he may learn all their meaning, and the piety they embody and typify, in terms of such dignity as shall make the gibberish of the ordinary 'control' of the ordinary medium seem an affront to the human intelligence. If they are hard sayings, and often too hard for our little faith, they are sometimes of such apparent authority, of such a supernal surprise, that one wishes to think twice before rejecting them, as one perhaps finally does in the despair that stays, all assent to the everlasting question."

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     PITTSBURGH, PA. This society, after a period of shrinkage, due to the death of three members and the removal from the city of nearly two dozen others, has taken an upward turn again, and we began our season's activities with a "Get Together" supper in October, at which we had the pleasure of taking in fourteen new members. Our statistics showed also an average of five visitors at the church services during the past year, and several new accessions to the Sunday School. But perhaps the most encouraging feature of all was the increased enrollment in our Day School. We now have twenty five pupils, and are able to carry them through all the eight grades, or until they are prepared to enter the Academy's Secondary Schools at Bryn Athyn. The trouble is, however, that they are then rather young to go away from home, so some of them still have to take a year at the High Schools. There is a special class in the Doctrines for those who are out of our school, held on Sunday evening. This class has only five members now, because we have twelve students at Bryn Athyn. Three times lately this class was displaced by readings from CONJUGIAL LOVE, held at come of the homes. These classes seemed to fill a real need, for the attendance was unexpectedly large, and the thought and affection very active. The weekly doctrinal class, now restored to its old place on Wednesday evening, has also been well attended, each year showing an improvement. We have a well attended "Philosophy Club," and the interest in the monthly ladies' meetings is well sustained. Our women are very active in Red Cross and other war work, and we expect soon to have something in that line which we can do among ourselves. We are already co-operating with the "Academy War Service Committee," which has undertaken to keep in touch with soldiers and sailors connected with the General Church.

     The sentiment in favor of keeping up the BULLETIN during the war is strong here,-as is also the interest in the scholarship work. We have so few young people just now that there is less of dancing and the social life of the young set, but what we have has been particularly fine. With the aid of some visitors we have had two very enjoyable dances, with some of the best music obtainable. Perhaps one reason we enjoyed it so much was the fact that we felt a bit guilty at enjoying ourselves in these days, but we think it right to show our boys a good time when they are here, and there is need of keeping up the spirits of all as well as we can. Our policy is to reduce all our pleasures to simple terms rather than to cut them off altogether,-until we must.

     Two card parties, one at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Lechner and one given by Miss Katharine Marshall at the Uptegraff apartment, have supplied a social element that is well adapted to our present circumstances. The "Little Theatre" company is busy with the Christmas scenes, but the play which they were planning to give had to be laid aside for lack of actors of the masculine persuasion. The fact is, we have only one unattached young man left, and he is preparing to join soon!

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So the shadow of the great war is over all our life and work, and even in our worship and instruction the prayer for guidance and protection is uppermost. We are proud of the prompt and abundant response which our city has given to all calls so far, and hope as faithful subjects and lovers of our country, to make this great crisis the means of strengthening our loyalty and devotion to the Great King, and those eternal principles of freedom and right which are the only sure foundations of enduring peace. H. S.

     GLENVIEW, ILL. On Friday evening after Thanksgiving day we had a cafeteria and two plays instead of the usual Friday supper. Food was abundant, prices reasonable and the cooking excellent. Upon a series of tables were displayed farm and garden products with preserves and canned goods for sale. After the feasting was over, which was somewhat merry in spite of the war, two plays of merit were performed by our local talent. On Thanksgiving day there was an appropriate services in the morning; quite a number of guests were entertained at the homes. One eccentric, irregular and capricious individual brought six little slum children from the back-streets of Chicago under charge of a nurse and gave them a goose and chicken dinner; the whole day was occupied with screams of delight, intercurrent bread and jam, quarrels, piano thumping and the devouring of fowls. A continuous performance of going out, accumulating a pound of soft mud on each foot and bringing it into the house was indulged in. At 7 p. m. they were sent off in an automobile and the host sank into the easiest chair, put his feet into another and inhaled a long one of hot water, lemon peel and flavoring.

     On Wednesday, Dec. 12th, under the efficient management of Mr. Sidney E. Lee, we enjoyed a military entertainment of a high degree of merit from which the audience received a considerable accession of new ideas. Talent from the army was imported to give the occasion a lustre. Lieut. Arthur W. Burnham related in graphic style "Life in the Camp." He displayed an admirable spirit and wonderful power of accommodation to novel surroundings and hardships. The boy cadets were in evidence in a drill and acted as standard hearers. An officer of thirty years' experience, with his coat liberally decorated with medals, gave a most interesting talk and illustrations of bugle calls of which he was an emeritus professor. The Rev. W. B. Caldwell opened the exercises with a brief address of welcome. A few war tableaux filled up the interstices of the evening. These are the only social events of the past month. K.

     TORONTO, ONT. An interesting wedding took place in the Olivet church on Friday afternoon, November 30th, when Miss Vera Bellinger was married to Lieut. Roland Smith, formerly of Bryn Athyn, now of Camp Meade, Md.

     The church was beautifully decorated with flowers, palms and smilax, and the lovely music played by Mrs. Reginald Anderson added much to the sphere of the occasion.

     Afterwards we repaired to the flower-laden home of the bride where we enjoyed the lavish hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Bellinger, and the opportunity of congratulating the newly wedded pair, and wishing them every happiness in this world and in the life to come. During the afternoon Mrs. Caldwell and Mrs. E. K. Richardson charmed us with some delightful music, and made the parting time gay with song.

     Mrs. Roland Smith was one of our most faithful and useful young members, and she will be very much missed by us all. She acted as our church organist for some time, and was very active in the "Theta Alpha" and the Red Cross work.

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     At the Wednesday supper before the wedding the gentlemen of the society presented the bride to be with a leather traveling bag in recognition of her services as organist.

     A most unique entertainment was given at the church on Friday evening, November 9th. The weekly supper was held that night instead of on Wednesday, and 86 persons gathered round the festive board. Supper was followed by a vaudeville entertainment, which was one of the cleverest and most amusing we have had in many a day. Miss Edina Carswell and Mrs. Ray Brown, "old favorites," excelled themselves, while each player contributed to the fun of the evening.

     The proceeds were used for filling boxes for "our boys" at the front, and a goodly sum was realized for that purpose.

     Our annual Thanksgiving social was again the occasion for thanking the Lord in speeches and songs for all His mercies towards us. After the banquet a committee of young people kept things humming for the rest of the evening.

     Mr. Cyril Bellinger has been having a class at the church for teaching the modern dances. The older as well as the young people have attended, so now we are looking forward to having more dancing at our social gatherings.

     We are having a most interesting doctrinal class this winter studying the DOCTRINE OF CHARITY. B. S.

     REPORT OF REV. J. E. BOWERS. My fall trip on the circuit began on Sept. 14, and the first place visited was Kitchener, Ont. After a visit with Mr. Solomon Bauman and family near Milverton, we held services at the home of Mr. Ferdinand Doering and family, six miles from the town, on the 23d. After preaching the sacrament of the Lord's Supper was administered to eight persons.

     In Hamilton Mr. James Lennie, the only member of the General Church in the city, and the Rev. T. J. Morton, B retired Episcopalian minister, who is an interested leader of Swedenborg, were visited. We had many talks.

     At the home of Dr. Edward Cranch and family, in Erie, Pa., we had service on the morning of the 30th. Twenty persons were present. And in the evening, at the home of Mr. B. F. Evans and family. I read a paper, "Concerning the Missionary Field."

     At Warren, Ohio, on October 5-6. I enjoyed the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. E. P. Goodrich. At Youngstown, O. we held services al the home of Mr. Solomon Renkenberger and family, on the 7th. Thirteen persons were at the meeting, and the eleven adults took part in the Holy Communion.

     After having visits with Mr. and Mrs. Dayton Detrow, at Eureka; Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Harrold, at Lectonia, and Mr. Lewis Wunderlin, near Columbiana, I preached at the home of Mr. Jacob Renkenberger and family two miles from the town. Again on this occasion thirteen persons were present.

     On the 17th my destination was Foster, W. Va., on the Ohio river, a trip of one hundred miles. There Mr. and Mrs. Quincy Cresap made me welcome, and we had our annual visit.

     At Clarington, O., I was with our venerable friend, Fred. Waelchly. He is in his 85th year; our talks concerning spiritual things or the Church were most enjoyable.

     In Wheeling, W. Va., four calls were made on members and friends of the Church. Mrs. E. A. Pollock and Mrs. J. Frank Cox are members of the General Church.

     At Bellaire, O., on the 21st, services were held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Geo. W. Yost and Mrs. O. C. Pollock. The attendance was seven, all of whom took part in the Sacrament.

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     On the 23d I arrived at Athens, O., and took dinner with Attorney A. M. Lewis and family. After the meal Mr. Lewis went to his office but returned to the house at 3 p. m., seriously ill, and immediately passed away. There is not space to say more. Mr. Lewis has for many years been a believer in the Doctrines, and is a member of the General Church.

     At Givens, O., on the 28th, we had services at the home of Mr. S. A. Powell and family; and two of his grandchildren were baptized. These children are the fifth generation of this family in the New Church.

     After this, calls were made, staying over night, in each place, as follows:

     With Judge L. G. Dill, at Waverly; with Mr. Edward and Miss Margaret Dill, at Bainbridge; with Mr. and Mrs. D. O. Beath, on their farm, two miles from Washington C. H.; and with Mr. and Mrs. Wm. H. Wiley and family, in Columbus.

     Over Sunday, November 4th, I was with Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Heath and their young daughter and son, at their home on the farm, in Madison Co., O. We had readings from the letter of the Word and from the writings.

     Next trip of two hundred miles took me to the hospitable homes of the Fogles and the Tyrrels, at Bourbon, Ind. My former visit with them was just a year before. We had many talks concerning the Church and matters of doctrine. And on the 11th, in the evening, we held our little meeting.

     My stay of a few days in Chicago was a strenuous but a very interesting time to me. My stopping place, on invitation, was the home of Mr. John D, Pollock and family. But it so happened that on my first evening in the big city I had a visit and took tea with the Rev. John Headsten and his family. On the morning of the 18th I attended Sharon church and heard the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith preach an excellent sermon. In the afternoon I preached for Mr. Headsten, to an audience of what seemed to me to be about forty persons. Was pleased to see that our Swedish friends have such a comfortable hall for their worship. Am also glad to know that the Sharon church is bravely going forward with the important uses of Divine Worship and spiritual instruction, according to the Heavenly Doctrines. For this is truly a glorious work!

     On my way eastward, on the 19th, I stopped at Kalamazoo, Mich., as usual, and was over one night at each of the homes of Mr. B. C. Henyan and Mr. W. H. Peck and their families. Mr. H. has been a believer in the new doctrines for many years. And Mr. P. is a son of Judge W. W. Peck, who passed into the other life in March, 1910.

     At Mull, Kent Co., Ont., we had a service at the home of Mr. F. E. Woofenden and family on the 25th. Ten persons were present. An infant was baptized and a sermon was delivered.

     My first call in London, Nov. 26th, was on Mr. Alfred Bloxam and family. Mrs. B., a daughter of the late Thomas Woofenden, of Mull, learned the Doctrines from childhood and is firm in the faith. Mr. B. and I had an animated but friendly discussion on the general points of the new doctrine. I also called on friends of the Church,-Mr. and Mrs. H. B. White, Mr. and Mrs. P. H. Good and the Misses Gunn,-whom I have known for many years, and who receive pastoral visits from the Rev. L. E. Wethey, of the Kitchener Convention Society.

     The last place visited on this trip on the circuit was at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Brown and their son, Mr. Edgar T. Brown. And there we found, as we always do find,-that there is never any lack of interesting and edifying subjects for conversation, when those who sincerely believe in the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem get together.

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     The Brown family live a mile and a half from Streetsville. My visit with them, 27-29, was enjoyable, as have been the visits with the people in all places mentioned. J. E. BOWERS.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR. On the 7th of October services were held at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Izzard, CLINTON, Ont., at which sixteen persons were present, of whom eight partook of the Holy Supper. In the course of the service a prayer was offered up for two of the young men of the circle who are in the trenches at the front.

     On the 16th of October I started out on my regular fall trip, going first to BUFFALO, N. Y., where, on the following evening at a small gathering at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Grebenstein, a pleasant evening was spent in conversation on various subjects of doctrine. Four days, October 8 to 21, were given to ERIE, Pa. Two doctrinal classes and a social were held, all of which were well attended. One afternoon was devoted to the instruction of six children. On Sunday morning at services there was an attendance of twenty-seven, the largest number for a long time; of these eighteen partook of the Holy Supper.

     The next point visited was CLEVELAND, Ohio, where a doctrinal class, attended by five persons, was held in the evening of October 22d at the house of Mr. and Mrs. William Parker.

     After spending two days with the members in Pittsburgh, I went on to MIDDLEPORT, Ohio, arriving there October 26th and remaining for two weeks. On the two Sundays services were held morning and evening. At the morning service on the second Sunday there took place the baptism of Mrs. Fred. Davis, an event which was a great delight to all the members. On this Sunday there was also the celebration of the Holy Supper, in which sixteen persons took part. The evening services were of a missionary character, and each time there were several strangers present. Three doctrinal classes were held with most encouraging attendance. One of these was preceded by a supper at which twenty-three were present, and at another class there was an attendance of seventeen. There were two ladies' meetings and two men's meetings. At one of the men's meetings there were nine present, the largest number we have yet had. On four afternoons instruction was given to the children, the attendance ranging from five to eight. The little Sunday School is kept up regularly.

     From Middleport I went to CINCINNATI, Ohio, for four days, November 8 to 12. At the services on Sunday there was an attendance of fourteen. The Holy Supper was administered to eight persons, among whom were the new family added to the Cincinnati circle, Mr. and Mrs. Fred. Merrell, for both of whom this was the first communion. Two doctrinal classes were held, at one of which we had the pleasure of the presence of Mr. and Mrs. James Boggess, of Middleport. At the children's class there was an attendance of four.

     The last points visited were DETROIT, Mich., and WINDSOR, Ont., November 14 to 19. On Sunday morning services were held at Windsor, with an attendance of ten, of whom seven partook of the Holy Supper; and in the evening at Detroit, with an attendance of thirteen. There were two doctrinal classes at Windsor and one at Detroit. At the children's class at Detroit there was an attendance of eleven.

     Summarizing this report, we can state that about one hundred and twenty persons received the ministrations of the Church, including twenty-seven children to whom instruction was given.

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The Holy Supper was administered to fifty-seven communicants. Thirty-four meetings of various kinds were held.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

     SWEDEN. The Swedish New Church Society of Gothenburg, of which the Rev. C. J. N. Manby has for many years been leader, has now obtained resident pastor, through the ordination of the Rev. J. M. Swensson, formerly a pastor in the Methodist Church. For over a year Mr. Swensson has been actually ministering to the Gothenburg Society while at the same time studying the doctrines of the New Church under the direction of Pastor Manby. His ordination was performed by Pastor Manby on Sunday morning, August 12, 1917, and was followed in the evening by a sermon on "The Faith of the New Church." Another ministerial candidate, Mr. David Rundstrom, is preparing to take up the work as Pastor Manby's successor in the Stockholm Society.

     RUSSIA. That there is now in Petrograd a New Church missionary who walks the streets of that terror-ridden city with the Heavenly Doctrine in his hands, mixing with the people, reading and discussing, is the interesting information that we gather from the letters of Mr. C. E. Kerby, of Petrograd, published in the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for November 14, and the NEW CHURCH WEEKLY for November 17. We quote from the first mentioned journal:

     "I go now much among the Russian people in the streets with the Russian translation of Swedenborg's fine work: THE HEAVENLY DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM in my hand. This is a fine practical work which inculcates first principles of life. I read and discuss the principles of this beautiful book with many Russians, and I am glad to be able to report that I have been in general received courteously and politely. There is one chapter in this fine book which is very useful to me. I refer to the chapter on true and false freedom, on freedom from heaven and freedom from hell. This has impressed many Russians. . . . We must be considerate and patient with the Russians in their rather difficult and new-found position. To rise quickly to the responsibilities of freedom is not so easy as some people imagine."

     Mr. Kerby predicts the establishment of true principles of democracy in Russia, and says:

     "There must be no longer the arrogant assumption of superiority of one nation over another any more than there must be the arrogant assumption of superiority of one man over another. There is one who is infinitely superior to all nations and men, and the small tapers of nations and men are extinguished in the majestic glow of the Divine sun in which He dwells. In the great coming democracy we shall have no longer great and small men, but only men diligently performing more extensive uses, and other men as diligently performing lesser uses; each according to his God-bestowed abilities. In the Gorand Man of heaven all types of men and abilities are required, but all acknowledge in heaven that the merit is the Infinite Divine Man's alone."

     In another letter, published in the NEW CHURCH WEEKLY, the same writer discusses the practical measures for bringing the doctrine of the New Church before the Russian public. He says that there is a place in Petrograd where pamphlet translations of Swedenborg's works were freely sold before the Revolution. The address of this shop is Toosoff, No. 45, Gostinny Dvor, Sadovia.

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Mr. Kerby is interested in republishing an edition of a short Biography of Swedenborg in Russian, which appeared in 1847, being probably the translation of some English biography made for the FINNISH MESSENGER. He asks the Swedenborg Society for copies of their good Russian translation of the HEAVENLY DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM. Mr. Kerby mentions frequently meeting with Japanese in Petrograd, some of whom appear much interested in learning of the great Seer, and for this reason he is considering the usefulness or carrying around with him copies of Japanese translations of the Writings.

     THE ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE

     REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.

     The Academy War Service Committee has packed And sent off one hundred and ten Christmas boxes to the soldiers in this country and abroad. Each package contained a box of raisins, a small cheese, tobacco, fruit cake, chocolate candy, Christmas candy and cookies, soap, a picture, and a small present, such as a trench mirror, pack of cards, khaki handkerchief or flash light. On top was a Christmas card and a sprig of evergreen. Thirty-two boxes were packed in one evening-a record speed. Everyone co-operated to make the packages a success. The Bryn Athyn ladies made cakes and candy; twenty-five pounds of cookies and ten pounds of candy came from Glenview. We were given special prices on the things the soldiers bought at Mrs. Heath's, and Mr. Clapton, the Bryn Athyn Station-Master, was most courteous and helpful in censoring, stamping, and mailing the boxes. Now that the Christmas packages are off we expect to begin the work of sending the Writings and other New Church literature to the men.

     We have sent a letter to each one telling what the Committee is and wants to do, enclosing a stamped envelope and a letter to be filled out and returned, asking a them what knitted articles they have and need. The good will and appreciation expressed in the answers to these letters is most encouraging. We are sending to the men as they go abroad the addresses of M. Hussenet and Mr. Czerny, and of the soldiers who are already over there. In this country we have notified boys in one camp of the presence of others in the same camp, when they were not aware of it.

     Miss Creda Glenn has undertaken the task of supplying our men with knitted wear. She reports that over $1,200 worth of wool has been bought by different people in Bryn Athyn and made into socks, sweaters, helmets, wristlets, and knee caps. At the present price of wool it takes $20 worth to supply one man. The ladies in all other societies are also knitting for their soldiers; is Pittsburgh even the children in school are busy.

     Everyone has been most interested, appreciative, and helpful; and the response from all has been generous and prompt. New York and Pittsburgh are sending monthly contributions. Such a plan as this gives the Committee a feeling of financial security. We have now collected $300 and spent a little over $200.

     There is a plan afoot by the Manager of the Book Room to have some short sermon printed in pamphlet form for missionary purposes. If Mr. Alden can collect the necessary amount to put this plan through we will send a sermon to each soldier every week, It will take over seven dollars a week to print and send these sermons, and, therefore, contributions for this purpose will be gratefully received, Several friends have already generously responded.

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     NEWS NOTES.

     Three more of the boys have sailed for France. Lieut. Richard deCharms left an Atlantic port several weeks ago; word of his safe arrival has just been received. Joseph Glenn, of Pittsburgh, with the Canadian Medical Corps, left Toronto for England on November 17, leaving no address. Sergt. Kesniel Acton who was at Washington, D. C., spent a few days in barracks at Governor's Island preparatory to being sent on ship board. We sailed from this point and is now "somewhere on the Atlantic." Kesniel is doing clerical work with the War Risk Insurance Detachment.

     Though we have received no direct communication from the French soldiers, with the permission of Mrs. Regina Iungerich we print the following extracts from a letters she received from Elisee Hussenet:

     "I was happy to receive your very nice, long letter. All the news it contained in reference to my good and loyal comrades of Bryn Athyn interested me intensely, and I will beg you to remember me to those still among you. Young as I am and still at the age when young men have hardly begun to work, I have been thrown among the most terrible events that could happen in the life of man. I have already seen death very close to me, but the Lord in each case has protected me. I know and understand how beautiful it is to defend humanity against barbarity; that thought sustains me often during the bad days, but it saddens one in the midst of these horrors when other aspirations for the future are stirring in the soul of a youth. I have never forgotten the happy days spent amongst you all, and I hope after this terrible war is over we may all meet here once more, for I know how Father and Mother hope for it, too. I must not forget to tell you that during four days recently I acted as interpreter to the American Colonel of the 26th Regiment of Infantry."

     The names of two more Canadian soldiers have recently reached us-Frank Cole and Oliver Cole, of Clinton, Ont., are now in England. We find that it will be impossible to send anything from here to Roy Stamps, a prisoner in Germany. The only way in which things can be sent him is by forwarding money to the British Red Cross, which will buy the things and send them to him.

     Miss Bessie Caldwell, of Toronto, is with the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps doing work to release men urgently required for more strenuous work. Despite the fact that they are in a zone frequently visited by enemy airships and living on "bully beef" and hard tack she writes cheerful letters to her friends in Toronto. Her address is almost unintelligible to the unenlightened, c/o C. R, E., A. P. O., B. E. F., France.

     The two American boys, Cadet Albert Cleare and Kenneth Hicks, with the Royal Flying Corps, say they like being in His Majesty's service. Cadet Cleare has been with the Flying Corps for about three months. We received an interesting letter from him giving some details of the training at Victoria College in Toronto. Judging from his description the cadets are kept pretty busy from the sounding of Reveille at 6 a. m. until "lights out" at 10:10 p. m. He says, "We have to be up to the 100 per cent. mark or we have so many points taken off our studies, and we need them all as we have twenty-one subjects. We are in class till 12:30 and on parade again at 2 p. m. and then in class until 5:30 After mail and supper we study until 9:00." Cadet Cleare has lately been transferred to Fort Worth, Texas. This is the American aviation camp which the Royal Flying Corps is using during the winter months. The use of this camp is given to Canadians as a return courtesy for the use of the Canadian aviation camp by the Americans before their camps were ready.

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     Ralph Synnestvedt, Ben McQueen, and Harold McQueen are at Fort Logan, Houston, Texas. Harold says in speaking of the A. W. S. C., "This movement came as a surprise to us, and I wish you could realize how comforting it is to us to be able to feel that we have the whole Church back of us ready to give all in their power to help win the war." Ben has been appointed by the other two boys to keep the Committee posted on news of the camp.

     At the close of the second Officers' Training Camp three more of our boys received commissions. Loyal Odhner, who was at Fort Oglethorpe, has received a commission as 2nd Lieutenant. He and Mrs. Odhner have been in Bryn Athyn for several weeks before Lieut. Odhner reported for duty at Camp Greene, Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 15th.

     Mr. Noah Waelchli has been commissioned as 1st Lieutenant in the National Army, and was ordered to report to the General Staff of the 88th Division at Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Iowa, on December 15th. The Committee received from him an interesting response to the letter we sent. His conception of our committee is a little unique and decidedly flattering. "It just seemed like a Mother fondly packing her son's grip and saying, 'Well, good bye, son. You'll find some nice warm knitted things, and a little box of medicine in your grip; and I want you to be sure and bundle up when you go out into the cold. Take real good care of yourself and write to me whenever you can find the time.'"

     Mr. Arthur Burnham was awarded the commission of Captain and is now in Glenview awaiting further orders.

     The boys at Camp Hancock were pleased and surprised to find another New Church boy there-Marius Pibres, formerly of Philadelphia. Mr. Ed. Bostock and Mr. Raymond Pitcairn made a visit to this camp, and while there Mr. Pitcairn gave a talk to some of the men. Marius Pibres knew Mr. Pitcairn and came to the lecture, and was welcomed by the other boys. Sergt. Barger writes of his training at Camp Hancock, "Our training consists of infantry drill, physical drill, bayonet exercise, but mostly engineering training. We have an extensive system of trenches built back of our camp, complete and accurate in every detail. They are built under supervision of French and English officers. We also learn how to build military bridges."

     There are four New Church boys at Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va. Glenn Heilman, of Leechburg, is at the Base Hospital Medical Dep't. He is in a laboratory and makes microscopic examinations for bacteria. He says, "Dodging bugs in a laboratory is as bad as dodging bullets on the field." Carl Johnson, of Erie, Pa., at this camp, has been promoted to Corporal. He has been commended for his nerve, steadiness and readiness of application. Corp. Frank Grant, of New York, whose name we have just received, is also stationed at this camp. Friedel Rosenqvist, in the Signal Corps there, modestly tells us that they are pretty busy but still have plenty to learn. Sergt. Ariel Rosenqvist, his brother, who has been in the Navy for seven years, is stationed at the Island of Guam.

     Lieut. Alan Pendleton was one of six men chosen from his division to be sent to Fort Sill, Okla., to learn the use of automatic rifles. The course takes about one month. After that Alan will return to The Presidio to teach the other officers. Lieut. Roland Smith, of Camp Meade, has recently finished this course at Fort Sill. He and Mrs. Smith spent several days in Bryn Athyn on their wedding trip. While he was here Lieut. Smith gave two interesting talks to the school on his work at Fort Sill.

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He went up in an aeroplane several times to make detailed maps of the camp. Though the low supply of gasoline made one of these trips rather exciting Lieut. Smith came through all safely, and says he considers flying the "real sport." He is now back at Camp Meade. At Camp McClellan, Anniston, Alabama, there are three of our soldiers. William Gunther, Capt. Coffin, and his son, Sergt. Tristram Coffin. Tristram tells us that if all appreciate the work of the A. W. S. C. as he does its success will be wonderful.

     Fred. Grant has been sent with back to State College to assist drilling students. These boys are camped in "Old Main," one of the section of the Penn State Unit college buildings, and are now able to continue some of the studies they dropped to join the army. Pierre Vinet expected to be sent to State College, but he is still at Allentown teaching French to his class of 600 men. There was a call there for men to sail at once. Pierre volunteered, but as he had not been vaccinated or inoculated he was not allowed to go.

     The cold weather has brought an ever increased demand for knitted articles, and also an ever increasing appreciation of them. Sapper Harry Hilldale sends this word, "Your package just came and at a most opportune time. It has turned cold-real cold-maximum 180 and minimum 5 degrees below zero has been the average for the last few days with a thirty mile gale blowing and
a foot or more of snow drifting all around, so just to look at the warm woolly things gave me a comfortable feeling." Charles Reichenbach, at Pelham Park, N. Y., writes, "The socks especially delighted me, and during night watches when the wind comes biting cold they will be a great comfort, I am sure."

     The mysterious cablegram sent by Roy Wells to his family has at last been cleared up. Roy said in his last letter that one day he was homesick and had a toothache, and as a cablegram was the quickest way of communication with the folks at home he sent one.

     Crebert Burnham has been in France since July 17th. He is encamped about seventeen miles back of the firing line and not far from Paris. When he first arrived in France he drove a water wagon for the mess sergeant, but as they have piped water to the camp, (much to the astonishment of some of the natives), Crebert has been relieved of this work. He wrote of an interesting drive he took with seven men and four motor trucks filled with aeroplane parts. There were two men to a truck, the idea being that one man could drive while the other slept. Crebert says this was all right in theory but "not so good" in practice. They started in the direction of Paris. Crebert was in charge of the party; his truck traveled eighteen miles an hour and the other fifteen miles so that Crebert could go ahead and inquire about the roads. He passed through some beautiful bits of country and was surprised at seeing two deer run across the road in front of his car. After several delays, such as ignition trouble, hunting up two lost trucks and spending part of a cold night jumping around a camp fire they arrived at their destination. It was a compliment to Crebert's ability at speaking French and to Mr. Vinet's French classes that Crebert was put in charge of such a party. His description of his difficulties with the French language is amusing. He says when the conversation became too entangled for him to follow he usually says, "As you were," and the speaker starts over again. It may be interesting to know how Crebert was fortunate enough to be sent to France before the other boys. He was encamped in Texas, and it was hot, so hot that the men scarcely had energy to eat.

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One day the officer in charge asked for any man who felt like swinging a hammer or doing a little engineering work to step forward. Crebert was among those who came forward. Then the officer said, "You are the men who are chosen to go across and get things ready for the rest. Now are there any more men who feel like swinging a hammer?" Needless to say the whole regiment stepped forward.

     Captain Albert Dean Henderson has recently been baptized into the Church. At present he is serving as a liaison officer in charge of French and British missions who are at the camp fresh from the trenches to instruct in modern war methods. Captain Henderson and Miss Margaret Gyllenhaal were married on December 22, in Glenview.

     We are sorry to report that Donal Hicks has been honorably discharged from the army on account of a weak heart. This is rather discouraging, as this was Donal's third enlistment, and he was in hopes that it would be permanent.

     In all the letters we receive the boys express their appreciation of the NEW CHURCH LIFE and THE BULLETIN. Laurence Burnham says, "We didn't realize what a fine paper the LIFE is until we read it in camp." The following is quoted from a letter of Lieut. Loyal Odhner, "Luckily I have received two copies of the LIFE and one of the BULLETIN, and though you may not believe it. I read all three of these journals practically from cover to cover. They certainly are the saviors of the isolated."

     Since the Committee was organized we have received the names of several men whose friends have asked us to send them New Church literature. They are: W. B. Hagan, Battery B., 33rd Field Artillery, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill. He attended church in Glenview about a year. Lieut. W. Alien Smith, of Cincinnati, Ohio, Battery F, 136th Field Artillery, at Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Alabama. Thomas Srhriver, of Bethayres, now at Camp Hancock, Mrs. Childs says he is one of the most regular attendants at the services there. Cadet Arthur H. Smith, No. 74,090, Squadron 84, Camp Borden, Ont., Canada. This is a young man from Philadelphia, a friend of Fred. Synnestvedt's at Fort Niagara. He visited Mrs. Theodore Bellinger, and as he has no relations she adopted him as her "soldier boy." Norris Bradfield, Headquarters with Machine Gun Batt., 58th Brigade, 20th Division, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Alabama. We attended church at Arbutus, Maryland. CLARA DAVIS.

     It is of interest to note the following taken from THE YOUNG NEW CHURCH MAN, the organ of the British New Church Federation, concerning the distinguished honors that have been awarded to R. Victor Morse, the son of our friend, the Rev. Richard Morsel of Sydney, New South Wales:

     "Capt. R. V. Morse, of the Australian Electrical and Mechanical Mining Co., A. I. F., France, has been promoted to Major and awarded the D. S. O. for untiring energy in preparation and splendid achievement ill the late successful mining operations at the front. A son of Mr. Richard Morse, of Sidney, N. S. W., he came to England as a young man for engineering training, and attended for a while the New Church at Preston, in Lancashire. At the outbreak of war he joined as a sapper, and has received rapid promotion."

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MID-YEAR MEETINGS AT BRYN ATHYN, PA 1918

MID-YEAR MEETINGS AT BRYN ATHYN, PA              1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.



     SPECIAL NOTICE.

Tuesday, Feb. 5. Consistory, 10 a. m., 3 p. m.
Wednesday, Feb. 6. Consistory, 9:30 a. m. Philadelphia District Assembly Banquet, 7 p. m.
Thursday, Feb. 7. Council of Clergy, 10 a. m., 3 p. m. Philadelphia District Assembly, 8 p. m.
Friday, Feb. 8. Council of Clergy, 9:30 a. m., 3 p. m. Philadelphia District Assembly, 8 p. m.
Executive Committee, 3 p. m.
Saturday, Feb. 9. Joint meetings of the Council of Clergy and Executive Committee, 9:30 a. m., 3 p. m.

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FIELD OF HONOR 1918

FIELD OF HONOR              1918

ACTON, GUNNER DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, SERGEANT KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Major Straight, War Risk Insurance
Detachment, American Expeditionary Forces.
APPLETON, PRIVATE ALWYNE J., Colchester, England. No. 26174 Company No. 2, 216th Batt., West Riding Regt., 66th Dist. Depot. Batt., 6th Corps Reinft. Camp, British Exp. Forces, France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, Eng. No. 16156 56th Squadron, R. F. C. British Exp. Forces, France.
ASHLEY, SEAMAN A.B. HUBERT W., Colchester, England. H. M. S. "Nerissa," c/o Gen'l Post Office, London, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Eng., 28th Div., Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFETH. Bryn Athyn, Pa.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Eng., Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Tex.
BELLINGER, FRED., R. F. C. Home address, 226 Dunn Ave., Toronto, Ont., Canada.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE R., Toronto, Ont., Canada. No. 341,319, 70th Batt., Exhibition Camp, Toronto, Ont., Canada.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Ont., Canada. C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Corps Signal, British Expeditionary Forces, France, c/o Army Post Office, London, England.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, J. E., 1230 Mariposa St., Denver, Colo.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 602,108, Co. A, 3rd Reserve Batt. Canadian Expeditionary Forces, West Sandling, Kent, England.
BOOZER, CORP. G. T. Vol. Regt., 129 Week St., Maidstone, Kent, Eng.
BURNHAM, LIEUT. ARTHUR W., Glenview, Ill. Disbursing Officer, Q. M. U. S. R., Fort Sheridan, Ill.
BURNHAM, CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 29th Aero Squadron, American Exp. Forces.
BURNHAM, FIRST CLASS PRIVATE LAURENCE., Glenview, Ill. Co. D, 36th Inf., U. S. A., Fort Snelling, Minn.
CALDWELL, CAPT. ROBERT B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Adjt. 314th Inf., N. A., Camp Meade, Md.
CHILDS, 1ST LIEUT. RANDOLPH W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Aide to General Stillwell, Headquarters, 55th Inf. Brigade, Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
CLEARE, CADET A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. No. 152,125, R. F. C.; NO. 4, S. of M. A. U. of 7. Last residence, Toronto, Ont., Canada.
COFFIN, CAPT. ROSCOE, Baltimore, Md. 54 Depot Brigade, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COFFIN, SERGT. TRISTRAM, Baltimore, Md. Co. L, 115 V., 5th Inf., Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PRIVATE FRANK. No. 654,429, Co. C, 161st Batt. C. E. F. Whitley Camp, Milford, Surrey, Eng.
COLE, PRIVATE OLIVER. NO. 654,822, Co. C, 61st Batt. C. E. F., Whitley Camp, Milford, Surrey, Eng.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, Eng. No. 107,557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Eng. Signals. Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COWLEY, MALCOLM, Pittsburgh. Pa. Harvard Medical Unit, France.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 503rd Eng. Service Batt. American Expeditionary Forces.

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DEXTER, CARLOS, Meriden, Conn. 202d Aero Squadron, Aviation Concentration Camp, U. C. Signal Corps, Morrison, Va.
DOERING, PRIVATE DAVID F., Milverton, Ont., Canada. No. 727,538, 58th Batt., Canadians. 5th Southern General Hospital, Portsmouth, England. Seriously wounded at Lens, France.
DOERING, PRIVATE FRANK L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
DOERING, HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Class of Jan. 5th., U. S. A. School of Aeronautics, Princeton, N. J.
ELPHICK, H. B. FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, Eng. H. M. Wireless Sta., Culver Cliff, near Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
ELPHICK, PRIVATE F. W. No. 546,246, R. A. M. C. T. Sanitary Section 15, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Ont., Canada. No, 408,072, 9th Platoon, C Co., 42nd Batt., R. H. C., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., Colchester, England. Essex Vol. Regt. Home address, 124 Butt Rd., Colchester, Eng.
FERDINAND, N. E., Toronto, Ont., Canada. No. 150,240, Royal Flying Corps, 79 C. T. S., Camp Talliaferro, Ft. Worth, Texas.
FINLEY, LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. Royal Engineers, c/o Mrs. Frederick Elphick, I Norman Rd., Cheam, Surrey, England.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 1 Rue Vignon, Prais, France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa.
GILL, A. B. ALAN L. Z. No. 3624, Colchester, Eng., Lewis Gun Section D Co., Anson Batt., R. N. D., British Exp. Forces, France.
*GILL, LIEUT. W. REY, Colchester, England. Artist's Rifles, killed in action, in France. Aug. 21, 1917.
GLADISH, DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Aviation Training-School, Cornell University, N. Y.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 751,630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., France, Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. Expeditionary Forces, England. c/o Army P. O., London.
Grant, CORP. FRANK J. C. K. 318th Inf., Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
Grant, FRED. M.. Bryn Athyn, Pa. Sec. 529, U. S. A. A. S., State College, Pa.
GUNTHER, WILLIAM H., Baltimore, Md. Co. D, 115th Inf., Camp McClellen, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview, Ill.
HART, LANCE CORP. D. E., London. Ramsey, HighbarroAi Rd., Addiombe, Croyden, Eng.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa. Medical Department, Base Hos-Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN. Allied Officers' Headquarters, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Hospital School, U. S. N. T. Sta., Newport, R. I.
HICKS, KENNETH E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. No. 151,593, H. Q. 43rd wing R. F. C., Fort Worth, Texas.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 4,904, Dr. 1st S. C., British Exp. Forces, Canadian Reserve Park, C. A. France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. No. 2,006,629, Engineers Tr. Depot, St. Johns, Quebec, Canada.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. Wounded as despatch rider, Mesopotamia. D. M. 21,80,259 A. S. C. British Con. Depot (Band Quarters), Trimulgherry, Deccan, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. Wounded at Charleroi, Belgium, Wounded at Charleroi, Belgium. Prisoner in Germany, since 1914. c/o M. F. Hussenet. Messageries Maritimes, 1 Rue Vignon, Paris, France.

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HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. Croix de guerra, Cited, c/o 113. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 1 Rue Vignon. Paris, France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gull Batt., Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F. 3rd Eng., Corozae. Panama, Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 21st Ambulance Co., Fort Riley, Kans.
KNIGHT, PRIVATE JOE, Kitchener, Ont., Canada, No. 1,006,098, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian Railway Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, CORP. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont., Canada, Instructor in Musketry, No. 751,077, Co, 2, 25th Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 64th Battery, C. F. A., Guelph, Ont., Can.
KUHL, SIG. RUPERT, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 751,087, 21st Batt., British Expeditionary Forces, France, c/o Army P. O., England.
LONG, WILLIAM EARL, Ivyland, Pa. Petty Officer, Navy Reserve, League Island, Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER J. C., Toronto, Ont., Canada. Canada Eng. Tr. Depot, St. Johns, Quebec, Canada.
LUCAS, LOUIS., 173 Rue de Paris, Montreuil Sous Bois, Seine, France.
MCCAY, LIEUT. CORP. C. D., London, England. No. 155,895, Hdq. Eastern Command Labour Centre, Camden House, Camden Rd., Sutton, Surrey, Eng.
MCQUEEN, CORP. BENJ., Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf.,Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MCQUEEN, CORP. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Company Clerk, Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MORRIS, MACH. GUNNER CLIFFORD, London, Eng. Home address, 39 Albert Bridge Rd. Battersea, London, S. W., England.
MORRIS, GEOFFREY, London, Eng. Rifleman. Transport Section, 1st Batt., L. R. B., British Exped. Forces, France.
MORRIS, EDW. 1st Class Air Mechanic, England. Home address, 39 Albert Bridge Rd., Battersea, London, S. W., England.
MORRIS, SERGT. WILLIAM. Home address, 39 Albert Bridge Rd., Battersea, London, S. W., England.
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, Eng. No. 013,871, 77 S. Co., A. O. C. Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 4, British Exp. Forces.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, Eng. No. 177,762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., Salonika, Greece, M. E. F.
ODHNER, FIRST LIEUT. MADEFREY A., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Infantry, U. S. A. The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
ODHNER, 2D LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. H, 38th Infantry, Camp Charlotte, Charlotte, N. C.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Medical Reserve, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, FIRST LIEUT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63d Inf. U. S. A.. The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. Barracks 26, U. S. Q. M. C., Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C.
PETERSON, CORP. HUBERT, Chicago, Ill. Co. B, 332d Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PIBRES, SERGT. MARIUS, Philadelphia, Pa. Co. L, 109th Inf., Camp Hancock, Ga.
PRICE, 1ST CLASS PTE. LLEWELLYN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103d Eng., Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
PRICE, RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 4th Aero Squadron. U. S. A., Fort Sill, Okla.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A. New York, N. Y. 17th Co., 1st Training Regt., Pelham Park Naval Sta., New York, N. Y.

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ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 126,074, 126th Co. Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Guam, M. I.
ROSENQVIST, FRIEDL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Batt., Signal Corps, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
ROY, REG. ORDNANCE SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Hdqrts. 103rd Eng., Camp Hancock, Ga.
SCHNARR, ARTHUR, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 228,985, 42nd R. H. C., Epson Convalescent Hospital, Surrey, England.
SCHNARR, MAJ. NELSON, Kenora, Ont., Canada. Active service in Belgium.
SELLNER, HAROLD, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
SMITH, ALDWIN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Rock Island Arsenal, Rock Island, Ill.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 313th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SODERBERG, ARTOL, Philadelphia, Pa.
STAMPS, ROY, Toronto, Ont., Canada. No. 27,541, 48th Highlanders, Lager No. 1, Gefangener Lager, Schneidenuhl in Posen, Deutschland. (Prisoner in Germany since 1915)
STROH, CORP. FRED. E., Kitchener, Ont. Instructor in Musketry, No. 751,124, 25th Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
SYNNESTVEDT, FRED., Pittsburgh, Pa, U. S. S. M. A., State University, Austin, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Instructor in French, Concentration Camp U. S. A. A. S. Casual Section, Allentown, Pa.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. U. S. N. A., 88th Div., Camp Dodge, Des Moines, Ia.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 751,657, Western Ontario Regimental Depot, Bramshott, Hants, England.
WARREN DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 512,956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports, R. D., Army Post Office, London, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN N., London, England. No. 536,551, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A, R. A. M. C. T, British Exp. Forces.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. JOHN, London, England. No. 202,555, A Company, 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATER, PTE. FRED. S., London, England. No. 536,534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., British Exp. Forces.
*WATERS, REGINALD, London, England. Senior Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
WELLS, ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, Camp Shelby, Harrisburg, Miss.
WELLS, LEROY S., Bryn Athyn, Pa Co. A, 11th R. R. Engineers, American Expeditionary Forces, France.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Ont., Canada. No. 317,006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3d Echelon, British Exp. Forces, France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. Jefferson Barracks, Mo. Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, British Expd. Forces, France.
TWO ADDRESSES 1918

TWO ADDRESSES              1918

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, REV. F. HUSSENET, Messageries Maritimes, 1 Rue Vignon, one-half block from the Madeleine.

     When in England, communicate with REV. ANDREW CZERNY, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E., London.



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READING THE WRITINGS IN WORSHIP 1918

READING THE WRITINGS IN WORSHIP       CLAUDE TOBY       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XXXVIII FEBRUARY, 1918          No. 2
      (Reproduced from THE NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY for October, 1917.)

     The present paper takes it for granted that anything that can be done to make our worship more efficient, and more in accordance with the Heavenly Doctrines, must command the interest as well as the support of all who desire the Church to prosper. For the New Church is, or should be, a Progressive Church. Unlike the Churches around us, which have run their course, and upon whom the sun has set, the New Church comes in the dawn of a new and never-ending day. While it is true that the Lord has revealed once and for all time in the Writings of the Church the eternal truths upon which the Church and a truly human life must be built, nevertheless, it is also true that the understanding, and reception and application of those truths must be gradual and progressive. It is with this end in view that I invite your attention to the consideration of the inclusion in our Church services of a lesson from the Writings, in addition to the lessons from the Word.

     We all recognize the importance of liturgical forms, for by means of them the Church not only worships the Lord but also, as it were, appears before the world. It is not surprising, therefore, that the subject should have engaged the best thought of the Church, but I do not know that it has ever been proposed to make provision for a lesson or reading from the Writings. I am well aware, however, that the idea is by no means new; it has been adopted by some Societies, both in this country and in America, but it is the exception rather than the rule.

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I should like to see it made the rule for several reasons. It would give a New Church tone and character to our worship. It would be a public recognition of the origin and authority of the Church. It would stimulate interest in the Doctrines. It would bring the Lord in His Second Advent clearly and distinctly before the minds of the people. All these things the Church sorely needs. There are some extraordinary people who think that a New Church sermon and a New Church service should be as little New Church as they can be made, and that the ideal is reached when it is impossible to distinguish a New Church service from a service held in any other place of worship. People who think in this way have no idea what the New Church is, and for what she stands. They do not realize that the New Church has something which others have not, that she is in possession of something very great and very precious, something indeed, Divine, which it is her duty as well as her privilege to preach, with no uncertain voice. She is in possession of a New Revelation of Divine Truth, which raises those who receive It to a higher and more interior plane, and, whether we wish it or not, makes a line of cleavage which cannot be crossed except by those who are prepared to receive the Lord in His Second Coming. When this is understood and recognized, no one, surely, would say that the New Revelation which makes the New Church should be kept out of sight. On the contrary, it should be made as public as possible; and it should certainly find a prominent place in our Church services. I have heard it said that distinctive New Church worship is worship of the Lord Jesus Christ. That, of course, is true still, everything depends upon what you mean by it. If you mean worship of the Lord as a Person, thinking of His sufferings and dwelling upon the earthly incidents of His earthly life, that is but a very inadequate idea; it is personal and sensuous, right enough for children and the simple-minded, but not sufficient to answer the needs of rational and spiritual men. A spiritual Church must worship the Lord from a spiritual idea. In our ordinary dealings with men it is necessary first to have the idea of a man as a person, or we should have no idea at all.

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But if we would know the man truly, we must know his mind; and the more we know of his mind the more exalted does our idea of him become, if his mind is of such a character as to command our respect and love. So with the Lord, We must first know Him as a Person. That is one reason why He became incarnate. It is also why we have the story of His life in the Gospels. But we are not to remains in that idea; or, rather, that idea is to become subordinate to a conception of those Divine qualities of Love and Wisdom that constitute His Divine Humanity. Then only does the Divine Man stand revealed. And it is for that purpose that the Lord comes a second time, and gives us a New Revelation of Himself, in order that He should be revealed in some measure as He is, to the end that the Church should have a true and spiritual conception of Him.

     We know that the Lord does not come a second time in Person. The work accomplished at His first coming will never need to be done again. How then does He come? He comes in His Word by a new unfolding of Divine Truth. His Second Coming, therefore, is a spiritual coming to the hearts and minds of men. But although the Second Coming of the Lord is a spiritual coming, we are not without evidence of It, even on the most ultimate and external plane. That evidence is to be found in the books written by, or through, Emanuel Swedenborg. So closely are these book's associated with the coming of the Lord that Swedenborg wrote, "by command," on the cover of THE BRIEF EXPOSITION. "This Book is the Advent of the Lord." Further evidences as to specific books will be found in the Preface to THE DOCTRINE OF THE LORD, Where we find it stated, "By the command of the Lord, who has revealed Himself to me, the following works are to be laid before the public." Then follows a list of books subsequently written and published by Swedenborg. In the APOCALYPSE REVEALED 543, we are told that the doctrine of the New Church is signified by the words, "And she brought forth a man-child." The doctrine that is here meant, it is said, is the "Doctrine of the Lord," the "Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture," and the "Doctrine of Life." The internal sense, therefore, of the Word, as explained in THE APOCALYPSE REVEALED, means specifically, certain books which Swedenborg wrote.

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That is a wonderful and striking fact, and, taken in conjunction with the inscription on THE BRIEF EXPOSITION, is evidence on the most external plane, of the Coming of the Lord. Nothing could be further from my mind than to make the Coming of the Lord a matter of books; nevertheless, the actual writing and publication of the books is on its own plane and in its own way external evidence of the Lord's Coming, when, of course, it is understood what these books contain when it is understood that these books contain the new Revelation which the Lord has made for His New Church. To read these books, therefore, in worship, is to direct attention to the Lord in His Second Coming.

     That the Lord has fulfilled His promise, and come the Second time, and is now actually present with us, this should fill our hearts with joy. It should be the one dominant fact of our life; but specially should it be present in our minds when assembled for worship.

     How was it when the Lord came the First time? The supreme outstanding fact was that the Lord, the long-promised Messiah, was now actually present with them. The Lord had come to bless and to save; and so in His Second Coming, the Lord comes again to bless and to save. This is the great truth the Church has to teach, for it involves and includes everything else. He does not come in Person; yet His Second Coming is as real as His First Coming, if spiritual things are to us real things.

     Indeed, every Coming of the Lord is a spiritual Coming. This was so when He came in the flesh; for, although the effects of that coming were as wide as the universe, yet He was acknowledged and received only by those who entered into some spiritual relationship with Him.

     If the Church should generally adopt the reading of the Writings in her services, it should be done for sound and not merely superficial reasons. I must, therefore, ask you to consider a little further what is involved in the Coming of the Lord, because our attitude to the reading of the Writings in church will depend very largely upon our understanding of the Doctrine of the Coming of the Lord. We know that the Lord has come many times.

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     "As often as the Church has been vastated," we are told, in A. C. 4060, "as often as the Church has been vastated, so often has the Lord come. Not that He has come in Person, as when He assumed the Human by nativity and made this Divine, but by appearing-either manifest, as when He appeared to Abraham in Mamre, to Moses in the bush, to the people of Israel on Mount Sinai, and to Joshua when he entered the Land of Canaan; or not so manifest, as through the inspiration whereby the Word was given, and afterwards through the Word" (A. C. 4060).

     We learn from this that there have been many comings of the Lord, and that He comes when a Church is vastated, or has reached its end. And, also, that the Lord comes by manifest appearings, or by appearings not so manifest, as by the inspirations by which the Word was given, and afterwards through the Word. How is it at the present day? We know that the Old Church has come to an end. We know that now is the time of the Second Advent. We know also that the Lord has not come by an outward appearing, as in former times; but He has come in the way last spoken of in the passage just quoted. He has come "through the Word." He reveals Himself in and through His Word. How does He do that? The Lord appears in the Word, when the Word is read understandingly, and in the right spirit. But the Writings are necessary for this-otherwise we could do without them. Without the Writings the Lord could not be seen; certainly not as He has revealed Himself in His Second Coming. What, then, do the Writings do for us? They simply unfold to us what is stored up in the Word, what was there from the beginning. To put it another way: The truths revealed in the Writings are the truths which are in the Word, and which make the Word to be the Word. Now, it is the Revelation of these truths which constitutes the Second Coming of the Lord. For what are these truths? They are various forms of good.

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The Divine Love appearing in the heavens takes on the form of truth. It is perceived by the angels as truth. Truth, therefore, Divine Truth, is nothing else but the Lord appearing. For the Lord is the Truth, and the Lord is the Word. The Revelation, therefore, of the interior truths of the Word is nothing but the manifestation-the appearing-the Coming-of the Lord.

     It is well to have this clearly in our minds, because there has been much loose thinking in the Church on the matter. The Coming of the Lord has been identified with new inventions, and various movements in the world. These things may be effects; they may be, or they may not be. The point for us is that the Writings never say so; and, if anybody else says so, it is a fallible human deduction, which may or may not be correct, but is not the direct teaching of the Lord in His Second Coming. One or two quotations will show what is to be understood by the Coming of the Lord. In A. E. 641, we read: "It has pleased the Lord now to reveal many arcana of Heaven, especially the internal or spiritual sense of the Word, which Revelation is meant by the Second Coming of the Lord (A. E. 64).

     Again: "Inasmuch as the Lord Himself is the Word, therefore the revelation of Himself in the Word is His Advent" (A. E. 870).

     Again: "'Behold He cometh with clouds.' Hereby is signified that the Lord is about to reveal Himself in the Word by the internal sense. The Coming of the Lord is the revelation of Himself, in the Word by the internal sense. The Lord does not reveal Himself elsewhere than in the Word, nor otherwise there than by the internal sense" (A. E. 36).

     Again: "The Lord appears in the Word by revealing that there is a spiritual sense in every particular of the literal sense. This is to be understood by His coming in the clouds of heaven" (A. R. 642).

     Other quotations might be given; but these are sufficient to establish the position, that the Coming of the Lord is the Revelation of the Internal Sense of the Word, and "the Internal sense," we are told in A. C. 1540, "the Internal Sense is the Word Itself."

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The same thing is said L. J. 28: "There is a spiritual sense within everything which is related in the Word, and that sense is the Word itself." When we remember that the Lord is the Word, and the internal sense is the Word, then we shall have no difficulty in understanding that the Revelation of the Internal Sense is the Revelation or Coming of the Lord. Thus in A. E. 870: "Inasmuch as He Himself is the Word, therefore the revelation of Himself in the Word is His Advent." I have endeavored to make this point as clear as possible, because it has a very important bearing upon our subject, viz., the reading of the Writings in worship. It is evident that we know nothing whatever of the internal sense of the Word, other than what the Lord Himself has revealed in the Writings of the Church. They are absolutely our only source of information. To read them, therefore, in worship is to give to the people the Lord's own unfolding of His own Word. This unfolding is a Divine unfolding, for it is the Lord Himself appearing, and it is to this unfolding, this Revelation, this Coming of the Lord, it is to this that the New Church owes her very existence. This is said in THE BRIEF EXPOSITION: "By the: Advent of the Lord is meant His Advent in the Word, and the establishment then of a New Church" (B. E. 71).

     If I have succeeded in establishing the position that the Second Coming of the Lord is a new Revelation of Divine Truth from the Word, it would seem to follow, almost as a matter of course, that the books which contain that new Revelation should be read in our Church services. For they are the basis of authority in the New Church, and to turn to them is to turn to the Source, and Origin, of the New Church.

     This is stated in CORONIS xviii.: "The Lord Jehovih derives and produces a New Church on earth, which is effected by a revelation of truths from His own mouth, or from the Word, and by inspiration." It is here directly stated that the New Church is brought into being by a new revelation from the Lord's own mouth, "and," it is added, "by inspiration." To whom did the inspiration come? Of course, to Swedenborg. He was the inspired instrument for giving to the world these new truths "from the Lord's own mouth."

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Thus, not through the mediation of any angel or spirit, but by "immediate" or direct revelation. This is stated in the first number of H. H.: "By the Coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven with power and glory is meant His presence in the Word and revelation thence. The arcana which are revealed in the following pages are concerning heaven and hell, and also concerning the life after death. Such an immediate revelation is now made because this is what is meant by the Coming of the Lord" (H. H. 1). We learn from this passage that the Revelation given in this book, i. e., the work, HEAVEN AND HELL, is an "immediate Revelation," and also that this Revelation is meant by the Coming of the Lord. Such, then, is the nature of the Revelation given to the New Church. It is an "immediate Revelation." It is given not through angels or spirits, but from the Lord's own mouth. When Swedenborg took his pen to write, the voices of angels and spirits were hushed. "No spirit dared, nor angel wished," he tells us in the D. P., "no spirit dared nor angel wished, to instruct me; but the Lord alone has taught me" (D. P. 135). And again, in DE VERBO, it is said: "I have not been allowed to take anything from the mouth of any spirit, nor from the mouth of any angel, but from the mouth of the Lord alone" (DE VERBO 13). Again he says, in the A. C.: "The internal sense of the Word has been dictated to me out of heaven" (A. C. 6597). And in the A. E.: "What is from the Lord has been written, and what from angels has not been written" (A. E. 1183).

     Now there is only one conclusion that we need draw from these quotations for our present purpose, and that is that the books which constitute what we know as the Writings of the Church are not ordinary books; they are in a real sense Divine Books. "It is not my Book, but the Lord's," Swedenborg says in THE SPIRITUAL DIARY in reference to the work HEAVEN AND HELL. Of what does this book consist? We know it is occupied mostly with an account of the phenomena of the spiritual world. Yet it is said of "the Arcana revealed in these pages"-these are the words used-"the Arcana revealed in these pages" that they are an "immediate Revelation," and also that this immediate revelation is the Coming of the Lord.

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If we accept these statements, then it must be admitted that we are dealing with a Divine, and not a human production. And the same is true of all those Books which form what is known as the Writings of the Church. The Writings contain the internal sense of the Word, so far as it has been made known to man. We know of no internal sense other than that we find in the Writings. They are sometimes spoken of as a key. They are this undoubtedly; but if you think you are going to take this key and get something with it that is not in the Writings, you are greatly mistaken. You will never get anything more than the Writings give you. No New Church sermon, or commentary, ever gives
you anything more-unless, indeed, it is something false-and very often, I am sorry to say, a good deal less. The Word in the Letter never yields anything other than what the Lord has revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines. The Lord has there unfolded His Word and no human power will ever unfold anything mere.

     Now, since the Books which constitute the Writings of the New Church are Divine Books, and the Revelation therein a Divine Revelation, it follows that they are Divinely authoritative. Indeed, they are the supreme, the only authority in the world today. It is the only Source to which we can look and say with certainty, "Thus saith the Lord."

     But you will say to me, What about the Word? Let us consider that. Every Revelation comes, of course, with Divine authority. If it did not, it would neither be a Revelation nor yet Divine. For the Lord reveals Himself in every Revelation. If He did not reveal Himself there, again, it would not be a Revelation, nor yet Divine. He reveals Himself in the Old Testament, heavily veiled in sensuous images and appearances of truth. He reveals Himself in the New Testament, on a higher plane and not so closely veiled. The New Testament, to a large extent, is an explanation of the Old Testament. Christians have always, and rightly, understood and explained the Old Testament in the light of the New.

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The Lord in His First Coming took many passages from the Old Testament, and unfolded their inner meaning. "Ye have heard that it hath been said to them of old time"-so and so. "But I say unto you-so and so. Not that the Lord destroyed the Old Testament; for He expressly says, He "came not to destroy, but to fulfill;" but He introduces a higher law, a higher principle, in the light of which the former is to be understood.

     Exactly the same thing occurs at His Second Coming. As we might expect, at His Second Coming He reveals Truth on a higher and more interior plane, in the light of which previous Revelations are to be understood and explained. The Word in the Letter is always to be interpreted according to the doctrines of the Church. No matter how direct and clear a statement may appear to be in the Letter of the Word, or how often repeated, still, it must be understood in the light of the New Revelation which the Lord gives in His Second Coming. We are told, for instance, that many things which are said in the Letter to be commanded by the Lord in the internal sense signify that they were permitted (A. C. 6914).

     How do we know that? We know it in the light of the new principles, the new law of interpretation, the new truths, which the Lord has revealed in His Second Coming. We are told in A. C. 1832, that "the things of the literal sense of the Word are in themselves not truths, some even falsities." We are told also, in T. C. R. 508, that the literal sense of the Word can be turned any way, like a vibrating sword. To place these things, therefore, above the truths, revealed in the Writings, would be to destroy influx, and to put external things above internal things. But we are instructed, in A. C. 1807, that the literal sense should be made "an instrumental medium for thinking about things Divine and spiritual." When this is done the Letter "vanishes" (A. C. 1866). Thus, when the Lord appears the cloud of the Letter disappears. It is quite true that, in our early states, we derive much help from passages of Scripture; and so we do later, but not in the same way. At first, the Word in the better will help us to believe and accept the doctrines of the Church; but at last we come to see that it is not the Letter that gives authority to the Writings, but it is the Writings that give authority to the Letter.

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     Am I not right then in saying that the Writings are the supreme authority in the world today? For without them we should not even know what the nature and quality of the Word is; nor should we know which books constitute the Word, and which do not. The Writings, therefore, are the final court of appeal.

     In view of these considerations, should not the Writings be read in worship? They are, in one sense, the highest, as they are the final Revelation of God to man; the Revelation by means of which all previous Revelations are to be understood and interpreted.

     They are, moreover, the cause of the existence of the New Church. For, just as the Israelitish Church was founded on the Revelation given in the Old Testament, and as the Christian Church was founded on the Revelation given in the New Testament, so is the New Church founded on the Revelation given in the Writings. So also we find in these successive Churches higher and more interior Revelations, commencing with the lowest, the sensual, and rising to the highest, the Rational. That the Lord in His Second Coming would give the highest and best to men, is only what we might: expect. Nor is it surprising that it should be said of this Revelation in the Inv. 44, that it "surpasses all the Revelations that have hitherto been made since the creation of the world." Moreover, the same paragraph goes on to say, "Through this Revelation communication has been opened between men and angels, and the conjunction of the two worlds has been effected." If, then, the Revelation given to the New Church is the highest Revelation ever given to man, and by means of it there is communication with angels, and by it the New Church is established, surely it should be read when the people are assembled together to worship the Lord. But more than this-if anything further is needed-we are expressly told, in T. C. R. 669, that the spiritual sense of the Word is "at this day unfolded for the New Church, on account of its use in the worship of the Lord" (T. C. R. 669). This last passage would seem to settle the matter.

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     Now I have been in the Church a good many years; and I have had some experience; and I am profoundly convinced that it; is very little use for a person to accept one or two doctrinals, or, indeed, any number of doctrinals, if he does not recognize the Source from which they come. It must be recognized, and believed from the heart, that the Lord has made His Second Advent, not in some intangible way floating about in the air, permeating everything and everybody, but in and through His Word, by a new unfolding of Divine Truth given in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. It is this that makes the Newchurchman. You may recognize the Divinity of the Lord, the holiness of the Word and the life of charity, but none of these things is peculiar to the New Church. In some measure, and in some way, they are recognized by everybody. Hence the
reason that so many people fail to see any essential distinction between the New Church and any other Church. But when you say the Lord has made His Second Advent, and you point to these Books as evidence of it, just as you can point to the New Testament as evidence of His First Coming, then you need no further argument. Everyone at once sees that there is an essential distinction between the New Church and all other Churches; and they see also the very important truth, whether they accept it or not, that the New Church is a New Church because she is founded on a New Revelation of Divine Truth.

     Now, when we take up this position, we stand in the strength of the Lord. The Church takes her stand as a true and living Church must; she takes her stand upon the "Thus saith the Lord." People may like it, or they may not; that is not our business-our business is to be loyal and true to the charge which the Lord has given us. The Church, in my judgment, has made the profound mistake of placing the Writings in the background, instead of placing them in the foreground, where they ought to be. We have talked about "the truths," but we have not led the people to "the Truth," which is the Lord in His Second Coming. That is why I advocate the reading of the Writings in worship-not merely quotations in the sermon; anybody can do that, just the same a, they quote Shakespeare or Marcus Aurelius.

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But when they are read in the service they with the same weight and the same authority as the lesson from the Word, or the reading of the Commandments. Moreover, the mind is then in an affirmative and receptive state. We are in the spirit and attitude of worship; and, speaking from personal experience, I have at such times seen a light on a passage which has not come to me in the course of private reading. And in this connection I would add; that the lesson from the Writings should, if possible, be such as has relation to the lesson from the Word, and also, to the subject of the sermon. The ideal would seem to be, first, that the truth be presented as given in its most ultimate form in the Letter of the Word, then the Internal Sense as unfolded in the Writings, followed by the sermon, when the subject would be further dwelt upon, and its application to life shown and enforced. In this way, the whole service is made a unit and brought into harmony. Moreover, a stimulus will often be given to further study. Something will be read that will arrest attention, and a desire will be awakened to look at the passage again. I know this has occurred in many cases. It is, unfortunately, the fact that our people do not read the Writings to anything like the extent they were read a generation ago. I am not going to be severe on this point because I know how difficult it is under the pressure of modern life. But, still, it is the duty of the Church to use all means in her power to encourage that study. It is essential to the life of the Church. Truth can only be acquired by learning, by thinking about it, by talking about it. People who never do any of these things are bound to be poor New Church people. For love without truth very soon becomes sentimental, and is carried away by any phantasy that offers.

     Now the reading of the Writings in the service would do something to correct these evils, and help to produce a strong and vigorous Newchurchmanship. It makes the service a distinctly New Church service. But it has important use to the young, and to the stranger within our gates, as well as to the older members. It impresses upon them, and upon all, the great fact that we do not speak in our own name, but in the name of the Lord. It is the external, visible sign that the Lord has made His Second Advent.

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The Newchurchman must rise to the plane of the Writings. He must see all things from their standpoint. Merely to accept the Divinity of the Lord and the holiness of the Word will not make a Newchurchman. The most it will do is to restore the Christian Church as it was before it became corrupt. It will not make the New Church. The Newchurchman, to be a Newchurchman, must accept the Lord not only in His First Advent, but also in His Second Advent. He must be prepared to take his stand upon the Revelation which the Lord has given in His Second Coming, and to stake his whole spiritual life upon it. Nothing less than this will make the Newchurchman.
DEBORAH AND BARAK 1918

DEBORAH AND BARAK       Rev. L. W. T. DAVID       1918

     "Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field." (Judges 5:18)

     The Glorification of the Lord, or the union of the Human with the Essential Divine, in Him, and the regeneration of man, or the conjunction of Heaven with the Lord, are parallel manifestations and operations of the Lord's conjunctive power. Although the one finds its fulfilment in a discrete degree entirely above and distinct from the plane in which the other is consummated, and although this difference, which is a difference of the end in view, pervades and qualifies the whole series of the states of development in each work, yet there is a likeness between the two throughout, and in the external things that are used in both processes the same conditions obtain and the same progressions take place. The body that the Lord took in the world was born of a mother as an infant, grew to maturity, died, and was buried like that of any other man. His mind had to be opened to activity, educated and developed like another man's; like other men He first passed through a time of preparation and then entered into His work. Having offended the dominant power in the state, as has been the case with so many others, He was tried, condemned and executed. These things when looked at by themselves bring the persuasion that He Himself was like other men.

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     The likenesses arise from the fact that there were Divine purposes common to both works. Both are for the sake of the salvation of the human race. But because there were also distinctly different Divine purposes in each work, unition or glorification in the one, and conjunction or regeneration in the other, there are differences throughout that even appear in the external, if we will see them. Differently from other men the Lord did not have an earthly father, but was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin. He differed from others in His ability to learn and understand. He did miracles by His own power. He taught a new Doctrine that was altogether true, speaking with an authority such as no man ever had. And after His death He arose from the grave with His whole body. He left nothing behind.

     These likenesses and differences have place also in this, that trial or temptation is common to both these works, since in both cases the external recipient is of fallen humanity, having by nature all its evil inclinations, and the work of salvation of redemption means the overcoming of these evils and judgment visited upon the spirits that excite evils to activity. Differences in attaining the works of glorification and of conjunction are, first, in severity of temptation, which, being in proportion to the strength and inwardness of the love that is assailed, was immeasurably greater in the one case, when Divine Loves were being attacked, than it can ever be in the other; and second, in the measure of success attained; and in respect to this the Lord always fought from His Own Power and always was victorious, for He was without sin, whereas man, if he fights from his own power always fails; he is never sinless, and is victorious only when the Lord fights for him.

     Temptations are meant by the story of the struggles of the Israelites under Deborah rind Barak, with the Canaanites under Jabin and Sisera. In the supreme sense are meant the Lord's temptations in which the powers of evil were directed against the unition of the Human with the Divine; in an intermediate or spiritual sense are meant temptations from evils threatening the conjunction of man with the Lord, that is, his regeneration; and in a particular sense temptations are meant that arise from attacks endeavoring to destroy conjugial love.

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The states of temptation are represented by Naphtali, whose name means "strugglings," and the states of conjunction or unition by "Zebulun." These two states are really two sides of one experience or work. We may think of a cloud, dark and stormy on its under side, but on its upper side bright and glistening white, glorious with sunlight. Remember also the words in Genesis, "And the evening and the morning were the first day." Or we may think of a battle, which, when it is fought through to its end, is victory. This is the reason why Zebulun and Naphtali are together in this incident, and act as one under the leadership of Barak.

     It appears from the general tenor of the narrative as if the oppression of Israel at that time was not general, but involved only the northern part of the country, Galilee and the plain of Esdraelon; for many of the tribes stayed away from the war of liberation from lack of interest, and attended to their local affairs, as we read in the song of Deborah and Barak: "For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart, why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart. Gilead abode beyond Jordan, and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the seashore and abode in his breaches." (Judges 5:15-17.) And of the great tribe of Judah there is no mention at all.

     This means that the oppression of evils opposed to conjunction is felt in the external man, and, as we shall see, the attack is made through the delights of the external.

     The arrangement of the tribes of Israel in the land of Canaan represents all things of the church and of man in their order and sequence, Judah, and especially Jerusalem where the temple was, representing the inmost where the Lord dwells. Around about in every direction were the other tribes representing interior and exterior things even to externals, while the: boundaries represent that borderland in the corporeal and sensual planes where the man within, looking outward, meets the outside world pressing inward.

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     The tribe of Zebulun was given an allotment among the tribes of the outer circle, yet not at the border, but rather in a position between the outmost ones and the intermediate ones of the central highlands north of Judah. It was situated on the southern slopes of the mountains of Galilee and in the plain of Esdraelon, perhaps the most beautiful and fruitful part of the land. On the northeast it was adjoined to Naphthali, which inhabited the more rugged portions of the mountains, and on the northwest it was adjoined to Asher, which inhabited the western valleys of the same mountains and the plains by the sea. On the south was Issachar sharing the plain with Zebulun and reaching up into the fringe of the central group of mountains at the top of which was Judah and Jerusalem.

     Jabin, the king of the Canaanites, lived at Hazor, a town in the territory of Naphtali, and Sisera, the captain of his host, made his headquarters at Harosheth, a town in the southern part of the territory of Asher, on the spur of the hills between the plain of Esdraelon and the plain extending to the sea, and dominating both. From these two points the whole northern portion of Palestine was controlled. And it should be remembered also that the tribe of Asher was rapidly losing its identity through amalgamation with the Canaanites.

     Jabin, king of the Canaanites, represents, we are told, the falsity of evil, while the evil itself with which this falsity is united is represented by the Canaanites. The Canaanites, since they were the inhabitants of the land before the Israelitish invasion, represent hereditary evil, which has complete possession of man before the entrance of the things of the church, and which until then is the whole of his life. And when the spiritual things of the church have come in and begun to make their abode in man's life to reform him, hereditary evil still clings to him, especially in the delights of the natural man. Delights in general are represented by the tribe of Asher, but as all delights of whatever kind are enhanced by conjugial love, and as all delights are gathered together into the delights of conjugial love and make one with them, these delights are the universals of all delights. The delights of work and of play, of successful accomplishment, and of friendship, all have their place in, and are increased a thousandfold by, the delights of conjugial love.

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Wherefore Asher, whose name means "blessedness," "pleasantness" or "happiness," adjoined Zebulun on one side, to represent this, the delight of all delights.

     The Canaanites still dwelt among the Israelites of Zebulun, Naphtali and Asher, but with the Asherites they became commingled into practically one people by intermarriages, just as the innate hereditary evil enroots itself in the delights of life, so much so that it seems to the man who is entering into She path of regeneration that to "cease to do evil" and to "learn to do well" means the deprivation of all pleasure and happiness, and so of all life.

     Jabin and Sisera both represent the falsity of evil, but with a difference. Jabin, as king, represents a ruling falsity capable of directing and leading the evil. The name means "one who is intelligent" or "discerning," and hence evidently the reference must be to falsity of an interior kind, falsity on the rational plane, that gives an interior justification to the hereditary inclinations, and at the same time exercises an external control. Also his town Hazor, meaning an "enclosure," "court" or "village," signifies false doctrine. We may conclude that the two together represent a false point of view and a false philosophy of life, which make life to consist of pleasures, such as are craved by natural inclinations. This is especially destructive of heavenly possibilities when it enters into the field of things pertaining to conjugial love, for if it destroys those things it destroys the whole.

     Of Sisera we are told that he represents "falsity from evil," that is, subordinate or derivative falsity, grounded in the same hereditary evil, and subservient to the more interior falsity. The name of his town, Harosheth, is capable of a great variety of interpretations, and to get a full idea of its signification we should use them all. It means a grove or forest. It means any products of cutting, as, engravings, sculptures, and carpentry. It also means whispers, silence, dumbness, secrecy, fabrications evil devices, and witchcraft. Some of these meanings are very suggestive in themselves, and although Harosheth has not been given any interpretation in the Writings, it would seem to be most probable that it represents particular falsities of every kind, scientifics and apparent truths that may be used to confirm falsities, cunning sophistries, ingenious schemes, and forests of knowledge in which one may wander until completely bewildered.

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In short, everything that may be used to confuse and dull the perceptions or to fascinate and divert the senses and imagination. These things are the host of which Sisera is the captain. He represents the perverted rational faculty applying itself to the external things by which it confirms the interior false reasonings represented by Jabin and seeks to justify natural evil inclinations.

     Opposed to these are Deborah and Barak and the hosts of Zebulun and Naphtali. Deborah and Barak both, represent the truth of good, but, as in the other case, one represents what is more interior than the other. Deborah came from Mount Ephraim, and so signifies the truth of the interior or spiritual man, truth of doctrine from, the Lord. The name is from a root signifying "to drive," and has reference to the compelling power of truth from the Word with the man who acknowledges it. For when it is acknowledged it becomes conscience, and constantly drives him; toward the application of it. Barak, whose name means "a glittering sword," and who was a man of Naphtali, represents subsidiary truth from which is combat, truth seen in particulars and in applications, truth capable of exposing the weaknesses and falsities of the opposing evil, and; so shatters its power. This is the genuine truth of the natural man. It is said to be of Naphtali because it is this truth that brings temptation. It is the natural man that has knowledge of the world and its conditions, and knowledge of himself and his own acts and thoughts. Such truth is indeed still in captivity to Jabin unless it be awakened and spurred into activity by truth from the Word, but when it is so stirred the natural man at once comes into anxiety or temptation through his knowledge of himself. This truth cannot fight alone, however, but must be internally supported, strengthened and urged by interior truth from re Word, that is, conscience, so Deborah went with Barak. Deborah, as a prophetess representing truth from the Word, and as the companion of Barak, represents the Holy Spirit, the operation and government of the Divine Providence, the Presence of the Lord, teaching and giving life, leading and conquering in battle.

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     Naphtali, it is said, means temptation, yet it means more than this, for every temptation is a state that passes with the completion of regeneration and entrance into heaven, and Naphtali nevertheless represents a heavenly quality, something essential to the heavenly state of happiness. What this is, is seen when we consider what temptation is for and what it accomplishes. It arises on account of man's natural and evil state, and is an endeavor to liberate him from bondage to his evils and so to endow him with a heavenly freedom. As this is the end involved; it is the real meaning of Naphtali freedom after combat. Conversely, it represents infernal bondage and the bondage of the natural man to his hereditary evils before combat. This, however, appears to the natural man as freedom. Before reformation and regeneration begin, the only freedom man can conceive of is the freedom to do whatever the proprium wills and to satisfy its cravings. The natural man takes a similar view of the Conjugial, making it to consist of the external delights that are adjoined to it. Such, at least, is the idea of freedom and of the conjugial in the mind, whether it has been so in actual life or not.

     And so when conscience begins to operate it seems to the natural man that freedom is being taken away and the conjugial with its delights. This is meant by the words: "Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death." It is necessary that the things of the natural man should die if the spiritual man is to find life. The transition involves a straightness of life, like a drought and famine, and this is temptation.

     But looked at from the viewpoint of the internal man, Zebulun and Naphtali represent always the true heavenly conjugial and freedom. In this case the "people" of Zebulun and Naphtali who were almost unknown and who seemed to have no strength at all but to be completely under the yoke of their oppressors, represent remains of good and truth in the natural, and specifically remains of the good of conjugial love and scientifics of genuine truth that have been implanted by parents in infancy and childhood. Afterwards these remains seem to be overrun and entirely subdued as the natural man and the proprium assert themselves; nevertheless they remain there latent waiting to be aroused.

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     The Lord speaking through His Word has awakened an active response among the truths of the memory and a desire for the goods of the heavenly life. These things have found leaders to direct their activities, and being sure of the presence of the Lord and having confidence in His Power, they go forth to battle against the hosts of the enemy.

     There is always the chance that they might fail. Although victory is always on the side of the Lord, they might begin to fight for themselves and forget Him. The remains of good and truth are in jeopardy. There is the chance that the things that will lead to a new heavenly freedom and a new heavenly conjugial will be destroyed, hence there is fear and anxiety, or temptation. Fears can be removed and the remnants be liberated to enjoy fulness of life and a free possession in the land only by always having the Lord in the midst, Deborah, the prophetess, truths of doctrine from the Word.

     "So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord, but let them that love Him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might."

     And the land had rest forty years. Amen.
BABE 1918

BABE       CHARLES LOUIS OLDS       1918

A kiss was the way it started,
And by kisses and smiles it grew,
And it grew and kept on growing,
The same as did I or you.
     For a father's soul
     And a mother's flesh
     Were weaving together
In finest mesh
A fabric of love so true,
`Twas a marvel the long months through.

Day after day the shuttle flies,
And never is there a broken thread,
For love works only by perfect ways,
Where a use by a hope is led.

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     For angels guarding
     The hidden room
     Watch that no tangle
     Obstruct the loom,
Or clog the wheels, whose noiseless tread
Would vibrate from the smallest shred.

At last a soul is heard calling,
A knock and a call whose sound
Awakes in the mother's answering heart
The thrill of a joy new found.
     And a new look comes
     In the mother's face,-
     As if the angels had brought her grace,
And to the heavens she was bound,
Or held her feet on holy ground.

A new look comes in the mother's face,
It is heaven that smiles and tries
To gladden the father's waiting heart Through the mother's kindling eyes.
     And a new sphere hovers
     About the pair,
     That comes from the angels
     Dwelling there,
Who in their well-loved use most wise,
Herald with joy this great emprise.

Faster and faster the shuttle flies,
And now the weaving will soon be o'er;
The sound of the loom shall increase at noon,
And at nightfall more and more.
     Till at last midst feelings
     Of joy and woe,
     The finished fabric,
     Ensouled, shall show
When the mother has snatched from the opened door
The fruit of a love's most perfect store.
          CHARLES LOUIS OLDS.
Bryn Athyn, Pa., Jan., 1918.

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MR. BENADE'S REPORT ON THE PRIESTHOOD 1918

MR. BENADE'S REPORT ON THE PRIESTHOOD              1918

     (Continued from NEW CHURCH LIFE for Dec., 1917, p. 749.)

     Therefore, the priestly state and the priestly office are as distinct as are the civil state and the regal office. But though distinct, they are inseparable; for the office is in the state as the cause or means by which it is formed. Without the Divine Priesthood of the Lord there can be no Heaven and no Church internal, and without the Office of the Priesthood there can be no Heaven and no Church external, any more than there can be a kingdom, or a civil state, without the office of a King, or Chief Magistrate. These offices are as the head of the body, which, together with the trunk and extremities, constitute the corporeal and external man. And it is no more possible for a kingdom to exist without its king, or a Church without its Priesthood, than for a human body to exist without its head. This is the simple truth of the matter.

     But it may be well for us to consider somewhat mere fully how it is that the Office of the Priesthood in the Church is not and cannot be made a common office, and also why it is to be regarded as one and distinct in all the offices and uses of the Church, and not as "one and distinct" amongst them.

     "The Lord is the Divine High-Priest, who governs, orders, and arranges all things in Heaven and the Church, from Divine Good by Divine Truth. From Him, and representative of His Divine Offices, are the Offices of Priest and Prince in the heavenly Societies, and thence in the Church, and among men in the world; from Him are the Principles of truth from good by which all things are ruled, ordered, and arranged externally as well as internally. And, as the two principles, (Divine Good and Truth.), appertaining to the Lord, exist in conjunction, they were also represented of old, (i. e., the Ancient Church, and among the nations composing the Ancient Church), by the function of royalty exercised in conjunction with that of the priesthood as in the case of Melchizedek, who was king of Salem, and at the same time priest to God Most High, (Gen. xiv. 8).

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This was afterwards represented amongst the Jews, with whom a representative Church, as to form, was instituted by the judges and priests, and at last by the kings; but, as kings represented truths which ought not to bear rule, by reason, (as just stated), that they condemn, therefore their appointment was so far displeasing to the Lord that the people were blamed for it, and the nature of truth, considered in itself, was described by the manner of a king,' (I. Sam. viii. 11-18); and it was before enjoined by Moses that they should choose genuine truth originating in good, (Deut. xvii. 14-18), and not spurious truth, and that they should not defile it by reasonings and scientifics." A. C. 2015.

     From this teaching it is evident, that in the Ancient Church, as a kingdom of priests, or priestly state, there was an Office of the Priesthood, derived from the Lord's office of ruling all things from Divine Good, and representative of the same; and also, that this was an office of government, older, more internal, and more in correspondence with the divine government than the regal office. The latter, when established, was subservient to the former, even as truth is subservient: to good; and the separation of the one from the other, when this took place, was contrary to the Order of Heaven, derived from essential order, because it was, and also represented, a separation of truth from good. "All the laws of order, by which the Lord governs the Universe as a king, are truths; but all the laws by which He governs the Universe as a priest, and by which He also rules truths themselves, are principles of goodness; for government grounded in truths alone would condemn every one to hell, but government grounded in goodness raises out of hell, and elevates into heaven." A. C. 2015, 1728.

     The principles of goodness and truth, therefore, as the Lord's divine laws of order, although they are in the states of the human will and understanding, which are formed and ruled by them, are to be clearly distinguished from them in thought. They are the Lord's, or, in other words, they are the Lord with man. And since the Church is the complex of all the states, and, as such, is the Lord's priestly and regal kingdom, therefore, in the Ancient Church, which was truly, because internally, representative, the divine offices of goodness and truth, which the Lord discharges as Priest and King, were represented by and in the external offices of the Priesthood and Royalty, discharged by men in the external of the Church and State.

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And these offices were in the Church, and not of it, "as one and distinct;" as the head is in the body, and not of the body, "as one and distinct." But, just as the head has its own position and use in the body, so had and have those offices their own position and use, in and to all the other offices and uses, which, as uses of charity, constitute the life and existence of the Church and State. The preservation of this distinction in the Church and State is absolutely necessary to their order, and therefore to their existence. Good and truth in the man of the Church are the Lord's; by them He causes those who are regenerates to be in love and in wisdom. And because the Lord is called in the Word a priest from His Divine Love, and a king from His Divine Wisdom, therefore are they who are in have from Him called ministers and priests, and they who are in wisdom from Him, are called king's sons and also kings. For the love and wisdom in them is not from, themselves, thus not their own, but the Lord's; hence it is that they are meant in the Word by priests and kings; not that they are such, but that the Lord is such in them, and causes them to be so called." (A. R. 20; A. E. 31.)

     And now, let this teaching be noted and well considered. The Lord alone is a priest and a king, because He is the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom, and men are called priests and kings when by good and truth received in themselves from the Lord they are in love and wisdom. But, though called priests and kings, they are not such; they are not loves and wisdom, or goodnesses and truths, but forms of these principles, and thereby recipients of the life of the Lord, who is the Priest and King in them, and: who for this reason causes them to be so called in the Word. And, just as no man may claim to be a good and a truth, or a priest and a king, in the interior sense of these terms, so also may no man ascribe to himself the office of Priest or King.

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These are offices of the Divine Good and the Divine Truth, or of the Lord; and in the Heavens, in the Church, and in the State, they are only adjoined to men, and not conjoined with them; and they are adjoined as means, or "mediations" of divine order among men in the heavens and on the earth, (A. C., 5323, 10796, 10806; A. R. 55; H. D., 311, etc.). By virtue of the adjunction to men, and this mediation among men, they are true internal representatives of the Lord's offices of Priest and King. And in the degree in which a man loves the good or use of the priestly or regal office adjoined to him, and from love discharges it faithfully, in that degree does the Lord enter into him, and become a priest and king in him, and conjoin him with Himself; and because He is such in him, He causes him to be called a priest or king unto God. But this he has in common with all men, who are in the love of uses, and not by virtue of the office adjoined to him. Hence it is said in the Heavenly Doctrines, (317): "Dignity and honor ought to be paid to priests on account of the sanctity of their office; but they who are wise ascribe all such honor to the Lord, and not to themselves; whereas they who are not wise attribute the honor to themselves, and take it from the Lord. . . . The honor of any employment is not in the person of him who is employed, but is only adjoined to him on account of the dignity of the office in which he is engaged; and what is so adjoined does not belong to the person, but to the employment, being separated from the person when he is separated from the employment. All personal honor is the honor of wisdom and the fear of the Lord. . . . Again, (321), The sovereignty is not in any person, but is adjoined to the person. The king who believes that the sovereignty is in his own person, or the officer who supposes that the dignity of his office is in his own person, is not wise."

     Therefore, because the priestly and royal offices are employments, which are not in and of persons, but adjoined to persons, to serve as mediations of Divine Good and Truth to men, no man may claim to be his office, or to be a priest and king personally, that is in or of himself. And, because these employments differ as distinctly from all other employments, as the function of: the brain differs from the functions of the other organs and members of the human body, it is serf-evident that the claim to the offices of the priesthood and royalty as common offices, or as existing in all men, by obliterating the essential and radical distinctions upon which all order depends, is totally destructive of all order both divine and human.

91




     As in the Heavens, so in the Church and in the State on Earth, these offices must be kept distinct from all other offices, not as being "one and distinct" amongst them, but as being "one and distinct" in them; even, as the Lord, when conjoined with man, by and in good from, Himself, is conjoined with him, as infinitely "one and distinct" in him.

     How then does the Priesthood appear in the Word, when read in the light of this doctrine

     1. As an office to the Lord in the Church, divinely instituted, to present Divine Truth, such as it is in the spiritual kingdom, adjoined to the celestial kingdom, in an internal and external form. A. C. 9805, 9814, 9815.

     2. As an office representative of the Lord in the-Church, because with the people was a representative of the Church, and with Aaron, a representative of the Lord, from whom and to whom is the all of worship. A. C. 9928.

     3. As an office representative of the Divine Priesthood, which is every office which the Lord performs as a Savior, or by which he performs the work of salvation. A. C. 9809.

     4. As an office "one and distinct" in the Church, clothed by men in the external of the Church, to whom is intrusted the administration of the things relating to the divine, law and worship; A. C. 9805, etc.

     5. As an office, the administration of which is set apart or separated from all other ministries, because it is the Lord's and as such, is adjoined to men, to be his office, or mediation in the ultimate and external of the Church, of the divine good and truth by which He operates reformation, regeneration and salvation. A. C. 9809.

     Historically considered, the Office of the Priesthood existed in the Ancient Church; and as that was a truly internal, and thence a truly external representative church, the Priesthood was understood to represent the Lord's government of all pure divine good, (A. C. 1728, 2015, 3670, 3858, 3969, 6148, 8625, 9809, etc.) and its office, functions and use, as the office, functions and use of divine truth from divine good, were regarded as holy, and held the supreme place in the Church, and in the State, which was formed from the Church.

92


Priests were also kings, "because divine truth in the Lord is conjoined with divine good," (A. C. 2015, 6148), and the appointment of kings, who were not priests, was contrary to divine order. This Order, truly representing the divine celestial and spiritual government, was derived to and continued into the Ancient Church from the patriarchal order and government of the Most Ancient Church; and because the Lord was acknowledged and worshiped as the Divine Father, and Divine Good and Divine Truth are distinguished as father and son, therefore, in ancient times, priests were called fathers, and this even by kings, who styled themselves their sons, because their office represented the office of truth, (A. C. 3704). And there can be no doubt that that which took place in the Jewish representative of a Church, in which the Ancient Church came to its final end, was but the last repetition of what had previously taken place in the history of those nations among whom the Ancient Church had been established. As their rejection of the priestly government, and their determination to be ruled by a king, represented the separation of charity and faith, and marked distinctly the beginning of the decline of the true representative order established by divine command, so in former times, and among other nations, the change from a purely priestly government, such as is known to have existed in Canaan, Assyria, and Egypt, to a divided rule of priests and kings, points most clearly to a state and period in the Ancient Church, when it began to decline and fall into corruption. But, as the Ancient Church was formed among men by the Ancient Word and its spiritual doctrines, just as the Jewish Church was formed by the Word given through Moses, it may not be questioned that the Ancient Word gave to the men of that time the divine doctrine of the Priesthood and its government, in a form and mode adapted to their states, as fully and completely as the doctrine of the later Word was adapted to the states of the Jewish people.

93


For the Priesthood is the Lord's office as Savior,-that office by which, in all times, and in all states, he performs the work of salvation; and whatever corruptions men may have introduced into the external administration of this office, these could not have affected, and do not now affect, its internal nature, character, and use. The Lord, as Saviour, is the High-Priest; his office is in the mediation of divine truth from good, in all the degrees of angelic and human life from the highest to the lowest, from the most internal to the most external. By Divine Truth, in the Word, in doctrine from the Word, in the teaching, preaching, and application of doctrine from the Word, he ever leads to good, and ministers good to men. And, as He is the Word itself, when the Word became flesh, and was fulfilled as to its every jot and tittle in His Humanity,-then also was fulfilled the office of the Priesthood,-fulfilled, not abrogated, not "destroyed," but filled full of the Divine Life of Love; and brought out from a merely representative, into the actual form of any official use among men, with functions and administrations, clothed and performed by men, as the internal and external means by which He, the High-Priest, now performs His Divine Work of salvation. And since an internal can only exist actually in a corresponding external, in which it is represented, this divine internal Priesthood, which is the Word, and in the spiritual doctrine of the Word, has also its representative external office, and official administration in the Heavens, and in the Church on Earth. That it exists in the Heavens is abundantly taught in the writings, as in T. C. R. 661, S. S. 71, C. L. 308, 266, 23, H. and H. 221, 223, 224, 225, 226. And that it exists in the Church on Earth as a true representative, is distinctly declared in A. C. 36701 where it is said:-

     "That it is a thing of indifference what be the quality of the man who represents, whether he be evil or good, and that evil men, may alike represent, and did represent the Lord's Divine, may be seen, n. 665, 1097, 1361; the same may appear from the representatives which exist even at this day; for all kings, whosoever they are, and of whatsoever quality, by virtue of the principles of royalty appertaining to them, represent the Lord; in like manner all priests, whosoever, or of whatsoever quality they are, by virtue of the priestly principle.

94


The principle of royalty, (regium), and the priestly principle, (sacerdotale), is holy, whatsoever be the nature and quality of the person who ministers therein; hence it is that the Word taught by a wicked person is alike holy as when taught by a good person, and also the Sacrament of Baptism and the Holy Supper, and the like; hence, also it may appear, that no king can in any sort claim to himself any thing of the holy principle appertaining to his royalty, nor any priest any thing of the holy principle appertaining to his priesthood; in proportion as either claims any thing thereof to himself, or attributes it to himself, he is so far a spiritual thief, and brands himself with the marks and character of spiritual theft; and also in proportion as he does evil, that is, acts contrary to what is just and equitable, and contrary to what is good and true, in the same proportion a king puts off the representative of holy royalty, end a priest the representative of holy priesthood, and represents the opposite. Hence, in the representative Jewish Church, so many laws were enjoined concerning the holy principle, by which priests especially should be influenced, during their ministration." Cf. 1728, 2015, 3858, 3969, 6148, 8625, 9809, 4311, 6148, 9989, 10152, 10279.

     Having seen that the Office of the Priesthood, as presented in the Word, is the Lord's office as Saviour, and that it exists in the Heavens and in the Church, both in an internal and in an external form, we come next to inquire, What are the functions of the Office of the Priesthood? By the functions of an office we understand the things which it is designed to perform, and which it performs. As the Office of the Priesthood is the Lord's, and therefore the Word's, and as it is in the Heavens and the Church from the Lord by the Word, we must needs go to doctrine from the Word, in order to learn what its functions are. It has been shown that in, the Church, which was established to be the representative of a true Church, the Priesthood was instituted in Aaron, his sons, and the Levites; and from the Word we learn further, that certain duties were enjoined upon them, that certain offices were assigned to them, and that for the purpose of a right performance of these duties and offices, they were set apart from the people, consecrated by solemn rites and ceremonies, placed in cities by themselves, and supported by "the tithes of the sons of Israel'."

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The duties or functions of the Priesthood were to inquire of the Lord, in the Holy of Holies, and to Mess the people, (Lev. xvii.), (this duty belonged to the High Priest alone) to watch over the fire on the altar of burnt-offerings, and to keep it burning day and night, (Lev. vi. 12), to feed the golden lamp, (Ex. xxxii. 20, 21. Lev. xxiv. 2), to offer the sacrifices, with the meat and drink-offering, (Ex. xxix. 38-41), to teach the statutes of the Lord, (Lev. x. 11. Deut. xxxii. 10), to have charge of the Ark, and all the vessels and appurtenances of the Sanctuary, (Numb. iv. 5-15), to blow the trumpet, etc., (Numb. x. 1-8), (these duties belonged to the office of the Priests), to keep watch about the Sanctuary, to prepare the supplies of corn, wine, oil, etc., and to take charge of the sacred treasures and revenues, etc., (Numb. iii.-vlii.), (these were the special duties of the Levites).

     Now in the Doct. Conc. the S. S. No. 71, we are instructed, that in the Word, as it is in the spiritual kingdom of the heavens, "instead of Aaron, is written, the priestly office;" because this is signified by Aaron, and because in the Word there, neither names nor places are mentioned, but the things signified by them; and from this we may learn, as from all the doctrine concerning the Sacred Scriptures, how we are to read and understand what is said concerning the functions of the priestly office; for in the New Church, that which is Written naturally in the literal sense of the Word is to be understood and received spiritually, as revealed in the spiritual sense out of the literal.

     (To be continued.)

96


COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 1918

COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW              1918

     CHAPTER VI.

     1. Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them; otherwise ye have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens.

     2. When, therefore, thou doest alms, sound not the trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do, in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

     "By alms is sig. every good which man wills and does; and by praying is sig. every truth which he thinks and speaks. They who do good and speak truth in order that they may be seen, do so for the sake of themselves and the world, i. e., for the sake of glory. 'They have their reward,' but the delight of glory, which in the world appears to them as heaven, after death is turned into hell." E. 695.

     3. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:

     "The right hand sig. the good from which good is to be done; the left hand sig. the truth from good. With those who are in the good of love and charity these two [hands] act in union, but they do not act in union with those who respect themselves and the world in their good deeds; and with them, therefore, the left hand sig. to know and to 'act without good, and for the sake of appearance." E. 600.

     ("We must conceal our good deeds even from ourselves, as far as is possible, by not thinking about them, or eyeing them with complacency."-Clarke.)

     4. That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father, who seeth in secret, shall Himself reward thee in the open.

     "They who do good and speak truth, not for the sake of themselves and the world, but for the sake of good itself and truth itself, are meant by those who do their alms in secret, and who pray in secret, for such act and pray from affection, thus from the Lord." A. 695.

     5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites; for they love to pray, standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may appear unto men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

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     "The streets of a city sig. the truths of doctrine according to which a man should live, and on this account it was the custom to teach and to pray in the Streets." E. 652.

     6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in the secret, and thy Father, who seeth in the secret, shall reward thee in the open.

     The closet sig. the interiors of the mind. A. 5694. To shut the door sig. to close all approach of worldly thoughts and affections. A. 8989.

     "If from love and faith we pray for celestial and spiritual things, there is given us a kind of revelation, which is felt as hope, consolation, and internal joy." A. 2535

     "The Lord can impart good to us only as we desire it, or are willing to receive it, and our asking indicates this state of willing reception in us." P. 92.

     7. But when ye pray, do not multiply words, as the heathens do, for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

     "He who lives the life of piety, and not at the same time the life of charity, does not worship God; he thinks of God, yet not from God, but from himself. The life of piety, separate from the life of charity, is not the spiritual life which should be in Divine worship." N. J. 124.

     8. Be not ye, therefore, like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him.

     "Sincere prayer is an acknowledgment that all good is from the Lord, and that the Lord alone knows what we need, and that we desire to have this done in us and for us." P. 119.

     9. After this manner therefore, pray ye: Our Father who art in the heavens, Hallowed be Thy name.

     "There are more things in the contents of the Lord's Prayer than the universal Heaven is capable of comprehending. And with man there are more things in it, in the proportion that his thought is more open towards Heaven." A. 6619.

     "By Our Father in the Lord's Prayer, is meant the Lord as to His Divine Human, and everything collectively, by which He is to be worshiped." A. 6887.

98




     "By the name of God is sig. His quality, which, in the primary sense, is the Word, Doctrine from the Word, and the worship of mouth and life from the Doctrine." E. 1025.

     "'Hallowed be Thy name' sig. that the Divine Human of the Lord is to be held holy and is to be worshiped." E. 102.

     10. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth.

     "By kingdom here is meant the reception of the Divine Good and the Divine, Truth which proceed from the Lord, and in which the Lord is with the angels of Heaven and with' the men of the Church." E. 683.

     "The will of God is done when the Divine Good and the Divine truth are received in heart and soul, that is, in love and faith." E. 683.

     ("As in heaven, so also upon the earth," i. e., as in the love and faith of the internal man, so also in the life and works of the external man.)

     11. Give us this day our daily bread.

     "This sig. that the Lord daily provides our necessities, and that there fore we ought not to be anxious about acquiring them from ourselves." A. 8478.

     "This day sig. what is perpetual. Heavenly food is nothing else than love and charity together with the goods and truths of faith. This food is given by the Lord to the angels in heaven every moment, and thus perpetually and to eternity." A. 2838.

     "Bread sig. all heavenly and spiritual food, thus everything that proceeds out of the mouth of God; this food is knowledge, intelligence, and wisdom, thus good and truth." N. J. 218.

     12. And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors.

     "God cannot according to His laws remit sins to any man, except in proportion as the man himself desists from them." T. 73.

     "The Lord forgives the sins of everyone, and never punishes for them, nor even imputes them, inasmuch as He is essential love and essential good; nevertheless, sins are not on this account wiped away, for this can only be effected by repentance." T. 409

     13. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever, Amen.

     "The Lord leads no one into temptation, but is continually endeavoring to deliver from temptations, so far as is possible, or so far as deliverance does not promote evil.

99


He continually also has respect to good, into which He leads him who is in temptations." A. 2768.

     "That the Lord redeemed mankind means that He liberated and delivered them from hell and from the evils and falsities which constantly rise up thence, and that He continually liberates and delivers them by this that He subjugated the hells and glorified His Human." E. 328.

     The power is the Divine Truth in, the literal sense of the Word; the glory, the Divine Truth in the internal sense. S. 37, A. 49.

     "Faith and truth are one, wherefore the ancients instead of 'faith' said 'truth,' hence also it is that in the Hebrew language truth and faith are one word, which is amuna, or Amen." F. 6.

     14. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;

     15. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

     "This sig. that repentance must precede forgiveness, and without repentance there is no forgiveness'' P. 280.

     "It is supposed that the forgiveness of sins means that they are wiped away, and that after the forgiveness men go clean, but the case-is quite otherwise. The Lord forgives the sins of every one, but they are not on that account remitted, unless the man performs serious repentance and desists from evils, and then lives a life of faith and charity, and this up to the end of his life." A. 9014.

     16. And when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance, for they darken their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

     17. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head and wash thy face.

     18. That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father who is in the secret, and thy Father who seeth in the secret, shall reward thee in the open.

     "Fasting sig. a state of affliction, such as exists in the combats of temptations," E. 730; and "to mourn on account of the failure of truth and good." E. 1189.

     19. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust, corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

     20. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through and steal.

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     21. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

     The earth is the external man; moth sig. falsities in the outermost things of the understanding, because moths are winged things loving darkness; rust sig. evils in ultimates. The thieves are the evil spirits which after death snatch away the knowledges of good and truth from those who have only stored them in the memory, and not in the interior life. R. 164; E. 193; A. 9331.

     "Treasures are the knowledges of truth and good; to lay them up in heaven is to lay them up in the spiritual man, for the spiritual man is in heaven." E. 193.

     22. The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore thine eye be simple, thy whole body shall be luminous.

     "The eye is the understanding and faith of truth, which is called a lamp from the light of truth; the body is the mart himself, and to be luminous is to be wise." E. 1081.

     "The simple eye signifies that it is one; and it is one when the truth is from good, or the understanding from the will. The right eye sig. the understanding of good, and the left eye the understanding of truth; if these make a one, then the eye is simple, thus a single or good eye." E. 313.

     23. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness; if, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

     "The contrary is true of an evil eye, i. e., the understanding and faith of what is false: darkness sig. falsities; 'if the light be darkness' sig. if the truth be falsified; and since truth falsified is worse than any other falsity, it is said, 'if the light be darkness, how great is that darkness.'" E. 1081.

     24. No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other; or else he will cleave to the one; and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

     "This sig. that it is impossible to serve the Lord by faith, and to serve the world by love; thus, to acknowledge truth and yet to do evil; he who so does has a divided mind; hence its destruction." A. 9093.

     "There are those who serve both, but they are the ones who are called 'the lukewarm,' neither cold nor hot, who are spewed out." A. 9210.

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     (Mammon is a Chaldee term sig. financial security, and was hence used as a personification of wealth or riches.)

     25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no trouble for your soul, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the soul more than meat, and the body than raiment?

     26. Look upon the birds of the sky, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not more excellent than they?

     27. And which one of you, by taking trouble, can add to his stature one cubit?

     28. And why take ye trouble for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they toil not, neither do they spin;

     29. And I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

     "Such is the case with the good which is from the Lord. But the good which is from man may be compared to flowers which are painted on canvas, for such flowers are beautiful only in the external form, but as to their internal they are nothing but a heap of earthly particles rudely put together. But the flowers that grow in the field are beautiful from their inmosts, for the more interiorly they are opened, the more beautiful do they appear." A. 8480.

     "There was once opened before the angels a flower as to its interiors, which are called spiritual; and when they saw it they said that there was a whole paradise therein, consisting of things ineffable." DE VERBO 192.

     30. And if God thus clothe the herb of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

     ("Cast into the oven;" in the Orient, on account of the scarcity of fuel, all the withered stalks, even of the herbage, are gathered and burned.)

     31. Be not, therefore, troubled, saying, what shall we eat, or, what shall we drink, or, wherewithal shall we be clothed?

     32. For after all these things do the heathen seek; for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

     33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His justice, and all these things shall be added unto you.

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     "The kingdom of God is the Lord and His Church; and His justice is spiritual, mot-al, and civil good; and every good which is done from the love of these, is use. When use is in the first place, then the Lord, from whom is all good, is in the first place and has rule, and 'adds all other things,' i. e., gives whatever is conducive to eternal life and happiness." E. 1193

     34. Be not troubled, therefore, for the morrow; for the morrow shall be troubled for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

     "It is not contrary to order for a man to provide for himself and for his dependents; but those are troubled for the morrow, who are not content with their own lot; they do not trust in the Divine but in themselves, and they have concern only for worldly and earthly things, but not for heavenly things." A. 8478.

     "It is altogether otherwise with those who trust in the Divine these, although they have care for the morrow, still have no care, for they do not think of the morrow with solicitude, still less with anxiety. They are of a serene mind, whether they obtain what they desire or not, neither do they grieve at the loss of what they desire, being content with their lot. If they become wealthy they do not put their heart in the riches; if they are raised to honor they do not regard themselves as more deserving than others; neither are they sad if they become poor nor are they dejected in mind if their condition be humble; for they know that with those who trust in the Divine all things conduce to a happy state in eternity." A.8478.

     CHAPTER VII.

     1. Judge not, that ye be not judged.

     2. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged; and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.

     "This does not refer to judgment respecting any one's moral and civil life in the world, but respecting his spiritual and celestial life. Who does not see that society would perish, unless a man was allowed to judge respecting the moral life of those who live with him in the world! But it is forbidden to judge what is the quality of the interior mind or soul of any one, thus what is the quality of his spiritual state, and thence what is his lot after death, for this is known to the Lord alone." C. L. 523.

     3. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

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     4. Or how will thou say to thy brother, Let me cast out the mote from thine eye; and, behold, the beam is in thine own eye?

     5. Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam from thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to; cast out the mote from thy brother's eye.

     "To behold a mote in the brother's eye, sig. anything erroneous in regard to the understanding of truth." A. 9051.

     "The mote sig. a Slight falsity of evil, and the beam a great falsity of evil. Wood sig. good, and in the opposite sense, evil." E. 746

     6. Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the swine; lest they trample them under their feet and, turning, rend you.

     "Pearls sig. the knowledges of good and truth. Dogs sig. lusts and appetites, and swine, filthy loves, such as are in the hells, of adulterers. To trample with their feet sig. to reject them altogether as dirt, and to turn and rend sig. to treat them with contempt and ignominy." E. 1044

     7. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

     8. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

     ("Ask, seek, knock" sig. three degrees of petition, becoming more and more intensive. To ask is of the understanding, to seek is of the will; and to knock is of both, in action.)

     "If men ask from the faith of charity, they do not then ask from themselves but from the Lord; and whatever a man asks from the Lord, and not from himself, he receives." E. 411.

     9. Or what man is there of you, who, if his son ask bread, will give him a stone?

     10. And if he ask a fish, will give him a serpent?

     (Bread, sig. instruction as to spiritual life; stone, what is merely of the world; fish sig. cognitions of good and truth; serpent, false and evil scientifics.)

     11. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father who is in the heavens give good things to them that ask of Him?

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     12. Therefore, all things whatever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets.

     The "Golden Rule" is "the universal law of moral life." T. 444.

     "Those who do good from good, i. e., from the heart, receive good from others. And likewise those who do evil from evil, i. e. from the heart, receive evil from others. Hence it is that every good has its own recompense joined to it, and every evil its own punishment." A. 8214.

     13. Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to the destruction, and many there be that go in thereat.

     14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow the way that leadeth to the life, and few there be that find it.

     Straitness sig. a state of temptations. E. 600.

     "That the way which leads to the life is narrow, is not because it is difficult, but because there are few who find it." H. 534.

     "Heaven is enclosed on all sides, and there is no passage open to any heavenly society except by a narrow way, the entrance to which is also guarded." H. 428.

     15. And beware ye of false prophets who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

     "The false prophets are those who teach falsities as if they were truths, and who in appearance live morally, but when alone think of nothing but themselves and the world and study how to deprive others of truths." E. 195.

     A wolf sig. the lust of snatching away and scattering what is good and true. A. 6441.

     16. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

     "The figs sig. the good of the external or natural man, and; the grapes the good of the internal or spiritual man; the thorn and the thistles sig. the evils opposite to these." E. 403.

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     17. Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruits, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruits.

     18. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruits; neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruits.

     19. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is cut down and cast into the fire.

     20. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

     21. Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in the heavens.

     "That charity and faith do not profit a man as long as they reside only in one hemisphere of his body, that is, in his head, and are not grounded in works, is evident from a thousand passages in the Word." T. 36.

     22. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name, and in Thy name have cast out demons, and in Thy name done many wonderful works?

     "To Prophesy sig. to teach; in Thy name sig. according to doctrine from the Word; cast out demons sig. to liberate from falses of religion; to do many wonderful works sig. to convert many." E. 624.

     "Those who are in truth in which there is not good, in the other life make merit, more than others, of all that they have done, which appears as good in outward form, though in internal form it was evil." A. 4638.

     23. And then will I profess unto them, that I never knew you: Depart from Me, ye that work iniquity!

     "The Lord will say this, because they had not done these things for the sake of the Lord, nor for the sake of good and truth and for the salvation of souls, but for the sake of themselves and the world; and therefore in respect to themselves they have not done good but evil." E. 621

     24. Whosoever, therefore, heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them, him will I liken unto a prudent man who built his house upon the rock.

     "The rock sig. the Lord as to Divine Truth, or the Divine Truth received in soul and heart, that is, in faith and love." E. 644

     "The house founded upon the rock sig. the Church in general, and every individual member of the Church who founds his doctrine and his life upon the Divine Truth which is from the Lord, thus upon those things which are in the Word." E. 411.

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     25. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds Mew and beat upon that house, and it did not fall; for it was founded upon the rock.

     "The rains and the floods sig. temptations, in which a man either conquers or falls; the waters sig. the falsities which inflow in the temptations. The winds sig. the thoughts thence emerging, for temptations exist by the breaking out of falsities injected by evil spirits into the thoughts. By the
house, into which they rush or break in, is sig. the man himself, especially his mind." E. 644.

     26. And every one that heareth these sayings of Mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.

     "A man who hears the Word and does not do it, separates the hearing and the doing; thus he divides his mind, and is therefore called foolish." A. 44.

     "By the sand is sig. divine truth received only in the memory and thence to some extent in the thought, and therefore scattered and disconnected, because interspersed with falsities and falsified by the ideas." E. 644.

     27. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
28. And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these sayings, the multitudes were astonished at His doctrine.

     29. For He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

     ("Having authority," i. e., original power as the Maker of the Law, and not like the uncertain voice of human interpreters.)

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     NOTES AND REVIEWS.

     The October issue of THE NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY, (now published semi-annually), has at last reached us; it is as usual of rich and varied interest. A frontispiece presents a group picture of the "South African Native New Church Conference," held at Krugersdorp, Transvaal, Jan. 25th, 1917, showing the Rev. D. W. Mooki surrounded by some twenty white-robed ministers. The opening article is "a personal narrative," by the Rev. Jas. F. Buss, of "The New Church Movement among South African Natives."


     Mr. Buss, in his account of a personal interview with Mr. Mooki, states that the matter "showed me a letter he had received since my arrival, from. Mr. Barger, of The Hague, congratulating him on coming into the New Church and getting into communication with the 'General Church' at Bryn Athyn. Mr. Mooki could not understand there being two New Churches, one in England and one in America. I explained, historically, how this had arisen, also that there was, in America, yet another New Church body, the 'General Convention,' but the English was the parent body, and that still all were based on the same doctrines, those taught in the Writings of Swedenborg. I pointed out, also, that the 'Conference' was the body for those in the British Empire to associate themselves with, not either of the American bodies."


     Inadvertently Mr. Buss here imparted misinformation to Mr. Mooki, for there is no historical basis for the claim that the English Conference, as such, is or was "the parent body" of the New Church in America. The Heavenly Doctrine was brought to the American Continent five years before the organization of the first General Conference in England. James Glen was, indeed, a Scotchman, and William Hill and Ralph Mathers were Englishmen, but neither of these pioneers were sent here as missionaries by any English Conference, and no British organization did ever act in loco parentis to any body of the New Church in America.

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     The President of the General Conference of 1914 sent forth a warning to the General Church to keep out of the "British Empire," and now we behold Mr. Buss, as the authorized representative of the Conference, making another attempt to identify this small, and in England almost unknown body with the British Empire! The claim would, indeed, be mirth-provoking, were it not so sad to witness this petty and un-English spirit of jealousy, which would rather see the Gentiles remain in their darkness than permitting the light of the New Church to come to them from America. As it happens, the British Empire some time ago established complete religious freedom in all its domains, and foreign missionaries of all denominations, from America or elsewhere, have always been welcomed and protected.


     The assumption of "British" authority by the Conference and its representative becomes still more amazing as Mr. Buss proceeds with his interview with Mr. Mooki: "He asked me to reply to Mr. Barger's letter to him, and say that he did not want to connect himself with the American body but with the British, placing the letter in my hands for this purpose, He also asked me to request that NEW CHURCH LIFE should not be sent to him any more. I readily promised to do this, as I considered so highly controversial a periodical eminently unsuited to African natives knowing almost nothing of the Doctrines-and even likely to be hurtful to them-and to arrange that he should be supplied with British periodicals, and any New Church literature that we thought would be useful to him."


     The spontaneous quality of this request by Mr. Mooki, imploring Mr. Buss to save him from NEW CHURCH LIFE, becomes touchingly evident when we read, on the same page, that "Mr. Mooki further told me that the only communication he had sent to the 'General Church' was a letter thanking them for a copy of NEW CHURCH LIFE they had sent him."

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As a matter of fact we received a number of letters from Mr. Mooki before Mr. Buss visited him, and some time after that visit we received another letter of thanks for the continued reception of our journal. In view of this perfectly desperate situation it would seem that the only recourse now left to the authorities of the English Conference is to forbid the British mail system to carry the LIFE and all other American periodicals. The Conference may also decide to include the QUARTERLY in the embargo, as another "highly controversial" journal.


     Co-operation with the Y. M. C. A. in surrounding with the moral influence of Christianity the young men who have joined the colors has been undertaken in the General Convention by the Rev. Walter B. Murray, "in providing leaflets for the soldiers on topics which will fit in with their present experiences and fortify them against temptation." We have received the first three of these leaflets, entitled, "Keeping Straight," "The Soldier's Bible," "The Beautiful Vision of Marriage," which admirably fill the need of stimulus on the moral plane. The last, written by Rev. Paul Dresser, is especially fine. Nevertheless, we cannot find it any singularly great matter for rejoicing that in a world, already overflooded with natural good, there have been added a few more "non-sectarian Christian" tracts to help men. A glance at them will dispel our wonder that even a Catholic chaplain should find them innocent of heresy. (MESSENGER, p. 425.)


     Under the title "A Most Interesting Document," the MESSENGER of November 28 publishes a letter from Mr. Richard K. Campbell to Rev. Paul Sperry, together with the report of a speech delivered by Otto W. C. Schack at the time of the Civil War to an audience of 2,000 persons in New York City. This article is an interpretation of the significance of the American flag by means of correspondences. The essay states:

     "When we analyze the combination of this flag, it does seem as if the hand of Providence had directed it,-as, indeed, it directs all our movements.

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A new epoch in the progress and development of humanity was about to be inaugurated by the demonstration that self-government, or the governing of self, is the foundation of all just government; and so, it became appropriate, in the wisdom of Providence, that the dawning of this, the true principle, should be represented by a correspondential emblem."

     After referring briefly to the history of the flag and explaining how the 13 stripes came to represent the 13 original States while the stars, also originally 13, and arranged in a circle, were increased as new States were added, he says:

     "The reason red and white were permitted to be chosen, was because the first corresponds to the color of the physical-as exhibited in the arterial-and the second to that of the mental, in the nervous system of humanity. These (two colors) run side by side (in the flag) as the arteries and nerves do throughout the system and represent a state of harmony which results in health and strength, exhibiting the emblem that 'In Union is Strength.'

     "But these colors have a higher meaning, and according to this they must now be considered. Red is the color of fire; the essence of fire is heat-so long as there is heat in the blood, there is natural life in the natural body. Heat, then, is the life of the natural body. White is the color of light, and the mental System, from which the nerves proceed, furnishes light to the whole man.

     "The Red Stripes represent the seven degrees of life which man passes through till he is reformed, regenerated and thus perfected: and the White Stripes the light in the intellect appropriate to each degree of life, and springing from each. These, in the Divine Word, are called the Seven Days of Creation, and thus are described: 'And the evening and the morning were the first day,' and so on to the sixth day."

     The speaker found further significance in the fact that the degrees of life (the stripes) can not be increased beyond seven, but that knowledges (the stars) can be increased infinitely.

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FROM BASUTOLAND 1918

FROM BASUTOLAND              1918

     From the Rev. Epainetus L. Nyaredi, pastor of the New Church mission at Qopo Station, P. O. Majara, Basutoland, we have received a long communication, parts of which, unfortunately, are not in a form quite intelligible to us. The letter, which is dated Oct. 23rd, 1917, contains two lists of subscribers to a church building and a parsonage building, recently completed. The first collection amounted to L 3.3.3, and the other to L2.7. 3. "Again collected by E. L. Nyaredi, for the building expenses, 208 loads of stone, 2/6 per load, total L.25 1. 0. E. L. Nyaredi collected L.15, 1. 0. to support the church building; balance L.15. 1. 0. for himself, which I took it to the council of the same Society. The church is twelve feet long, seven feet broad, seven feet high. Parsonage building, rough work, from 1916, thirty-eight feet long by twenty-four feet broad, and seven and a half feet high, require L.1. 10. 0. To roof one pound, seventeen poles, one shilling each, sixty-three lathes, six pence each, one hundred bundles of grass, one shilling each, two frames of doors, five shilling each, two pair of doors, two pounds and ten shillings, three windows, four shillings and six pence, stone loads is one hundred and sixty, two shillings and six pence per load, food for twenty-two days, one shilling per day. Total, it came to be thirty-four pounds and five shillings."
     The communication ends with a loving expression of sympathy from our African brethren: "We, the members at Qopo, were very sorry about those twenty persons who had passed into the spiritual world, of whom we read in the NEW CHURCH LIFE on page 457, [deaths reported by the secretary of the General Church, June 23, 1917]. We, the members at Qopo, we crying with you about those people passed into the spiritual world. It is the work of God. Because the Word said, 'Watch, therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.' St. Matthew 25:13."

     Our readers will permit us to express, for them, their appreciation of these tender words, and their joy that our faithful brethren of "The General Church of the New Jerusalem in Basutoland" at Qopo, after long efforts, have now obtained a permanent home for their church activities.

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RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF SPIRITUALISM 1918

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS OF SPIRITUALISM       Editor       1918

     The more we have looked into the "revelations" of Modern Spiritualism, the more convinced have we become that the accounts of the spiritual world vouchsafed by the so-called mediums are by no means the results of any actual visions of clairvoyants, but simply distorted reminiscences of odds and ends from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. It is to be remembered that "Modern" Spiritualism did not arise as a definite movement until nearly a century after the publication of HEAVEN AND HELL, and that the forerunners of the whole movement were Swedenborgians-gone-astray. In the course of time hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of former readers of Swedenborg have joined the growing ranks of the Spiritists, each bringing with him stray bits from the objective accounts in the Writings, minus, the Doctrine of Genuine Truth. Mediums, pretending or self-persuaded, have muttered these scattered knowledges now for more than half a century, and gradually these have been pieced together into a kaleidoscopic whole, which is growing more and more similar to, (but not the same as), the outlines of the other world as presented in the Writings of the New Church.

     From this source and of this nature are all the communications recently presented to a startled world by a number of distinguished English "Sirs" of scientific or literary reputation. In our last issue we reproduced William D. Howell's estimate of Sir Oliver Lodge's book, RAYMOND, and we are now able to add to this interesting collection the testimony of the most recent eminent convert to Spiritism, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, as delivered by him in a recent number of the METROPOLITAN MAGAZINE. We have not seen the article itself, but we are quoting from an editorial in the NEW YORK SUN for Dec. 17th, 1917. Respecting the nature of a spirit the author of "Sherlock Holmes" has this to say:

     "The spirit is not a glorified angel or a goblin damned, but it is simply the person himself, containing all his strength and weakness, his wisdom and folly, exactly as he has retained his personal appearance.

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     "The life has a close analogy to that of this world at its best. It is pre-eminently a life of the mind, as this is of the body. Preoccupations of food, money, pain, etc., are of the body and are gone. Music, the arts, intellectual and spiritual knowledge and progress have increased. The people are clothed, as one would expect, since there is no reason why modesty should disappear with our new forms."

     "The people of the spirit world live in communities" and "the male spirit still finds his true mate." It is not made clear that nationalism disappears, but "language is no longer a bar, since thought has become a medium of conversation." Doyle finds no eternal damnation: "Hell as a permanent place does not exist. But the idea of punishment, of purifying chastisement, in fart of purgatory, is justified by the reports from the other side. Such punishment does not consist of gross-bodily pain-there is no pain beyond-but it consists in the fact that the grossest souls are in lower spheres with a knowledge that their own deeds have placed them there, but also with the hope that expiation and the help of those above them will educate them and bring them level with the others. In this saving process the higher spirits find part of their employment."

     "The soul does not always enter the new life on the instant elf its passing, Sir Arthur believes. There is a period of sleep, sometimes hardly existing at all, sometimes covering weeks or months. In the case of Raymond Lodge it was six days. Once having taken its place in Spiritland, the soul enters one of the lower spheres or phases mentioned and remains until it is prepared for the higher phases. "Apparently," says Sir Arthur, "there is more communication between these phases than there is between us and Spiritland. The lower cannot ascend, but the higher can descend at will.'"

     Members of the New Church are sometimes apt to fancy that these increasingly definite accounts of the other life, by way of Spiritism, are manifest evidences of the "permeation from the new heaven," or are at least valuable in preparing the way for the descent of the New Jerusalem. But no amount of details, even from the Writings, are of the least service to the one sublime end and aim of the New Revelation,-the eternal salvation of human souls,-without the acknowledgment of the one supreme and universal Doctrine, the Doctrine Of the Lord.

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The revelation concerning HEAVEN AND HELL does not commence with attractive descriptions of the externals of life in the spiritual world, for the gratification of the curious, but it begins with three heavily theological chapters: "That the Lord is the God of Heaven;" "That the Divine of the Lord makes Heaven;" and "That the Divine of the Lord in Heaven is Love to Him and Charity towards the Neighbor."

     This is the Door Of the sheepfold, a heavily guarded door, a door utterly forbidding to all but the sheep, the humble in heart. Whosoever entereth not by this door, "but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." Spiritists will break in through windows to rob the house of vessels of silver and gold and valuable "pictures;" but "the thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy." Let us beware of thinking that these thieves will truly prepare the way for the New Jerusalem.
ECHOES OF THE LAST JUDGMENT 1918

ECHOES OF THE LAST JUDGMENT       Editor       1918

     In the Heavenly Doctrine the prophecy is given that after the Last Judgment in the spiritual world the state of the natural world as to external conditions would be quite similar to what it was before, "for the great change which has been effected in the spiritual world does not induce any change in the natural world as to external form, and therefore there will be civil affairs hereafter just as before,-there will be peace-treaties and wars as before, and other affairs that belong to societies in general and in particular. . . . But as for the state of the Church, this it is which will not be the same as before; it will indeed be similar as to external appearance, but unlike as to internal appearance. As to external appearance there will be divided churches as before, their doctrines will be taught as before, and the same religions will exist among the Gentiles. But the man of the Church will hereafter be in a more free state of thinking respecting the things of faith, thus respecting the spiritual things which are of heaven, because spiritual freedom has been restored."

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     It would be wrong to infer from the language of this prophecy that there will never be any changes whatsoever as to external conditions in the natural world, for the world "does move." The essential features of human life will, of course, remain the same forever, but always subject to modification as to particulars. The restoration of spiritual freedom is the other world must necessarily result in a corresponding gradual restoration of external freedom in the natural world,-a fact to which the whole course of modern history has brought abundant evidence.

     While the great Last Judgment was completed by the end of the year 1757, yet Swedenborg writes in the year 1770 that "the restoration of order in the heavens and in the hells has continued since the time of the Last Judgment until now, and still continues." (T. C. R. 123.) And it is quite evident that this process has continued ever since, and in the present world war it seems to have come to a universal climax.

     Spiritual freedom cannot remain among men without a corresponding degree of natural freedom, and it must be manifest to every student of history that the irresistible current of the Divine Providence has steadily led towards the establishment of a universal state of political, social, and religious freedom. The most immediate natural effect of the Last Judgment was the downfall of the Jesuit order in the years 1759-1762. This was followed by the American Revolution, 1776-1783, which established the first secure home on this earth for complete freedom on every plane of human life. Next came the French Revolution which, after a century of violent reactions, has finally resulted in the firm establishment of the Third Republic. Under Napoleon the principles of the French Revolution were spread throughout the European continent, and though the resulting revolutions of 1848 failed in Germany and Austria, yet in Italy the movement for freedom accomplished the unification of the nation and the downfall of the Papal dominion.

     England, the mother of modern democracies, by the revolutions of 1642 and 1688 obtained a representative form of government and with it freedom of conscience and speech, by these means gaining a central position among the nations in the spiritual world. Nevertheless, this freedom was long restricted by many political, social and religious inequalities.

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Slowly this conservative people worked its way to a more complete liberty, but it did not cease to be an aristocratic commonwealth until shortly before the outbreak of the present war, and even now religious freedom is to some extent hampered by the entrenched existence of a socially superior State Church.

     The Nineteenth Century witnessed the establishment of representative or semi-representative forms of government in nearly all the European States, but simultaneously there grew up, especially in Germany, an intense spirit of Nationalism, which soon began to build up new imaginary heavens in the minds of men, and undoubtedly also in the spiritual world. At first this spirit of Nationalism came in the angelic garb of Patriotism, but before long it revealed itself as a larger form of the love of self, disdaining Internationalism or the love of the human race as a whole. National jealousies, rivalries and intrigues took possession of the Christian world, necessitating a constantly growing armament of standing armies and navies. In Central Europe, especially, the ancient love of dominion, formerly distributed among hundreds of independent sovereignties, found a new power in military unification. As every evil produces its own defensive and offensive falsities, so the spirit of Militarism, reaching out for world-wide dominion, has spun around itself a glittering net of sophistical philosophies and persuasions, which, in the sacred name of the "love of country," has completely captivated the German nation. So deeply have these persuasions become rooted that they can be eradicated only by the most severe judgment that has ever taken place in human history.

     While we are still in the midst of this universal cataclysm, there cannot be, in the mind of a Newchurchman, any doubt whatever as to the final outcome, knowing as he does, that Babylon has fallen, that the Dragon has been cast down from heaven, that the Lord of Truth and of Justice and Freedom has made His Second Coming to men. To the man of the New Church the present desperate struggles and upheavals are but the reverberations, in the natural world, of the great movements in the spiritual world, whereby order is being restored in the heavens and in the hells, a restoration which "still continues."

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RUSSIANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD 1918

RUSSIANS IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD              1918

     The revelations concerning the Russian nation are found in the SPIRITUAL DIARY alone, and are of great interest in view of the perplexing events of the present times. The Russians are a nation full of paradoxes and contradictions, and we need not wonder, therefore, that Swedenborg's accounts of them, in the spiritual world, appear somewhat contradictory at first reading. In S. D. 5043, for instance, it is said that "the Swedish nation is the worst of all in Europe, except the Italian nation and the Russian," from which it may be concluded that the Russians are the worst of all, as no doubt they are, as to external conditions. Later on, in the same work, a better character is given to them.

     S. D. 5452 "Concerning the Russian Nation. The Russian nation dwells in the south-eastern angle,-right in the angle,-under the earth there. They are in greater darkness than the rest. I was conveyed to that part; and at first I saw a dirty place where were many who deliberated about matters relating to their kingdom, and, in fact, about liberty, such as is enjoyed in other countries; but these did not show themselves: they were in complete concealment. I afterwards heard one saying that they feared the Czar, and that the Czar was everywhere."

     5453. "After this I was carried down to others of that nation; who were better. They worked continually; after this to others, who also worked. I afterwards saw many who were leading women in procession. It was heard that this was heaven to them."

     5454. "I heard, after this, that they do not care for religion, and scarcely anything else than that 'if there is a God, there is;' if it is asked where God is, they answer that God is in heaven, if they are asked whether He created all things, they do not comprehend, because they suppose that, in such case, He must be walking about in every direction and preserve things. In a word, they are entirely empty; neither do they care for truths, as is evident from such things."

     5455. "It was said, also, that within they were more malicious than others, and that they operated in an exceedingly powerful way by means of phantasies; nevertheless, they are not skilled in magic; for those learn magic, who are in cognitions, but not those who are not in cognitions."

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     5456. "Those who were the better amongst them were, to a great multitude, carried down thence towards the north, beyond the deserted Babylonish region there, and were let into a plain, at a great distance, northwards. There, this region is terminated in woods, in which are those who are as it were wild beasts. They enter into vaults in various places there, and scarcely ever appear above the surface. The tract of those, there, is on the northern side, towards the eastern angle thereof."*
     * This seems to refer to a Siberia in the spiritual world.

     5949. "Czar Peter* was seen, and I spoke with him in a dream. He afterwards appeared among the Russians, and then was shown of what quality the Russians are. Since they believe that he has power over their lives and their possessions, so that these are not their own but his,-as they also acknowledge in his presence,-I heard them with the Czar, who said that all things of theirs are his, since the country is his. I contended, however, that they are not his, but their own,-also that he has no right over their lives; but that they should give sufficient for the protection of the kingdom, and no further; also, that their life is from the Lord, and that they are under the law, and so is the Czar. It was shown that when the Czar wants to have their all, they give it, for they worship him as their god. Moreover, it was shown that they do not inflict any pain on the right temple and on the teeth,** as Christians do, at which I wondered. They were on that side, and yet I felt no pain whatever from them. They are free from the love of self, but nevertheless they are thieves, and in order to obtain money they dare and do all things."
     * Concerning Peter the Great we read in S. D. 6027 that in the other life he at first ruled over "the best society of the Russians," but when his daughter, the Empress Elizabeth, was appointed to succeed him, "ex-emperor Peter then took leave of that society. Where he afterwards went, I do not know; he had with him two Jesuits in disguise, who had influenced his mind, so that he could not leave them, and they secretly tried to lead him to the Catholics." Further on, in the same number, it is stated that he "went down to the less good of the same nation."
     ** That is, they are not hypocritical spirits. S. D. 4348.

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     5963. "Concerning the Russians. These are not so wicked as the rest in Christendom. They are in very great subordination, believing that all things they possess are not theirs, but the Czar's, because the kingdom is his, and therefore he takes from them whatever he pleases, and they confess what they have, and give; in like manner when the officials say that it is his command. In the other life they retain this belief, and live in this subordination, but with this difference that then all they have is not the Czar's, but God's, being given them in order that they may employ it rightly for uses. Wherefore, if they do not employ them rightly, or when they do it improperly, that is, if they are evil, part or all will be taken from, them according to the abuse. They are sometimes told, when they set their heart too much on money, to give part of their riches to the poor and needy, and, although they are very unwilling, still they are told that it must be done, as it is by God's command. Then they do it, and after a time they receive more, for they are blessed.

     "Sometimes they are told that they will have to go forth from their places, because they are evil; but they then think and say that there are evil persons with them, and that these make them evil. Wherefore they seek them out, and when they find them cast them forth into the sea, whence they never return. Thus freed from them, they remain in their possessions. Therefore, whenever afterwards they notice that they begin to be evil, namely, to covet the goods of others, and to devise certain arts for plundering others of their property, they then apprehend that there are evil persons in the neighborhood, from whom, therefore, when admonished, they purge their society. The evil are found for the most part in certain places, principally along the coasts.

     "Russians have been with me several times, and through them the evil from the Christian world were kept away. They were in obedience, and modest, so that they were much better than those. The reason is because they can be kept in good affection, owing to the fact that they are in obedience and subordination, and do not aspire to high places, and thus they can be withheld from the proprium of the will. But they are scarcely at all intellectual."

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA. The most striking event in our social life of the past month is the religious drama which took the place of the customary Christmas representation for the children, given at the Children's Christmas service on the afternoon of December 24. The festival centered this year around the prophecy of the Lord's coming contained in the story of Balaam and Balak, (Numbers 22:24). We were prepared for what was to follow by a short service conducted by the assistant pastor, Rev. George de Charms, in the Chapel, during which the prophecy was read and its significance explained to the children. They afterwards led the way, singing, to the Auditorium, where the drama was to be unfolded. We were shown the interior of the Prophet's home, where Balaam reclined in meditation. Then the messengers of King Balak entered and presented their lord's request that the prophet come and "curse me this people, the Israelites, who had come out of Egypt and were covering the face of the earth. In the second scene Balaam, alone in the dimly lighted chamber, receives the Divine injunction, "Thou shalt not curse the people for they are blessed." The third scene represented the turning of the curse into a blessing, and brought the drama to its close with the impressive prophecy, "I shall see Him but not now, I shall behold Him but not nigh." Then followed a tableau of the nativity which was very beautiful and moving.

     This play, the work of Mr. George de Charms,-although perhaps a trifle mature for the audience,-proved that we are not mistaken in our confidence that there is a great field of development ahead for the distinctive New Church drama. A large basket of fruit was presented to the assistant pastor in recognition of his work.

     Bishop N. D. Pendleton left us shortly after Christmas for a visit to Kitchener and Toronto, where he addressed the respective local Assemblies. He has now returned to us after a successful journey, in which he was accompanied by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn.

     Another hearth fire was kindled in Bryn Athyn with the entrance of Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Gyllenhaal into their new and comfortable home. A small cottage on Alden Row is also in process of erection for Mrs. Lena Davis. Nineteen-eighteen was given an early and cheery welcome by as many of our members as could summon the courage to encourage the summoners to a short service in the chapel at 7:30, and a long breakfast in the auditorium afterwards. The speeches were held in "lighter vein" in spite of hard hearted coal dealers and the depths of war into which we find ourselves plunged; and the fact that, in the words of one of our speakers, "the humorous circulation of the blood is better in the evening." Mr. Gerald Glenn acted as toastmaster and Messrs. Rose and Howard were the much appreciated-speakers of the day.

     The Academy has undergone some administrative changes since the first of the year, occasioned by the resignation of its treasurer, Mr. Edward C. Bostock, who now is devoting himself to private business. His work has been taken up by Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal.

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Professor R. W. Brown now fills the office of Librarian, Professor E. E. Iungerich having assumed the work of Dean of the College.

     The only other event of interest is the occurrence of a measles epidemic, which has necessitated the closing of the Local School for some weeks. C. LJ. O.

     PHILADELPHIA, PA. The services in the Advent Church have been regularly conducted every Sunday evening and morning by Mr. Karl Alden and Mr. Theodore Pitcairn, with an encouraging increase in attendance.

     On Saturday, November 3, a very enjoyable fancy dress social was held as a surprise party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Lechner in honor of their fourth anniversary.

     On Tuesday, November 24 we gave an "Over the Top" party at the church to help raise funds for a piano. There was a fairly good attendance. About $25.00 was raised. The piano will be a "player" of Lechner & Schoenburger make, and will be a valuable asset to our Society.

     An impressive service was held on the occasion of the dedication of the new home of our minister and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. K. R. Alden, at 6061 Jefferson St., on Monday evening, November 5. It was conducted by the Rev. Wm. F. Pendleton who dwelt at some length on the meaning of a home on all planes of life. One very interesting point brought out was that the greatest enemy to peace and happiness in the home was undue care for the morrow. The dedication was followed by the baptism of Mr. and Mrs. Alden's infant son, Gideon, during which ceremony the baby behaved with unexampled virtue.

     The annual meeting of the Advent Club was held on Wednesday evening, November 14, at which the officers of the past year were all re-elected with the exception of the fourth member, whose place was taken by Mr. Roy Davis, a new member.

     GLENVIEW, ILL. Holidays coming thick and fast at this time of year make livelier times for our suburban retreat. The Saturday before Christmas, namely, the 22d of December, Captain Albert Henderson and Miss Margaret Gyllenhaal were united in marriage at our church, the wedding being the second consummated in the new building. It was a pretty and a happy event; six little boys in white, each bearing a large candle, preceded the bride and groom to the altar. The ceremony was performed by the pastor, the Rev. W. B. Caldwell. Everybody then in due order proceeded to the Parish Hall where felicitations, congratulations and jollity were indulged in.

     The holiday festival was celebrated by a service in the church, and a procession to the Parish Hall where gifts were received and given.

     We have also had some patriotic rallies, tableaux, dramatic performances and dances. New Year's eve was the occasion of some pleasing performances with the usual religious ceremony of worship at the last moments of the old year. Mr. Charles F. Browne gave a lecture on the battle of the Marne; he was not very far from the field of battle, at quite another time, so that he could give an accurate account of the occurrence. It was much appreciated. K.

     KITCHENER, ONT. The coal famine in our district is so acute that the Carmel Church in common with several other local institutions has had to close down for the present. Our diminutive school is meanwhile housed in a private house, and we hope that when these notes go into press all our activities will have been resumed.

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At the present we subsist spiritually by the memory of an inspiring assembly and of an enjoyable though chilly Christmas season. The children's festival on Christmas Eve was a delightful occasion, for the children particularly. The tableaux were taken mostly from the story of Moses, which reflects the deliverance of the Redemption.

     During the Christmas holidays the young folks, reinforced by Miss Olivia Doering and Miss Constance Waelchli, who returned from Bryn Athyn for their vacation, enjoyed an informal dance. We prudently disbanded in good time, because the building grew too cold for comfort. The long Canadian winter plus a coal shortage is an uncomfortable combination; and lately the mercury has stayed far below zero.

     The Bishop's coming kept things "a-humming," however, especially as the local assembly attracted a number of visitors. The Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, accompanied the Bishop. Mr. Herbert Hackborn came up from Brantford; representatives of the Northgraves family from Preston; Mrs. Potts, and the Izzard family from Toronto.

     The local assembly opened with a morning service and the administration of the Holy Supper, on December 30th, when the Bishop delivered a discourse which will long be remembered. The ladies had an informal meeting with the Bishop on Monday morning, and in the evening a largely attended banquet was held. The pastor introduced the subject of the evening, "Changes of State," also reviewing the momentous events of the past year and emphasizing that with the individual as well as with the church true progress was measured only by our increase in love and zeal for spiritual uses. The Bishop spoke of the critical period through which we are passing and gave a timely warning to keep before us the supreme functions of spiritual life and to keep the flame of spiritual love and thought alive even while patriotism and natural uses are most urgently craving our attention. Other speakers continued the subject, and after the tables were removed the floor was soon crowded with dancers. A little past eleven o'clock the talents of Miss Freda Roschman and Mr. Nathaniel Stroh provided us with a musical treat of piano and flute solos, after which the New Year was introduced during a watch service in the chapel. The Rev. Theodore Pitcairn gave an extempore address on the meaning of war and the reason for its permission.

     The Bishop's paper on "Democracy and Autocracy" was delivered on New Year's Day, and was most interesting and suggestive; a long discussion followed. Nothing need be said of this inspiring address, as it will, no doubt, soon appear in the LIFE. At the closing session of the assembly, in the evening, three topics, widely different in character, were taken up. The Rev. Th. Pitcairn first gave an informal account of the missionary enterprises centering around the Sunday School of the Advent Society,-which aroused both surprise and enthusiasm. Our Faster, the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, then read a paper on "The Bow, in the War Clouds," which treated of the spiritual hopes in regard to the future New Church, as reflected in the political sphere of the world's development. The final address was given by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli on "The Principles of the General Church." It gave the raison d'etre of our organization and was an appeal for the distinctiveness of the New Church. Our genial Bishop said he could almost hear Father Benade speaking, while Mr. Waelchli delivered himself on this topic, so near his heart. Unfortunately, time would not permit of any discussion of the addresses,

     Thus the assembly closed; and we feel that we can stand the prospect of the enforced spiritual fasting better and with more patience, now that we, at least, can feed on the memory of this feast.

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     FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

     ENGLAND. From a letter in the MESSENGER of December 5 we learn something of the Women's War work that is in progress in England. Mrs. E. J. E. Schreck writes that the Women's Society of Birmingham is equipping and maintaining 26 beds in Harborne Hall Hospital. Mrs. Schreck speaks of the enthusiasm with which the United States soldiers are greeted upon their arrival on British soil. She says:

     "Usually the troops come and go very quickly. The partings are too tragic for much exuberance. But now we know when a train full of American boys passes through en route to camp. The stations resound with cheers upon cheers. The superintendent of the Birmingham Division of the St. John Ambulance Brigade loves to tell us of the arrival of each new contingent. He has unusual opportunities for seeing them, as he is so constantly at the station-meeting trains of wounded which stop for half an hour on their way north. One group, a large portion of the 13,000 on their way to Camp Borden, he wrote, 'had gold enough in their teeth, which, if it could be redeemed, would pay prince's ransom.'

     "The men arriving are of so high a type of physical manhood that they call forth unstinted praise; the nation is very much impressed by them as allies. They are called variously 'level-eyed,' 'straight-limbed,' clear-skinned,' 'splendid Yanks.'"

     SWEDEN. One of our last links with the early history of the New Church in Sweden has been severed with the departure from this world of Captain Carl Christian Magnell on the 8th of last September. He has for may years been a prominent figure in Pastor Manby's society, which had received State recognition in 1887, and as Church councillor and treasurer he assisted considerably in the economic establishment of the society, one feature being the institution of a fund for the building of a church. In his later years Captain Magnell showed great interest in the Academy movement in Stockholm, and the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom officiated at the act of cremation which, on September 9, consumed the mortal remains of this friend of the New Church.

     PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. An opportunity for the development of New Church missionary work in these islands seems to be the hope extended by Filipe Katada, and Ildefonso Agulo, two native converts whose letters are noticed in the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for December 19th. Filipe Katada, of Dumaguete, Oriental Negros, P. I., writes:

     "We should like to have a School and New Church building here, making Dumaguete a New Church center. If this cannot be for the present, please send me, for distribution, Church papers, tracts, charts and pictures. Most persons here speak the English language. If you have Spanish books, send these also. The New Church can be extended in the Orient."

     Ildefonso Agulo, of 32 Zurbaran Street, Sta. Crui, Manila, P. I., says:

     "Here in the Philippines the Church of the New Jerusalem is making progress. We are about to construct a Chapel which will hold more than fifty people who will regularly attend the services. We can use all the New Church literature you will send. With these we could meet the contradictory doctrines of the other churches. The books will be carefully distributed so as not to disturb the knowledge already acquired.

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ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE       CLARA DAVIS       1918

     REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.

     During the last month the Academy War Service Committee has sent a copy of THE DOCTRINE OF CHARITY to each soldier and sailor. The first of the sermons by Mr. Acton on "Love to the Lord" is now ready to be sent.

     Miss Creda Glenn asks that the men who have received knitted articles will let her know when these things are worn out so that she may replace them; and also that they will inform her of any knitted articles they receive from others than the Academy War Service Committee. She asks this in order that we may be able to see that each man has enough knitted wear for his comfort and that none have more than they need.

     We have heard that several of the Christmas boxes we sent did not arrive at their destination in the condition they were sent. If any other of the boys did not receive their boxes or received only a part of them, we hope they will inform us at once.

     We have bought fifty homoeopathic medicine cases and they are now ready to be sent to those soldiers who expressed a desire for one.

     NEWS NOTES.

     In the last report of The Academy War Service Committee, we were unable to print the notice of the death of Reginald Waters. He was an ex-student of the London New Church School, under the Rev. A. Czerny. For eighteen months he had been in the service of the Marconi Company and in that short time had so far mastered the system as to be made a first-class operator, being put in sole charge of the wireless apparatus of some of the moderate sized vessels. His ship had been torpedoed twice before, but both times he had been rescued. This lessened his eagerness to return. It was not, as he told his parents, the fear of death for himself, but the horror of seeing others drown, while he could not help them, that made him dread going back. On the twenty-fourth of November a telegram came to his parents informing them that "his ship had been sunk and Reginald Percy Waters was lost." His ship, though not a war ship, was under Government control. The Bryn Athyn people, no doubt, remember Reginald, as he visited here on one of his trips. He is the third of the New Church boys from the English societies who have been lost in the war.

     Geoffrey Morris writes from France: "It was a very pleasant surprise for me, when the mail arrived this afternoon, to receive your letter of November 15th and to hear of the formation of the Academy War Service Committee. It will, no doubt, be an excellent way of helping us to keep in touch with other members of the General Church. I am sorry to say that I know very few of the American members of the Church, but I notice in the June number of the Bulletin a photo of some volunteers from Glenview and among them are Harold and Ben McQueen. Well, I should be awfully glad to hear from either of them and so perhaps you could help me in the matter by letting them know my address.

     Joseph Glenn, from Pittsburgh, who is in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, wrote that he arrived in Liverpool December 8th. He adds: "I received your letter on December 19th, and am very glad to get news from the States, as your letter is the first I have had since I left Toronto."

     We hear from Kitchener that "Signaller Rupert Kuhl seems to be having an exciting time, both in and out of the trenches. He has been at the sites of Ypres, Passchendaele, and Vimy Ridge, and says that France is like heaven after coming out of Belgium, because of the mud.

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He said: 'It is the muddiest, stickiest, dirtiest stuff I ever saw. We civilians can scarcely realize, it seems, what a curse plain mud can be. He spent one night in a 'pill box' and one in the open. Rupert says that when you hear a shell near your ear 'you should worry' because you are safe (except for mud). It is only when a shell falls some distance away that you are apt to be hit with its contents. Alfred Ferdinand, who is at Ft. Worth, Texas, received two perfectly good invitations for Christmas. While walking in the post office at Dallas, the postmaster invited him for Christmas dinner. Wandering into a drug store a nice lady invited him for Christmas Eve celebration. Sad to relate, however, he was unable to make use of either invitation, as he had to be on duty at the time. Sergt. Arthur Bond, who was one of our first men to go over is still in England 'doing his bit.' For some time now he has been doing gardening and overseeing the work of the men on the farm. Last summer they grew enough vegetables to keep the Battalion for three months. Now we hear ten acres have been added to the farm. Major Schnarr is Town Major is some town in Belgium. He is not allowed to state exactly where he is stationed or the nature of his work. One of the boys writes about trench mats. We have not been able to find out just what they are, but it seems that on account of the great quantities of mud they are the only means messengers have of going from point to point. It is rather difficult to keep footing on these mats and if the boys fall off they are in many cases lost. All of the boys seemed much pleased with their Christmas boxes. One boy wrote that he received nine."

     Ariel V. Evens writes from France on December 10th: "I received your welcome letter of November 15th a few days ago. I also n received a copy of the NEW CHURCH LIFE last night and the excellent box of comforts today. My chums and I sampled the contents and found them to be very nice, indeed. I cannot thank you enough for it them. The mere fact that I received the package makes me feel better, as it shows that there is some body in the world thinking and caring for us besides our own relations at home. So you will see that it is not just a little you are doing, but a lot, to help the great cause we are fighting for. He adds that he is looking forward to receiving a copy of the Writings and that he enjoyed reading the LIFE.

     Sergt. Samuel Roschman writes that he received his Christmas box in the very best condition. He adds: "May your labors of love be blessed and developed into increased services in the great cause, which has already taught so many the blessedness of serving."

     Many others who had not yet received their packages have written acknowledging our letters. Nelson Glebe, a former Academy student, in an interesting letter, told about his leaving Canada for England over a year ago, and of the kindness and hospitality of the New Church people in London. Of his work, he says: "Our work consists in building railways to feed the men and guns. I said building, but a good bit of it is rebuilding, as you know Fritz won't let them be; he has a bad habit of dropping shells on to them, which make holes large enough sometimes to set a good sized house in, and we naturally fill them up again and relay the track; this must be done day or night, as the case may be, so as not to delay traffic. When near the line we live in dugouts, when further back, in huts and tents. Nothing of course, is shell proof, sand bags merely protect you from shrapnel, and from bursting shells."

     Joseph Hill philosophically says: "We get very good rations, such as fresh beef, mutton, and cured bacon; of course, there are luxuries we miss very much, but we will enjoy them all the more when we return to civilian clothes again."

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     The Committee is happy to report the safe arrival of our Christmas boxes. Though we have not heard from all the boys, many appreciative letters have come to us from the camps in America and Canada, and a few from England and France. We have also had several interesting letters in answer to the form letter we sent to each soldier, from boys who are at the front, who have been in the trenches, but on account of the censor restrictions they can tell us very little of their experiences.

     Joseph Knight, with the Canadian Railway Troops in France, wrote of the difficulties of living under fire. He says that when aeroplanes are over head and "Jerry" shells creeping nearer concentration upon letter writing or any reading is no easy matter.

     Herbert Ashley has been in the Navy over nine years. He has taken part in the naval battles of Heligoland, Degger Bank, and Sutland, besides other minor engagements.

     Edward Boozer is serving in the Volunteer Regiment. These Volunteer Regiments, he says, have been raised all over England for the purpose of home defense, the members of which are training in their spare time, while they, at the same time, continue in their civil employment, and are made up of men who are either over military age or are not, at present, needed in the regular army. We have not heard directly from Conrad Howard, but a letter from his father tells us that he is in a Convalescent Hospital and writes cheerful letters home.

     Roy Stamps, a prisoner of war, has been exchanged and is in Switzerland.

     Theodore Bellinger wrote that he was on a Committee to get up a Christmas dinner and it was going to be served on real plates. This is his third Christmas in the trenches. There are only six men left of his company of twenty-six engineers who left Canada together.

     The letters from the men in American camps have been full of warm appreciation of their boxes. Carlos Dexter was one of the first to receive his. He says: "The Christmas box was certainly wonderful and I must tell you all about its fate: Yesterday we received thirty-five more men in our squadron who just came in from Kelly Field in San Antonio, Texas. They had been under equipped, half fed, and obliged to make a continuous trip to prepare for embarkation, this being the port of embarkation concentration camp. So when my box got here the cakes and candies were passed around and even though there was but little for each man it was a pleasure to see what an effect just a little homelike touch had, the feeling of something from some one's home who thought of the comforts of the soldier boys, the feeling that they were not forgotten in the outside world. The whole atmosphere seemed to change and the cold gloom seemed to be replaced by a cheerful sphere. I can remember few moments in my life which gave me more pleasure than those of last night. It certainly is surprising how great a small thing can become. None of these boys have heard from their friends in over a month because they have been transferred four times in the last five weeks."

     Lieut. Randolph Childs writes from Camp Hancock: "But what impressed me more than the gifts and the card, was the motive which inspire, the women and men of our Church to send gifts to all the boys in the service. These gifts we accept as an expression of the idea that the work in which we are engaged is a religious, as well as patriotic work, and that its faithful performance is a spiritual as well as civil duty. We are thus led to be thankful for the spiritual opportunities presented instead of being overwhelmed by the drudgery which must accompany our work at timed."

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     The following is quoted from a letter just received from Lieut. Noah Waelchli: "I believe I wrote you before that I received the Christmas box you sent and which I opened Christmas morning. I am still `picking away at the good things it contained and distributing some to my fellow-officers, who bunk near me. I also received the card from Miss Creda Glenn and the package of knitted things she mentioned. They certainly are appreciated, as were having a real touch of winter. In fact, when you're out in it, it's more than a touch, it's a slap. As soon as I can get the time I'm going to write to those who spent so many hours of work to keep me warm. I can't begin to express my appreciation of the kindness shown 'the boys,' I can only say that it's wonderful and makes a fellow feel more than ever that he's really training to fight the Hun in defense of the folks at home. Even though we have not been given our permanent commands, being only 'attached' to different Regiments as supernumerary officers, we are now putting in all of our time in keeping fit and learning new methods of warfare from English and French officers who are here to give us the latest styles in killing. I've also received copies of the BULLETIN and LIFE, which I immediately started to read. I almost missed 'conference,' (which is the name given Officers' School), as I was so much interested in the news."

     Loyal Odhner, who is at Camp Greene, writes: "The pocket edition of the DOCTRINE OF CHARITY reached me safely, and I wish to express my thanks for this valuable little gift. Although, for the most pert, I am able to take books along with me, this book is not one of those which I have, and every once in a while we are assigned some detail on which it is impossible to lake our more ponderous baggage, and then the pocket edition becomes an invaluable asset."

     Mr. and Mrs. Acton have received a cablegram from Kesniel informing them of his safe arrival in England.

     Lieut. Alan Pendleton was to be sent to Ft. Sill, Okla., but his orders have been changed and he has been sent in charge of his company on Detached Service to San Diego, Cal.

     Fred. Grant, who is in the Penn State Unit of the U. S. A. A. S., has been sent back to the Concentration Camp at Allentown, Pa. This unit was sent to Penn State not long ago, and the return to the Allentown Camp is taken as an indication that they will be sent over soon.

     Malcolm Cowley, who spent six months in France with a Harvard Unit in the Medical Corps, has returned to America.

     Miss Ellen Sherman has sent us the names of five of her nephews who are with the colors. Sergt. Fred. Sherman and Corp. Carl Sherman are with the American Expeditionary Forces. Fred. Has been to the front on the firing line once. He wrote home: "We were no more excited than in target practice. In fact, the boys were sorry to go back." Max Sherman was at first on a torpedo heat destroyer, but is now on the "Mother" ship of some flotilla.

     Richard Johnson, now in Panama, was struck in the face by a piece of steel; his cheek was quite swollen and he was at first quarantined for mumps, but, later, when the cause of the swelling was discovered an operation was performed and the piece of steel removed.

     Cadet Cleare, who is at an Aviation Camp in Texas, writes that he is now on Solo flying and has been up in an aeroplane four hours without an instructor.

     Through some mistake the following names were omitted from the Field of Honor in the January LIFE: Leon Rose, Stanley Jessemen, Robert Leseiur, Sergt. Hubert Tyrrell, and Joel Sharpe.

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Joel Sharpe is the son of Mrs. H. H. Sharpe, a cousin of Mr. Pitcairn. He is now on active service in France.

     Six more names have been added to the list of those whose friends have asked to have New Church literature sent them. They are: Adolph Lodsing, a Russian, who was foreman in Mr. Seymour Nelson's nursery, 36th Motor Field Hospital, Camp Greenleaf Annex, Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga.; Harold and Thomas Pearse, of Chicago, Ill., are both addressed Co. E, 11th Engrs., Army P. O. S. 45, American Expeditionary Forces; Byron Stevens, of Baltimore, Md., Co. D, 30th Inf., Camp Greene, Charlotte, N.C.; Corp. J. O. and Corp J. B. Wicker, friends of Mr. Donald Rose, and both from London, England. Corp. J. O. Wicker is addressed 68,153, R. G. A., 127th Siege Battery, M. E. F., c/o General P. O. London, England; and Corp. J. B. Wicker, 73,738 R. G. A., 141st Siege Battery, British Expeditionary Forces, France. CLARA DAVIS.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, SERGT. KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Major Straight, War Risk Insurance
Detachment, American Expeditionary Forces.
APPLETON, A. J., Colchester, England. No. 26174 Company No. 2, 2/6 Batt., West Riding Regt., 62nd Div. Depot. Batt., 6th Corps Reinft. Camp, British Exp. Forces, France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, Eng. No. 16156 56th Squadron, R. F. C. British Expeditionary Forces, France.
ASHLEY, SEAMAN A. B. HUBERT W., W London, England. H. M. S. "Nerissa," T. B. Destroyer, c/o General P. O., London, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. E. T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engs., 28th Div., U. S. A. Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFETH. Bryn Athyn, Pa. Fourth Co., Ft. Slocum, N. Y.
BARGER, GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 10th New Hampshire Inf., Camp Green, Charlotte, N. C.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Tex.
BEDWELL, R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., Co. D, 52nd Royal Sussex Regt. Room D 2, Goojeratt Barracks, Colchester, England.
BELLINGER, FRED., Royal Flying Corps. 226 Dunn Ave., Toronto, Ont., Canada.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE R., Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 341,319, 70th Battery, Exhibition Camp, Toronto, Ont., Canada.
BELLINGER, SAPPER T. P., Toronto, Ont., Canada. C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, British Expeditionary Forces, France, c/o Army Post Office, London, England.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, J. E., Denver, Colo. Co. 62, 164 Depot Brigade, Camp funston, Kansas.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. No. 602,108, Co. A, 3rd Reserve Batt. Canadian Expeditionary Forces, West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. c/o Division Trains, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 29th Aero Squadron, 3rd Instruction Centre. American Exp. Forces.
BURNHAM, CORP. LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. Co. D, 36th Inf., U. S. A., Fort Snelling, Minn.

129



CALDWELL, MAJOR ROBERT B. JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Adjt. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
CHILDS, IST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Hdq. 55th Inf. Brigade, Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
CLEARE, CADET A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. 152,125, Squadron 79, I. R. F. C. Camp Taliaferro Field No. 2, Fort Worth, Texas.
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, 113th Inf. Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COFFIN, SERGT. R. T., Baltimore, Md. Section B, Tent 3, Officers, Training Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, FRANK. Clinton, Ont., No. 654,429, Co. C, 161st Batt. C. E. F. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, Eng.
COLE, OLIVER. 654,822, Co. C., 61st Batt. C. E. F., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, Eng.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, Eng. 107,557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engs. Signals. Egyptian Expeditionary Forces, Egypt.
COWLEY, MALCOLM, Pittsburgh. Pa. Harvard Medical Unit, France.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 503rd Eng. Service Batt. American Expeditionary Forces.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 202nd Aero Squadron, Aviation Concentration Camp, U. C. Signal Corps, Aviation Branch, Va.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada. 727,538, 58th Batt., Canadians'. 5th Southern General Hospital, Portsmouth, England.
DOERING, PRIVATE FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
DOERING, CADET HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Aviation Section, Wichita, Texas.
ELPHICK, FELIX H., Surrey, Eng. H. M. Wireless Sta., Culver Cliff, near Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
ELPHICK, LANCE-CORP. F. W., Surrey, Eng. 546,246, R. A. M. C. T. Sanitary Section 15, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, ARIEL V., Randolph, Ont., Canada. 408,072, 9th Platoon, C Co., 42nd Batt., R. H. C., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., Colchester, England. Essex Vol. Regt. 124 Butt Rd., Colchester, Eng.
FERDINAND, N. E., Toronto, Ont., Canada. 150,240, R. F. C., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Talliaferro, Ft. Worth, Texas.
FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E., Mess. Morfa Camp, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Brigadier fourrier, 117 d'artillerie loudre, 64e Batterie a Agen (Lot & Goronne), France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa., Quartermaster Corps, Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C.
DE GEYMULLER, HENRI, Paris, France. Soldat et 2e Classe, Secretarie a la Commission du Controle telegraphiques, Poste Centrale, Havre, France.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England L. Z. 3624, Lewis Gun Section, D Co., Anson Battalion, Royal Naval Division, British Expeditionary Forces, France.
*GILL, LIEUT. W. REY, Colchester, England. Artist's Rifles, killed in action, in France. Aug. 21, 1917.
GLADISH, CADET DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Aviation Training-School, Cornell University, N. Y.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Aviation.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 751,630, 10th Battalion, C. R. T., Canadian Army P. O., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929, C. A. M. C. Seaford Camp c/o Army P. O., London.

130



Grant, CORP. FRANK J., New York, N. Y. Co. K. 318th Inf., Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
Grant, FRED. M.. Bryn Athyn, Pa. Sec. 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, Allentown, Pa.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, 309 Auxillary Remount Depot, Camp McClellen, Anniston, Ala.
HART, LANCE-CORP. D. E., Highbarrow Rd., Addiombe, Croyden, Eng.
HEADSTEN, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. Rec. Barracks No. 3, Co. 10, Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Pittsburg, Pa. Medical Depart. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
HENDERSON, CAPT. A. D. Allied Officers' Hdq. 86th Div., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Naval Hospital, Brooklyn Navy Yard, N. Y.
HICKS, KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151,593, Hdq. 43rd wing R. F. C., Camp Taliaferro, Benbrook, Fort Worth, Texas.
HILL, DRIV. JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 4,904, 1st Canadian Reserve Park, C. A. S. C., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
HILLDALE, SPR. J. H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2,006,629, Engineers' Trainings Depot, St. Johns, Quebec, Canada.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. D. M. 21,80,259 A. S. C. British Conv. Depot (Band Quarters), Trimulgherry, Deccan, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie. IV. Prisionnier de guerre, au Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 914.) Address M. F. Hussenet. Messageries Maritimes, 1 Rue Vignon, Paris. France.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. Soldat au 69le d'Infanterie, 5e Cie. Observateur, Secteur 126, France.
JESSELMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519. Co. B 134th Batt., 48th Highlanders, Witley Camp, England.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gull Batt., Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F. 3rd Eng., Corozae. Panama, Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 21st Ambulance Co., Fort Riley, Kans.
KNIGHT, JOE, Toronto, Canada, 1,006,098, Co. 3, 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont., Canada, 751,077, Co, 2, 25th Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 335241, 64th Battery, C. F. A., Guelph, Ont.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Ont., 751,087, 21st Batt. Canadians, British Expeditionary Forces, France, c/o Army P. O., England.
LESIEUR, ROBERT, 7 rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France. (Reforme temporairement.)
LONG, WILMER EARL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island. Address: 106 N. 16th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SPR. JOHN C., Toronto, Canada. Ward K., Montreal Gen. Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
LUCAS, LOUIS., Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial a l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLEES, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaster 7, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L-CPL. C. D., London, England. 155,895, Hdq. Eastern Command Labor Centre, Camden House, Camden Rd., Sutton, Surrey, Eng.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.

131



MORRIS, 1ST MECH. EDW. B., London, England, 37,746, 2nd Squadron, R. F. C., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England, 301,276, Transport Section, 1/5th Batt. L. R. B., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
MORRIS, MACH. GUNNER H. CLIFFORD, London, Eng. 13957, 4th Otago Regt., New Zealand Exped. Forces.
MORRIS, SERGT. WILLIAM. London, England. Command Pay Office, London District, (Room 106), 168 Regent S., London, W., England.
MOTUM, N. A., Colchester, England 013,871, 77 S. Co., A. O. C. Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 4, British Expeditionary Forces, France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England, 177,762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., Salonika, Greece, M. E. F.
ODHNER, 2D LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. H, 38th Infantry, 3rd Div., Camp Charlotte, Charlotte, N. C.
ODHNER, 1ST LIEUT. MADEFREY A., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Infantry, U. S. A. The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Medical Officers' Training Camp, Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
PENDLETON, 1ST LIEUT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A., 63d Inf. U. S. A.. North Island, San Diego, Cal.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Q. M. C., Mechanical Repair Shops Unit 302, American Expeditionary Forces.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Co. B, 332d Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTORY HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., Camp Merrit, Branch, N. J.
PIBERES, SERGT. MARIUS, Philadelphia, Pa. 1st New Hampshire, Co. D, Camp Green, Charlotte, N. C.
PRICE, LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103d Engs., Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga.
PRICE, RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Battery, R. O. T. C., Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A. New York, N. Y. Naval Training Station, Signal Officer, Pelham Bay, N. Y.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 126,074, 126th Co. Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
*ROSE, LEON, London, England. Royal W. Surrey Regt. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 20th, 1916.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Guam, M. I.
ROSENQVIST, FRIEDL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters. Co. 103rd Engrs., Camp Hancock, Ga.
SCHNARR, ARTHUR, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 228,985, 42nd R. H. C., Epson Hospital, Surrey, England.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Ont., Canada. 1st Canadians' Casualty Clearing Station, France.
SELLNER, HAROLD, New York, N. Y. 25th Company, Fort Slocum, N. Y.
SHARPE, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL, Pittsburgh, Pa. F. A.U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American Expeditionary Forces.
SHERMAN, ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American Expeditionary Forces.

132



SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American Expeditionary Forces.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Melville" c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. A, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American lakes, Washington.
SMITH, ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Barracks, Rock Island Arsenal, N. A., Rock Island, Ill.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SNYDER, WILMER E., Pittsburgh, Pa. 148 Field Hospital, Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala.
SODERBERG, ARTOL, Philadelphia, Pa. 35th Aero Squadron, Aviation Field, Waco, Texas.
STAMPS, ROY, Toronto, Ont., Canada. 27,541, 48th Highlanders, Lager No. 1, Gefangener Lager, Schneidenuhl in Posen, Deutschland. (Prisoner in Germany since 1915)
STROH, CORP. FRED. E., Kitchener, Ont. 751,124, 25th Reserve Batt., Co. 1, Bramshott, Hants, England.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
SYNNESTVEDT, FRED., Pittsburgh, Pa., Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J., Bourbon, Ind. 17th Aero Squadron, Camp Jarvis, Taliaferro Field I, Fort Worth, Texas.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, Batt. 6, U. S. A. A. S. Allentown, Pa.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. N. L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., N. A. Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 751,657, Western Ontario Regimental Depot, Bramshott, Hants, England.
WARREN DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 512,956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Dept. Shorncliffe, Kent, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN N., London, England. 536,551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A, R. A. M. C. T, British Expeditionary Forces, France.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202,555, A Co., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATER, FRED. S., London, England. 536,534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., British Expeditionary Forces, France.
*WATERS, REGINALD, London, England. Senior Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
WELLS, ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, Camp Shelby, Harrisburg, Miss.
WELLS, ROY, Bryn Athyn, Pa Co. A, 11th R. R. Engrs., American Expeditionary Forces, France.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Ont., Canada. 317,006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3d Echelon, British Expeditionary Forces, France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 3rd Regt. Motor Mechanic, Camp Hancock, Ga.

     TWO ADDRESSES.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, REV. F. HUSSENET, Messageries Maritimes, I Rue Vignon, one-half block from the Madeleine.

     When in England, communicate with REV. ANDREW CZERNY, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E., London.



133


SWEDENBORG AND THE HISTORY OF SWEDISH LITERATURE 1918

SWEDENBORG AND THE HISTORY OF SWEDISH LITERATURE       ALFRED H. STROH       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XXXVIII MARCH, 1918          No. 3
     The appearance of three volumes of Swedenborg's scientific texts, published at Stockholm, from 1907 to 1911, under the auspices of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, has been followed by a stream of biographical and critical discussions. The first appearance of such discussion, up to the year 1910, has been reviewed in a contribution to the NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY, 1910, pp. 128-136, entitled "Swedenborg in recent Swedish literature." Since that time numerous articles, pamphlets and books have appeared in Europe, especially in Sweden, devoted to the growing discussion of Swedenborg's significance as a man of science and philosopher, and also of the great crisis in Swedenborg's life when, from having been a philosopher, he became a theologian. The miscellaneous discussions referred to are worthy of a detailed review, but before again taking up the general literature for criticism I have chosen a special section for preliminary treatment, namely, the biographical and critical discussions of three Jewish authorities connected with the universities of Stockholm and Upsala, namely, Professors Warburg and Schuck, and Docent Lamm.

     As early as the autumn of 1908 Hjalmar Holmquist, while still Decent in Church History at Upsala University, lectured on Swedenborg's early life, and his results later on appeared in periodical and separate prints. These early strides have been followed by numerous lectures in Sweden and Finland, even after Docent Holmquist became Professor of Church History in the University of Lund, although his large intended book on Swedenborg has not yet appeared.

134


Two excellent works on LUTHER, LOYOLA AND CALVIN, and on LUTHER, raise the hope that a similar treatment in extenso of Swedenborg will be produced by the gifted lecturer and author, outlining Swedenborg's position in Swedish Church History from the standpoint of an enlightened historical criticism. I may be permitted to make a comparison here of my own general standpoint with that of Professor Holmquist on the one hand, and with that of the three writers Warburg, Lamm and Schuck, on the other hand. Whereas Holmquist greatly admires and praises Swedenborg's scientific and philosophical works, the old Lutheran dogmatic theology prevents his accepting Swedenborg's revolutionary opposition to the doctrine of the tripersonal trinity and to the connected doctrines of the atonement and salvation by faith alone. Whatever agreement or disagreement there may be between all the recent authors on Swedenborg so far as the discoveries of his early period are concerned, they generally fail to grasp or to commend his later positions. There are, however, some exceptions to this, for Swedenborg's works on the WORSHIP AND LOVE OF GOD and on CONJUGIAL LOVE have been lauded by Atterbom, Liljedahl, Warburg, Lamm, Schuck and other writers, while Kleen in his recent work, although supremely critical in this and other respects, nevertheless recognizes the justice of Swedenborg's opposition to the cardinal tenets of the old Christian dogmatism. We have, therefore, three separate positions with regard to Swedenborg's significance as represented by the above mentioned writers. The first is hampered by the theology of the old Christian Church; the second is quite indifferent to that, but is far more concerned with Swedenborg's form than with his substance; the third, while critical and discriminating both as to form: and substance, is vitiated by pantheistic and materialistic prejudices which utterly incapacitate the critic and make it impossible for him to reconcile Swedenborg's dualistic idealism with what the critic conceives to be the only true religious and philosophical position.

     Of course, none of the writers mentioned above, however sympathetic they may be in their view of this or that feature in Swedenborg's works, accept a position of authority for any of them.

135


Nor do I think that any of these critics has approached Swedenborg with complete sympathy from the only historical and philosophical avenue which is possible. I refer to the Cartesian dualism which has become the point of departure for me in my interpretation of Swedenborg's philosophical development, as it most certainly was the Cartesian cosmology which formed Swedenborg's own philosophical point of departure. This view of the question was already fully formed and published years before the recent widespread discussion of Swedenborg began. It has been fully accepted in various quarters, especially in a little work SWEDENBORG: THE SAVANT AND THE SEER, by Sir W. F. Barrett, F. R. S., late Professor of Experimental Physics in the Royal College of Science for Ireland, London, John M. Watkins, 1912, pp. 71.

     Aside from the intrinsic differences in the general standpoints represented by recent Swedish writers on Swedenborg, all depending on whether they are Christian or indifferent, pantheistic or materialistic, there is a special question which appeals to all of them and which certainly is of great importance, namely, that of the authors read by Swedenborg. The republication in 1907 of the auction catalogue of Swedenborg's library in a facsimile edition has aroused renewed interest in this question, often referred to in the recent Swedish literature, and in Bryn Athyn, in the Library of the Academy, every effort has been made up reconstruct Swedenborg's library. It is highly desirable that the catalogued results and Professor Alfred Acton's critical researches in this field be published, for the sources of information used by Swedenborg, and his standpoint towards them, is fortunately a subject capable of a very complete analysis, because we not only know what books Swedenborg had or read, but also have his numerous references and quotations published and unpublished.

     The scientific and literary analysis of Swedenborg is one thing, the intrinsic philosophical and psychical development of his unique genius another thing. For unless an author has merely plagiarized others the question always remains as to what extent the views expressed by him are original and independent, even if he has found the identical views, or similar positions, expressed by others.

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To this point I shall return towards the close of this paper in explaining the relation of Swedenborg to Descartes and of Bostrom to Swedenborg.

     Some years ago, while attending the lectures of Professor Karl Warburg at the University of Stockholm on the history of literature, Swedenborg's significance and literary treatment became the subject of frequent private discussion, and I also supplied Professor Warburg with a collection of the recent publications. The results of his study appeared in 1912 in the second volume of the "Illustrated Swedish History of Literature." (ILLUSTREARAD SVENSK LITTERATUR HISTORIA, vol. II., Stockholm, Geber, 1911-12, the sections on Swedenborg occupying pp. 632-35 and 641-44). These two sections treat of the theological and scientific significance of Swedenborg and form parts of the chapter on "Philosophical and religious writings," and "Mathematical science, History of Nature." This, the second edition of Schuck and Warburg's standard work, has therefore introduced the modern conception of Swedenborg to the reading Swedish and Scandinavian public in excellent style. It was inevitable that sooner or later the chief critics of Sweden should make use of the large body of new literature by and concerning Swedenborg published at Stockholm and Upsala during the period 1907-11.

     The same authors, Schuck and Warburg, have just published another work, "The Chief Features of Sweden's Literature" (HUVUDDRAGEN AV SVERIGES LITTERATUR, av Henrik Schuck och Karl Warburg, Stockholm, Geber, 1917). Vol. II. contains, on pp. 38-50, a chapter on Swedenborg, By Professor Henrik Schuck, the great authority at Upsala on the older Swedish literature, and for many years the Rector of the University. Some years ago I was associated with Rector Schuck when Swedenborg's mortal remains were removed to Upsala in 1908, and when the sarcophagus was unveiled in 1910. At that time we took part in the discussion concerning Swedenborg by writing a joint contribution to the Stockholm daily AFTONBLADET, for a tremendous discussion was going on in the Swedish press.

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Professor Schuck bases his chapter on Swedenborg on the researches of Gustaf Retzius, Nathorst, Arrhenius, Ramstrom, and especially upon the investigations of Martin Lamm, Decent at Upsala of the History of Literature. After the appearance of Lamm's book in June, 1915, (SWEDENBORG, af Martin Lamm, Stockholm, Geber, 1915, pp. 334), I attended a course of his lectures, and had previously before the publication of his remarkable work corresponded with him and supplied some of the new bibliographical information referring to the "Dreams" and "Worship and Love of God." Just before this, in the summer of 1914, I had discussed Swedenborg very fully with Dr. Emil A. G. Kleen, who was also writing a book on Swedenborg, vol. I, of which has recently appeared, (SWEDENBORG, EN LEFNADSSKILDRING Del. I., Stockholm, Sandberg, 1917, pp. 416)

     Before proceeding to furnish the reader with translations of the statements concerning Swedenborg by Warburg and Schuck, and later of portions of the more extended discussions by Holmquist, Lamm and Kleen, in connection with certain results of my own investigations of Swedenborg's life and works, I shall first give some account of the history and philological currents of interest in Sweden which are represented by the authors just referred to and by other recent writers.

     Swedenborg's influence on Atterbom, Stagnelius, Almquist, and on the romantic movements in Sweden, has been pointed out by Lamm and others. Another remarkable disciple was August Strindberg, who, in 1907, dedicated to Swedenborg his BLUE BOOK, in several volumes, as follows: "To Emanuel Swedenborg, the Teacher and Leader, this book is dedicated by a disciple, a wreath on Swedenborg's grave on his return home after a century of rest in foreign soil, Resurgat!" Strindberg, early affected by French realism and by the skeptical and materialistic spirit of the latter part of the nineteenth century, later on recanted and returned to the Bible and Swedenborg. At the same time he was erratic and superstitious to a degree, also mixing up Swedenborg with theosophy and the doctrine of the transmigration of souls. Nevertheless, Strindberg's unique position in Swedish literature, and his later tendency away from materialism and towards a general idealistic and religious standpoint, have without doubt played a great role in turning the tide of literary criticism in Swedenborg's direction.

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     Professor Warburg, who first took up for public discussion in the Swedish universities the influence of Swedenborg during the Gustavian period, shortly after Swedenborg's death, some years ago read me a letter from Geijer to Wieselgren showing that the former was not influenced by Swedenborg, as has commonly been supposed, for Geijer strongly opposed the doctrine of a tripersonal trinity in a famous trial for heresy. While Swedenborg's pronounced influence on the romantic school and on Strindberg is perfectly clear and well established, it seems to be certain that Swedenborg's influence was not responsible either for Geijer's position on the trinity or for Bostrom's idealistic philosophy. If such an influence had been established it would be of great significance in the annals of Swedish learning and philosophy, but the evidence points in other directions. A former professor of philosophy and rector of Upsala University, Sahlin, who knew Geijer and Bostrom, told me some years ago that he had no faith in such interpretations.

     There indeed exists a line of historical development leading to Geijer and Bostrijm, for their philosophical positions were preceded by those of earlier Upsala professors, Holler, Grubbe, Biberg, more or less under the influence of the German schools. The discussions of Hjalmar Kylen have supported the hypothesis that Bostrom received his ideas from Swedenborg, and a recent writer, Johannes Ljunghoff, says that "The similarity is indeed so great, that if one examines what is essential in both, one might very well say that Bostrom as a thinker has worked out in the form of concepts the thoughts to which Swedenborg as a seer has given chiefly the form of imagery." (See p. 29 of CHRISTOPHER JACOB BOSTROM, SVERGES PLATON, Upsala, Norblad, 1916). The discussion of Swedenborg, Bostrijm and Kant is contained on pp. 28-32, with several quotations from Swedenborg, but the author supposes that the Swedish thinkers, Grubbe, Geijer, Biberg, Hoijer, "and leading them all, Emanuel Swedenborg," are representatives of a peculiar Swedish type of philosophy which emphasizes personality in God, in the society of souls, in the state, and in the individual.

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I do not see why this should be especially Swedish, although it happens to have been sharply accentuated in the development of Swedish philosophy during the nineteenth century. I incline to the view that Bostrom and Swedenborg quite independently drew their inspiration from the Bible and Christianity, not excluding the influence of Plate in ancient and modern times.

     This brings me to the next stage of the present introductory discussion. If we turn our attention away from the external question of Swedenborg's actual and supposed influence on Swedish literature to the intrinsic question of his own point of departure and philosophical development, I can agree heartily with Schuck, when he writes, (p. 41), "Swedenborg has the same standpoint, [i. e., the mathematical and mechanical standpoint of Polhem], but he now develops these thoughts into a magnificent system, which is indeed influenced by his predecessors Descartes, Leibnitz, Newton, etc., but still is nevertheless in the highest degree original."

     Just as Bostrom had his predecessors, so did Swedenborg have his, but they were both of them original in their own special way. This is something which Dr. Kleen ought to consider. One of his reviewers, Gronfeldt, remarks that the philosophical side of Swedenborg is pretty scantily treated by Kleen. For my own part I think it is completely misinterpreted, for Kleen is an out and out pantheist and materialist and has no sympathy for either the Christian or dualistic systems as such, nor for Swedenborg's gigantic struggle in proving all things and holding fast that which is good.

     Swedenborg's position is essentially during all stages of its development opposed to both materialism and pantheism, all attempts by Brieger-Wasserfogel, Kleen and other authors to the contrary notwithstanding. On the one hand, Swedenborg always accepted the Infinite, Divine, indivisible Substance, and also separated from It, but created out of It, finite substance. In numerous discussions in connection with translations of Swedenborg's early works I have maintained since 1904 that Swedenborg's unitary conception of creation as consisting of a single mechanical series of particles, more or less compounded-even including at first the soul and heaven-gradually in the ECONOMY and later gave place to a binary conception of two suns, two kinds of created substances, two worlds, etc., etc.

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Swedenborg, therefore, never resolves either the natural or spiritual degrees into modes of the Divine Substance, as did Spinoza and other pantheists, but always kept them separate, and, however mechanical Swedenborg's conceptions of the body and soul once were, he always accepted a Divine Influx into the psychical and natural substances, and is therefore free of materialism, which if logically developed must inevitably relapse into a theory of indivisible atoms and of the absolute vacuum or infinite empty space in which they move.

     In the year 1914 I discussed Swedenborg's two periods, and the remarkable stages of his progress, with both Lamm and Kleen, and found that the former had arrived at conclusions similar to my own as to the PRINCIPIA, ECONOMY, etc., but that the latter held a pantheistic philosophical position quite irreconcilable with that of Swedenborg and with my own Cartesian and Swedenborgian conceptions. These points of agreement and disagreement are, however, mere questions of critical and philosophical interpretation and have nothing to do with the special psychological and psychiatrical positions advanced by these authors. Here I find myself in essential agreement with Sir William Barrett and with modern psychical research which refuses to get rid of the spiritual world and of the immortality of the soul by explaining all spiritual experience as due to nervous disease or subjective hallucinations. To these knotty problems I shall return later in detail in the discussion of the contributions of Holmquist, Lamm and Kleen.
     Upsala, December, 1917.

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ARK AND THE PHILISTINES 1918

ARK AND THE PHILISTINES       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1918

     "So they sent and gathered together all the lords of the Philistines, and said, Send away the ark of the God of Israel, and let it go again to its own place, that it slay us not and out people: for there was a deadly destruction throughout all the city: the hand of God was very heavy there." (I. Sam. v. 11.)

     The ark of Israel is the symbol of the Word or of all divine revelation. From the time of the exodus from Egypt to the destruction of Jerusalem the ark is mentioned in Old Testament history. In the first book of Samuel there are several chapters in which we are told how the ark was captured by the Philistines, and, by reason of the curse which it brought upon them, how it was sent back to the Hebrews. In the story of the ark are involved the vicissitudes of divine revelation, or truth from the Word,-the treatment divine revelation has received among men,-the part that it plays in their regeneration and salvation.

     THE PHILISTINES.

     The Philistines, in a spiritual sense, are all men who make little or no account of love and charity. They Signify those who place no importance in the good of life, making religion entirely intellectual. The Philistines do not belong to the Gentiles proper: they are those who are nominally within the Church, that is, those especially within the Christian Church who have knowledge of genuine truth and good, and who are thus acquainted with divine revelation, but who do not apply that knowledge to life. They are Philistines who, while possessing true doctrine from the Word, are nevertheless moved and dominated by worldly ideals and loves. For this reason it is that the Philistines so often fought the sons of Israel and were their most persistent enemy. And this is the reason why the ark was captured by them.

     But the genuine truths of the Word are never a blessing to those whose religion is entirely intellectual. The Philistines were smitten with hemorrhoids on account of the ark. Their land was devastated by mice.

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The reason these evils befell them was because the ark signified divine truth proceeding from the Lord; and this truth is not appropriated or genuine with those who are not actuated by the good of love and the desire for the good of life. For when divine truth is given to men not actuated by the will of good, it produces effects that correspond to the evils of their life. The religion of such men is destitute of all genuine intelligence and spiritual power. Hence Dagon fell down before the ark and was found with both head and hands broken off. His head signified intelligence, and his hands power.

     The weakness and ineffectualness of such a state, in which there is truth but no concern for the quality of life;-nay, the utter blight and destruction of soul which it produces may be seen from the words of Jeremiah in his ominous prophecy against Tyre, Sidon, Askelon, and Gaza, the Philistine cities: "Behold waters rise up out of the north, and shall be an overflowing hood, and shall overflow the land and all that is therein then the men shall cry, and all the inhabitants of the land shall howl because of the day that cometh to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper that remaineth. Baldness has come upon Gaza; Askelon is cut off with the remnant of his valley. . . . O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? . . . How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Askelon, and against the sea coast?" And this is the cry of Joel against those who gather but who do not heed the truth of divine revelation: "Yea, and what have ye to do with me, O Tyre and Sidon, and al the coasts of Palestine? . . . Because ye have taken my silver and my gold, and have carried into your temples my goodly things; the children of Judah and the children of Jerusalem have ye sold unto the Grecians, that ye might remove them far from their border. To sell the children of Judah and of Jerusalem to the Grecians, is to make philosophical Gentiles of those that belong to the Church. That is what becomes of those' in the Church who have been instructed in genuine truth but who do not regard a good, faithful life as their only hope of salvation. They are sold to the Grecians,-they become as truly Gentile as any others, but they are filled with natural philosophies and the pride of their own sophistries.

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     THE GOD DAGON.

     Dagon himself was a representative image of this condemned state in which intelligence in spiritual things exists together with a pagan manner of life. An idol of which the upper part was the likeness of a man, and the lower part the image of a fish, was Dagon. The head and body of a man represent understanding derived from, truth, but the fish-like lower part denotes a natural life in which there is nothing of spiritual good. The fish is symbolic of the natural man, or the natural part of the mind, in which, in this case spiritual truth has been emasculated by natural and worldly philosophies, ideals, and practices.

     In order to have the whole subject before us, let us recall what the Philistines did when they found the ark to be a bringer of disease upon them.

     THE HEMORRHOIDS AND MICE OF GOLD.

     By the advice of the wise men of their nation they made five golden hemorrhoids and five golden mice, and placed them beside the ark upon a new cart. Yoking two cows to the cart, they sent the ark back without a driver, the cows bellowing as they went, because deprived of their calves. Explaining this we read, in the DIVINE PROVIDENCE, (no. 326): "The hemorrhoids signified natural loves, which when separated from spiritual loves are unclean; the mice signified the falsifications of divine truth with which the Church was at that time devasted; the new cart signified new doctrine, but of a natural character,-doctrine made up of natural truths only; the cows signified natural affections,-good natural affections; the gold in the hemorrhoids signified natural loves purified and made good the mice being of gold signified that the falsification of truth was to be corrected by means of good; for gold means good; the lowing of the cows signified that the conversion of the lusts of the natural man into good affections is a difficult process, (or accompanied with distress); the offering of both the cows and the cart for a burnt offering signified that thus the Lord was to be propitiated."

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Then this passage which we have quoted continues with the direction to "join all these things together in a single sentence and make the application." This is left for the reader to do. Let us attempt it. The Lord is to be propitiated, or men are to be forgiven for their departure from spiritual affections and the spiritual truth of revelation by converting their natural affections into spiritual ones, though the process be a difficult one; thus making for themselves a new doctrine in which good is the dominant element. It is only thus that the power of spiritual truth can be restored with those who have received it only in an intellectual way, or who have separated from divine truth the only saving element, which is charity and a life of good. Unless this is done truth will be a source of affliction,-unless natural affections are made spiritual and unless a good life is made the supreme object of all spiritual knowledge.

     Why did the lords of the Philistines advise this peculiar method of returning the ark to Israel rather than some other? It was because the Philistines were a nation among whom the Science of Correspondences had been preserved from ancient times. Their lords were their spiritual leaders. These leaders, knowing some of the genuine truths of religion which had been handed down to them from the Ancient Church, deliberately studied out the spiritual signification of the plan which they devised, thinking that because of the representation of the several details they would avert destruction. And so we see that the Philistines were, as a people, actually of the character to which they correspond in men of all times. They were people among whom there was indeed a knowledge of spiritual things, but who nevertheless cared nothing for a good life according to their knowledge. It was just because they were people of this kind themselves that they could be used in Scripture to represent people of the same kind in the Church which is called Christian. They were a people possessing, as Christians do, a knowledge of spiritual truth or revelation, but who were led in life by evil natural affections and pernicious social ideals. On this account the ark could not remain with them without doing them harm. And it is even so today with the genuine divine truth of the Word and of revelation.

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It cannot abide with those whose social ideals and manner of external life are selfish and worldly, without bringing them to distress.

     The Israelites were no better than these Philistines. Yet the ark belonged with them and blessed them. They were a people more external and worldly than others. And yet they had a code of divine laws and statutes which, when rigidly adhered to in life, brought them into external order and prosperity which were representative of heavenly blessing. And the reason why the ark could be with them without bringing disaster was because they were divinely chosen to represent this truth: that genuine divine truth from the Word can be received and can bring blessing only where the external life is also ruled and regulated according to divine law.

     If we apply this law to the present conditions of life, we shall see that there are still Philistines whose influence is detrimental to the Church. There are still-those who separate faith from charity, not only in thought but in life, and who thus deprive the faithful of the power of divine revelation. The Christian world is characterized by the same two things that characterized the Philistines of Canaan. It has, like Dagon, an intellectuality which resembles the head and body of a man, but underlying its common life and dominating its social and civic ideals there are multitudes of falsified truths, (the mice that devasted Philistea), and also legions of impure and selfish natural affections, (the hemorrhoids that infested them and their lords). The natural life of the world, that is, the social, civic, and political developments, are not in keeping with the enlighteetnment of the age, but it bears spiritually the semblance of a fish.

     Yet there are intellectual leaders like the lords of the Philistines who can advise what is to be done in order to avert the destruction of Christian society. They have some intellectual knowledge of spiritual things, or some spiritual scientifics, by which they may make capital among the simple and upright. They know, in other words, that golden hemorrhoids are to be made, and golden mice. They know that natural affections are to be converted into spiritual ones.

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But their idea of the manner in which this is to be done is false, and they do not know with what difficulty; for they think that it is done by the mere acknowledgment of the vicarious sacrifice of Christ by which His merit is bestowed upon them in a state in which there is no innocence, signified by the cows being deprived of their calves. In the Christian world, where innocence is rare, and repentance is almost unknown, spiritual truths, being held in a purely scientific and intellectual way, are but golden images of interior falsities and unclean affections. But these images being sent bark to the camp of Israel signifies that with the faithful such natural affections and thoughts are converted into spiritual ones, after the distress of temptations which is signified by the bellowing of the cows.

     THE COWS AND THE CART SACRIFICED.

     It is for those in the New Church, where divine truth is acknowledged, not only in the Word but in doctrine drawn from it, to do this. The cows and the new cart were offered in sacrifice by the Israelites when they arrived. Good natural affections and impulses can be made subservient to the Lord only by those who are spiritual. And a new doctrine of natural life, new principles of action, new social ideals, that is, the new cart, must also be put at the Lord's service in sacrifice,-a new cart made by the Philistines, it is true, but accepted and adopted by the Israelites. Those who have the ark, the truth of divine revelation, must do from religion and for the sake of the Church the same sort of charity and service to society that other men do from selfish affections and the love of supereminence and dominion. The ark cannot dwell with the Philistines, but the cows and the cart of the Philistines can be used by Israel in sacrifice or service to the Lord. Divine truth of revelation cannot be received in the heart by those of unclean natural affections and worldly life, bat the outward life and natural truths of those who have not divine revelation can be used by those who have it.

     The Philistines did well to return the ark to Israel. They acted from a true perception of the fitness of things. So the spiritual Philistine, or any man of the Church to the extent he has been a Philistine, or any man who is more or less regenerate as to the things he thinks and the aims he holds dear, but who has not become regenerate as to his natural and social life,-he also does well to devote himself to the making of a new cart, that is, a new regimen, a new program of outward conduct, to which he may yoke his hitherto unbridled natural desires and affections,-such a program and scheme of conduct as shall be fitting to bear the ark of the Lord back to its place of power in Israel,-such motives and rules of natural life as may serve as a true vehicle of divine revelation.

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This is the chief business of life for all who have been instructed in the doctrine of divine truth revealed to the New Church; it is; the very purpose for which most of all we are placed in the world.

     The importance of remodeling our lives in accordance with a genuine spiritual internal thought, is strikingly illustrated by remarkable comparisons given in the TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, n. 600:

     "A regenerated internal man, with whom the external man is not regenerate, may be compared to a bird flying in air without resting place on dry land, but only in a swamp, where it is attacked by serpents and frogs, till its flight ends in death.

     "He may be compared to a swan in mid-ocean unable to reach the shore and make a nest; so that the eggs she lays sink in the water and are devoured by fishes.

     "He may be compared to a soldier upon a wall, which is undermined beneath him burying him in its ruin.

     "He is like a beautiful tree transplanted into filthy land, where troops of worms eat up its roots so that it withers and dies.

     "And again he may be compared to a house without a foundation, and a column without a pedestal.

     "Such is the internal of man when reformed by divine revelation, but when the external man is not reformed along with it; for it then has no means of directing itself to do good."

     WHY THE ARK WAS RETURNED TO ISRAEL.

     Finally it is to be noted that the vicissitudes of the ark until it reached its final resting place in Shiloh and in Zion represent spiritual temptations. Do we not know what these are?

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Hardly anyone knows unless he knows it from the Doctrine of the New Church; and not even then unless he has actually experienced them. Temptations are possible only with the spiritual Israelites. When the Israelites lost possession of the ark it represented severe temptation, a state in which disorders of natural life cause the truths of revelation to be as it were taken away. The Philistines, on the other hand, are those who are not able to withstand spiritual temptations. Hence the ark could not remain with them without disaster. The modern Philistines are those whose social ideals and principles of life are the result of a false religion. Hence we have this striking teaching in the CHRISTIAN RELIGION, that: "No one is in truth but him who goes to the Lord directly, who rejects the former faith, and embraces the new; hence no one has been admitted into spiritual temptations in all the ages, reckoning from the time when the Council of Nice introduced the belief in three Gods."

     It is only the men and women who can reject the false teaching of Christian Churches and who can embrace the new teaching who can approach the Lord in spirit directly. Those who cannot do this are not able to endure spiritual temptations. They are the Philistines with whom the ark cannot remain. With them the internal man is not reformed.

     But those who can reject the false religion of our times and embrace the New, are the true sons of Israel. For with these the internal can be and is reformed. The ark belongs with them. They can endure spiritual temptation and profit by it. They call and do approach the Lord directly. Nevertheless the all-important matter lies before them of purifying the natural life also. They must convert purely natural affections into spiritual ones, although the process is a difficult one, although the lowing of the cows be heard. They must accept the new cart of the Philistine's to which the cows are yoked, that is, they must accept for themselves a new doctrine of natural life, and offer it together with their natural desires as a sacrifice to the Lord. Unless the men and women of the New Church do this, they will be like the swan in mid-ocean that cannot reach the shore; like the soldier upon the wall that gives way beneath him and swallows him up in its ruin.

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They will lack the means of directing themselves to the doing of good.

     This involves spiritual temptation. No one has in reality been subjected to this temptation in all the Christian centuries since the Council of Nice, when the direct approach to the Lord was destroyed by the introduction of the idea of three Gods. It is the great privilege of the New Church alone to endure this temptation, this trial on account of the ark, or for the sake of the divine truth of heaven which has been given it. It is only with those who have this truth that natural affections can be converted into spiritual affections. But it will never be done until the doctrine of revealed truth is directed to the doing of good in the New Church.

     CONTRAST BETWEEN THE PHILISTINE AND THE ISRAELITE.

     In short, the situation is this: the man of the world, the modern Philistine, knows from common Christian teaching that the natural desires and thoughts common to us all must be put at the service of spiritual truth and spiritual ideals, but he does not know the way to do this, for he has not spiritual truth. On the other hand, the man of the New Church has the divine truth which is the essential for the re-birth of the internal man, but he lacks the means of directing himself to the doing of genuine good, unless he adopts for himself an order of life among men which is beyond the reproach even of the man of the world.

     To accomplish this one must undergo spiritual trials; for it is a difficult process to convert the natural affections, in which self reigns, into spiritual affections in which the love of revealed truth reigns. This is the lowing of the young cows as they, carried the ark back to its proper place. And yet this process is difficult only in proportion as we have given free rein to selfishness. For we read again in the DOCTRINE OF LIFE: "Such combat is not grievous except to those who have given free rein to their concupiscences and have deliberately indulged them. To others it is not grievous; and should they resist evil in intention only once in a week or a fortnight, they would perceive a change." (No. 27.)

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     THE CIVILIZED WORLD IS PHILISTINE.

     The civilized or Christian world, as we all may recognize, is seeking a reformation and a natural life of good which it cannot find without the help of the Lord, or without the divine truth which He has revealed to the New Church. From a false religion false natural and social ideas have been foisted upon civilization. The world has been laboring under false ideals of education, in which, for one thing, there is no true knowledge of the character and relations of the sexes. False ideals of marriage and of political equality have become common. False ideals of political economy are reaping their terrible results. False principles of art, science, law, medicine have gained power to exercise each its own kind of professional tyranny over the freedom of the individual. These things have risen up like a flood over all the nations in which the Christian Church has held sway. Note the case of that nation which came of late to hold the first place in intellectual leadership and natural science; it was the first to crystallize the doctrine of political expediency, the doctrine of might and frightfulness, the doctrine of hatred toward all that oppose and question. All these things are the result of the Philistine and his god Dagon. It is the work of men whose ideas of spiritual things are taken entirely from their own human intelligence. The face and body of Dagon had the semblance of a man, but the lower parts the semblance of a fish, which represents natural life devoid of charity, full of the errors of human reason and the evils of supereminence and dominion.

     Against such a state divine revelation, the ark of the covenant, the sword of the Lord, is appointed to do battle: As Jeremiah said, "O thou sword of the Lord, how long will it be e'er thou be quiet? . . . How can it be quiet, seeing the Lord hath given it a charge against Askelon?"

     Surely the world war is the ark among the Philistines, or the sword of the Lord fighting against the intellectual conceit of the world, and the reign of natural loves in which there is no charity. It answers to the Lord's description of the consummation of the present age. From it a new and better order of social and civil life is doubtless to be established. The Philistine in ourselves and in the world of nations will be humbled.

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And the presence and power of the ark, or divine truth from the Word, will be restored to the faithful in heart. What is merely a flood of natural distress and physical suffering to the Philistines of our day, will prove a spiritual temptation to those of the Church, in which this hope is the beginning of victory: that those of the New Church, to whom the ark belongs, will think more and care more for a life of good, without which all knowledge of divine truth is powerless; that we shall find new means of directing ourselves to the doing of good.
He who loves his Country 1918

He who loves his Country              1918

     "He who loves his Country, and from good will does good to it, he in the other life loves the Kingdom of the Lord, for there the Kingdom of the Lord is to him the Country. And he who loves the Kingdom of the Lord, he loves the Lord, because the Lord is the all in all the things of His Kingdom." A. C. 6821.

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FRENCH NATION AND THE GALLICAN CHURCH 1918

FRENCH NATION AND THE GALLICAN CHURCH       Rev. C. TH. ODHNER       1918

     In the seventeenth chapter of the Apocalypse, which treats of the woman sitting upon the scarlet beast, that is, the Roman Catholic religion and its infernal dominion, it is stated that "the ten horns" upon the beast "are ten kings, who have received no kingdom as yet, but they receive power as kings one hour with the beast." (verse 12.)

     "By this is signified the Word as to power from Divine Truth with those who are in the kingdom of France, and who are not fully under the yoke of papal dominion; among whom, however, there has not yet been formed a church fully separated from the Roman Catholic religion. . . . The church with those in France is said not yet to be separated from this religion, because it coheres with it in externals, but not so much in internals. The externals are formalities, and the internals are essentials. That they still adhere to it, is because there are so many monasteries there, and because the priesthood there is under the authority of the pontiff; and these are in all formality according to the papal edicts and statutes; and hence very many are still in the essentials of that religion; on which account the church there is not yet separated." (A. R. 741.)

     "These things are said, because they [the French] acknowledge that the Word is Divinely inspired, and hence that a church is a church from the Word. But still they do not as yet draw Divine truth from it, except these general truths, that God-alone is to be worshiped, and not any man as God, and that the power given to Peter is not in itself Divine, and yet that it is Divine to open and shut heaven, which is not in any man's own power. . . . That they do not go further, and draw the doctrinals of faith and life from the Word, is of the Lord's Divine Providence, because they still adhere in externals, or in formalities, to the Roman Catholic religion, lest truth and falsity should be mixed together, and thence an interior strife should arise, which is like fermentation that produces confusion." (A. R. 741.)

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     "They do, indeed, acknowledge the pontiff as the head of the church; but they say his government and dominion over the church is not like that of the head over a body, but is like a supreme government over a body,-a government which does not govern and rule from itself, but from God through the Word; and that it is hence to be obeyed; consequently, that the interpretation of the Word does not belong to the pope's arbitrary determination alone, as has come to pass, because thus the Divine authority of the Word is perverted and perishes." (A. R. 742)

     These teachings are further supplemented in the following passages:-

     "Within Babylon are those in the kingdom of France who have not taken away from the Lord the power of saving men, nor Divine holiness from the Word, and ascribed both of these to some vicar; as may be evident from the contest of the Gallican Church with the Roman, which has lasted a long time, and is still going on." (A. E. 1070.)

     "The Gallican Church acknowledges the Word as Divine Truth, and attributes Divine inspiration to it in relation to those things which are the means of salvation." (A. E. 1071)

     "It has been provided that there should be a nation among the Roman Catholics, which has not Passed under the yoke of the pope's domination, and which holds the Word to be holy. This is the noble French nation." (D. P. 258)

     What is taught here concerning the state of religion in France may be confirmed in abundance from the history of the Gallican Church and of the French nation as a whole.

     "The contest of the Gallican Church with the Roman, which has lasted a long time, and is still going on."

     A long time, indeed. More than a thousand years, in fact.

     The independent spirit of France in its relations with Rome may be traced even beyond the Christian era; to the time of Julius Caesar, who preferred to make friends and allies, rather than slaves, of the Gallic tribes which had been conquered with so much difficulty.

     This policy of toleration and indulgence towards Gaul was followed by nearly all the Roman emperors.

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The Gauls, while quickly adopting the Latin language and civilization, never became Romans in spirit, but retained the characteristics of their race. Roman Gaul was the chief bulwark o the empire against the dreaded barbarians of the north, and the conquered tribes before long became the protectors of the conquerors.

     "In the first century of the empire, Gaul raised Romans to the imperial throne; in the second century she supplied emperors herself, and in the third century she aimed at separating herself from the crumbling empire, and at forming an independent Gallo-Roman monarchy." (Michelet's HISTORY OF FRANCE, page 55.)

     As the love of universal dominion, which ever has characterized the Church of Rome, is a distinct inheritance from the spirit of the Roman Republic and Empire, so the subsequent relations of the Gallican Church to the Roman are but the continuation of ancient political relations, transferred to a more internal plane.

     From the very beginning, the Christian Church in Gaul was anything but Italian in character. In its origin it was not Roman but Graeco-Asiatic. St. Photinus, the reputed founder of Christianity in France, came as a missionary from; Asia Minor; and Irenaeus, "the light of the Western Church," the high priest of Gallic Christianity, was a disciple of Polycarp in Smyrna.

     The teachings of this great and sound Father made a profound and lasting impression upon the church in Gaul, and imbued it with a tendency of thought, which leaned more towards the Greek and Alexandrian theology than to that of Rome. While the latter early inclined towards placing ecclesiastical tradition above the Scriptures, the Church of Gaul, with Irenaeus as its head, upheld the Word of God as the only authority of doctrine in the church. Wrote Irenaeus: "We have not received the knowledge of the way of our salvation by any others than those by whom the Gospel has been brought to us; which Gospel they first preached, and afterwards, by the will of God, committed to writing, that it might be, for time to come, the foundation and pillar of our faith."

     Compare with this teaching the statement of Swedenborg that, "the Gallican Church acknowledges the Word as Divine Truth and attributes Divine inspiration to it in relation to those things which are the means of salvation." (A. E. 1071.)

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     Thus we may see how first states enter into all succeeding ones.

     Later on, the liberal and enlightened theology of Origen found many and earnest disciples in Gaul, as did also the teachings of Pelagius, who boldly proclaimed the freedom of the human will, versus the predestinarian tendencies of Tertullian, Jerome; Augustinus, and the early Latin Church in general. Pelagianism and semi-Pelagianism were never eradicated in France. Their continued influence is clearly manifested in the attitude of the intrepid Bishop Hincmar of Rheims, who, in opposition to the predestinarian heresy of Godeschalcus, taught "that God wills the salvation of all men; that some will be saved through the gift of divine grace; that others are lost, owing to their own demerits. Christ suffered for all whoever does not appropriate these sufferings has himself to blame."

     This same love of freedom in spiritual things survived in France through all the vicissitudes of the Dark Ages, and gave birth successively to the reformatory movements of the Albigenses, the Waldenses, the Huguenots, and the Jansenists-all of distinctively French origin. But the growth of Gallicanism was of a political as well as ecclesiastical nature.

     In Italy, ever since the final division of the Roman Empire after the death of Theodosius, the Roman pontiff had been the chief political as well as spiritual authority. No worldly potentate resided in the "eternal city" to dictate the policy of the church. Not so, however, in the Byzantine Empire, or in the new, barbaric kingdom of the Franks in Gaul.

     The conversion of Clovis, of the battlefield of Tolbiacum (496 A. D.), was, indeed, a triumph for the Catholic Church over the rival institutions of Arianism amongst: the Burgundjans, the Visigoths, and the Suevi, but the Frankish kings did not, on that account, become the servants of Rome. The popes, who owed the victory of Catholicism to Clovis, and their temporal power to Pepin and Charlemagne, did not venture, for some time, to play the lords over their own benefactors and protectors.

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True, the majority of the Merovingian and Carolingian kings were woefully priest-ridden, but the prelates who "rode" them were Frankish priests, and generally men connected by blood with the reigning dynasties.

     During the weak reign of the later Carolingians the popes did, indeed, attempt to dominate over both king and church in France, but on various occasions met with vigorous and sometimes successful opposition from the Frankish bishops. Foremost among these defenders of the spiritual liberty of the French nation stands the striking figure of Hincmar, Archbishop of Rheims (845-882), who well may be considered the father of the Gallican Church.

     There reigned at this time over the papal See one of the most energetic and crafty of all the popes, Nicholas I., who may be regarded as the founder of the real papacy. He was one of the first popes to claim the right to make and unmake kings and emperors, and was the first pronounced advocate of the dogma of papal infallibility. To reach his ends, he would use any means, however base, and he sought to establish his claims especially by giving papal sanction and authority to the "Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals," a colossal and shameless fraud, consisting of numerous forged letters and pretended bulls of the earlier popes.

     Against the claims and attempted usurpations of Nicholas and his successor, Hadrian II., Hincmar of Rheims offered a life-long and manly opposition. He utterly refused to acknowledge the authenticity of the "Decretals," stood firmly by the side of the king, Charles the Eald, when Hadrian-tried to drive this monarch from the throne of France, and gave the pope to understand that the French Church made a wide distinction between spiritual and secular power. Under the counsel of Hincmar the French bishops continued to obey the papal mandates only as far as was consistent with the ancient rights of Gallic synods and national laws.

     The teachings thus inseminated by Hincmar of Rheims were subsequently chrystallized during the reign of Louis IX., who was not less of a patriot than a "saint." Though, like all the French kings since the time of Clovis, he was entitled "the oldest son of the Church," Louis was regarded at Rome as "a good Catholic, but a bad papist."

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To defend his kingdom against the ever-growing claims and pecuniary extortions of Pome, he issued his famous "Pragmatic Sanction," in 1268, which has been called "the palladium of Gallicanism." In this important document he prohibited "the levying and collecting of the pecuniary exactions and heavy charges which the Court of Rome has imposed, or may hereafter impose upon the church of our kingdom, and by which it has been miserably impoverished, unless it be for a reasonable and very urgent cause, and by the free and express consent of the king and of the church," and declared that "promotions and dispositions of prelacies, dignities, and other ecclesiastical benefices and offices, whatsoever they may be, shall be made according to the institution of common law, of the councils, and of our ancient fathers."

     The spirit of Gallicanism was again strongly manifested in the disputes between Philip the Fair and Boniface VIII., when the three estates of France unanimously supported the king in his opposition to the extravagant claims of the pope. The whole kingdom was then laid under interdict, but the dispute culminated in the arrest and death of Boniface, 1303, and in subsequent "Babylonish captivity" of the papacy, at Avignon, for more than seventy years.

     A second "Pragmatic Sanction" was adopted by the French bishops at the Synod of Bourges, in 1438, in which it is declared: "1. That the pope has no authority in the kingdom of France over anything concerning temporals. 2. That, though the pope is acknowledged as sovereign lord in spirituals, his power even in these is restricted and controlled by the canons and regulations of the ancient councils of the church, received in the kingdom."

     The contest between the Gallican Church and the Church of Rome grew even more earnest during the two following centuries, the French parliament steadfastly upholding the principles of Gallicanism, even when kings and prelates were disposed to sacrifice the national freedom for private ends. The "Gallican liberties" were greatly advanced by the councils of Pisa, Constance, Basel, and Trent, and were most clearly formulated by Pithou, the great French authority on canonical law (1596).

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Finally, in 1682, under the reign of Louis XIV., who was a most ardent Catholic, but a lukewarm papist, the seigneurs and bishops of France, led by Bossuet, adopted the celebrated "Declaration of the Gallican liberties," which may be regarded as the "Magna Charta" of Gallicanism. This document, which consists of four propositions, declares that "the jurisdiction of St. Peter and his successors in the Roman See, although divinely bestowed, is confined to things spiritual and appertaining to salvation, and does not extend to civil or temporal affairs." It denies that the pope has any right to depose civil rulers or absolve their subjects from the oath of fidelity; upholds the superiority of a general council over the pope, and concludes thus:-

     III. That the use of the apostolic power must be regulated in following the canons made by the spirit of God, and consecrated by the general respect of all the world; that the rules, the manners, and the constitutions received in the kingdom and in the Gallican Church, ought to be maintained, and the usages of our fathers remain unassailable; and that the greatness of the holy apostolic see itself requires that the laws and customs established with the consent of that respectable see and the churches remain invariable.

     IV. Although the pope has the chief post in the questions of faith, and his decrees regard all the churches, and each church in particular, yet his judgment is still not unalterable, until the consent of the church intervene.

     This bold declaration was sent to all the churches of France, and to the pope himself, Innocent XI., who replied by having the document publicly burned at Rome by the common hangman, and by refusing to sanction the consecration of any new bishops in France until the four propositions had been annulled. This forced the king to make some concessions to Rome, but the "declaration of the Gallican liberties" remained in force, none the less, until the outbreak of the French Revolution. The "contest" was thus "still going on" in the time of Swedenborg.

     In the meantime a new element had been infused into Gallicanism and its contest with Rome, i. e., the evangelical and reformatory teachings of the celebrated Cornelius Jansen (1638).

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His doctrine of the necessity of a faith founded upon the Word of God, was directed chiefly against the Jesuits and their salvation by-merit theology. While thus striving for a doctrinal reformation within the Catholic Church, Jansen was firmly opposed to any external separation from it, and this policy caused a ready reception of his tenets among the upholders of Gallicanism, who still desired "to cohere with the Church of Rome in externals, though not so much in internals." These Jansenists, although bitterly persecuted by the Jesuits and condemned by the papal bull "Unigenitus," were still very numerous among the French Clergy at the time of Swedenborg, and are mentioned in the APOCALYPSE REVEALED

     "It may be seen from this, that by the ten horns are ten kings, etc., is signified the Word as to Power from Divine Truths with those who are in the kingdom of France, and in some other places; also those who are called Jansenists, and are not fully under the yoke of the papal dominion." (n. 740)

     The atheism of the "Reign of Terror" caused Gallicanism to fall into disgrace among the clergy of France, and a powerful ultra montane or reactionary party grew up, which has remained the dominant element in the French Catholic Church until very recent times. After the revocation Of the "Concordat" and the separation of State and Church, in 1905, the French clergy became more than ever submissive to Rome, but during the present war the loyalty to the pope has grown very lukewarm among French Catholics, owing to the equivocating "neutrality" of the papal court. The French nation, as a State, is free forever from the Roman incubus, but the establishment of a French Catholic Church, independent of the pope, may be considered as a rather doubtful possibility.

     Judging from the Heavenly Doctrine and from History, it seems to us that the French national genius is of character intermediate between the English and the German types, intermediate also between Protestant intellectualism and Roman Catholic formalism, inclining by turns now to the one and now to the other. While declining to hazard any opinion as to the exact correspondence of the French nation in the European Gorand Man, we would suggest a comparison of the French character with that degree or function in the human mind, which is called, in the Writings, "the interior sensual" or "the imaginative" degree.

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     The French people is a mixture of heterogeneous elements, which, in the course of ages, have been welded into a very homogeneous whole. In this nation the effusiveness, vain-gloriousness, and sensuousness of the Gaul are blended with the thoughtfulness and speculativeness of northern races. Hence, we have that imaginativeness, which seems to us to be the key to the French character, and which, if our surmise is correct, will explain the artistic faculties of the nation, its quick and creative perception of form and beauty, its undisputed queenly sway in the realm of taste, fashion, and belies letters. In spite of an inclination toward superficial and theatrical show, which the Church of Rome has fostered with the French, there exists beneath or within a current of common sense and rational thought, by which the nation is kept in balance, so as to recover quickly from its numerous faux de pas.

     Present indications give but little hope for any truly Christian reformatory movement among the French in the near future, for worldly loves and disgust with Catholic as well as Protestant inconsistencies have caused an almost universal indifference towards any spiritual things among the men, if not the women, of France. But even this indifference and skepticism is very often affected or superficial. A deep-rooted belief in le bon Dieu, is still the basis, even though often the sum total, of the national faith.

     May we not regard the divine words concerning the "ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet" as involving a prophecy that some day they will receive their kingdom? When once the turbulent period of fermentation, revolution, war and vastation is over, and the nation shall have settled down into order and peace, have we not divine reasons for hoping that then there will be established with the noble French nation a New and truly Christian Church, which shall be fully separated from idolatrous Babylon?

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     We are taught in the BRIEF EXPOSITION, n. 108, that "the Roman Catholics can be introduced into the New Jerusalem, that is, the New Church, more easily than the Reformed," and this because the former are not so interiorly confirmed in falsities of faith as the latter. Wherefore, "if the Roman Catholics will approach God the Saviour Himself, not mediately, but immediately, and also if they be allowed the two elements in the Holy Eucharist, they will receive a living faith instead of a dead faith, more easily than the Reformed, and will be brought to the gates of the New Jerusalem or the New Church by the Lord through the angels, and be introduced with joy and exultation."

     This teaching would seem to refer to the Catholics of France, in the first instance, and may be confirmed from various episodes in the history of the New Church in that country, but notably from the movement begun about the year 1831, by Abbe Francis Ledru, cure of Leves, near Chartres. This French priest, on receiving the doctrines of the New Church, separated himself from the Roman Catholic Church and instituted his sympathizing parishioners into a "French Catholic Church," which, while acknowledging the fundamental principles of the New Jerusalem, retained many of the Catholic ceremonies and usages. By this means Ledru succeeded in winning the support of the whole village of Leves for his movement, and gradually introduced more and more of the distinctive principles of the New Church in his teachings and services. In the year 1834 he changed the name of his chapel to "The New Christian Church," and openly avowed his faith in the New Revelation given through Swedenborg. On his refusing to obey repeated episcopal injunctions, a military force was sent to arrest him, whereupon the entire population of Leves flew to arms in his defence. A solemn investigation was then begun, but such was the commotion in the country round about, that the authorities thought best to leave the cure alone. The work continued to prosper, and the English New Church Liturgy, translated into French and published by M. Ledru, was adopted by the parish in 1836. Unfortunately, the flock was gradually dispersed after the death of the pastor on Aug, 26, 1837. (See the INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY, 1835, p. 562; 1836, p. 269; 1838, pp. 322-325.

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MR. BENADE'S REPORT ON THE PRIESTHOOD 1918

MR. BENADE'S REPORT ON THE PRIESTHOOD              1918

     (Continued from N. C. LIFE, Feb., p. 95.)

     Our time will not admit of a separate and detailed examination of the functions and duties of the Priesthood just enumerated, nor is it requisite for the purposes of this report that we should enter into such an examination As the doctrine of the New Church is the Spiritual sense of the Word, and as this is drawn from the literal sense by the Lord Himself for the use of this Church, whatever instruction is given in the Doctrine concerning the Priesthood and its functions will be what is spiritually meant by the literal prescriptions which we have noticed; will be contained within, rest upon, and be confirmed by them. We propose, therefore, at this point, to present, in as small a compass as may be compatible with the needs of our subject, the doctrine of the Church in respect to the functions of the priestly office.

     I. Government.

     "The Lord as a King governs all things in the Universe, as to every particular, by virtue of Divine Truth, and as a Priest by virtue of Divine Good. Divine Truth is the absolute order of His universal kingdom, all the laws of which are truths, or eternal verities. Divine Good is the absolute essential of order, all things of which are of mercy. Each is attributed to the Lord. If only Divine Truth could be attributed to him, no mortal could be saved, for truths condemn every one to hell; but Divine Good, which is of mercy, elevates from hell to heaven. These are the things which were represented by kings and priests in the Jewish Church; and which also Melchizedek represented, as King of Salem and Priest of the most High God." A. C. 1728, 2015, etc. "All the laws of order, by which the Lord governs the universe as king, are truths; but all the laws by which the lord governs the universe as Priest, and by which He also rules truths themselves, are goods." A. C. 2015.

     "All kings represent the Lord as to divine truth, and, in like manner, all priests represent the Lord as to divine good." A. C. 3670, 1664, 9809, 9989, 10152, 10279, etc.

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     "The priesthood is a representative of the Lord as to all the work of Salvation." A. C. 9809, 10017.

     "The common good exists from the goods of use performed by individuals, and the goods of use performed by individuals subsist from the common good." Doc. Char. 62.

     "The common good consists of these things,-that in a society or kingdom, there be, I. What is divine among the people." Doc. Char. 65.

     "The divine exists there through the ministry." Doc. Char. 66.

     "By ministries are meant priestly offices, and the duties annexed to them." Doc. Char. 69.

     "They who belong to the ministry provide for the existence of things divine." Doc. Char. 70.

     "Priests are appointed to administer those things which belong to the divine law and worship." H. D. 319; A. C. 10799.

     "There are two things among men which ought to be in order; viz., the things which are of Heaven, and the things which are of the World. The things which are of Heaven are called ecclesiastical, and those which are of the World are called civil." H. D. 311; A. C. 10789.

     "Order cannot be maintained in the World without Governors, (absque Praefectis), who are to observe all things that are done according to order, and all things that are done contrary to order; and who are to reward those who live according to order, and to punish those who live contrary to order, etc." H. D. 312; A. C. 10790.

     "There must therefore be governors, to keep the assemblages of men in order, who are skilled in the laws, wise, and who fear God. Among the Governors there must be order, lest any one, from caprice or ignorance, should permit evils which are contrary to order, and thereby destroy it; which is guarded against when there are superior and inferior governors, amongst whom there is
subordination." H. D. 313; A. C. 10792.

     "Governors over those things among men that relate to Heaven are called Priests, (Sacerdotes), and their office is called the Priesthood, (Sacerdotium). But Governors over those things among men that relate to the World, or over civil affairs, are called magistrates, and their Chief, when such is the form of government, is called a King." H. D. 314; A. C. 10793

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     "Priests ought not to claim to themselves any power over the souls of men, inasmuch as they cannot discern the real state of the interiors, or of the heart; much less ought they to claim the power of opening and shutting heaven, because that power belongs to the Lord alone." H. D. 316; A. C. 10795

     "He who believes otherwise than the priest, and makes no disturbance, ought to be left in peace; but he who makes disturbance, must be separated, for this also is agreeable to the order, for the sake of which the Priesthood is established." A. C. 10798; H. D. 318.

     II. Worship.

     "The man who is not acquainted with the Arcana of Heaven supposes that worship is from himself, because he thinks and adores; yet the worship which is from man himself is not worship, but that which is from the Lord with man. For love and faith constitute worship; and since love and faith are from the Lord, worship also is from Him neither can man elevate any thing from himself into heaven, but the Lord elevates it; in man is merely the faculty, that it may be effected, with which he is given during regeneration, (6148), but all the active and living principle of that faculty is from the Lord." A. C. 10203, 10283, 10284, 10289, 10299, etc. A. E. 696.

     "Inasmuch as the priesthood was representative of the Lord as to all the work of salvation derived from the Divine Love, therefore, also, all divine worship was of the office of the priest, which worship at that time chiefly consisted in offering burnt offerings, sacrifices, and meat-offerings, and in arranging the bread upon the table of faces, in kindling the lamps every day, and in burning incense, consequently, in expiating the people, and in remitting sins; moreover, also, in explaining the law divine, and in teaching, on which occasion they were at the same time prophets. That Aaron with his sons performed all these things is manifested from the institution of the priesthood in Moses." A. C. 9809, (9806).

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     "That, by the bells of gold," (on the borders of the robe of the Ephod of Aaron), "are signified all things of doctrine and of worship derived from good passing to those who are of the Church, appears from the signification of bells, as denoting all things of doctrine and of worship passing to those who are of the Church; that they are derived from good, is signified by their being of gold, for gold signifies good." A. C. 9921.

     "By Aaron was represented the Lord, and by his office all the work of salvation, and on the part of man, worship, (which worship, that it was representative, and that by representative worship there is conjunction with the heavens; also what was the representative of a Church with, the Israelitish and Judaic nation, and that the conjunction of the Lord of Heaven with man at that time was by representative, is abundantly shown in A. C. 9280, 9320, 9457, 9481, 9576, 9577, etc.)

     "Hence, also, it was that Aaron was clothed with garments which represented heavenly things, when he ministered in things holy; and that if he had done otherwise, he would die; especially if he should go to such holy ministry whilst the people were ignorant of it, (without the bells, and without their hearing his voice), for with the people was a representative of the Church, and with Aaron a representative of the Lord, from whom, and to whom, is the all of worship." A. C. 9928.

     "The reason why Holiness to the Lord was engraven on the plate of gold, and was set on the mitre on the forehead of Aaron, was, because hereby it was in the view of all the people, and hence there was a holy principle in their minds when they were in worship, and this holy principle corresponded to the holy principle which is in the universal heaven, which is the Divine Human of the Lord, for this, as was said, makes heaven. What is in the common view of all the people, and thereby reigns universally in minds, this enters into the all of thought and affection, and hence into the all of worship, and affects it, (see 6159, 6571, 7648, 8067, 8865); wherefore, when that most holy principle was continually before the eyes, and hence reigned universally in minds, it sanctfied all things of worship." A. C. 9932, 9933-9940.

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     "That by the entering in, (of Aaron and his sons), to the tent of the Assembly, or, 'in approaching to the Altar in the Holy Place,' are signified in worship, representative of all things of heaven and the Church, . . . and of the Lord Himself, or worship of the Lord as to Divine Truth and Divine Good. Heaven and the Church are receptacles of the Divine Truth proceeding from the lord." A. C. 9963 and 9964. A. R. 277.

     "Priests are appointed to administer those things which belong to the Divine law and worship." H. D. 319, A. C. 10799.

     "As the Ecclesiastical Order, on Earth, minister those things which appertain to the Lord's Priestly Office, that is, which are of His Love, thus also those things which are of benediction, it is proper that marriages be consecrated by His Ministers; as on this occasion, also, they are the principal witnesses, that the consent to the covenant may be heard, accepted, confirmed, and thus established by them." C. L. 308.

     "After beholding these sad and hideous spectacles, I looked around, and saw two angels in conversation together, standing at a small distance from me; one was clad in a woollen robe that shone bright with flaming purple, under which he wore a tunic of fine linen which glittered to the sight; the other had on like garments, but of a scarlet color, and on his head a mitre, the right side off which was set with rubies. I walked towards them, and greeting them with the salutation of peace, I respectfully asked, 'For what purpose are ye here below?' They replied, 'We are come down from heaven, by the Lord's commission, to talk with thee of the blessed lot of those who desire to rule from the love of uses. We are worshippers of the Lord; I, who speak with thee, am Prince of a Society in heaven, and my companion here is the Chief Priest, (summus sacerdos), in the same Society. And the Prince said that he was the servant of his Society; because he served it by being in the exercise of use; and his companion said, that he was a Minister, (Minister), of the Church there, because in serving them he ministered the holy rites, (sancta), for the use of their souls," etc. T. C. R. 661.

     III. Justification.

     "The Shepherd, or He who feeds, is one who teaches and leads to the good of Charity, and the flock is he who learns and is led." A. C. 4713. Cf. A. C. 343, 3795, 1571, 1572.

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     "To feed signifies to instruct. Inasmuch as it was customary to call those who teach, Pastors, (Shepherds), and those who learn, a flock; therefore also it is among the received forms of speech to speak of feeding, when there is discourse concerning preaching, or concerning instruction from doctrine or the Word; but this is done comparatively and not significatively, as in the Word. The ground and reason why feeding in the Word is spoken significatively is, because when there is discourse in heaven concerning instruction, and concerning doctrine from the Word, at such times in the World of Spirits, where spiritual things appear; naturally, there are represented to the sight meadows green with grass, with herbs, and with flowers, and also flocks therein, and this with all variety, according to the quality of the discourse in heaven respecting instruction and doctrine." A. C. 5201.

     "Israel, in the genuine sense, is the Spiritual Church, and the good which is of that Church is the good of truth; for the members of that Church are instructed concerning good by truth, and when they do according to the truth in which they are instructed, then that truth is called good; this good is the good which is called the good of truth, and is represented by Israel." A. C. 6277

     "The Divine Truth immediately proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, cannot be heard and perceived by any man, nor even by any angel; therefore, to the intent that it may be heard and perceived, there must be mediation, which mediation is effected by heaven, and next by the angels and spirits attendant on man. . . . The ultimate mediation is by the spirit who is attendant on man, who flows in either into his thought, or by a living voice. The spiritual sense of the Word is not perceptible to man, only so far as it can be presented and expounded by such things as are of the World and of nature, etc." A. C. 6986.

     "Aaron denotes the Lord as to the Divine Good, or the Priesthood; but, before he was initiated into the Priesthood, he denotes the doctrine of good and truth; wherefore, also, it is said, that he shall be to Moses for a mouth, and Moses to him for a god, for by Moses is represented the Lord as to the Divine Truth which proceeds immediately from Him, hence, by Aaron the Divine Truth which proceeds mediately from the Lord, which truth is the doctrine of good and truth, (6982),

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. . . the truth which Aaron represents is that which can be both heard and perceived by man, hence Aaron is called the mouth, and Moses his god; and hence Aaron is called a Levite, for by a Levite is signified the doctrine of good and truth of the Church which minister and is serviceabl'e to the Priesthood." A. C. 6998.

     "The doctrine represented by Aaron denotes preaching, for this is of doctrine, that is of him who represents doctrine, and who is called the mouth, that is, utterance." A. C. 6999, (6987).

     "The truth of doctrine proceeds immediately from the Lord, (7009), and is such as is heard by angels and by men, (Ib.); and thereby is illustration and consequent confirmation of truths." A. C. 7012, 7053, 7064, 7089, 7231, 7380, 7381, 7382, A. R. 902, 903, H. and H. 221-227.

     "'And it shall be upon Aaron to minister,' hereby is signified a representative of the Lord, whilst in worship and evangelization. . . . By worship is signified everything representative of worship derived from the good of love and the truths of faith; for worship derived from those principles is truly worship, whereas worship without those principles is as a shell without a kernel, and as a body without a soul. . . . The reason why it, (the Ministry of Aaron), also denotes evangelization is, because by evangelization are meant all things which in the Word treat of the Lord, and all things which in worship represented Him; for evangelization is annunciation concerning the Lord, concerning His Coming, and concerning those things which are from Him, which relate to salvation and eternal life. And whereas all things of the Word, in its inmost sense, treat of the Lord alone, and also all things of worship represented Him, therefore the whole Word is Evangelium, (Gospel), in like manner all worship which is performed according to those things that are commanded in the Word. And because Priests presided over worship, and likewise taught, therefore by their ministry was signified worship and evangelization." A. C. 9925, 9926, etc.

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     "The Divine, which is understood by the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Lord by the clergy to the laity by preachings, according to the reception of the truth of doctrine. Thence, also by the Sacrament of the Holy Supper, according to repentance before it." (Canons i. 8, 9.)

     "With respect to Priests, their duty is to teach men the way to heaven, and likewise to lead them therein. They are to teach them according to the doctrine of the Church, which is derived from the Word of God; and to lead them to live according to that doctrine. Priests who teach the doctrine of Truth, and lead their flocks thereby to goodness of life, and so to the Lord, are the good shepherds spoken of in the Word; but they who only teach, and do not lead to goodness of life, and so to the Lord, are the bad shepherds." H. D. 315, A. C. 10794.

     "Priests ought to teach the people, and to lead by truths to good of life, but still they must not force any one, since no one can be forced to believe contrary to what he thinks in his heart to be true." A. C. 10798. H. D. 318.

     "Good may be insinuated into another by every one in the country, but not truth, except by those who are teaching ministers; if others insinuate truth, it gives birth to heresies, and the Church is disturbed and rent asunder." A. C. 6822.

     "The externals of the body which belong to worship are,-

     "1. Going to Church. 2. Hearing Sermons. 3. Devoutly Singing and Praying on the Knees. 5. Taking the Sacrament of the Supper.

     At home also; 1. Morning and Evening Prayer, and Prayer at meals. 2. Conversing on Charity and Faith, on God, Heaven, Life Eternal, and Salvation. 3. And in the case of Priests, preaching, also, and; private instruction. 4. And in the case of every man, instructing children and servants in such things. 5. Reading the Word, and pious and instructive books." Doc. Char. 101.

     "The Word cannot otherwise be taught than mediately by parents, masters, preachers, books, and especially by reading it; but still it is not taught from them, but by them from the Lord." D. P. 172.

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     "The Church is internal and external; internal with the clergy, (apud clericos), and external with the laity; or internal with those who have studied its doctrinals interiorly, and have confirmed them from the Word, and external with those who have not." A. R. 398, 400, 402, 403.

     "General truths are falsified with such, (those who are in externals), because they are principled in them alone, for they are not acquainted with the particulars of that faith, as the clergy are." A. R. 404, 567, A. C. 4345.

     It would thus appear that the Office of the Priesthood, as it is in the Lord, and in the Word, and by the Word in the Heavens and in the Church, has three distinct functions: 1. Government; 2. Worship; 3. Instruction.

     Now, it is self-evident that functions cannot exist except in forms, which are their organs or instrumental means; in other words, that functions do not exist without administrations, nor these without administrators. As there is an Office of the Priesthood, having certain functions and uses, there must be a ministry of the Priesthood; and this will of necessity be distinguished or discriminated in the same manner as the office which it administers. There must be a ministry of Government, of Worship, and of Instruction.

     But, at this point, it seems requisite, before proceeding to develop the nature and order of this ministry, to remove a misconception which exists in many minds in respect to the terms, "Priesthood" and "Ministry." They have been regarded as synonymous or convertible terms, because they have been supposed to convey one and the same idea. A little reflection will serve to show the error of this conception. The Priesthood is an office, and thence an order; the ministry is a service, a performance of the use and duties of an office, or the administration of the functions belonging to an order. The Priesthood, as an office and an order, is a form of a use in Heaven and the Church; and the ministry is the carrying-out, fulfilling and performing of that use. Hence, there is the same distinction between a Priesthood and a ministry as between an Office and its administration, or between a use and its performance. Good is use; and when this use is performed, then good ministers.

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When a good is formulated in an office or employment, and this once or employment is discharged, then good functionates or ministers in whatever degree it may exist. When a king or ruler rules, he ministers; when a judge dispenses justice, he ministers; when any official officiates, he ministers; when any one performs his use of charity, he ministers. And thus, too, when a Priest functionates, or performs the duties of his office, he ministers. The term "ministry," therefore, is a general one, expressing simply the administration of an office, or the performance of a use. To make it a distinctive term, without a direct reference to the distinctive office or use of what it is predicated, is to deprive it of its sense and meaning. By common consent it has come to be employed among men with such a reference to the Office of the Priesthood; and it is thus used in the writings of the New Church, as we are expressly informed in the Doctrine of Charity, No. 69, and elsewhere. If, therefore, by ministry be understood the Ministry of the Priesthood, that is; the administration of priestly offices, there can be no objection to the employment of the term in general, as a designation of the office and use, or, as furnishing an appellative for one who holds the office; for it will then have a definite meaning; but, if it be used as a substitute for the term Priesthood, and this latter be set aside altogether, there will be against it the very solid objection that it does not express what it is intended to express.

     Again, in respect to the ministry as a service, this needs to be said that, whilst in a certain sense it is true that the ministry is a service, and a minister is a servant, it is by no means true in the sense in which the words service and servant are commonly understood.

     By teaching truth according to the doctrine of the Church, and thus leading to good, the priest ministers or serves good; that is, he performs the good or use of his office. In this ministry he is the servant of the Lord to the people; just as the truth, which ministers or serves good in the work of reformation and regeneration, is the servant of the Lord to him who is reformed and regenerated, but not a servant of the man himself. The same is true of kings, magistrates, and of all public officers.

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They are not the servants of the people, but of the common good which they serve to and for the people, when they administer the government and its laws in performing the duties of their several offices. To regard Priests, Kings, Magistrates, Judges, etc., as servants in the ordinary sense of that term, or, as being subject to the will and rule of the people, is a manifest inversion of every true conception of order. In the Church and State, they represent the Lord as to the Divine Good and Divine Truth in the several planes of operation, in which these principles are to bear rule, and to be the means of establishing the divine government among men, both internally and externally.

     With respect, then, to the Office of the Priesthood, with its ministry of Government, Worship and Instruction, it is evident that there exist three distinct functions, which will require for their performance three distinct forms or modes of administration, and that this implies the existence of three distinct functionaries or administrators. And this leads to the consideration of the

     ORDER OF THE PRIESTHOOD.

     concerning which we have the following teachings in the writings for the Church:-

     "It is a well known truth, that, in order to give perfection to any thing, there must be a Trine in just order, one under another; and that there must be communication between the members of the Trine; and that such a Trine constitutes one thing, not unlike a pillar over which is the capital, under this the shaft, and under this again the pedestal. Such a trine is man his supreme part is the head, his middle part the body, and his lowest part the feet and the soles of the feet. Every kingdom, in this respect, is like a man. In it there must be a king as the head; also magistrates and officers, as the body; and yeomanry, with servants, as the feet and soles of the feet. In like manner, in the Church, there must be a mitred prelate, parish priest, and curates under them." Coronis, U. T. 17.

     "Every one who traces effects to cause, may know that the consistence of all things depends on order; and that there are manifold orders, general and particular; and that there is one which is the most universal of all, and on which the general and particular ones depend in a continued series; and that the most universal one enters into all, as the essence itself into forms; and that thus, and thus only, they make one.

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This oneness is what causes the preservation of the whole, which otherwise would fall to pieces, and not only relapse into the first chaos, but into nothing. These things may be illustrated to the natural man by innumerable things. . . . What would a kingdom, or a state, or a house be, without order, unless some one in each should act as supreme? Besides, what is order without distinction? and what is distinction without indications? and what are indications without signs, by which the qualities are known? For without a knowledge of the qualities, order is not known as order. The signs, in empires and kingdoms, are titles of dignities, and rights of administration annexed to them, thence are subordinations by means of which all are arranged together as into one. . . . The case is similar in very many other things." T. C. R. 679, 680.

     "The Lord's Church is distinguished, like heaven, into three degrees. In the ultimate degree are they who are in its externals; in the second degree are they who are in its internals; and in the third degree are they who are in its inmost principles." A. R. 744.

     "The Lord Jehovah, when he founds a New Heaven and a New Church, introduces order that they may stand under His auspices, and under obedience to Him to eternity; because the angelic heaven and the church on earth constitute together one body, whose soul and life is the Lord Jehovah, who is our Lord the Savior." Coronis V. No. 15.

     "It is to be observed that there is a Church in the Heaven as well as on earth; for there is the Word, there are temples also, and sermons delivered in them, and ministerial and priestly offices; for all angels there were once men, and their departure out of the world was only a continuance of their life. Therefore, they are also perfected in love and wisdom, every one according to the degree of the affection of truth and good which he took with him out of the world." A. R. 533.

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     "That by 'the priesthood shall be to them' (to Aaron and his sons), Exod. xxix. 9, is signified the Lord as to the work of salvation in successive order, appears from the signification of the priesthood, as being a representative of the Lord, as to all the work of salvation, (9809). The reason why it is in successive order is, because the priesthood of the sons of Aaron is here treated of; and by his sons are represented those things which proceed, thus the things which succeed in order, (9807), The case herein is this: the priesthood, which is represented by Aaron, is the work of the salvation of those who are in the Lord's celestial kingdom, which kingdom is properly meant in the Word by a kingdom of priests; but the priesthood, which is represented by the sons of Aaron, is the work of the salvation of those who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, proximately proceeding from His celestial kingdom. Hence it is, that by the priesthood is here meant the Lord's work of salvation in successive order; but the priesthood, which is represented by the Levites, denotes the Lord's work of salvation again proceeding from the former. There are three principles which succeed in order. There is the celestial, which is the good of love to the
Lord; there is the spiritual, which is the good of charity towards the neighbor; and there is the natural, thence derived, which is the good of faith. Inasmuch as there are these three which succeed in order, there are also three heavens; and in them goods in that order. The work of salvation of those who are in celestial good, is represented by the priesthood of Aaron; but the work of the salvation of those who are in spiritual good, is represented by the priesthood of the sons of Aaron; and the work of the salvation of those who are thence in natural good, is represented by the priesthood of the Levites. And since those things, which succeed in order, proceed from: the good of love to the Lord, which is represented by Aaron and his priesthood, therefore, it is said of the Levites, that they should be given to Aaron; for those things which proceed are of that from which they proceed; for the things proceeding, or succeeding, thence derive their esse, (see 10001), also, (Numb. iii. 1, end)." A. C. 10017.

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     "Governors, therefore, are necessary for the preservation of order in the various societies of mankind; and they ought to be persons well skilled in the laws, men of wisdom, having the fear of God. There must also be order among the governors themselves, lest any of them, from caprice or ignorance, should sanction evils which are contrary to order, and thereby destroy it.

     This is guarded against by the appointment of superior and inferior rulers, among whom there is subordination." H. D. 373, A. C. 10792.

     "A ship signifies doctrine from the Word; and its planks, oars, and masts signify the various things of which doctrine consists; also, they who teach, lead, and rule, are understood by the pilots, the rowers, the mariners, etc.; and the doctrines themselves, by its wares, and the procuring or wealth and spiritual riches, which are the knowledges of truth and goodness, and the means of wisdom, by trading, etc." A. E. 514.

     From, these teachings it is manifest, that the Priesthood, which is in the Lord, and in the Word, and from the Lord by the Word in the Heavens and in the Church, being the Lord's Divine ministry of good, or his work of salvation, in and to angels and men, derive from Him a Trinal Order, and is fulfilled by Him successively, in and according to the three degrees of life, and of the operation of life, preceding from Him. As the Trinity in the Lord is Love, Wisdom, and Operation, it is an essential of Divine Order, that in all things which are from Him, there should be a corresponding Trinity, both internally and externally. "And whatever is of Divine Order is a perpetual commandment of God." A. C. 2634.

     There are three divine degrees of God and of Truth, and there are three degrees of receptacles of Divine Good and Truth in angels and in men. Thence are there three degrees of the operation of Divine Good by Divine Truth within and upon angels and men, or within and upon the three corresponding degrees of the human life and mind. And since these operations are the Lord's work of salvation, and this is the office of the Priesthood in Him, there are three degrees of this office in the Lord, in the Word, and from Him by the Word in, the Heavens, and in the Church.

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Hence come the three general functions of that office, of which we have treated; and hence there must needs exist in the Heaven and the Church, three degrees of administration of that office, and three degrees or grades of functionaries or administrators. An internal does not exist and subsist without its corresponding external even to the last or lowest, in which it appears, and is represented. This is the substance of the teaching Of the doctrine just cited, which, when added to what has been set forth in the preceding portions of our argument leads to the following result in respect to the order of the Priesthood:

     1. There is a Priesthood in the Heavens and in the Church on Earth, whose Office it is to administer the things of ecclesiastical governments, and of Divine worship, and to instruct in Divine things; and by this ministry of the Priesthood the Lord performs "the work of salvation in successive order."

     2. This Priesthood was instituted and established as an Office on Earth, in the Ancient Church, and afterwards in Aaron, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites in the Israelitish Church, as an external representative of the successive order in which it is to exist in that true Church of the Lord, whereof the Israelitish was a representative; and on which, as an ultimate basis of Divine Order are to rest the interior operations of Divine Good by Divine Truth for the salvation of mankind.

     3. Since the Lord's government of the Heavens and the Church is of the Divine Good, and is a government operating in the interiors of angels and men, disposing them in favor of good and truth, and saving what is of the Lord's celestial kingdom; and since this is what was represented by the Priesthood of Aaron, there must needs be in the Heavens, and in the Church on Earth, a representative of this government, in a High-priesthood, as the highest degree of the Office by which the Lord does the work of salvation.

     4. The government of the Lord from Divine Good, is the most interior and universal of all the works of salvation, which "enters into all the things that succeed, as the essence into forms, makes them one, and by this oneness preserves the whole;" for the very essential of order is Divine Good, by which the Lord rules truths themselves, and disposes them into such an order and subordination that they will minister the common or universal good of mankind; therefore does the Priesthood of Aaron, or the highest function of the Office of the Priesthood, by its administration of the Divine Law, enter into and regulate the function of the administration of worship, which is next in order.

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     5. "All the truths of the Church have respect to two loves; namely, love to God, and love toward the neighbor for the whole Word, which is Divine Truth itself, from which all the truths of the Word are derived, hangs on these two loves," (A. C. 1037); and, all worship is internally the life of love to the Lord and the Neighbor; therefore is "Worship grounded in the Holy truths of the Church to be applied to Divine Love, i. e., to love to the Lord and the Neighbor." (A. C. 10308.)

     6. And, since truths are of the Divine-spiritual principle, and thus of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, worship grounded in the holy truths of the Church is of the second or middle degree of the work of salvation, by which the Lord leads to good or saves what is of His spiritual kingdom; and this, as it was represented by the Priesthood of the Sons of Aaron, is represented in the Heavens and the Church by that function of the office which ministers in the sacraments and holy rites both internal and external, by which the Lord is worshiped.

     7. All the principles of Divine Good from which is the government of the Lord's Priesthood, and all the principles of Divine Truth, according to which that government is administered; and all the goods and truths of love and faith which enter into and constitute Divine worship are in the Word, and as therein contained, they are the Lord and the Word, (A. C. 2859); and "the Word is so universal that it contains doctrine accommodated both to external and to internal men, to the celestial, spiritual, and natural," (2531, 9025, 10028).

     8. By means of doctrine, man reads and understands the Word, and by doctrine drawn from the Word, he is instructed in respect to all things which are of the Divine worship, and of the Divine law or government. For "all doctrine is from the Word, and it all teaches the worship and love of the Lord who is the Word itself, and Doctrine itself," (2359, 2531, 2762).

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And, even as doctrine teaches and leads to the good which is of love and charity, so is "all worship prescribed in doctrine, and performed according to doctrine." H. D. 6.

     9. Therefore, as the ministrations of workers are the means of leading to good, (for true worship is life), so is the ministration of instruction from doctrine the means of bringing man into that state of faith in which he can be led to good or worship and be brought under the government of the Lord. And, since the Levite represents all "the doctrine which is serviceable to the Priesthood," the function of teaching or instructing in the doctrines of the Church is that degree or grade of the Priesthood which serves the higher degrees of Worship and of Government, and requires in the true Church of the Lord, a ministry, or functionaries of that order which was represented by the Priesthood of the Levites. Cf. Levit. iii., etc.

     And thus do we translate the Order of the Priesthood instituted in the representative of a church, among the people of Israel, into the Order of the Priesthood of the true Church of the Lord, typified by the former. That merely external representative of the Lord's office of the Priesthood, by which He does the work of salvation, becomes a truly internal, and thence a truly external representative, in the use, in the means, and in the performance, by men among men, and for men, of those things of Divine Good and Divine Truth by which souls are saved. Aaron, the High-Priest; becomes the Office of the Government of the church, clothed by chief governors, or Priests in the highest or third degree of Order; and his garments of holiness, the breast-plate, the ephod, and the robe; the checkered waistcoat, the mitre, and the belt, became the truths of the Word and of doctrine from the Word, in all their degrees, by means of which the functions of that office of Divine Good are fulfilled. The sons of Aaron, the Priests, become the Office of Worship in the Church, clothed by Governors, or Priests in the second or middle degree of Order; and their "garments for glory and for comeliness, the waistcoats, the belts, and the bonnets," become the truths of faith and charity, by means of which men are led to good in a life of love to the Lord, and charity towards the neighbor; and this is the function of that Office in the Church. (A. C. 9805, p. 28 and 29.)

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And the Levites, who were given to Aaron, become the Office of Instruction in the Church, clothed by Governors, or Priests in the first or lowest degree of Order; and the things which were numbered to them, for their ministry and service to Aaron and his sons, (10083, 10093), become all the doctrines of the Church, which teach how the Word is to be read and understood, what charity and faith are, how the Lord is to be worshiped, and the Church to be established.

     (To be continued.)
Wars 1918

Wars              1918

     "The conflicts of the various states in the spiritual world correspond to wars, and they are governed by the Lord on both, sides correspondentially, in accordance with His Divine Providence." D. P. 251:4.

     "All wars,-no matter how much they may be about civil affairs,-are in Heaven representative of the states of the Church, and are correspondences. Such were all the wars described in the Word, and such also are all the wars of this day." D. P. 251:3.

     "Wars which have as an end the protection of our Country and our Church are not contrary to charity; the end for which they are waged determines whether there is charity in them or not." T. C. R. 407.

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BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 1918

BRIEF COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW              1918

CHAPTER VIII.

     1. And when He was come down from the mountain, there followed Him great multitudes.

     2. And, behold, there came a leper and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean.

     3. And putting forth His hand, Jesus touched him, saying, I will. Be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

     4. And Jesus saith unto him, See that thou tell no one; but go thy way, show thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them.

     "The reason leprosy is so much treated of in the Word, is that it sig. the profanation of truth, and because the Israelites and the Jews could profane truth more than others." A. 6963.

     "The profanation of truth is various, being light or grievous, interior or exterior, according to the quality of the truth profaned." E. 962.

     "Jesus putting forth His hand, and touching, sig. to communicate and transfer life from Himself." E. 79.

     5. And when Jesus had entered into Capernaum, there came unto Him a centurion, beseeching Him.

     (Capernaum was a city in "Galilee of the Gentiles;" the centurion, a captain of a hundred men, was a Roman, and thus represented the Gentiles, who were to receive the Christian Religion.)

     6. And saying, Lord, my boy lieth in the house, a paralytic, grievously tormented.

     7. And Jesus saith unto him, I will come and heal him.

     8. And the centurion answering said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof, but speak the word only, and my boy shall be healed.

     9. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me; and I say to this one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

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     10. And Jesus having heard this, was astonished, and He said to them that followed Him, Verily, I say unto you, not in Israel have I found such faith.

     11. And I say unto you that many shall come from the east and the west, and shall recline with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens.

     "They who are to come from the east and from the west sig. all who are in the good of love and thence in the truths of faith." E. 252.

     "Those from the east and the west, sig. those who are in knowledges and life of good, and also those who are in obscurity, and ignorance; thus both those who are within the Church and those who are without." A. 3708.

     "Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob repr. the Lord as to the Divine Itself and the Divine Human; hence to recline with them sig. to be conjoined with the Lord, and to consociate, [with the angels], by love, and thereby to enjoy eternal blessedness and happiness." E. 252.

     12. But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

     13. And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee. And his boy was healed in the self-same hour.

     "The sons of the kingdom are those who are of a church which is not under the rule of truths, but of falsities." E. 48.

     "Outer darkness sig. the more direful falsities of those who are in the Church, for they darken the light, and induce falsities contrary to truths, which the Gentiles are not able to do." A. 1839.

     "Gnashing of teeth is the continual dispute and combat of falsities with each other, joined also with contempt of others, enmity, derision, ridicule and blasphemy; for every one in hell fights in favor of his own falsity and calls it truth. These disputes and combats are heard out of the hells as gnashings of teeth." H. 575.

     14. And when Jesus had come into the house of Peter, He saw his wife's mother laid down, and sick of a fever.

     15. And He touched her hand, and the fever left her; and she arose and ministered unto them.

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     (Peter's mother-in-law, sick of a fever, sig. the affection of truth, adjoined to the earliest faith, still infested by the cupidities of evil. See A. 8364, 10490.)

     16. And evening having come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with demons; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all that were sick.

     17. That it might be fulfilled which was declared by Isaiah the prophet, saying, "He Himself took our infirmities, and bare our diseases."

     (Is. 53:4: "He hath borne our diseases and carried our pain, and through His wounds health is given to us.")

     "By the diseases which the Lord healed is sig. deliverance from various kinds of evil and falsity, which infested the Church and the human race, and which would have induced spiritual death. On this account, the Lord's miracles were chiefly healings of diseases." A. 8364.

     "Diseases are indeed with man from natural causes, which are not at the same time with the spirit in the other life; but as often as they exist, spirits gather, who correspond to that disease; for the spirits who are in evil and falsity, produce altogether such things as are sensated in diseases. Hence it is, because such spirits apply themselves there, and increase the disease by their presence, that if they are removed by the Lord, the man is at once restored." S. D. MIN. 4648, 4649.

     18. And Jesus seeing great multitudes about Him, gave command to depart unto the other side.

     19. And one of the scribes came and said unto Him, Master, I will follow Thee withersoever Thou goest.

     20. And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of heaven have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head.

     (The scribes were the learned in the Jewish Church, and sig. falsifications of truth. E. 655. Their ready acceptance of evils and falsities is repr. by the foxes and birds, but there was no reception of the spiritual understanding of the Word, the "head of the Son of Man." A. 9807.

     "The Lord is called the Son of Mart as to the Word, for it was as the Word that He suffered, and as the Word He judges, comes into the world, redeems, saves, reforms and regenerates, By 'not having a place where to lay His head' is meant that the Word had no place with the Jews, nor did it abide with them, because they did not acknowledge Him." DOCT. LORD, 23, 27.

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     21. And another of His disciples saith to Him, Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.

     22. And Jesus said unto him, Follow Me, and leave the dead to bury their dead.

     "These words sig. a total submission, i. e., that man should not be in part his own, and in part the Lord's. The father that was to be buried, sig. in general, those things which are of man's proprium, received by heredity." A. 6138.

     ("Let the dead bury their dead," sig. that the things of the proprium are to be rejected to hell.)

     "A father on earth, compared to the Father in heaven, or the Lord, is as that which is dead compared to that which is alive. Even the law of honoring parents is as it were dead, unless there be in it the honor, worship, and love of the Lord." A. 3703.

     23. And when He had entered into a ship, His disciples followed Him.

     24. And, behold, there arose a great tempest on the sea, so that the ship was covered with the waves, but He was asleep.

     25. And His disciples came unto Him and awoke Him, saying, Lord, save us; we perish.

     26. And He saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then He arose and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.

     27. And the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?

     "The wind and the waves of the sea sig. lusts of every kind, and thoughts and reasonings thence, rising up from hell into the natural man; and the sea here sig. hell itself." E. 514.

     "The tempest represented the state of the men in the Church, when they are in the natural, and not yet in a spiritual state; then the natural affections, which are various lusts arising from the love of self and the world, ascend and excite various commotions of the lower mind." E. 514.

     "In this state it appears as if the Lord were absent, sig. by the Lord's sleeping; but when they come from a natural state into a spiritual, then those commotions cease, and the mind is rendered tranquil; the spiritual mind is opened, and the Lord through that mind flows into the natural." E. 514.

     28. And after He had come to the other side, into the region of the Gergesenes, there met Him two, possessed with demons, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.

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     29. And, behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of God? Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?

     30. And there was a good way off from them an herd of many swine, feeding.

     31. And the demons besought Him, saying, If Thou cast us out, let us go away into the herd of swine.

     32. And He said unto them, Go. And after they were come out, they went into the herd of swine; and, behold, the whole herd of swine ran violently down a steep place into the sea, and perished in the waters.

     ("The region of the Gergesenes" or "Gaderenes," was a district on the south-eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, where the steep bank of the eastern plateau breaks down into the lake and the plain of the Jordan. The region is full of rock-hewn tombs and caverns.)

     "The demons, by which many were then obsessed, sig. falsities of every kind, by which the Church was infested, and from which it was liberated by the Lord." E. 586.

     "Tombs sig. things unclean, thus infernal; those who were possessed by demons dwelt in the tombs, because the spirits who possessed them, during their abode in the world had been in falsities from evil, or in knowledges from the Word, which they had made dead by using them to confirm evils and to destroy the genuine truths of the Church." E. 659.

     "The reason the demons were cast into the swine, was because when they lived in the world they were in sordid avarice, for such avarice corresponds to swine. The reason they ran headlong into the sea, was because the sea here sig. hell." E. 659.

     33. And they that had fed them fled, and went their ways into the city and told everything, and what had happened to those possessed of the demons.

     34. And, behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus; and when they saw Him they besought Him that He would depart out of their boundaries.

     (Like the demons, they could not endure the presence of the Lord, but preferred their herds of swine.)

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CHAPTER IX.

     1. And entering into a ship, He passed over, and came into His own city.

     2. And, behold, they brought to Him a paralytic, lying on a bed; and Jesus, seeing their faith, said to the paralytic, Be confident, son, thy sins be forgiven thee.

     3. And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.

     4. And Jesus, seeing their thoughts, said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?

     5. For which is easier to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee, or to say, Arise; and walk?

     6. But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on the earth to forgive sins,-then saith He to the paralytic, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.

     7. And he arose and departed to his house.

     Faith separated from charity is likened to paralysis. T. 367.

     (To arise sig. the elevation of the will out of evil; to take up the bed sig. the elevation of the understanding by means of doctrine; to go into thine house sig. elevation of life by regeneration.)

     8. And the multitudes beholding it, were amazed, and gave glory to God who giveth such power to men.

     9. And as Jesus passed forth from thence, He saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom; and He saith unto him, Follow Me; and rising up he followed Him.

     (Matthew, Greek Matthias from the Hebrew Matthathiah, "the gift of Jehovah;" he was a tax gatherer or "publican." The publicans were Jews of the lowest class, who farmed the Roman taxes on a percentage, and therefore were detested by the Jews.)

     10. And it came to pass, as Jesus was reclining in the house, that, behold, many publicans and sinners came, and reclined with Jesus and His disciples.

     11. And the pharisees seeing it, said to His disciples, Why eateth your teacher with publicans and sinners?

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     "By the 'publicans and sinners' are meant the Gentiles, who received the Lord, imbibed His precepts and lived according to them; and by this means the Lord appropriated to them the goods of Heaven, which is sig. by 'eating with them.'" E. 617.

     12. And Jesus, hearing, said to them, They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.

     13. But go ye and learn what this is: "I will have mercy, and not sacrifice;" for I am not come to call the just, but sinners, to repentance.

     (Hosea 6:6.) In the sense of the letter, the terms "whole" and "just" refer to the self-righteous pharisees, who did not regard themselves as in need of salvation. But in the internal sense these terms refer to those of the celestial church which existed before the Flood. "The Lord did not come into the world to save the celestial but the spiritual, such as were those after the flood." A. 2661.

     14. Then came to Him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the pharisees fast many times, but Thy disciples do not fast?

     15. And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bride-chamber mourn so long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast.

     (The disciples of John sig. those who as yet are only in the sense of the letter of the Word.)

     "The Lord Himself is the bridegroom and the men of the Church 'the children of the nuptials;' by fasting is sig. a state of mourning on account of a deficiency of truth and good." E. 1189.

     "In the first state of the Church they are in a blessed and happy state, thus with the Lord, when they are in truths conjoined to their own good, but in the last state of the Church they are in an unhappy state, when good is no longer conjoined to truths." A. 9182.

     (That fasting was among those statutes of the Jewish ceremonial law which were not to be observed in the Christian Church, is indicated in the next two verses.)

     16. And no one putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.

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     17. Neither do they put new wine into old wine skins, else the skins burst, and the wine runneth out, and the skins are destroyed; but they put new wine into new wine skins, and both are preserved.

     "A garment sig. truth, and therefore the Lord compared the truths of the former Church, which was a Church representative of spiritual things, to an old garment, and the truths of the New Church, which were the spiritual truths themselves, to a piece of new garment. He likewise compared them to wineskins, because by wine similarly is sig. truth, and by wineskins the knowledges which contain the truth." E. 195.

     "These words sig., also, that the New Jerusalem, that is, the New Church, cannot descend from heaven in a moment, but in proportion as the falsities of the former Church are removed; for what is new cannot gain admission where falsities have been implanted, unless they be eradicated." J. 784.

     18. Now while He spake these things unto them, behold, there came a governor and worshiped Him, saying, My daughter is just now dead; but come, lay Thy hand upon her, and she shall live.

     (Daughter and maiden, sig. the affection of truth, which, even among the salvable remnant in the Jewish Church, was apparently dead.)

     19. And Jesus arose and followed him, and His disciples also.

     20. And, behold, a woman who for twelve years had suffered from an issue of blood, came behind Him and touched the hem of His garment.

     21. For she said within herself, If I may only touch His garment, I shall be healed.

     22. And Jesus, turning and seeing her, said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.

     "Diseased with an issue of blood sig. those who are in natural love separate from spiritual love." E. 163. (It also sig. the profanation of the good of love. A. 9914.)

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     "Touching with the hand sig. communication and reception of Divine virtue, by which there is a healing of the interiors, which is salvation,...because the hand sig. the power, which is the active of life, thus whatever is with the one who touches." A. 10023.

     "Because the garments of the Lord sig. the Divine Truth, therefore also those who touched the border of His garments were healed." E. 195.

     "The hem of the Lord's garment sig. Divine Truths in ultimates or extremes, such as are the truths of the Word in the sense of the letter; here it sig. that healing goes forth from the Divine in extremes or ultimates, for in the ultimates of good and truth there is strength and power." A. 9917

     23. And Jesus came into the house of the governor, and beholding the musicians and the throng lamenting, He said unto them,

     24. Give way, for the maiden is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed at Him.

     25. But after the throng had been sent out, He went in and took her by the hand, and the maiden arose.

     ("Musicians," variously rendered "minstrels" or "pipers;" among the Jews, as among the Egyptians and other ancient nations, it was customary to hire musicians and professional mourners, as part of the funeral ceremonies.)

     26. And the fame of this thing went abroad into all that land.

     27. And as Jesus was departing thence, two blind men followed Him, crying and saying, Have mercy upon us, O Son of David!

     28. And when He was come into the house, the blind men came to Him, and Jesus saith to them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? And they say unto Him, Yea, Lord.

     29. Then touched He their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.

     30. And their eyes were opened, and Jesus strictly charged them, saying, See that no one shall know.

     31. But they, as they departed, spread abroad His fame in all that country.

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     "By all the blind, whom the Lord restored to sight, are meant those who are in ignorance, and yet receive Him, and are enlightened by the Word from Him." E. 239.

     (The Lord frequently charged those cured by Him to "tell no man," perhaps in order to prevent as far as possible the dissemination of a purely miraculous and persuasive faith.)

     32. And as they were going out, behold, they brought to him a man, dumb, possessed of a demon.

     33. And when the demon was cast out, the dumb man spake, and the multitudes were amazed, saying, It was never so seen in Israel.

     "The dumb sig. those who, from ignorance of the truth, are not able to confess the Lord or the genuine truths of the Church; in which state are the gentiles outside the Church, and also the simple within the Church." E. 455; A. 6988.

     34. But the pharisees said, By the prince of the demons He casteth out the demons.

     35. And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, leaching in their synagogues, and preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and malady among the people.

     36. And seeing the multitudes He was moved with compassion on them, because they were dissolved and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.

     37. Then saith He to His disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few.

     38. Pray ye therefore to the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest.
Rev. C. Th. Odhner 1918

Rev. C. Th. Odhner              1918

     As it goes to press the LIFE announces the sudden death on the morning of the 11th March, of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner who has been its Editor for upwards of sixteen years.

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     BRYN ATHYN, Pa Swedenborg's birthday was observed, as usual, by the suspension of school on the 29th of January. In the evening, a banquet was held in the Dining Hall, which adapted itself surprisingly to the comfortable accommodation of 170 guests. The Rev. E. S. Price was toastmaster, and members of the senior class of boys were the speakers of the evening. Philip Pendleton's discourse centered about Swedenborg's historical environments, while Karl Fuller gave us an interesting and lively account of Swedenborg's family and ancestors, deriving considerable amusement from the solemn autobiography of the venerable Jesper Swedberg in a manner that would have been quite surprising to that dignified gentleman could he have heard it. Donald Merrill's speech on the state of the Christian world in Swedenborg's day was of a more serious character and very impressively delivered. The intervals between speeches were enlivened by cheery class songs.

     On January 31st, the editorial staff of the BULLETIN gave its oft postponed entertainment, at which Mr. William Whitehead favored us with a talk on current events, which netted much applause and $35 in cash, to be used for sending the BULLETIN to the soldiers.

     In spite of coal shortage, which has necessitated putting the Library building and DeCharms Hall under lock and key, and making Benade Hall look a veritable concentration camp, the Bryn Athyn Society rallied to the call and held a well attended District Assembly from February 6 to 10. Among our guests were the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, of Glenview; Rev. F. E. Waelchli, of Kitchener; Mr. C. G. Merrill, of Cincinnati; Mr. Anton Sellner, Sr., of New York; Mr. and Mrs. Carswell, and Miss Edina Carswell, of Toronto; Rev. T. S. Harris, and Mr. Herman Gunther, of Baltimore.

     The public meetings opened with a banquet on the sixth, held at the Dining Hall, Mr. Leonard Gyllenhaal acting as toastmaster. The evening was voted every kind of a success in spite of the fact that the clergy,-intentionally, it seems,-had been excluded from the program. Mr. Whitehead's stirring speech on "What is Democracy?" was still ringing in our ears when a male quartet struck up the "Battle Call of the Alliance," which was very well rendered. Mr. Lechner, speaking of "Co-ordination," brought out not only the theoretical but also the practical aspects of the subject, while Mr. R. S. Cranch very impressively summed up "What Lessons for the Future We can Learn from this War."

     The notable event in the first public meeting, held on the evening of February 7,-after the Introduction by Bishop N. D. Pendleton,-was a paper on Evangelization, delivered by the Rev. Karl R. Alden. The enthusiasm aroused by his talk and the ensuing discussion of practical ways of meeting the problem of missionary work in the church was not confined to the "old people" alone, but seemed to touch very directly and forcibly the young folks also.

     On the evening of the 8th, instead of the address on "God and Nature," by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, which the program promised us, we were treated to a paper by the Rev. Eldred Iungerich.

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Mr. Synnestvedt, to the regret of everyone, was called home suddenly by the illness of his wife. Mr. Iungerich's paper, entitled "The Five Dispensations and their Relation to Man," was based largely on his unique studies of the ADVERSARIA and the INDEX BIBLICUS, and presented for our comparison a series slightly different from that which has been usually adopted in the educational circles of the Church, which is the series given in the ARCANA. As was expected, the paper elicited lively discussion. Mr. Acton, after giving expression to the general feeling of appreciation of the paper, contested Mr. Iungerich's view that the Most Ancient Church corresponded to the period from conception up to the age of one month after birth in the life of man, holding that this found its analogy more rightly in the Pre-Adamitic stage. Other speakers opposed Mr. Iungerich's paralleling the Jewish Church with the age of youth and early manhood, maintaining that it should instead be included as a part of the Ancient Church, which all corresponds to the period of childhood in man. Mr. Caldwell pointed out the insecurity of basing doctrines on the pre-revelation works of Swedenborg. Our Bishop finally summed up both sides of the question, pointing the way to further investigation as the broadening way of enlightenment, and recalling the admissibility of various series in the Writings, according to the way statements are interpreted and regarded; he emphasized the necessity of guarding against any fixed system in the case of such analogies as those presented.

     The meetings over, the Assembly was entertained on the evening of February 9 to asocial function under the auspices of the Civic and Social Club. Singing and recitations formed part of the entertainment, together with an Egyptian Incense Dance, prepared by Mr. Fred Finkelday, and carried out by some young ladies of his dancing class. The red and blue background, the statuesque figures in lively colors, the solemn rhythm of the dance, and the splendid technique of Miss Florence Roehner, who took the is solo part, made an agreeable impression on the audience.
     C. LJ. O.

     Is DENVER, COLO. In the evening of January 29th, we held our annual banquet in honor of Swedenborg's birthday. Notwithstanding the approach of a storm twenty-six adults and young people and fourteen children were present, the children having a table to themselves. The usual toasts were honored in songs and speeches in a hearty and felicitous manner. When the time was at hand to rise from the table Mr. Taylor craved an opportunity to make an announcement which he felt anxious to get off his mind. He was warmly encouraged, tho very few knew what was coming. So there was a spontaneous outburst of congratulations as the company heard the words telling of the engagement of his son, Harry, and Miss Emelie Oberschelp. This news came as a delightful climax to a very profitable and happy social occasion.

     At Christmas we had a series of exceedingly valuable services, beginning with the morning service on Sunday, and closing with the Holy Communion on Christmas Day, at eleven o'clock. At the Children's Service on Monday at four o'clock three members of the Sunday School received Liturgies in recognition of their having passed their fourteenth birthday: Alfred Tyler, Frederick Bundsen and Harold Lindrooth. Two received Bibles: Albin Bergstrom, aged seven years, and Edith Lind, twelve, who had become a regular attendant since the family's return to the city in the fall. These were gifts from the society. Other presents had been provided through the energetic leadership of Mrs. Schroder, so that each child had a happy reminder of Merry Christmas.

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Miss Margaret Tyler was given a handsome wrist-watch in recognition of her service as organist. L. M. T. D.

     DURBAN, NATAL, S. A. We are very neglectful of our duties away off here, I fear, as news from here never appears in the LIFE. We can only plead the standard South African excuse, "climate," as the semi-tropical atmosphere is not conducive to over-exertion of the mental or physical faculties. Besides, we really have so few activities, excepting the usual ones of Children's Service every Sunday at 9:30 a. m.; Divine Worship every Sunday at 11 a. m.; the Ladies' Class every Tuesday at 11 a. m.; the Doctrinal Class every Wednesday at 8 p. m., followed by a choir practice at 9 p. m.; and the Children's Religious Instruction Classes every Friday from 3:3005:30 p. m. These activities are carried on from March until December, and some of them also during February and December, and, of course, Divine Worship at 11 a. m. every Sunday of the year.

     Now we really should have recorded before this the wedding of Miss Agnes E. Pemberton to our minister, the Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, but no one seemed to be willing to undertake the responsibility of properly and adequately describing the event, and so all these months have slipped by without any report of it. However, they are married just the same, and are temporarily living with the bride's parents.

     The wedding was a quiet affair, not only because of the war, and the lack of a New Church minister to officiate, but also because a few weeks before the day of the wedding word was received of the death of the bride's brother, Guy Christopher Pemberton, who was killed on the 12th of April at the battle of Arras in France. Chris was only twenty years of age, and yet he had been through the war from its outbreak, having served in German South West Africa, Egypt, and France where he was wounded July, 1916, in the battle of Delville Wood. He was every inch a soldier, a fine boy, well liked by every one.

     But to return to the wedding. The Civil Marriage was by special license, and was performed by Mr. Percy Binns, K. C., the chief magistrate, in his office, at 2 p. m., the 6th of June. There were present only the bride's father, mother, and brother, Garth, and Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Ridgway, in whose home Mr. Gyllenhaal had lived since his arrival in South Africa.

     In the evening of the same day there was a religious ceremony at the house of the bride's parents. This ceremony was patterned after the description of a wedding in heaven, given in the first Memorable Relation of CONJUGIAL LOVE. TWO little girls, Beatrice Forfar and Sheila Braby, first cousins of the bride, attended the bride. After this ceremony there were the usual refreshments and a few toasts, during which the bride and groom managed to slip away unnoticed by all except two or three people let into the secret.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Gyllenhaal spent a fortnight at Port Shepstone, and returned to Durban on the 20th of June in time to celebrate, with the Society, New Church Day. This event was observed in much the usual way, several of the gentlemen reading papers on subjects appropriate to the occasion.

     On the 7th of November we had an interesting evening devoted to hearing various papers by several gentlemen of the Society on what the New Church teaches concerning the nations of Europe. Mr. Gyllenhaal introduced the speakers and commenced the evening with remarks about Europe in general.

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Mr. J. H. Ridgway told about the State of the Christian World, Mr. S. D. Cockerell about England and the English, Mr. R. M. Ridgway about France and the French, Mr. L. Garth Pemberton about Russia and the Russians, Mr. J. D'A. Cockerell about Italy and the Italians, and Mr. W. M. Buss about Germany and the Germans. At the end of the evening the wish was expressed for the LIFE to have a symposium on these subjects.

     Christmas was celebrated in the following way: On Christmas Day, at 8:15 a. m., there was a Glorification Service in the Church. The subject of the brief address or sermon was "Peace," the text "Prince of Peace," (Isaiah 9:6). The offertory was given to the British Red Cross Society, and amounted to L22-3-7 It may be interesting to your readers to know that, by common agreement, children and adults gave up all personal gifts that they might contribute as generously as possible towards the offertory. Also two of the members, Mr. R. M. Ridgway and Mr. S. D. Cockerell, made toys which, together with the proceeds from copies of a photo of the children taken by Mr. R. M. Ridgway, added L10-19-0, making the total contribution to the British Red Cross Society L33-2-7.

     At 7 o'clock in the evening of Christmas Day was held, in Bayley Hall, the Children's Celebration of the Lord's Birth into the world. The distinguishing features of the evening were the Processional of the children carrying lighted torches, and the series of four tableaux presented by some of the adults as a surprise for the children. The subjects of the tableaux were: The Angel Appearing to Mary, Mary Saluting Elizabeth, The Angel Appearing to the Shepherds, and The Wise Men Adoring the Infant Lord. Miss Attersol, Mrs. Gyllenhaal, Mr. L. Garth Pemberton, and Master Scottie Forfar rendered various solos in the musical part of the service.

     On Boxing Day, (the day after Christmas), a party was given for the children at Bayley Hall, which occasion was much enjoyed not only on account of the lemonade, ginger ale, cakes, biscuits, and ice cream, but also for the games and romps. And here we would mention that Durban is having, (we cannot truthfully say "enjoying"), mid summer weather.

     Mr. Gyllenhaal leaves for Basutoland the first day of the New Year, and Mr. W. M. Buss will accompany him, in order to assist him in teaching the natives. A school for the native New Church Ministers and Leaders will be held during the month of January at Baroana, the resident village of Chief William Mohalenyane Moshueshue, who has very kindly placed his house at the disposal of Mr. Gyllenhaal for the month of January.

     FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

     UNITED STATES. A number of ministers of the General Convention have been called into war service. Dr. Horatio W. Dresser and Rev. J. Paul Dresser, both of Brookline, Mass., have recently sailed for France as Y. M. C. A. secretaries with the American Expeditionary Forces. The Rev. John W. Stockwell, pastor of the Frankford Society, is with the Y. M. C. A. at Camp Beauregard, La.

     INDIA. The HEAVENLY DOCTRINE has recently been translated into Gujerati, and Prof. Bhatt is now engaged on the translation of the DOCTRINE OF LIFE into the same language. Efforts are being made to find competent men to translate the HEAVENLY DOCTRINE and HEAVEN AND HELL into the Maharati, Urdu, and Bengali dialects.

     AFRICA. Through the NEW CHURCH WEEKLY we learn that three separate movements are on foot for organized missionary work in Africa. Mr. R. S. M. Ackwonu is leading a movement on the Gold Coast, West Africa; the New Church Mission among the natives in Transvaal is now said to include 17 societies.

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An effort is also being made to effect an association among the white receivers of the doctrines in the South African Union. No mention, of course, is made of the activities in Basutoland and Durban, Natal.

     PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. Further facts about the progress of the New Church among the natives in Manila are related in the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for January 9th and 16th, where we find a report from the Rev. R. T. Strong, a recent graduate of the Theological School in Cambridge, who visited Manila on his way to his home in New Zealand. "Mr. Strong preached a sermon which was translated into Philipino by a little girl of about fourteen years of age. This little child expects to become the translator for the Philipinos of New Church literature. She has the prospect of a very useful and happy life." Mr. Strong describes the church as-a room open to the street, the Boor being made of loose stones and wood shavings," where "a native Philipino preaches the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem." This intelligent native minister, Mr. Ildefonso Agulo, has been taking correspondence course in the Cambridge Theological School, and Mr. Strong recommends that he be sent to Cambridge in September.
Philadelphia Local Assembly 1918

Philadelphia Local Assembly       K. R. ALDEN       1918




     Announcements.



     Philadelphia Local Assembly.-April 12th, 13th, 14th, at the Advent Church, 5423 Wyalusing Ave., all friends are cordially invited to be present. K. R. ALDEN, Minister.
ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE              1918

     REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.

     During the month some of the homoeopathic medicine cases have been sent to those soldiers who wanted them. Each case contains 10 remedies, selected with the help of a physician. A small pamphlet describing the use of each remedy was pasted on each box. We are assured that these boxes will be of service to our men. Mr. Will Morris writes: "As far as I can make out the army authorities do not recognize Homoeopathy at all, and as I am a firm adherent of its principles, find myself in rather an awkward position, and should be very glad to have a tiny selection of the medicines I believe in!"

     The second of the series of sermons by Mr. Acton was sent out this week. The first of these, sermons was on "Love to the Lord," and the second is on "Love to the Neighbor."

     At Mr. Whitehead's recent lecture on current events a number of the soldiers' letters received by this committee were read.

     Since December 5th 163 pounds of wool, costing $582.25, have gone through the hands of this committee. From Pittsburgh, 4 sweaters, 3 mufflers, 3 pairs of wristlets, 3 helmets, I trench cap, and 18 pairs of socks have been sent to different men. Other societies have also been busy supplying the soldiers with knitted garments.

     NEWS NOTES.

     This month has brought news of the safe arrival in France of three more of our men, Louis Pendleton, who is with the U. S. Quartermaster's Corps, Sapper Harry Hilldale, and George Bellinger, of the Canadian Army. George Bellinger left a Canadian port a week ago.

     The Field of Honor continues to grow. Five new names are to be added this month. Doron Synnestvedt, after several unsuccessful attempts to enlist, has been accepted as a U. S. Civilian Employee. His work will be in the line of constructing piers, bridges, and railroads in France. Doron was delighted to be taken in. He says, "After a waste of five months trying to enlist, I gave up in despair, but now have orders to embark for France tomorrow." Harold Pitcairn passed his examination for the U. S. Aviation Corps. He expects to be called out to report for duty at some flying school soon. Hobart Smith, Arthur Synnestvedt, and Edward Davis were all accepted in the last call.

     The following extract is taken from the Philadelphia LEDGER: "Captain Robert B. Caldwell, who was adjutant of the 314th Pennsylvania Regiment, has been promoted to be a major of the second Battalion of that regiment. Major Caldwell is a resident of Bryn Athyn."

     Fred Synnestvedt has successfully completed the eight weeks' ground school. The whole class was sent to a flying school the same day. Fred says that there was so much to be done and so little time to do it in that the scene looked like the movies when run ridiculously fast.

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Harold Doering, who was in the Princeton Flying School, has also passed from the ground school to a Texas Flying School. Harold Sellner has been sent from Ft. Slocum to Camp Jackson. He writes, "Most of the men at this camp are Southerners, and are a good bunch of fellows. The camp is said to be one of the best and it certainly could not be much better."

     Tristram Coffin has received an appointment to the officers" training camp at Camp McClellan.

     Lieut. Richard de Charms has been in France for several months. In one of his letters he writes: "I went into the Officers Club today and happened to see something that looked familiar. On investigation I found a copy of the Macon TELEGRAPH. It was dated September 5th, but I read it and looked through it as though I had found a long lost friend. It is funny how small the world is after all, isn't it?"

     Kesniel Acton, who landed in Liverpool some time last month, has been in Paris and enjoyed a visit with the Hussenets.

     Mile. Myrrha Hussenet writes that her brother, Elisee comes back from the front every four months, and it is only then that he can tell them about what he is doing; for they are not allowed to write anything of their work. Her other brother, Elie, is still prisoner in Germany. He cannot tell very much of his life over there or his letters would not pass, but he always asks for food. His family send packages twice week but never know whether he gets them.

     Crebert Burnham, in thanking us for his Christmas box, wrote an interesting letter: "I would like very much to inform you of the work and progress of our camp as there are no others like it in the States. The preparation of the camp and fields, all the machinery that had to be installed, for water, light, drainage, transportation, the shops for repairing and upkeep of the (censored) and numerous other details for the training of Pilots for the front. I might mention that when we arrived here there were only big open fields, and from that time till the present time I have been able to watch everything that has taken place; the remarkable thing is that everything we have here had to be sent from the U. S. Our squadron has established quite a reputation, and is envied by others who say that we snatched up all the easy jobs. The reason being that the majority of the construction was done by us and as something was completed a few of our boys were assigned to keep that in operation, and so on. Then as other squadrons arrived and had to go through drudgery it didn't occur to them what and how we were up against when we arrived, but they merely concluded that we were a favored bunch of ruffians. Before the railroad problem was systematized the army trucks were overworked to a certain extent, and as I was driving a truck for several months I had quite a tour of France. In the last couple of months I have been driving a touring car for the officers, and have seen still more of France."

     In his last letter Joe Knight says that he was somewhere near Roy Wells, but he did not know that Roy was in France until he had left that section.

     Francis Frost: has left Ft. Slocum and is at Camp Meigs, Washington, D. C. He says he is off duty after 4:30, and has had a chance to see a good deal of the city of Washington.

     Albert Cleare, who is at a flying school in Texas, is now ready for the school of aerial gunnery. After he has finished this course he will come home for a short visit and then go overseas, if, as he says, he is lucky.

     Theodore Bellinger writes that he has received his Christmas box. The new Canadian Government has promised leave to Canada to men who left there three years ago or more.

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His three years will be up in May, so he has hopes of getting back home this summer.

     Sergt. Barger and Sergt. Piberes have been transferred from Camp Hancock to Camp Greene. They are with the Headquarters division sent for especially by General Pershing. This division consists of men from all parts of the country, who speak French, and they are the ones who will see the interesting part of the work right there with General Pershing. It is an honor to be picked out for this division. Sergt. Barger is at present in a detention camp. It happened that a man in his camp, who was also named Barger, had spinal meningitis, and Gerrit was taken for that man and sent to the detention camp. Neville Wright and Griffith Asplundh have been sent to Camp Hancock. They will fill the gap made in the "Augusta society" by the transfer of Sergts. Barger and Piberes. Neville writes: "Tonight at the 'Y' a French officer told us some plain facts about the war, and he certainly showed the finest spirit h his attitude towards the war and the German people as a whole. His was an attitude of charity for such of the Germans who might have 'a little good left in them.' He, however, brought out the fact that the Kaiser and Prussianism must be defeated no matter how long it takes. He made the statement that he had now spoken to some 500,000 American troops in training, and said if the Kaiser could see what he had seen he would get cold feet."

     News has just come that Roy Wells has been made a corporal.

     In Rupert Kuhl's last letter he said that he was "on a rest,-not doing much except answering a 'phone. Imagine a telegraph operator with nothing to do and you will have my work down pat,-outside of attending parades and some practice in signaling. Of course, it is not quite so soft when in the front line trenches as Fritz has a habit of sending over shells at times which are rather dangerous if they happen to land close. They even break the lines some times. Then he hasn't the decency to quit firing while we fix the line. Just the opposite, if he happens to get a glimpse of us,-even turns machine guns our way. The Germans sure abide by the old saying, All's fair in love and war. Maybe we do the same. I don't mind it in the least if I happen to be in a deep dugout, but it's rather annoying when out doing the work." He also says that he has not met any American soldiers yet, and is sorry to say it is not likely that he will, as Canadian and American soldiers do not work in the same section.

     Mr. Adolf Lodsing, at Ft. Oglethorpe, says of their camp: "Our camp is located in the midst of the famous battle grounds of the Civil War, and there are numerous monuments where great battles were fought and men gave their lives for the cause they thought was just and right. The scenes are very inspiring to all of us who are here."

     Pierre Vinet was given the choice of staying in Allentown and teaching 600 men French or of going to France. He says that he expects to sail about the middle of March.

     Captain Charles Olds, who has been in Bryn Athyn for several months awaiting orders to report, has been sent to Ft. Oglethorpe.

     Arthol Soderberg is at an aviation camp in Texas. He writes: "I am very glad to know that the LIFE and BULLETIN are coming, as it is through them that we are kept in touch with the Church and its activities. I am writing to Mr. Peterson to arrange to meet him. His camp is about two miles from mine. I would like very much to meet one of the New Church boys again, as this is not likely to happen often since most of us are quite far apart." Mr. Peterson writes us that he received Arthol's card at an embarkation camp in New Jersey.

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Some of the boys of his division were on the Tuscania.

     The following is quoted from A. J. Appleton's letter: "My best wishes go out to the Academy War Service Committee in the work they have set out to do. I can assure you from experience it is an important use and although I can only speak for myself, very much appreciated. I am sure others in like conditions to myself must feel that it stimulates with them their love for the things of the Church, although far removed from its warm and congenial sphere as far as externals go."

     We hear from Frank Doering that he is now fully equipped for service in France, even to his gas mask. And if equipment signifies anything he will sail before many weeks have passed.

     Fred Bellinger is now a Cadet at Ft. Worth, Texas. He and Kenneth Hicks are able to see each other quite frequently. Some of our boys there have been in pretty bad crashes and had their machines broken to pieces but none of them have been hurt.

     Captain Edwin Asplundh tells us that his work continues to increase. "Just last week one of the problems given to all supply officers as a means of determining their efficiency was as follows: Submit detailed written report of all orderly and systematic steps necessary to be taken in the preparation for and the transportation of the entire division from Camp Hancock across seas. Give detail and resume of all information, arrangements, directions required to effect an orderly and expeditious movement." We might add here that Captain Asplundh passed his examination the second highest

     Mr. Lewis Alien, of Homestead. Pa., has received a commission of Captain in the National Guard of Pennsylvania. This Guard is to take the place of the regular National Guard for State service in case of strikes, riots and disasters, and other disorders. This is necessary especially in Pennsylvania. Several other Pittsburgh men also belong. Mr. Arthur Lechner is quartermaster sergeant.

     Mr. Charles R. Pendleton has, since last summer, been in some interesting government work at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. He has charge of the industrial training of the Yard which at present comprises the Apprentice School of about 250 boys between the ages, of 15 and 21, and the Mechanics Training Courses totaling about 150 young men.

     The regular apprentices are given two afternoons a week in the class room where they are taught mechanical drawing, shop mathematics and business English. The rest of the working hours, they are under competent instructors in the shops or on the ships learning, and at the same time working at their trades.

     The Mechanics Training Courses follow the same general scheme of the Apprentice School, but are more specialized, more intense and of shorter duration. The Apprentice School courses run for three years and deal with all the phases of the particular trades involved, as well as a certain amount of experience in related trades. The Mechanics Training Courses run from six weeks to six months, and are limited to the smallest possible amount of training necessary to do the work needed so badly at the present time.
EDITORIAL APOLOGIES 1918

EDITORIAL APOLOGIES              1918

     The belated appearance of the February LIFE was caused by difficulties in obtaining paper for the issue.

     The "Notes and Reviews" and the "Field of Honor" list were mislaid by the printer in Lancaster, and must be reserved for the April number.

     Persistent ill-health has compelled the author of the Biography of John Pitcairn to suspend this work for the present.



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EDWARD POLLOCK ANSHUTZ 1918

EDWARD POLLOCK ANSHUTZ       ENOCH S. PRICE       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII APRIL, 1918           No. 4
[Frontpiece: Photo of Edward Anschultz, with his signature beneath it.]

     BORN MARCH 23, 1846. DIED JANUARY 31, 1918.

     The second one of the founders of NEW CHURCH LIFE has passed from the sphere of earthly activities into that of the Spiritual world.

     Edward Pollock Anshutz was, together with Charles P. Stuart, the author and editor of a manuscript paper read at the monthly meetings of the Young Peoples' Club, of the Cherry Street Society of the New Church in Philadelphia, What this manuscript paper was called is not recorded, but what it resulted in is told on the first page of the first issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, January, 1881. In order that the present generation may learn this bit of New Church history it would seem well to reprint that short article. It is as follows:

     NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     A few years ago, about thirty of the young people connected with the New Church in Philadelphia, formed a Club for intellectual and social culture. In the fall of 1879 they began a Manuscript Paper for their own use. In its contents, the paper was somewhat miscellaneous, treating of topics, doctrinal, literary, and social. Some of the articles were intended to instruct and others merely to amuse. Of the later numbers of the periodical, manuscript copies were made and sent to friends in other cities. The paper met with so favorable a reception that its continuance was called for. This led to the conclusion that its sphere might profitably be enlarged so as to embrace the Young People of the New Church generally. Measures were accordingly taken to print and publish the paper, and as the result, we herewith present the first number of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Devoted to the interests of the Young People of the New Church, our journal will, we hope, satisfy a great want in our literature. The NEW CHURCH LIFE will be very similar in its character to the manuscript paper; only that the Department of Correspondence and Church News will be greatly enlarged.

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As formerly, contributions will, for the most part, be from the young people themselves.

     The NEW CHURCH LIFE is to be thoroughly and distinctively a New Church paper, designed to promote the culture of the Young People in the doctrines and life of the Church; thus, if possible, leading them to embrace fervently the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem as the only means of becoming true men and women.

     And, finally, by bringing the Young People into closer relation with one another, the NEW CHURCH LIFE, it is hoped, will become an ultimate of that bond of love which must always exist among those whose one great aim is to become useful members of the New Church which, in heaven and on earth, is "the Crown of all Churches."

     Mr. Anshutz and Mr. Stuart were the originators of the paper, but when it became a regular printed journal, under the title of NEW CHURCH LIFE, a board of editors was organized, whose names appear in the first number, as follows: Andrew Czerny, Charles P. Stuart, E. J. E. Schreck, Gee. G. Starkey and E. P. Anshutz.

     This article is not intended for a history of the LIFE, but since a man's use is the real man, it was necessary to make this review; for when we, of the older generation of Academy men, first knew Mr. Anshutz, that paper was his active love, and continued to be so for a number of years. His last contribution to the pages of LIFE was, so far as the General Index shows, in March, 1888.

     Up to that date Mr. Anshutz had been a frequent contributor in the way of Papers, Fables, Humorous Sketches and Stories. We find in the General Index one hundred and five titles under Mr. Anshutz's name. We think that will show that up to March, 1888, Mr. Anshutz was a more frequent contributor to NEW CHURCH LIFE than any other one person.

     Mr. Anshutz had one strong peculiarity, that of doing one thing at a time to the exclusion of all others. He was a tremendous reader, and all was grist that came to his mill, but not at one time. If the impulse were on him to read history, for the time being he read nothing else. So also with fiction, of which he read, in the course of his life, an immense amount.

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He was always a reader of the Writings to some extent; but, at times, the spell would come upon him, and he would read nothing but the Writings. At such times he has told me that there was nothing else in the world that was worth reading. It is a question whether, at the time of his death, there was a layman in the world who had read the Writings as much as he.

     As another instance of his devoting himself to one thing at a time, it may be permitted to tell this:

     He once told me that he took up the study of the violin, and devoted himself to it exclusively for a number of years, taking lessons from the very best masters he could obtain. But all of a sudden he locked his instrument in its case, and, when he looked at it the next time, his pear old fiddle had fallen apart from disuse.

     After the violin his next venture was the French language, which he learned from books entirely without a teacher. He acquired in that way such mastery of the language that he was able to read, and did read, a cart load, more or less; of French literature.

     Mr. Anshutz was a devoted Newchurchman with a firm belief in the Divine Inspiration of the Writings, of which he was a constant reader. Of that some were at times led to doubt on account of his intense love of argument on any side of any question. But we wish to assure those who read this sketch, that that love of argument was not the love of confirming falsity; Mr. Anshutz was not a confirmer. It was rather like the delight that a skilled fencer feels in touching the steel of his opponent. There is no enmity against the opponent. There was always a twinkle in his eye when engaged in these arguments, and at the next meeting he was quite likely to be on the other side. With him it was all pure fun. When really in earnest he was always found on the side of the doctrine.

     After leaving the work of the LIFE, Mr. Anshutz entered the office of the Boericke & Tafel Homoepathic Pharmacy, where he conducted two periodicals in the interest of the homoepathic practice of medicine, namely, THE HOMOEOPATHIC RECORDER, a dignified monthly magazine for the use of the profession, and THE HOMOEOPATHIC ENVOY, an eight page paper, in a popular form, intended for the laity.

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     He also compiled and published several books on Homoeopathic practice, among them books on the care of poultry and dogs with the use of Homoeopathic remedies, something that had not been done before.

     He was decorated with the honorary degree of M. D. by the Hering Medical College of Chicago in 1909. He was an honorary member of the International Hahnemannian Association, Associate Member of the American Institute of Homoepathy, Corresponding Member of the Homoepathia Society of France; he was a member of the Masonic fraternity. What is still more interesting for us to know, he was a member of the Academy of the New Church.

     Edward Pollock Anshutz was born in Clarington, Ohio, March 23, 1846. He was the son of Jacob and Abigail Jane (Pollock) Anshutz. His education was acquired in the public schools of West Virginia and afterwards in Heron's Seminary, in Cincinnati.

     His father and mother were devoted New Church members. As nearly as we are able to learn, their coming into the Church was in this wise: Abigail Jane Pollock's father, together with some of his neighbors, engaged David Powell, afterwards the Rev. David Powell, to conduct a private school. In this school their children received their early education. In this school, in addition to the three R's, Miss Abigail Jane received the doctrines of the New Church. Mr. Jacob Anshutz received the doctrines after his marriage to Miss Pollock. Their children-the subject of this sketch, Miss Edith Anshutz, still living, Thomas, the artist, long connected with the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and Sidney, for some time a newspaper editor in West Virginia-were all brought up in the doctrines of the New Church.

     His death was sudden and quite unexpected. On Tuesday previous to his death he had appeared as well as usual when he left the office of Boericke & Tafel. On Wednesday, not feeling well, he remained at home. On Thursday, January 31, he rose and dressed, sat down in his chair and died.

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     Like all real Newchurchmen, our friend, Ed, had no fear of death. It did not mean annihilation to him, nor did it mean resting in the darkness and oblivion of the grave till the last trump shall sound, but the passing on to a higher sphere of usefulness, activity, and progression.

     From a long and intimate friendship with Ed Anshutz I might write almost endless reminiscences; but space will not permit. But these few lines are written that his memory may not perish from among Newchurchmen; for he played a part in founding what we all love, the General Church of the New Jerusalem, perhaps not directly, but as one of the young pioneers in the Academy movement. That it is well with him in his Father's house is the firm conviction of the writer of this little tribute. ENOCH S. PRICE.

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SPIRITUAL RECESSION 1918

SPIRITUAL RECESSION        N. D. PENDLETON       1918

     "If ye say, We will not dwell in this land . . . saying No, but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, and shall not hear the sound of the trumpet and shall not hunger for bread, and there will we dwell. . . . But if ye set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there, it shall be that the sword which ye fear shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine whereof ye were afraid shall follow hard after you, there in Egypt, and there ye shall die; so shall if be with all the men who set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there; they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by pestilence, none of them shall remain or escape from the evil which I will bring upon them and ye shall be for and execration, an astonishment, also a curse, and a reproach, and ye shall see this place no more." (Jeremiah xlii:13-18.)

     Israel's' journey from Egypt to Canaan represents the process of regeneration-from natural becoming spiritual.

     The process is represented by a journey from one place to another; the place from which the journey is taken representing the natural; that to which it leads, the spiritual.

     From place to place is, therefore, from state to state, the journey signifying a change. This is a spiritual journey. In the spiritual world all movements are a result of change of state. In the material world natural journeys are a potent means of bringing about mental changes. Alterations in the natural environment in the world invite a corresponding change in the mind. Such an alteration produces in the spiritual world a change in the external spiritual environment. This change then takes the form of a journey as from one place to another.

     For this reason, the process of regeneration and the establishment of a Church is in the Word pictured by the journey of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. Indeed that historic event was designed and carried out for the sake of this spiritual representation. Israel was induced to represent a spiritual Church from its rise to its fall.

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To this end the Sons of Jacob were introduced into Egypt and afterwards by many miracles led from thence to Canaan. And when the kingdom of Judah was destroyed, and Jerusalem sacked, its inhabitants-many of them-were deported by the Babylonians. Of the remnant, a group fled to Egypt for safety. This group, under the leadership of Johanan, first enquired of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, that He might show them "the way" wherein they "should walk" and the "thing" that they "should do." After ten days the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, and he replied in the words of our text, warning them not to flee into Egypt, but to abide in Judah under the Babylonian governor set over them. They would not heed his words. Their fear was great. They fled to Egypt in order that they might see no more "war," nor yet "hear the sound of the trumpet." In after years when the captives were returned from Babylon, and Jerusalem rebuilt, nothing was heard of those who had fled to Egypt. The prophecy that they should "see this place no more" was fulfilled. They were forever lost to Israel.

     As the journey from Egypt to Canaan represented the process of regeneration or from natural becoming spiritual, so going back from Canaan to Egypt represents the opposite, that is, a spiritual reversion. The man who undergoes this reverse process is lost. This is the reason why the prophets under any and every condition forbid a return to Egypt. Such return represented a surrender of all that had been gained by previous combats and victories. It was a return to the early bondage, as if there had been no journey out of Egypt, no temptations in the wilderness, no conquest of Canaan, and no dwelling in the land. To return to Egypt was to give up all hope of a future for Israel. It was a confession of failure-a complete surrender. The true course was pointed out by Jeremiah, to abide in the land and there await the return of the captives from Babylon, for such a return was promised. To flee to Egypt was to desert Israel. It was an act of cowardice resulting from distrust of the Lord's promise. Of all nations Israel could least resist the alluring influences of Egyptian civilization; this is evident from the whole history of that people. Doubtless this tendency arose from the powerful impression made by Egypt on Israel in its childhood days.

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The longing to return to Egypt, so often mentioned of the journey in the wilderness, being an early fundamental affection, was never eradicated. Even the glorious Solomon fell deeply under the Egyptian spell. Now, at the end of Judah, as an independent kingdom, a group fled to Egypt in defiance of prophetic warning given at the time by one of the greatest and most powerful of Israel's prophets. It appears that they carried Jeremiah with them. From Egypt he gave forth several prophecies against that country which are recorded; but the actual fate of this group is not known. It is to be presumed that they surrendered to the Egyptian spirit and in time lost all sense of their identity as Jews.

     A return to Egypt was at all times forbidden the Jews for the reason that such a return represented reversion from a spiritual to a natural state of life which of all things is most to be feared. Nothing causes the spiritual man more concern than the prospect of such a falling away. The temptations which suggest this danger strike deeply. More than usual firmness is required. In some form temptations of this character are a universal complaint; they are expressed by the often repeated phrase, "Sighing for the flesh pots of Egypt." All have experienced the desire to return to past states of delight associated with the affections of the natural mind. All who have entered into conflict, at times long for the quiet which they enjoyed prior to the beginning of temptations; they long for that state when they "knew not war" nor had as yet "heard the sound of the trumpet" calling them to battle; this even though they may know that the former state of peace was one of bondage. The form of this temptation varies greatly, but its general characteristic is clearly marked. The whole history of Israel evidences a struggle with this human weakness. That which continually emerges in the life history of a people is a characteristic of the individual. The Jews were natural-sensual, they were induced to represent the spiritual. Their abandonment of Canaan for Egypt, while it signified a spiritual reversion, involved no such state. It did, however, involve a putting aside of their ability to represent the spiritual man.

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When, therefore, they had once gone down into Egypt to dwell there they ceased to represent, and we hear of them no more. The Word of the Lord concerns itself with the representation of spiritual values, and therefore with the history of this people only in so far as they were in a position to comply with this purpose, that is, to represent the Church in its struggle for spiritual ideals. They could no longer represent this struggle after going back into Egypt, because when a man recedes and abides in the life of his natural affections, there is nothing of the Church left-no ideals to fight for. It is needful to rise out of natural and enter into spiritual states, but it is of utmost need that man should remain in the spiritual one attained. This is the burden of the text. The question before Johanan and his followers was one of safety-security for the future. As the representatives of spiritual men they judged according to the appearance and, therefore, fell away from the power to represent. To them it appeared that Egypt afforded security, doubtless it did-to them as individuals-as natural men. But to gain this they abandoned Israel. They sacrificed the spiritual prospect. Aside from the promise of the Lord there was little reason for believing that the captives would return and rebuild Jerusalem.

     This is the despairing element in temptations. At the time, natural considerations appear weighty-prudential fore-thought leads. Self-concern is keenly felt. In this state of mind spiritual ideals seem as colorless abstractions. The fulfillment of spiritual ends in human life appears remote if not impossible. The prophet tells of renewal and restoration, and advises a steadfast holding to all that has been gained. But his words are not heeded by the discouraged-the cowardly Johanan within us,-we forget the moment of uplifting-of high resolve-when we perceived spiritual ideals, when we formulated our doctrinal standards, and engaged to hold the faith, confident in the Lord's promise, "If ye will still abide in this land, then will I build you, and not pull you down, and I will plant you, and not pluck you up." These are the words of Jeremiah to Johanan.

     For Johanan and his followers the outlook for dwelling in the land was not attractive.

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In their fear they looked for safety where, it was not to be found. Jeremiah prophesied and history afterwards proved, Egypt afforded no security against the power of the East. In turn it also was overrun and, subjugated, while the prophecy concerning the return and rebuilding was, as by a miracle, actually fulfilled. Israel with its spiritual strength and natural weakness was alone safe in those troubled days.

     There is no security for one who falls away from the spiritual stronghold of his life. One thinks that by so doing he will find rest from the alarms of war. This is a pure delusion. There is no state of life so unrestful as that of the spiritual reversionist-no fate so deplorable. The Lord does not allow, He does not even permit it-yet He can not always prevent.

     We must distinguish between necessary reactions and permanent recessions. No one afflicted with human failings, suffering from human limitations, can endure a continual spiritual advance, not even the angels. The fruit of every movement is secured by some kind of reaction-for this cause the reactionary is a conservative. By a kind of instinct we know that we must stop and rest in order to make sure of the results of any effort, and before another effort is under way. This is the law of life in all its phases.

     Life itself is a pulse-an iterated beat, a rhythmic stroke-resulting in expansion and constriction-in lights and shadows. As long as there is life there is a reaction and a renewal. It is so with spiritual life. Once established it can not be obliterated -save with a few, who by spiritual recession desert Israel for Egypt,-who sell themselves into everlasting bondage. "And ye shall be for an execration, an astonishment, and a curse, and a reproach." This of Johanan and his followers in case they should do the thing they contemplated. The words fittingly describe the state of a spiritual apostate-"an execration, an astonishment, a curse, and a reproach." Fortunately this state is rare.

     Of Judah as a people-many were carried captive to Babylon. These were the chosen-those selected to pass through the fires of temptation, the stress of captivity, and to come forth purified and prepared for a new upbuilding, prepared to enter upon a new state of life and freedom.

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Besides the captives, a selection of whom were brought back to Jerusalem, many remained in Judah to husband the land. These were preserved-they were the faithful. They formed a body to which the returned captives became as a soul in the new state established. Only a small group fled to Egypt.

     Of those in the Church who become spiritual men, it is provided that they can and will remain steadfast. This is revealed; still the warning is given, lest-men take their spiritual states for granted. There are some, a few unfaithful at heart, who can not be prevented from penetrating into spiritual things, and becoming as spiritual men. These fall away when the test comes. When temptations begin they flee. They are spiritual deserters-their state is more deplorable than that of any other mortals.

     But this total recession must be distinguished from normal reactions. During the period of temptations men may not be able to clearly distinguish. In outward seeming they may be alike, at least for a time. The real state manifests itself after the temptation is passed. The question is whether a revival can be given-a revival from spiritual stupor arising from a relapse into the life of the natural affections-from a seeking and finding the purposes and the joys of life in those affections. This is that going down into Egypt to abide there, which is deadly, "It shall be that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt, and there ye shall die and ye shall be for an execration, an astonishment and a curse and a reproach, and ye shall see this place no more."

     This is the spiritual death of one who was in the way of becoming a spiritual man. Nothing causes greater concern than the threat of such an end. This threat is in all the deeper temptations.

     No matter what the temptation, we must abide in the land, hold to the Church, and there await the Lord's promise to build us up. This is vital. Outside the Church there is no protection, the man is a prey to evil influences. He can not resist. For there is no inherent power against evil in him. He must be withheld by the Lord, by a powerful force. The application of this force requires certain conditions within the man and about him.

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These conditions constitute the Church-internal and external. When man keeps within the sphere of the Church, he is not immune from temptations, he undergoes many vicissitudes, suffers many reactions,-but there is no recession. The temptation passes and he finds himself still abiding in the land. This is the real victory. It is a passive power of resistance rather than an active attack. A holding to the Church-its faith-its standards-blindly and when the heart is cold. This is the test. Those who sustain it, are in so doing built up by the Lord. Those who fail, lose their faith-depart from the Church, and forever after wander in Egyptian darkness.

     The matter of living the life of the Church-the life of a Newchurchman-is a serious undertaking. It does not come naturally, nor as of itself; constant watchfulness and unceasing effort are needed. We put on the faith of the Church as a garment and wear it lightly, somewhat as a matter of course. But this garment of faith must be inwrought into our souls by spiritual toil and strife.

     This is the obligation assumed by those who are covenanted by faith to a new life. The obligation is more than serious. Its requirements are imperative.

     There is urgency in the command to go forward. There are dangers ahead-hardships and many disappointments-but behind in the direction of Egypt-there is certain death, that is, a loss of all that has given life its spiritual meaning. That which gives life its meaning, calls for an entire love and a supreme devotion. For this every man, every nation will fight to the end-will make the "last great sacrifice" if necessary.

     It must be so with the spiritual man. It is so. His faith has become in woven in his soul. He can not give it up. In temptations he stands fast. Though he can not see, yet he believes, and in this he is blessed. Blessed are they who see not and yet believe; who in the blindness of doubt and despair yet hold fast to their faith. And this is their blessing, that the Lord will build them and not pull them down, He will plant them and not pluck them up He will keep them safe in the land of His promise, the spiritual Canaan.

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REV. CARL THEOPHILUS ODHNER 1918

REV. CARL THEOPHILUS ODHNER        N. D. PENDLETON       1918

     MEMORIAL ADDRESS MARCH 13, 1918.

     The death of our friend finds us unprepared. We do not see the way clearly,-his many services to the Church, the School, to his family, win be performed by others, in so far as possible; but it is a never failing law that no man can do the use of another. The office, the employment, may be taken up and carried on,-but each man's use is his own from the Lord. He alone can perform it. For its sake the Lord brought him into the world and formed him-molded his thoughts and shaped his affections-qualified him by a thousand modes-characterized him by innumerable experiences, natural and spiritual, some of them troubles and toil others joys and pleasures-until at length the man becomes a formed else, which is a spiritual thing of marvelous structure and beauty-a thing unique and immortal.

     When a man in this world becomes a formed use-a highly organized celestial affection-he dies. This in order that the use, which he has become, may be born into its full flower, may enter into its real function, and enjoy the transcendent activities and powers inherent in it.

     For the sake of this the man dies, puts aside the body of hindering clay and rises fully inspired and empowered into the world of the spirit, and there dwells among spirits of like inspiration and powers-of like affections and thoughts, of like use.

     In the world we dimly see-obscurely feel-this use forming within our fellow-men, and when we perceive it to be something good, struggling to express itself, to extend itself to others as a blessing,-we love it. Maybe also it touches and arouses the spiritual part in us. If so, perhaps an eternal junction is formed which death may not break.

     Yet when the man dies, we say that he is lost to us. We know him no more. His natural personality-and his spiritual personality, so far as we have perceived it, is lost to our view. All spiritual junctions between souls formed in this life remain-they are not severed by death.

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But to men in the world, they are super-conscious, like interior affections-too fine to be consciously felt. The dead are, to our senses, as those who have gone away-and do not return. Seemingly we have only the memory of them, and with the passing of time this grows dim,-at least it becomes less frequently active. As persons, individualized uses, we know them no longer. It is true and it is a grief to us. It can not be otherwise.

     And so I say-the death of our friend finds us unprepared. It is always so-more or less-but strikingly so now. It sounds trite to say that we shall miss him-and inadequate. And yet I know not in what other words to express the thought and feeling common to us all. The place he has filled with distinguished ability for so many years-his wide usefulness-his marked personality-his strong nature, and emphatic disposition-all conspired to make him, as he was, an unusual man-a man whose influence, as a decisive force, reached and affected all.

     I can not at this time give even a sketch of the life and work of Mr. Odhner, but of one thing of supreme importance I desire to speak,-one thing, that deeply affected me when he was an intimate companion of my youth, and which has always remained as a bond not to be broken-an inspiration not to be forgotten-his ardent love of the New Church and of all things connected with the Church. Certainly he was a strong partisan for the distinctive New Church. He was a soldier on guard at the gates-a watchman on the walls of the City.

     We are unprepared for his going, not only because it will be difficult to fill his place, and more than difficult to put his many duties and responsibilities upon other shoulders already over-burdened, but, primarily, because he was a positive intellectual force in the Church which can ill be spared. My feeling is that we shall realize this more as time passes. He was a positive intellectual force-a doctrinal standard bearer of the Academy, one who felt and heeded the call to battle uncompromisingly for the purity of doctrine as he understood it. For he perceived that the charities of a spiritual life go hand in hand with integrity of doctrine, that truth is necessary to the purification and elevation of good, that the world is to be saved, not by a subtle sentimental process, but by means of a Divine Revelation, by means of the truth of the internal sense-the Heavenly Doctrine.

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     This was his love-the Heavenly Doctrine. Therefore he was a doctrinal man, and in this he stood four-square. Let me say again, we shall miss him, and repeat in order to rectify the statement, that we are unprepared for his going. This is as it appears-the seeming to our human minds engaged with perplexing affairs.

     No! His going was prepared-he was prepared, and so were we-though we knew it not. For it is thus with death, and with the Lord's Providence in death. That great event in the life of man is always, in mercy, prepared. When the time comes it is best for him who goes and for all. This is that precept of faith which man, though not seeing, must yet believe-that when death comes it is best-nay, it is more than best, it is very good, for death in this sense is the hand of the Lord, and the faithful so call it. The unmistakable hand of the Lord-and irrevocable. This is why men stand in awe when they look in the face of the dead. It is a wonderful thing to do, especially if the face be that of a friend of long years' standing, and of a thousand intimate memories. It is wonderful, not because of the stillness, but be cause the mind in vision sees the living transformation within-the resurrection.

     The Writings say there is holiness in the resurrection; this because of the presence of the Lord-working with power to raise the dead,-and because of the Lord's own resurrection, which is most holy. He also passed through the valley of the shadow. And in so doing, He enlightens the way of every man going out of the world. In looking upon the face of the dead we may see this light of the Lord leading and guiding, and in that light, the holy angels, in the ministry of their sacred service, in the mystery of their secret work for the emancipation of souls-the breaking of the house of clay-the freeing of the immortal spirit from bondage to the ultimate body, and its uplifting.

     All this we see if gifted with spiritual vision-and in seeing we understand that the word "death" has no meaning to the angels-they think only of the resurrection. To them death is a shadow dissipated by the light that falls upon souls emerging from the realm of nature.

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     Thus it is with our friend. This is the day of his resurrection, and we rejoice in the joy that has come to him, through the opening miracles of the unending life, now for him commencing.
CARL THEOPHILUS ODHNER 1918

CARL THEOPHILUS ODHNER              1918

     MEMORIAL RESOLUTION.

     At the regular weekly meeting of the President's Council of the Academy of the New Church on the twenty-second of March the Council by a rising vote unanimously adopted the following Memorial Resolution:

     The Lord in His Providence having called from our midst our beloved and respected colleague, Professor Carl Theophilus Odhner, we, his collaborators in the Academy of the New Church, do hereby memorialize our deep affection for our honored friend, and our warm appreciation of the indefatigable and scholarly work which he has done in our midst, first as an instructor even while still a student in our Theological School in 1886, and later as professor of Church History and Theology. Throughout these thirty years of faithful service New Church education had a constant and staunch supporter, a wide and stirring publicist, a profound and original scholar. Our prayer and consolation is that our colleague now may be able still more to inspire others as well as ourselves to continue and advance the great work which he did.

     The memorial and the action of the President's Council was reported on the eighth of April to the regular monthly meeting of the General Faculty consisting of all the teachers of the Academy. The General Faculty by a unanimous rising vote resolved to reaffirm and spread the Memorial upon its minutes.
     REGINALD W. BROWN,
     Secretary of the President's Council.

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OPENED EYES 1918

OPENED EYES       E. P. ANSHUTZ       1918

     (Reprinted from the NEW CHURCH LIFE, June, 1885, p. 92.)

     Not long ago I had occasion to make a journey to parts but little known. I spoke to my friend, Brown, about my object, and he bluntly told me that I was bent on a bad errand. But everything I aimed at was strictly legal, and I thought Brown was toes harsh. I told him so and said that sentiment was all very well in its place, but in this practical world a man must first look out for number one; that if a business man followed his superfine ideas of right, he would remain poor all his life; that I violated no laws in my dealings with my fellowmen, and that if their were not sharp enough to look out for themselves it was not my place to do it for them. We parted, and I could see that Brown was not convinced. All this has no direct bearing on the story I wish to relate, but the story is rather ghastly, and somehow when I think of it, as I often do, in some confused way it is connected with what Brown said.

     I arrived at my destination; it took two days to reach it after leaving the railroad. For two weeks I was very busy with my mission. I had to be very circumspect not to arouse the suspicions-not of anything illegal-of those with whom I dealt, It was a delicate stroke of business, and I finally succeeded in all my points save one, and on that one depended the success of all. To gain this one I had to talk over a very shrewd man and, at times, I feared that he would prove too shrewd for me. At times I thought that he had an inkling of my scheme-which would have defeated me-and at others I fancied that he was conniving to take me in. I hoped that the latter was true, for I had no fear of his being able to get ahead of a man of my experience in such matters.

     The place I was staying at was a small town, very prettily situated. One afternoon I sat for a long time thinking how I could circumvent this man who was blocking my path, but could arrive at no conclusion. In fact, I began to fear that my venture would be a failure.

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At last, tired of sitting so long, I went for a walk. I soon left the little town and, tempted by a path that looked inviting, I followed it, and came to a secluded little tract of country that was very beautiful. My path had led me through a clump of trees and bushes, and when I emerged into the open country I remember being struck with the very bright light that seemed to fill the air. The sky was intensely blue, and somehow I felt that I had never before been able to see as clearly as I did then. It was a keen pleasure to stroll along and feel that sight, which at my age begins to grow a little dim, was still capable of being enjoyed as now. I had not gone far when I saw, a short distance in front of me, the man of whom I had been thinking so intently. I was glad at this, for one trouble had been to catch him alone, as was necessary to the success of my plans. I hurried to overtake him, when, to my disappointment, I saw that he had a companion. Mingled with my disappointment was another feeling such as one has in a dark room when one suddenly becomes aware of a presence he did not know was there before. There was no reason that I could see why I should not have seen this companion before, for there was nothing intervening to hide him, but I had not, and this seeing two where I had thought there was but one I suppose was the cause of my creepy, cold feeling.

     As I neared the two I saw that my friend, as I always called the troublesome customer, was carrying something in his arms, and his appearance gave me the impression that he clung to it lovingly. I could not see what it was, as his back was towards me. Had it been night, I suppose such a feeling would have been more dreadful, at least such horrors are usually connected with darkness, and yet I doubt if the blackest night could have increased the creeping horror this idea caused me. All I could see of the object he carried was a little portion of it that showed near his shoulder on one side and down near his hip on the other. That near his shoulder looked hairy and brown, something like a cocoanut, and that near his hip like the hem of a soiled garment. I rubbed my eyes and said: "This is mere foolishness," and, in spite of the cold horror I felt, forced myself to draw nearer.

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As I approached I called my friend's name, but he did not stop or look around, but his companion did. When I saw his face I felt like laughing, not that there was anything comical or grotesque in it; in fact, it was rather a handsome face, but it struck me as being so stupid. So intent was I looking at this man that I forgot the horror that but a moment before was crawling over me. I was about to give this stupid-looking man a mock salutation, but, as I drew closer, an indescribable something in his face made me refrain; In fact, after the first close glance I did not like to look him in the eyes, but kept mine fastened on the ground. I saluted him very civilly, and he returned the greeting. His voice was very gentle, but it caused me a vague anxiety. Then, still keeping my eyes on the ground, I spoke to my friend but he paid no attention, but drew the thing he carried still closer to him.

     "What is the matter with him!" I asked of the stranger. "Doesn't he hear me?"

     "He is deaf," the stranger replied.

     "That is very strange," I said. "It was but yesterday that I was talking to him, and I thought his hearing was very acute."

     "Too much so for my purpose," I might have added. As no answer was made to this, I further asked, "How long has he been so?"

     "He has been so since childhood," he replied.

     "Indeed; then I have made a mistake."

     But though I had not seen his face, I was positive he was my friend. I stepped to his side to look at his face, but my eyes fell upon the object he was hugging to his breast. What I saw caused me to feel a sick horror such as one might feel if the clammy hand of a corpse should suddenly seize him by the throat. The thing he carried had features that had somewhat of human in them, but were livid, blue-black, as though from putrefaction, and horribly distorted, and its head was thinly covered with a coarse hair that seemed plastered on. Its hands seemed to be decaying and its clothing filthy and rotten. This hideous sight in itself was enough to shake the strongest nerves, but words cannot express the clammy horror that seized me when I looked into its eyes, for then I saw that it was alive.

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One quick glance at my friend's face assured me that I had not been mistaken in his identity, and then I stepped back trembling.

     "What is the matter with him?" I gasped.

     "He is insane," the stranger answered.

     "What is that awful thing he hugs to his bosom?" I asked; but the stranger did not answer.

     I drew my hand across my forehead and shook myself, for I felt that I must be suffering from a frightful nightmare, but I could not shake it off.

     "Who are you?" I asked of the stranger.

     "I am his guardian."

     "Then why do you permit him to carry that-ugh! that living, rotten death in his arms!"

     "I cannot take it from him. He loves it so that he would have no life left were it torn from him."

     I felt cold and sick. I could not look again upon the frightful object my friend clasped to his bosom, and I could not resist the fascination of remaining.

     "He cannot always carry it in his arms," I exclaimed.

     "No, he generally hides it," was the answer.

     I gazed with straining eyes at my friend, and as I did so I became aware that the nameless horror he carried was glaring at me over his shoulder with a lurid death-glare of hate, a hate so malignant that I recoiled and shook with terror. It placed both its rotting yet living hands on his shoulders and slowly yet murderously raised itself, and I saw that it was glaring murder at me, and I screamed in helpless fear. Then the stranger approached and touched the malignant thing, and at once it shrunk from view, my friend's arms dropped to his side and turning around as though he had just heard my steps, he greeted me, remarked that it was a fine day, and then, with a parting salutation, passed on, just as we had met and exchanged greetings often during the past week. Notwithstanding the state I was in, I noticed that he did not seem aware of the presence of the stranger.

     "Is there no hope for him?" I asked this mysterious person.

     "There is hope for all so afflicted," he replied, and I felt-I say felt, for after the first glance, I had not looked him in the eyes-that he was looking at me intently as he uttered these words, and I hung my head; but, as I did so, I gave a wild scream, for there, in my arms and looking me in the eyes, was a hideously black and glaring thing.

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     "There is hope for those who see their evil love," I heard the calm voice of the stranger say, as with mad terror I rushed away. My heart was beating as though it would burst and kill me, yet still I ran until I was forced to stop from exhaustion, and then I slowly crept back to the town. I had a wild longing that I might awake from this awful dream. But, as my pulse regained its normal state and I saw familiar objects, and nodded to acquaintances I met, I was forced to the terrible conviction that I had not been dreaming. I would have welcomed anything that would have torn from me the conviction, that it was a terrible reality. So great was the effect on me that I abandoned my venture at once and started for home.

     Afterward I heard that the man whom I have called in this brief sketch "my friend" was bent on the same object that I was seeking to attain, and that he finally gained his point by a murder so cold-blooded that his case-for he was arrested-never reached trial, for he was dragged by an infuriated mob to the scene of the murder and hanged.

     To this day-and a long time has elapsed since that awful experience-the words of the mysterious stranger haunt me, "There is hope for those who see their evil love." I have not thought of being a good man, but I have; shunned anything that appeared like an evil love, as I shunned on that day that fearful thing I saw in my arms when the stranger gazed upon me.

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COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 1918

COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW              1918

CHAPTER X.

     1. And having called unto Himself His twelve disciples, He gave them power over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of sickness and every kind of ill.

     2. And these are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew, his brother; Jacob the son of Zebedee, and John his brother.

     3. Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the publican; Jacob the son of Alpheus, and Lebbeus surnamed Thaddeus.

     4. Simon the Canaanite, and Judas the Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.

     "By the disciples of the Lord are meant those who are being instructed in the goods and truths of doctrine; but by the apostles are meant those who, after they have been instructed, teach these goods and truths." R. 79.

     "The reason there were twelve disciples was that each one might represent that which is represented by a tribe of Israel; and therefore such were chosen as were like those things which they represented." S. D. 1217.

     5. These twelve Jesus sent forth, and He commanded them, saying, Into the way of the Gentiles go ye not forth, and into a city of the Samaritans enter ye not.

     6. But go ye rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

     This sig. that the work of evangelization was to begin with the remnant within the former Church, here called the lost sheep. The Gentiles, to whom they were not to go, sig. those who are in evils; the cities of the Samaritans, those who are in falsities of doctrine. E. 223; A. 4169.

     7. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is drawing nigh.

     8. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons; freely ye have received, freely give.

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     9. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass for your purses;

     10. Nor bag for the journey; neither two coats, nor shoes, nor a staff; for the workman is worthy of his meat.

     "That they should not provide gold or silver, etc., sig. that they should have nothing of good and truth from themselves, but from the Lord alone, and that all things should be given them freely." E. 242.

     "A coat sig. interior truth; shoes, exterior truth; a staff, the power of truth; but two coats, two pairs of shoes, and two staffs, sig. truths and their powers, at the same time from the Lord' and from self." A. 9942.

     11. And into whatsoever city or village ye enter, inquire who in it is worthy, and there abide until ye go thence.

     12. And when ye come into an house, salute it,

     13. And if the house be worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it be not worthy, let your peace return to you.

     14. And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet.

     15. Verily, I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.

     "They should shake its dust off their feet, lest what was cursed should thence adhere to them, for by the dust is sig. what is cursed." E. 365.

     (Dust sig. those who do not regard spiritual and celestial things, but only the things of the body and the earth. That dust sig. what is damned and infernal may be seen from Gen. 3:19; "for dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return.")

     "That city sig. those who are within the Church, but do not live the life of faith. By Sodom and Gomorrah are meant those who ore in evil of life, but who have known nothing concerning the Lord and the Word, and who therefore could not have received." A. 7418.

     16. Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves; be ye therefore prudent as serpents, and harmless as doves.

     17. And beware of men; for they will deliver you to councils, and will scourge you in their synagogues.

     18. And ye shall be brought before governors and kings on account of Me, for a witness to; them and to the Gentiles.

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     "A serpent, here, sig. circumspection, lest they be injured by evils." A. 197.

     (The disciples reprs. all the goods and truths of the Christian Church, which in that Church were literally "delivered to councils," where they were perverted by false doctrines, the "synagogues;" governors sig. leading evils, and kings, leading falsities.)

     19. But when they shall deliver you up, be not troubled how or what ye shall speak, for it shall be given to you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

     20. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

     21. And brother shall deliver up brother to death, and a father the son; and children shall rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.

     22. And ye shall be hated by all for the name of Me; but he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved.

     Here are described the disagreements that arise between the internal and the external man in the life of regeneration. Brother against brother, sig. faith alone against charity; father against son, sig. the evil of the proprium against the truth from the Word; children against parents, sig. falsities of evil assaulting the goods and truths of the Church. E. 315:21.

     23. And when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another for verily I say unto you, ye shall not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man be come.

     (This sig. that the truths and goods of the Word, though rejected or perverted by this or that doctrine of the Christian Church; nevertheless will be preserved by means of some other doctrine; and that thus there will be remains of true doctrine with some until the Second Coming of the Lord.)

     24. The disciple is not above the teacher, nor the servant above his lord.

     25. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his teacher, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call those of his household?

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     "By these words, in their widest sense, is meant that man shall not compare himself to the Lord, and that it is sufficient for him that all which he has, he has from the Lord; and then the disciple is as his teacher, and the servant as his lord, far then the Lord is in him, and causes him to will good and to think truths; he is called a disciple from good, and a servant from truth." E. 409

     Beelzebub, in Hebrew, "Baal-zebub," was one of the gods of the Philistines in Ekron. The Philistines particularly sig. the theological dogma of salvation by means of faith alone. On this account Beelzebub means the god of all falsities; for if you translate the name 'Beelzebub,' it is the lord of flies,' and 'flies' sig. the falsites of the sensual man, thus falsities of every kind. Hence it is that Beelzebub is called 'Satan,' and not the Devil, in Matthew 12:24, 26." E. 710:10

     26. Fear them not, therefore, for there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, or hidden that shall not be known.

     27. What I say unto you in darkness, that speak ye in the, light; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops.

     28. And fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul; but rather fear ye Him who is able to destroy both the soul and the body in hell.

     "It is here said of God that He is to be feared because He is able to destroy body and soul in hell, when yet He destroys no one. . . . But still it so comes to pass, not from the Lord, but from the man who is in evil; consequently it comes from evil. Yet this is attributed to the Lord in the sense of the letter, because it so appears." A. 9033.

     29. Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and not one of them shall fall to the ground, without your Father.

     30. And even the hairs of your head are all numbered.

     31. Be ye not therefore afraid; ye are of more value than many sparrows.

     "Sparrows are spoken of here, because it is meant what is small, and of little value, in comparison to men." (E. 548)

     32. Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father who is in the heavens.

     33. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in the heavens.

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     (This sig. that the acknowledgment of the Divine Human of the Lord is the gateway of the Church and of Heaven, and the primary means of receiving the Divine Truth in which is the Divine Good.)

     34. Think not that I am come to send peace upon the earth: I am not come to send peace, but a sword.

     35. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law

     36. And a man's foes shall be those of his own household.

     "The man here sig, the good which is from the Lord; the father sig, the evil which is from his proprium; the daughter, the affection of good and truth; the mother, the affection of evil and falsity; the daughter-in-law the truth of the Church, adjoined to its good; and the mother-in-law, the falsity adjoined to its evil." A. 10490.

     "'Those of his own household' sig. the things of his own self, thus the things which are proprial to him as his own; the 'enemies' are the evils and falsities which assault goods and truths." A. 10490.

     37. He that loveth father or mother above Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that loveth son or daughter above Me, is not worthy of Me.

     38. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me, is not worthy of Me.

     39. He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for My sake shall find it.

     "By these words is meant a completed submission to the Lord. By father and mother are sig. in general the things which are of a man's proprium from inheritance; and by son and daughter, the things which are of a man's proprium from actual life." A. 6138.

     "By the cross is meant temptation. The glorification of the Lord is a type of the regeneration of man; and regeneration is effected chiefly by means of temptations." A. 7166.

     The life that must be lost is the proprial life, which every one has from birth, and which consists in loving himself and the world above all things. R. 556.

     40. He that receiveth you receiveth Me, and he that receiveth Me receiveth Him that sent Me.

     41. He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a prophet; and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just man, shall receive the reward of a just man.

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     (To receive a disciple is to receive spiritual truth and good from the Word, and thus to receive the Divine Truth of the Word; and to receive this is to receive the Divine Love, from which the Divine Truth proceeds.)

     "A prophet sig. the truth of doctrine; a just man, the goods of life; and by receiving these in their name is sig. to receive them from the love of them. . . . To receive the reward sig. to carry that love along with him, and hence to receive the blessedness of heaven." E. 624.

     "The reward is the affection of truth for the sake of truth; and in the affection of truth for the sake of truth there is heaven." A. 10683.

     42. And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a single cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall: in no wise lose his reward.

     "To give water to a little one sig. to teach truths from spiritual innocence, and also to teach truths to the innocent." E. 624.

     "Water sig. truth, and cold water, truth in obedience; for obedience alone is a natural affection, and not spiritual, and therefore it is relatively cold." E. 695.

     "In the name of a disciple sig. for the sake of the truth of life." A. 10683.

     CHAPTER XI.

     1. And it came to pass when Jesus had finished ordaining His twelve disciples, He departed thence to teach and to preach in their cities.

     ("Ordained;" the A. V. has 'commanded,' but the Greek diatosso means to arrange, set in order, ordain.)

     2. And when John heard in the prison the works of the Christ, he sent two of his disciples, and said to Him:

     3. Art Thou He who was to coma, or do we look for another?

     4. And Jesus, answering, said unto them, Go ye, and show unto John the things which ye hear and see:

     5. The blind do see, and the lame do walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf do hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the Gospel preached unto them.

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     "The blind receiving sight sig. that they who were in ignorance of the truth should receive understanding; the deaf hearing sig. that those harkened and obeyed who formerly had heard nothing respecting the Lord and the Word. The dead were raised, sig. that those were made alive who otherwise would have perished spiritually." S. 17.

     "The poor, to whom the Lord was to preach the Gospel, sig. the gentiles, who are called 'pear' because they were in ignorance of the truth, in consequence of not having the Word." E. 612.

     6. And blessed is he who shall not stumble against Me.

     (A. V. "Whosoever shall not be offended in me," but the original 'skandalizo,' means to stumble. The question brought by the disciples of John involved a doubt: as to the Lord being the Messiah, thus a doubt as to His Human being Divine.)

     7. And as they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John: What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

     "The Word is compared to a reed shaken by the wind, when it is explained at pleasure, for a reed is truth in the ultimate, such as is the Word in the letter." A. 9372.

     (Compare the ark of bulrushes, in which the infant Moses was laid.)

     8. But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft raiments are in the houses of kings!

     "This sig. that the Word in the ultimate, or in the letter, before the view of man is like something' rude and obscure, but in the internal sense is soft and shining. The houses of kings stand for the abodes of the angels, and, in a universal sense, the heavens." A. 9372.

     9. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet!

     10. For he is the one of whom it is written, "Behold, I send My angel before Thy face, who shall prepare the way before Thee.''

     11. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen one greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he.

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     12. But from the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of the heavens presseth violently, and the violent seize upon it.

     (In the A. V. this is incorrectly rendered "the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence." The internal sense is that after the appearance of John and the advent of the Lord the heavens pressed urgently for admission into human hearts, and that those who were ready for the Divine Truth now revealed, seized it with eagerness.)

     13. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.

     "That the Word is more than any doctrine in the world, and more than any truth in the world, is sig. by 'more than a prophet;' for a prophet sig. doctrine; and 'those born of woman' sig. truths." (A. 9372.)

     "The prophets and the law prophesying until John sig. that the prophecies concerning the Lord and His kingdom, and the representatives of the Lord and His kingdom, ceased when the Lord came into the world." A. 9372.

     "That the Word in the internal, sense, or such as it is in heaven, is in a degree above the Word in the external sense, or such as it is in the world, and such as John the Baptist taught, is sig. by 'the least in the kingdom of the heavens being greater than he;' for the Word perceived in heaven is of such wisdom as to transcend all human comprehension." A. 9372.

     14. And if ye are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who was to come.

     "John the Baptist represented the same as Elijah, namely, the Word; and as the Word teaches that the Lord would come into the world and in all its particulars, even the most minute, treats of Him in the inmost sense, therefore, John was sent before Him to teach concerning His advent." E. 624.

     15. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

     "This sig. that every one who is of the Church may know, that to have knowledge and to understand the truths and goods of faith, or doctrinals, or even the Word, does not constitute the Church, but to hearken, that is, to understand and do." E. 108.

     16. And whereunto shall I liken this generation? It is like unto children sitting in market places and calling unto their fellows, and saying:

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     17. We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have sung dirges for you, and ye have not lamented.

     ("You" means the Jews, who would not listen either to Jesus or to John. The teachings of the internal sense of the Word are compared to music and dancing; those of the literal sense are compared to the dirges and lamentations of funeral rites.)

     18. For John came, neither eating nor drinking, and they say, He hath a demon.

     19. The Son of Man came, eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.

     (John, as a Nazarite, abstained from wine, and lived on the coarsest of food, in order to represent the Word in the letter; in which spiritual good and truth are not openly communicated, as they are in the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word.)

     ("Wisdom is justified of her children," i. e., shall be known by its fruits.)

     20. Then He began to reproach the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they did not repent:

     21. Woe unto thee Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sack-cloth and ashes.

     "Garments sig. truths; but to be clothed in sackcloth, which is not a garment, sig. mourning because there is no truth, and where there is no truth there is no church." R. 492.

     "To be clothed in sackcloth and to roll in ashes represented mourning over evils and falsities, and therefore it also represented humiliation and repentance, the chief thing of which is to acknowledge that nothing but what is evil and false comes from self." A. 4779

     22. But I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for you.

     23. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down into hell: for if the mighty works which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.

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     (The three cities denounced by the Lord,-Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum-were Jewish colonies on the western shore of the lake of Galilee, and represent three degrees of the consummated Church. In these cities the Lord, after leaving Nazareth, performed most of His miracles and delivered most of His teachings, especially in Capernaum, where He generally resided. Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom stand for three corresponding states among the Gentiles.)

     24. But I say unto you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

     25. At that season Jesus answered and said, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and intelligent and hast revealed them unto babes.

     (The wise, here, sig. those in the vastated Church who are in the possession of truths but pervert them through the love of evil; the intelligent sig. those who pervert truths through the love of what is false. The babes are the disciples, i. e., those in simplicity and innocence.)

     "The learned of this day believe themselves to be wise above others, and the wiser the better they can debate whether a thing be so and the more they can confirm that it is not so; when yet the simple who are in good, and whom the learned despise, can perceive in a moment and without any dispute or learned controversy, that a thing is, and that it is such." A. 3428.

     26. Even so, Father: for thus it became well-pleasing before Thee.

     27. All things are delivered unto Me by My Father; and no one knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth anyone the Father but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal Him.

     "As in the Lord everything is Divine, therefore He has all power in the heavens and on the earths." A. 10827.

     "The reason why it is said that no one knoweth the Son but the Father, is because by the Son is meant the Divine Truth, and by the Father the Divine Good, each in the Lord, and the one cannot be known but from the other." A. 10067.

     "Not even the angels of the inmost heaven can apprehend that which immediately proceeds from the Divine itself, for the reason that it is infinite. But that which proceeds from the Divine Human they can apprehend, since it treats of God as a Divine Man, concerning whom some idea can be formed from the Human." A. 5321.

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     28. Come unto Me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

     29. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

     30. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.

     (Note the duality of expressions in these verses, having reference to the marriage of good and truth; to labor, sig. the pressure of evil; to be heavy laden, the pressure of falsity; the Lord being meek refers to the submission of His human understanding, and being lowly in heart refers to the submission of His will; His yoke which is easy, refers to the good of the Divine Love, and the burden, which is light, refers to the truth of His Divine Wisdom.)

     "That the yoke of the Lord is easy and His burden light, is because a man, so far as he resists the evils springing from the love of self and of the world, is led by the Lord, and not by himself, and because the Lord then resists those evils in the man, and removes them." H. 359.

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BRYN ATHYN CHURCH 1918

BRYN ATHYN CHURCH       E. DONALD ROBB       1918

     (The following article is reproduced from the February issue of THE NEW CHURCH LEAGUE JOURNAL, the organ of the "American New Church League" of Young People's Societies. The author, a member of the New Church in Boston, has been connected with the architectural staff of the Bryn Athyn church building, almost from the commencement of the undertaking.)

     At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, a church is being constructed which should be of interest to every Newchurchman. This building has already attracted a great deal of attention in architectural circles as well as in the public press on account of the unusual methods employed in its construction. The fact that these methods are unusual is a sad indication of the depths to which the ancient art of building has sunk in the past century, for they are essentially the same methods that have been followed for ages past and those by which all the works of classic and medieval architecture were constructed. Ever since the world became accustomed to architectural sham and pretense, structural integrity has been regarded as either unnecessary or too expensive. We have become so callous to the examples of architectural fraud that insult us on every hand that we have continued to perpetuate them without a thought. This is partly due to the architect's hunger for commissions and partly to the client's demand for as much of a show as his money will buy.

     In the Bryn Athyn church an exceptional opportunity has been offered-the clients have required in what I hope is true New Churchly fashion,-that things shall be what they seem, an arch or a buttress in form: shall be an arch or a buttress in function also, and shall exist primarily for its use and secondarily for its architectural effect. In other words, the construction is decorated and not the decoration constructed.

     The present-day method of building a roof truss, for example, is to construct its members of steel plates and beams, then encase the whole in wood, thus imitating, in appearance only, the glorious work of the past.

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An arcade ostensibly for the purpose of supporting clerestory and roof is frequently built of plaster one inch thick screening the real construction of iron posts and beams which actually do the work. After the building is completed the plaster is cleverly painted in imitation of stone and the public calmly swallows the deception.

     This sort of thing we can sometimes tolerate in a commercial building where it may be regarded as a fair indication of the average business conscience, but in a church it is unforgivable. In Roman Catholic churches this spirit of artistic deception has invaded the very sanctuary itself and we frequently find altars built of imitation materials and doctored to look like something more expensive.

     At Bryn Athyn we will have none of this make-believe architecture.

     The building of a temple for the New church presents great and interesting possibilities for the architect. The relation of forms and materials to corresponding spiritual things offers opportunities for real living architecture such as have not existed since the Christian Church developed that wonderful expression of itself, called the Gothic style. The question naturally follows-are we on the threshold of a new artistic dispensation, corresponding to the advent of the Lord's New Church. If the New Church is to be a potent factor in the future history of the world, we are safe in answering the question in the affirmative, for history shows us that every religious movement of importance, (with the single exception of the Hebrew), has been accompanied by an influx of new life to art. And, furthermore, every architectural style in history had its beginnings in the temples of worship. The exception of the rather important Hebrew church to this statement is probably due to the nomadic habits of the Hebrews and to their custom of living in tents.

     Assuming that the New Church is to be accompanied by an artistic movement all its own, then the church now building at Bryn Athyn will occupy a most important place in history as being one of the very first to be erected in which the new doctrines have been allowed to mold the fabric. There have been a few other attempts, such as the chapel at Cambridge and the church at Washington, but in neither of these cases has the opportunity been anything to compare with the one at Bryn Athyn.

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     As in the case of every new style, the beginnings of change must necessarily be barely recognizable, for styles in buildings do not develop over night even in these days of high speed.

     The style adopted for the Bryn Athyn church is that which was developed by the Christian Church-namely, the Gothic, and the particular period on which the New Church style has been grafted and from which it is to begin its life, is the late fourteenth century in England-the period in which Gothic art had reached its most perfect development, and just before the decline.

     Perhaps the most noticeable departure from the traditional Gothic form of plan is to be found in the addition of a sanctuary to enshrine the Word. This is indeed significant, for is not the truer understanding of the Word one of the principal reasons for the new Dispensation?

     In many smaller ways we are trying to give the doctrines free expression-for example, in the use of significant numbers, both in the general divisions of the church and in its minor details, and in the use of materials in the different parts. As a general thing artificial products such as plaster or bricks are excluded from the structure and the work built as nearly as possible of stone, wood, cement, and the metals. The baser metals are excluded from the chancel and sanctuary, piping and heat ducts are run in brass and; copper. The ornamental metal work of screens and hardware will not be of iron and subject to corrosion, but of monel metal a natural alloy, largely composed of nickel and absolutely unaffected by the atmosphere.

     The points of the compass have been considered in many ways. The church faces due west as in the Christian Churches-the congregation facing the altar in the East. In the placing of the furniture and in the ritual, the north and south sides will be duly considered.

     It is in the field of decoration that the symbolism of the New Church will be given free play. All questions appertaining to the relationship between doctrine and architecture are in the hands of the Symbolism Committee holding weekly meetings.

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Details of the decoration are taken up one by one and papers prepared on such subjects as, for example, the doors and hardware. The significance of each door is enquired into and the decorations on the latch, lock, and hinges are determined, as well as the sculpture or carving above or around the door.

     The carved capitals and bosses inside and outside, the stained glass, the disposition of the chancel furniture, the mosaic panels around the sanctuary, and any possible mural paintings are the subjects which the Symbolism Committee have to deal with. It is by careful attention to such details that we hope to have the building a distinctive New Church temple.

     Think of the boundless possibilities for developing a school of painting based upon the teachings of our church. When one considers what simple material furnished themes for the great painters of the Renaissance, whose subjects were largely drawn from church or local history, what a splendid held lies waiting for artists of the future to depict things of a spiritual nature by means of allegory based on correspondences; or for the more easily understood type of decorative painting, what more inspiring subjects could the artist wish for than some of the wonderful descriptions of the spiritual world presented to us by Swedenborg?

     The attempt has been made to have the church built as far as is possible of local materials. This idea cannot, of course, be carried throughout, but we have been able to quarry a very beautiful granite within a stone's throw of the church and this is being used for the body of the walls. The trimming stone and the interior lining stone are brought from Ohio and Kentucky, respectively.

     The oak trees from which the roof timbers are being hewn were cut within a few miles of the church and the timber are all shaped and mouldings cut by hand in a huge shed on the church site. The members of the roof framing are being dove-tailed and pegged together with hardwood pins-no nails or bolts to rust out and let the parts separate-everything possible is being done to make the work enduring.

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Full advantage is being taken, however, of modern machinery to save unnecessary labor, but never for dressing stone or wood, or cutting moldings or carved work.

     At Bryn Athyn all things entering into the construction or decoration of the church are designed and made at the church. The architects have an office there, the stonecutters have an office, draughting room, and sheds for cutting the stone; the carpenters shape and mould rafters and roof trusses in their shed; another workshop is devoted to the metal workers engaged in making hardware, and still another is equipped with a firing kiln for the stained glass workers. It is in this way only that the work of everyone engaged on the building can be brought into perfect harmony, and each thing made to suit absolutely the place it is to fill.

     The guiding spirit of this undertaking, and the one whose patience and tact have made impossible for so many to work together peacefully, is Mr. Raymond Pitcairn. It is his determination to go slowly, to discuss each detail of the work, to study each molding, capital or base with the greatest care, that is bringing the best out of every one there. Every single detail of the church is modeled in plaster at full size sometimes a half dozen times before being executed. Several complete models at small scale have been made of the entire church for the purpose of study.

     The design of the building changes almost from day to day-a model made yesterday is obsolete to-morrow. A force of modelers are kept busy continually casting doorways, columns, arches and details large and small in plaster.

     Often after the work is built an idea for an improvement will be suggested and the work will be torn down and rebuilt without hesitation. This has happened several times already. In the studying of the designs everyone is invited to contribute his opinion, and carpenters and stone cutters often give useful suggestions.

     There is an extraordinary spirit of co-operation among all the workmen on the building, and there is not a man who will be glad to see the work finished.

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     One day in June of last year* the entire force of over one hundred draughtsmen, stone masons, carpenters, and laborers were invited by Mr. Pitcairn to assemble in one of the big sheds where lunch was served to them and they were afterwards addressed by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, Mr. John Pitcairn, Mr. Cram, Bishop Pendleton and others.
     * It was May 28th, 1915.

     It was impressed upon the men from all angles that each one was proportionately responsible for the success of the work; and they were made to feel a deeper interest: in the building than the one which usually accompanies the weekly pay envelope. This luncheon party was unique, not a man there had ever attended a gathering just like it, and I have never heard of such a thing before. This valuable idea of the workmen taking a real interest in the building has for a hundred years been crushed out of existence by the selfish and short-sighted policy of the labor unions. The guilds of the Middle Ages corresponding to the present day unions appear to have had all their advantages and few of their disadvantages, at least the members were encouraged to individual effort, and this effort to express oneself, backed by the all-prevailing religious enthusiasm of the time has produced the architectural wonders of the medieval period.

     One other feature of this church which is a revival of the practice of the Middle Ages is the long lost art of architectural refinements. We have known for some time that the classic monuments of antiquity were almost without exception built with very slightly curving cornices, columns set to an almost imperceptibly curved line and pitching slightly off the vertical; but it has only recently been discovered that the churches and cathedrals of Christian Europe were often built on the same principles. The effect of these barely noticeable curves is to give life and movement to the whole building and prevent that hard mechanical feeling so apparent in modern work.

     This theory is being worked out in an experimental way at Bryn Athyn. The spacing of the columns in nave and chancel varies in every war. Some columns are not directly opposite. The walls of nave and chancel narrow towards the East. All the capitals vary slightly in height and arches vary in radius.

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Cornice and string courses slope a trifle here and there, moldings of arches caps; and bases vary in detail; and yet none of this is apparent to the casual observer. The floor also has a gradual slope of about one foot from the west door to the chancel, and while this is not evident as you walk over it, you have a feeling that the sanctuary is elevated without the excessive use of steps.     

     Another refinement which is very common in French cathedrals, but which to my knowledge has never been done in this country, is the widening of the sanctuary opening by a slightly curved line from base to cap.

     In general the church resembles the type of English country church of the late 14th century. It is set on one of the highest points and near the center of the village and its lofty central tower, more than 150 feet high, will be a landmark for many miles in all directions.

     The church has a seating capacity of about 700 in nave, aisle, and transepts. A three-bayed chancel accommodates the choir and clergy and a square sanctuary at the extreme east end closes the vista. A small chapel opens from the south transept and is connected with the Vestry and Bishop's study. From the north side the choir room and chancel guild room open and farther on will ultimately be built a large Assembly Hall and residence for the Bishop. These latter buildings will surround a cloister garth adjoining the church on the north. On entering the west door one's interest will be focused immediately on the gorgeous Repository, or Shrine, as it is to be called, which will stand in the center of the sanctuary, elevated twelve steps above the auditorium. This structure is to be of wood overlaid with gold and color, supported on four corner posts, at the bases on which crouch the four beasts of the Apocalypse. Rising in three distinct stages it will reach a height of 30 feet and terminate in a crown.

     The Word, into which will be bound a copy of the BRIEF EXPOSITION OF THE DOCTRINES,* will rest on an altar of cedar or olive wood in the midst of seven golden candlesticks standing on the floor and illuminating the open Book. Above will be an olive oil lamp kept perpetually lighted.
     * This was suggested, but not seriously considered.

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     The Word will be screened by three veils, the parting of which will form the opening act of the service. The first of these will be a metal screen across the sanctuary entrance, the second a wood screen connecting the corner posts of the Shrine, the third a silk veil. Each of these will be richly ornamented with motives appropriate to its position and use.

     Around the three side walls of the sanctuary runs a simple arcading of seven panels in each side; above this the three sanctuary windows, and, over all, the stone vaulted ceiling in twelve divisions.

     In the north wall of the chancel is a cabinet for the communion service, and in a corresponding position in the south side is another to contain two complete editions of the Writings, one in English, the other in the original Latin. Before the opening of the service the volume from which the lesson is to be read will be removed and placed upon the lectern.

     The same scrupulous attention will be given to the vestments of the clergy and choir as is being given to the architecture. The service, now rather simple, will undoubtedly be elaborated and expanded into a grand ceremonial, making use everywhere of correspondential forms and acts. It takes very little imagination to see the possibility of developing an elaborate ritual full of meaning to those who understand, if such a thing is thought to be essential. And it may be that therein lies a source of great danger for the Academy in the future.

     The work on the building was begun over three years ago and it will be fully another year before the church alone is complete.

     When the church is entirely finished it is hoped that it will be an everlasting object lesson in good building construction and design as well as an enduring monument to the New Faith.

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     NOTES AND REVIEWS.

     We received recently from Mr. Walter C. Childs a little pamphlet by an anonymous author-perhaps John Clowes-entitled "A Dialogue on the Apostolic Doctrine of the Atonement," Boston, 1833, which, he says, "came into my possession many years ago along with a number of papers turned over to me for the Academy archives by Dr. F. E. Boericke." This pamphlet was formerly owned by Mr. F. J. Kramph, of Lancaster, Pa., and the interest centers around the title page, where we find the following quaint entry in faded brown ink:

     "By means of this little book William H. Benade was interested into the Holy Doctrines of the New Jerusalem. I loant it to him when he was preacher in the Moravian Church in Lancaster & he afterwards send for it again from Bethlehem. F. J. KRAMPH.

     The Lord will make him a good & useful man.
          K. June 20/46."


          It was a great and delightful surprise to receive, recently, from Durban, Natal, five issues of the first New; Church periodical ever issued on the Continent of Africa, the SOUTH AMERICAN NEW CHURCH OPEN LETTER, a monthly publication of four pages in double columns. The first number was issued on September 1st, 1917. The purpose of this little journal is stated as follows:

     "It is felt that the time has arrived for an organized effort among New Church people in South Africa to keep in touch with each other to a greater extent than in the past, when almost all intercourse has been limited to casual visits and correspondence: hence this letter, which is designed to initiate some such movement, and will be circulated monthly. The necessity for consolidating the New Church in South Africa is evident, and we seek to effect this by circulating our letter among all New Church people of whom we can hear. In this we shall be glad of the assistance of our readers, who are requested to forward to Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, 186, Essenwood Road, Durban, Natal, the names and addresses of any New Church people of whom they may know in order that as many as possible may receive a copy of this Monthly Letter.

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     "The objects we have in view are, for the present, to establish regular intercourse between members of the Church throughout the subcontinent and thus promote all active Church spirit by the diffusion of news items, the knitting into closer bonds of our common interests, correspondence on matters of moment systematic home reading of the Word and the Writings, and, as far as may be, universal participation in the general activities of Church life. At the same time we shall cultivate a desire to know more of our wonderful Doctrines, to exchange ideas arising from our studies and to accentuate our standing as members of a perfectly distinct 'New Church' in South Africa."

     THE KAISER'S GOD

     Apropos of the Kaiser and his "good old German God," the Literary Digest (Jan. 19) takes note of a very remarkable fact-that the Kaiser, forever appealing to God, never mentions Jesus Christ,-and quotes the German Professor, William Ostwold, as saying: "In our country, God the Father is reserved for the personal use of the Emperor."

     A curious fact, indeed, and one that the Kaiser ought to be rightly censured for. But we ought to give the devil his due also. Let us ask: "Does the editor himself ever recall praying to Jesus Christ?"

     It reminds us of an experience we once had while traveling with a well-known New Church friend in Canada. A venerable Presbyterian minister and his wife were sitting opposite us, and a spirited interchange of opinion as to the persons in the God-head arose. The minister stoutly repudiated the idea, of three Gods. My friend turned to the lady and politely enquired: "Do you pray to Christ" "Oh, no," she promptly replied, "I pray to God." The more suspicious old man, seeing the trap that had been laid for him, hastened to reassure her: "My dear, yes, you do. You don't understand."

     Although it would be unfair to make the Kaiser a scapegoat for all the infidelities of the Christian world, it is nevertheless undeniable that in thus deliberately making an "avowed ally" of the "Lord of Creation,"-the first person of old Christian dogmatism-the Kaiser has found a character better suited to "a tribal Divinity who glories in battle, hating all save his chosen people," than the God of love and mercy, Jesus Christ.

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Especially is this method effective for raising religious hysteria, as when a German dramatist writes: "God calls us to murderous battles, even if worlds should thereby fall to ruins. Like gardens of roses, our wounds blossom at the gate of heaven."

     If the adoption of God the Father by the Germans as their national God would cause the rest of the world to turn their eyes towards Jesus Christ and His doctrines with more particular interest, something might still be gained-for only in the New Church is He worshiped, can He be worshiped, in fullness and in truth!
BEGINNING OF THE NEW CHURCH IN DURBAN 1918

BEGINNING OF THE NEW CHURCH IN DURBAN              1918

     (Reprinted from the "South African New Church Open Letter," Sept. 1, 1917.)

     The first New Church people in Durban and, so far as is known, the first in Natal, were Mr. and Mrs. James Ridgway and family from Liverpool, England. The Ridgways landed at Durban, which was then a village of five or six houses, in July, 1850.

     At first the Ridgway family, together with many other families that had arrived by the same ship, had to live in tents, which were pitched on a large area of ground at the Beach end of Pine street; but about nine months later the family left Durban and located at the Umgeni, occupying the solitary house of that locality, a house deserted for reasons unknown then, and never afterwards discovered. In this isolated house, which had only mud floors and was finished principally with home-made bushwood furniture, may be said to have started the first New Church Society in South Africa; for it was here that Mr. Ridgway gathered together his children and instructed them, and developed in them a love for the Heavenly Doctrine.

     Mr. Ridgway had brought with him from England several boxes of books, among the books being the Writings. These hoses were not unpacked until after the family had been settled sometime at Umgeni, and then it was found that the white ants had eaten up most of the books, although not one of the Writings had been destroyed.

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The bindings, indeed, of some of the Writings had been nibbled, but not a letter of the print had been touched. The family was very much impressed by this evidence of the special providence of the Lord, and- regarded it as nothing short of a miracle.

     In the two or three years following, several other houses were built near the Ridgways' house. These were occupied chiefly by Wesleyans who regarded the Ridgways as heretics, and did their utmost to "save" them. One man in particular, perhaps the most eminent Wesleyan, was noted for the zeal with which he defended his own opinions, and, what was remarkable, for his adoption of Mr. Ridgway's arguments and use of them as his own on the next encounter with Mr. Ridgway. It may be that the truth, during the interval, sank in, but notwithstanding he remained a Wesleyan to the end.

     Among those who attended the services held by Mr. Ridgway was Mr. A. S. Cockerell, who, later, married Mr. Ridgway's daughter, and still later became the lay-leader to the little New Church Society. About 1872 Mr. and Mrs. Cockerell built a house on Berea Road, Durban, and here services were held regularly until 1892, when a small Church building was erected on property adjoining Mr. Cockerell's. In this Church the Durban Society worships at the present time. F. E. G.
"NEW CHURCH REVIEW" ON NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1918

"NEW CHURCH REVIEW" ON NEW CHURCH EDUCATION              1918

     The editor of THE NEW CHURCH REVIEW, the Rev. Lewis F. Hite, in an article on "New Church Education and New Church Schools," reviewing the history of New Church educational movements in America and England, makes an interesting statement about the Academy schools, which he introduces as follows:

     "After the discontinuance of the Boston School, there seems to have been a complete suspension of interest in New Church schools throughout New England for a period of nearly twenty years, from 1843 to 1860, when the interest revived and found expression in the opening of the Waltham School and later of the Theological School.

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     "The reasons for this disastrous loss of interest are very much to be pondered. It was due primarily to the failure of the schools to answer needs and expectations, but it was also due to deep and serious conflict of opinion. In the first place, the public schools came into operation meanwhile, and they were supported from patriotic and democratic motives; on the other hand, distinctively New Church schools were looked upon not merely as practical failures, but as narrow and sectarian in principle. In the second place, there were from the beginning two opposed views of New Church school policy; some held that the schools should not only be distinctive, but exclusive, and should admit only children baptized in the New Church; others held that while the schools should be distinctive, they should be open to all comers, to all who sought their advantages. On the whole the early tendency in England was to the latter course; in this country it was to the former. As a matter of fact, the distinctiveness was more formal than actual, whereas the opposition between exclusiveness and liberality was fatal. Nevertheless these two conflicting views and policies have persisted; they are best represented now by Urbana University and the Academy School at Bryn Athyn.

     "The 'Academy' was originally an educational and propagandist movement in the direction of more distinctive teaching, but this aim soon widened into more distinctiveness of organization and life. The first efforts, however, were directed to the establishment of schools. Beginning with a theological school and a collegiate department, other departments were added until all grades were provided for from kindergarten to college. In 1896 the schools were moved to Bryn Athyn, and in 1899 a sufficient endowment was secured to lay the foundation for a well-equipped school system. As parts of the system, parish schools were established in Pittsburgh, Chicago, Berlin, Parkdale.

     "This system is, at the present time, the most extensive school organization the New Church has accomplished. It may be considered as an experiment* in the policy of exclusiveness, religious and social as well as educational, carried out with rigorous consistency.

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It is too soon to judge of its success."*
     * The italics are ours.-ED.
DR. ANSHUTZ, THE NOVELIST 1918

DR. ANSHUTZ, THE NOVELIST              1918

     A brief sketch of the life and work of Dr. E. P. Anshutz is presented in the present issue of the LIFE, by the Rev. E. S. Price. To this account we cannot refrain from adding a few words of testimony, not only as Editor, but as an individual, for it was through the instrumentality of Dr. Anshutz that we received the greatest blessing of our life,-the first perception of the complete Divinity of the Revelation of the Lord in His Second Coming.

     It was in the summer of the year 1883, while visiting the New Church Book Room, on Van Buren St., Chicago, that we "happened" upon a copy of NEW CHURCH LIFE, containing the last installment of "James Bronson," a serial story by E. P. Anshutz. Becoming interested, we obtained from the Rev. L. P. Mercer the loan of the whole series, which we took with us to the hotel, and it was a convinced Academy man that finished the reading in the wee hours of the morning.

     We have always felt that the Academy or the General Church could do no better service for their own young people and for general propaganda, than by republishing in separate book form these New Church stories by Mr. Anshutz, that used to enliven the early volumes of the LIFE,-"John Worthington" (1881-1882), "James Bronson" (1882-83), "Pentville" (1884), "A Waif" (1884), "Eleanor" (1885), "An Experience" (1886), "The Strange Adventures of Tom" (188), and "Emotional Vicissitudes" (1887), besides several other shorter sketches, fables, etc. While, from a purely literary point of view, some of these stories may not possess extraordinary merit, and while some feminine readers may object to the odor of the cigar pervading nearly all of them, still the fact remains that, even as stories, they are mighty good reading, catching and holding your attention.

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They are active, vigorous, and masculine; romantic, but never sentimental; deeply religious, but never "goody-good."

     Though now some thirty years and more old, these stories of Mr. Anshutz are as fresh and valuable as ever, for the issues so entertainingly discussed in them are perennial in the faith and the life of every Newchurchman, as well as in the New Church at large, and we may truly say that in them-if published in book form-the Academy would possess a rich fund of "campaign literature," setting forth our distinctive teachings in a form particularly adapted to our own young people and also to the young people of the New Church outside our own borders. More than once we have drawn attention to this fact, but the stern necessities and uses of the Church have preoccupied the required means. Once more, however, we make the appeal, and this time not only for the sake of the use itself, but also to raise a lasting memorial to the first New Church novelist, worthy of the name, the genial founder and first Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
"NEW LIGHT ON THE HEREAFTER." 1918

"NEW LIGHT ON THE HEREAFTER."       C. LJ. O       1918

     LONDON SWEDENBORG SOCIETY, 1917.

     New LIGHT ON THE HEREAFTER. By A. Wilde. Under this title the Rev. Arthur Wilde presents some of the truths of the Lord's Second Coming regarding the life after death. The little book of 66 pages is written in a graceful and pleasing style, well calculated to appeal to the hearts of those bereaved by the war and reach them with its message of consolation. In his method of presentation Mr. Wilde has, with comprehending sympathy for the state of those he addresses, struck a note of gentleness and comfort. He does not, as might have been more practical under other circumstances, in this missionary venture attack the false dogmas of Old Christian faith, but begins each chapter,-each new thought,-by arousing the common sense and general perception Of another life through quotations from the poets of all times. He thus first directs the mind to acknowledgment of truth, and arouses the better side of the human intellect to build on.

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Then follows just enough of a quotation from Swedenborg on the subject in hand to excite interest and a thirst for more of the clear, healing waters of life.

     Proceeding from the idea that death is the gateway of life, a blessing, not a curse, one of the orderly processes of nature, not a crime against it, he passes on to a discussion of the resurrection and the nature of the soul, the spiritual world, and various phases of the after-life.

     In his discourse on the judgment, being the disclosure of what a man is when relieved of all fear of the restraint placed upon him by public opinion or civil law, Mr. Wilde illustrates his point by what used to be said of persons traveling to India: that they left their religion behind them at the Cape of Good Hope and picked it up again on the return journey. He decries the idea of heaven as a place of "ready made joys," or "continual vocal praise," and gives this thought instead:

     "Into the spiritual world have gone the great writers, painters, musicians, sculptors and philosophers of many ages. They have taken with them their creative art. . . . The poet will not cease to be a poet nor the artist cease to embody in outward form the pictures conceived within the mind. Tennyson and Browning will not cease to produce beautiful poems. Constable, Turner and Millais will not have lost their creative art, Michel Angelo will not have laid down his brush and chisel for ever." Every man will have the use to do which he loves.

     In the last chapter, on "Divine Providence and the War," Mr. Wilde meets the infernal insinuation that has crept into English religious thought from the literary world, that since such a hideous catastrophe as the Great War could occur, perhaps, after all, the Lord is not All-Powerful: Divine, indeed, yet limited; well-meaning, yet rendered impotent by circumstance. He shows that war "sets free a wave of spirituality, of self-denial, of willingness to suffer, that affects all classes of people in the nation." "When the forces of hell break loose and provoke War, the forces of heaven are also set free so that man is kept in a state of equilibrium."

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So, at last, as predicted, Whittler's dream comes true:

"Peace; and no longer from its brazen portals
     The blast of war's great organ shakes the skies,
But beautiful as songs of the immortals
     The holy melodies of love arise."
                         C. LJ. O.
Title Unspecified 1918

Title Unspecified              1918

     The readers of THE LIFE will probably be interested to know that Mr. Robb, the author of the article on the Bryn Athyn Church, contained in the present issue, was the architect of the Glenn View school and church. Mr. Robb was also one of the architects of Bryn Athyn church, being in charge of the chancel and sanctuary, the plans for which he redrew when the chancel and sanctuary were altered along the lines which they have ultimately assumed.

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     NEW YORK. Although the New York Society has not been heard from for many months, it has all this time been carrying on its uses under the leadership of our pastor, Rev. Alfred Acton. Services, preceded by a Doctrinal class, likewise Children's Service, are held every Sunday in the Goranberry Studio in Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and 7th Ave. On the first Sunday of every month we have our Church Dinner, which is held in true banquet style, with toasts, speeches and exchange of news and views. A conspicuous element of the New York Society is, that around the small steady nucleus, is an ever-changing array of many visitors and transients that come from Bryn Athyn and elsewhere, to "the big city behind the Statue of Liberty."

     On Sunday, the 17th of March, before the sermon, which was on the Spiritual World, our pastor spoke of the passing away of the Rev. C. T. Odhner, and recalled to us the many uses that Mr. Odhner performed, establishing his place in the Gorand Mansion of the church. He also spoke of how he personally had been associated with Mr. Odhner since student days. The New York Society also remembers Mr. Odhner since those days, when he used to be among those sent by the Academy from Philadelphia to preach to the Society, which was then called the First German New Church Society of Brooklyn, and services were held in German in the Broadway home of Mr. Andrew Klein. Also in recent years he has been over a number of times. So as a Society as well as individuals, we send forth our sincerest love and admiration to the memory of Mr. Odhner. S.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND. Since our last communication another of our boys, Kesel Motum, has joined up and is now training at Crowborough, Sussex.

     On Sunday evening, Oct. 21, a memorial service was held for our friend and brother, Second Lieutenant W. Rey Gill, who was killed in action while serving his country in France. After a brief service our pastor gave an excellent address, showing clearly the continuity of life and use after death.

     On Oct. 24 the annual meeting of the society was held, Mr. Appleton presiding, our pastor being unable to attend. The Reports showed that despite the war our condition was satisfactory. This meeting also provided the opportunity for presenting to Mr. and Mrs. Potter a small token of our affection for them upon the occasion of their silver wedding. Mr. Appleton made the presentation (a pair of silver vases), and in response to the toast Mr. Potter spoke of his entrance into the church and of his experiences of the states then existing. Mr. Motum also added many reminiscences of the time, which were very interesting. Other toasts and speeches followed, interspersed with church songs, which brought a full sphere of happiness to all. We were all very pleased to have Victor Waelchli, of Kitchener, Canada, with us on this occasion.

     On January 27 Swedenborg's Birthday celebration was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Motum and proved one of the most useful and interesting we have had, and in spite of the conditions imposed by the food controller our host and hostess were able to provide refreshments in much the usual way.

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It was held, for the first time, in the afternoon. Our pastor presided, and after toasts to the church and Emanuel Swedenborg, he gave us an excellent address on "Swedenborg's Inspiration." The remaining subjects constituted war program, as below:

     I. "Natural Freedom and Spiritual Freedom," Mr. Appleton.

     II. "Apparent Peace and Real Peace," Mr. Potter.

     III, "Natural Justice and Spiritual Justice," Mr. Motum.

     IV. "The Internal Causes of Wars," Mr. Cooper.

     V. "Victory Attends the Cause That Best Serves the Divine End," Mr. Everett.

     Our Pastor's comments and remarks were very helpful and much appreciated. Several toasts followed to "The Priesthood," "Our Latest Engagement" (Miss Winifred Potter and Mr. Sanfrid Appleton); "Absent Friends," "Our Host and Hostess." I must not forget to mention that Pte. Alan Gill was with us on leave from France, and his remarks of appreciation for the church and its uses were good and cheering. Mr. Everett, too, we were all glad to welcome after his serious illness.

     Pte. N. Motum and Sergeant S. Appleton have been home on leave for Christmas, and Pte. Alwyne Appleton has just arrived on leave from France after nineteen months' absence. F. R. C.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR. On the 19th of January I started out on another trip, the first places to be visited being WINDSOR and DETROIT. On Sunday, the 20th, services, including the administration of the Holy Supper, were held at Windsor. In the afternoon, at Detroit, instruction was given to eight children, and in the evening, services were conducted at the same place. On Monday and Tuesday evenings, doctrinal classes were held at Windsor, the subject being the question, Why is not man born into the knowledge of any love, when yet beasts and birds are born into the knowledges of all their loves? (C. L.133, 134.) On Wednesday evening a class was held at Detroit, the subject being the doctrine that God is very Man.

     January 24 to 27 were spent at CINCINNATI. Two doctrinal classes were held, the subject being the same as at the Windsor classes. One afternoon was given to the children of the Circle. The daily noon-time men's meetings were held, as usual, each time with an attendance of six. On these occasions questions relative to the doctrine and life of the Church are the topics of conversation, though there is also the spice of things in lighter vein. On Sunday, the 27th, services were held and the Holy Supper was celebrated.

     One week was given to MIDDLEPORT, where, as always on these visits, there was a well-filled program. On Swedenborg's Birthday, January 29th, a social supper was held in celebration of the day. During the supper there were several toasts. Then followed a class, at which the subject was "Swedenborg as the instrumentality of the Second Coming." (T. C. R. 779 and 780.) At another doctrinal class. Redemption was the subject considered. There were also two ladies' meetings, studying principles of education, and a men's meeting, at which the subject was the doctrine concerning the formation of the wife from the rib of the man. The children received instruction on two afternoons. On Sunday, February 3d, services were held, at which there was an attendance of twenty-two, of whom nineteen partook of the Holy Supper.

     After three weeks spent in Bryn Athyn, New York and Allentown, I visited ERIE.

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On Friday evening, February 22d, a young people's doctrinal class was held. At this class, instruction in the generals of doctrine is given, the memorable relations being used for this purpose. In the afternoon of the next day, instruction was given to the children. In the evening there was a social supper at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Edro Cranch. Unfortunately very bad weather interfered with the attendance, and only ten persons were present; nevertheless, we had a delightful evening. After supper more than an hour was spent answering questions from the question-box. At services on Sunday morning there was an attendance of twenty-five. The Holy Supper was administered to seventeen communicants. In the evening the general doctrinal class was held, at which Divine Love and Wisdom is being read.

     Monday evening, February 26th, in BUFFALO, at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Grebenstein, an enjoyable evening was spent with a number of the members of the Church, in the consideration of various doctrinal questions. The Buffalo Society is looking forward to again having a pastor, the Rev. Mr. Reissner, of Baltimore, having accepted a call extended to him. He will enter upon his work in this field on the 1st of April. F. E. WAELCHLI.

     HAGUE, SASK., CAN. "In the evening of January 29th, a celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday was held at the house of Mr. John Hamin, at Rosthern, Sask. Twenty-five persons were present. The celebration opened with an address by Brothel Hamm. After the singing of a hymn, Mr. Hamm put the following question to the meeting: 'Why do spiritual truths clothe themselves, in accordance with the law of correspondence, in repugnant natural forms, as, for example, in the story of David's adultery?' Thirty one answers were handed in, the most of these being from the Arcana Coelestia. The closing answer was as follows: 'If we regard such passages from the more internal point of view; then that which is otherwise repellant falls away, and the infinite Love and Wisdom, which accommodates itself even to sensual and fallen man in order to save him, then shines forth in all its beauty and mercy.' Several songs were now sung, and then a number of addresses were given on Swedenborg's life and work. One of the speakers closed with these words: 'We, to whom the Lord has imparted these wonderful truths, and who by His grace are permitted to walk in the light of heaven, should rejoice to celebrate the day of the birth of this great man, through whom the Lord has given to the world the most precious of all revelations, by which He now founds His New Church, the Holy Jerusalem, on earth.'" (N. B., in Bote der Neuen Kirche.)

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NOTICE 1918

NOTICE       HOMER SYNNESTVEDT       1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.


     The Pittsburgh District Assembly meets this year on April 26th to 29th. All members and friends are cordially invited to attend.
     HOMER SYNNESTVEDT, Secretary,
          4925 Wallingford Street,
               Pittsburgh, Pa.

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ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE              1918

     REPORT.

     The Academy war service has this month sent to the soldiers small French conversation books. They are of a size that can easily be carried in the pocket, and M. Vinet recommended them as quite practical.

     The sermons continue to go out regularly every week and judging by the letters we receive they are very much appreciated.

     The rest of the medicine cases have at last come to hand, and have been sent to all who had expressed a wish for them.

     Through some unavoidable mix-up we were forced to leave the Field of Honor out of the March LIFE; but it is back again this month with a number of new names and changes of address.

     Mr. Czerny asks us to inform all the soldiers that services are held alternately in London and Colchester. Any of the men who wish to attend the services should find out from Mr. Czerny when they will be held. He says that one soldier came from a distance of fifty miles to attend services only to find that it was the "off-Sunday. Mr. Czerny's home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peckham, S. E.

     M. Henry de Geymuller asks us to give his address to any New Church soldier likely to come to Havre. It is 95 Rue de Montiville.

     NEWS NOTES.

     The A. W. S. C. received the following letter from Derick Elphick, who writes from Salonika on Jan. 9:

     "I am sure all those 'on active service' will appreciate the work and activity of your Committee, and it is quite a source of strength and encouragement to feel an ultimate sphere of the organized Church giving such a liberal help in material and mental comforts.

     "Undoubtedly this Great War is a severe test for everyone, and it is, indeed, a severe 'distinctive' test for each 'one on active service.' But now is the time to be true- 'true to our Church what ere befall'-and as long as Providence permits us to take our small share in the World's War, it behooves us to be true to our colors and ever loyal to the Red and White. Hence, the printed page, reflecting and conveying the news and experiences of our men from every society will not only be of interest to our folks at home, but will enliven the evenings spent in dug-outs, tents or bivouacs on every Front. The newspapers and periodicals of the day are crammed with news and photographs, but in our Church, we think of the mutual interest, the warming sphere of charity, the assembly of thought and experience animating the printed page, or this "ready writing as Carlyle termed it. Though separated and scattered to the four points of the compass, our ideal of 'Unity in Variety' holds us fast, and behind and within your call for News is a use which I am sure all will recognize and support. For my part and when opportunity occurs, I will do my best for the Balkans.

     In writing this, however, we do not forget that it is a time of trial and patience and wondering. Especially is this the case when our home letters tell of the supreme sacrifice which some of our companions have made, and the consequent loneliness for those so bereaved at home."

     Alan and Fred. Waters, of the, Royal Army Medical Corps, have been in England recovering from the effects of a gas attack. They are now in training for another "spell overseas."

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Alan writes, "Thank you very much for the Christmas parcel which arrived safely in the Hospital. It was in very good condition and arrived on Boxing morning (the day after Christmas), and was straightway opened and enjoyed to the full extent. This evening the pocket edition of "The Doctrine of Charity" came. Thank you very much for that, too. It is a very handy size to take on active service."

     A new name for the Field of Honor has been sent from England by Pte. J. E. Waters. He is an elder brother of Reginald Waters, who was lost at sea last November

     Geoffry Morris is in the regimental transport section. He says: "It is a safer job than that of the ordinary infantryman, but not by any means devoid of danger. You see, our work is nearly all done at night when we have to take rations up to the boys in the trenches and so you can guess that we don't have a particularly cushy time, especially when there is any big stunt going on. I am afraid people at home have an entirely wrong impression of the work an infantry transport driver has to do. They imagine that he is miles behind the line in absolute safety. Well, that is quite wrong."

     The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal writes the following news of the New Church boys in Durban, Natal:

     "Guy Christopher Pemberton was killed last 12th of April. He was not quite twenty years of age, and yet had been in the army since the commencement of the war, having seen service in the German Southwest, Egypt and France where he was first wounded at the battle of Delville Woods, July, 1916, and finally made the 'supreme sacrifice' at Arras. Chris.' older brother, Garth (Leonard Garth, aged twenty), enlisted in March or April, 1915, but after poisoning, and nine months in the hospital, was discharged unfit for active service. Mr. W. M. Buss, son of the Rev. J. F. Buss, and a member of the General Conference, although an actual member of our society, was in the German East campaign until he was discharged as medically unfit due to fever contracted in German East. Mr. C. S. Ridgway, another member of the society, was in the German East campaign, but he has now been discharged as over age. Walter E. Lowe, who is not a member of the church although somewhat interested in it, was severely wounded in Egypt, and has since been doing clerical work at a base in England. At present he is a cadet and expects to return to active service as an officer. Kenneth Howard Ridgway, aged 18, has just volunteered for the Royal Flying Corps.

     M. Henry de Geymuller sends this word from Havre: "Being of the Lausanne New Church Society I suppose that nobody has ever heard of me in Bryn: Athyn, but I consider it, therefore, all the more as a favor the honor the General Church makes me by giving me its interest. I am three years New Church 'Soldier,' but only four months a French soldier. Owing to my weak health I am not sent to the front, but am working at the Telegraphical Censure at Le Havre. T am very well and cannot complain of my lot. I have even time to study New Church doctrine, being allowed to live in town. I have much occasion to talk religion, chiefly to English soldiers. I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Kesniel Acton at Paris at my N. C. friends: the de Chazals. I hope to meet him again though it will be more difficult since he has been moved to Tours."

     M. Paul Flon wrote us in French. M. Vinet made the following translation for us: I am not a "poilu" any more, that is to say, a combatant.

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Owing to the disease aggravated when I was in the trenches in 1915 as soldier in a Zouave regiment, I have been put into the auxiliary services of the army and for several months now I have taken back my work at the Bank of France at La Rochelle. In order to be able to read the publications of the New Church I am going to seriously undertake the study of English. If there are any American soldiers of the New Church at La Rochelle we should be glad, my wife and I, to know them. "My brother, Abel, has been at the front from the beginning of the war. Quite lately he has been very roughly ill-used by asphyxiating gases, but he has recovered now."

     Elisee Hussenet has been gassed and is seriously ill in hospital.

     The members of the committee recently read a letter from Roy Stamps. He has been a prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months, and is now exchanged and interned in Switzerland. While he was in Germany he could not receive anything from us, but now he is allowed to receive everything rut food. We sent him at once money to buy food and New Church literature.

     Many of the men have had the opportunity to visit some of the London New Church people. Fred Stroh writes: "During our leave over the New Year I was lucky enough to be able to visit three New Church families in London. I think the worst of being in the army is the fact that we miss the association of the New Church people, and it is certainly a pleasure to visit our London friends. They make everything extremely pleasant for us; and have expressed the wish that the American New Church boys will call if they visit London."

     Mr. Sam. Roschman, in thanking the committee, says: "This is to thank you kindly for parcel of 'goodies' which I received a few days ago in the very best condition. I found so many nice things in the parcel that I, well, I expected I should be ill next morning. However, I am able to report no evil effects: The army, no doubt, toughens one. I trust that none of our brave boys at the front have been overlooked or forgotten, and that each has received his little parcel. At this season particularly, when longing for absent ones is keenest, will any token of kind remembrance be appreciated, and gladness, if only for period, touch hearts aching for the affection of loved ones. May your labors of love be blessed and developed into increased services in the great cause which has already taught so many the blessedness of serving."

     Joe E. Hill tells of an interesting visit he made to Paris: "I just returned a week ago from two weeks' leave which I spent in Paris, and must say that I had a very pleasant time. Paris is a very beautiful and interesting city with its numerous squares and palaces. I met quite a few Canadian boys whom I knew in civil life in Canada and it certainly was a pleasure to meet some one you know personally. I also had a chat with several American soldiers while there, although I did not know any of them."

     Harold Kuhl is still in England. He writes: "Corp. F. E. Stroh and I had a few days' leave in London with our New Church friends. We visited the Roses, Andersons and Elphicks. There was no service, as the pastor was in Colchester. We are still busy training men and sending them to France, but our turn is coming very soon, I hope. It is all very well to perform a use here, but we enlisted to fight and it gets tiresome waiting."

     Arthur Schnarr writes that he has spent the last four months in hospitals. After many changes he is in the fourth convalescent hospital. He says that it has only been open about five months.

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"We have lovely, large wards here, not crowded, very nice beds, and the grub is fairly good." David Doering has also been in a hospital for some time. In a letter to Miss Vida Doering he says: "The nurses and sisters here are nice and good to us. . . .I used to lie in bed after dinner and have all my meals in my ward. The old sisters would scold if I did go out to the dining hall to eat. And when I felt like going out for a little walk the first thing I knew one of the nurses would come running up with a wheeled chair and would push me around for awhile. It was 'tres bien.'" David has been discharged from the hospital and when he is stronger he will return to Canada.

     Creburt Burnham has been made a corporal in the signal corps.

     Carl Sherman, with the American Expeditionary Forces, wrote that he had received his Christmas box and knitted wear. He says the weather there is like Spring in the "States."

     Pte. Edmund Blair is taking a course in wireless telegraphy and mechanics at Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Pa.

     Earl Smith left for Camp Meade last month. "We left Willow Grove at noon and arrived at Camp Meade about 7:30. We then had about a mile and a quarter to walk to our barracks. After having bunks, blankets and mess kits issued to us we had supper. This was about 9 P. M. The next day, instead of going to church, I was put in the kitchen to peel potatoes-some of them peeled onions. This lasted all day."

     Hubert Synnestvedt has been accepted and will do stenographic work somewhere in Texas. He left Bryn Athyn on March 16th.

     Arthur King who has joined the aero squadron is the latest enlistment from Glenview, Illinois.

     Hobert Smith is at Camp Meade. He was put in quarantine at first, and was not sent out for drill. Feeling the need of exercise he asked to be allowed to drill. The next day he was sent on a ten-mile hike and he decided that quarantine wasn't so bad after all.

     Alan Pendleton has been promoted to the rank of Captain. He was sent in charge of his company from San Diego back to the Presidio, San Francisco.

     Corporal Lawrence Burnham was offered a sergeantcy in his regiment but be declined, preferring a transfer to the Aviation Corps. He is now at Hempstead, N. Y. He expects to sail from this place in a short time.

     Albert Cleare received the commission of second lieutenant in the Imperial Royal Flying Corps. He was given a leave and reported again in Toronto on March 18. He expects to sail for England some time this month.

     Fred. Synnestvedt writes from Texas: "Flying is a thrilling game. I have just begun to learn it and find it worth the work to get here. There is now a forty to sixty mile an hour ground wind blowing from the north and one thousand feet up there is a strong south wind. The instructor took the controls and made a trip around the course. I never saw such rough riding as that trip. The wind blew us around like a butterfly. We managed to land safely, but within fifteen minutes seven other ships were wrecked. Now we are in barracks waiting for calmer weather and for the wrecks to be cleared away. No one was hurt."

     Egbert Glebe left March 16 for an eight weeks' ground school at Princeton.

     Alfred Ferdinand writes that he has received his "Doctrine of Charity." "I met several of the boys through the aid of the NEW CHURCH LIFE, Where I saw their addresses. I received the medicine chest you sent me, which will come very useful to me for bad colds, as the doctors in camp don't seem to realize when a person has a cold."

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     Ben McQueen's letter was amusing: "I received your kind letter a few days ago and today the package. You should have heard the holler that went up when I opened it this noon. We were sitting in our tents with just athletic shirts on trying to keep cool and I pulled out that beautiful sweater. It did seem comical."

     Alan Synnestvedt is at Camp Merritt-if he has not now sailed for France. He says that he saw a part of his company board the ship, but as it lay in the harbor until night he did not see it go out.

     Neville Wright has sent word of his safe arrival in France.

     Francis Frost spent a weekend in Bryn Athyn not long ago. While he was there he was confirmed by Bishop W. F. Pendleton.

     Sergeant Carlos Dexter is at an Aviation Camp in Virginia. He writes: "I like my new place here very well, but cannot tell you very much about it because it is the aeronautical experiment station and the rules are very strict regarding any information as to line of work done here, etc."

     Harold Sellner has been made a corporal. As he has been at Camp Jackson only a few weeks he certainly is to be congratulated. After a number of weeks of prolonged convalescence Sergeant Gerrit Barger is now out of quarantine. He is drilling and the company hopes and expects to be ordered over soon. A later letter tells us that Gerrit has been sent to Camp Merritt, an embarkation camp.

     Aldwin Smith writes: All the ordnance men of this camp are to be split up into small companies of forty-four men each. These companies are to be attached to infantry regiments, to keep their implements in repair, and will be stationed in what are called ordnance dumps, located just behind the third line of trenches. Our duties will not only be the repairing of guns, etc., but the moving of all supplies the ordnance has distribution of to the men in the trenches.

     From France, Kesniel Acton writes that he has seen none of the New Church men in service. But that he hopes to be able to meet some of them soon. He said: "Parziale is the only person I have met here from Bryn Athyn. I only saw him once, which was the day after he landed. . . .     I visited M. Hussenet at St. Cloud after some trouble in finding the place. He treated me very nicely. As you say he does not speak English, so I was very glad when Myrrha arrived, as have not had a chance to learn French yet. Very few Americans here know French and most of the others will not take the trouble to learn it. When you are in an American camp you might just as well be in America as in France, for you hear nothing but English."

     Roy Wells gives us a description of a ruined cathedral which he visited. ". . . I took a glass of wine with an abbe on Christmas Day. He showed me a photo of the interior of his cathedral before it was ruined. It was one of the most beautiful I have seen. The nave pillars and arcade were rather like our church in design and workmanship. 'The size was about the same, too. I cannot describe my feelings as I look on that simple magnificence in ruins." He ended with a touch of humor, saying he had heard "that the American soldiers have three or four girls apiece in the town, so that the French men don't stand chance. However, as my experience in that line is, as yet, very small, I shall reserve that for another time." Roy is just recovering from a sore throat. He says: "If I cable, 'throat is well,' do not think I am a prisoner in Germany."

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     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. R., American Expeditionary Forces.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26174 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, British Exp. Force, France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56thSquadron, R. F. C., British Exp. Force, France.
ASHLEY, A, B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. H. M. S. "Nerissa," Torpedo Boat Destroyer, c/o General P. O., London, England.
ASPLUNDH, CART. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engrs., 28th Div., U. S. A., Camp Hancock, Ga.
ASPLUNDH, GRRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, Camp Hancock, Ga.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st New Hampshire Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co.M, 131t Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Tex.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BELLINGER, CADET FRED, Toronto, Can. 152541, R. F. C., c/o Mr. P. Bellinger, 226 Drum Ave., Toronto, Ont., Can.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, 70th Battery, c/o Army P. O., London, England.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, British Exp. Force, France.
BERGSTROM, E, E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, E. J., Denver, Colo. Co. 59, 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. 28th Service Co., U. S. Signal Corps, Carnegie Institute of Tech., Pittsburgh, Pa.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUP, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Batt., Canadian Exp. Force, West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, IST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. Train Headquarters, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, CORP. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, 3rd Instruction Center, American Exp. Forces.
BURNHAM, LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
CHILDS, 1ST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Hdq. 55th Inf. Brigade, Camp Hancock, Ga.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. 152125, (1524 N. 56th St., Philadelphia, Pa.)
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. Co. B, 2nd Anti-Air Craft Machine Gun Batt., Camp Wadsworth, Sprrrtansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, R. T., Baltimore, Md. Section B, Tent No. 3, Officers' Training School, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co. C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.

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CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. Vermont, c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 503rd Engrs. Service Batt., American Exp. Forces.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 82nd Hut, H Division, Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epson, England.
DOERING, PTE. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa, Co. K, 111th Inf., Camp Hancock, Ga.
DOERING, CADET HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks B, Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.
ELPHICK, A. B. FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. H. M. R. N. Wireless Station, Culver Cliff near Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W. Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th. Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. British Exp. Force, France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E. 124 Butt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240, R. F. C., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Taliaferro, Ft. Worth, Texas.
FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E. Mess. Morfa Camp, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, 3e Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 9. M. C., N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, Camp Seviey Greenville, S. C.
De GEYMULLER, HENRI, Lausanne, Switzerland, Soldat de ze Classe, Commission du Controle, telegraphique, Poste Centrale, Havre, France. (Lodgings: 95 Rue de Montivillier.)
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England. L. Z. 3624, Lewis Gun Section, D Co., Anson Battalion, R. N. D., British Exp. Force, France.
*GILL, LIEUT. W. REY, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917,
GLADISH, CADET DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Camp Dick, Dallas Texas.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa, U. S. School of Military Aeronautics, University of Princeton, N. J.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., British Exp. Force, France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929, C. A. M. C., Seaford Camp, England, c/o Army P. O., London.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.
Grant, FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, 309 Auxiliary Remount Depot, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HART, LANCE-CORP. D. E. Ramsey, Highbarrow Rd., Addiscombe, Croyden, England.
HEADSTEN, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. Rec. Barracks No. 3, Co. 10 Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa., Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.

259



HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Allies Officers' Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Naval Hospital, Brooklyn Navy Yard, Brooklyn, N. Y.
HICKS, KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, (c/o Mr. P. Bellinger, 226 Dunn Ave., Toronto, Canada.)
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 4904, 1st Canadian Reserve Park, C. A. S. C., British Exp. Forces, France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2006629, Canadian Engineers, C. E. F., T. D., B Company, Seaforcl, Sussex, England.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. D. M., 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C, British Conv. Depot, Nd, 4 Co., (Band Quarters), Trimulgherry, Deccan, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie IV. Prisonnier de guerre, au Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
HUSSENET,ELISEE, Paris, France. Soldat au 691e d'Infanterie, 5e Cie, Observateur Secteur 126, France.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519; Co. B, 134th Batt., 48th Highlanders, Witley Camp, England.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Batt., Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F, 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERCT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 21st Ambulance Co., Fort Riley, Kans.
KING, ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. 83rd Aero Squadron, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. Canadian Expeditionary Forces.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th, Canadian R. R. Troops, Field Post pffice, France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 751077, Co. 2; 25th Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241, 64th Battery, C. F. A., C. E. F., c/o Army P. O., London, England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn. Canadians, British Exp. Force, France, c/o Army Post Office, England.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oisej France.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island, 1606 N. 16th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs., Training Depot, Ward K, Montreal Gen'l Hospital, Montreal, Canada.
LOOMIS, W. A., Co. A, Military Police Train Headquarters, Div. 85, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial 9 l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, I3Ist Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MORRIS, 1/A. M. EDW. B., London, England. 37746, and Squadron, R. F. C., British Exp. Force, France.

260



MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY London, England. 301276, 1/5 Batt. L. R. B., Transport Section, British Exp. Force, France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957. 4th Otage Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Otage, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England.
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 0l3871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 4, British Exp. Force, France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. HOW. Battery. 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER, 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, 1ST LIEUT. MADEFREY A. Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf., U. S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. 24, 6th Batt. Medical Officers' Training Camp, Camp Greenleaf, Chiclcamauga Park, Ga.
*PEMBERTON, GUY CHRISTOPHER, Durban, Natal, S. A. Killed at Arras, France, April 21. 1917.
PEMBERTON, LEONARD GARTH, Durban. Natal. South Africa. Discharged on account of ill health, March, 1917.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 63rd Inf., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 3, American Exp. Forces.
PETERSON. CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Cu. B, 33211d Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., American Exp. Forces.
PIBERES, SERGT. MARIUS, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., Co. D, Camp Greene, Charlotte, N. C.
PRICE LLEWELLYN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Engrs., Camp Hancock, Ga.
PRICE, RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Battery, R. Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. Barracks 31, Naval Training Camp, Pelham Bay, New York City, N. Y.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
*ROSE, LEON, London, England. Royal W. Surrey Regt. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29th, 1916.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Guam, M. I.
ROSENSVIST, FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt. Signal Corps, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., Camp Hancock, Ga.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. C/o Col. R. Reid, 163 Strand, W. 6., London, England.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C.
SHARPE, 2ND LIEUT. JOE. H., F. A. U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American Exp. Forces.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American Exp. Forces.

261



SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American Exp. Forces.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Santee, Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. A, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 50lst M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa 6th Co., and Tr. Batt. 154th Depot Brigade, Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, PVT. HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Meadquarters, Co. 314th Regt., Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SNYDER, WILMER E. 148th Field Hospital, Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 35th Aero Squadron, Aviation Camp, Waco, Texas.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highianders of Canada. Interned soldier in Hotel Berthod, Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, A/CORP. FRED. E., Kitchener, Canada. 751124, CO. 1, 25th Canadian Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, CADET FRED, Pittsburgh, Pa. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field, No. 2, So. San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Tent 17, Line 33d Kelly Field, No. I, Section H, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 113d Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. 0. 705, American Exp. Forces, France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 13rst Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J., Boutbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Camp Jarvis, Talliaferro Field 1, Fort Worth, Texas.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. A. A. S. Section 529, Battalion 6, Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa.
WAELCHLI, IST LIEUT. NOAH, St. Louis, Mo., Co. L, 352nd, Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE.C VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Co. E, 4th Reserve Battn., Bramshott, Hants, Eng.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 5I2956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Depot, Shorncliffe, Kent, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., British Exp. Force.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co, 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, 3/A. M. H. Section, Room 53; Salamanca Barracks, Aldershott, Hants, England.
WATERS, PTE.FRED. G., London, England. 536534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., British Exp. Forces.
*WATERS, REGINALD, London, England. Senior Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
WELLS, CORP. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery American Exp. Forces,
WELLS, CORP. ROY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 11th R. R. Engrs., American Exp. Forces.

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WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3d Echelon, British Exp. Force, France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., American Exp. Forces.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABRORD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet, whose business address is Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, one-half block from the Madeline. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peckham, S. E. The School address is 174 Peckham Rye, where Mr. Czerny will be found on week days from 9 o'clock to 3. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 8 Adelaide Rd., South Hampstead, N. W., 3. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.
COPIES OF THE JANUARY LIFE WANTED 1918

COPIES OF THE JANUARY LIFE WANTED              1918

     On account of unexpected increase in the number of copies needed for the boys of the General Church in the Army and Navy, we have but very few of the January number of the LIFE in stock, not enough, indeed, to bind the customary number of volumes of the current year. We would ask that those who do not preserve their copies will kindly send them to this office. W. H. ALDEN, Business Manager, Bryn Athyn, Pa.



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CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE 1918

CONSUMMATION OF THE AGE       Rev. WILLIAM HYDE ALDEN       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII MAY, 1918           No. 5
     The Lord, not man, establishes the Church. The Lord establishes His Church by means of truth revealed from Himself. The Church is established with man, with the individual man or with any body of men, as he receives the truth revealed by the Lord, and, living from it, is spiritually built up by that Divine love of which the truth revealed is the form.

     The Lord's presence alone does not make the Church. The Lord is present with every man whom He has created, and from the influx of His life every man lives. The revelation of the Divine truth alone does not make the Church. That there may be the Church with man it is necessary that man in his freedom should receive the truth revealed, and reciprocate the Divine life in the truth revealed, by living according to the truth. The Church, then, exists wherever the Divine truth of revelation is received and reciprocated by man.

     But a distinction is to be made between the Church universal and the Church specific. The Church universal exists with every man in the whole world who is in the good of life from religion. All who are in the good of life from religion constitute the Church in the broad or universal sense.

     But when we are taught in the Writings of the New Church that "it is necessary that there should be somewhere a Church where the Word is and by it the Lord is known," evidently we have the Church spoken of in a more restricted sense. The Universal Church is the body of humanity who are in good from religion; the Specific Church,-with its specific, vital use, is as the heart and lungs of that body.

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The Church Universal is known to the Lord alone, existing in all ages, in all ages consisting of those of every faith, even the crudest, who are in something of good from their religious faith. The Specific Church changes from age to age; or, to speak more exactly, the Specific Church of one age has its rise, its growth, its height, its decline, its consummation, and is succeeded by another distinct from it.

     This idea is familiar to the New Church and, indeed, in general in the Christian world. The Christian world recognizes that Christianity took the place of Judaism. Classic literature bears witness to a succession of ages, Golden, Silver, Copper, Iron. To the New Church is revealed a grand succession of Churches under the figures of the history of the Word; Adam, the Most Ancient Church, the Golden Age of Humanity; Noah, the Silver Age or the Ancient Church; and these succeeded by the Jewish the Christian and, finally, by the New Church.

     In a general way the Christian nations have recognized the central place occupied by the Specific Church. Christianity claims a universal mission in its possession of a Gospel of life for all men. But to the New Church has been revealed that which has been before unknown that life from the Lord and heaven comes to men by way of the Specific Church, even as to the human body comes life by the way of the heart and the lungs of it.

     That specific Churches have had their day and consummation is plainly taught in the Word and is not an unfamiliar thought to the Christian mind. The Church Adam, the Most Ancient Church, was consummated in the suffocation of false persuasion typified by the Flood, which is said in Genesis to have destroyed all flesh; the Church Noah, which was preserved from the Flood, was consummated in idolatries which overspread the Eastern world; the Jewish Church came to its end and its representatives were done away, when it made the Word of God of none effect by its traditions, and the Word Incarnate, the Savior, Jesus Christ was born.

     It has been supposed that the Christian Church was a universal church and would never have an end. Men have so understood the Lord's words: "Behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the world."

265




     It is true that the Lord predicted a Second Coming; it is true that He foretold that the Gospel should first be preached to all nations, and that then should the end come. But these words have been supposed to refer to the end of the physical universe, when material heaven and earth should pass away and a new earth be established by the Lord to be the abode of the saints forever.

     The Apostles evidently believed that this end was to come within the period of their own lifetime. "This generation shall not pass away," it is written, "till all things shall be fulfilled; and of the Apostle John, who outlived all the others of the twelve, the Lord said, "If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee." This hope disappointed, curious calculations have been made, and various dates set for the grand cataclysm, which dates have, one by one, quietly passed by without event. Of the present state of the Christian mind respecting the Second Coming and the end of the world it would perhaps not be unjust to say, that it is either not believed that it will ever take place, or it is placed so far in the future that it may safely be regarded with indifference, so far as it may be supposed to affect the present active thought of men.

     The New Church knows the truth, that the Lord has actually made His Second Coming; not, as anticipated from a literal exposition of Scripture, on the physical clouds of the physical universe, accompanied with the mighty scenic phenomena of the destruction of a material world, but in ways, which, having indeed their stupendous phenomena even a Last Judgment in the spiritual world, are yet so little marked in the natural world that men know it not. Nay, those who profess to be of the Lord's New Church are slow to accept the situation in all its far-reaching consequences to the spiritual condition of men.

     It is not so difficult to believe that the Lord has made known new truth of great interest and importance for men to know; but to believe that the Christian Church is at-an end; that the Lord has departed from it as His Specific Church, and that He now abides with the New Church alone; that that small group of men who accept Him in His Second Coming constitute the heart and lungs of the great body of the Universal Church of redeemed humanity,-this seems to many, even of the New Church, preposterously egotistical, bigoted, narrow beyond belief.

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     Yet the Lord Himself has declared that He would come again, that the Church established at His First Coming would have its End, and a New Church be established. He declares these things in the words already quoted, when correctly translated: "Behold, I am with you all the days, until the consummation of the age." Of these words the significance is thus given in the Writings of the New Church, "Until the consummation of the age denotes, even to the end of the Church; and then, if men do not approach the Lord Himself, and live according to His precepts, they we left by the Lord, and being left by the Lord, they are become as Pagans who have no religion; and in this case the Lord is only with those who will be of His New Church." (APOCALYPSE REVEALED, NO. 750.) And the words, "Behold, I make all things new," are declared to signify, "that the former Church with all things of it would perish, and a New Church, which is called the New Jerusalem, be established." And the need that this should be done is signified by those other words of the Lord, "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved," of which the meaning is, that "unless the Church was ended before its time, it would altogether perish."

     If the Lord has indeed come again, if He has established a New Church, then is it equally true that the Christian Church has come to an end, and is no longer the Specific Church which is the heart and lungs of spiritual humanity.

     But this is a hard saying.

     We find no difficulty in applying this teaching of the consummation of the Specific Church to the time of the Flood, to the time of Noah, to the time of the Lord's first advent;-these events are far away from our personal experience. But we are very slow to believe the revelation which declares that the Christian Church has profaned and perverted every truth of the Word, that it knows nothing of the Lord, nothing of the Word, nothing of Heaven, nothing of spiritual life; that the Lord has departed from it, and abides only with those who will be of His New Church, who acknowledge Him for God of heaven and earth, and keep His Commandments.

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We behold in that which bears the name of the Christian Church, powerful organizations, abundant wealth, magnificent temples of worship: we behold imposing ritual here, apparent fervor there all these professing to believe in the Lord as the Savior of men, maintaining preaching from His Word, in form zealous for then welfare of humanity. How can this be a dead Church from whom the Lord has departed? Nay, more, we behold in this so-called dead Church our friends and neighbors, our brothers and sisters, our fathers, mothers, children, wives, and husbands, those near and dear to us, those bound to us by the strongest ties of natural affection. We dare not say that these are not as upright in every social and business way as we ourselves! What bigotry and conceit in us to say that such as these have destroyed every good and truth of the Church; that they are of a dead Church, that the Lord has departed from them and abides only with us; that we are the heart and lungs of humanity, the center of saving life for the world;-we, so few in number, so weak in spiritual power, so incapable for the world's betterment.

     But wait;-it is not we, it is the Lord who declares that the Christian Church is consummated. The Lord, not man, makes the Church. The Lord, not man, declares the end of the Church. The consummation of the Church is not to be determined by external signs, nor form the external lives of men. It is known to us first of all by the same revelation from the Lord by which we are assured of the existence of the New Church. But, with the revelation of the spiritual fact in hand, and believed, external confirmatory evidence is by no means lacking.

     The Last Judgment took place in the spiritual world one hundred and fifty years ago, In the spiritual world at that time heaven and earth passed away and a new heaven and earth were formed, from which has descended the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, to men. What things have sprung up in the religious world since that time? It was revealed to the New Church that, after the time of the Judgment, men would be in freer states of thinking than before. This has evidently come to pass.

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What has been the use which has been made of this new-found freedom? It has been used to criticize the Bible, and all spiritual things. Free thought, Evolution, Agnosticism, have come into being, each an assertion of the self-intelligence of man, a virtual denial that the Lord has been able to make His wisdom known through revelation. Unitarianism has sprung into being, in its origin a recoil against the harsh dogmatism of Calvinism, but in its results, the radical rejection of those things whereon religion has been supposed to rest, belief in the Divine nature and mission of the Lord Jesus Christ and the revelation of a Divine Word from God out of heaven. These years have witnessed the rise of the Higher Criticism, which, ostensibly an attempt to disclose the genuine origin and significance of the Bible, has in large measure discredited it as the Word of the Lord.

     These years have seen a wonderful increase in the wealth of the nations, but with it an increasing worldliness in the organizations of the Church. The spiritual things of the Church are more and more regarded with indifference as affecting the actual lives of men. It is even asserted that the Christian religion is passing away. Listen to the opinion, not of a theologian pressing the cause of the New Church, but of a modern author of some note in the thinking world of today. Says Maurice Maeterlincli in the ATLANTIC MONTHLY for February, 1906, in beginning an article on "Our Anxious Morality:" "We have arrived at a stage of human evolution that must be almost unprecedented in history. A large portion of mankind-and just that portion which corresponds with the part that has hitherto created the events of which we know with some certainty-is gradually forsaking the religion in which it has lived for nearly twenty centuries. For a religion to become extinct is no new thing. It must have happened more than once in the night of time; and the annalists of the end of the Roman Empire make us to assist at the death of Paganism. But until now, men passed from a crumbling temple into one that was building; they left one religion to enter another; whereas we are abandoning ours to go nowhere. This is a new phenomenon, with the unknown consequences in which we live."

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     We of the New Church know for what the Christian religion is being given up, even though those who are rejecting that religion do not know. We know that it is a faith which is dead that is passing, which is to give place to a living faith which shall abide forever. Let us note some of the marks of this dead faith. When you have considered these, judge whether your friends and your neighbors, father or brother, or child, is in it or no.

     Two types of faith exist in the Christian world, in general grouped under the two heads, Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. The one, marked by dominion claimed by men in spiritual things, the other by the dogma of faith alone. We should perhaps, put in a third group, the Unitarians, if it were not that, in denying the priestly dominion of the one school and the faith alone of the other, they did not at the same time discredit the Bible and declare the Lord Jesus Christ to be man only, in doing which it may be properly questioned whether they may be properly grouped among Christians.

     In the Cathedral of St. Peter's in Rome may be seen, high above the image of our Lord upon the great altar, a colossal figure of Peter the Fisherman, emblem, though all unthinking, of the fact which has destroyed the Church, namely, that the priesthood of Rome has arrogated to itself the powers which are the Lord's only, has dared to take on human lips the prerogatives of absolution and condemnation. This constitutes the Roman Church a dead and not a living church.

     We hear Protestants declaring that man is saved simply by profession of faith in the saving merits of the Lord's vicarious atonement, proclaiming instantaneous salvation by mere lip confession, irrespective of character. Do you say that such doctrine is no longer preached! Listen, then, to the words of the chief speaker in a recent revival movement designed to compass the whole country, words spoken in Philadelphia, where this movement had the support of the larger share of the Evangelical churches, gathering its audiences of thousands, daily and nightly. He says, "What strange ideas even Christian people have as to how one can become a child of God. If I should ask you Christian people tonight how to become a child of God, a great many of you would answer me something like this:

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     "'If you want to become a child of God, put away your sin, fight hard against your temptations, spend a great deal of your time reading your Bible, pray a great deal, serve the Lord with all you strength, then perhaps at the end of a long life of struggle and conflict and victory and service you may become a child to God.'

     "Thank God," he goes on, "that is not the doctrine of the Bible. The doctrine of the Bible is that the vilest sinner on earth can become a child of God in a moment by the simple acceptance of Jesus Christ."

     These then are the marks of the dead church, the assumption by men of the prerogatives of God, by which they exercise dominion over the souls of men, and the teaching of three persons in the one God, which is the virtual teaching of three Gods, with its dependent propositions of faith alone, the vicarious atonement, and instantaneous salvation, with the consequent divorce of religion and life, and the growth of materialism and naturalism, these even rising up, as in radical Unitarianism and Ethical Culture, to assume the garb, and claim the name of religion, undertaking without a God, and without Word from Him, the salvation of mankind.

     But you will say, not all men believe these things; there are many who believe in the Lord simply, and do His commandments as the means by which they shall be saved. If that be so, and so far as to be so, then such do not belong to the dead church; if that be so with any man or men, the church is not dead in them. It is as true now as it ever was that He that "hath the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and keepeth them" is the Lord's disciple; It is as true now as it ever was that if one will enter into life, he shall keep the commandments. But the great bodies which bear the Christian name have not these things inscribed upon their banner, but in the stead of them, belief in the Pope and the Romish Priesthood as the vice-regency of God on earth, and belief that salvation is not a matter of character, but of profession of faith in the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ, who by His death on the Cross, paid the penalty of sin that men might be saved.

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If men in these organizations or out of them in the Christian world, simply believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and do His commandments, as the things whereby they shall be saved, they do it in spite of the ruling doctrines of the Christian Church. That many did this need not be questioned.

     But, let it be observed, if the Lord had not made His Second Coming and raised up the New Church upon the earth, had there not been some to receive Him in His Second Coming,-even these faithful ones in the meshes of the Old Church organizations, would not have been able to do these things with the confidence of salvation in them. It is by reason of the Second Coming, of the establishment of the New Church, that men, even within the denominations of the dead Churches, are able in some simple sort to spiritually live. For it is written that "except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved; therefore for the elect's sake, those days were shortened."

     The New Church stands pre-eminent before the world in an affirmative and assured faith, a faith not devised by men, but delivered unto her by the Lord. Of the time of the New Church it is written, "Behold, I make all things new," which means the "opening and rejection of the falses of the former church and the revelation of new doctrines not in the former church." (BRIEF EXPOSITION, NO. 95.)

     The form of truth remains from earlier churches; the Word of the Old Testament and of the New Testament stand sure, forever; but with the Old Testament and with the New Testament, these forms of truth have been perverted and profaned to confirm the doctrine of Papal dominion and the doctrine of faith alone. And where this is not done, they have in large measure been rejected altogether as the Word of the Lord. Opened as to their spiritual sense to the New Church, they are seen in such a new light as to have become new books, in all of which are seen, clearly taught and confirmed, new doctrines which have not been known in the former Church.

     To give the particulars of the faith of the New Church is not to the present purpose.

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In sum they are that the Lord Jesus Christ is God and the only God, that He took upon Him a Humanity through the Virgin Mary, and through that Humanity met the infernal enemies of mankind in mighty temptation conflicts, and overcoming them, glorified His Humanity, and became God with us in a Divine Humanity, in which He has all power in heaven and on earth; that the Word of the Old and New Testaments is the Book of life of the Lamb, so written in its letter as to be wonderfully adapted to the states of the men to whom it was given, but containing within it a spiritual sense, by which it is eternally the Book of Life for men and for angels; that man is saved by keeping the Commandments as Divine commandments in the life of every day; that all religion is of the life and that the life of religion is to do good; that the Lord has made these things known in His Second Coming, indeed, that the making of these things known is His Second Coming, wherein He opens the inner sense of His Holy Word and teaches abundantly of Himself, of the spiritual world, of the spiritual nature of man.

     All this is open to those who will be of the Lord's New Church. Those who are sincere of heart in the desire to know the Lord, and to follow Him, will find in the Writings containing the Lord's revelation to the New Church, abundant streams of truth to satisfy their spiritual thirst.

     Are we anxious for the external growth of the New Church? Let us remember that the New Church is not of men, but of the Lord, and that it relies not upon the support of men, but upon the life of the Lord within men. To those nominally of the New Church, it is first important that they receive in their own lives these truths. "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify," not you, but "your Father in heaven," who has given you these truths. Do we mourn the lack of life in the visible New Church? Remember that for this the doctrines of the New Church are not responsible. They contain, if used, the means for a larger and richer spiritual life than men have ever known. The Christian fellowship possible to men by means of them is of more precious quality and enduring character than has ever been the case in any former church upon the earth.

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     In our own hearts may be discerned the reason why the doctrines of the New Church are not more fully received, the reason why those of the New Church name make no more than half-hearted use of them. It is because of the demands which the reception of them makes. Today, even more than in the time of His first coming, the Lord says that men must deny themselves that they may receive Him: Today, with tenfold emphasis, because of the growing materialism and commercialism of the time, He says, "Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."

     We find it hard to believe it, we are unwilling to believe it, but in truth the reception of the religion of the New Jerusalem is no less revolutionary than was the reception of the religion of Christianity by Jew or by Gentile. Today, no less than when on earth in the flesh, the Lord calls upon him who would follow Him to give up father and mother and house and lands, that he may be His disciple. And no less than of old He promises today that He will give an hundred fold, with persecutionst and in the world to come, eternal life.
FOUNTAIN OF THE WATER OF LIFE 1918

FOUNTAIN OF THE WATER OF LIFE       Rev. J. E. BOWERS       1918

     "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst, of the fountain of the water of life freely." (Rev. 21:6.)

     It is done. The Second Advent of the Lord is an accomplished fact; and it is the most momentous event which ever came to pass, for in it is involved the fulfillment of all prophecy concerning the kingdom of God. The Lord has come into the world, in order that the human race should not perish, and that all those who will acknowledge Him and keep His Precepts may attain salvation and eternal life. In His advent the Lord has done the Divine work of redemption anew, not only for the sake of the men on all the earths, but for the sake of the angels in all the heavens. For what is done by the Lord, the Infinite and the Omnipotent, is for the security, the protection, and the blessedness of all His people, in the created universe, to eternity.

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Thus the new advent of the Lord in the new Revelation of the Word, which is the Lord in. His advent, is a distinctly new manifestation of the Divine Love, Wisdom, and Power; and at the same time most profoundly impressive evidence of the Lord's Mercy, Grace, and Glory. By the subjugation of the hells anew, which is also involved in the lord's advent, the redeemed of the Lord, in the natural world and in the spiritual world, are now guarded against the grievous assaults of the wicked; against the malignant spheres of infernal spirits. They are safe, and dwell in peace in their heavenly homes, for which the Lord provides, and for which they praise the Lord and bless His Holy Name. And this is from an overflowing joy of heart, on account of the marvelous things the Lord has done.

     In the letter of the Word, where the advent of the Lord is treated of, there are a great many passages in which the singing of n new song unto the Lord is mentioned. Singing is expressive of heavenly joy and rejoicing, on the part of the angels and of those who, by being partakers in the Lord's new redemption, are in consociation with the angels, on account of the formation of the new heavens, and the establishment of the most glorious Church, the New Jerusalem, by the Lord through those heavens, on our earth, where an appalling spiritual darkness still almost universally prevails. There are in the Word many glorifications of the Lord, in which He, the Only Divine, Infinite, and Eternal, is exalted as alone worthy of all adoration, by all finite intelligences, as the Maker of the heavens and the earth, the beneficent Creator of the universe, who is the Fountain of life, and of all the joys and felicities of human life, both in this world and in the future state, where, on the part of the faithful, there shall be, in greater fulness and perfection, life for ever more. We are informed in the Writings, that the glorifications of the Lord, among the ancient people of the Church, were performed by singing and the use of musical instruments. In the angelic heavens there are choirs, concerning which many wonderful things are revealed to us; and there is singing in the heavens in the greatest perfection. And therefore we read in the Word: "Sing, O heavens, and rejoice, O earth, and break forth into singing, O mountains; for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted." (Isaiah 49:13.)

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     The first clause of the text is an affirmation that what the Lord says an the subject treated of, is Diving truth, and that therefore it ought to be believed. It is a primary principle of the man of the Church to believe all things of Revelation, because they are taught by the Lord. And men who are not yet of the Church, but are being prepared to enter into it through its gates in due time, by virtue of remains stored up in them from their earliest infancy, are imbued with this principle, although they are hot conscious of it. They are interiorly in the affirmative state, though still in ignorance of the doctrine of the Word. This is the reason that when they hear the doctrine presented on any subject, they believe in simplicity that it is true, because it is taught by the Lord in the Word, It does not occur to them to raise the question whether it is true. But there are few such persons at this day, especially in the so-called Christian world, because there are few who are in a proper state to receive the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem.

     There are some, however, who are in an affirmative state, mentally so constituted that they doubt on certain points before they affirm. This is because no man can affirm the truth of any doctrine unless he in some degree understands it. With those who are in the affirmative, as just said, there is assent to the truth, which is more interior than the doubt, and affirmation follows in due time. For the affection of spiritual truth, from the ground of good, but which is still natural good, is so ardent and the desire for knowledge so strong, that to be in a state of doubt for a time does no harm. Those who can be protected by the Lord, so as not to be seduced by evil influences, will wait patiently for light in the understanding by means of instruction, according to the doctrine of the Church. The doubt that had caused some anxiety, will be dissipated, after which doubts on other points will from time to time arise, that will be removed as the truth is seen and affirmed.

     The novitiate in the science of things spiritual and heavenly, at first can understand revealed truths but obscurely.

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These truths in the mind are like faint rays of light from the stars at night. But as the understanding is formed by means of truths, and ideas of spiritual intelligence are acquired, and there is advancement by the practical application of the principles of genuine religion thus received, to the uses of life for the good of others, the real significance of man's existence begins to appear in an entirely new and most interesting aspect. It is like the dawn after the shades of night have departed, and a man is approaching the shining gates of day at sunrise. It is a distinctly new state in the life of man, in which he will no more need to walk in darkness, but on whose path in the journey leading on toward heaven will be shed the light of truth, from the Lord, who is the Divine Wisdom, and hence the Light of the world. But there will inevitably be, in the case of everyone, some trying experiences in the life of regeneration. There must necessarily be, on account of man's imperfections from nativity, great variations of spiritual state, of which the changes in the conditions of the natural atmospheres are correspondences. The bright days of summer, when Nature is lovely and serene, are, indeed, agreeable, but it would not do to have perpetual sunshine, for obvious reasons. There must he clouds and storms as to the states of the human mind, according to the spiritual idea and correspondence. Although we have reason to think that if all the people on our earth were in a good state, living according to the laws of the Divine order, there would be no destructive and raging storms; and that all the operations of the elements of nature would be for the well being of mankind. Such storms take place, evidently, because of the vicious and malevolent character of so large a portion of the inhabitants of the world. And hence there is a plane for the tremendous effects of the influx of the spheres from the hells, which are ultimated in the way of ruinous storms. But great disasters that take place, and serious calamities that happen to many people in this age of the old and vastated and consummated church, will cease henceforth, in due proportion as the human race is elevated by reception of the genuine principles of the Christian religion, and regenerated.

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For the Lord, who is the Supreme Ruler of the nations, reigns, universally and in the least things. And, from infinite Love, He provides for the protection of all; for the salvation of all who are willing to look unto Him and acknowledge Him as their only Helper. "Look unto me that ye may be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else." (Isa. 45:22.)

     The Lord is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. The import of this is the same as that in the expression that the Lord is all in all. For all things are made by Him, and are governed by His Divine providence. The Lord, the one only God, is the all in all things and in all beings, of the created or finite universe. Salvation and eternal life depend on man's acknowledgment of this. One who has not the faith to believe this with all his heart can not become a man in the true sense of the word, and much less an angel of heaven. The Divine of the Lord is the all in all of heaven, and thence all in all of the Church; from which it follows that He is all in all of the doctrine of the Church. And because what proceeds from the mouth of the Lord, and is given by inspiration in Revelation from Him, is the Lord, therefore the Lord is Himself the Divine Truth of Doctrine. And thus it is a necessary corollary, that the Doctrine, as a whole, is to be accepted and believed by the man of the Church. For to doubt, to deny or to reject any part of it is to allow a negative spirit of self-intelligence to intervene, and under its pernicious influence to invalidate the Doctrine, and thus to obstruct and to limit its efficacy in the Divine work of the establishment of the New Church and of the salvation of the human race. The Heavenly Doctrine is a perfect, complete, final, stupendous, and most wonderful system of Divine truth. And it is the Lord's own Revelation, the Word as to its internal sense, made by Him who alone was worthy,-Who alone had the Divine power,-to open the Book and to loose the seven seals thereof. (Rev. 5:1-5.)

     The Divine truth proceeding from the Lord as the Word, is the Fountain of the water of life. This fountain is ever flowing and inexhaustible. In the natural idea itself, a fountain is a beautiful and an interesting object. It is so on account of its correspondence, and what it represents in the spiritual idea.

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And we get a more vivid impression of what is involved in it, if we have ever experienced the sensation of thirst. In the condition of thirst, the entire body is intensely affected. And there is nothing that gives relief, and satisfies the immediate needs so well, as a drink of pure water.

     Now one who is athirst, spiritually, has an intense desire, from an internal affection of the mind, for the knowledges of truth from the Word. This desire is not from mere curiosity, or for the exercise of the intellectual faculty of the mind, for the sake of this alone. The state of ignorance and uncertainty, as to the things of religion, becomes oppressive at times. Questions are suggested, when reflecting on the subject. It occurs to the thought, perhaps, that there are so many forms of religion; that in what is called the Christian world there are hundreds of sects. This fact itself is one cause of perplexity. And a man whose mind is being awakened out of a sort of sleep, and who begins to think, may wonder whether there is a Church that has a doctrine that explains the Scriptures so clearly that there can be no mistake in understanding them by a person of average natural intelligence. Or suppose a man has been repelled by the falsities of doctrine of the old church; from a general perception has seen that those falsities are notions quite contrary to sound common sense; and therefore has rejected them and has become a skeptic or an infidel.

     There are such men in all parts of the world today. But there are unbelievers in the old doctrines who are in a negative state, as to all revealed and genuine rational and spiritual truth. We are told that it would be easier to make a raven white than to convince those who have once in heart rejected faith in spiritual verities. They can not believe because they will not do so. But there are also infidels in a good sense; that is, those who reject the old beliefs, and yet are in an affirmative state. The people of this class want to know what the Word of God really does teach, concerning the Divine Being. They expect some time to get light on the problems of human life, and the destiny of our race. There abides in them the hope yet to learn about the mystery of death, of immortality, and of man's future state of existence.

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Thus do they thirst for knowledge which is still hidden from them; which it will prove the greatest of all blessings for them to come into possession of and concerning which all the sciences and knowledges of natural things can never give the least ray of spiritual light to any man.

     But when they are led to the fountain of salvation, and partake of the water of life, by receiving the truths of the Word into the intellectual faculty of the mind, and are thus enabled to exercise the reason with which they are gifted, to begin to think intelligently both as to the things of earth and of heaven; then the burning thirst which they had keenly felt, the most intense desire for knowledge, will be allayed to the gratification of every attribute of the mind. There will be perceived delight and gladness of heart, because there has been effected an elevation of the thoughts and affections of the mind, and thereby an entrance into a new state of human life. The Lord will not let anyone endure spiritual thirst longer than is for the best, on account of the end, which is man's salvation. It is so with regard to all that man is required to endure, in the entire course of his regeneration. But as the glorification of the Lord was not accomplished without His passing through dreadful sufferings, even the anguish and passion of the cross, from His Human being assaulted by all the hells combined in the effort to destroy Him, and thus to prevent His finishing the Divine work of the redemption of the human race, and of the angelic heavens at the same time; so the regeneration of man can not be effected, without his being exposed to the influx of the spheres of infernal spirits, and in certain states, enduring severe afflictions in consequence. But the Lord, by His omnipotence, conquered the hells, and keeps them under subjection to eternity. Therefore all men who desire to be regenerated by the Lord, and in all confidence will look unto Him for Divine help in the dark days of spiritual temptation, will be comforted by Him from heaven, by means of the ministry of angels. "For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.)" (Psalm 91:11.)

     Man when he is born is the most destitute and helpless of all creatures, a mere form receptive of life from God, his beneficent Creator.

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But it is the culmination of all created forms. In the little infant there are latent, marvelous possibilities of his becoming not only a man gifted with all truly human attributes and qualities, but of becoming a beautiful angel of heaven, and of entering into the ever increasing, the ever more perfect felicities of life in heaven, to all eternity. In view of this impressive thought is evident the solemn significance of the Lord's admonition, not to despise one of these little ones. (Matth. 18:10.)

     Man in infancy and childhood is in a state of innocence, and is not accountable for evils inherited from parents and ancestors. Man's salvation depends upon whether, on coming to the age of an adult, he will discover the evils in himself, will repent of those he has done, and in humble confession will turn to the Lord, and permit himself to be led into states of regeneration, and will continue therein to the end of his life in the world.

     Man of himself is only evil and the false; he has not the least spark of life; thoughts and affections do not originate in him; he is natural, materialistic, perverse, conceited; and he is ruled altogether by the loves of self and of the world, which are the very opposites of those in which are all true men and all the angels in the heavens, namely, love to the Lord supremely, and, in obedience to His command: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

     Man, created according to Divine order, is a microcosm, a little world or universe, and this in the most comprehensive sense, insomuch that we are told that "into him were collated all things of Divine order from first to last." (L. J. 9.) As to ultimates, therefore, this involves the fact that: all the substances of the atmospheres, and in the earth itself, enter into the composition of the physical body of man. It is also revealed to us that man from creation is a least effigy, image, and type of heaven. This idea is with reference to the human form, the internal. Man becomes such a form by being spiritually created, becomes an image of heaven, and therefore of the Lord, a heaven in the least form.

     That the Lord gives to those that are athirst, of the Fountain of the water of life, is of His Divine mercy.

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For without a knowledge of the truths of the Word, concerning spiritual things, which they ardently desire, they would perish as to their souls. From the Lord, who is Life Itself, because He is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, by the Divine proceeding flows constantly and freely the stream of life to men, spirits, and angels. Thus He gives unto all in full measure according to their need, their state, and capacity of reception. A man, however, can receive truths from the Lord through the Word, only as the Lord, in His infinite Wisdom, gives them to man. These truths are given in the Lord's Revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word. But the spiritual sense is not given to anyone except to him who is in genuine truths from the Lord. To be in these truths is for man to receive them in their purity, as they are taught in the Writings of the Church. It is not for man, who has a general knowledge of correspondences, to explore the spiritual sense of the Word; contained in the letter, from his own intelligence. For this is to pervert the genuine truth which is of this sense, as it tends to confirmation in fanciful and false notions. And this, as we are taught, "would be to do violence to the Divine truth, and also to heaven; and, therefore, if anyone wants to open this sense from himself, and not from the Lord, heaven is closed, and then the man either sees nothing or is spiritually insane." (S. S. 26.)

     No man can provide for himself in spiritual things; but everyone may know that in all things "The Lord will provide." It is folly derived from the love of self for anyone to attempt to draw, specific truths of doctrine out of the letter of the Word. This is the same as for a man to imagine that he can acquire intelligence and wisdom, as to the things of heaven and the Church, from himself, which is a spiritually insane idea.

     The Word can not be understood without doctrine. "But the doctrine is in what is written within the Book which John saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne (Apocalypse). The truths of doctrine are in the spiritual sense, which is within the letter of the Word. No man in heaven, nor on earth, was able to open the Book. The Lord alone, by His Divine omnipotence, could reveal the spiritual sense of the Word. And this He has done in the Revelation given in the Writings of the New Church.

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     But what is it that constitutes the Word? Or, what do we understand the Word to be? According to abundant testimony of all the Holy Scriptures on the subject, it is perfectly evident, that in the full and comprehensive idea, the Word in the sense of the letter, which is the Divine truth in ultimate form, and the Writings of the New Church, which are a Divine Revelation of the internal sense of the Word, taken together as one, are the Word, which is meant in the text, by the Fountain of the water of life. The Word in ultimate form and the Writings, in which the Lord has revealed the spiritual sense, and has in fulness and in infinite perfection manifested His Glory and Divinity as the Word, are each, in their form, Sacred Scripture. They are distinctly one as body and soul, and can not be separated except ideally, or in defective imagination; for the Word is as a Divine Man. The two forms of the Word are and absolutely must be eternally united in one, as are the Human and the Divine in the Lord Himself, whose "name is called The Word of God." (Rev. 19:13.)

     The water of life, which is given freely, represents the idea of the goodness and loving-kindness of the Father of all mercies, toward those who in sincerity of heart trustfully look to Him for all things needful as to their spiritual life. To such people it is, most truly, the water of life, the refreshment of the soul. All the faithful can realize, in some degree, that the practical knowledge of the Divine truth is the most precious thing, the greatest: blessing, of all the experiences of human life. It is felt profoundly, that to be deprived of this knowledge would be for the light in the mind, the very light of the Sun of heaven, to be blotted out, and to be left in the darkness of despair and of spiritual and eternal death.

     But it is well understood and is also acknowledged in the New Church, that we owe all things of our life that are human, and that are really desirable and enjoyable, to our gracious Lord, our Father in the heavens. And of Him it is said: "Thou shalt give them to drink of the stream of thy delights. For with thee is the Fountain of life in thy light shall we see light." (Psalm 36:8,9.) Amen.

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AGES OF MAN AND THE FIVE DISPENSATIONS 1918

AGES OF MAN AND THE FIVE DISPENSATIONS       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1918

     If we take the four great churches that existed in succession on earth prior to the descent of the New Jerusalem, as denoting four epochs with the developing individual who will become finally a miniature heaven upon earth; it becomes a vital matter to the educator to determine between what years of his life the individual passes through each of these periods. When this is known, provision can be made to develop with him the peculiar goods of the churches corresponding to these several periods, and to guard against those arrested developments that prevented a subsequent dispensation from becoming established with none but a few of the devotees of a prior one.

     It is my purpose to show there is very definite teaching that actually establishes the boundaries of these several epochs. The Ancient, Jewish, Christian, and New Churches, I propose to show, coincide severally with the four periods mentioned in Leviticus xxvii:v. 2-7, and further elucidated in A. C. 102251 viz., (1) One month to five years, (2) Five years to twenty years, (3) Twenty years to sixty years, (4) Sixty years and upwards. In conjunction with this evidence I propose to show from the SCHMIDIUS MARGINALIA, INDEX BIBLICUS, and ADVERSARIA, that the period of the Most Ancient Church corresponds to a period beginning with the conception of the individual in the womb and terminating with the age of one month after birth.

     These three earlier Theological Works of Swedenborg, which in bulk represent about one-fourth the matter he produced after his spiritual eyes were opened, have hitherto not been accessible to Newchurchmen, and, therefore, not consulted as aids to the forming of his concepts on the various matters that have aroused his interest. As a result, their specific declarations on certain subjects, as, for instance, the one I am now considering, have been overlooked. From indirect and fragmentary statements in the other three-fourths of the Writings Newchurchmen by exterpolative deductions have at times come to conclusions on subjects that are particularly under the field and jurisdiction of this as yet unconsulted fourth part of the Writings.

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Now it not unfrequently happens that such deductions from partial and elliptic premises have led to conclusions quite contradictory to fully explained teachings in these unknown works. A traditional prestige and favor has, however, often grown up about such conclusions of unprecise premises, and may even cause the mind to prevent the new and unfamiliar but more precise evidence from having any weight in the necessary remodeling of the former less adequate concepts. We can be quite certain that there are no contradictions in the Writings, and that if any concept a man may have brings him face to face with incompatible declarations, or if a traditional bias in favor of some concept leads him to disparage other teachings that oppose it-we can be sure that he needs to remodel his concepts and form better, more extended, and less narrow and literal ones.

     It would be possible, for example, in the subject now under consideration, to deduce from any of the five following partial premises, correlations between the dispensations and the ages of man that would conflict with one another and with the precise evidence I shall now shortly present.

     The ages of man are:

     "Infancy, childhood, youth, adult age, old age." (A. C. 3254.)

     "Infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, old age." (H. H. 185.)

     "Infants, children, adolescents, youths, men, old men." (I. B. Pueri.)

     "Infancy, childhood, adolescence, youth, virility, age of wisdom," (A. C. 10225.)

     1. THE MOST ANCIENT CHURCH-CONCEPTION TO ONE MONTH AFTER BIRTH.

     Of the passages I adduce in support of the correlation of the Most Ancient Church with the period of life from conception until one month after birth; the two first cited concern the prenatal period; and the lash three, the period between birth and one month. I cite them at some length because they contain other points of interest that may be subject for brief comment.

     From the SCHMID. MARG. at Daniel ii:

     "Vers. 31-end. These are prophetical things, but the rest in Daniel are historical. He was not a prophet except as to the explications of prophecies.

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With respect to this dream, they signify the state of the church from the first day of reformation, that is, from Noah, to the last [when they are destroyed del.], for the time before the hood was like that during conception in the womb, thus a time of oblivion."

     From 3 ADV. 7651 which comments on Deut. i:39: "Moreover your little ones, which ye said should be a prey, and your children shall go in . . . and possess."

     "Vers. 39. That an infant shall enter, be it known that it means those who are as infants, for unless they areas infants they cannot enter God Messiah's kingdom, as He says. That this was provided, namely, that only infancies and innocence should inherit the kingdom of God Messiah, may also be manifest from the life of human ages in the state of integrity. As to what concerns the first month and the uterine age, it is to be passed over. But man's life begins from infancy which up into childhood is an age of innocence, sportive through itself, without evils from counsel. The next adolescent or virginal age comes when conjugial love with all its amenities reigns. Next the virile or adult age, when the mind imbued with the sweetness of the previous ages, is vigorous from an understanding which was formed from both previous states and flourishes. At length the age progresses by degrees up to old age, and man thus, little by little, returns to the state of his infancy, for interiors are being concentrated and he is decreasing in body, and becomes as it were a sole spiritual and celestial mind living from a previously acquired disposition, like a spirit, almost without a body, not knowing what is evil. Thus he returns, as was said, into infancy and innocence, but conjoined then at the same time with wisdom, which is the life of the love of God Messiah, thus of His kingdom, into which on depositing the body he passes after a brief intermission."

     From 3 ADV. 6653 which comments on Numbers iii, 39, 40: "Number all the first born of the males from a month old and upward."

     "Vers. 39 and 40. With regard to the month, namely, that those should not be counted who were under a month, this has its cause from the month of days, by which is signified the antediluvian time, as was said about Jacob, namely, concerning the first month when he was at Laban's. That time is to be consigned to oblivion, for all that antediluvian world perished, the family of Noah alone surviving."

     From I ADV. 569, which comments on Jacob's meeting with Laban, Gen. xxix : 14:

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     "AND SO HE REMAINED WITH HIM A MONTH OF DAYS, vers. 14. In the prelude to this period of Jacob's life it was shown that in the inmost sense here are meant the churches of Messiah from primitive times to the end of days; namely, the church had been from the time of Adam to Noah [i. e., Most Ancient], from Noah to Abraham [i. e., Ancient], from Abraham to Messiah Himself [Jewish], which churches were first signified; vers. 2, by those three flocks which couched beside the well; but the church from Messiah's advent up to this day, which is truly Christian, by Laban's flock which Rachel led, vers. 6 and 9. It treats now of those special churches themselves; and indeed in a few words concerning that one which had been from first: creation up to the flood. That was indeed a church among a few,* just like the Jewish in which was inmostly concealed a true church of Messiah. . . . But that church became utterly corrupted through unlawful marriages, namely, of the sons of God with the daughters of man . . . on account of which the Church of Christ could not then be instituted, whence no new creation, or that of a new Paradise in place of the old, at that tinte, but only thus a beginning of one in Noah. This primitive time is here called a month of days. For greatest as well as least times are set forth in the Divine Word by years, months, and days, so that a great time may be called a month and also a day. That time is called the month of days that Jacob abode with Laban, or Messiah with those signified by Laban; for in the present person are to be viewed in the inmost sense both past and future things. For times are nil with God, but past and future are together and in the present. This month of days was therefore that era which preceded the times of the new creation, which are especially called days and years; as below."
     * Evidently only a few of the Preadamites developed into the Most Ancient Church. Even after the fall of the latter, its adherents were still only as a small strain numerically in the midst of the civilizations of the Ancient Church which is also said to have existed prior to the flood (p. 45 of SCHM. MARG. AND IND. BIB.)

     Throughout the ADVERSARIA, SCHM. MARGINALIA, and INDEX BIBLICUS, be it noted, Swedenborg continually refers to the end of a dispensation as a new chaos, that is, the evening of the first of six days of labor of a new spiritual creation. Thus in the INDEX BIBLICUS, under Aegritudo, he divides the Jewish epoch into six days that spanned the period between the Ancient and Christian Churches. But more commonly it is the period between the fall of the Most Ancient Church and the establishment of the New Church that he means when he speaks, as just above, of the times of the new creation. (See I ADV. 19.)

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In this widest viewpoint, it is the entire rehabilitation of mankind fallen from Eden and led back to the Paradise of the New Jerusalem that is involved; or, if we view the same theme in the individual, it is the history of a man's regeneration from the time of conception in the womb until he arrives at the palace of wisdom.

     The first period of mankind and of man is one that is to be consigned to oblivion. The entire antediluvian time as shown in the passage just cited corresponds in man to the period between conception in the womb and the age of one month. Possibly the prenatal period terminating with birth corresponds to the Most Ancient Church prior to the fall; (and here quite a number of interesting analogies suggest themselves, as to wit, a comparison of the internal breathing of that Church with the vital respiration); and possibly the period between birth and one month corresponds to the epoch beginning with the fall (and the preservation of Cain, Enoch, and Noah remains) and ending with the flood which in a good sense is said in several places of the ADVERSARIA to correspond to baptism.

     The expression "conception in the womb," is curious, for in a Scientific work of an earlier Period and in the ARCANA COELESTIA, which is subsequent to the SCHMIDIUS MARGINALIA, Swedenborg maintains that conception takes place in the ovary. Possibly he means to intimate that the beginning of the first epoch must be placed at the time when the uterine life of the foetus begins.

     2. THE SUBSEQUENT DISPENSATIONS AND THEIR CORRESPONDING PERIODS IN MAN'S LIFE.

     The main periods in the life of man subsequent to that first epoch which is shrouded in oblivion, were defined in the Word as early as the time of Moses, as is evident from the comments of A. C. 10225 on the following passage from Leviticus:

     "3. And thy estimation shall be of the male from twenty years old, even thy estimation shall be fifty shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary.

     "4. And if it be a female, then thy estimation shall be thirty shekels.

     "5. And if it be from five years aid even unto twenty years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male twenty shekels, and for the female ten shekels.

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     "6. And if it be from a month old even unto five years old, then thy estimation shall be of the male five shekels of silver, and for the female thy estimation shall be three shekels of silver." (Lev. xxvii, 3-6.)

     Now in the foregoing I gave direct evidence associating the Most Ancient Church with the epoch beginning with conception in the womb and ending with the age of one month after birth. There is no explicit statement, however, assigning any period as the correspondent of the Ancient Church; but the fact that the earliest period in this passage from Leviticus begins precisely with the age at which the Most Ancient Church was said to terminate, gives us a strong intimation that the Ancient Church corresponds to the period of life then beginning. The age of infancy beginning at one month and ending at five years has much in it suggestive of the spiritual characteristics of the Ancient Church. It was a Church feeding directly on oral traditions culled from a parent church, and noteworthy for its emphasis of charity and the love of offspring. The infant between one month and five years is docile to the oral teachings of its parent, and is enabled to store these important remains based on charity towards parents and nurses and to infant associates. He is then still in "'A land flowing with milk and honey;' or with nutrition, instruction, or education in the spiritual and celestial things of faith through external rites, and by allurement through things favoring their desires, and so by allurement as infants, to the celestial kingdom." (p. 522, SCHM. MARG. and IND. BIB.)

     The characteristics of the Jewish Church are fitly, portrayed by the child between the ages of 5 and 20, who does not as yet think for himself and needs to be continually driven by a master through rewards and punishments. The characteristics of the Christian Church which began with the coming of the Lord fit in appropriately with the forty-year period between 20 and 60 in which the individual having become an image of God insofar as he then thinks as if from himself with the sensation of being master of his own destiny, enters into a long continued state of temptation, as the result of conquering in which, he becomes also a likeness of God, and, therefore, not only acts as if from himself but acts according to principles that are the mainspring of the order established by God.

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He then comes into an epoch in which the Second Coming of the Lord is an actuality in his life and he is the product of the seventh day of a new creation, a being in whom the Maker again finds His rest.

     "Man from first infancy to extreme old age passes as to his interiors through many states which are of intelligence and wisdom. The FIRST STATE is from nativity [but he cites in support Lev. xxvii which says, one month'] to the fifth year of his age. This state is a state of ignorance and innocence in the ignorance, and is called infancy. While this state lasts interiors are being formed for use, wherefore not these but only the most outward things which are of the sensual are what are being manifested. When only such things appear, there is then ignorance; for whatever a man perceives and understands is from interiors. It is hence plain that the innocence then prevailing, called the innocence of infancy, is of almost external character.

     "The SECOND, STATE is from the fifth to the twentieth year of age. This is a state of instruction and science and is called childhood. . . . It is not yet a state of intelligence, because the child does not then conclude anything from himself, nor discern between truths and truths from himself, and not even between truths and falses, but from others. His thought and speech is merely of matters of the memory, thus of science only, and he does see or perceive whether a thing be so, except from the faith of a master, and hence because of another's say so.

     "The THIRD STATE is from the twentieth to the sixtieth year of age, and is a state of intelligence. It is called adolescence,* youth and virility. . . . Then the man thinks from himself and does discern and conclude. What he then concludes is his and not another's. At this time faith begins, for faith is not of the man himself before he has confirmed his belief from ideas of his own thought. Previously faith was not his, but of another in him, for he then believed the person and not the thing. From this it is plain that the state of intelligence does not-begin with a man until he thinks from himself and not from a master; a thing which does not take place before the interiors are opened towards heaven. . . .     

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It is to be known that the exteriors with a man are in the world; and the interiors, in heaven; and that a man is intelligent and wise in the degree that light from heaven inflows into the things which are from the world or so far as his interiors are opened from his living for heaven and not for the world.". . . (As to this period of life, see further, 3 ADV. 7057-8, which contrasts the state of mental flexibility between 25 and 50, with the state of conservatism subsequently.)
     * A kind of adolescence begins with puberty in the period of childhood, but it is then a state of heat rather than of light and of flexible intelligence see 3 ADV. 7651 above). Note also in (I. B. Pueri) adolescence though classed as a state is not assigned to any period, for children are there said to constitute the third period and youths the fourth.

     "The FOURTH or last state is from the sixtieth year and upwards, which state is a state of wisdom and of innocence in the wisdom. . . . As is the case when the man is no longer solicitous to understand truths and goods but to will and live them; for this is to be wise. And man can will truth and goods and live them so far as he is in innocence, that is so far as he believes he has no wisdom from himself but that whatever wisdom he has is from the Lord; and as far also as he loves that it be so. Hence it is that this state is a state of innocence in the wisdom.

     "From the succession of these states a man who is wise may also see the marvels of the Divine Providence, which are that a prior state is continually the plane of the following ones, and that the opening or disclosure of interiors proceeds from outmosts to inmosts successively, and finally so that what was first, but in outmosts, as ignorance and innocence is also last, but in inmosts. For he who knows that of himself he is wholly ignorant and that what he knows is from the Lord, is not only in the ignorance of wisdom but in the innocence of wisdom." (A. C. 10225.)

     3. THE BIRTH AND REBIRTH OF THE MIND.

     The two greatest events in the history of mankind are the two advents of the Lord. In the first of these He exhibited His omnipotence; in the second, He stressed the laws of His order. As already indicated, the two greatest events in the life of man are his two mental birthdays which are to him precisely what the two advents are to mankind. His first mental birthday, according to A. C. 10225, does not normally occur before the age of 20, at which time he comes into the freedom: of enjoying mental self-mobility and is delivered from the authority of the thoughts of others in him. He then becomes an image of the Lord and has for the first time that freedom which is more important and fundamental than salvation, and without which no salvation is possible. But he may abuse that freedom as the man of the first Christian Church did, burying the newly acquired talent by rejoicing merely in the power of self-mobility of mind, and not applying that power to bring this organism into the current and order of universal ends.

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This in dogmatic theology is tantamount to the error of acknowledging Omnipotence but of denying Divine

     That man's second mental birthday will not come normally until forty years after he begins to think for himself, or about the age of sixty, seems quite likely in view of the difficulty of subjugating all the exterior enticements that stand in the way of his acquiring that retorsion of mental vibratory gyres tat connote a truly Christian disposition. But those who die before this time but yet have carried on their mental development up to the point normal for the age al which, they died, will reach this goal more rapidly, sometimes "even in a night," on account of the more perfect conditions that obtain in the other life. If man's first mental birthday does not occur till the age of twenty, and if the first advent of the Lord denotes a corresponding mental birth to mankind or the race at large; it would follow that prior to the age of to the individual is as yet mentally prenatal, and that prior to the first advent mankind was similarly in a prenatal or uterine state as to its mind; The latter point appears plainly from the fact that subsequent to the first advent men came into a mental state in which they could think abstractly about pure spiritual doctrines; but that prior to it, they thought of doctrines only in types and rituals, whose abrogation at the first advent is similar to the removal of a fostering womb.

     We are taught in the ECONOMY (i, 273-8) that there are four states to the chick and the foetus, of which the first three are in the egg or uterus and the fourth is that of emergence therefrom. What takes place in these four stages is said to be: (1) Spirituous fluid and brain building, (2) heart and animal spirit formation, (3) Lungs and red blood formation, (4) External breathing and mobility. If we give spiritual values to each of these four stages we would get: (1) Insinuation of inmost perceptions of God, His Unity, and Obedience to His Commands. (2) Implantation of remains of charity and love towards the neighbor. (3) Mental discipline so as to develop an intellectual organism. (4) Education of the mind so that it acquires self-mobility. It is these four gifts that the ages from conception in the womb up till the age of sixty impart to the mind that then becomes of the New Church in a truly organic sense, it is these four gifts that the four dispensations that have passed by have put within the reach of mankind in the age of the New Jerusalem.

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THOUGHT ON SOLITUDE 1918

THOUGHT ON SOLITUDE       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1918

     In the heavens there are societies, small and large. There are cities, villages and communities of all kinds. And these are inhabited by angels of various genius and dispositions, who from mutual interests and common uses are desirous to associate together.

     But there are certain angels who are not dependent upon this constant association afforded by community life. These angels are said to live apart or alone. They do not live in societies, but their habitations are rather scattered. And these angels, the Writings relate, are the best of all angels. The region which they inhabit is on this account said to be in the midst of heaven, and their homes are situated on lofty mountains.

     Concerning these angels, who dwell thus alone, each with his own conjugial partner, we are told that they lived as men on the earth at the time of the Golden Age; and that the Church to which they belonged was described in the Word under the name ADAM.     

     On earth, also, they lived apart, each family constituted of husband and wife, children and some of the family who served. They were mostly a pastoral people, living in tents which they moved from region to region as they journeyed about from one I pasture land to another. Moreover, marriages took place within the family or the tribe, so that the particular characteristics of each family might be preserved and perfected and perpetuated. There were not then, as now, hereditary evils, but instead hereditary inclinations towards certain specific affections of good or of truths. And the distinctiveness of each family or tribe was safe-guarded, so that these hereditary goods might not be confounded but rather be made more and more distinct.

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Hence it came about in the Providence of the Lord, that each family among this Ancient people dwelt apart or alone.

     But a time came when conditions on earth changed, and indeed the very nations of men were altered; when men began to yearn for the more externally perfect life of communities and longed for the externalized complications of outward civilization; when the simple, pastoral family life began to pall. And this change within the ancient celestial race is what is represented in the Word, where it is said: "And Jehovah God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone.'" Adam is here referred to. And by Adam is meant the Celestial Church, or the celestial man. This church or this kind of man with whom ruled only two loves-love to the Lord and mutual love-is described as being man created by the Lord from the dust of the ground by the infusion of the Divine Spirit, and placed in a paradise of delights where he was the only human inhabitant. Thus is described the most advanced state of this celestial church, or this celestial manhood.

     The word "alone" suggests the idea of solitude, and aloofness from the surrounding world. Man is never someone as when he is meditating deeply; for then all his senses are closed to the world about him. His eyes may be open and yet he does not perceive the objects which pass before his vision. He has retired within the privacy of his own mind and has closed the gates behind him. If his meditation is profound, he may appear to the eyes of spirits in the spiritual world, but should a spirit address him, he again disappears. While a man is thus alone he is safe-guarded from intrusion of all disturbing impressions which may reach him from the outside world.

     And now when it is said that the celestial men of ancient days dwelt alone, the same is also involved there. For the celestial man was not dependent upon the external things of environment in exactly the same way as is the spiritual and natural man. The mind of the celestial man is by its inherent form turned away from the things of the world and turned towards the things of interior life. His interests are not wrapped up in the welfare of his body nor directed chiefly to worldly ends.

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Indeed the natural world to such a man is but a mirror of the spiritual world, and mundane things are but spiritual reality. His senses do but serve him to enrich his mind with the angelic wisdom of love. The appearances of the world of nature suggest no false ideas to his mind and do not cause his faith to waver, nor any doubts to be instilled; for he knows that these changing features of earth are but effigies of the eternal Love of God and of the Divine Laws whereby this Love progresses to its satisfaction. In his thought there is most clear and definite distinction between what is of the external world and what is of the infernal world of the spirit; for his love, pure and undefiled, perceives all truths that are suggested by the experience of sense.

     And thus he may be said to be alone, aloof from the disturbance of the external world. And the foremost idea entering into the word "alone" is a complete peace of mind, a complete and harmonious accord of all the affections that are active within the mind.

     He only is truly alone who is interiorly all one; who is not divided by opposing loves or divergent interests; and into whose harmonious life no element of strife or combat enters. And this can be said of the celestial man fully regenerated who was infested by no assaults from evil spirits.

     The origin of all decline and retrogression lives in the inclination of man towards the proprium, with its appearance that he lives from himself, and with its delights of sensual and corporeal life. This inclination dictates that "it is not good that man should be alone." In reality it was best if man had remained "alone," remained in the celestial state of complete harmony and full unity of mind. But when this no longer satisfies man the Lord concedes him a proprium, such as is signified by the rib that was made into a woman,-the helpmeet of Adam.

     In the ancient race, each family dwelt alone. In the Jewish race, the same principle of dwelling alone and distinct became enacted in Divine command according to the promise that the land of Canaan should be theirs wholly, every foreign nation having been driven out. And of them Balaam the prophet said, "Lo, the people dwelleth alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations." (Numb. 33:9.)

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     Similarly has the New Church received the Divine instruction that it should "dwell alone." "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither worketh abomination or maketh a lie." Besides all the innumerable interior truths involved in that prophetic sentence, the principle of New Church distinctiveness is here simply stated, as a law without which the Church would not survive. The New Church must live alone, apart from the old. It must obey this principle for the sake of self-protection. For in the disobedience to that law there lie the seeds of decadence and retrogression. The Church must remove itself from the morbid influences that affect it from without. It must remain undisturbed by the ignoble passions which rule the world. For there are vast spiritual treasures over which the Church is the appointed guardian; and these treasures are not only the precious truths of the new revelation, not only the outward uses of worship and education, but also the goods which are stored within the hearts of each of her regenerating, men and women,-the goods of Charity, mutual Love, and Love to the Lord, of Innocence and Conjugial Love.

     These treasures are well worth guarding and defending. And they are made safe by an intelligent application of this doctrine of New Church distinctiveness, This applies to the individual as well as to the Church. All men who are in the endeavor of repentance and regeneration have within them something of celestial and spiritual love to guard and protect from violation; some states of love which they would have dwell alone and undefiled, and which they would set apart to cherish in gentler moments when the heart is touched; some lingering remains of innocent desire which they sometimes dare to call their "better selves," and with which they take refuge in times of spiritual depression and anxiety. Indeed all regenerating men have some such spiritual treasures of love and affection. Nor can this love be made to dwell alone and thus be protected from profane associations, unless man causes the more trivial cravings of the senses and the world to be sacrificed to Some extent. The thought of each man must pivot on the hope that some day that gentler love may become a ruling affection which tolerates no rival interests. Only if that hope comes true will the mind have peace.

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     Before the final peace there comes a period of war. The evils of heredity and proprium, the "nations" which possess the promised land, must be driven out before the regenerate man may dwell alone in the land. For the purged spirit,-the spirit of worship and charity,-cannot abide except where it be alone. In an age of highly civilized life when social relations necessitate the constant use of human prudence, the proprium with its appearance of self-power, with its self-love and self-reliance, is, continually keyed up to a high pitch of sensitiveness and irritation; and the irritations of worldly affections endanger and disturb the heavenly states that man may interiorly cherish. Nor can the relations between man and man in the daily social contact be transformed into relations of mutual love, except among those who are frank with themselves and sincere towards their fellow men; among those, indeed, who acknowledge that the appearance of proprial self-life is granted to man solely in order that he may co-operate with the Divine Regenerator in re-establishing the perfect peace of heavenly solitude in the mind.
LEROY STARKEY WELLS 1918

LEROY STARKEY WELLS        N. D. PENDLETON       1918

     MEMORIAL ADDRESS APRIL 23, 1918.

     This is a unique assemblage in the history of our Church. There has been no other like it so far as the memory runs. We memorialize the death of a soldier of freedom.

     Yesterday our hearts were stilled by the word that came from the Government at Washington-Roy Wells, the first of our boys-died of wounds received presumably with the American Engineers as they stood in the gap before Montdidier. Nothing is positively known, save that he died in France-that he gave his life in battle for his country-for the great cause of the world,-but this was enough-he died from wounds I received on the field of honor and in a righteous cause. It was a hero's death-and glorious-the first of our New Church boys on this side-from America-from Bryn Athyn.

     Here we knew him well-gentle in manners, a lover of music and the arts. Yet he was among the first to volunteer.

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A Newchurchman and an idealist. His country's cause took full possession of his mind and heart. I think he had never a moment's doubt nor any question as to his duty.

     His death signifies a great thing for his country-the world the Church-that men might be free. This cause ennobles and glorifies the sacrifice he has made.

     For this the Lord died on the cross. He laid down. His life that men might He redeemed-that is, made free.

     Greater love hath no man than this-and greater honor also. We think not of this death we assemble to memorialize in the usual terms-the customary condolences. Certainly there is bereavement-loss and suffering-but there is also the knowledge of the Lord's Providence-His overruling mercy-His never ceasing love, and the certainty of the resurrection. These always-with every death of those who die in the faith. But now our minds are exalted by a great cause, and the high honor of the sacrifice-an honor to be ever cherished by his family and friends.

     Our love goes out to him. His name will be henceforth enshrined in our hearts. He faced the enemies of his country in mortal combat. He led where many of our sons are going to the barricade of death. He fell a victim, but victorious. In his death there is life-for his country and all free men. There is no place for pity here-an ennobling envy rather. What matters the length of days. They are long or short as God wills only whether they be full or empty counts.

     The soldier of freedom is under a sacred vow, he puts aside the world with its promise of long life and ease, and with priestly devotion offers his life that others may live; whether his days be long or short matters little, they are not empty. He has done all that a man can do-and more than the most. He stands for the highest good. He renews the hope of the race, and fills the heart of the unworthy and afraid with shame.

     Pardon my words: The time has come for the spirit of our country to live or die. In its aspirations for the freedom of the world, and its freedom as a part of the world, it must either rise and strike with all its power-or go down in ignominious defeat-a confessed failure.

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This death we commemorate is a symbol of victory. Our sons are going by millions-the land trembles to the marching of their feet. Whatever the immediate outcome-there is victory in this movement. It is a sacred crusade-for the right as God has given us to see it, for freedom as He has given us to know it. We make no boast-but trustingly await the decision of His Will. The fate of nations and the hopes of all men are in His Hands. He, by our natural trials and combats, will guide to the fruition of spiritual ends. By His grant alone we enjoy that spiritual freedom which is one with His redemption; and we confidently look to His providence to guide in all our efforts to secure the blessings of natural liberty.

     If we make not war in His name we shall not be saved. No formula of freedom nor any bill of rights can save a people. Only by a spiritual uplifting-by an appeal foe Divine Aid-by an acceptance of the Lord's leading, can a nation be raised above the devastating influences of infidelity, and the disintegrating effects of social evils.

     Thus we are circumstanced. This war is not upon us for punishment, but to rouse the latent forces of virile manhood-to stimulate anew the ideals of liberty and human justice, and, let us hope, to stir to life the deep underlying hope of immortality and faith in God. Without these a victory at arms would be but the seal of spiritual failure.

     For spiritual aims then as well as natural rights, we give our sons to the battle and we look for spiritual returns-for a betterment not only of our own country, but of the whole world all the race. For as we know this race, in the sight of God, and in our own highest estimate, is one man; now undergoing certain judgment, with a view to an impending change, the nature of which we may only guess, but we may well hope, and expect, that this change somewhere in its heart involves a preparation for that thing which we as Newchurchmen hold so dear.

     For this in the supreme sense we give our sons-knowing that if they carry this high hope in their hearts, whether they meet with continued life or sudden death, all will be well with them, even as it is well with Roy.

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Let me say again-our hearts go out with love to him. He died fighting for his country-our country and the freedom of the world.

     What more can be said?

     May the blessing of the Lord rest upon him.
FOURTH PHILADELPHIA LOCAL ASSEMBLY 1918

FOURTH PHILADELPHIA LOCAL ASSEMBLY              1918

     From the opening of the Assembly on Friday evening to its climax with the banquet on Sundae evening, April 12-14, every step-proved an inspiration and the meetings were such that not only will they be long remembered, bur the spirit of the meetings will serve to carry us safely through another year of active usefulness.

     The general topic which pervaded the atmosphere: was "Freedom" in its various aspects, practical as well as theoretical.

     The opening meeting, or rather meetings, were held in "Adventville" at the residences of Rev. R. R. Alden and Mr. William H. Alden, Jr., under the auspices of the Theta Epsilon and the Advent Club, respectively. At the former meeting Mrs. N. D. Pendleton presented a paper on "Education" for the consideration of the ladies, which paper, we understand, was much enjoyed by them; while the men had the privilege of taking to heart some much needed advice from the Bishop. There were twenty-two present at the men's meeting, the honors being equally divided between our guests and the members of the Club. Our Minister, the Rev. Karl R. Alden, opened the Assembly with a very interesting address upon the "Principles of the Academy" and to what extent we of the younger generation should consider ourselves bound by them in the light of existing conditions, which might seem to warrant certain modifications. Mr. Alden's address gave rise to a very spirited discussion, the outcome of which indicated that these principles were drawn up by the Academy Fathers from the Writings as they understood them, and to meet certain specific needs; that these needs had been considerably modified in the past twenty years, and that so long as we adhered to the first Principle, namely, that the Lord has made His Second Coming in the Writings of the New Church and that we acknowledge these as of full authority and go direct to them, as our standard, the other principles would readily adapt themselves to the present or future conditions. The Bishop, in the course of his remarks, cited many illustrations which will prove of inestimable value to us in carrying on our work in the Advent Church.

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     A new feature of this Assembly, and one which we trust will be repeated in the future, was a business men's luncheon. Eighteen members and guests met Saturday noon at the offices of Mr. Lechner and proceeded en masse to the Italian Cafe of Leoncavallo, where, with Mr. Knudsen as toastmaster, and the Bishop as guest of honor, we enjoyed a luncheon which might almost be termed a banquet, in a private room engaged for the occasion by our genial host, "the Great Dank," "Hardy Knute." There were no set speeches for this occasion and the discussion,-carried on along similar lines to that of the previous evening,-turned chiefly to the Sunday School and the Missionary Campaign. The meeting became so interesting that instead of breaking up at three o'clock, as was originally intended, we did not leave the banquet hall until an hour later.

     With these two highly successful preliminary meetings, the main meeting of the Assembly, held on Saturday evening, at which some fifty were present, could not but be a great success. The Bishop's address on "Human Governments and Freedom" was most interesting and timely. It set form in very clear language the ideal freedom for which the New Churchman should strive, and depicted the history of human freedom as indicated by the various forms of government existing and which have existed in this world from the dawn of the races, and in the heavens. He further impressed it upon us that we could only attain true freedom in a measure while living in this world by a constant and persistent reading and study of the Writings from a love of truth for truth's sake and an earnest desire to be led thereby. The discussion which followed led to the consideration of some very practical problems, existing in our own Society, on which the Bishop was able to throw considerable light and give practical advice.

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     The service Sunday morning, at which there were sixty-eight present, was conducted by the Bishop, assisted by our minister. The Bishop's sermon on the text from Jeremiah, xvii, 13, clearly pointed out the necessity of studying and acknowledging the Word, of self-examination, repentance, and turning again to the Lord. This was followed by the administration of the Holy Supper to fifty communicants.

     In the afternoon the Bishop endeared himself to the Sunday School children by questioning them along the lines of their previous study. The questions met with ready response, and were followed by some instruction on the spiritual world and the life after death which struck a sympathetic chord in the hearts of the children as evidenced by their faces and later conversation. There were twenty-four children present, besides a considerable number of adults.

     As soon as this service had been concluded it was necessary for the Banquet Committee to prepare the tables for the final event of the Assembly-the banquet. There was an even hundred who sat down shortly after six o'clock to the tastefully decorated tables and the "Mystery Menu," Which, it was soon discovered, savored of Leoncavallo's famous cafe, and proved to be a pleasant change from the usual. Rev. K. R. Alden did full justice to his task as toastmaster. "Freedom" reigned supreme in more senses than one. The toastmaster was very free in his manner of calling on the various speakers (some of whom, however, were prepared), and the speakers in their turn were very free in expressing their sentiments. Mr. Wm. R. Cooper produced a masterly lyric on the foibles of the members, both of the Advent Society and of Bryn Athyn. One of his verses was missing, however, which was mysteriously found later, on in the brain of Mr. William H. Alden, Jr., who publicly exposed it, when it was seen to be a pleasant hit upon Mr. Cooper himself. Mr. Rose then entertained us with a talk ostensibly on the subject of "War, Prohibition, Woman's Suffrage and Race Suicide," but going far afield of the subject he had not time to, elucidate arguments for or against. The serious part of the program commenced with a paper by Mr. Donald Edmonds relative to Christianity and the War, the title of which was "Aggressive Affection."

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This had been presented by him previously in connection with his "Four Minute" speeches, at a church in another part of West Philadelphia. Our former pastor, Rev. George deCharms, then spoke, impressing upon us the necessity of holding before us the ideal liberty or freedom which the New Churchman must have in order that the Church may grow and thrive, and warning us against being carried away by the conflicting ideas which now surround us. Lastly, the Bishop spoke somewhat along similar lines to the previous speaker, reviewing in a general way the substance of the previous meetings, and again impressing upon us the necessity of reading the Writings, being guided by them, and looking rather to the constructive labors of the future than the accomplishments of the past, in order that there may be built up a constantly progressive Church of the New Jerusalem. Following this a number of speakers made brief but interesting remarks until ten o'clock, at which time our Fourth Local Assembly, on account of the Bryn Athyn train, became but a memory, although, let us hope, a very living and active memory, the fruit of which shall not die. "BOOTES."

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     NOTES AND REVIEWS.

     We read, with deep sympathy, the announcement in THE NEW CHURCH WEEKLY (Feb. 9), of the death of Frank Norman Wilde, the only son of Rev. Arthur Wilde; who was recently killed in action in Flanders. He was in his twentieth year. Mr. Wilde is the popular pastor of one of the largest New Church Societies in the World, that in Argyle Square, London, and for several years editor of the MORNING LIGHT and Secretary of the Swedenborg Society.


     Our contemporary, THE NEW AGE, of Australia, finds objection to the reading of the Writings in worship, which is amusing rather than convincing:

     "We cannot value the Writings too highly. But a practical difficulty in the way of reading extracts from them as a part of public worship is their voluminousness. On what principle," he innocently asks, "should the selection be made?"


     Quite extensive notice has been taken in New Church periodicals of Mr. Raymond Pitcairn's commencement address on the reason for America's entrance into the war. Thus THE NEW CHURCH WEEKLY devotes a paragraph to Mr. Deans' review of it in the NEW CHURCH MAGAZINE. Mr. Pitcairn, says Mr. Deans, has convicted Germany "out of her own mouth of hideous crimes against God and humanity by a long string of witnesses."


     It appears important to the Reviewer of the NEW CHURCH MAGAZINE that New Church people re-consider their, views concerning Hell in the light of an essay on "Immortality" by the Rev. C. W. Emmet. For this reason: "Unending existence in Hell-the wrong side of the line in the spiritual world-is nowhere certainly taught in the Old or New Testaments." The difficulty is that Swedenborg "teaches that all doctrine must be drawn from the Word and confirmed thereby," and he also "teaches that those who go to Hell remain there."

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What difficulties we do run up against by not admitting that the Writings are also the Word. We are to question the truth of what Swedenborg says, on account of what Swedenborg says!


     The following appreciation of Mr. Odhner's work is contained in the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for March 20, 1918:

     In the death of the Rev. Carl Th. Odhner, of Bryn Athyn, editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, which occurred on March 11th, the General Church has lost one of its ablest and most incisive writers. Mr. Odhner was a scholarly man, and has performed great service not only to the General Church, but to the New Church of the world by the learned works he has written and by his general influence. He was the author of several important doctrinal books; but his chief service to the Church was perhaps in the way of historical writings. Besides his greatest work, "Annals of the New Church," which is indeed a valuable storehouse of New Church history, his important historical writing includes a story of Swedenborg's life for the young; a biography of Dr. J. J. G. Wilkinson; a life of Michael Servetus with an account of his teachings; a biography of Robert Hindmarsh. His latest important works are "Correspondences of Canaan" and "The Golden Age."


     THE NEW YORK ASSOCIATION seems to have been a well-attended, enthusiastic, and, from the point of view of the Convention, an eminently successful meeting, held on February 22 in the church of the Brooklyn society. The four speakers, Rev. Julian K. Smyth, Rev. Adolph Roeder, Edwin Markham, and Rev. Louis G. Hoeck, as Mr. Roeder points out in his report (published in the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER, March 20, 1918), all seem to have voiced the general sentiment that the New Church has now arrived at that stage of development where the "'organized New Church,' while an integral, necessary, and useful part of the general scheme" of the Lord's Divine Labor "is not the entire scheme." In fact, so little and unimportant apart is it that (from the point of view of the meeting) its success or failure does not matter much after all, the important thing being that,-in the words of Edwin Markham-the Word "today is in the active practice of the New Church doctrine of use."

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This note, says Mr. Roeder, "rings more and more clearly through our sermons, our essays, our conversations, our periodicals."

     The thought of how unimportant the organized New Church is, brings much comfort with it, for, as Mr. Smyth brought out in his sermon, "in spite of its small corporate body the actual growth of the New Church has been truly surprising, since, under the influence of the new light, the old dark beliefs, that prevailed universally at the time when the Heavenly doctrines were first given, are now practically wiped out of existence." And "the falsities which threatened the very existence of the Christian Church at the time when Swedenborg wrote have almost been swept away."
EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION 1918

EDUCATION AND INSTRUCTION              1918

     The Homoeopathic Recorder-a magazine devoted to the study of medicine, but not therefore opposed to enlightened views on things spiritual and moral also-contains this significant editorial in its issue of March 19, found among the papers of the late Dr. E. P. Anshutz:

     There is a difference between education and instruction even though some pedagogues and parents seem to think that the words are synonyms. Rudely speaking, the first means to lead forth and develop what is in the pupil, while the other is to shovel in the facts of the text-books quite regardless of the mental furnace. Instructors are as plentiful as blackberries in their season, but educators are like angels' visits, few and far between. If a man is a born musician, all the instructors in the world cannot make him a good lawyer, carpenter, physician, or blacksmith, but an educator might make him a musical wonder. The same rule holds good in everything else. A good instructor may enable a man to pass every medical examining board with a high average, yet the candidate may not to the end of his life be a real physician, while the graduate of a little fly-by-night, two year, short term college may become a shining light in the profession. The old saying that some one has a "gift" for this, that, or the other thing has a deeper meaning that the most of us dream of. To say that your boy must be this, that, or the other thing is foolishness, for he may not have it in him, in which case all the instructors in the world cannot put it there. A goodly proportion of us have nothing especial in us and are fit subjects for instructors, but the minority ought to be in the hands of educators.

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NEW SWEDENBORG "BIOGRAPHY." 1918

NEW SWEDENBORG "BIOGRAPHY."              1918

     Seldom has Swedenborg been the subject for such a passionate, malicious, denunciation as is pronounced upon him by the author of the latest, and, possibly, the largest dissertation devoted to his life, the so-called "biographical" sketch of Dr. Emil Kleen, a notorious Swedish alienist or psychiatrist. The LIFE has been promised a review of this truly unique contribution to Swedish literature in the near future and, therefore, we content ourselves with the present notice contained in NYA KYRKANS TIDNING for November:

     "The long looked for biographical work of Dr. Emil Kleen has appeared in its first part, 'Swedenborg, a biographical sketch.' Price, kr. 8.50.

     "After the large work of 416 + XL pages has been thoroughly studied, it is our intention to give our readers a somewhat longer description of it. However, this will have to wait until another number. The author does not expect that his presentation of Swedenborg will recommend itself to 'Swedenborgians'-quite the contrary. Me has, nevertheless, devoted much care, and doubtless, also much expense (for the work is splendid, as a product of the printing press), in order to paint the bearer of one of the most famous names in the history of literature-alas, much too black. We shall attempt to do the author and his work, as far as it goes, full justice."
"THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCTRINE." 1918

"THE IMPORTANCE OF DOCTRINE."              1918

     The readers of the MESSENGER, in its issue of March 6, are treated by Mr. Edward W. Randall, to a valuable communication on the "importance of Doctrine." The writer warns the New Church against forgetting the importance of doctrine and neglecting the study of "the Writings, which alone give us the right to the name which we bear. For is it not true that the Christian Church has had the Word for nineteen centuries, and has it not drawn from the Word the false doctrines of the Trinity and of salvation by faith alone?

     "Are we about to draw a doctrine of love alone, or love going into uses? How can love go forth into uses? Only when married to wisdom; and that we know because our doctrines tell us so.

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Also they tell us of the danger of trying to draw truths from the letter of the Word without doctrine."

     Mr. Randall states in unequivocal terms that "The fact is that we have a right to call ourselves the New Church only because we accept the writings of Swedenborg as a Divine Revelation of truths of doctrine. 'A church cannot exist without doctrinal things,' (A. C. 769). 'For the church is from doctrine and has its name from it' (A. C. 530).

     "There is, it is true, influx of good from the spiritual world, but there must first be a receptacle into which it can inflow. Love is indeed the life of man, but it takes the form of wisdom, and cannot exist without that form. . . . Doctrine alone does not save a man, but without doctrine he cannot be saved."
WILLIAM BLAKE AND SWEDENBORG 1918

WILLIAM BLAKE AND SWEDENBORG              1918

     Mr. Charles Higham, in the NEW CHURCH WEEKLY, for February 23, calls attention to a copy of the original edition of DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, precious in the eyes of literary England, for containing the annotations of William Blake, and now in the library of the British Museum. Mr. Higham says:

     "In THE INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY for 1875, on page 410, is notification of the sale by auction in London, on June 23d, 1875, of a volume thus described by the auctioneer 'Swedenborg (E.) Wisdom of Angels; with pencil notes by W. Blake, the artist, 1788.' This is, obviously, the copy of the DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM, stated in the SWEDENBORG BIBLIOGRAPHY, NO. 2039, to be now in the library of the; British Museum. The notes have been transcribed into another copy of the book-the edition of 1883-by Mr. Edwin Ellis, the biographer of Bake. This copy seems to have been at one time in the possession of Mr. William Butler Yeates, the Irish poet, who added to, it some annotations of his own. Later still it became the property of a London suburban book-seller, who offered it in his catalogue issued last month whereupon it was immediately sold. Efforts made to secure it-or a transcript of the annotations-for a New Church Library, have not hitherto been successful. If they permanently fail it may be well that at least this record of the facts should be preserved."

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     The erratic genius and disciple of modernism, William Blake, was undeniably, as his writings show, deeply affected by Swedenborg, but in his mind the seeds of truth bore the abortive fruit of profanation, and his MARRIAGE OF HEAVEN AND HELL is, to a Newchurchman, a poem of terrible and perverse imaginings. Very different is the spiritualism of William B. Yeates. Whether any suggestion from Swedenborg has become blended with his native Irish instinct to form his beautiful symbolism is an interesting question.
"WORSHIPING WITH THE UNITARIANS." 1918

"WORSHIPING WITH THE UNITARIANS."              1918

     In the NEW CHURCH MESSENGER, for Feb. 27, appears the following protest:

     EDITOR of THE MESSENGER:-I think there must have been many of your readers who felt, as I did, a distinct shock at the announcement in your issue of February 6th that on account of the coal shortage the Brookline Society would join with the Unitarian Society in its Sunday morning worship. It is inconceivable to me that there can be any sphere of true worship in such a service. The central doctrine of the New Church is that God is one and that Jesus Christ is that one; the central doctrine of the Unitarian Church is that God is one, and that Jesus Christ is NOT that one. By assenting to such a service it seems to me that we are in effect contradicting our professions of belief. Better to sit in our overcoats in a heatless church dedicated to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ than to attempt to join in worship with those who deny His Divinity! But with New Church services in Boston, in Roxbury and in Newtonville, why was it necessary for our Brookline friends to unite with the Unitarians? E. H. ALDEN.

     When the Rev. John Worcester, in the year 1887, declared that the denominations of the Christian world constituted a General Church of which the New Church is the heart and lungs, he planted a seed which is bearing notable fruit: Mixed Marriages; Exchange of Pulpits; Union Thanksgiving Services; Union Communion; the effort to be recognized as Evangelical the endeavor to be included in the Federation of Christian Churches; the statement, recently appearing in the MESSENGER, that the Young Men's Christian Association was performing the most spiritual work among men today,-all these and like things, whether consciously or not, may trace their lineage back to the notion that the New Church is not new in such fashion as to imply that there is a dead Christian Church to which it is successor, but merely a new denomination competing among many for the suffrages of a sadly divided and distracted Christian world.

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It is not surprising, therefore, to find Mr. Alden's protest sharply rebuked by members of the society which he criticizes. To one good lady the article came as a "distinct shock," and she rejoiced, that "for once, we isolated, dogma-bound people were acting up to that one teaching of all others which we hold to be superior, "Love to God and love to the neighbor." . . . For, since the Unitarians have a God, even though they don't know, as yet, who He is, the good Swedenborgians and the good Unitarians, were worshiping the same God after all." Another finds it deplorable that one of our faith should be dwelling upon the differences rather than emphasizing the doctrines which we have in common. She finds in the mutual sympathy which has led these two societies to Unite in worship evidence of true growth. "Another, emphasizing the doctrine of use, declares that he would go to the Unitarian Church the rest of his natural life," if by so doing I could be of use to that organization." Another says, "The holding out of the hand of good-fellowship from one denomination to another is surely desirable and most charitable," and makes appeal to the doubtful doctrine of "mental reservation when listening to the ministers of the churches which do not understand the Trinity as we do."

     Mr. George S. Warren justifies the joint worship on the ground of the Arcana, No. 1799, under the caption, "Charity and not doctrine the essential, quoting, "It is from doctrine that sects are named, which would not be if men would make love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor the chief things of faith," and sets forth the following propositions:

     Without meaning to offer an apology for an action, the facts should be kept in mind that

     1. The Government specifically and forcibly urged temporary consolidation of churches to conserve fuel.

     2. The church denominations generally were complying with the request.

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     3. That in a most thoughtful fraternal spirit, a prominent society of another denomination not only invited the Brookline New Church to worship with them, but in the spirit of unity invited our minister to take equal part with theirs in conducting the services, including delivery of sermon, by our minister each alternate Sunday.

     4. That through both the Federation of Men's Church Clubs and the Pastors' Association of Brookline, unusually friendly and useful interchurch relations exist in Brookline in which the New Church is given every consideration.

     5. It would have been an act of absolute discourtesy as well as seriously damaging proof of narrow-mindedness to have rejected the most kindly invitation, even if the New Church Society had desired to do so. The fact, however, is that the New Church Society deeply appreciated the invitation and its spirit and was pleased to accept it in the spirit of friendship and use.

     Mr. Alden replies to his critics:

     "As I read our New Church teachings there is danger in exalting good works without true belief as there is in thinking that faith alone is sufficient. There are many ways in which we can usefully work with our Unitarian or our Orthodox or our Jewish brethren; there are many places in which we can meet and rub elbows; we should doubtless welcome them to our places of worship and be glad to share with them in whatever of truth we have. But to my mind all this is very different from a society of the New Church-the only reason for whose separate existence is its distinctiveness of doctrine-deliberately uniting in worship with a society which definitely denies the, Divinity of the Lord."

     He quotes a letter from "a Massachusetts Newchurchman,"

     I do not know what is going on in other parts of the country, but in this region the outlook is discouraging to say the least. In their apparent zeal to emphasize the importance of the life our ministers are fast turning their backs altogether upon true doctrine. Unless something is done promptly to check this trend towards nothingness there will be no New Church in New England at least, and the opportunity to make known the wonderful truths which are so much needed, now that conditions are causing men to look into spiritual matters as never before, will have been lost.

     And comments: "The letters in the MESSENGER of the 13th seemingly confirm this view."

     The Rev. L. E. Wethey, of Kitchener, joins in Mr. Alden's protest, and adds to it:

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     But, what is worse, some of our eastern churches believe in union Communions (?), which are celebrated by men who believe, in the Divinity of our Lord and by those who don't. Again the Church is cast into the same category as the others. It will not be long before people will look for a church that is not like others, that does not join in with the dead churches. Can we not wait for them and greet them when they come, tired and sick of the old, and longing for the new?

     Why not, indeed?

     It is good to read these protests, but we fear that they will be to no purpose. For, as it seems to us, this uniting in worship is not a local or a sporadic phenomenon, but a symptom of deep-seated disease; the unwillingness to see the state of the Christian world and the actual relation of the New Church to the bid. This view is confirmed by several "symptoms" in the issue of the MESSENGER of April 3. Mr. Warren has found "opportunity to observe that the 'old' is tending toward the 'new' as rapidly as thought could be reasonably expected to change in a matter of such magnitude and import as religious doctrine. In the essential of 'use' he goes on to affirm, all the Churches, Catholic, Orthodox, Unitarian, rationalist,-'all churches have the same end in view.'" Mr. Barren declares that "we believe, exactly, as the Unitarians do, that the essential thing is character building," and makes the astounding assertion that "When our New Church people came out from among other Christians, they set their faces against the teaching of three Gods in one, and most naturally allied themselves with the Unitarians." And a news item advises us of the presentation of a silver flower vase bearing the following inscription: "First Parish, Unitarian Church of Brookline, from Brookline Society of the New Church in affectionate commemoration of union services, January 20th-March 17, 1918."

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA. Washington's Birthday was celebrated by flag-raising and a school social. On Saturday, March 2, the four fraternities-it takes quite a course in Greek to appreciate all their names-held joint banquets. The PHI ALPHA entertained the SIGMA DELTA PI, and the DEKA entertained the ALPHA KAPPA MU. For those who do not know it already, we may state that the last mentioned is a recently formed association of the Seminary girls from the Bryn Athyn Society.

     The funeral of Mrs. Homer Synnestvedt occurred on Monday, the 25th. It was a beautiful morning, and school was suspended to enable everyone to attend the impressive services.

     To the Academy and the Bryn Athyn Society at large the death of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, on Monday, March 11, came as a great surprise and shock. To his family, who had watched with dismay the return of the symptoms of angina pectoris, which caused him so much suffering last year, the end was not unexpected. The funeral was held on the 13th, school being suspended for the day and the flag placed at half-mast. A simple memorial service was conducted in the Chapel, this being the occasion of the Bishop's address printed in the last number of the LIFE. The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner arrived from Kitchener, and Mr. Geoffrey Childs from New York, for the event of the funeral. The burial rite was as simple and short as possible and, in accordance with Mr. Odhner's expressed wish, was conducted in the same quiet manner as Mrs. Odhner's funeral, only six months previously. Mr. and Mrs. Odhner's younger children, five sturdy little sons and two daughters, are now under the care of the oldest daughter, Mrs. Winfred Hyatt, and Lieutenant Loyal D. Odhner, who, with his wife, is now living at Bryn Athyn. The news of his father's death reached Loyal at the crucial moment when he was being transported, with his regiment, from Camp Greene, in North Carolina, to New York, incident to sailing for France. He has obtained a temporary transfer and is now on guard duty at the Government plants at Chester, Pa.

     Recalling past experiences of interesting lectures by Mr. Maurice Joy our society was eagerly looking forward to the 23d, the evening of Mr. Joy's instructive lecture on the question of Reconstruction After the War. In the afternoon came the news of the terrific German offensive, but, in spite of the terse feeling of suspense in the air, Mr. Joy succeeded in directing our minds to the calm consideration of his well prepared subject. Spiritual reconstruction, said Mr. Joy, is what is most of all needed in the world. The nefarious doctrine of the survival of the fittest is, in his eyes, to blame for the world war. Socialism and imperialism will both fail alike unless we eliminate this doctrine, reconstruct the individual soul, and establish individual responsibility, without which a league of nations, however well organized, would be comparable only to a band of robbers. Mr. Joy discussed fully the remarkable reorganization program of the British Labor Party, and brought many new facts to our notice.

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The co-operative system there set forth, as illustrated in the English co-operative societies, was advocated as the only fair basis of division of profits. To show how far from such a desirable condition we are in America, Mr. Joy stated that there were 8,000 millionaires in America before the war, 25,000 now. He observed that the United States is rebuilding the feudal system which England is pulling down.

     The following day, which was Sunday, Mr. Joy, in a talk to the College Club, told its members some interesting things about Modern Drama, culled from his rich experience.

     On Monday, the 25th, Mr. Whitehead treated us to another much appreciated talk on Current Events and showed us a number of slides of ruined cathedrals in Europe.

     Lectures, it seems, have been popular of late. The Ladies' Aid have had a number of them, notably, one by Mr. Theodore Pitcairn on South America, which was voted a great success. Mr. Pitcairn entertained the ladies with some remarkably fine lantern slides taken by a skillful photographer of his acquaintance. On another occasion Mrs. H. H. Birney, of Philadelphia, spoke on Woman's War Work, telling particularly of the entertainment of soldiers by the Philomusium Society of Philadelphia in which she is a prominent worker.

     Bryn Athyn has not yet exhausted her man-power, we are proud to say. This month we have to report three more enlistments, Hubert Synnestvedt, Earl Smith, and Egbert Glebe, Miss Phyllis Price has removed to Washington, D. C., where she is assisting to catalogue the Department of Aviation Equipment. Miss Amena Pendleton, accompanied by her sister, Miss Freda Pendleton, has left for Galveston, Texas, where she has been put in charge of the Children's Libraries of the city. Miss Freda will proceed to San Francisco to join her brother, Captain Alan Pendleton. During the course of the month we have had the pleasure of fleeting visits from Major Robert B. Caldwell, Jr., Private Francis Frost, Lieutenant Roland Smith and Mrs. Smith, and Flying Cadet, Fred. Synnestvedt.

     An addition to our school is Mr. Ernest Pfeiffer, lately arrived from Holland, to study for the ministry. A notice of Mr. Pfeiffer's previous work is given in this issue under news items from The Hague. He is entering very earnestly into the work, and already has made a favorable impression.

     The Liberty Loan drive in Bryn Athyn reached its quota within the first 2 hours of the morning with 60, subscribers, amounting to over $30,000. Its quota was 40 subscribers and $30,000. The campaign is not over yet, says Mr. Otho Heilman, chairman of our Liberty Loan Committee, but our name has already appeared on the Nation's Honor Roll on the first day of the campaign.

     The honor flag now proudly waves above the avenue leading to the college.

     We are sorry for everyone who did not hear the Academy students in the "Chimes of Normandy;" presented on Thursday evening, March 28, under the direction of Mrs. R. H. Smith. Simple and suggestive scenery set off the really splendid work of the entertainers. Rhoda Price was delightful in the role of Serpolette, the ambitious peasant girl, and Rhoda Ebert charming as Germaine. The difficult part of Henri, Marquis of Corneville, was well sustained by William Riefstahl while Donald Freeman gave us an original and pleasing Jean Grenicheux. There are others in the caste worthy of mention, but especially Philip Pendleton, who took the part of Gaspard, and Agathea Starkey, who was very picturesque as Gertrude, not forgetting Carl and Marshall Fuller and David Lindsay, the comic Notaries.

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The success of the operetta was due largely to the spirit of enthusiasm and co-operation on the part of the well-trained chorus, which made this amateur performance more enjoyable than that of many professionals, where that spirit is all too often lacking. C. LJ. O.

     The Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist and family have returned from Sweden, and taken up their residence in Bryn Athyn.

     KITCHENER, ONT. The Kitchener Society was playing 'possum for three weeks in January-sans service, salts classes, salts everything. The coal famine was to blame, of course. And had our good old "Uncle Jake" (Mr. Jacob Stroh), not come to the rescue and lent us a large cheery wood stove to install in the schoolroom thus enabling us to resume some of our activities, we would have nothing to write these "news notes" about. But he did. And the stove was reinforced with an array of oil stoves planted at discreet and artistic intervals, around which your Kitchener friends disported themselves quite cozily after the classes, etc., were over, and rivaled each other in friendly consideration, while they yearned to get as close to the centers of radiation as possible. Up to Easter we spited the fuel controller and had quite interesting times. The school moved into the parsonage building, and the Church History Class was held at a private house. Mr. Odhner, who has been exiled from his sanctum in the school building, but still, it is reported, with the aid of the Standard Oil Company, persisted in his studies, is taking up the Last Judgment in our Friday classes.

     We had a Valentine social with "post office" and overflowing hearts; and the Swedenborg's Birthday supper, gotten up with much courage and success by Miss Edna Stroh, was delightful and followed by much sociable fun.

     On Jan. 27th Pte. Raymond Kuhl-our last eligible volunteer-was home on his "last leave" and after service (when he had made his Confession of Faith) was presented with a substantial gift from the Society. Pte. Kuhl is now in England. We do not believe in forgetting our "home fires;" but the thoughts of our hearts are with our boys at the front.

     The Society is growing up, we are sure of that: so far we have celebrated no less than three "70th" birthdays this year, those of Mr. Isaac Steen, Mrs. Hasenpflug, and Mr. Richard Roschman. And another one is only a few months away.

     In consequence of the death of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner our Pastor paid a visit, in March, to Bryn Athyn. The Rev. F. E. Waelchli, in his absence, conducted a Sunday service and a number of classes, in his usual interesting way. After this service Mr. Waelchli gave an address in memory of the late Mr. Odhner's work in the Church, after which was sung Mr. Odhner's popular hymn, "Our Glorious Church." Our Pastor, on his return, supplemented this with an interesting account of Mr. Odhner's life.

     The Easter services were held in our church hall on the second floor. On Easter Day there was a baptism, the rite of Confirmation was performed for Misses Irene Deppisch and Edith Kuhl, and the Communion was administered to seventy participants.

     The next day our big social event of the year came off-the Bazaar. Supper was served first of all, a la Carte, and then followed an entertainment, including two plays, and several songs and stunts, demonstrating dramatic talent in abundance. The shooting gallery, flower booth, candy counter, all proved profitable, and the evening netted ninety dollars, which is a record here.

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Even the empty banana stem was auctioned off for three collars. The "younger young people" were particularly lavish in energy. The way the whole stage disappeared in a few minutes was a joy to behold; and when the floor was cleared what was there left to do but dance till the small hours?

     On the 7th of April a phonograph musical at the house of Mr. Jacob Stroh brought in an addition of about fifteen dollars to the patriotic fund of the Ladies' Society which is devoted to comforts for our soldiers overseas.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND. Mr. Gerrit Barger, in a letter to Rev. S. C. Bronniche, of Copenhagen dated The Hague, Holland gives the following item of interest: "There is with us now a young man who is about to start on a journey to America to study for the ministry in the New Church. This young friend, Ernest Pfeiffer, of Switzerland, was, while studying law, philosophy, and art in Germany and Berne, an atheist; but the Lord made him acquainted with the Writings of our Church, and this became the means of his conversion. He then joined the Salvation Army in Germany, giving up his studies to serve the Lord's use. He became an officer in the army and served in this capacity for four and a half years. On the 16th of December, 1916, he learned to know me, and was drawn nearer to the Church. A result of this meeting was his preaching the New Church cause in Nymen, and in the last few months he has had twenty-two persons, of various classes, reading and studying the Writings of the church. He left the army and will at the first opportunity travel to America to study in the Academy.' . . . It seems to me that he has received the doctrines intelligently and fully and that he is a man of noble character, who without doubt will make a very good minister. Probably subsequently work in Holland where he has a small congregation in Nymen to begin with."

     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN. In the absence of any direct news, we present the following as gleanings from our Danish contemporary, NORDISK NYKIRRELIGT TIDSSKRIFT:

     On May 30, Anna Ingrid Malmgren and Gurli Maria Amalia Cnattingius were baptized into the New Church. On June 3, the Circle had another visit from Pastor Bronniche, who preached and performed the sacrament. The meetings were followed by a slipper in the neighborhood of Ulriksdal Castle. On June 17, Britta Margareta, infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Bertram Liden, was baptized. On Saturday, October 22 a memorial celebration of the "Circle's" Fifth anniversary took place. "Our committee had arranged a surprise for us. A round table stood ready with red wine and home-made pastry. Around the table, which was spread with red and white roses, stood 12 chairs the same number that there were at the banquet five years ago (when the Circle was first formed.) When we were about to take our places at table, the ring of chairs was suddenly drawn out to more than double that number. The ring was the same-only larger. A striking symbol of the short period of hasty development which our 'Circle' has passed through from past to present-a memory of the bygone and a realization of the existing state."

     FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

     The Rev. Charles H. Mann, for many years Editor of the New Church Messenger, passed to the higher life from his home, 216 W. 100th St., New York, April 10th.

     The Rev. Baman N. Stone, for forty years pastor of the New Church Society in Fryeburg, Me., and Pastor Emeritus, since his resignation in June, 1917, passed into the spiritual world, Sunday evening, April 7, after an illness of one week.

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     A private letter informs us of the death of the Rev. Samuel Worcester, son of the late Rev. Samuel H. Worcester, and grand-nephew of the Rev. Thomas Worcester.

     THE YOUNG NEW CHURCHMAN reports the English New Church "Roll of Volunteers" to have reached the number of 1812. But as several Societies have not reported, the actual total is probably over 2,000. The number of deaths reported is 164.

     The pastorate of the Buffalo Society will be filled from the beginning of April of this year by the Rev. Erich L. G. Reissner, who is at present minister of the Baltimore German New Church Society.

     The Rev. Harold S. Conant has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Bridgewater (Mass.) New Church Society, beginning Easter Sunday.
ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE       CLARA DAVIS       1918




     Announcements



     REPORT.

     The following notice has been received from the Government: Order No. 1259. Office of the Postmaster General,

     Washington, March 28, 1918.
On and after April 1, 1918, parcels for members and individuals connected with the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe shall not be accepted for mailing or dispatched unless they contain such as are being sent at the written request of the addressee, approved by his regimental higher commander or an executive officer of the organization to which he is connected.
     (Signed) A. S. BURLESON,
          Postmaster General.

     This order will in some degree curtail the work of The Academy War Service Committee, as we were making Preparations to send knitted goods to our soldiers as soon as they were in France. We, therefore, request that the soldiers already in France send us their requests for articles they need in plenty of time; and those who are expecting to sail soon let us know if they are well equipped before they leave.

     Any soldier who wishes a medicine case and has not received it please let us know.

     NEWS NOTES.

     The Academy service flag bears its first gold star. Leroy S. Wells, of Co. A, 11 R. R. Engineers, American Expeditionary Forces, died of wounds received in action at the battle of Picardy. He enlisted in New York last May and sailed for France in July, being among the first American soldiers' to reach France. It was not definitely known that he had taken part in any fighting until the telegram announcing his death was received. Roy is the first American boy from our schools to give his life in the cause of Freedom-he is the fifth of our Academy boys. In honor of his memory the Bryn Athyn people assembled In the Chapel on April 23rd for a memorial service. Bishop N. D. Pendleton here delivered the inspiring talk which is printed elsewhere. Later in the evening an informal meeting was held in the Auditorium. After the first toast to the Church we sang, "The Master calls." Mr. Acton responded. He said, "We are met together this evening with very mingled feelings, feelings of joy, feelings of sorrow, feelings that are harmonized by the spiritual sphere which was made so present at the service at which we have just met. We have the feeling of the deepest sorrow and sympathy for the bereaved mother who will no more see her son who has died for his country. We have a feeling of sorrow that we are no longer to see that companion who has been so often in our midst, and whose uses we have benefitted by, but we have at the same time a feeling of joy as Newchurchmen that one has entered-fully-finally into the goal of all life upon earth; as patriots we rejoice and glory that one from out midst has died who represents in ultimates that for which every patriot in this country would sacrifice his life. The cause of freedom; the willingness to make the ultimate sacrifice for the sake of freedom not for self but for the neighbor; not for self but for the country." In continuing he brought out that war was a heritage of man-war against the powers of evil; the war for which the Lord Himself died in order that we might conquer. Sometimes in a country's history this war must be ultimated in actual physical conflict. At this time we are waging a war against a nation which represents evil causes-the love of dominion. It was in this war that Roy gave his life. He represents and his death represents that the whole country is willing to die in order that that for which it stands may live.

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We are filled with glory and pride for him and encouraged to think whether we ourselves have done all we can to assist those who are representing our cause on the battlefield. Mr. Acton then mentioned that this meeting was different from most memorial meetings for at this time Roy had entered fully into the spiritual world. "We shall know that he who has laid down his life for his country has entered into that eternal country, and by his actions on earth as a Newchurch man, as we know him to be, and as a patriot as we now know him, he has won the crown of life in the eternal country."

     Mr. Doering spoke of Roy as a scholar-of his faithful and studious work. Those who had had the privilege of knowing Roy better than others spoke of his clean mindedness, his gentlemanly manners, his kindness and willingness to help others. Bishop N. D. Pendleton gave an account of the battle in which Roy was probably wounded. Roy was a member of a company of engineers who were working near the line during the battle of Picardy. Owing to some blunder the armies of General Gough and General Byng had become separated leaving a gap of over two miles. The Germans were pushing forward to this point. A band of cavalry accidently blundered into this gap and spread the alarm back to these engineers. This gallant company at once dropped their tools, seized guns and defended this line-two miles long-for six hours until assistance came.

     Bishop W. F. Pendleton brought to our minds the larger thought that Roy had laid down his life for mankind-for the human race. "We are taught in the Writings that love of the human race is a larger love than lore of country. "This truth known in Socrates' time by revelation, but obscured in the minds of men, has still lived and now comes to the front in this greatest of all wars, a war not of one country but a war for mankind and a war for the freedom of the human race, and I have thought of this in connection with our young friend who went over the water and is now passed into the spiritual world. He has died not for his country alone, but for all mankind. He died upon the field of honor, the field of glory because it was that all men might be free."

     During the evening a beautiful blue scarf, made by the Seminary girls of the second class, was given to the Academy as an expression of deep gratitude to those who have gone to the battlefields to be our defenders and protectors, and in honor of him who was the first to make the great sacrifice. These words from T. C. R. 710 were lettered on it in gold, "Who does not remember and love him who fights unto death that his country may be free." It was asked that it might be hung under the medallion of Swedenborg on the Chapel steps in Benade Hall.
The meeting closed with the singing of "Our Own Academy."

     It sometimes pays to have a sobriquet. On the account of this Mr. Frederick W. Elphick-Derick for shore-received two Christmas boxes from us. He writes: "I hasten a few lines in appreciation of the Xmas parcel safely received here on the 21st (Feb.) It was in fine condition and the contents thoroughly enjoyed by fellows and myself occupying the same tent indeed, American sweets and cigars were new for the troops and quite a unique stunt. There was an abundance, too, for either Providence or luck sent me a double. I can only account for this from the fact that I suffer from two names-one of course being a contracted one and of family derivation."

     Mr. Conrad Howard is still in Deccan. He says that he is still "Carrying on" with a staff job in the Convalescent Depot Orchestra, but it is likely that it will be broken up soon.

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The chances are that he will be sent to either Palestine or Italy.

     Ariel V. Evans, of Penetanguishene, Ont., Canada, has been in France since the early years of the war. His letter sounds like those of the "seasoned Tommies" we read so much about. "We are having an easy time of it this winter as compared with last winter. We are not in the trenches as often or as long at a time and when we are out we have better billets. Fritz dropped two balloons with a note attached near our camp today, from an aeroplane. We could not see the aeroplane, but the balloon dropped from the clouds. The last time I was on outpost we had a pretty good time. Of course, it was very cold while on sentry, to go watching for the enemy, but when our turn was done we could lie down on a spring mattress in a cellar underneath the post for a short rest until it was time to go on post again. Do not think it is always like that. Most times there is no shelter and we can get no sleep until we are relieved. We all hope that the U. S. will hurry up and finish this terrible war for us. We are all sick of the life but of course sooner than give in we would stick to it forever. When we are in the line it is working parties and post duty or over the top and when we are out of the line having what is called a rest, it is 'Form fours, right about, turn, and keep the equipment clean and polished up.'"

     M. Henri de Geymuller has been discharged from the army on account of ill health. He has gone to Switzerland to try to recover. He sends us the name of another soldier who is interested in the Church and would like to receive some literature Mr. Gaston de Chazal, 212th Battery, R. F. A.

     Those of the General Church will be interested and most happy to know that M. de Geymuller is in hope of becoming a minister of the New Church after his recovery.

     Lieut. Horace Finley writes that he is expecting his overseas orders daily. "I am, in fact, rather surprised at having been left so long in this peaceful corner of the country, which is not even disturbed by an occasional air raid."

     We are glad to report that Elisee Hussenet has almost recovered from the effects of a gas attack. He wrote that he hoped to go home to further convalescence soon.

     Raymond Kuhl arrived safely in England after a stormy voyage. Owing to the crowded condition of the boat he had to travel steerage. One day the sea became so tempestuous that great waves swept over the deck, raced down the stairs and burst open a door, carrying with it some men who were slightly injured. Great excitement reigned and for the next few nights the boys had to sleep on the floor of the upper deck. The last we heard, Raymond was in a detention camp, where all Canadian soldiers are quarantined for 2 weeks after their arrival. His brother, Harold, visited him there and had to speak to him through a wire fence. Fred Stroh and Victor Waelchli also went to see him.

     George Bellinger and Harry Hilldale are in this same camp. George made the voyage on the same boat as Raymond, although they were not together.

     Fred Stroh is now in France. He had to give up his stripes in order to get there. This is the second time he has given them up. He is with a construction battalion.

     Victor Waelchli has been recently sent to France.

     Harold Kuhl was disappointed that he could not go with the other boys, but hopes to get there soon.

     Rupert Kuhl is still in France in the thick of the Tray. He says it is only a wonder to him that he is still alive. He has had the novel experience of being in tank.

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     Harry Hilldale went to Scotland on his landing leave and visited Edinburgh and its famous castle.

     Arthur Schnarr has been honorably discharged on account of ill health, and is now in Canada.

     Joe Knight enjoyed a short leave to England lately. It was his first leave since landing in Europe.

     Peter Klippenstein is now also in the army. He was stationed at Regina, Sask., bat has since sailed for France.

     We recently received this letter from Mr. Henry Stamps, whose son, Roy, is interned in Switzerland. "My son will be so pleased when I write to him of your committee. He has been so unselfish all through. He stepped forward when our first contingent was called in August, 1914, without a murmur or thought about the length of time he would be away from us, and had to go away without being able to say 'good-bye,' as he was sent on an advance guard and straight on to England. I am proud of him and so are my sisters and friends, even though he is a prisoner and has not sent us any details as to deeds that he has done in the struggle. In a recent letter he says he is now only a plain Tommy Atkins whom the Germans kicked out of their country, but not exactly ashamed of his bare arm, i. e., without decorations or stripes-and now he hopes to land on the next trip home to near Canada, that he loves the best of all countries. He has seen all he wants to see of Germany and the people there. Roy says if it had not been for the great kindness of strangers and the Red Cross Society he would not be in the happy condition he is at present with the kind people of Switzerland."

     Darrel Hicks is stationed in New York, and from his letters he seems to be having what the English would term a cushy time.

     Griffith Asplundh is in Camp Hancock at present. He writes: "You asked me if there was anything I would want. Well, yes, there is, and it is the same with all the boys in camp and at the front; that is, plenty of home news. There isn't anything better in my estimation than to come into the tent at the end of a hard worked day and find a letter from some one in Bryn Athyn. Just an idea,-if sometimes when all the girls get together to knit, if they would stop knitting for just half an hour and write a letter to some soldier somewhere in France or U. S. A., I am sure he would appreciate it very much. I am not speaking for myself only, but for all the B. A. boys. I am only judging from what I have heard from this and other camps. It's the old story-write, write, write."

     Lieut. Noah Waelchli paid short visit to Bryn Athyn this month with his wife, and young son. He gave a short talk to the school while he was here.

     Francis Frost has been made orderly to his lieutenant.

     Lieut. Roland Smith was recently sent with a battalion of men to Camp Hancock. Oh his return he visited his brother, Aldwin Smith; at Camp Jackson. Aldwin has been made top sergeant and Roland said that the was so well thought of there that he was proud to be his brother. Roland, Aldwin and Hobert Smith were recently home on leave together.

     Leonard Behert has passed his physical examination and been ordered to report at a Southern camp.

     Edward Davis is at Kelly Field, Texas, training to be a wireless operator in the Aviation Corps.

     Hubert Synnestvedt has been at this same camp for about two months.

     Lieut. Randolph W. Childs has been sent from Camp Hancock to Upton, an embarkation camp. Ha was in Bryn Athyn for a few days after his removal.

     Emery Harris passed his physical examination and is now in uniform.

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     Fred Synnestvedt finished his course at the flying school and received the commission of Second Lieutenant. He made a short visit to Bryn Athyn on his way home. Major Caldwell, Kenneth Hicks, Earl Smith, and Alan Synnestvedt have also been in Bryn Athyn on short leaves. Cadet Albert Cleare has arrived safely in England. CLARA DAVIS.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F.
ANSHUTZ, LIEUT. E. R., New York Coast Artillery, Fort du Pont, Delaware.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, B. E. F., France.
APPLETON,. SERGT. W. S. Colchester, England. 16156, Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. H.M. S. "Nerissa," Torpedo Boat Destroyer, c/o General P. O., London; England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engrs., 28th Div., U. S. A., Camp Hancock, Ga.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, Camp Hancock, Ga.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st New Hampshire Inf., American E.E.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Tex.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, MECHANIC L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks N.14, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, 2ND LIEUT. FRED, 152541, R. F. C. 226 Dunn Ave., Toronto, Can.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, 70th Battery, c/o Army P. O., London, England.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26 C. D: Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, B. E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, E. J., Denver, Col. Co. 59, 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. 28th Service Co., U. S. Signal Corps, Carnegie Institute of Tech., Pittsburgh, Pa.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E. F., West Sandling, Rent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. Train Headquarters, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, CORP. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, 3rd Instruction Center, American E. F.
BURNHAM, LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field Wo. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
CHILDS, 1ST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Supply Co., 109th Inf., 28th Division, Camp Upton, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. R. F. C. Cox & Co., Charing Cross, London, S. W., Eng.

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COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. Co. B, 2nd Anti-Air Craft Machine Gun Batt., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, R. T., Baltimore, Md. Section B, Tent No. 3, Officers' Training School. Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co. C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Line 53, Kelly Field, No. 1, San Antonio, Texas.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 503rd Engrs. Service Batt., American E. F.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 82nd Hut, H Division, Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epson, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., American E. F.
DOERING, CADET HAROLD; Bethayres, Pa. Barracks B, Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.
ELPHICK, A. B. FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey England. H. M. R. N. Wireless Station, Culver Cliff near Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F., France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Butt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240, R. F. C., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Taliaferrol Ft. Worth, Texas.
FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E. Mess. Morda Camp, Conway, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, ge Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La'Rochelle, France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Q. M. C. N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, Camp Sevier, Greenville, S. C.
DE GEYMULLER, HENRI, 25 rue des Alps, Lausanne, Switzerland. Discharged on account of ill health, March, 1918.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England. L. Z. 3624, Lewis Gun Section, D Co., Anson Battalion, R. N. D., B. E. F., France.
*GILL, LIEUT. W. REY, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917,
GLADISH, CADET DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Kelly Field No. 2. San Antonio, Texas.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. School of Military Aeronautics, University of Princeton, N. J., Class of June 15th.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 1606929, C. A. M. C., Seaford Camp, England, c/o Army P. O., London.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.

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Grant, FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 309, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso; Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EMERY, Arbutus, Md. 3d Training Co., 305th Engineers, Camp Lee, Va.
HART, LANCE-CORP. D. E. Ramsey, Highbarrow Rd., Addiscombe, Croyden, England.
HEADSTEN, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. Supply Co. 310, Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa. Medical Dpt. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Allied Officers' Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y.
HICKS, KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593. R. F. C.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 4904, 1st Canadian Reserve Park, C. A. S.C., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2006629, Canadian Engineers, T. D., B Company, Seaford, Sussex, England.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C. British Conv. Depot, No. 4 Co., (Band Quarters), Trimulgherry, Deccan, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. 553311 Cie IV. Prisonnier de guerre, an Camp de Hameln,
Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, Co. B, 134th Batt., 48th Highlanders, Witley Camp, England.
JOHNSON CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Batt., American E. F.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F, 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 21st Ambulance Co., Fort Riley, Kans.
KING, ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. 268th Aero Squadron, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. 258676, 1st Draft Battn., Sherwood Barracks, Regina, Sask., Can.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 751077, Co. F. 4th Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241, 64th Battery, Draft, Witley Camp, England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn. Canadians, B. E. F., France, c/o Army P. O., England.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Re forme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island,1606 N. 16th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Training Depot, St John's, Quebec, Can.

324



LOOMIS, W. A., CO. A., Military Police Train Headquarters, Div. 851 Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial 9 l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MORRIS, I/A. M. EDW. B., London, England. 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England, 301276, 1/5th L. R. B., Transport Section, B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otage Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 1st A. P. O. 4, B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER, 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, IST LIEUT. MADEFREY A., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf., U. S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. 24, 6th Batt. Medical Officers' Training Camp, Camp Greenleaf, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
*PEMBERTON, GUY CHRISTOPHER, Durban, Natal, S. A. Killed at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 63rd Inf., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 3, A. P. 0., 708, American E. F.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Co. BI 332nd Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C. 116th Inf., American E. F.
PIBERES, SERGT. MARIUS, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., Co. D, Camp Greene, Charlotte, N. C.
PRICE LLEWELLYN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103d Engrs., Camp Hancock, Ga.
PRICE, RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Battery, F. A., 3rd R. O. T. C., Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. Barracks 31, Naval Training Camp, Pelham Bay, New York City, N. Y.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
*ROSE, LEON, London, England. Royal W. Surrey Regt: Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29th, 1916.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ANREL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Guam, M. I.
ROSENQVIST, FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt. Signal Corps, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., Camp Hancock, Ga.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. 228985, c/o Col. R. Reid, 163 Strand, W. C., London England.

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SCHNARR, MAT. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C,
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H., F. A. U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American Exp. Forces.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American Exp. Forces.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Santee," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. A, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, Washington Barracks, Washington, D. C.
SMITH, PVT. HOBERT G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters, Co. 314th Regt., Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SNYDER, WILMER E. 148th Field Hospital, Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 32nd Balloon Co., Post Field, Fort Sill, Okla.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Interned soldier in Hotel Berthod, Chateau d'Oex, Switzerland. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, FRED. E., Kitchener, Canada. 751124, Co. I, 25th Canadian Reserve Batt., Bramshott, Hants, England.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa., Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Postal Detachment Box Z, Aviation Section, Kelly Field No. I, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 1131 Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. 0. 705, American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J Bourbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Camp Jarvis, Talliaferro Field, Fort Worth, Texas.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. A. A. S. Section 529, Batalion 6, Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa.
WAELCHLI, IST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd, Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Co. E. 4th Reserve Battn., Bramshott Camp, Hants, England.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Depot, Shorncliffe, Kent, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. R., R. A. M., C. T., B. E. F.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, 3/A. M. Headquarters, Cadet Brigade, Royal Air Force, 13 Eversfield Place, St. Leonardson-Sea, England.

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WATERS, PTE. FRED. G., London, England. 5365341 A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T.. B. E. P.
*WATERS, REGINALD, London, England. Senior Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
WELLS, CORP. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F.
*WELLS, PTE. ROY S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 11th R. R. Engr. Died April 12th of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C. American E. F..

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet, whose business address is Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, one-half block from the Madeline. His home address is 31 sue Henri Regnault, A'St. Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peckham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.



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GOVERNMENT AND FREEDOM 1918

GOVERNMENT AND FREEDOM        N. D. PENDLETON       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XXXVIII JUNE, 1918           No. 6
     Men are saying that the period through which the world is passing is epochal, that readjustments are under way which are so great that they may be only negatively expressed. Boundaries between countries may be altered, trade routes shifted, provinces conquered, and peoples now subject may become independent. But more important will be the social change, resulting from a change of state. The nature of this-its effect upon the future-is a matter of speculation, and may be to some extent of divination. We may believe that a further preparation for the spread of the Church of the New Jerusalem will be given.

     The fundamental requirement for the growth of the New Church is individual freedom. The greater this freedom, the greater will be the opportunity for spiritual development. There has been freedom of thought since the Last Judgment. Interior freedom of thought in spiritual things was provided for in the spiritual world,-in the spirit of man,-by that Judgment; but only gradually thereafter did it descend into the natural world, into ecclesiastical and civil affairs.

     The history of the world during the period following that Judgment clearly indicates the advance of this freedom. It is evidenced in the breaking down of dogmatic conceptions derived from the letter of the Word, which for centuries held the minds of men in bond. It may also be seen in the growth of free institutions, increased popular control of civil affairs, and in the formation of liberal governments. Though these changes have been taking place in varying degree, still the progress has not been everywhere equal, nor attained without opposition.

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The line of advance sways back and forth as a result of the conflict between the elements of progress and those of reaction. Deeply planted ideas and affections are removed with difficulty. The human mind is firmly behind by the series of conceptions and the nature of the affections which have entered into its structural formation. So also it is with the whole mind of man. A time comes when this formation is so fixed that no further radical advance can be made. It must be broken down and whipped into a chaotic mass,-like the flood in the days of Noah,-in order that there may be a new beginning on a different basis, allowing for a new development impossible to the old form. Thus one civilization has given place to another.

     The world is at the present time undergoing a universal upheaval preparatory to some kind of a reformation. The natural issue of the conflict is far the time in doubt, but the final spiritual outcome is certain. This may even now be seen in the cry for freedom, heard with more or less distinctness in every land. Men vary in opinion as to what this freedom is to be, and what its signs and evidences are; yet the cry exists, the heart within the cry is, as always, for spiritual freedom, and this will doubtless be granted in, a greater degree than heretofore. It may be that it will also be accompanied by a larger measurer of natural freedom. We need not be over-distressed by freedom's excesses, its temporary extravagances; these are inevitable; they are a part of the process whereby old states are broken down and new ones engendered. The important thing to realize is that the human mind and heart are ever seeking to be free, this even at the price of soul-disturbing turbulence.

     If we hold that this world-wide war is one of the larger sequences of the spiritual judgment of 1757, and if we find this view confirmed by the stress laid upon, the freer state looked for as the outcome of so great sacrifice of life and weak, then must we prepare our minds for the advent of this new freedom as something God-given. Nothing will more deeply rouse our interest as Newchurchmen, for we know that freedom is the primary spiritual need of this as of all other ages; and that it is the one thing above all others which the New Church must have.

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External religions, persuasive beliefs, are in generated in a relatively non-free state; they arise out of such states; but the new internal religion which the Cord is now establishing is born of the rational mind and a free will; it will perish in an oppressed atmosphere; it cannot be barn in the first instance unless the way is prepared for It by living states of human freedom held interiorly, and when born it will grow only in so far as the sphere of freedom is enlarged.

     This new religion, though Divine, is essentially rational, that is, inmostly human. The rational mind is the part of man that is free; the only part that cult be truly free. This is the reason why these two phrases, freedom and rationality, are joined so frequently in the Writings. Together they constitute the life of man in its highest form. For this reason, we who look forward to the, progressive establishment of the New Church, have in view a continual advance in human freedom, and we realize that every sacrifice must be made to that end.

     What then is this freedom which is so important? Many are its definitions, many its states. It is difficult to find an expressive formula for the thing itself. The Writings speak of two kinds of freedom, natural and spiritual, as discrete, but mutually interdependent. For this reason there must always be a modicum of natural liberty in order that spiritual freedom may exist.

     The Lord's Providence, working through the events of history, has in all ages provided this modicum of natural liberty, but the need of the New Church is for more than this. Full natural liberty is required as the counterpart and base for the establishment of that internal freedom which is to characterize the new age. With this in view we well, all signs of increasing freedom, and while it is realized that no formula is in itself the guarantee of a free state of life, yet we perceive in the various formulas proposed, an effort to define and so to realize the thing by itself. Essential freedom is a predicate of the love which constitutes the life of man. In its highest phase it may be described as a state of life formed and ordered in accordance with Divine Law. This definition makes it one with the regenerate state.

     In general, freedom is a non-constrained state. So far as a thing is constrained it is not free.

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Every living thing is in the continual effort to throw off all that constrains. This is true of all things, yet we must distinguish between good and evil, lest the definition of freedom as an unconstrained state should lead to the recognition of anarchy as its fulfilment. Freedom is the greatest of human benefits and the most desirable. It leads not to anarchy but to the recognition of and compliance with the God-given laws of order. In ringing about this recognition and compliance there are formatory periods in which constraint prevails. Before a thing can enter upon its full-formed freedom, it is first bound by the imposition of laws pertaining to the order of its development. It must be molded so that all its parts fit and work together freely.

     Difficult as it is to give a definition of freedom which is sufficiently comprehensive, and though it may be said that one man's freedom may be to another man slavery, yet the fact remains, that every one looks to certain: states of life or conditions of existence as constituting his freedom, for which he strives as for his heaven; his constant effort is to eliminate all that stands in the way, and to procure the things which advance him on the way of its achievement. In this the individual partakes of the racial characteristic. Many thousand years ago the race was, as now, struggling to achieve freedom. But the conception of freedom in those days may have borne but little likeness to the formula of the present day. Men then as new perceived that certain things stood in the way. They endeavored to remove them. The end has always been the same, the apparent objective is ever-changing; hence the struggle has been, perpetual, in a sense, eternal. It begins over again with every man born into the world, and continues through life. In the world to come there is the analogue of it. If this were not so, there would be no progress from lower to higher states, from a constrained to a free exercise of man's loves.

     Realizing that the end of this struggle is and always has been the same, yet it is of moment for man to perceive not only those things which in his present state inhibit his freedom, but also that which most clearly represents the ideal he is seeking.

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     It is interesting to note in the midst of the present world war,-this greatest of conflicts,-that many minds are engaged in the effort to form the thought of the race with reference to its hopes, its prospects, its needs, with regard to the greater freedom to come hereafter. Many phrases have been coined in the effort to embody its essential aim. Among these one has challenged universal attention, and because of its apparent fitness to the mood of a large part of the world, it has received a near world-wide response,-"The world must be made safe; for democracy."

     There is a wide-spread conviction that democracy and freedom are synonymous, that it is only by the rule of the people that conditions can be brought about which will make for a permanent state of human liberty. The reason for this is not in doubt. The monarchial form of government which has come down to us from ancient times has suffered at the hands of willful rulers. Violence and misrule have served to discredit this ancient system in the minds of many. This especially in the case of autocracies. Yet we must understand that this government, even when perverted, is representative. The ruler, however, is not, as in the case of democracies, a formal representative of the people but of the Divine. It was an endeavor to present God as intimately present and ruling in the affairs of men, by a personal representation. The king, who in the beginning was also priest, governed as a representative of God, ruled as if he were the hand of God over the people, ruled as if by Divine Right, as one owing responsibility to God alone, as one hedged by a Divine sphere which distinguished him from his people, in sign of which the holy oil was poured upon his head and he was called the Lord's anointed; his person was sacred; he could not be touched by the hand of man save at the peril of death. This king brought the Lord's presence by representation; his government, therefore, was, truly speaking, representative. A great and good ruler of this kind, having in his heart wisdom and the fear of God, could bring to his people many blessings, and they could enjoy the benefits of spiritual and natural freedom.

     In the days when God, was seen and known only by images, it was necessary that the ruler of the people should in his work of government represent the Divine.

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This was one of the chief means by which the idea of God as Man was presented to the people; and upon some form of this idea salvation has depended in all ages. On the other hand, it is clear that this superb government could, in the hands of evil men, be readily converted into a destructive autocracy, in which case the life and fortunes, the freedom and happiness of the people, would be imperiled by an evil and capricious will, which claimed the authority of God for its tyrannies. It is not surprising that men turned away from this high autocracy to governments which even, denied the Divinity that hedged a king, and for safety placed the ultimate decision of affairs with the people, at first with a few, then with many, and at last with all.

     We may reason that while this representative form of government was of necessity in force prior to the Lord's coming into the world as Man and King, that after that time there was no longer need for this type of government; that as the representative temple at Jerusalem was razed to the ground, so also the theory of the Divine right of kings became as a form without essence. The Lord Himself being present among men in His Divine Human, there was no call for a temple built of stone to represent Him; so there was no longer need of kings or priests to voice His will. He Himself was present in the world as King of kings and High Priest over all.

     It is true that when He came the types representing Him vanished as shadows before the sun. Yet after He came He renewed certain representatives in the sacred rites of the Church. Also the world of nature and the world: of the spirit continued to represent. Creation could not be maintained, and men and angels exist otherwise. Only the older ecclesiastical types, which were more or less artificial, were destroyed: Representatives, changed to meet the new state, continued in being and in service; so we have preserved by Divine order in the sacred rituals of the Church two great representative rites,-Baptism and the Holy Supper. Besides, not only did the kings and priests of ancient times rep resent the Divine, but they continue to do so even to the present day, this without regard to their character. Their hearts may be evil, their wills capricious, their actions follies, yet because of the sacred royalty they represent the Lord. It is similar with priests.

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Now, however, it is known that the sanctity of the representation is not, as was formerly supposed, in the person but in the office. By kings and the sacred royalty, as the phrase is interpreted in the Writings, is meant the noble functions of government as representing the Lord's Providence. This function is performed not only by those kings who rule as by divine right and the raw of hereditary succession, and who have been anointed with the holy oil, but also by all rulers of the nations, even those oath-bound heads of Republics chosen to serve for a time. In like manner it is not necessary that priests at this day should be, ordained in accordance with the law of apostolic succession, in order that they may be truly priests and represent the Lord in His work of saving souls. The priesthood and royalty are sacred functions, and the men who perform them in accordance with a recognized and established order do in fact represent the Lord by whatsoever rite they may have been inaugurated. Yet in this an orderly mode is given by tradition and revelation. Ordination should be performed by the laying on of authorized hands in, order to represent the transfer of the Holy Spirit. Thee spiritual power thus conferred is, however, only livingly operative in the performance of the function. Introductory rites are but signs and evidences. (A. C. 3670)

     In the case of rulers who reign as by Divine right, the Divine representation is obvious. The heads of republics represent the people, the representation of the Divine is ignored, if not denied. Yet it is involved in the function.

     We have seen that a certain spiritual order is responsible for the ancient forms of kingly representative government, and we shall and, I think, that a fundamental truth underlies the other, the more democratic form, a reconciliation between the two may be worked out, which will comprise the benefits of both. One notable solution is expressed in the phrase, "the king reigns and the people govern." This is obviously a compromise. It is generally conceded that both forms have their strong and weak points. The older forms of government have established order and subordination, while democracies encourage individual initiative, accentuate personal freedom, and increase the political power of the unit.

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The two forces resulting in the two forms have always been in existence, and have at all times insisted on something of a compromise in the actual working of the government. Indeed it appears that a dual representation in some degree pertains to all rulers of every kind. In a high sense, and by virtue of a law which exists and is operative though it be denied, they represent the Lord and His Providence in governing the people. In another sense, and howsoever autocratic they claim to be, they also represent the people over whom they rule. Remember what is said concerning Moses. As the prophet, he represented the Lord to the journeying Israelites, the Lord as to the Divine Law, governing, forming, preserving the nation; but it is also said that he represented the people. If the ancient prophet could represent both the Lord and the people, we may claim the same in principle for the highest autocrat, and the most humble head of a republic. This is not said to defend in the least the principle of autocracy, but merely to show that a certain dual representation is forced upon every governor. The matter will perhaps be clearer if we say that the governor represents the people and also the law. Naturally considered the law may be regarded as something of the people's devising, but spiritually interpreted it is the Lord's-and is the Lord. In so far as a natural idea prevails no Divine representation is seen or granted; but in so far as a spiritual idea is allowed to enter, it may be acknowledged.

     It is not the purpose of this paper to discuss the comparative merits or demerits of the two types of government, but to note the two, and to mark the distinction between them; to point to the fact that both have come into existence as a result of certain necessities at different stages of human development, the one to represent the presence and power of the Divine among men and to introduce order and subordination in their affairs, the other to bring about a greater degree of individual freedom and power, to make the individual increasingly more responsible. The problem of the future is to maintain something of both; and this may be done perhaps, if the principle of a dual representation is recognized. It may be, however, that in the immediate future a Divine representation in the civil affairs of men will be more and more sacrificed to the need of individual freedom and responsibility, that is, to the spirit of democracy which appears to be increasing.

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If this be so, then it may be that the outstanding representation of the Divine, so far as the outward signs and symbols of it are concerned, will be left more and more to those affairs which pertain not to civil rights and liberties, but to spiritual ceremonies and powers, that is, to the Church. If this be the trend, then, lest the representation of the Divine Providence in the government of men be entirely obscured, the Church must the more clearly stand upon this idea. And yet even here, as in every government and in every rite of whatever kind, a dual representation is given-the priest represents the Lord and by turns also the people. In the Church there is need not only of Divine representation in its rites and government, but also of the spirit of individual responsibility, of individual freedom, of rule by consent of the governed, that is, of democracy under the best interpretation of the word.

     The principle involved is, that while men in appearance provide for themselves, in a higher sense, it is the Lord who provides. In making provision man is to act as if from himself in freedom; he is to call upon all the powers of his rational mind in so doing; yet is he to believe and acknowledge that he does nothing of him, self, but that all is of the Lord.

     In the degree that freedom and rationality with the individual is consistent with the Lord's government of him, in so far may the Lord's ruling of a nation concord with the government of that nation by itself. The question is, shall government by the Lord be represented openly; shall it be embodied in the state ritual and law, and how far may such open representation of the Divine by the ruler be maintained, without its becoming an intolerable infringement upon the liberties of the people? This problem, can, of course, be worked out only by wise adjustments according to the state of intelligence and the degree of responsibility with the people.

     The more intelligent a man is, and the more his powers of self-control are developed, the less does he need to be governed by a power outside of himself. The degree of reciprocity between a people and their government depends upon the state of intelligence and power of self-control with the masses. Where the development is low there must be more of autocratic dictation, as with children.

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A high degree of rationality more and more removes this need. However, there must always be government, but its operation as a constraining force on the individual should become less and less obvious.

     A high degree of freedom of thought and action on the part of the individual, with a full state of reciprocal response to the action of the government, is the ideal. With this reciprocity as the definition of democracy, we as Newchurchmen may give it unqualified approval. This, however, is not that wild democracy which claims the mob will of the people as the supreme guide, and the only power in government. Quite the reverse. This rule of the masses may be as autocratic and as great a tyranny as the rule of a single despot.

     The end to be attained in all governments is the freedom and well-being of the individual, and this can be attained in its higher spiritual forms only when the Lord is recognized as the one who governs, that it is He who rules through or by means of all the instrumentalities of government, and that He so rules in so far as right and enlightenment prevail. No wrong is His doing, but right is ever His. He is in all things of order, of justice, of enlightenment, and of freedom, and this whether He be seen and acknowledged or not.

     The question then is, shall the Lord as the Governor be recognized, and His presence and power be openly represented, in the institutions of government? We hold that at least His power and presence with men should be manifestly represented in the sacred rites and in the government of His Church. We may anticipate that the civil governments of the great future will also in some way acknowledge this vital principle whereby the greatest of all truths of government may be clearly represented before the people.

     Yet this representation of the Lord governing by means of human instrumentalities must be consistent with the highest degree of individual freedom, for man's spiritual regeneration depends upon this freedom. We know that regeneration of the individual is the end. To this end the Lord's Providence has worked from the beginning, through all the events of human history. The cry for freedom, therefore, has ever been a Divine prompting.

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NECESSITY FOR A SPIRITUAL CHURCH 1918

NECESSITY FOR A SPIRITUAL CHURCH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1918

     "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men." (Matthew 5:13)

     We learn from the Gospel, according to Luke, that on a certain time the Lord went up into a mountain to pray; and there He continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day He called unto Him His disciples, and of them chose twelve, whom also He named apostles. After this He came down and stood in the plain, together with His apostles, and great multitudes came and sought to touch Him, "for," it is said, "there went virtue out of Him and healed them: all." Then follows the sermon on the mount, which is introduced by the words: "And He lifted up His eyes on His disciples, and said."

     A great multitude was standing round about Him. They all heard the words of His discourse. But nevertheless, that which He said was addressed specifically to the disciples, by whom we understand the twelve whom He had so recently ordained.

     The same idea is expressed in a little different manner in the Gospel of Matthew, where we read concerning this same incident that: "seeing the multitudes, He went up into a mountain: and when He was set; His disciples o, unto Him: and He opened His mouth and taught them." Here again we picture the multitudes round about, crowding upon the Lord in such numbers that He was forced to ascend the side of the mountain And it is implied that He went up into the mountain in order that He might be heard by all the multitude; yet He spoke, not directly to the multitude, but to the disciples that came unto Him.

     In the course of this sermon, addressed to the twelve apostles, but as it were overheard by the multitude, the Lord said of those whom He had ordained as the human instruments whereby He was to establish the Christian Church, "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted?

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It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men."

     The twelve apostles, as being those men who had been specially called by the Lord; who had forsaken all and followed Him; who had received teaching and instruction at His mouth which was not given to others; who thus had come more fully to acknowledge Him as the Christ, and who were to be sent forth to form a Church in His name,-these twelve apostles represented all in the Christian Church who were to come into a genuine knowledge of the Lard as the God of heaven and earth, and who, from that knowledge, were "to worship Him in spirit and in truth." There were many in the Christian Church who did not come to this spiritual knowledge and worship of the Lord. These were indeed within the external boundaries of the Church, as a human organization, but they never truly entered into the Church as it is viewed by the Lord and the angels. Of these the Lord did not speak,-to them He did not refer, in the words of our text. It
was to those others who were to form the internal of the Church, who were to be its active living center, and by whose efforts it was to be built up and sustained,-to these it was that the Lord said, "Ye are the salt of the earth."

     The essential function of salt, as defined in the Heavenly Doctrine, is that of conjunction. Not only is this use assigned to salt by Divine Revelation, but in the Philosophical works of Swedenborg it is rationally shown how salt performs the office of a conjoining medium, and this philosophy is amply confirmed and illustrated by the common scientific knowledge of the day. On this use of salt rests its correspondence, for it represents, when used in the Scriptures, that spiritual thing whereby conjunction is effected in the other world,-in the world of human affections and thoughts,-in the eternal world, to which we are introduced upon the death of the body. In general, salt represents that which effects conjunction between the spiritual world and the natural world, between heaven and earth, between, God and man.

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     Man was created in order that he might become conjoined with God. To this end he was gifted with a body by which he might live in the natural world, sensing the objects of that world, and enjoying its myriad blessings; and at the same time he was gifted with a spirit, with a mind, by which he might think about God, might come to see and know the Lord, might learn to love and worship Him, and so might perceive the delights of a spiritual world, and become an angel of heaven. For to be conjoined with the Lord, from love to Him, and from a genuine faith in Him, this is to come into heaven, and it opens to man the sensation and perception of all the countless wonders of heaven.

     In order that man might know the Lord, and from knowledge come to love and worship Him, the Lord has in all age preserved among men a Revelation of Himself, called the Word of God. Wherever this Word has been, wherever by it the Lord has been known and loved, men have by means of it become conjoined with God; and wherever such conjunction takes place, it is said that there is a Church. The Church; as an organized body on earth, is that which holds and treasures the Word. It is that body wherein men search the Scriptures which testify of the Lord, wherein men seek to know the Lord through His Revelation of Himself, wherein they desire to understand and to obey the commandments which He has given by that Revelation. When spiritually viewed it is composed of those who, by the elevation of their thought and their affection to the Lord, and to the things of His Kingdom, have become, as to their mind and spirit, conjoined with Him, and consociated with the angels of heaven. It is made up of such as have laid up for themselves treasure in heaven, and who, because their treasure is there, have set their heart upon the things of heaven, and so have become conjoined with those who are there in bonds of love and affection. By such as these heaven and earth are drawn together, and conjoined as into a one, heaven inflowing into and acting upon the earth, through the medium of the human mind even as the soul inflows into and acts upon the body of every individual man. This conjunction itself between heaven and earth, is what is called the Church, in the true sense of the word. But there are many within the external boundaries of the Church, many who have indeed been baptized with water, and have taken upon themselves the name of Christian, who do not elevate their minds to the Lord, nor place their treasure in heaven.

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And such as these are spiritually outside of the Church, in spite of their natural association with it. It is therefore possible for a Church to retain its external form and organization, and yet to be controlled, and all its actions qualified, by men who are not in conjunction with the Lord, nor in association with heaven. And when this takes place, then the Church ceases to perform its use of conjoining man with God, and in the sight of the Lord ceases to be a Church. As a Church it spiritually dies. And lest all conjunction between heaven and earth should be destroyed, it becomes necessary for the Lord in His Providence to raise up a New and Living Church in its stead, to carry forward the work which it has ceased to do.

     The Lord foresaw that this would indeed come to pass in the Christian Church. He foresaw that it would in process of time forsake the true knowledge of the Lord; that its faith in Him would be shaken; that it would no longer look to Him, nor desire the things of His Kingdom; and that thus it would cease to serve as a conjoining medium between heaven and earth. Wherefore He said to His disciples, "Ye are the salt of the earth; but if the salt have lost its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trodden under the foot of men." And this is the state into which the Christian Church has fallen today. It has indeed retained the Word as a holy Book containing the commandments of God. But although the literal scripture is preserved, is studied, is preached, and is carried to the gentiles all over the world, yet, to the Christian Church, it has lost its meaning. It has ceased to be a true revelation of the Lord. It has been so turned and twisted by false doctrines; its pure truths have been so polluted by the traditions of men, that it no longer yields to the Church a genuine knowledge of the Lord, of the life after death, or of the way to heaven. And because by the Word as it is today misinterpreted the Lord can no longer be known, it can no longer lead to the love and worship of Him from the heart. It has become in this generation "a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot for it is sealed; and the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this I pray thee, and he saith I am not learned." (Isaiah 20:11, 12.)

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     Two things are necessary for conjunction, first, knowledge, or understanding; and secondly, love or affection. If we are to be conjoined with the Lord we must first know Him, If we know Him not; if we think Him to be other than He really is; then can we be conjoined by love with that which we think He is, but we cannot be conjoined with Him. And this is what has taken place in the Christian world. The true knowledge of the Lord has been lost. Some conceive Him to be three separate persons; others conceive Him to be one person who is invisible; still others think of Him as a man in the flesh, having little or no idea of His divinity; and others again consider that the human intellect alone is God, and that by the human intellect there have been created various images and representatives of itself in the minds of men. Each one sees his own image of God in the Word. Each one interprets all things there given according to his own finite intelligence. Each does that which is right in his own eyes, construing what is right to be what is in accordance with the image of Gold that he has made for himself. Each one conceives that the Word treats of this god, and that it imparts the commandments of this god to men. So have they forsaken the worship of the true God, the Divine Man, one in person and essence, who alone is the Creator, and the Redeemer, and who has given the Word as a Revelation of Himself as He really is, in His Glorified Divine Human, and they have bowed down to graven images. And in consequence, everything of the Word is by them misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misapplied. This being the case, how can the Word continue to effect a conjunction between, the true God and the human race? Where it no longer imparts to men the true knowledge of the Lord, how can it inspire the true love of Him? When it has ceased to make known the character of heaven, how can it: lead men to desire the things of Heaven? To do s is impossible, and as a result the Christian Church today has ceased to serve as a conjoining medium between heaven and earth, between the Lord and mankind.

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It has ceased to perform the central function of a Church. Its "salt has lost its savor" and "wherewith shall it be salted?" In the eyes of the Lord it is read, and "is henceforth good for nothing but to be cast out, and trodden under the foot of men."

     Lest, therefore, a Church should altogether perish from the earth; lest the conjunction of the Lord with His creatures should be entirely cut off, and as a result the whole human race should perish, the Lord has come again, to restore the true knowledge of Himself to men. He has come to refute the false doctrines, the human dogmas and traditions of the vastate Church. He has coma to break the seal, and once more to open the book of His Divine Revelation. This He has done by setting forth the true internal and spiritual meaning of the Word, unveiling Himself as He truly is, in His Divine and Glorified Human before the wondering eyes of men, that once more they may see Him, may know Him, may truly love and worship Him, and thus become conjoined with Him in love and faith forever. He has set forth the true character of the life after death, revealing the wonders of heaven, giving us to know the angels, to know what their loves are, what their interests are, how they live and what they do, that we, from a knowledge of these things, may come to desire them above all else, and in striving to attain to them, may become consociated as to our spirits with the inhabitants of heaven. And thus He has opened the way for the angels to be present with us, to inspire us with heavenly loves, to impart to us some small measure of heavenly wisdom, that, as to our thought and affection, we may once more live together with them, even while we live on earth.

     All this has been given to the world in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and to all who come to know the Lord as He is here spiritually made manifest in His Second Advent,-to all whose eyes are opened to see, and whose ears are attuned to hear the true knowledge of God, and of His Kingdom, conjunction with the Lord Himself is once more possible. And of these the Lord says, "Ye are the salt of the earth." This does not refer to all who have become members of the external New Church.

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It does not mean those who have been baptized into the Church, who have been raised and educated in the Church, who have accepted the teachings of the Heavenly Doctrine, but who refuse to reflect upon those teachings, to receive them deeply into their hearts, or to receive illustration as to their true meaning and import from the Lord' Himself. Of such it cannot be said, "Ye are the salt of the earth." It is only to the Apostles that these words are directly spoken. And whether we belong to those who were chosen and ordained by the Lord, or whether we belong to that multitude which stood round about and heard His words, is known only to the Lord Himself. But if we would belong to the New Church as it appears before the sight of God; if we would serve Him in performing the function of conjoining heaven and earth, if we would receive from Him ordination, to go forth and build up a church, by means of which the angels may once more commune with men to impart to them blessedness and joy from the Lord forever, then must we enter interiorly and spiritually into the teachings now given through the Heavenly Doctrine. We must learn by means of those teachings to know the Lord, to love Him, and to worship Him alone. We must learn to love the things of everlasting life and to make the attainment of these things the end and goal of all that we think, and of all that we do. Only thus can we be conjoined with the Lord. Only thus can we be consociated with the angels by entering, even while we are on earth, into their loves, into their ambitions, into the vital interests of their life. It is such consociation that brings them present with us, and that enables them to inspire our thoughts and our deeds, that the Lord's will may be done on the earth, as it is done in heaven,-that enables them through us profoundly to influence and affect the nations and peoples of the world. A true church on earth, even though it be among only a few, brings influx from heaven to all men. For just as a little salt added to the food is quickly dissolved, imparting flavor to the whole, so by means of the Church, however small the Lord can be present to redeem and save all men; for He Himself says, "Where two or three are gathered together in. My name, there am I in the midst of them."

     How important then that a genuine Church should be preserved on earth!

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How clear it is from the teaching here given, that there is nothing more important, that there is no duty more vital, that there is no need more pressing, than that a true spiritual Church should be preserved, that its Gospel should be spread, and that by it there be maintained a genuine worship of the Lord from the heart! And the responsibility of performing this use rests upon the shoulders of all' who have been led in the Divine Providence to see the Lord, and to know Him, in His Second Advent to the world. No one who has not this knowledge can possibly fulfill this function. And realizing that we may nominally have the knowledge of these things, and yet may not appreciate their true meaning, that we may outwardly belong to the New Church and yet may stand aside and hear but casually the words of the Lord which are spirit and life, that we may be given the opportunity to take some human part in this wondrous work of human salvation, and yet may allow it to pass unnoticed, how vital it is that we should strive for the spiritual establishment of the Church within our own hearts and minds!

     The matter does not seem to be so serious, because there are in the Christian world, and also in the gentile world around us, thousands upon thousands who are good, honest, upright, and God-fearing men,-men who have a simple faith in the Word, and who from that faith worship the Lord to the best of their knowledge and understanding. Such men will come into heaven after death, because in the spiritual world they can be instructed in the true knowledge of God, and will then be willing to learn of Him. They will be overjoyed when they are told, and are shown to the life, that the Load is a Divine Man, One in person and in essence. They will forsake all that they have and follow Him, and He will lead them to a place in heaven. But in this world their ideas are confused. They are in association as to their spirits, not with the angels of heaven, but with spirits in the world of spirits, who fill their minds with fallacies, who insinuate doubts and questions, who hold a veil over their eyes which prevents their seeing truth; with, clearness and precision. So long as they are in this state, they cannot serve as a medium of conjunction with the Lord.

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They cannot be a means of influx out of heaven to inspire the world with a new and spiritual life. They cannot be a Church, in the true sense of the word, because the Lord's Revelation is to them "a book that is sealed," a book which they are unable to read "because they are not learned." Unless therefore the real genuine worship of the Lord is preserved, as it cannot be preserved except among such as are blessed with a true understanding of the Word, and thus a true knowledge of the Lord, the salt of the earth will have lost its savor.

     May we of the New Church realize the greatness of the opportunity which the Lord has given us, and accept with earnestness and humility the responsibility of the wondrous service to which He has called us. May we appreciate the fact, that each individual who has been led to a knowledge of the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrine has thereby been given a sacred trust, a consecrated duty to perform as a servant and apostle of the Lord in His Coming to man, May we so enter into the spirit of the Divine Revelation with which we have been blessed, that we may be counted among those whom the Lord calls to Him in the mountain of His holiness, and to whom He says, "Ye are the salt of the earth." Let us carry that spirit with us in every walk of life, looking to the Lord in His Glorified Human from fulness of love and devotion, seeking an ever fuller and more perfect knowledge of Him, and of His heavenly Kingdom, desiring above all else to enter into the uses of heaven by laboring for the spiritual and eternal welfare of our fellowmen. Let us remember always that though we have the Truth, though we have been given the Word of the Lord as now rationally revealed for our understanding, we do not by that fact become the "salt of the earth." It is only as we receive that Word; as by it we come to truly know and love the Lord; as by it we keep His precepts with the whole heart, that we can become conjoined with Him, and consociated with the angels of heaven. The possession of the Heavenly Doctrine gives us no more than the opportunity spiritually to serve the Lord. With us also, the "salt may lose its savor, and wherewith, then, shall it be salted?"

     But in the Heavenly Doctrine, the Lord our God is with us. His power and His mercy overshadow us.

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If we look to Him with sincerity of heart, He will, by means of the Divine teachings there given, draw us to Himself, and conjoin us with Him in a Covenant of eternity that shall not be forgotten. He will give us a part in the moist inspiring work it has ever been the privilege of man to participate in, using us as instruments in His Divine Hand to upbuild the Holy City New Jerusalem, and so to fulfill the prophecy of John, "Behold the Tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with, them, and they shall be His People, and God Himself shall be with them, their God." Amen.
HOW ANGELIC SPIRITS REGARD WHATEVER COMES TO PASS 1918

HOW ANGELIC SPIRITS REGARD WHATEVER COMES TO PASS              1918

     "I perceived in a spiritual idea communicated through angelic spirits, that they look upon existing things in such a way as to see the Lord's disposal and permission in every particular. In their minds they constantly regard what takes place as being from the Lord thus disposing and permitting, but not as men and spirits do who are not good, or who are evil, since these wish the Lord to dispose all things according to their views, phantasies, and cupidities, and when they are not so done, give way to doubt, and deny Providence; the cause being that they are not in faith, and so, from their phantasies, would have the universe and all its details governed just as they would govern it themselves, and not otherwise. They are neither able nor willing to acknowledge that all and singular events happen in such a way that man may not perceive how, and thus may be kept in faith, or be brought to the state of angelic spirits, of whom just above, as also that man may not be solicitous about things to come, or trust to his own prudence. Wherefore, they who are in faith rarely obtain what they desire while they desire it, but still they obtain it afterwards, when not thinking about it, if it be useful for them." (S. D. 3538.)

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NEW REVELATION 1918

NEW REVELATION       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1918

     As the Nineteenth Day of June approaches, the thoughts of all disciples of the Lord at His Second Coming turn to the significance of that day, and to the Revelation itself whose completion gave that day its significance. A new revelation was completed at about this time in the year 1770, and in the following year was published to the world. This new revelation, being then completed in the natural world, was also completed in the spiritual world, for it came through the spiritual world, and was inspired into the mind of one whose sight was opened into it, who, while in the natural world himself, spoke with spirits and angels. And when this revelation was simultaneously finished in both worlds, the Lord called together the twelve apostles who were with Him on earth, and sent them forth throughout the whole spiritual world to spread abroad with all zeal that which the new revelation contained.

     We are endeavoring to do the same on earth, that the Lord's will may finally be done an earth as it is in heaven. But how great is our zeal, and what do we ourselves think of this new revelation? What importance do we attach to it? It is appropriate for us at this time to consider that new revelation by which the Lord has made His Second Coming, and by which He is certainly to establish a New Church on the earth.

     The True Christian Religion, together with the Coronis, or Appendix to it, was the last book containing the doctrine of the New Church. And at the end of the True Christian Religion we find a few pages in which Swedenborg, in conversation with angels, takes as it were a full retrospective view: upon all those things which had been revealed through him from heaven. His long labors were about ended, and he himself was considering the extent and the probable effect of those things which had been published to the world. It is of this conversation of Swedenborg with certain wise ones of an angelic society concerning the new revelation that we will now speak.

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     These wise ones, being brought into communication with Swedenborg, asked, "What news from the earth?" And he replied, "This is new; that the Lord has revealed arcana which surpass in excellence any of those revealed from the beginning of the church even until now." The angels wished to know what these most excellent arcana are. He replied, "They are these: (1) That in every particular of the whole Word there is a spiritual sense corresponding to the natural sense; that by means of this sense the Word is a means of conjunction between the men of the church and the Lord; consociating men with angels; and that the holiness of the Word resides in that spiritual sense." (2) That the correspondences of which the spiritual sense of the word consists had also been made known. The angels were much surprised that men did not know correspondences, and that they had been hidden, from: human ken, for thousands of years, even from the time of Job, and that Providence had so obliterated such knowledge that no one had seen the faintest sign of it. But they rejoiced exceedingly that it had pleased the Lord to reveal this great arcanum, so deeply hidden for thousands of years; and they said that this was done in order that the Christian Church, which is founded on the Word, and which is now at its end, might again revive and draw breath through heaven from the Lord. To these two things our Seer added, that (3) the Lord had also made a revelation as to the state of life after death. The angels wanted to know what was known on earth about their world and about heaven and hell. And we are told that they again rejoiced because the Lord had made known the nature of heaven and hell, and the fact that angels and spirits are in conjunction with men, besides many other wonderful things, in order that men might be no longer in doubt from ignorance about their immortality.

     A fourth thing, said Swedenborg, has also been revealed, namely, the distinction between the natural and spiritual worlds, in that there is in one world a spiritual sun which is the activity of pure love, and in the other a sun of pure elemental fire; and that from this men may know from whence comes the light which illumines the understanding and the heat which kindles the human will with love.

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Moreover (5), he told the angel's, it had been disclosed that there are three degrees of life, and hence three heavens; and that because a man's mind also is divided into three degrees, man corresponds to these three heavens. The angels asked, "Did they not know this before?" And they asked whether anything else had been revealed. To this he replied that the nature of the Last Judgment had been revealed, and the true idea of the Trinity in Jesus Christ, and the assurance of the establishment of the New Church; that the doctrine of that church had been given; that the holiness of the Word had been taught; that the Apocalypse had been opened; and many things told about the inhabitants of other planets, and many wonderful things besides about the spiritual world, whereby much that is of wisdom had been disclosed from heaven.

     And finally, still speaking with the angels, he told them that something more had been revealed in the world. It was about true conjugial love and its spiritual delights. The angels said, "Who does not know that the delights of conjugial love surpass those of all other loves? And who cannot conceive that there must be some love into which, because it corresponds to the love of the Lord and the Church, are brought together all varieties of blessedness, satisfaction and enjoyment, that can ever be brought together by the Lord?" Swedenborg replied, that men do not know this because they have not approached the Lord, and therefore have not shunned the lusts of the flesh, and so could not be regenerated; but that true conjugial love is solely from the Lord, and is given to those only who are regenerated by Him, and that these are they who are received into the Lord's New Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem.

     The angels then rejoiced exceedingly in what he told them; but, says Swedenborg, they perceived sadness in me, and asked, "Whence is your sadness?" I told them, he says, that these arcana, revealed by the Lord at this day, although in excellence and dignity surpassing all knowledge hitherto divulged, still are regarded on earth as of no value.

     The account in this closing chapter of the True Christian Religion goes on to relate that the angels, when shown how these arcana in their descent from heaven were twisted and torn and trampled and rejected, were themselves filled with sadness, and asked within themselves, How long will this be?

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And it was said to them, "For a time, and times, and half a time."

     In such fashion did Swedenborg review with the angels of heaven the comprehensiveness and excellence of the things which by the Lord's permission and command he had made known to the world. In this mighty field of thought we see the glory of the New Church, which the Lord has given it,-the fine linen and embroidery wherein it is given that His bride, the Church, should be arrayed. It is the great significance of these things that gives significance to that day which is now near at hand.

     Comprehensive and excellent, indeed! What conservative terms to apply to the Revelation now made to all men through this one man who was servant to the Lord! That Revelation is Divine, sacred, holy. It is the truth that alone can save the world, and raise up a Christian Church that shall revive from a small remnant and draw breath through heaven from the Lord. And by comprehensive let us understand that this revelation touches our lives at every possible angle, reconstructing and rejuvenating every department of thought and feeling. We shall spend no time at present reasoning as to the truth of these things which Swedenborg has said of the Revelation, and of his conversation with the wise angels at the end of his Divinely appointed task. Argument cannot convince anyone of the truth of these assertions who has not that self-evidencing reason of love, which alone, as we are told, is capable of re-establishing a true church. We will put ourselves now, rather, in the attitude of the disciple who cried to the Lord, "O Lord, I believe, help Thou my unbelief." We will pray that we may believe with a whole heart everything that is taught us in the Revelation to the New Church, that thus we may aid with our feeble power the evangelization of the whole world as brethren, who, on account of a genuine love of this Revelation, are willing to dwell together in unity. We will supplicate the Lord for that self-evidencing reason which comes from love of Him; and from that reason, assume the truth of these things that are disclosed at the end of the True Christian Religion.

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     Accepted, then, upon sufficient rational grounds, be for the present occasion all those things which Swedenborg enumerated to the angels as having been revealed to the world,-that the church of the Lord might be re-established and all flesh saved,-that man might be no longer in doubt from ignorance as to the certainty of heaven and hell and immortality.

     But there were one or two further-arcana which he did not enumerate to them. The True Christian Religion, although the last work published by Swedenborg himself to the whole world, was not the last work that was written. In fact, the work was never finished as it was originally planned. He wrote an Appendix to the True Christian Religion, or an addition to it, a part of which was lost and the other part of which we now have" as the so-called Invitation to the New Church. And of this Appendix Swedenborg said, that "unless it be added to the former work, the Church cannot be healed," that the doctrine of the New Church as outlined in the True Christian Religion did indeed offer a cure for the vitiated Christian Church, yet this would after all be but a palliative cure. Some further arcana from heaven must he added, and though not enumerated before the angels, they may be known from the Brief Exposition and from several fragments of Swedenborg's writings, from which the doctrine which he intended to include in the True Christian Religion may be plainly seen. For some Divine reason the teaching of that little work which Swedenborg wrote just before his death, part of which has been lost, but without which he said the Church cannot be permanently healed,-that teaching has been made known only to the New Church itself.

     The arcana are these: that there must be a living acknowledgment that the Lord has made His Second Coming in the revelation of Himself in the Writings of the New Church, which are in truth the Advent of the Lord, and also the accompanying acknowledgment that the Christian Church is to be wholly rejected as to its religion, as to its worship, and as to its ministry. Without these two principles the New Church cannot be established. Even though men accept the general doctrine of the New Church, if they fail to acknowledge these two principles, the New Church will lack a foundation, will lack barriers against the falsities of the first Christian Church, will lack effective arms against the evils that are like corrupting poison in healing wounds.

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For the New Church can enter into its strength only when it is founded on the full acknowledgment of the Lord in His Second Coming. These arcana are as great as any of the rest which Swedenborg reviewed before the angels.

     All the truths revealed through Swedenborg constitute the full armor of the New Church. Now is not the time and we are not the people to hesitate, let us hope, in doubt as to the truth of any of these teachings. This is what the Nineteenth Day of June should mean to us: A distinct message to the world whereby a direct approach may be made to the Lord, and whereby the Word, and especially the Apocalypse, may be opened,-a distinct voice uttering the spiritual needs of the hour, and a distinct ministry to utter that voice.

     As is the case with international problems, and as so forcefully declared by our president, now is not the time to hesitate and doubt. "There was but a single course of action left to us. We have taken it." Vague and uncertain as the outcome may appear, the man who hesitates now as to the necessity of upholding the principles of freedom, justice, and humanity, is lost,-that is, lost so far as concerns the welfare of the nations. And no less certainly is it true that he who stops to question and doubt the necessity of a New Church in place of the old, with a distinct ministry to proclaim and uphold these most excellent of all Divine revelations, is lost, likewise,-lost to the Church as a vitalizing and evangelizing force.

     Joyful as we should be that the Lord has raised up a nation, and a nation's head, to throw a force into the rampant evils of men, now clearly seen manifesting themselves in tragic acts,-a force with the distinctive battle cry of freedom, justice, and humanity; glad to be of such a nation as we should be, and thankful that the moment of high decision has come; still more joyful should we be that the Lord has entered into His New Church, and raised up in it a banner under which alone Christianity can be healed, when the drumfire and barrage of battle have been silenced.

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We look as a nation for a peace which shall endure through a triumph of democracy. It is hoped to secure an international concert which will legislate wars out of existence; and by natural and political means much can be accomplished in that direction. But this is not all that we shall be fighting for in the eyes of the All-powerful Lord. We shall be fighting in His Providence merely to produce an external soil in which the new Revelation may more easily take root. And far more important than our country's entrance with its unselfish principles into this mighty conflict, is that the Lord may enter into His Church. For men cannot by any means legislate away their evils. They can only by enlightened natural reason and interest prevent their appearing before the world. This they may do on a large and international scale; but so long as the Lord's Second Coming is not heralded and acknowledged, the two great loves of self and of the world will remain concealed within any external order and peace which may be attained.

     The time for decision and action in upholding the heavenly arcana now given to the New Church is always at hand,-the time for charity and unity in the name of the Lord. And this is what the Nineteenth Day of June should signify to us, with whom, let us hope, the angels may never be affected with sadness, because these most excellent arcana are regarded as of little worth.

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THOUGHTS FOR THE NINETEENTH 1918

THOUGHTS FOR THE NINETEENTH              1918

     THE WRITINGS IN BOTH WORLDS.

     In a garden in the world of spirits "I saw a cedar table, upon which was a book, under a green olive-tree, whose trunk was entwined with vines. I looked at it attentively, and behold, it was a book written by me, called Angelic Wisdom concerning the Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, and also concerning the Divine Providence." (A. R. 875.)

     "The work on Heaven and Hell was given to the Africans in the spiritual world, which they received and kept; likewise also the Last Judgment Earths in the Universe, and The White Horse, and lastly the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, that they might select from them what they saw to be useful." (S. D. 5946e.)

     "When the Summaria Exposition (Brief Exposition) was published, the angelic heaven, from the east to the west, and from the south to the north, appeared purple with most beautiful flowers; this was before me, and before the (Danish) kings and others. At another time it appeared flamy, beautifully.

     On the books was written THE ADVENT OF THE LORD; on all in the spiritual world. By command I also wrote the same on two copies in Holland." Ecclesiastical History, 7, 8.

     IN WHAT MANNER MANY WILL RECEIVE WHAT IS WRITTEN THROUGH ME.

     "I received letters stating that not more than four copies had been sold in two months, and this was made known to the angels, who indeed marveled, but said that it must be left to the Providence of the Lord, which is such that it compels no one, which could be done, but it is not well that any should read it first but those who are in faith; and that this may be known also from the advent of the Lord into the world, who was able to compel them to receive His words and Himself, but compelled no one, neither afterwards through the apostles. It was further shown how the case is with others in the Christian world, when some spirits were let into the state in which they had been in the life of the body, and were then given to think concerning the things which were written about the other life, and in the unfolding of the internal sense, and they were then as if they would vomit, thus rejecting them all, Which also they said and confessed." (S. D. 4422.)

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MR. BENADE'S REPORT ON THE PRIESTHOOD 1918

MR. BENADE'S REPORT ON THE PRIESTHOOD       W. H. BENADE       1918

     (Continued from NEW CHURCH LIFE, March, p. 179.)

     But whilst the Priesthood, as to its nature and character, as to its functions and order, is thus distinctly set forth in the doctrines of the Church, drawn from the Word by the Lord, we are left without particular instruction in respect to the names by which to designate its orders, and the functionaries who minister in them. For although, in sundry places in the Writings, where the three orders of the Priesthood are distinctly mentioned, certain designations of the various offices are used, these do not appear to be employed for the purpose of indicating any thing more than the existence of such orders, and not for the purpose of prescribing the usage of the New Church in respect to them it is, no doubt, for the sufficient reason of leaving the members of the New Church in their rational freedom with regard to a matter which is not Of essential importance, that no instruction has been given on this subject. In the exercise of this freedom, your Committee would therefore propose that:-

     1. The third or highest Office of the Priesthood, which is the Office of Government, be called the Episcopal Office, the office of overseeing and governing; and that the High-Priest who ministers therein be named Superintendent, or Presiding Minister, or Bishop.

     2. The second or middle Office of the Priesthood, which is the Office of Worship, be called the Pastoral Office, the office of feeding the flock; and that the Priest who ministers therein be named, Pastor.

     3. The first or lowest Office of the Priesthood, which is the Office of Instruction, be called the Teaching Office, the office of teaching doctrine, which is serviceable for worship and government, and that the Priest who ministers therein be called Teaching Minister, or simply Minister, as expressing generally the ministering character of the various degrees of the office, to which the first is the introduction.

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     And, to the end that the distinctive functions and uses of these offices may be known and understood, not only by those who are called to fill them, but also by those to whom they minister, it is proposed, 1. That the uses and duties of the Office of Superintendent, or Presiding Minister, or Bishop, be in addition to the uses and duties of the other offices, which are included in the highest Office of the Priesthood, the government off the Church, by the preservation of order among the priests or governors themselves, by the supervision of all things relating to the divine law, worship, and instruction, in the district assigned to him; the ordination of other ministers; and the dedication of temples and houses of worship.

     To prevent any misconception, arising from the ideas usually connected with the term government, and to present the view of your Committee on this point, the following explanation may here be introduced: The Lord governs all men by Truth from, Good; and in the Heavens and the Church by Truth freely and rationally received, according to the state of the affections of angels, and spirits of Heaven, and of men on Earth, which from the Lord dispose them to receive His Word and Doctrine into their understandings and lives. This is an essential principle in all spiritual government, which enters as well into all true worship, as into all real and effective instruction. In this divine government of men, the Lord ever has respect to their freedom, which He guards with infinite care. Hence is all government in the Church, a government of Truth from Good, exercised in man by means of its power of enlightening his understanding, and thus leading him in freedom, as of himself, to live according to its teachings. The laws of this government are revealed in the Word and in doctrine from the Word; and are not subjects of human enactment. The government of Priests in the Church, therefore, consists simply in the administration of the general and particular spiritual laws relating to their Office, which laws are received and acknowledged by its members as the Lord's laws of divine order, and according to which they are to be taught and led to govern themselves. There is, in this government, when rightly understood, nothing of human conceit, or of personal will. A. C. 2015, 1728.

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     2. That the uses and duties of the Office of Pastor, in addition to the uses and duties of the office last in degree, be to administer the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper; to consecrate marriage; to have the charge and government of the Society over which he is placed, and of the Sunday School and other institutions belonging thereto; and to teach and prepare students in Theology for the work of the Priesthood.

     3. That the uses and duties of the Office of Teacher or Minister, be to teach and preach the Word according to the Heavenly Doctrines of the Church; by means of truth to lead to the good of life; and to superintend the Sunday School of the Society with which he is connected.

     INAUGURATION INTO THE PRIESTHOOD.

     Inasmuch as it is the Office of the Priesthood to teach Divine Truth from the Word, according; to the doctrines of the Church, to lead to good by ministering in all the things of worship, and to govern the Church by administering the divine law, it is requisite that those among men who are called to this use, and who desire to devote their lives to it as their use of charity, should first be prepared, and then set apart for its performance, as a representative of that partition, or particular form of love and faith in the Church, (A. C. 3858), which ministers the goods and truths that lead the man of the Church to good, and thus to conjunction of life with the Lord. A. C. 101038, 3875, 3877, 4606, 6716, 7231, 6998, 8080, 10017, 10093, 2826.

     In respect to the preparation of men for this use of charity in the Church, since its performance is one which requires the devotion of all their affections and thoughts and powers, it is needful that they should freely, from an internal love and desire for the use, choose it as their use of charity, and thus be called to the ministry; then, that they should be provided with all the means necessary for its effective performance. And since the teaching of truth, and thereby the leading to good, involves a knowledge and understanding, not only of the doctrines which are to be taught, but also of the sciences of the World and of the Word, by means of which those doctrines are to be explained, illustrated, and confirmed, so that they may come to the understandings of men, a provision of what is requisite for the performance of the uses of the Priesthood, demands a thorough literary and scientific education, a competent knowledge of the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew languages, an ability to write well and to speak with grace and power, and some practice and skill in teaching, or imparting instruction.

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And whilst the needed literary and scientific preparation may be made in the School's, Academies, and Colleges of the country, the particular knowledge of the Word and Heavenly Doctrines, and of the best methods of teaching and preaching them, and the proper mode of administering the things of divine worship and law, should be acquired in Seminaries of the Church, or under the tuition and guidance of its Pastors or Bishops.

     When a student for the ministry of the Priesthood has completed his studies and preparation, he should apply to a Superintendent, Presiding Minister, or Bishop, or Presiding Priest of the Church, and offer himself for examination as to his qualifications for the Priesthood; and the Presiding Minister, together with the Ecclesiastical Council, Committee, or other constituted authority of the District in which the application is made, having made such examination, should, if it prove satisfactory, give to such student a certificate of qualification for the Office of the Priesthood. After this, if any society, or body of the Church, duly constituted and recognized as such, desire the services of such student to minister to it in the Priestly Office, and make application accordingly to the Presiding Minister for the Ordination of the same, he should be inaugurated by him, at such time and place as may be agreed upon, into the first grade of the Priesthood, as a Teaching Minister, or as a Minister of the Lord's Church.

     After having ministered in the uses of the first grade or office of the Priesthood for a period of not less than three years, if the society or body of the Church, to which a Priest of this grade has ministered, or any other society or body of the Church, desire his services, and choose him to perform to it the office of Pastor, and make application accordingly to the Presiding Minister of the district in which he has ministered, the Presiding Minister, with the advice and consent of the Ecclesiastical Council, or Committee of his District, should ordain such Priest in the presence of such society, or, if preferred, in the presence of the larger body of the Church of which it is a member, into the second grade, or into the Pastoral Office of the Priesthood.

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     After having ministered in the uses, and performed the duties of the Pastoral Office of the Priesthood for a period of not less than nine years, if any Association or larger body of the Church desire the services of a Pastor, and choose him to administer the Office of Presiding Minister, or Bishop, or Chief Priest, in its bounds, it should make application accordingly to the Chief Priest or Bishop presiding over the General Body of the Church; and he, after having submitted such application to its general Ecclesiastical Council or Committee, and after having received the approval of the same, should lay the same before that Body, in Convention assembled, for sanction and ratification; and when this sanction and ratification have been pronounced, he should inaugurate such Pastor, at a time and place agreed upon in Convention, into the third Office of the Priesthood, and consecrate him to perform the uses and duties of a Chief Priest, or Bishop of the Church.

     ORDINATION.

     Exodus xxix. The subject treated of in the internal sense, in this chapter, is the glorification of the Lord as to the Human, which is signified by the inauguration of Aaron and his sons into the Priesthood.

     Imposition of hands, A. C. 878. By hands is signified ability, power, and confidence; when referred to the Lord, omnipotence. Hand, thence, in the Jewish Church, represented power. Because of this representation the people laid their hands on the Levites, to consecrate them, (Numb. viii, 9-12), and Moses, when he appointed Joshua to be his successor, (Numb. xxvii. 18-23), to represent that thus ability was conferred. Hence the ceremonies at the present day, of inauguration and benediction by the laying on of hands.

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A. C. 6292. The circumstance of putting the hand on the head, when blessing was given, was derived from a ritual received from the Ancients; for in the head is the very intellectual principle and will-principle of man, but in the body are the acts according to those principles and compliance; thus to put the hand on the head was representative that blessing was communicated to the intellectual principle, and to the will-principle, thus to the man himself. From the ancient times the same ritual remains even at this day, and is in use in inaugurations, and also in benedictions.

     9955 and 10109. The inauguration of Aaron and his sons, to represent the Lord as to Divine Truth, was by filling their hands; and their inauguration to represent the Lord as to Divine Good, by anointing.

     10019. The filling of the hand, in the ceremony of inauguration, was to signify that all power was to be attributed to the Lord, and none whatever to any angel, spirit, or man.

     10076, 10493. The filling of the hand is a representative of the communication and reception of Divine Truth proceeding from the Divine Good of the Lord in the heavens, thus of Divine Power.

     10019. The Divine Power represented by the filling of their hands was the power of saving the human race, and, consequently, power over heaven and hell as the means of salvation.

     10023. The reason why the laying on of hands signifies communication and reception is, because by the hands power is signified; and since this is the active principle of life, by hands is also signified whatsoever appertains to the man,-thus the whole man, so far as he is an agent, (10019);and by laying on is signified communication in reference to him who lays on, and reception in respect to him or to it on which it is laid. Hence it is evident what was signified by the imposition of the hand amongst the Ancients, namely, the communication and transference of that which is treated of, and also its reception, by another, whether that be power, or obedience, or benediction, or testification. That by the imposition of the hand is signified power, is manifest from the following passages in Moses, Numb. xxvii. 18-20. That by the laying on of the hand is here signified the communication and transferring of the power which Moses had, and its reception by Joshua, is evident; hence it is said, "that thus he should give of his glory upon him."

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     Again, when the Levites were purified, and the ministry of the Priesthood under Aaron was ascribed to them, it was commanded that two bullocks should be brought with a meat-offering, and that Aaron should bring the Levites before Jehovah, and the seas of Israel should lay their hands upon the Levites, and the Levite should lay their hands upon the head of the bullocks, one of which waste be offered for a sacrifice, the other for a burnt-offering; and thus they were to separate the Levites from the midst of the sons of Israel, and they were to be Jehovah's (Numb. viii. 7-14) By the sons of Israel laying their hands upon the Levites was signified the transferrence of the power of ministering for them, and reception of it by the Levites,-thus separation. And by the Levites laying their hands upon the head of the bullocks, was signified a transferring of that power to Jehovah, that is, the Lord; therefore it is said that thus they should be separated from the midst of the sons of Israel, and should be Jehovah's. Again, "After that the sons of Israel confessed their sins, then Aaron was to lay both his hands upon the head of the living goat Asasel, and was to confess over him all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their sins, and was to give them upon the head of the goat, and send him into the wilderness, (Levit. xvi. 22). That the laying on of hands upon the goat signified the communication and translation of all the iniquities and sins of the sons of Israel, and their reception by the goat, is evident.

     The wilderness whether the goat was to be sent, denotes hell. That the witnesses, and all who heard, were to lay their hands upon him who was to be stoned, (Levit. xxiv. 24), signified testification thereby communicated and transferred, which being received he was adjudged to death. Again; "The man who bringeth from the herd or from the flock a burnt-offering, for a present to Jehovah, shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt-offering, in which case it shall be received from him with good pleasure, to expiate him, (Levit. i. 2-4). In like manner upon the head of the present which was for sacrifice, (Levit. iii. 1, 2, 8,13).

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And so also the Priest was to do, if he sinned; in like manner the elders; likewise the whole congregation; also the prince, if he sinned; and in like manner every soul whatsoever if they sinned, (Lev. iv. 4, 15, 24, 29). By the laying of their hand upon the burnt-offering and upon the sacrifice, was signified the all of the worship of him who offered, namely, the acknowledgment of sins, confessions, thence purification, the implantation of good and truth, thus conjunction with the Lord, all which were effected by communication, translation, and reception; by translation and reception is meant that which is signified by the carrying of iniquities, (9937, 9938). Inasmuch as communication, translations, and receptions were signified by the imposition of hands, it may be known what is signified by the imposition of hands in Matthew. "The ruler came to Jesus, and said, My daughter is just now dead, but coming lay thy hand upon her, then she shall live. Jesus, entering in took hold of her hand, and the damsel arose," (ix. 18, 19, 25); and in Mark viii. 25; vii. 22, 33, 35; in Luke xiii. 11, 13; Mark vi. 5. In the passages by laying on of the Lord's hands, and also by His touch, is signified the communication and reception of Divine Virtue, as is manifest in Mark v. 27-30; and in Luke viii. 44, 46; vi. 19. Hence it is evident what is signified by touching with the hand or finger; and also by what is said elsewhere in the same Evangelist, (vii. 14, 15). Also what by the imposition of hands upon boys and infants,-sons in Matt. xix. 13, 15: infants in Mark x. 16. By the laying on of the hand upon the boys and upon infants, is here also signified the communication and reception of Divine Virtue, whereby was effected the healing of the interiors, which is salvation. The signification of touching, which is effected by the hands, originates in representatives in the other life where those who are in a dissimilar state of life appear removed at a distance, but those who are in a similar state appear consociated, and those in that life who mutually touch each other communicate the state of their life with each other if this is done by the hands, the all of life is communicated, because by the hands, as was said above, from correspondence, is signified power, which is the active principle of life, thus whatsoever appertains to any are effected by influx from heaven, where alone are perceived consociations as to the affections of goodness and truth."

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A. C. 3634. "As God commanded him," that hereby is signified according to Divine Order, appears from the signification of God commanding, or of the commandments; the commandments of God, or the things which God has commanded, have all and singularly relation to Divine Order, inasmuch that Divine Order is nothing but a perpetual commandment of God; wherefore to live according to the commandments of God, and in the commandments of God, is to live according to Divine Order, and in Divine Order.

     T. C. R. 142. That the Divine Virtue and Operation, signified by the Holy Spirit, consists, in general, in Reformation and Regeneration, and, in proportion as these are effected, in renovation, vivification, sanctification, and justification, and in proportion as these are effected, in purification from evil's remission of sins, and finally salvation.

     T. C. R. 146. That the Divine Virtue and operation, which is signified by the mission of the Holy Spirit, consists, with the clergy in particular, in Illustration and Instruction. The operations of the Lord, enumerated in the foregoing article, viz., reformation, regeneration, renovation, vivification, sanctification, justification, purification, the remission of sins, and finally salvation, are effected by influx from the Lord, both amongst clergy and laity, and are received by air those who are in the Lord, and who have the Lord in them, (John vi. 56, xiv. 20, xv. 4, 5): but the reason why the clergy are particularly gifted with the graces of illustration and instruction, are, because those graces have particular relation to their ministerial office, and their ordination into the ministry conveys those graces; and they believe also that whilst they are preaching in the heat of zeal, they are inspired like the disciples of the Lord, on whom he breathed, saying, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," (John xx. 22, Mark xiii. 11); some of them: also affirm that they have perceived the influx, etc.

     That there are two other spiritual operations amongst the clergy may be seen below, (155).

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T. C. R. 155. It was shown above in the third article that that Divine Virtue, which is meant by the operation of the Holy Spirit amongst the clergy, is, in particular, illustration and instruction, but to these may be added two intermediate virtues, which are perception and disposition; there are therefore four successive operations amongst the clergy, following each other in this order, illustration, perception, disposition, instruction. Illustration is from the Lord alone. Perception has place in man, according to the state of his mind, as formed by doctrines; and where these doctrines are true, the perception is rendered clear by the light of illustration, but where they are false, the perception is rendered obscure, yet so as to have the appearance of clearness arising from the reasonings and arguments which have been used for their confirmation; such apparent clearness is, however, only a consequence of that false and delusive light, which, in the eye of the merely natural man, appears like the light of truth. Disposition arises from, the affection of the love-principle in the will, and it is the delight springing from that love which effects it. If this delight spring from the love of evil, and of its attendant false, it gives birth to a zeal which is outwardly sharp, harsh, furious, fiery, and inwardly full of anger, rage, and unmercifulness; but if that delight spring from the love of good, and its attendant truth, it then gives birth to a zeal which is outwardly soft and smooth, yet loud and burning, and inwardly full of charity, kindness, and mercy. Instruction follows as an effect produced by the former. Thus illustration, which is from the Lord, is changed into various lights and colors in every individual, according to the state of hid mind.

     CANONS, chap. iv. 7.

     That the clergy, because they are to teach doctrine from the Word concerning the Lord, and concerning Redemption and Salvation from! Him, are to be inaugurated by the covenant, (sponsionem), of the Holy Spirit, and by the representation of its translation; but that it is received by the clergy according to the faith of their life.

     8. That the Divine, which is understood by the Holy Spirit, proceeds from the Lord, through the clergy to the laity, by preaching according to the reception of the doctrine of truth thence derived.

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D. L. and W. 320. I have often wondered that the angels had such knowledge from the mere action of the body by the hands, but nevertheless it has occasionally been made manifest by lively experience; and it has been told me that this is the reason why inauguration into the ministry is performed by the imposition of hands, and why touching with the hands signifies communicating, besides other things of a similar nature."

     A. E. 79. Because by touching and laying on of hands is signified to communicate and transfer to another what is one's own, therefore from ancient times it has been customary in the churches to lay hands upon the head of those who were inaugurated and blessed, as Moses was commanded to do in the case of Joshua, (Numb. xxvii. 19-23, Deut. xxxiv. 9).

     Cf. C. L. 396; A. R. 54; D. L. and W. 150, 220; T. C. R. 106, 415, 418; A. R. 55, 533, 629; H. D. No. 7; H. and H. 215, 218; A. E. 1191; A. C. 7381-2; Coronis to T. C. R. pp. 26, 29.

     Inauguration into the priesthood, and into the several offices of the same, should be performed with appropriate religious service, and by the imposition of hands, as the representative of the Divine Benediction and of the translation of the Holy Spirit; according to the teachings of the Church, before cited under the head of the Functions of the Priesthood.

     Inaugurations into the office of Superintendent, or Presiding Minister, should be performed by the Presiding Minister of the General Body of the Church, assisted by two other Presiding Ministers of the Church, as a full representative of the Lord's work of salvation in its trinal order, and of the trine of uses included in the office into which the Priest is being inaugurated.

     There remains but one point more which your Committee feel it incumbent upon them to consider; and this, seeing the length which our report has already reached, shall be done as briefly as possible. The point referred to arises from the application of the doctrine of the Trine in the Priesthood, to the smaller and larger, and largest bodies of the Church, and from the idea which has obtained to some extent, that the Trinal arrangement of the Ministry should be determined from and according to the Trinal arrangement of the Church, as it now exists.

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To meet this point at the outset, or on the very ground on which the above idea is based, we observe that the premise is contrary to the Doctrine of the Church, since it involves the notion that the Priesthood exists from, or is created by, the external organization of the Church. The very reverse is the truth. The Priesthood is the Lord's, and is instituted by Him, as that office of His work of salvation by which the Church is formed both internally and externally. The Lord does not provide for the existence of things Divine among the Priests, or in the Priesthood, by the people; "but he provides by the Priesthood for the existence of things Divine among the people." (DOC. CHAR. 70.)

     The body and members of man's natural and material form do not constitute the head from themselves, but are constituted and formed from the head in themselves. From and by the head all formation and constitution proceeds from first to last. It is therefore not the Church which makes the Priesthood, but it is the Priesthood which makes the Church; and the Order of the Church, both internal and external, is according to the Order of the Priesthood, or, what is the same thing, according to the Order in which the Lord's work of salvation proceeds, for this is represented by the Office of the Priesthood. 'To assume any other position is to invert Divine Order, and to render the orderly arrangement and establishment of the Priestly Office in the external Church impossible. And the assumption in past time of the opposite view, together with the inadequate conception of the Priesthood, which has prevailed, has been the cause, as we believe, of our failure heretofore to arrive at any satisfactory settlement of what has so long been a vexed question in the Church.

     As there is a Trine in the Office of the Priesthood, in the highest sense, or a Trine of the Lord's work of saving, in the celestial, spiritual, and natural degrees; and as all things internal exist only in their corresponding externals; and as the Heavens, and thence also the Church, are formed and governed by the Lord's Priesthood,-this formation and government from its internals must appear in its corresponding externals, and be represented therein.

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From, the Trine in the Lord, there is a Trine in His Priesthood, in the Heavens, and in the Church. And, as the Trine in the Lord, who is the Divine Man, appears in its own Divine externals in the head, body, and members of his infinite Human form, so will it also appear externally in the Office of the Priesthood performed from Him by angels and men in the three degrees of the Human form of life and existence in the heavens and in the Church. Hence are there three Heavens, as a Gorand Man, both internal and external, and three forms of the Church, both internal and external. And, to confine ourselves to the Church, it is to be observed, that, wherever it has existed in any state of order on Earth, it has practically assumed a more or less perfect Trinal form of organization, similar to that which has been developed in the outward constitution of the organized New Church in this country; which is composed of Societies, of Societies of Societies or Associations, and of a Society of Associations, or, as it is denominated, a General Convention.

     Now, whilst this Trinal form of the Church, as a body, corresponds to the Trine of the Priesthood, by the active work of which it has been formed, and has grown up from one stage of development to another, if the Priesthood be regarded from its functions, as above set forth, and these be applied to the organization of the Church in its lesser and greater forms, it will not appear that the administration of those functions undergoes any change whatever in the different degrees of that organization. The teaching of doctrine, the ministering in worship, and the administration of government, are identically the same in a Society, as in an Association, and in an Association as in the General Convention. The only difference which arises from this application, is not in the performance of the functions of the Priesthood, but in the enlargement of their sphere of use; and this must needs continue to be the case, since the external Order of the Priesthood, and the external Constitution of the Church on Earth, whilst they are to correspond to and represent the Order of the Priesthood in the Lord, and of the Heavens, do not actually present the Priesthood and the Heavens.

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For, although the Office of a Minister in the first degree of the Priesthood, is to the Office of a Pastor, in the second, and to that of the High Priest, in the third, as the natural degree is to the spiritual, and the spiritual to the celestial, it does not follow that the doctrine taught by the Minister is taught to and received by men who are only in the degree of natural affection and thought; and that Priests of the Second and Third grades alone can teach those who are in the degrees of spiritual and celestial affections and thoughts. The Minister teaches, and each one hears and receives, according to his own state of love and life. And just as there may be, and no doubt are, men of all grades, in respect to their interiors, in each single Society, so will the same diversity be found in Associations and Conventions. The Ministry of the Office of the Priesthood does not undergo any functional change in its application to the lesser and greater forms of the Church's Trine; and therefore is the idea of making such a functional change dependent upon this application, utterly inadmissible.

     But, because when acting in the larger bodies of the Church, Priests appear in their collective official capacities, it is proper at all times, in the assignment of official duties to them, to have respect to the orders or degrees of the Priesthood in which they are, so that they may remain in the functions of their Office, and may be employed in doing those things which are of their "sceptre and staff," which are of the uses and duties in which they are authorized and empowered to functionate. Hence, in respect to the General Convention, it appears to be according to true order, that its chief governing officer should be a Priest in the office and function of Government, a Chief Priest or Presiding Minister chosen from the Class or Order of Superintendents, as a Primus inter pares, and not a Pastor or Minister, much less a layman. And in pursuance of the same view, it seems evident that the Ecclesiastical Council of the Convention, as that body which has to deal with the things of the divine law and worship in the General body, should consist of the Presiding Ministers and Pastors of the Church; whilst to the first order or class of Priests, should be assigned the duties of Scribes or Secretaries, and such other Ecclesiastical uses as considering and reporting upon the details of measures and plans for promoting the good of the Church.
          Respectfully submitted,
     In behalf of the Committee on Ecclesiastical Affairs,
          W. H. BENADE.

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     When the editorial chair of NEW CHURCH LIFE became vacant last March, owing to the removal of its able occupant, the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, to the spiritual world, the undersigned was chosen to succeed him, and has accepted the call, not with any expectation of being able to wield the vigorous and facile pen of his predecessor, but with a readiness to serve the Church to the best of his ability. In undertaking the functions elf this office, he is not unmindful of the weight of its task and responsibility, but is encouraged by the belief that the writers of the Church will accord liberal assistance. The LIFE is the product of many minds, a record of the thought and activity of the whole Church. The members justly treasure it as something of their own, a cherished possession. It will be my effort to foster this affection, as the best guarantee of the continued usefulness of the magazine. W. B. CALDWELL.
Title Unspecified 1918

Title Unspecified              1918

     Perhaps we cannot do better at this time than share with our readers some reflections to which we have been led in an attempt to measure the scope of the uses of the LIFE, which may be outlined as follows:

     1. Primarily it has been a medium of Instruction in the spiritual things of the Church, both of doctrine and practice, set forth in sermons, articles, and editorials. The teaching thus given necessarily carries with it an editorial endorsement, and may be said to have an authority equivalent to any priestly instruction from the pulpit or in the doctrinal class. The pages of the LIFE have been a great storehouse of valuable doctrinals, which we believe will be consulted more and more as time goes on, since they are the results of study in the sphere of the Word and the Writings, and in the light of experience.

     2. The LIFE has always afforded an opportunity for the exchange of opinion, thus for the Discussion of doctrinal and practical subjects, a use similar to that performed by the public assemblies of the Church. There should be increasing need for this as the Church grows and expands.

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     3. It has been the means of furnishing reformation as to the uses and persons of the Church, in reports of meetings, biographical and historical accounts, announcements, news notes, advertisements.

     4. As the Official Organ of the General Church the LIFE has been a record of the thought and works of this body, at all times voicing the Academy principles and the Academy spirit, proclaiming them to the world. Among our own members it has furnished a basis of communication of knowledge and sphere, a bond that has served to tie the scattered parts, to preserve a touch with the centre.

     The mere statement of these uses inspires conviction that the LIFE Should continue to perform them. And in our effort to maintain the eminent service hitherto rendered, and to promote a growth and expansion therein, we earnestly appeal for the cooperation of our readers everywhere, and invite contributions of every kind, whether in the form of sermons, articles, letters, or news items. The use of the magazine will be served best if the editor is furnished with an abundant supply of material, from which, according to his judgment, he may make a selection, acting with fairness and justice in preserving the balance between the wishes of contributors and the needs Of the use. In exercising this judgment he will have the benefit of close touch with the Bishop and Council's of the Church. He should have the benefit also of suggestion and advice from readers, of criticism looking toward that change and improvement without which no use can grow. If the LIFE is not ministering to your requirements, it is only fair that we should know why. The magazine will be largely what you help us to make it.
LIVING WORSHIP 1918

LIVING WORSHIP       Editor       1918

     In genuine worship of the Lord by men there is a soul and spirit from the life of love and charity. With those who are regenerating this life is interiorly present in their acts of external worship. It is present, but it may not be conjoined by active influx.

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A connecting link between the internal and the external is needed, which is provided by individual application, even by something of self-compulsion to diligent participation in the forms of the service allotted to the congregation.

     We know that the primary essential of preparation for sincere and living external worship is the state of regeneration itself, the state of spiritual faith and love which is worship of the Lord in spirit and in truth," and without which external worship is but a hypocritical form, superinduced from selfish ends or under compulsion. That the internal and external may be conjoined, other forms of preparation are necessary, both of mind and body, among which the most desirable is a deliberate turning of the thought and affection away from the things of the world to those of heaven and the Lord. The individual worshiper also is made ready for the service itself by his having a thorough knowledge of the liturgical offices, the selections for the day, the sacred songs, which are gathered around the central theme or subject of the service. He is prepared by familiarity with the series of acts constituting the religious drama wherein he is to play his part. This is our abundant excuse for congregational practices, and for the special training of the choir, that the whole congregation may react with readiness to the leading of the minister, All forms of preparation are justified by the resultant spontaneity,-the joy of heart and soul that is felt in congregational unity.

     But this realization, and the connection between preparation and performance, requires one thing more, namely, individual application on the part of the worshiper, whereby the states of internal worship actually are determined by influx into the acts of devotion. Humiliation of spirit then finds ultimation in the kneeling and prayer, earnestness of faith and acknowledgment in the responses and the creed, exaltation of affection in the singing, the longing for truth in the attentive listening to instruction. This calls for an alertness of mind and body which we believe to be essential to living worship. The forms of the service also provide far periods of rest, quiet, silence, meditation. Some may not be able to enter so actively into the exercises of worship. But the great majority in a congregation should be able to cultivate the readiness that is necessary to active participation.

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     It will be said that living worship is spontaneous, and springs from the heart and will without effort. This is true, and such worship will come when the New Church has been restored to celestial love, and when future generations, by training and inheritance, have derived a second nature and habit, thus a spontaneity in formal worship of the Lord. We cannot claim to have reached that state, nor to have advanced much beyond the cold and lifeless worship that is performed from a sense of duty, from the spectator attitude of passivity and its inertia. Neither can we expect a deliverance from this by any waiting for influx, waiting for the spirit to move us, while we make no conscious effort of our own. In this matter, as in all others, self-compulsion and voluntary effort is the way to future spontaneity and its delight. Bearing upon this, we have the following teaching in the Writings:

     "All internal efforts, which are of the will, thus which are of the love or affection, consequently which are of the life, have external acts or gestures corresponding to them, which acts or gestures flow from the very correspondence of exteriors with interiors. Holy fear, and thence humiliation, consequently adoration, has acts or gestures corresponding to itself, namely, the bending of the knees, and also the prostration of the body even to the earth. In that state, if the adoration be from genuine humiliation, or if the humiliation be from genuine holy fear, there is a failing of the spirits, and hence a falling down of the joints in the confine or intermediate where the spiritual is conjoined to the natural, thus where the knees are, since what is below them has correspondence with the natural, and what is above with the spiritual. Hence it is that the bending of the knees is a sign representative of adoration; with celestial men this act is spontaneous, but with the spiritual it is voluntary." (A. C. 5323.)

     With the merely natural man, we may add, worship is neither spontaneous nor voluntary, because performed under some external compelling influence, not from an internal spring of life and freedom, from a desire to worship the Lord. Given this internal of worship, from the state of regeneration, a voluntary effort toward ultimation in acts of devotion is the way to eventual spontaneity, and is not to be confused, with that compelled worship which is lifeless in itself, and of which we read:

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     "Compelled worship is corporeal, inanimate, obscure, and sad; corporeal, because it is of the body and not of the mind; inanimate, because there is no life in it; obscure, because the understanding is not in it; and sad, because the delight of heaven is not in it. But worship not compelled, when it is genuine, is spiritual, living, lucid, and glad; spiritual, because there is spirit from the Lord in it; living; because there is life from the Lord in it; lucid, because there is wisdom from, the Lord in it; and glad, because there is heaven from the Lord in it." (D. P. 137.)
NOTES AND REVIEWS 1918

NOTES AND REVIEWS              1918

     Thanks are due the Rev. W. H. Alden, Business Manager of NEW CHURCH LIFE, for editing the April and May numbers.


     We expect to publish before long a biographical account of the life and works of the Rev. Carl Theophilus Odhner, which is being prepared by the Rev. E. S. Price, who will be pleased to hear from anyone having letters, documents, or any information useful to this undertaking.


     The series of short sermons on The Commandments, from the pen of Rev. Alfred Acton, now being sent out so regularly by the Book Room, are filling a need, not only among our soldiers and our members at home, but also as missionary tracts. If it is not convenient to read these sermons as they arrive, we suggest that a number of them can be read at one sitting.


     The April number of the BULLETIN OF THE SONS OF THE ACADEMY teems with interesting information, and is especially rich in news and photographs of our soldiers. Under its capable editing and enterprising management the BULLETIN has occupied its chosen field in a manner that is amply attested by its popularity. We are pleased to state that we have established trade relations with our valued neighbor, on the basis of a mutual exchange of rejected manuscript, hoping by this plan to rescue some gems of literature from the oblivion of the editorial waste basket.

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     The following review of A Catechism on the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer, by Rev. C. Th. Odhner, recently published by the Academy Book Room, appears in THE NEW CHURCH REVIEW for April, 1918:

     "A Catechism is both useful and necessary, not only for parents and teachers of the young, but also as a reference and reminder for adults. This need has always been recognized in the New Church, the first effort of the sort appearing in England in 1790, soon after the organization of the General Conference. Many attempts in this line have been made since that time; but while, so far as we know, they have all been doctrinally correct, they have been equally bare, abstract, and uninteresting. Now comes this little work from the hands of Mr. Odhner; and we welcome it as a distinct step in advance. Instead of the familiar question and answer, the work presents in brief, pithy form the teaching of the Church on the Commandments and the Lord's Prayer, together with confirmations from the Word, and familiar and practical application to daily life." Examples are quoted, and the writer concludes, "Their value is unquestionable. We commend the work to all Newchurchmen, individuals no less than teachers and parents.-Paul Dresser. THE EDITOR.


     A writer in BOTE DER NEUEN KIR6HE, for May 1918, asks if the two thieves crucified with the Lord do not stand for the love of the world and the love of self. He thinks that the thief who mocked the Lord represents the love of the world, while the one who ascended into paradise represents the love of self. The love of the world, he considers, is blotted out in one who regenerates, but not so the love of self, which persists purified, and is that proprium which remains with the angels.

     The editor endorses this as a "good and practical expounding" of the passage. He suggests a further correlation with the sheep and goats who will be on the Lord's right and left. The two thieves, therefore, represent those who are in falses grounded in evil, and those who are in falses due to ignorance, but yet in the love of good.

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     The editor's latter suggestion is certainly not opposed to the doctrines, and therefore may be regarded as among the thousand or so spiritual ideas that one natural idea in the Word may contain. The writer's proposition is unusual, and should have been accompanied with references to show that such an interpretation is warranted by the Writings.

     A fuller exposition of the passage can be derived by making an analogy between Joseph in prison with the butler and baker, and the Lord on the cross with the saved and rejected thieves. The Arcana says that the butler who was restored to Pharaoh's favor represents scientifics of the intellectual part, whereas the baker, who was hanged, represents scientifics of the voluntary part.

     In A. E. 600 we read, "In Matthew 25:33, by the 'sheep on the right hand' are meant those who are in the good of charity towards the neighbor, and by the 'goats on the left' are meant those who are in faith separate from charity. . . . The like is meant by the two thieves, who were crucified, one on the right and the other on the left of the Lord. Wherefore, to the one who acknowledged the Lord it was said, that he 'would be with Him in paradise.'" So far as we are aware, this is the only explanation of their meaning given in the Writings.
     E. E. I.

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Communications 1918

Communications              1918

     Under this heading an opportunity is given for the discussion of various questions involving individual interpretation and application of Doctrine. Suitable articles and letters will be published, but the Editor takes no responsibility for the views expressed or statements made by contributors to this department.
TWO QUESTIONS 1918

TWO QUESTIONS       PATRIOT       1918

     Editor NEW CHURCH LIFE:
The stirring times, and our participation in them, have made us feel more at one with the nation than we have ever felt before. No doubt this is true of all, but peculiarly so of those New Church people who have grown up in the sphere of insistence upon the doctrine of the distinctiveness of the New Church. The feeling of oneness with many people in a great cause is a joy to me, a joy that does not in any sense militate against the love of the doctrine of distinctiveness. One of the latest plans for the cultivation of oneness in the nation is to have all the church bells toll at twelve o'clock, so that everybody may bow the head and pray for victory and the safety of dear ones. What do you think about this? Ought we to join in it?

     There is another question, that of Mother's Day. Does it not seem out of harmony with our highest ideals to separate the idea of mother from that of father? And yet Mother's Day is a sweet idea, and does get hold of one. How would it do for us to send our mothers a red carnation, as well as a white one, on that day, with the understanding that it is for birth? Would not that express our ideals better? PATRIOT.

     REPLY.

     The questions of our correspondent, as we interpret them, may be stated in this form:-1. It is a principle with us that the worship of the old church and the New cannot be together.

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Would the proposed prayer, offered by a Newchurchman, constitute a joining with members of the old church in worship? 2. According to our ideals of the conjugial union we honor our parents with equal veneration and love. Is the Mother's Day observance out of harmony with this?

     Since these questions involve problems as to the application of doctrine, in regard to which there may be difference of opinion and sentiment, we invite our readers to discuss them and will be glad to print suitable replies.-EDITOR.
CONDITIONAL ETERNITY OF OUR EARTH 1918

CONDITIONAL ETERNITY OF OUR EARTH       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1918

     The Christian Church, through its literalistic constructions of Scripture, and in particular by mistranslating the expression, "consummation of the age" into "the end of the world," has turned the succinct prediction of its own downfall as a spiritual agency in the regeneration of mankind into a vaticination about the destruction of our earth at some future Judgment Day.

     Newchurchmen know that the Christian Church, went awry in its failure to discern the spiritual purport of this prediction. They generally conclude, however, and quite illogically, that it was equally in error in entertaining a belief that this world might some day perish. Failure to discern a spiritual prophecy does not necessarily entail as a corollary that the natural doctrine taken as its substitute must be inevitably false and untenable.

     There is no reason; why it should be made a primary article of the faith of Newchurchmen that this or any other planet in the universe would have to endure to eternity. Their permanence depends on their spiritual behavior. If this or any other planet becomes unfruitful, like a tree which "cumbereth the ground," as if it should lapse in its use as a seminary to the heavens, it will of necessity come to its end in the economy of the Divine Order.

     If the entire human race in any world voluntarily withdrew from the protective sphere of the Lord's Divine Human, it would be plunged into internecine madness, and become exterminated.

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Its prior heavens would then be removed to another planet to rest on the inhabitants there as their basis, and the vacant globe presumably would disintegrate, to be absorbed into some other planetary vortex, to follow the reasoning of the Lesser Principia; Section 64. Note the pith of the following:

     "A certain one [brought]...into an order similar to that in which he would have been had he not been protected by the Lord and led by the angels, began then to rave almost like a madman, with a sword in his hand, thrusting, and thus frightfully raging. Some others who were in his company did the like. These, after their fits of rage, lay down as if dead, and when they were again resuscitated they raged as before. By this it was shown what would have been the state of affairs if the Lord were not protecting them all through His Divine Human." (S. D. 4829)

     "There is such a connection of the angelic heaven with the human race that each depends on the other. The angelic heaven without the human race is like a house without a foundation. (cf. S. D. 5092)...It may indeed happen that the human race on one earth should perish, which occurs when it utterly separates itself from the Divine...for man without the influx of heaven, thus bereft of Divine guidance would be insane, and rush without check into all sorts of nefarious deeds, one man against another. But although the human race on account of separation from the Divine, might perish on one earth, albeit the Lord provides to prevent this from happening, it would still persist on others; for there are earths in the universe to the number of several hundred thousand."

     Providence indeed operates to prevent the self-immolation of the human race on any planet as the consequence of a separation from the Divine; just as it operates to prevent men from rushing into profanation. But if man do nevertheless succeed in plunging into profanation, it is possible likewise for the beings on one planet voluntarily to accomplish their own extermination.

     We may thus see that even the prophecy about the spiritual downfall of the Christian Church secondarily and more remotely involves the possibility of a destruction of the world. Even now, if all non-Christian races should merge themselves with Christians, and if Newchurchmen everywhere refused to believe in the consummation of Christianity, and as a consequence became partakers of its sins of will and thought, such a universal holocaust would not be remote.

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     With this viewpoint well in mind, we may now examine a passage, A. C. 931, that has heretofore baffled the thought of the New Church, but with some hope of understanding it. This passage overtly teaches that "the world will not endure to eternity but that it also will have its end." It has heretofore baffled us because we have been looking for some explanation that would show it not to disagree with the tacit assumption that the pennence to eternity of our earth is a cardinal point of our faith. Some have urged that by "world" here, Swedenborg means the Christian Church, and one writer has suggested that Swedenborg was stating this not as his view but as the opinion of Christians. Neither suggestion, however, is in palpable agreement with the entire context, which I shall presently cite.

     The entire passage, I hold, clearly teaches, that when there is no Church on earth, there is no communication of man with heaven, with the inevitable result that the human race there becomes extinct. Viewed as the third step in this series it is perfectly true that then "the world will not endure to eternity, but that it also will have its end."

     "That 'still in all the days of the earth' [Gen. 8:22], signify all time, is evident from the signification of 'day' as being time, see nos. 23, 487, 488, 493; wherefore here 'days of the earth' is all time, so long as there is an earth or an inhabitant upon the world. There first ceases to be an inhabitant upon the earth, when there is no longer any church; for when there is no church, there is no longer any communication of man with heaven, upon the cessation of which every inhabitant perishes. For the church, as was said before, is as the heart and lungs in man. So long as the heart and lungs are whole, so long does the man live. In like manner the church with respect to the Gorand Man, which is the universal heaven. Wherefore it is here said, 'in all the days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease.' Hence it may also be manifest that the world [tellus] will not endure to eternity, but that it also will have its end, for it is said, 'in all the days of the earth,' that is, so long as there is an earth [terra]." (A. C. 931.)

     The significantly adjoined phrase,-"it also will have its end," obviously refers back to something else as having previously had its end. The world will also have its end if the Church has had its end, and if the consummation has spread to such a point that all communication between heaven and the entire human race has come to its end.

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     The reasons this passage has proved baffling are two-fold:

     1. The dictum about the non-endurance of the world has actually been, thought of apart from its context and not seen to be merely conditional upon a prior extinction of all communication between heaven and earth. 2. There has been a tacit assumption that our world would necessarily endure to eternity, regardless of spiritual conditions in it, and its use to the Gorand Man.

     If we make an ironclad dogma out of a natural circumstance that is conditionally dependent on spiritual principles far its permanence, we do what the Catholics do with their Church organization, which they insist will be to eternity that Church which the Lord said was built "upon a rock" and against which the "gates of hell shall not prevail," and this quite apart from any spiritual causes that might be gnawing at its vitals. If natural things do not subsist in an orderly way on spiritual ones, they will have no perpetual existence. "Heaven and earth may pass away, but my word shall not pass away."

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PITTSBURGH DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1918

PITTSBURGH DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       HOMER SYNNESTVEDT       1918

     APRIL 26TH TO 29TH, 1918.

     Once more it has been brought to our full realization that: the quality of our delights, even in an external social way, depends upon the feeding first of the master degree of the spiritual mind. The anxieties of this terrible war, as well as other natural trials, have not been unconnected with states of spiritual oppression, and so the coming of our Bishop, with the sphere of his blessed office, was a great refreshment to us all. And this effect was augmented by the presence of the Rev. Karl Alden and the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, with their youthful zeal and optimism, and later of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, who stopped in passing to attend our closing banquet. Upon this occasion, also, the Rev. Wm. R. Stockton, and a number of other friends from the North Side Society, were present, adding the needful element of "company." Dr. Bradbury Hanlin paid us a very much appreciated visit, as also Mrs. Sharp, of Salem, Ohio, and Mrs. Ritchie and her daughter, from Blairsville, Pa. Mr. and Mrs. Harrold, of Leetonia, Ohio spent Sunday with us. We feel that all who came were so richly rewarded that they will surely come again, bringing others with them. Holding the meetings at the end of April gave us the advantage of much better weather than we had last year, when we met early in March.

     The New Church has been as keenly awake as any in this country to the gravity of the issues involved in the war, and it has given double, in that it gave freely and quickly of its young manhood, as well as all else that it has given in spirit and in act. The news of the death in action of our first martyr, Roy Wells, was a sort of signing and seal of this state, and we were all prepared to hear the solemn and glorious truths of the Church as never before. There is hardly a family but has, or expects to have, some member in the service before it is over.

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We cherish no illusions as to the mighty task in which we are engaged, and are all prepared to endure increasing burdens.

     On Friday evening, April 26th, we listened to the Bishop's address, dealing with the great problem of balancing between the powers of government, as representing the Law itself, or the Divine Truth, and the reactive element involved in our term, "Democracy," or the right of the consent of the governed. He showed that both of these elements must be recognized, if there is to be any real freedom, and eventually any progress in regeneration. Although only fifty odd were present on this occasion there was a very warm sphere, and it was evident from the start that the white cloud of the unseen host of "them that be with us" would not be lacking.

     A Stag Luncheon was held downtown on Saturday, attended by about twenty-five. The Bishop here gave us a long talk on the efficacy of daily reading of the Writings, as a means not only of keeping open our own channel of intercourse with the heavens, but also of fulfilling our obligation to the church in the other world, to the church upon earth, thus to the whole race. Wherever men keep open the channel of direct communication through the Word, there is the centre of freedom and of spiritual light and power.

     The same evening a gathering was held at the Church, including many of the children, and we greatly enjoyed the views of Bryn Athyn shown by Mr. Karl Alden, the moving pictures affording us a glimpse of many of our soldiers before they left, and also some scenes of the Advent Church, Philadelphia, and of street lectures in that city. Afterwards we listened with heightened interest to Mr. Alden's paper on "Evangelization."

     The climax of the Assembly came on Sunday. The Bishop's sermon in the morning, so full of the spirit of Christian charity, was a delight. It was notable also for the way in which the text in Jeremiah xvii:13. "They that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord," was made to illuminate the passage in Luke x:20, where the Lord, saying nothing, wrote in the earth, until the Pharisees, who had accused the woman, slunk away ashamed. The Holy Supper was celebrated in the afternoon.

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     The Banquet pas held on Monday evening, that we might sum up, contain, and express upon a more ultimate plane, all that had gone before. And surely it was due to the feeding of the higher planes first, that our enjoyment was so full. The menu, prepared by two of the gentlemen, was not elaborate, but most certainly it was good. The program was in charge of the Philosophy Club, Mr. Herman Lechner being the inspired and inspiring toastmaster. Mr. Alden, (who, by the way, visited the school, and quite won the hearts of the pupils), received much praise for the clearness and cogency of his remarks upon the need for each one to put forward to others that phase of the Church which to him means most. In evangelizing no set way can be prescribed, but each should offer of his best. Rev. Walter Brickman read several passages from the Writings that were so apt to the problems of the war, that he quite succeeded in his purpose of inspiring the remaining speeches, which greatly strengthened the hearts of the mothers, and of others present whose loved ones have gone into this glorious but hazardous service.

     We feel well content now to go forward in the great tasks, in which it is our great privilege to serve our Lord, as to both the spiritual and natural warfare against the enemy both within and without us. HOMER SYNNESTVEDT.
FROM THE IMMANUEL CHURCH, GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS 1918

FROM THE IMMANUEL CHURCH, GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS              1918

     CHANGE IN THE PASTORATE.

     On April 30th, the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, who has been called to Bryn Athyn to undertake a portion of the work performed by the late Rev. C. T. Odhner, terminated nine years of faithful service as pastor of the Immanuel Church. On Sunday morning, April 28th, he preached for the last time as pastor of this society to a large congregation, every member of which realized to the full the great ability of the preacher as exponent of the Word of God in the light of the Heavenly Doctrines.

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     On the preceding Friday evening the usual supper was turned into a banquet, at which toasts were offered and speeches made dealing with the departure of Mr. Caldwell to his new sphere of work for the New Church. Mr. Sydney E. Lee presided as toastmaster, and invited all who so desired to take part in the proceedings.

     Mr. H. L. Burnham spoke of the work accomplished during Mr. Caldwell's pastorate; mentioning, among other things, the changes made in the by-laws of the society, and the large and important part taken by the pastor in connection with the erection of the beautiful buildings now occupied by the church. He also referred to the advance made in the ritual, and stated his belief that the society had been specially favored by the interior spiritual quality of the pastor's sermons.

     Mr. Seymour C. Nelson dealt with the work that would be done for the Church by Mr. Caldwell as teacher of theology and religion in the Academy schools, and as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, whose readers constitute a larger congregation, thus a wider field for a teacher of the Doctrines.

     Mr. Alvin E. Nelson, in a few well chosen words, on behalf of the society, presented Mr. Caldwell with a gold watch, as a token of appreciation of his work as pastor of the Immanuel Church. An inscription engraved inside the watch contained a reference to a number in the Writings, which Mr. Nelson read, as follows: "The church is our neighbor more than our country; for he who consults for the welfare of the church provides for the souls, and for the eternal life, of those who dwell in his country. He, therefore, who, from love, provides for the church, loves the neighbor in a superior degree; for he wishes and earnestly desires that heaven, and the happiness of eternal life, may be the portion of others." (N. J. H. D. 94.)

     Mr. Caldwell responded very feelingly, expressing his great appreciation of the beautiful gift and the spirit manifested in its presentation. He referred to the external signs of advancement in our uses, which we all trust are indications of internal growth, and remarked that he would always feel a keen interest in the welfare of the Immanuel Church, and believed it would continue to make spiritual progress in the future, as it had done since its formation.

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     Miss Elise Junge, on behalf of the Ladies' Guild, then presented Mrs. Caldwell with a handsome silver bread dish, remarking that the words inscribed thereon would tell of their affection for their pastor's wife far better than any speech she could make.

     Mr. McQueen then referred to Mrs. Caldwell as an ideal pastor's wife, for the simple reason that she had been content to be just the pastor's wife,-not his lieutenant. She had not been under the impression that it was the duty of the minister's wife to claim some official position in the church.

     After a few words of appreciation by Dr. George Starkey, Mr. Alec. McQueen read letters from some members now in the army, expressing sentiments regarding Mr. Caldwell's work, of the same character as those brought out by previous speakers.

     The speeches were interspersed with toasts and singing, and the meeting came to an end after all had marched abound the hall waving flags and singing favorite church and national songs.

     On Friday, May 3rd, the society was visited by Bishop N. D. Pendleton, who presided over a meeting called to consider the choice of a new pastor. A number of names of ministers were placed before the meeting by the Bishop, and a unanimous decision was reached to invite the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith to become pastor of the society. The Bishop said he would confer with Mr. Smith and report to the Secretary. The outcome was that Mr. Smith accepted the call, and has made arrangements to take up his work on May 10th.

     On Sunday morning, May 5th, Bishop Pendleton preached at the morning service and administered the Holy Supper. The presence of the Bishop at this important juncture in the life of the Immanuel Church was greatly appreciated, and the beneficial influence of his words of wisdom undoubtedly was felt by every member.

     On Friday, May 10th, the Rev. Gilbert Smith entered into his use as our pastor, presiding at the weekly supper, and afterwards conducting the regular doctrinal class. G. A. MCQUEEN.

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     LECTURE ON THE BRYN ATHYN CHURCH.

     BRYN ATHYN.-On Saturday, May 11th, we were favored with another lecture in the series by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn on the building of the new church. It was devoted to the explanation of the latest developments in the plans for the Tower, to the work of the carvers in wood and stone, to the experiments in the production of 16th century Grisaille windows, and to the metal work. Mr. Pitcairn, who by his studies has mastered a thorough knowledge of the Gothic architecture at the height of its development, illustrated his remarks by a series of 75 lantern slides, prepared by Mr. D. F. Rose. All present were deeply impressed by the high standard of artistic beauty which has been attained in all branches of the work as a result of patient and persevering effort.

     The Tower, which at the outset was planned after the model of that to be found on St. Cuthbert's Church, Wells, England, and which as first designed was in many respects inferior to it, has undergone a gradual change as a result of which it promises to surpass the model for beauty and architectural interest. The buttresses have been deepened, the windows of the belfry improved, balconies have been added, and a more original style of pinnacles adopted. There are number of refinements which have been decided upon, chief among which is the narrowing of the tower at the top, in such a way as to break the stiff lines which result from absolute perpendicularity. As a result, the tops of the pinnacles will be some two feet eight inches closer together than would be the case were the walls perfectly straight. This slight narrowing is not noticeable in itself, but adds maternally to the grace and beauty of the tower.

     For the carving work, both in stone and wood, Mr. Pitcairn has obtained the services of very able artists, whose work has a distinctiveness and originality that is delightful. Mr. Angella Lualdi, of New York, a sculptor of considerable reputation and popularity, is undertaking much of the stone carving, while Mr. Young, a craftsman of unquestioned abilities, has already done very remarkable work in wood for the Chancel furniture.

     Messrs. Winfred Hyatt and Rowley Murphy, who are developing the work on the stained glass windows, have been devoting their efforts to the reproduction, with individual variations, of the grisaille, taking as their model samples of the windows to be found in the Chartres Cathedral, which contains, beyond doubt, the finest examples of this work in the world. A small piece of this 16th century glass was displayed for all to admire. Mr. Sairite, of Jenkintown, is also doing this part of the work; independently of the others, and has produced some very beautiful windows. Finding the glass to be obtained on the general market not of a quality which lends itself to the production of the best results, Mr. Pitcairn is having all the glass to be used in the church specially manufactured in New York, under his own supervision.

     Perhaps one of the most artistic branches of the work is to be found in the metal screens, door-nails, and hinges that are to be used.

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Nothing but monel-metal is employed, an alloy which will not corrode. Countless refinements have been introduced, and the greatest pains has been taken to produce designs of genuine artistic value. Mr. Edwards, who has been in charge of this work, is now in the service of the government, in connection with the manufacture of airplanes, and as a consequence certain parts of it have been postponed. The production of the hinges, the screens and the nail-heads, however, has gone forward under the hands of other able craftsmen, and has undergone a most interesting development from what was relatively crude to designs of striking beauty.

     Besides the lantern slides, samples of carving, glass, and metal work were displayed, the stages of progress to the latest degree of perfection being thus illustrated at first hand with telling effect. No one present could fail to be convinced of the efficiency with which the construction, in all its departments, has been conducted, and to rejoice that so beautiful a church is to be dedicated to the worship of the Lord in His Second Advent. G. DE C.

     BRYN ATHYN CHAPTER OF THE RED CROSS.

     The Bryn Athyn Chapter of the Red Cross has not made any report of its work since last January. This, however, is by no means an indication that it has been idle. Since our last report, 3,280 surgical dressings have been made, 1,600 of these being gauze wipes, 1,060 compresses, and 370 absorbent pads. Besides these there have been made 5 abdominal bandages, 10 four-tailed bandages, 5 many-tailed bandages, 25 slings, 40 gauze sponges, 5 T-bandages, 30 scultetus bandages, 35 yard rolls, 20 oakum pads, and 80 paper-backed pads. The time required to make these pieces is well known to all those who have participated in the Red Cross work.

     Of the larger pieces, requiring even more time there have been made 604 "front" packets, each of which represents 5 hours' work, 35 pneumonia jackets, 50 pairs of pajamas, 40 hospital shirts, 30 pieces of underwear, 15 bath gowns, 10 comfort kits for the Serbians, 21 property bags, and 25 comfort kits.

     We have from 350 to 400 members in our Chapter, but many of these are men and boys, as well as young children and babies. In fact, nearly every one in Bryn Athyn, whether able to do actual work or not, has become a member of the organization, to help in some way to support this most important use. Of the regular workers, there are from 2 to 30 present at the meetings. A few of these attend nearly every time. Recently there was a special "drive," during which meetings were held every afternoon and evening. Many members attended these meetings who seldom or never came before.

     Besides the work of the Red Cross there is that of the War Service Committee, to which almost all of the ladies contribute more or less of their time, in an effort to provide knitted goods for our boys. This committee has received over 200 pairs of socks since January, between 40 and 50 pairs coming from Pittsburgh, and the remainder from Bryn Athyn. But this does not begin to represent the amount of knitting that has been done, as there are many who send their work directly to their husbands, brothers, sons, sweethearts, and friends. This body is able to do more independent work, as it is supported by private contributions. Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn has donated 120 lbs. of wool since January, amounting in cost to $420.00. All but 10 lbs. Of this has been used for socks. While it is not my purpose to report the activities of the Academy War Service Committee, I take the liberty of saying this much, to explain why more do not directly undertake the Red Cross work, and to point out that they are nevertheless working for the soldiers.

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It is a fact, however, that much of the work falls upon a certain few, and they might be relieved of the terrific strain if all would make an effort to take an active part in the work of the Red Cross.
     F. DE CHARMS,
          Secretary.

     CHICAGO, ILL.-The Swedenborg New Church Society is "still there." It has held its own since the last report appeared in the LIFE, and feels as if the principles which make the Church are better understood now than they were a year ago. Mr. Headsten conducts two services every Sunday; at Englewood in the forenoon, and on the North Side in the afternoon. The reading circle meets every week regularly, and once a month it is in Swedish. In this circle we have gone through several of the Writings, and are now studying the True Christian Religion. Mr. Headsten also preaches in Swedish now and then.

     The Society has had several happy events, notably the Bishop's visit and preaching on the afternoon of October 21st last. After the service, which was held at the Lincoln Music College Hall, the ladies served refreshments, and, with a goodly number of visitors present, the evening was spent in a most enjoyable manner, with informal speech-making. The following day the Bishop continued the precedent established by our beloved Bishop Emeritus, W. F. Pendleton, by joining with the other ministers and their wives in taking dinner with the pastor and his wife. Those present were: Rev. and Mrs. W. B. Caldwell, Revs. G. H. Smith, D. H. Klein, W. L. Gladish, and Theodore Pitcairn.

     In addition, the Society has had several social gatherings, but the main festivities of the year are on Swedenborg's Birthday and June 19th. Last year, however, we joined with Immanuel Church at Glenview in celebrating the Nineteenth on June 17th. In conjunction with our Sunday service we hold a monthly supper, the evening being spent socially, and let this be said, that on these occasions the Social Song Book is a first class help.

     On the 8th of May last, at the invitation of Sharon Church, we joined them in a supper and social at their house of worship. The event was most happy; for a sphere of charity seemed to animate the whole gathering. Mr. Headsten was toastmaster, and speeches were made by Messrs. D. H. Klein, Alfred Holm, John Pollock, Birger Holm, and others, on the general topic of Patriotism and the Church.

     Mr. Headsten spends the months of July and August, and sometimes a longer period, in the missionary field. This work is optional with him, and consequently he depends for its support upon what he can collect. Last Summer he visited Minnesota and Wisconsin twice, going north almost to Lake Superior. In Michigan he visited the upper peninsula, where his boyhood home is situated. In April of this year he again made this trip, and preached twice. On these journeys he makes an effort to meet all who are interested, and to reach others, if possible, with the gospel of the Lord's Divine Wisdom and Divine Love. J. H.

     PITTSBURGH.-The winter season here has been a busy one, in spite of a few interruptions due to severe weather and shortage of fuel. Not the least among our activities has been the work of our school, which now carries an enrollment of 25, in seven grades, with two regular teachers. The work, under the able direction of Miss Celia Bellinger, has been exceptionally consistent and thorough as well as inspiring, and results are showing accordingly.

389


This work is the center of our hopes for the future, whereby we aim to cooperate with the Lord in establishing His New Church, both in doctrine and in life.

     Closely allied with this work is our Sunday School, with an enrollment of over thirty, which is attended regularly by a number of children not yet baptized. It is chiefly through this agency at present that we reach out with the hope of bringing in new material. We are especially fortunate in having the active services of the Rev. Walter Brickman, who has a great love for this work, and this affection seems to be heartily reciprocated by the children. Miss Amy Doering is organist, and teacher of the younger classes.

     For those who have gone through our school, and are not yet old enough to go to Bryn Athyn, there is maintained a Sunday evening doctrinal class, which, however, must give place on alternate weeks to a class for adults, reading from Conjugial Love. The latter class has proved so successful that it has taken the place, for the present, of the Wednesday doctrinal class.

     The Ladies' Monthly Meetings have been very well attended, and the presence of the active minds of several newcomers has added materially to the interest. It is only in the social life of our young folks that we feel a lack, for the very weighty reason that we have hardly any young folks left. With over a dozen at Bryn Athyn, and several gone to war, we must makeshift as best we can. Nevertheless, we have not lacked for entertainment of a less formal character. The good old Philosophy Club is in full swing, meeting at the different homes twice a month. And there is a card club alternating with this.

     The Theta Alpha Chapter also reports very well attended meetings, and active support of the school and the War Service Committee. In Red Cross Work our ladies have done their full share, though at first we lacked the numbers needed to make a unit of our own. But still they all come together on Sunday afternoons to knit and plan, especially for the boys personally known to us.

     There have been occasional parties, too, each of which has made up in zest and keen enjoyment for the lack of frequency. Taking advantage of the occasional visits of some of our soldiers, we also had three dances. Perhaps it was because our conscience was not quite at ease over such extravagantly fine music, that we enjoyed these so much. Such is the psychology of the natural man. H. S.

     FROM OUR CONTEMPORARIES.

     UNITED STATES.-Owing to war conditions the session of the General Convention, which had been announced to be held in Detroit, June 8-11, will be omitted. The reason for this action, briefly stated, was a desire to cooperate with the Government in its request for curtailment of railroad travel. In the emergency, however, the General Council will meet to transact all necessary business of the Convention.-N. C. MESSENGER.

     The Rev. Samuel Worcester, who made Portland, Oregon, his home for three years past, died on April 19, at the age of 71 years. He was well and favorably known to many in Portland, Ore., Los Angeles, and Portland, Maine, where he held pastorates aggregating 25 years. Physician, lecturer, and clergyman, previous to his ministerial work Dr. Worcester was widely known in homoeopathic circles, beginning his medical career as a cadet in the United States Army hospital in Baltimore in, 1865. He was a member of the Worcester family of New England, which "has supplied ministers for the New Church since its inception in the United States over 100 years ago, Rev. Samuel Worcester being third in direct line."-N. C. MESSENGER.

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Program of June Council Meeting in Bryn Athyn 1918

Program of June Council Meeting in Bryn Athyn              1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.




     NOTICE.

Thursday 20. Consistory, 10:30 a. m.
Friday 21. Council of the Clergy, 10:30 a. m. and 3 p. m.
Saturday 22.Council of the Clergy, 10 a m. Executive Committee, 9 a. m. Joint Council, 3 p. m.
Sunday 23. Service, 11 a. m.
Public Meeting, 8 p. m. Annual Address by Rev. R. W. Brown, on "The Two Foundations of Truth."     
Monday 24. Council of the Clergy, 10 a. m. and 3 p. m.
Tuesday 25. Council of the Clergy, 10 a. m. and 3 p. m.

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ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE       CLARA DAVIS       1918

     News Notes.

     A number of our American soldiers recently have left for France. They are Lieut. Randolph Childs, Corp. Frank Doering, Corp. Frank Grant, Thomas Schriver, Aldwin Smith, Harold Sellner, Edwin and Griffith Asplundh, Llewellyn Price, Fred Bellinger, Francis Frost and Francis Roy.

     Sapper Harry Hilldale is in a hospital in England, on account of serious trouble with his eyes.

     Kenneth Hicks has been in Bryn Athyn on sick leave, but has now returned to Canada, and is in a hospital there.

     A letter from Roy Stamps tells us that he has received the communications of the Committee. He says, "Conditions are very much improved far me since the last two years or so. From the very lowest extremity that I think it is possible for men to be in, to what seems a little short of heaven, is such a step, that one naturally does not get used to the difference all at once; but now I seem to have all that I need and even more, with the very evident exception, of course, of the very thing I want most in life at the present time-Home. Unfortunately that is just what even you, with all your great kindness, cannot give me, and I have to make the best of my circumstances, and trust to the future. It is one of my saddest thoughts that the only two real friends I ever made in Germany are lost to me. I know nothing of them since 1916, and I would give worlds t6 be able to reclaim them. I put in my application, and it was thrown out, for the very important reason that I could not give the date of their birth certificates, or some other grave points, I suppose, although I was able to give their names and regiments correctly. It seems hard that I am unable to give any information on a subject that is very near, my heart. I feel terribly for my old companions in misery, and wish that I could do something, however small, to help them. But I feel sure that you have the means of finding fire names of any or as many as you could help, and you may take me as authority on the matter,-that any man you find on the P. O. W. list is quite eligible for any help and comfort that you may be able to send him."

     Boy tells us further that if we would really like to render him a service, we will send the things we have for him to some poor fellow who is unfortunate enough to be in the position he has just left.

     Harold Pitcairn has been ordered to report at Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas.

     The Committee acknowledges two most interesting letters received from Philip and Norman Motum.

     Hubert Synnestvedt has been transferred to postal clerk work. CLARA DAVIS.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F.
ANSHUTZ, LIEUT. E. R., New York Coast Artillery, Fort du Pont, Delaware.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, B. E. F, France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56th Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.

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ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. H. M. S. "Nerissa," Torpedo Boat Destroyer, c/o General P. O., London, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engrs., 28th Div., U. S. A., American E. F.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, American E. F.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st New Hampshire Inf., American E. F.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Tex.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTIFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn. 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks N-48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. R. F. C. 226 Dunn Ave., Toronto, Can.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, A Battery, Canadian Reserve Artillery, Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, England.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, B. E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver. Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, E. J., Denver, Col. Co. 59, 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. 28th Service Co., U. S. Signal Corps, Carnegie Institute of Tech., Pittsburgh, Pa.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, Co. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E. F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. Train Headquarters, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, CORP. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, 3rd Instruction Center, American E. F.
BURNHAM, LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., TR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
CHILDS, 1ST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Supply Co., 109th Inf., 28th Division, American E. F.
CHILDS, SYDNEY B., New York, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. R. F. C. Cox & Co., Charing Cross, London, S. W., Eng.
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. Co. B, 2nd Anti-Air Craft Machine Gun Batt., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2D LIEUT., R. T., Baltimore, Md. Co. M, 114th Infantry, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PVT. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. 56, Marine Barracks, Paris Island, S. C.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co. C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals. Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. School for Radio Mechanics, Goodwin Hall, College Station, Texas.

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DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. R. C. c/o Director of Construction and Forestry, U. S. A. P. O. 717. American E. F.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 82nd Hut, H Division, Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epson, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., American E. F.
DOERING, 2D LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks B, Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.
ELPHICK, A. B. FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. H. M. R. N. Wireless Station, Culver Cliff near Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 5462461 R. A. M.C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F, France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Butt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240, R. F. C., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Ont., Can.
FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E. Mess. Morda Camp, Conway, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, 3e Batterie de rog long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, FRANcIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Q. M. C. N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, American E.F. 1917.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, Eng land. L. Z. 3624, Lewis Gun Section, D Co., Anson Battalion, R. N. D., B. E. F., France.
*GILL, LIEUT. W. REY, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.
GLADISH, CADET DAVID F., Franklin Park. Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn. Pa. U. S. School of Military Aeronautics, University of Princeton, N. J., Class of June 15th.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630. 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929, C. A. M. C., Seaford Camp, England, c/o Army P. O., London.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., American E. F.
Grant, FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 309, Camp Mc Clellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EMERY, Arbutus, Md. 3d Training Co., 305th Engineers, Camp Lee, Va.
HART, LANCE-CORP. D. E. Ramsey, Highbarrow Rd., Addiscombe, Croyden, England.
HEADSTEN, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. Supply Co. 3rd Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.

395



HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Allied Officers' Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa.
HICKS, CADET KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, R.F. C., Longwood Convalescent Homes, North Toronto.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 49041 1st Canadian Reserve Park, C. A. S. C., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2996629, A. Co., C. E., T. D., Seaford, Sussex, England.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C. British Conv. Depot, No. 4 Co., (Band Quarters), Trimulgherry, Deccan, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie IV. Prisonnierde guerre. au Camp de Hameln,
Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F.Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, 15th Platoon, 4 Co., 13th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D. 313th Machine Gun Batt., American E. F.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F, 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 21st ambulance Co., Fort Riley, Kans.
KING, ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill., 268th Aero Squadron, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. 258676.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 751077, 47th Canadians. B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241, 64th Battery, Draft, Witley Camp. England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn. Canadians, B. E. F., France, c/o Army P. O., England.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. and Class Petty Officer, League Island,1606 N. 16th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Training Depot, St. John's, Quebec, Can.
LOOMIS, W. A., Co. A., Military Police Train Headquarters, Div. 851 Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien an 237e Territorial 9 l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M. 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
MORRIS, I/A. M. EDW. B., London, England. 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England, 301276, 1/5th L. R. B., Transport Section, B. E. F., France.

396



MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. I39571 4th Otage Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay. Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 4, B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER, 2ND LEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, CAPT. MADEFREY Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf., S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. 24, 6th Batt. Medical Officers' Training Camp, Camp Greenleaf, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
*PEMBERTON, GUY CHRISTOPHER, Durban, Natal, S. A. Killed at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 63rd Inf., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 3, A. P. 0., 708, American E. F.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. 1, A. P. O., 714, American E. F.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Co. B, 332nd Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., American E. F.
PIBERES, SERGT. MARIUS, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., Co. D, Camp Greene, Charlotte, N. C.
PITCAIRN, HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas.
PRICE, LLEWULYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Engrs., American E. F.
PRICE, RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Battery, F. A., 3rd R. O. T. C., Camp Stanley, Leon Springs, Texas.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. Barracks 31, Naval Training Camp, Pelham Bay, New York City, N. Y.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
PROSE, LEON, London, England. Royal W. Surrey Regt. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29th, 1916.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C.,
Cavite, P. I.
ROSENQVIST, FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt. Signal Corps, Camp Lee, Petersburg, Va.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., American E. F.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. 228985, 772 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont., Can.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., American E. F.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H., F. A. U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American E. F.

397



SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Santee, c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. A, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, American E. F.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, Naval Academy, Rifle Range, Annapolis, Md.
SMITH, PVT. HOBERT G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 314th Regt., Camp Meade. Md.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., Camp Meade; Md.
SNYDER, WILMER E. 148th Field Hospital, Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 32nd Balloon Co., Post Field, Fort Sill, Okla.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Soldat anglais interne a Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Suisse. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, FRED. E., Kitchener, Canada. 751124, and Canadian Pioneers, C. E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa. Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Postal Detachment Box Z, Aviation Section, Kelly Field No. 1, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 1131 Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. 0. 705. American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co, M, 131st Inf., Camp Logan, Houston, Texas.
TYRRELL, SERCT. HUBERT T., Bourbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Camp Jarvis, Talliaferro Field I, Fort Worth, Texas.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. A. A. S. Section 529, Battalion 6, Camp Crane, Allentown, Pa.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Depot, Shorncliffe, Kent, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, 3/A. M. Headquarters, Cadet Brigade, Royal Air Force; Royal Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, England.
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G.. London, England. 536534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A.? R. A. M. C. T.. B. E. F.
*WATERS, REGINALD, London, England. Senior Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
WELLS, CORP. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F.
*WELLS, PVT. ROY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, 11th R. R. Engr. Died April 12th of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

398



WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q, 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. Co., and M. M. Regt. S. American E. F.

     ADDITIONAL.

ASHLEY, CHARLIE, Colchester, England, 142538, 3 A. M., R. A. F., No. 3 Flight, T Section, Hut 30, A Lines, Halton Camp, West, Buckinghamshire, England.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD E., U. S. Naval Reserve.
SMITH, WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Fort Slocum, W. Y.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet, whose business address is Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, one-half block from the Madeleine. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Pedkham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.



399


EVANGELIZATION 1918

EVANGELIZATION       Rev. K. R. ALDEN       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII JULY, 1918           No. 7
     (Delivered at the Bryn Athyn Local Assembly.)

     The growth of the New Church has ever been the problem of the hour with us. For many years our leading men have studied it. Many plans for the accomplishment of this growth have been tried, and all have met with some degree of success; but the greatest plan yet found for increasing the Church is New Church education. I consider this a proved point,-an established fact.

     Because of the success of New Church education, we have this condition to deal with in regard to the present personnel of the General Church, that many of the members are in the second and third generation of the New Church. They are New Church because of heredity and education. This involves a peculiar psychological fact. These persons have never had the wonderful experience of "coming into the New Church." They have not quite the same zeal as the convert. The danger is, that while they will never leave the Church, they may never become "active" Newchurchmen. It is simply impossible for the son to be stirred to the same depths of enthusiasm as the father over the same problems which the father fought out and solved.

     The keynote of "activity" is to have a new problem to solve. I believe that today the second and third generation in the Church feel the great need for such a problem. Anything, therefore, which furnishes a new field of activity, anything which promises to add new stones and mortar to the permanent growth of the Church, will be of inestimable value to the internal structure of the Church itself.

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     The activity involved in personal regeneration by means of applying the truths of the Church to our daily lives, and there shunning evils as sins against God, will not in itself be enough to insure permanence to the Church growth. The personal growth is an absolute necessity, but there must also be the goal for which we are striving. For this reason anything which offers a new objective source of inspiration will be of permanent value to the Church.

     The two-fold obligation of the ministry is, (1) to provide for internal growth by leading the Church ever more deeply into the truths of religion, and (2) to provide an objective source of inspiration which will prevent the Church from becoming self-centered. It is to the latter subject that I would address myself.

     Evangelization furnishes one of many objective sources of inspiration. It is powerful because there is a close union between it and the internal growth and activity of a society. The work of Evangelization may be defined as "the spreading of the Gospel of the New Church to human beings who formerly had not possessed it." This includes two things. First, spreading the Gospel to our own children through the great work of New Church education. Second, spreading the Gospel to both children and adults in the outside world. I will confine my remarks to this subject of spreading the Gospel of the New Church to the outside world, both to adults and to children.

     The first essential to evangelistic success is the conviction that the promises of the Lord to the effect that the Gospel of the New Church will be received universally are literally true, and that there is no reason why we in this generation should not live to see at least the beginning of this great conversion to the New Church.

401




     Without this conviction success will be impossible. Without this conviction there will not be any reserve energy and enthusiasm to carry the workers through that period of discouragement, which in reality is sent us only to prove and test our strength, and to ascertain whether we are worthy instruments to aid in the accomplishment of this great work. In Isaiah xi:9 we read that "the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." It must be our conviction that this prophecy will be literally fulfilled, and that the time is at hand for everyone to take part in starting it.

     Let us consider a few of the indications that the times are ripe a few of the straws in the wind which lead us to believe that a great spiritual revival has begun in the New Church; a quickening whose influences will make themselves felt upon the world at large. First among these indications is the fact that the members of the General Church long ago became convinced that the Church should grow from a center. This means that it must have a center from which to grow, and that it must have a central form of government. Both of these fundamental requirements now exist, and are the result of forty odd years of bitter struggle and firm adherence to the Doctrines of the Church. In the office of Bishop we have the great centralizing function of government which welds the Church specific into a unit, and in the place, Bryn Athyn, we have a geographical center. The Church, so to speak, has a place which it can call headquarters. At Bryn Athyn is the great central object for which we have striven;-The Academy. There also is the largest community of New Church people.

     The second indication of the times which we may note is, that whatever this centralized Church has undertaken it has done well, immeasurably better than the same thing had been done before. From the very infancy of the New Church, for example, New Church education has been attempted, but never before has it succeeded to such a marked degree as it has under the Academy, the strong arm of the General Church.

     Furthermore, the General Church has succeeded in establishing the doctrine of the priesthood. Under the quickening influences of nearly half a century of episcopal government, we have become convinced that only under this form of order can a strong external Church be established. In regard to the doctrine of the priesthood, we have passed the stage of continual strife, and entered a period of enjoying the fruition of that strife. Here again the Church has succeeded.

     In the domain of holding our young folks in the Church, statistics show that the General Church has retained a far larger portion of its own children than any other body of Newchurchmen, since first men began to read and meditate upon the Writings of the Second Coming.

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Even those who do not sympathize with us must grant that in this respect we have succeeded to an unusual extent. But we still face the problem of arousing to "activity" many of the second and third generation of Newchurchmen.

     Many persons in the General Church have become convinced that the growth of the New Church from external sources is practically impossible, whereas it seems to me that unless there is a spirit of evangelization abroad in our midst, our internal growth also will suffer, and that we may fail to get active Newchurchmanship even from those whom we have educated. The fact is, that the General Church never has entered into the missionary phase of evangelization with all its energy, nor with all its power of securing success. I do not mean to pass lightly over the work of certain eminent men who have labored untiringly in this field, but when I state that the General Church never has entered into the missionary phase of evangelization, I mean that it has never seriously, as a Church, undertaken a carefully planned and well organized campaign to bring the Gospel of the New Church to the people of any one locality, and continued this campaign tirelessly year after year. It has never invested any great amount of capital in financing such a campaign, and it has never had the available men for the length of time needed to see such a campaign through to a finish. In short, I claim that when the energy and the vitality which made the General Church and the Academy a success are applied to the missionary field, there we can and will succeed also. The day is not far distant when such a campaign will be possible, and can be carried out to its finish. If this is done, the General Church will find that she will meet with success here as she has met with success elsewhere.

     First and second, then, we find remarkable signs of the times in our very midst. It is the provision of Providence. It is the provision of a body of men and women, who, from their experience, are confident that they can achieve success in any line of New Church endeavor to which they turn their systematic energy.

403




     A third favorable indication of the times is the inspiration along these lines which the present Bishop has given to us for the past two years. At the Assemblies of 1916-1917 his speeches, wherever he went, pointed out the necessity of the Church "letting its light so shine before men that they may see our good works." And in every Society there was a marked rejuvenation. In Pittsburgh, Glenview, Chicago, Kitchener, Toronto, and Philadelphia there was a quickened interest in society growth. The leaven of inspiration has started to work, and we find a new enthusiasm stirring.

     Again this year we have received from the Bishop an address on "Government and Freedom," which points out the deeper possibilities along the lines of society growth; possibilities that will result from a new world-conception of "liberty," which the events of today are casting in the great crucible of world upheaval.

     The fourth and final sign which points to the fact that the time is at hand, is the great war. It is a simple fact of New Church history that after every war the Church has grown with leaps and bounds. To cite a single example: The Church in America had one of its most rapid periods of growth immediately after the Civil War. Many of the soldiers, made fearless by the fire of battle, entered into the ministry of the New Church. And there they carried with them, in the propagation of the truths of the New Church, the same fearlessness with which they had fought in the war. Our own Bishop Emeritus is an example of the power of such men. Can we not look for a similar harvest of strong men from among those who are today risking their lives for freedom?

     From all these signs the time seems ripe for the greatest effort that has ever been made to spread the Doctrines of the New Church. The question arises, how best can results be accomplished! In the answer to this question the speaker does not mean to imply that all or any of the specific methods herein outlined are the best methods for any given society. He merely puts them forth as those methods, which, up to the present time, have fallen under his observation. To start a successful campaign, from which the Church is to reap the greatest harvest, there must be a center.

404


The Church is the same in greatests and in leasts, and the same principles that caused us to seek a central Church organization for the whole Church, apply with equal force in the choice of a nucleus or center from which to work in instituting any given campaign.

     The center, where possible, should be a firmly established society of the General Church. The problem then is much simplified. In this case it is of the utmost importance first to gain the sympathy and support of the society which is to form the center of operations. Without active lay assistance no effort can succeed. With the right kind of co-operation, there is no limit to the dream which can be realized. It would be impossible for me to over-emphasize this phase of the work. The society situated in the locality where the work is carried on must wholeheartedly and enthusiastically uphold the hands of the laborers. Given a united society supporting the work, it is necessary to keep clearly in mind the goal which is sought. I feel convinced that in the past a blind trust in Providence has sometimes obscured this goal. I would change the kind of trust in Providence. I would venture to suggest that Providence uses ALL ways for the increase of the Church, and not merely the invisible ways which we cannot see.

     We should hold as the goal of our efforts "results." I use this term in the sense in which business men employ it. There should be a continual investigation of the specific methods employed, and a checking up of the results brought about by each of them. By adopting this policy the fruitless field will be abandoned, and the productive fields will be increased, and worked with a closer attention and redoubled efforts. In this way Providence will continually open up new and undreamed of possibilities.

     Since, then, we are concerned with results, they may be defined as follows: 1) A greater amount of activity on the part of those who are already members of the society. This activity may show itself in a number of ways. They may attend Church functions more frequently. They may contribute more liberally. They may actually take on the responsibility of some Church work. Their mental activities may be awakened. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the beneficial results in this line directly flowing from a campaign in a society.

405


2) Actual converts to the faith of the New Church. 3) Members already of the faith of the New Church attracted to the center of activity for one cause or another. 4) Interested visitors, who may come to Church only once, and yet that once will add to the interest and activity of the society, bringing our own people to realize that they have something to give. And because of the strangers, the members of the society naturally turn their minds to thoughts of reflection upon the nature of the thing which they have to give, and in so doing they check up and review their own knowledge of the Doctrines. Even visitors, therefore, may be numbered among the results of any given campaign. Furthermore, these casual visitors undoubtedly will spread the knowledge of the existence of the Church. 5) An increase in the number of children taken charge of by the Sunday School, whether this increase be from outsiders or from the members of the society, who, due to reawakened interest, have brought themselves to the point of making the effort to send their children. 6) After any given campaign there will be more persons in the locality who at least know of the existence of the New Church. By this I mean that, because of a campaign, the name and some of the striking facts about the New Church become perfectly familiar to a large group of people, who otherwise might have remained in total ignorance of them. There would be an undoubted spreading of the fact that here is a Church with an unusual message. In any campaign Providence opens up many unlooked for results not included in the foregoing list; indeed, that is one of the interesting and beautiful things about such a campaign.

     If we are to measure our success by results, we must have some business-like method of recording them, for it has been found by experience that unless some such accurate account is kept, the estimate of results is vague at best. In a moment of enthusiasm they will look tremendous, whereas in a moment of despair the whole proposition will look hopeless. But whatever the state of the animus may be, a true valuation of the results of the work can readily be gained, if an exact record be kept.

406


Along this line, by way of practical suggestion, a roll of attendance is very useful. In such a roll the attendance of every person is noted, and also whether he comes late or on time. The names of all strangers and visitors are recorded, so that at any given time, when there is either an increase or a decrease in attendance, the exact personnel can be ascertained, and the cause for the increase or the decrease determined. In other words, when the attendance falls off, there is no need of holding up the hands helplessly and saying, "I wonder why so few people are coming to Church;" a brief study of the roll will tell the exact answer.

     The results wrought with strangers should also be systematically kept. This can readily be done by installing a card system, recording the name and address of each prospective member, with exact information as to how he became interested. Afterwards, as follow-up work is done, the subsequent attitude of that person can be noted. This will make for concentration of effort, and a consequent larger proportion of results.

     Let us now proceed to outline a campaign. We take it for granted that by this time the society is whole-heartedly behind the movement. As the motto of the campaign we adopt the words, "Follow up." Everything that is done must be done with an idea of following up its effect. We must be honest with ourselves. Our natural tendency is to neglect the work of following up, and to leave that to Providence. To illustrate: It takes comparatively little courage to give a lecture upon the Doctrines of the New Church, but it takes a great deal of courage to interview the audience personally, to ascertain what impression the lecture has made upon their minds. Our whole tendency is to emphasize the work of preparing and giving the address, and to neglect the work of understanding the persons to whom it is given. We know that "all religion has relation to life." But if we are to bring religion into the lives of the people around us, it is not sufficient that we study religion only; we must also study the life and opinions of the persons to whom we would address ourselves. In short, we must know what is in the minds of the people to whom we are talking, for otherwise we will simply be wasting our breath. In this campaign we are going to do everything in our power to note the actual effect of our work upon the people to whom it is addressed.

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For only in this way can the indicating hand of Providence lead and guide us.

     We come next to the problem of creating some public interest in the New Church. The most effective way to do this is by advertising. Without much trouble some newspaper in the city can be induced to give the movement a general write-up. This will bring to the casual attention of a number of persons the events that are to follow. Then either paid newspaper advertising, bill-post cards, or street car cards may be used. If the funds are at hand, all these methods should be employed, but if a choice must be made, there is no doubt but that street car advertising is the most profitable. It daily brings the Church to the attention of a large number of persons, and sooner or later will arouse their interest to a sufficient degree to lead some to investigate it.

     After the advertising campaign has been put into action, the time arrives for the use of the human voice in proclaiming the message. When such a man as George Wharton Pepper states that there is no such convincing way of delivering a message as by the human voice, he speaks from certain knowledge. Because of this fact, the Pennsylvania Committee of Public Safety, of which he is the chairman, has arranged to bring its message home to every citizen of Pennsylvania by means of the spoken word. So it is with the proclamation of the Doctrines of the New Church, The spoken word will be the most effective and the most convincing,-the spoken word both from the rostrum and in individual conversation.

     Of course, the ideal is to get the audience to come to the Church to hear the speaker,-but experience shows that this is a very difficult thing to do, and if we fail to do it we must not be discouraged. When the guests that were bidden to the marriage of the King's son did not come, the King sent His servants out into the highways and hedges to gather them in to the marriage. We must do the same. On the street we always have at least the opportunity of addressing from fifty to three hundred persons at any time that we have the energy to do it. But in this street-speaking work we must especially apply our motto, "Follow up."

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After the speech we must do our best to find out the impression made upon the hearers, and by personal conversation with them find out the truth. If possible, the names and addresses of interested persons should be secured, and this will form the basis for valuable future "follow up" work. But we can improve upon the past value of street speaking if, when addressing the man in the crowd, we realize, first of all, that he has no interest in us. Probably his ideas are opposed to the new ideas which we wish to implant. More than likely he is part of the crowd only because he has been attracted by curiosity. To make a deep and lasting impression upon his mind, we must gain his confidence and sympathy, and then we may hope that the new message which we give him will at least have a fair chance of arresting his thought.

     To accomplish this, some such method as the following might be employed. It is a well established fact that there is nothing like singing in concert to make people feel a certain bond of sympathy with one another. This fact is utilized by practically all the evangelists in the Old Church. No evangelistic speaker would think of addressing an audience until it had been brought into a receptive mood by singing many songs. I see little or no hindrance to our employing this method, and I think that a practical way of carrying it out would be as follows: The boys of the Sunday School can readily be trained to sing. These boys can be taught enough songs to last, say, half an hour. The street speaker employs the old election method of carrying a stereopticon with him. A screen is placed on the back of one car, and beside it a platform is erected. From the other car the lantern is operated. Some quiet street adjoining a populous one is chosen for the seat of operations. The words for the songs being projected upon the screen, a crowd is soon attracted by the singing of the boys. Suitable songs are then thrown upon the screen, and the crowd is gradually induced to join in the singing. As the number of singers increases, the crowd will increase very rapidly, and after a time a really cordial relationship between the crowd and the speaker may be gained. Then will come the opportune moment for the speaker to deliver his message. And here again he can make excellent use of the lantern.

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As he mentions passages from the Word they can be thrown upon the screen, so that the audience not only hears but also sees them, and in this way gains a double impression of what the speaker is talking about. I feel very strongly that there is an unlimited field for new thought and new endeavor along the line of creating the kind of machinery that will give the Heavenly Doctrines every possible opportunity of being heard in a favorable atmosphere.

     In a real live campaign the street speaking will follow up the advertising, and the advertising will follow up the street speaking, and there will be a maximum of efficiency.

     From the crowds who hear the street speeches a large list of names and addresses of persons who are more or less interested will be secured, and this list will form another avenue for follow-up work. First the list should be systematically bombarded with pamphlets and letters. Then personal workers should call upon them. This will furnish a new field of activity for the society itself. Members who have time to spare can undertake some of the work. Their daily contact with strangers and their frequent explaining of the Doctrines to them will greatly increase their own knowledge and love for the things they are seeking to impart, and in this way an exceedingly useful condition is brought about in the society. An appetite for truth is created, which will do much toward inspiring the minister to perform his duties to the best of his abilities. From every angle the effect will be beneficial.

     And last, but by no means least, I must touch upon the possibilities which lie before the Church in the realm of an Academy New Church Sunday School. Anyone who walks two squares on Sunday through the residential section of any large city, without seeing some ten or twelve children, will most likely be found to be wearing dark glasses. This human material is available in abundance, and our problem is to determine how to secure it. The method we have adopted for increasing the Philadelphia Sunday School came to us by a direct indication of Providence. We commenced a series of motion pictures and lectures for adults, and before we knew it no children were attending them weekly.

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Providence clearly pointed the way to our founding a New Church Sunday School on a new plan, by changing for us the personnel who attended these lectures.

     The experiment was made, and after nearly a year's work it has proved itself an unquestioned success. One fact alone will serve to illustrate what it has done for the society. Last year the average attendance at Sunday School, from February 1st to June 1st, was four. This year the average has been twenty-five regular scholars, and the average of our own children up to Christmas was seven, showing that the increased numbers not only provided outside material to work upon, but actually gave us more of our own children to instruct, as the result of a new activity and interest in our midst. Sixteen scholars recently were awarded bronze buttons for attending fifteen consecutive Sundays, and at Easter seven scholars received silver medal's for perfect attendance.

     With a center to work from, the possibilities of evangelization in any large city at the present day are unlimited. The "harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few." Not only am I convinced that the work can be made successful in itself, but I am also convinced that it will have an excellent effect upon the society that accepts the responsibility of undertaking it. It prevents a deadly evil which is bound to infest any society that remains self-centered. It prevents "dry-rot" and "stagnation."

     The time is auspicious. We are temporarily losing so many of our men, that it behooves us to do all things within our power to get others to take their place, and above all to inspire a new interest in the Heavenly Doctrines in the hearts and activities of those who remain. "Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest."

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INQUIRING OF THE LORD 1918

INQUIRING OF THE LORD        W. F. PENDLETON       1918

     "O Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain?" Psalm 15:1.

     We read in the Sacred Scripture that the Lord answers those who call or cry unto Him, or inquire of Him. We read in the Heavenly Doctrine that "it is common in all Divine worship, that man should first wish, desire, and pray, and that the Lord should then answer, inform, and do; otherwise man does not receive anything Divine. . . . But still the Lord gives man to ask, and what to ask; and therefore the Lord knows it before; but still the Lord wills that man should ask first, to the end that it may be as of himself, and so be appropriated to him. Otherwise if the petition itself were not from the Lord, it would not be said in the Word that they would receive whatsoever they asked." (A. C. 376)

     There are numerous examples of this principle expressed and represented in Scripture, and we invite your attention to one of these, as given in the fifteenth Psalm, the opening words of which are an inquiry on the part of man, asking of the Lord who it is that shall be a true member of His church on earth, and be prepared thereby to become a member of His church in heaven-an inquiry that every man who is finally regenerated and saved will make and must make at some period of his natural life, in order to receive instruction from the Lord concerning it. He must ask the question, and ask because he desires from his heart to know, who it is that shall be in the church of the Lord, and what are the requirements for entrance into it; who it is that shall be in the heaven of the Lord, and what are the requirements for entrance into it? The inquiry is expressed in the words of the text, "O Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain?" This is the inquiry. The man who desires regeneration and salvation, asks of the Lord how it is to be accomplished, and the Lord answers that he must first became a true member of the church on earth, and instruction is given as to the manner of bringing this about, as expressed in the remaining words of the Psalm.

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This is what the Lord says in answer to his prayer, informing him that in order to become a true member of the Church he must walk uprightly, and do justice, and speak the truth in his heart. He must not backbite nor slander with his tongue, nor do evil to his companion, nor take up a reproach against his neighbor. In his eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. He putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. In brief, he is to love his neighbor by shunning those things which bring hurt or injury upon him. And then the Psalm closes with the words, "He that doeth these things shall never be moved. He shall dwell forever in the mountain of the Lord." Thus we see exemplified in the letter itself the leading spiritual idea of the Psalm, as given in the Writings. They who love the neighbor and God will be of the church of the Lord-will be of the church of the Lord on earth, and will be of the church of the Lord in heaven. "O Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain?" And thus is the answer given.

     We find the same idea expressed in the twenty-fourth Psalm, where a similar inquiry is made of the Lord, and a similar answer is given by Him,-"Who shall ascend into the mountain of the Lord? or who shall stand in His holy place?" This is the inquiry, and the answer follows, "He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; he that hath not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing of the Lord, and justice from the God of his salvation."

     Again, in the thirty-third chapter of Isaiah, we find a similar inquiry on the part of man, and a similar answer on the part of the Lord. "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The inquiry here in the spiritual sense is, Who shall escape when the last judgment comes? who shall be saved when the wicked are condemned and cast into hell? "Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?" The answer is at once given, and that no doubt may be left concerning it, the answer is made explicit and clear.

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"He that walketh righteously and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressors, that shaketh his hands from holding bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; he shall dwell on high; his place of defense shall be the munitions of rocks; bread shall be given him; his waters shall be sure." These are they that shall escape when the judgment comes, and the evil are condemned and cast into hell,-they shall escape because while in the world, while in the life of the body, they have kept the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, (Rev. 14:12) and have thereby become true members of the Lord's church on earth, and as a result thereof are now
dwelling on high.

     The church is represented in the text as the tabernacle of the Lord, and heaven as His holy mountain. The tabernacle was the tent which was used for worship by the Israelites while in the desert, and for a time after entering into the land of Canaan. It was not a fixed and permanent place of worship, but it was a kind of movable sanctuary, carried from place to place on the shoulders of the priests and Levites, during the journey of the Israelites in the wilderness after leaving Mount Sinai, where the tabernacle was constructed. But by the mountain of holiness or holy mountain is meant Jerusalem, especially the temple which was built upon a mountain, and became the permanent place of worship for the sons of Israel.

     Now because the tabernacle was a kind of movable temple, not a fixed and permanent house of worship, the word sojourn is used in connection with it. "Who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle?" But the temple itself on Mount Zion at Jerusalem was such a permanent house for worship, and hence in speaking of it the word dwell is used. "Who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain?" And being permanent, heaven was meant thereby.

     To sojourn is to reside or dwell temporarily. It is said of a temporary residence of one who is a foreigner or traveler, passing through the land, stopping for a time at one place or another. It is said also of guests and servants in a house, who do not belong to the house and may depart at any time. But the word dwell, as used in the original tongue, carries with it the idea of permanent abode.

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     The text, and the Psalm as a whole, involves as its leading idea in the spiritual sense, the progression of man in his regeneration, from a temporary, and through a temporary, to a permanent state of life. The permanent state being in reality the state of heaven itself-even as the Israelitish nation progressed from temporary worship of the tabernacle in the wilderness, to the permanent worship of the temple on Mount Zion at Jerusalem. This final permanency of state is also expressed in the closing words of the Psalm, "We that doeth these things shall never be moved," "shall not be moved to eternity." But let us consider more in detail what is signified in the spiritual sense by sojourning, in order that we may see still more clearly what is meant by sojourning in the tabernacle of the Lord.

     The word sojourn or sojourner has its analogue in the word pilgrim, the latter being in fact derived from the Latin word peregrinari, to sojourn, meaning literary to go through the field or to journey or travel through any country or land. Hence the word pilgrim denotes "one who travels through foreign lands; one who journeys, especially on foot, to some sacred place from religious motives;" and a pilgrimage is defined as "a long journey, especially one made to a shrine or sacred place by a pilgrim." The journey of life, including preparation and progress towards heaven, is often called a pilgrimage. This in fact leads us to the spiritual meaning of the word sojourn, as it is used in the Sacred Scripture, and especially in the text-the journey of life-indicating to us in language positive and clear, that a man's life in this world is not a permanent condition, that he is here only as a sojourner, a pilgrim and a stranger, a traveler who tarries, lodging as it were but for a night and passing on in the morning.

     When a man is born he is not at once in his permanent abode; he does not at once enter into a fixed and permanent state of life as animals do, but he has a long journey ahead of him. An animal remains as he is born. He is in no sense a sojourner or a pilgrim. But it is altogether different with a man; for every human being is continually changing his state, nor does this continual and successive change cease until after death, when he reaches his final abode either in heaven or hell.

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     A man after birth, and as a little child, is under the care of his parents. But he does not remain as a child. He passes on from the parental care, and as a boy he enters the school. The school also is merely a state of sojourn. He does not remain permanently as a boy in school. He soon passes through a change of state, and becomes a youth,-a young man or a young woman,-but he is still a sojourner, a pilgrim in life's journey. As a man he passes through successive periods or states of life, a sojourner in each, until old age is reached, when the great change comes which is called death, and he awakes in the world of spirits where he is still a sojourner, still not in his permanent place of abode; but it is coming, it is not far ahead of him. For if he has obeyed the instruction and commands of the Lord while in this life, his journey is soon to end in a permanent heavenly abode, there to dwell no longer as a sojourner, no longer as a pilgrim tarrying by the way, but as a permanent inhabitant, through the endless ages of eternity.

     But while it appears that man is a sojourner in this world, from the time of his birth onward, in reality his sojourn is in the world of spirits; for a man as soon as he is born is an infant in that world, he is a sojourner there, more than in this. His real sojourn is in the world of spirits, though in appearance in this world. Hence we read in the Memorable Relation that "every man from infancy up to old age, changes places or situations in the spiritual world. When an infant, he is kept in the eastern quarter and there toward the north; when a child, as he learns the rudiments of religion, he recedes successively from the north to the south; and as a youth, when he begins to think from his own mind he is brought toward the south; and afterward when he has entered into his own judgment and his own right, according to increase and growth in such things as interiorly regard God and love to the neighbor, he comes into the south toward the east. But if he favors evil and absorbs it, he progresses toward the west; for all in the spiritual world dwell according to quarters. . .

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Man as to his body is not kept in that intermediate state or world of spirits, but as to his spirit, and as this changes its state, drawing near either to good or to evil, he is transferred to places or situations in this or that quarter, and consorts with the inhabitants thereof." Finally, as we read, a complete change takes place, as the externals of his life are gradually laid aside,-the externals which are not in agreement with his internal thought and affection, or ruling love. When this takes place, and the internal and the external have come into a complete correspondence, the good are elevated into heaven, and the evil betake themselves to hell, each one to those with whom he is in full agreement as to his ruling love. (T. C. R. 476, 477)

     Man in the world, however, is not aware that he is a sojourner, a pilgrim, a stranger, a traveller in the spiritual world, for it does not so appear to him; he is not conscious of being an inhabitant of that world, of being in the company of spirits, of sojourning with them, of removing as they remove from one region to another in that world, of passing through changes of state similar to those through which they pass. The appearance of being an inhabitant of the natural world of dwelling in the natural world with men, is a real one to him. But he is aware of changes of state in his thought and affection, especially when he looks back over his past life. He knows that as a man he is not the same as when he was a child and a youth, and as an old man he is not the same as when he was in early manhood and middle age. He knows when he reflects that he is but a sojourner and a pilgrim. He knows that he is journeying onward, but he does not know where he is going, unless he believes in revelation, and is instructed from revelation. If he is such a man,-a man of such a character and quality of life that he can be regenerated and saved,-he is inspired by the Lord to inquire of Him in His Word what the final state of man is to be, and how it is to be reached; what is the true mode of reaching the final state which is good, and of avoiding that final state which is evil. And the answer is given, for with the Lord to inspire a prayer is to answer it. No prayer that is inspired by the Lord remains unanswered, and the answer is given in His Word; for the Word is filled with answers to the prayers of sincere seekers after light, and every answer is a truth.

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The Word in the whole and in all its parts is nothing else than instruction by revelation to those who desire the truth, ask for it, seek for it; and it has in it that which satisfies the desire of every longing soul.

     It will be interesting briefly to consider the periods of life, and the states of life, when man inquires of the Lord. The first period is in childhood. It is when the child begins to ask questions; and when he has been informed about the Lord and the other life he wishes to know more, and seeks from his parents further information. The child is then asking of the Lord, for to ask of his parent is to ask of the Lord; and happy is that child who receives the right information at this time, who is told the genuine truth of the Word at this early period of his life, who is given the truth that is asked far and the answer that is given in this fifteenth Psalm, and elsewhere in the Word.

     What the child needs at this time is not many particulars of truth, but only those that are most simple and general, and the same repeated from time to time. These most simple and general truths, which the child needs to know, are found in the literal sense of the Word. Read the fifteenth Psalm, and the answer which the Lord Himself there gives to the question which opens the Psalm, and you will know what to say to the child in answer to the inquiry of his little heart given forth in words of question.

     You will find there not only the knowledge which the child needs, but you will find something more, something that is more important than knowledge, and this something is the inspiration to a life of charity. The great value of this cannot well be over-estimated. The impressions received in childhood give quality to the whole life of man that is to follow, in this world and in the world to come. We are indeed told that the celestial man, the celestial angel, is one who has been introduced into a life of charity in childhood; into the beginnings of the life of charity in the tender years of this early period. The letter of the Word is given for this purpose. The fifteenth Psalm in its literal sense is intended for children.

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The tabernacle of the Lord is His church on earth and His holy mountain is His heaven, where angel's dwell, and in the remaining words of the Psalm the Lord speaks to the child, speaks through the parent to the child, and tells him what he is to think, and what he is to do, in order that he may enter and sojourn in the tabernacle of the Lord, and finally dwell in His holy mountain.

     The child will thus have stored in him the things which prepare for the periods which are to follow, periods in which he will renew the inquiry, "O Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain?" And in the period of early youth, in the period of manhood, in the period of old age, he will continue to ask the question Divinely given in the opening words of the Psalm, and Divinely answered in the words which follow to the end. All through life he will from time to time ponder on the question and the answer given in this Psalm, and on similar things in other parts of the Word, and in the Writings throughout,-all answers of the Lord to the question we have been considering in this discourse; all unfoldings by the Lord Himself of the deep meanings of the fifteenth Psalm, its question and its answers. "O Lord, who shall sojourn in Thy tabernacle who shall dwell in Thy holy mountain? He that walketh uprightly, and doeth justice, and speaketh the truth in his heart. He that slandereth not with his tongue, nor doeth evil to his companion, nor taketh up a reproach against his neighbor. In whose eyes a vile person is contemned, but he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He that sweareth to his own hurt and changeth not. He that putteth not out his money to usury, nor taketh a bribe against the innocent. He that doeth these things shall never be moved. Amen.

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AFTER THE NAPOLEONIC WARS 1918

AFTER THE NAPOLEONIC WARS              1918

     EXTRACT FROM "RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH," BY ROBERT HINDMARSH.

     The war arising out of the French Revolution, in which most, if not all, of the nations of Europe had for so many years been engaged, having lately been brought to a successful termination, it appears that the Emperor of Russia conceived the design of uniting all the great Powers in a solemn League, called the Holy Alliance, whereby they should bind themselves to act upon true Christian principles, in order to prevent in future those destructive wars, which had so often desolated the face of the earth, and to maintain forever that peace, which the success of the Allied Armies had providentially established. To this League the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, and the Emperor of Russia, became active parties, and having published a copy of such Treaty, which seemed to promise the realization of blessings never before enjoyed by the Christian world at large, an intense interest was excited, on the occasion, among all nations. Not only did the aspect of political affairs assume an entirely novel character, but the sudden and unexpected avowal of religious principles never yet acted upon by the Christian Powers, gave the most flattering promise that a new Era was about to commence, in which the old ecclesiastical dogmas would speedily shrink into insignificance, while the doctrines of the New and True Christian Church, explicitly recommended by the three Sovereigns above named, in their solemn Treaty, called the Holy League, would hereafter be regarded as the only authorized rule of faith and practice, particularly in regard to the supreme Divinity of the Lord, and a life according to His commandments. Under this impression, it was considered a duty incumbent on the members of the New Jerusalem Church, who warmly participated in all the sentiments thus announced to the world, to congratulate the Authors of the new Treaty on their extraordinary and unexpected Act of Royalty.

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I was accordingly solicited by some of the most respectable members of the Society, of which I was then the Minister, to address a Letter to each of the three distinguished Sovereigns, whose names had given sanction to the said Treaty, humbly expressing the high satisfaction which the step taken by their Majesties had given to the professors of the True Christian Religion in this country.

     An opportunity offering itself, by the captain of a vessel about to sail from Hull to Hamburg, St. Petersburg, and other parts of the Continent, of putting this design into execution, I was emboldened to write a letter to each of the crowned heads above-mentioned, on the part they had jointly and respectively taken in the late memorable transactions, which settled the peace of Europe, and seemed to promise a lasting state of prosperity and happiness. These letters, accompanied with my "Remarks on the Holy League," and two or three other books containing the heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, I have reason to believe, were punctually delivered into the hands of the royal personages to whom they were addressed. Copies of the three letters now follow,* together with the answer with which I was honored by one of them, namely, by the King of Prussia, signed with His own hand.
     * As the letters are of like import we reprint only one.-EDITOR.

     To His Majesty, the King of Prussia.

May it please your Majesty,
     As Minister of the New Jerusalem Temple in Salford, Manchester, permit me to express to your Majesty the high opinion, which the members of this Church entertain of Your Majesty's unwearied attention to the interests of true religion, not in Prussia only, but in all the branches of the great Christian family of Europe. This paternal regard, in the first place, for the spiritual welfare of Your Majesty's own subjects, discloses itself in that memorable invitation, by Royal Authority, issued at Berlin on the 17th of September, 1814, wherein the various Ministers of religion are requested to offer proposals for a Reform in Public Worship; and in the next place, for the general happiness and peace of mankind, is most strikingly exemplified in the Treaty of Alliance entered into at Paris on the 26th of September, 1815, by your Majesty, in concert with their Majesties the Emperors of Austria and Russia.

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     From a full conviction, therefore, that some great work of Divine Mercy towards the inhabitants of the earth, is already begun in our day, and that the Sovereign Disposer of all events has committed into the hands of the Three Illustrious Princes above-named, as a most sacred and solemn charge, the execution of the high purposes of His will, for the general amelioration of the state of Christian Society, I have presumed to offer to your Majesty's deliberate and serious consideration, a few cursory thoughts on this most important subject, under the title of Remarks on the Holy League, lately entered into by Their Majesties the Emperor of Austria, the King of Prussia, and the Emperor of Russia; wherein they openly proclaim and recommend to their own subjects, and to the Christian world at large, the Two Essential and Distinguishing Articles of the New Church, called the New Jerusalem.

     That the blessing of heaven may accompany all your Majesty's exertions in the cause of virtue and true religion; and that the crown of peace in this life, and of a glorious immortality in the next, may be the happy portion of Your Majesty, is the sincere and earnest prayer of,
               May it please Your Majesty,
                    Your Majesty's
               Most obedient, humble, and devoted servant,
                    ROBERT HINDMARSH.
Salford, Manchester, May 20, 1816.

     To these letters I received only one answer, and that was the following from His Majesty the King of Prussia, dated Carlsbad, August 14th, 1816, and signed with His Majesty's own hand. The letter came through the general post office, and having the royal seal of Prussia on the envelope, excited no little surprise among the gentlemen connected with that department in Manchester.

     Answer of His Majesty, the King of Prussia, to Mr. Hindmarsh.

     I have received, with your letter of the 20th of May last, the work published by you on the Holy Alliance, and herewith send you my thanks for the transmission of it, at the same time that I acknowledge the justice of the sentiments you have expressed.
     FREDERICK WILLIAM.
'Carlsbad, August 14th, 1816.

     As no answer was returned by the other two sovereigns, to whom I have written, I can only say, that it is probable my feeble efforts to make known the truth to such high and distinguished personages were altogether unavailing, and perhaps deemed unworthy of notice. There is reason, however, to believe that the doctrines of the New Church are well known in Prussia, and favorably received by many of the inhabitants of that country.

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For an English soldier, after his return from the continent to his home at Manchester, informed me, that when he and some others were quartered upon a farm-house there, the farmer, understanding that he came from Manchester, inquired of him if he knew such a person as me, saying, that I lived at Manchester and that my name was well known in his neighborhood as an advocate of Swedenborg's Writings. To this question the soldier replied, that he did not know me; for it appears that he had quitted his native place to join the army before I had taken up my residence in that town. But on his return home he was surprised to find me there, agreeably to the information he had received in Prussia. By what means the natives of that part of the continent had obtained their knowledge, either of the Writings of Swedenborg, or of the persons who embraced them in England, is not known with certainty. But it is possible, if not probable, that the correspondence opened with the Clergy appointed by the King of Prussia to revise and amend the Liturgy of their Church, as before described, may have been published in that country, for the purpose of collecting the sentiments of such of the ministers and others as might feel themselves interested in the proposed improvement of their public worship. It is, however, of little consequence in what manner, or by whose agency, the new doctrines are spread in the world; it is sufficient if they find their way to the hearts of all true recipients; and then, whether they be princes or peasants, clergymen or laymen, high or low, rich or poor, each one will be enabled to perform the duties of that station to which the Divine Providence has seen good to appoint him.

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RESPONSE TO A TOAST TO WOMANHOOD 1918

RESPONSE TO A TOAST TO WOMANHOOD              1918

     It is easier for a New Church woman to speak enthusiastically in response to a toast to manhood, because it gives her something to visualize and idealize outside of herself. At the present time we are all thrilled by manhood, as it is expressed in the armies of the allies; and when individualized by our own New Church men, our hearts beat fast and our hopes rise high for the future of all that we hold dear in Church and Country. We know what their toast would be,-To our Church, to our women, to the Country that protects them, and down with the man that does not respect them!

     As I have said, it is easy to wax eloquent in response to a toast to manhood. Yet we know that there can be no fine manhood where there is no fine womanhood. More than forty years ago the Academy brought forth the doctrine of the true relation of men and women to each other. It established ideals for them both, based upon the teachings of the church,-ideals that no other body of people had ever been able to formulate, and this because their origin was-Divine, and so acknowledged by all those accepting what are known as Academy principles. We still firmly believe in those ideals, and desire that they may continue to reign supreme in the hearts and minds of the men and women of the coming generations in the Church.

     One of the great uses of this war to oar young men will be the arousing of their chivalry toward women and children to the highest power. They have been given ideals, but have not been called upon to defend them in the courts of the world, as their fathers have. Nor have their fathers been called upon to fight as our young men must now do in this war. Even men who have not had training in idealism such as our young men have received, are stirred through all their beings at the outrages perpetuated upon women and little children during this war, not only on the battlefields, but within the sacred precincts of the home, which hitherto has been held inviolate by all nations avowing Christianity.

     What is it that our men fear? They fear the loss to the would of all that makes life worth living,-the home.

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Even male animals have the instinct of preserving their mates and progeny. The human male has this in a higher degree, the spiritual male in the highest. Is it, then, any wonder that a Newchurchman, visualizing what this war means to women and children, is so roused that he will not be held from giving all that he has, even his life, that the world may be kept safe and decent for them to live in.

     And safe for what kind of woman? For his ideal, be she mother, sister, sweetheart, or his soul's mate,-his wife, dearer to him than his own life. Are the women of the Church worthy of such a sacrifice? Has this war quickened in them their ideals? Have their minds broadened to grasp and picture the new woman, who must be ready to meet and work with the new strong world-man that is being born through this world-conflict? Are they willing that these men should be disappointed in them when they come back? Will what they have to give them be big enough to meet their desires and demands?

     When these men return they are going to be the big men of the world. The Lord is training them to administer the free world that He is making through their efforts. The high places in Church and State will be filled by them. Will the women of the Church be wise enough to be helpmeets to them in the great duties they will be given to perform? Not unless they too fight with them now, not on the battlefields, but in their own sphere; by broadening their minds as well as their hearts to all of the great new issues of life that will be born into the world through this travail.

     We Americans have an advantage in our youth and isolation. Masefield, in an article, entitled "Speculations," published in Harper's Magazine for April, says that the whole world will look to America after the war,-to lead in the great work of education whereby mankind will be given the means to reconstruct its life. We know, however, that it is only through the knowledge contained in the New Revelation that mankind will have any guide for such reconstruction.

     With our men gone to battle for the external freedom of the Church, the women must arm themselves to fight at home to preserve its internal freedom.

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New forms of temptation must be met and they cannot fight unless they know their weapons and their enemy. Our men no longer trust to the old weapons of warfare, else they would be beaten by so cunning an enemy. But they are trained in the construction and use of al new weapons of war, in the practice of all the tricks and arts of a resourceful foe. This training is most strenuous and exacting.

     The women, too, must not rest content with the idea that their old weapons will suffice in this new war that we must enter. They must seek newer forms with which to fight in the new fields of life's battle, which from now on they will be called upon to enter. There must be those who can lead in this study and use of the new weapons. The instructors in the army are those who have previous knowledge and training upon which to base their teaching. So must our leaders and instructors be trained for their work. We must not permit, the young and untried to train our youth, nor can we permit them to go forth-with our old weapons for their defence. We must construct new weapons with which they may meet and overthrow our new foes.

     The materials for these weapons are in the same deep mine from which we have drawn, our precious metals for many years. The supply is inexhaustible. But new forms must be invented in which to mould them. The complaint has been that we sent our soldiers to war unarmed. If so, let us take heed that our young women shall not be found unprepared for their own battles.

     A new womanhood must be formed to meet the new manhood that is being hammered into shape on our battle fronts. And she must be formed to be his mate, this great wide-eyed man. Are we going to be leaders in the forming of this New Church woman? She must be formed in our homes, in our schools, in our Church. She is already feeling stirred by the call of the mate. She is restless, and may rush out to this battle unprepared, using only such weapons as she has found at hand in the home armory, in her previous almost cloistered life. But these are unequal to the conflict that she must enter, and they must be reheated, reshaped and newly tempered.

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They must be hardened, brightened, and sharpened, and this at the fires of our sacred altar.

     Our men are out fighting to guard the women, and they can no longer guard the home fires. The women must see to it that the sacred flame is kept strong, and that the home weapons are equal to its defense, until the men return, worn and weary but triumphant, to warm themselves in its precious heat, and to see in its light the pure, bright faces of those-dearer to them than ever before-their women.
DESIRING THAT OTHERS BE SAVED 1918

DESIRING THAT OTHERS BE SAVED              1918

     "It is a very common thing for those who have formed an opinion about any truth of faith, to judge of others, that they cannot he saved without believing as they do, although the Lord prohibited this in Matthew vii:1, 2. But it has been made known to me by much experience that persons of every religion are saved, if only, by means of a life of charity, they have received remains of good and of apparent truth. . . . The life of charity is to think well of another, to will well to him, and to perceive joy in oneself from the fact that others also are saved.' But they have not the life of charity who wish that no others be saved but those who believe as they do, especially if they are indignant that it should be otherwise, as may be evident from this fact alone, that more gentiles than Christians are saved. For such of the gentiles as have thought well concerning their neighbor, and have willed well to him, receive the truths of faith in the other life better than those who are called Christians, and acknowledge the Lord better than Christians do. For nothing is more delightful and happy to the angels than to instruct those who go from the earth into the other life." (A. C. 2284.)

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     PATRIOTISM AND EVANGELIZATION.

     There is a belief amongst us that the present war is in some way to prepare for the spread of the New Church. The same idea was current among those of our faith a century ago, at the close of the Napoleonic wars, and was to some extent justified by the event, for a stimulus was then given to the growth of the Church. As a purifying agency, war results in a natural reformation, and the minds of many are rendered receptive of instruction in the things of religion. A Last Judgment always includes the giving of new light to the race in the form of Divine Revelation. The Lord then opens wide the gates of heaven and the church, that the righteous may enter in. It is logical that lesser judgments among men should be attended with something similar times of great calamity and affliction are commonly regarded as favorable to spiritual instruction. At this day the old religious bodies are laboring among the armies with missionary effort. The Bible has been distributed at the front in unprecedented quantities; The civilian populations also, in many countries; are flocking to the churches. It seems as though the patriotic sacrifice quickened also the religious spirit, ripening the harvest of souls for the reaper.

     No prophecy can be ventured as to the outcome of this condition among Christians, but it is reasonable to assume that the times will "make ready a people prepared for the Lord," and that the New Church will gain converts. The possibility at least is actively in our thoughts, which perhaps is a forecast of Providence. Certainly our soldiers, the men of the New Church who have gone forth to fight in the armies of liberty, are imbued with a mingling of patriotic and religious fervor. They have gone readily, and even enthusiastically, because moved by an ardent desire to set men free, not only from earthly tyranny but also from infernal tyranny, that they may enjoy the blessings of natural and spiritual freedom.

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     PATRIOTISM.

     In times of peace, patriotism, or the love of country, is expressed in obedience to law, in the paying of taxes, in loyalty to rulers, in many forms of service to the common weal, thus in self-sacrifice for the sake of the larger man. In times of war against a common enemy it is further expressed in the readiness to give all one's earthly possessions, to lay down one's life, in defense of one's country, in defence of its people, its land, its rights, its freedom. "That one's country is to be loved, not as a man loves himself, but more than himself, is a law inscribed upon human hearts, from which has been promulgated this sentence, which is enunciated by every just person, that if the destruction of one's country at the hands of an enemy is imminent, it is illustrious to die far it, and for a soldier to pour out his blood gloriously for it. This is said because one's country is to be loved to that extent." (T. C. R. 314)

     Yet this in itself is only a natural love, the love of the land in which we were born, the love of the people of our own nation, in whose defence we will fight from the instinct of self-preservation, an instinct we share with the brute creation, who likewise will die in defence of their own. It is only when patriotism, as a natural love, is inspired by something of religion and spiritual love, that it becomes more truly human, the love of humanity, of the human race,-the love of all men as brothers, as children of the one Heavenly Father. From such a love there springs the desire for the natural and spiritual welfare of all nations. In the light of it we regard our own country as but one in the family of nations, between which there might be mutual respect, friendship, and service, as between individual men, if Christian charity reigned in the hearts of all.

     Such an order prevailed in the earliest times, when earthly society was an image of heaven, and men thought not less of their neighbor's good than of their own, but provided for themselves only to the end that they might be of use to others. International charity of this type is exceedingly rare, yet there is a seeming revival of it in our time, as expressed, for example, in the "idealism" of America, voiced in the declaration that we are "fighting an unselfish war," willing to dedicate our all that others may be free, and with the hope that peace may bring a league of nations, bound together by ties of international good will and amity.

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     The fact is that free nations desire the same for others. Where civil and religious freedom are enjoyed there grows up a voluntary good citizenship, which is a form of true freedom, breeding a spirit of "live and let live." It is a remarkable thing that the enjoyment of this true freedom-has in it the desire that others also may have freedom, has in it the willingness to sacrifice one's life and possessions that others may be free. We are not claiming for this a regenerate, spiritual origin among those who have given expression to it in modern times. It is at least the Christian ideal, and an image of that genuine charity which leaves the freedom of the neighbor as well or better than one's own. We conceive it to be a form of higher patriotism to regard one's own country as an instrument in the hands of Providence for the benefitting of other nations and peoples, to think of this from the love of humanity, and to feel an unselfish desire for the welfare of all men, for the deliverance of the down-trodden, and their elevation to higher conditions of natural and spiritual good.

     EVANGELIZATION.

     We are told that the genuine love of country corresponds to the love of heaven. They who love their country, and do well to it from good will, after death love the kingdom of the Lord, for this is their country there; and they who love the Lord's kingdom love the Lord, because the Lord is the all in all of His kingdom." (T. C. R. 414) And this love of the Lord's kingdom, as a spiritual love, is the origin of a true evangelistic spirit, of the desire for the salvation of souls, with its longing to impart spiritual blessings to others, to lead them into the Lord's kingdom, a longing that is only from the Lord's own love toward the whole human race. It will be seen that the love of country and the love of heaven are companion loves, a fact that links together the zeal of the patriot and the zeal of the evangelist,-a phenomenon that is exhibited in times of war.

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     Tracing this parallel further, we note that as the love of country is expressed in obedience to law, in loyalty and self-sacrifice, so the love of heaven is manifested in obedience to the Divine law, in loyalty to the Divine teachings, and in the self-sacrifice of repentance,-a laying down of the selfish and worldly life in spiritual temptation, as a result of which there is deliverance from enslavement to hell, and a state of spiritual freedom, which has in it the longing to do goods of charity and use to others, the desire also that others may be set free from hell, to enjoy heavenly freedom. Inspired by such a desire, man is elevated to an image of Divine Love, which is supremely free, yet purely unselfish, and wills to give its all to others. This Divine Love the Lord manifested in the world, when He came to minister unto men, not to be ministered unto, and "to give His life a ransom for many." For we read that "The Lord's affection or love was Divine, namely, toward the universal human race, which He willed to save to eternity. Love such as the Lord had transcends all human understanding, and it is incredible especially to those who do not know what the celestial love is, in which are the angels. Those angels to save a soul from hell think nothing of death, yea, if they could, they would undergo hell for that soul. And hence it is the inmost of their joy to transfer into heaven anyone rising from the dead. But they confess that this love is not at all from themselves, but each and everything of it from the Lord alone; yea, they are indignant if anyone thinks otherwise." (A. C. 2077.)

     Here is pictured the origin and spirit of martyrdom, a spirit that animated the early Christians in their willingness to die for the faith, thus to bear witness that others might believe and be saved, to die as their Lord had done, that others might believe on Him, and have everlasting life. And the Christian martyrdom was a powerful means of converting men to Christianity, to the truth of the Gospel. In the same spirit the missionaries carried the crucifix to every quarter of the globe,-the image of Him who died as the Martyr of all martyrs that others might live, that others might be free, that the whole human race might be saved from spiritual death. For this fact of the Divine sacrifice and victory was to be the burden of the Christian message to all nations.

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"Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation, and not for that nation only, but that also He should gather in one the children of God that were scattered abroad." (John 11:51.) "And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." (John 12:32,) "Thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His, name among all nations." (Luke 24:46, 47.)

     Who, then, are the martyrs of the Lord's Second Coming, willing to die for their faith, willing to die that others may believe that others may be free, may be saved, may be led into the Lord's kingdom? In the modern world of religious toleration the evangelists of the Second Advent will not be in danger of the inquisition. Yet in devoting their lives to the proclaiming of the Lord's New Gospel they will be ready to go "before governors and kings for His sake," and He will "give them a mouth and wisdom which all their adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist." They will go forth inspired by-intense love for the Load's new kingdom, to preach and teach with the zeal and self-sacrifice of the ancient martyrs. But it is rather to a spiritual martyrdom that they will call men, by their precept and their example. They will exhort men to regenerate in the light and life of the New Church, and this regeneration is spiritual martyrdom. He that is regenerating is laying down the life of the natural man, the life of self-lope and the love of the world, that the spiritual man may live. He is doing this as an auto de fe, an act of faith and obedience to the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrine, "forsaking all to follow Him." And such a one "loves not his life even unto death." "He hateth his life in this world, that he may keep it unto life eternal."

     And, like the-martyrs of old, those who are genuinely doing this for its own sake are unconsciously a powerful evangelical influence, confirming others in the faith. Their lives speak the power of the Doctrines to make men spiritual, intelligent, to reform men spiritually and naturally. Their "light shines before men," who "see their good works, and glorify the Father in heaven."

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And the sons of the Church, fighting in battle from faith in their country's cause, the cause of human liberation, will not die in vain, if their sacrifice give birth to a new day of freedom, a day of spiritual enlightenment, of new gifts of charity from on high,-if they have thus "prepared the way of the Lord" among the oppressed peoples of the earth, and hastened the time when "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ, who shall reign forever and ever."
SOUTH AFRICA 1918

SOUTH AFRICA              1918

     We have received copies of the SOUTH AFRICAN NEW CHURCH OPEN LETTER for March and April, 1918, and herewith reprint from the March number an account of the visit to Basutoland made in January by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal and Mr. W. M. Buss, Editor of the OPEN LETTER, who writes as follows:

     BASUTOLAND.

     Towards the close of our last issue, reference was made to the fact that the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal and the Editor would be in Basutoland in January, and it is thought that some account of the visit and of the work done there may be of interest. This is the fifth occasion on which our minister has visited this interesting country, but the writer now made his first acquaintance with it, and was deeply impressed with what he saw. Leaving Durban on the evening of New Year's Day, we reached Maseru nearly two days later, expecting to proceed the following morning, 4th January. Rev. S. M. Mofokeng, who has charge of the work in Basutoland, arrived on that date, but owing to difficulties in obtaining horses we were unable to leave till the morning of the 6th. Four hours' ride brought us to Baroana, where we were met and, welcomed by the Chief, his son, and a number of native ministers who were to attend the January school.

     Baroana is a picturesque village of fair size, situated on a plateau some 6,000 feet above sea level, in the midst of very fine mountain scenery. The chief, Mohalenyane, most hospitably afforded us the use of his three-roomed stone house, which is furnished in European style, and was found very clean and comfortable.

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He and his son were most friendly and courteous throughout our stay, and evinced considerable interest in the work on which we were engaged.

     Monday, 7th January, was occupied mainly in holding meetings, but the next day a service was held at 11 a. m., and in the afternoon arrangements for the school were concluded. The more advanced students, six in number, formed class A, and the remaining four class B. A time table and schemes of work had been drawn up the previous evening; books, stationery and two blackboards had been sent up from Durban, and the next morning work was started. The two classes met in separate buildings at 8:30 each morning, and after a reading from the Word, and the Lord's Prayer, work continued till 10:15. A few minutes' break was allowed and the morning session ended at 11:30. The afternoon session lasted from 3 to 5.

     From the first the students showed a good deal of willingness to learn, and tackled all their subjects manfully, though some were keener than others and certain subjects proved more attractive than others. Their anxiety to master English-in order to study the Writings-was noticeable, but it was some days before they realized that a specific study of English as such was absolutely necessary if their end were to be attained. Besides the elements of language study and arithmetic, some history and geography was included, because these subjects enable them to understand much concerning Swedenborg and the Writings which would otherwise be obscure to them. The work in Theology was divided into: Letter of the Word; Heavenly Doctrine, (about half this work was-read and explained), Doctrine of the Spiritual World, and the preparation of sermons. Remarkably keen interest in this section of their studies was evinced by all. It was quite evident, however, that a month was all too short, and though the maximum of work possible in the time was covered, much remained to be done. Two or three of these men are quite promising, and it would be a fine thing for the New Church in Basutoland if means were forthcoming to give one in particular a thorough education.

     It must be borne in mind that certain very marked difficulties have to be faced by both teachers and taught.

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The latter vary in education, ability and opportunities. Some know practically no English, others have few facilities for study; all have to make their living besides carrying out pastoral duties. In almost all cases their devotion and industry are quite exemplary.

     On Sunday, 13th January, a service was held at Boqate, a somewhat smaller village than Baroana about two hours' ride distant, when a new Church building was dedicated and the sacrament of baptism administered. The Basutos are beginning to understand the necessity for baptism into the New Church, and showed great interest in the discourses on that subject. Before we left Boqate a choir of children sang for our edification, and we had the unusual experience of listening to the National Anthem in Sesuto.

     The following Saturday we went to visit Chief Leshoboro, a man of considerable standing who was one of the last deputation of Basuto chiefs to King Edward VII. Although it was rather late when we reached his village, after a journey occupying over five hours, the chief paid us a visit of welcome. The next morning we had breakfast with him and he attended the service at Qopo, a village of his in the vicinity. Before the service he addressed the people, recommending the New Church to them, and placing the local minister under the protection of his son. The church building was dedicated, and after the service Mr. Gyllenhaal had a further conversation with Leshoboro. In the course of these talks the latter showed some interest in the teachings of the Church and followed the sermon attentively.

     A few days later Chief Mohalenyane intimated his desire to see Mr. Gyllenhaal with reference to the teachings of the New Church, and that evening visited us in the house. As a result of what he then learned, added to his previous observation and what he had gathered from the services he had attended, he signified his desire to become a member, and was admitted the following Sunday.

     Our stay was now drawing to a close. On Monday, 28th January, Council Meetings were held both morning and afternoon. Wednesday was the last school day, and on Thursday we left for Maseru.

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The students addressed us through Rev. S. M. Mofokeng on Wednesday afternoon, expressing their appreciation of the visit and of the work done.

     CHRISTMAS IN THE DURBAN SOCIETY.

     In addition to the special Christmas Service at 8:15 in the morning there was a Children's Celebration at 7 o'clock in the evening. The children entered the Bailey Hall in procession carrying torches and singing, this picturesque opening being followed by a most attractive service, which consisted largely of musical items suitable to the day, At a certain point the minister left the platform and a curtain was dropped, to allow of the removal of the lectern. The blue material which screened the walls made a suitable background for what was to follow. This was the story of the Nativity, told simply by the minister and illustrated by four very well planned tableaux after famous pictures of the Annunciation, the meeting of Mary and Elizabeth, the shepherds seeing the stars in the East, and the wise men at the manger in Bethlehem. Down to the very youngest the children listened and looked, entranced.

     On Boxing Day the minister gave a children's party in Bailey Hall, where all enjoyed thoroughly the entertainment provided.

     According to custom the Lord's Supper was administered on the morning of New Year's Day.

     In the minister's absence in Basutoland Mr. J. Henry Ridgeway conducted the Sunday services, which included one of intercession, as desired by the King throughout the Empire, on 6th January. W. M. Buss.
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1918

ANNUAL MEETING OF THE SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION              1918

     The twenty-first Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held in the Church of the New Jerusalem, 22nd and Chestnut Sts., Philadelphia, on Friday, May 31st, 1918. President L. F. Hite was in the chair. About 25 members and friends were in attendance.

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     The afternoon session was opened with the reading of reports by the Treasurer, the Secretary, the Editor of THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, and the Corresponding Secretary. Upon motion, the office of Corresponding Secretary was abolished. Re-election of the officers then followed.

     Owing to the absence of Professor Very, and the impossibility of presenting his heralded paper on "Ether," Professor Iungerich's paper on "Loyalty to Swedenborg's Science and Philosophy" was made the order of the day. The speaker argued that since Swedenborg had been a natural fisherman, thus a teacher of natural truths, before he became a spiritual fisherman, that his Scientific Works must of necessity be a basis for the Theological Writings. By citations he showed that Swedenborg had been "led into the sciences by the Lord from 1710 to 1744," "given a love of truth for its own sake," providentially "kept from falling backwards" in his inductions, and afforded many supernatural signs to attest the truth of what he wrote. He urged that these were sufficient reason to be loyal to the teachings of the philosophy and science, and not to adjudicate that they are necessarily wrong. He pleaded for a flexible interpretation of such of his facts as seemed to contravene a riper experience; giving as illustration several suggestions with regard to points in the Chemistry that had been questioned.

     Professor Acton agreed in the main with the paper, but voiced a feeling that loyalty should be urged toward those Scientific Works that began in 1734, which were founded upon the reliable experience of many investigators.

     Professor R. W. Brown then read a paper dealing with the properties that Swedenborg assigned to salt, and showing, with the aid of blackboard figures, that these refer to salt extracted from brine, and therefore not to sodium chloride alone. Swedenborg himself had made a distinction between common salt and pure salt, by which latter he meant the rock salt which is the pure sodium chloride.

     At the evening session President L. F. Hite delivered his annual address, entitled "Man in his State of Integrity," his argument beginning from the treatment of this subject in the Introduction to the Principia, and covering the whole compass of Swedenborg's philosophy in an interesting compendium.

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He presented the Picture of organic man, composed of physiological receptacles of animal spirit, purer Mood, and red blood, these answering to the planes of the atmospheric world, the aura, ether, and air, and constituting a basis for the psychological planes. In the discussion that followed, appreciation was expressed for the comprehensiveness of Prof. Hite's outline, and in the form of questions and answers a number of interesting points were raised as to the relation of the spirituous fluid to the animal spirit, and as to whether or not the soul is an organism and can be described in terms of organic forms. Some of the speakers held that it is a "receptacle of life," and thus an organic form, others that it is rather to be thought of as a fluid form, others again that it is an "influx of the; Divine Life Itself." Professor Hite preferred to describe the soul under the terms "love and wisdom," etc., and felt that we would be in danger of materialism if we dwelt upon the idea of an organism in thinking of the soul. His address will be published in THE NEW PHILOSOPHY, and it is hoped that this will lead to a further discussion and elucidation of the subject in the pages of that journal.
BEING "BALLED." 1918

BEING "BALLED."       H. S       1918

     "To ball.-(Apiculture)-To form in a dense cluster about a queen bee."-(Webster.)

     An apiculturist can realize the full meaning of this term after seeing one of his most valuable queen bees smothered to death by a swarm of workers attaching themselves in a ball around her. Just imagine what would happen in human society if all the charms of womanhood were concentrated in the person of one super-woman! Socially, it is the attractive women that are most likely to suffer this fate, but a similar thing may happen to anyone upon the spiritual planet as an abuse of the well-known law that "like attracts like." Anyone who becomes important to others, or whose personality is pleasing, and who becomes popular, is in danger of being "balled" by the too great attachment of his admirers.

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But it is an ill day for his use, if thereby he loses touch with the rest of the world.

     Because a successful minister is a purveyor of gold, silver, and jewels beyond price, he is certain to be surrounded by friends whose loyalty is so warmed by their sense of gratitude, that it loses its critical duality, and becomes that most insidiously dangerous thing, admiration without discrimination, a sort of friendship of love, or love of the person without due regard to his quality. We are apt to forget that a good man may be misled, or may even at times do or say something from his proprium. The young especially are disturbed by such a slip. Their hearts crave enthusiasm and hero worship, and it has a shattering effect to find that their idol is made of common clay after all. It takes the wisdom of experience to discriminate, to see that the proprium is one thing, and that what the Lord is doing with a man, and through him, is quite another. Only the wise fully realize that "man can receive nothing unless it be given him from heaven," that both wisdom and nobility must needs inflow in an ever-renewed supply.

     One need not search very far in political history to find instances of kings and leaders whose illustration has been cut off by the operation of this law. In our natural impatience with apparently willful objectors we need always to be on our guard, lest we destroy a very important though unwelcome function. Socrates was called a gad-fly by the Athenian leaders, but it did not help the State any when he quaffed the bitter cup. It is so much easier to brush away, an unpopular critic than to heed his criticism.

     Moreover, it not only by a good sphere that one is in danger of being "balled." The reverse application is involved in the text, "Wheresoever the carcase is, there shall the eagles be gathered together." For the sake of human freedom it is ordained that only those spirits attach themselves who are invited by a man. Hence the overwhelming tendency to confirm any principle once received. If your mind frames an idea or pictured image, and holds it, the spirits who correspond at once inflow and put on that idea as their own. At the same time those spirits who do not agree are compelled to withdraw.

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It all works by means of spheres. Whenever a person brings to the birth any thought or state, by uniting in it both his will and understanding, it lives, and sends forth a sphere of its own, which at once attracts its like, and this brings confirmations. (A. C. 1667.) And so the wise man is very careful to scrutinize what presents itself before he confirms it.

     Another consequence of this law is that open intercourse with those in the other world becomes most highly dangerous, since access, when self-sought, is only to those who agree with the received persuasions, or foster the prevailing delights. If the prominent men who are now delving into spiritism could only know this, and be on their guard! Only by the help of the Heavenly Doctrines can man enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith. Only by these can he satisfy himself as to the substantial reality of the other world, and yet know enough of its laws to be satisfied to lay no profane hand upon the established order of influx. For purposes of test and confirmation, historical records and the abundant evidence of effects will amply suffice. H. S.
Flying Machine 1918

Flying Machine              1918

     From the April NEW PHILOSOPHY we glean the interesting information that "some years ago, when the Wrights and Curtis, aeroplane manufacturers, were engaged in litigation in connection with patent rights in aeroplane construction, the lawyers representing the Curtis firm applied for copies of Swedenborg's papers containing his projects for a Flying Machine. The particular object they had in mind does not appear, but presumably it was the establishment of the priority of certain basic ideas in the construction of flying machines."

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     BRYN ATHYN.-On May 12th was held the last of the regular doctrinal classes, which, during the past year, have been devoted to the study of Genesis, chapters xi-xiv, with a view to showing the relation of the events therein described to the Life of the Lord on earth. The purpose of the course was to illustrate from the Writings the harmony of the Old and New Testaments, and to present the fundamental principles of the Lord's Glorification.

     An informal class with the ladies was conducted one night a week throughout the year. The Doctrine of the Lord, and later the Doctrine of the Word, were presented in conversation, on the basis of readings from "The Four Leading Doctrines."

     On Sunday evenings during the latter half of the year a series of classes was held for the men of the society. Here an effort was made to show the harmony between the Old and New Testaments in a more general way than was done in the doctrinal classes. One book was considered at each class, a general resume being given of its contents, its authorship, and the circumstances under which it was written, its place in the Word, its internal sense, and its relation to the Lord's life. All of the books from Genesis to 1st Samuel were covered in this manner, but at this point the complication of the subject demanded more time and study for adequate presentation than it was possible for the Assistant Pastor to give. The course was therefore abandoned, and the subsequent classes were taken up with the consideration of a variety of subjects chosen by the members, among which may be mentioned "The Academy Principles in their relation to the rising generation," "Self-examination and the Holy Supper, and "The Newchurchman in the business world."

     The Children's Service was continued this year without any marked change, except that the ritual was somewhat shortened. The lessons and addresses were taken entirely from the Book of Revelation, in a series which covered virtually the whole of that Book. Miss Amena Pendleton kindly continued to provide stories to be read at these services in place of a third lesson. They were taken chiefly from the Memorable Relations. Since Miss Pendleton's departure from Bryn Athyn the Assistant Pastor has done his best to continue this work, because it had become an integral part of the service, and would have been greatly missed by the children. The offering made at this service has been given to the Orphanage Fund, as in the past.

     In addition to the above meetings conducted by the Assistant Pastor, the Bishop has held a class on Sunday evenings, at which he treated of educational topics adapted to the use of mothers.

     The Spring Meeting of the society was held on May 17th, and as usual was devoted mainly to the consideration of reports from the Local School. A paper was read by Principal Heilman, dealing with various problems of the school work, and proposing for next year the holding of quarterly joint meetings of parents and teachers. This was favored by most of the speakers, and it was felt that such meetings, if kept in the sphere of the principles of education, and above the realm of personalities, would be of use. An interesting series of pictures was then shown upon the screen, being photographs taken by Mr. Donald Rose of the present year's classes and teachers, and those of earlier days. G. DE C.

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     GLENVIEW ILL.-On Friday evening, May 17th, the Immanuel Church held a reception in honor of the Rev. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Smith. A short musical program had been arranged, which greatly added to the enjoyment of the evening. Mr. Jesse Stevens played a number of violin solos, Miss Helen Wiedinger favored us with several songs, and Miss Eleanor Lindrooth gave a solo dance. Mr. John Synnestvedt, Recording Secretary of the society, then read Mr. Smith's letter of acceptance of the call to become pastor of the Immanuel church. This was followed by short speeches and toasts, Mr. Sydney Lee acting as toastmaster on behalf of the Social Committee. Mr. G. Starkey proposed the toast to the "Church," the leading thought in his remarks being the teaching that "Firsts enter into all things which follow." The speaker very ably applied this teaching to the new state into which the society was then entering. Mr. S. G. Nelson then followed with the toast to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, giving them hearty welcome into the social life of the society, and expressing his belief that the Church would continue to grow under the spiritual leadership of their new pastor. Mr. Smith responded, saying how he appreciated the hearty welcome he had received, and asked for the indulgence of the members in overlooking the shortcomings of their pastor, and for full co-operation in the work he hoped to do in their midst. Dr. J. B. S. King proposed the toast to the "Immanuel Church," and spoke on the "Need of Co-operation." He showed that there could be nothing worth having without co-operation, and that if everyone would co-operate in the spiritual uses of the Church under the leadership of the pastor, his work would be sure to be a success.

     The latter part of this happy occasion was spent in dancing.

     Memorial Day was celebrated by the Immanuel Church in a very impressive manner. A special morning service was held in the Church, when the pastor delivered very forceful address on the lines suggested by President Wilson's request that the day be made one of prayer for the success of our armies now entering the great conflict in Europe. The preacher dealt with the subject of "Prayer" in the light of the Heavenly Doctrines, showing that when we pray aright, the prayer is already answered in the state of mind produced. The address was one which might well be printed and circulated broadcast at the present time when many people are seeking light on the use of prayer.

     After the service the congregation proceeded to the grounds near the school house to take part in the Flag-raising ceremony. The Boy Scouts led the procession, followed by the school children and the young ladies dressed in their Red Cross uniforms. Standing around the flagstaff, the bugle sounded, the flag was raised and saluted, and the children repeated the "pledge to the flag." After the singing of the National Anthem, Mr. G. A. McQueen made a brief address on "Our Boys." The young ladies of the Red Cross then sang a number of verses, bringing in the names of all of our boys who have joined the colors, the audience joining in the chorus.

"Tramp, tramp, tramp the boys are marching,
     Cheer up comrades, they will come,
And beneath the starry flag, we shall breathe the air again
     Of sweet freedom in our own sweet free and home."

     During the singing the names of the boys in gold letters were attached to a board in sight of the spectators. After singing "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," the Red Cross ladies presented to the Church a beautiful service flag containing thirteen stars.

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All then marched in procession to the entrance of the park, where the flag was suspended, to remain a constant reminder of the New Church boys who have gone to war from Glenview. G. A. McQ.

     KITCHENER, ONT.-April the thirteenth was the occasion of one of our famous Kitchener "showers." We gathered cautiously at the school building and thence crept silently and surreptitiously to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Deppisch. Here we were welcomed at the door by Elvira herself, the object of the shower, who was indeed taken by surprise. After the presents had been opened amidst exclamations of appreciation, we returned to the school building, (this time not so silently), and enjoyed refreshments and a long series of dances.

     A wedding in the society is something we always look forward to with pleasure, and we have just had that pleasant experience at the wedding of Harold Bellinger and Elvira Deppisch, on April 24th. The church was beautifully decorated. Immediately in front of the chancel was an arbor of white pillars with an adjoining arch, over which an abundance of yellow daffodils was arranged at artistic intervals. From the center of the arch hung a white dove, and on the chancel ferns and green plants were beautifully grouped. During the ceremony, which was dignified and impressive, the pastor read one of the Memorable Relations from Conjugial Love. At the reception held afterwards for invited friends and relatives in the school room, Mr. Odhner presented an inspiring address on conjugial love and this was followed by speeches from Mr. Deppisch, Mr. Geo. Schnarr, and Mr. Diebel, of Waterloo, an uncle of the groom.

     During May we held a series of what we termed missionary meetings. They were really Tuesday classes on topics of general doctrine to which we were invited to bring our friends. To the first meeting all came very enthusiastically with our minds made up to behave our best and present, an unimpeachable front to the visitors. (Some of the ladies even kept on their hats.) Alas! we were doomed to disappointment, for none of our friends turned up. The laugh seemed to be on us, so we accepted the situation and enjoyed ourselves, spending a very useful evening in discussing evangelization itself, and nothing daunted, decided to hold a meeting the following week. To this we managed to bring one young man, and with this encouragement held two successive meetings, at each of which one stranger was present. Next year we hope to do more work of this nature.

     On May 3rd we turned our supper and class into a reception for Pte. Arthur Schnarr, who is home on leave from the front with trench fever. He is the first of our boys to return and we were glad to welcome him. After supper the pastor made a few remarks on the war, and proposed a toast to Arthur, who responded, giving us an interesting account of his experiences "over there." The remainder of the evening was spent socially, playing cards, dancing, and singing all the popular patriotic songs we could get hold of.

     Our 24th of May picnic on the church grounds was a great success, except for a rather prolonged shower after supper. Tennis, bowling, races, baseball and quoits were the order of the afternoon. We ate our picnic lunches at tables in the school room, and after the shower had abated we proceeded to the bonfire where we sang songs until the dying embers proclaimed it time for dancing.

     On June 2nd we were summoned by a personal letter from the pastor to a meeting at which certain topics in connection with the uses of the society were to be discussed. There was a large attendance and a very useful evening was spent.

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After an excellent address by the pastor we discussed at some length the uses and necessity of a Sunday School, and decided to start one next year. The pastor is going to undertake a class of instruction for those desiring to assist in this work. F. V. R.

     PHILADELPHIA.-The month of June is a busy month in our midst. It marked the conclusion of year's series of doctrinal classes devoted to the study of the internal sense of the book of Revelation. One class was devoted to each chapter and a broad view of the internal sense was presented which will form the basis for future more detailed study.

     At the same time a series of sermons was preached on the message to Ephesus showing the still greater depth of the Book of Revelation, and how it is capable of endless study if anything like the full measure of its truth is to be derived.

     The Sunday School has maintained an average of twenty-five children, and about seven of them will have to be awarded perfect attendance prizes. It is planned to close the Sunday School during the months of July and August because of the heat, but it is hoped to keep the children together by means of picnics and sociables held from time to time during the recess.

     Under the able leadership of Mr. H. L. Lechner, the organization of a very efficient Boy Scouts troop is under way, and is almost completed. As the members of the troop are required to attend Sunday School, it is a very good missionary organ, and has brought five new boys to the Sunday School. It is planned to take the boys camping early in July in the vicinity of Bryn Athyn.

     The two clubs of the Society, the Advent Club and the Theta Epsilon, held a very memorable banquet in the course of the month. It took the form of a farewell to Mr. W. R. Cooper, who has left us to take up arms in, the Canadian forces. A novelty feature of the banquet was a number of remarkable speeches from three of the ladies. They proved a great success, and as one man remarked afterwards, the men will henceforth have to look to their laurels.

     The annual meeting resulted in the election of the following officers for the ensuing year of the Society: Treasurer, Mr. K. Knudsen; Secretary, Mr. W. A. Cranch; Finance Board, Messrs. W. H. Alden, Jr., D. S. Edmonds, F. J. Cooper, William F. Junge, and H. L. Lechner. K. R. A.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.-On the fifteenth of April I started out on my spring trip. The evening of that day was spent in BUFFALO, at a social gathering of the society there. This society has entered upon new life and activity under the energetic pastorate of the Rev. Mr. Reissner.

     For two days following I was in CLEVELAND, With Mr. and Mrs. William Parker and family. As usual in visits here, our time was largely filled with consideration of doctrinal questions, of which Mr. Parker always has a good store. One evening a class was held, at which two New Church people besides the family were present

     On April 19th I arrived at ERIE, PA., and that evening the young people's doctrinal class was held. (At this point the work was interrupted for a week, as I was called away by illness in the family.) On Sunday, the 28th, services were held at which there was an attendance of twenty-two persons, of whom sixteen partook of the Holy Supper. In the evening of the same day, when the members had gathered for the general doctrinal class, there took place the baptism of the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Miltiades Glenn.

     It was my good fortune to have my further route lie through Pittsburgh, as this enabled me to be present at the splendid closing banquet of the District Assembly.

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     One week, May 3rd to 10th, was spent at MIDDLEPORT, OHIO. During this time there were eleven meetings of various kinds, including services, general classes, ladies' meeting, men's meeting, social and school for the children. At the services on Sunday morning there was an attendance of twenty-one, and there were seventeen communicants. The Sunday evening service was of a missionary character, and five strangers were present, who expressed themselves as much pleased with the sermon, and afterwards gave evidence of this by speaking of it to others (so we heard) during the week following. Perhaps the most delightful event of the week was the social supper at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. Boatman, five miles from town. Twenty-three adults and ten children were present, and all had a good time, to which the surpassing excellence of the supper perhaps contributed not a little. After supper, as a number of us gathered on the lawn, Mr. Oliver Bradbury gave us a graphic description of the ride of Morgan's Raiders through this farm, and pointed out the spot where he, then a boy, was with the militia, which was endeavoring to hinder the raiders' progress. Later all gathered in the house for a doctrinal class. Instruction was given the children three times during the week.

     CINCINNATI was the next point visited. Services were held on Sunday, May 12th, with an attendance of ten, of whom seven partook of the Holy Supper. Two evening doctrinal classes were held, and on one afternoon instruction was given to the children.

     Circumstances permitted only a short visit to DETROIT. One day, May 16th, was spent there at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Day. The children were instructed during the afternoon, and in the evening a doctrinal class was held.

     Since returning from the above trip, I visited Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Hachborn, at BRANTFORD, ONT., June 1st to 3rd. On Sunday morning, the and, instruction was given the four boys of the family, aged six to thirteen years. It was pleasure to find that the truths of the Church have been well implanted in them by their father. In the afternoon services were held, at which the family and Mr. Hachborn's mother were present. In the evening instruction was again given to the boys.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.
HOW THE WRITINGS SEEM TO BE RECEIVED BY MEN 1918

HOW THE WRITINGS SEEM TO BE RECEIVED BY MEN              1918

     "I have spoken with spirits as to how my writings seem to be received when they are made public: for evil spirits sometimes infused the idea that no one would perceive them, but that all would reject. Just now in the street, while speaking with spirits, it was given me to perceive that there are five kinds of reception: First, those who wholly reject, who are in another persuasion, and who are enemies of the faith. These reject; for the truth cannot be received by them, because it cannot penetrate their minds. The second kind receive them as scientitics, and are delighted with them as scientifics, also as curiosities. The third kind receive intellectually, and with some alacrity, yet remain in respect to life as before. A fourth kind receive them persuasively, so that they penetrate to the amendment of their lives; they recur to them in certain states, and make use of them. A fifth kind receive with joy, and are confirmed." (Diary 2955.)

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ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE              1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.





     The Committee wishes to make an urgent appeal to every one who is interested in our soldiers to write them as often as possible. They all say that letters are more welcome than anything else. Write often, and do not expect an answer to every letter, though no doubt you sill receive one. If there are no soldiers that you know, we will be glad to send you addresses.

     News Notes.

     Change of address, mostly to the American Expeditionary Forces or some embarkation camp, has been the subject of most of our letters this month, Exceptions to this were "Thank You" letters for two long-delayed Christmas boxes. Lieut. Richard DeCharms received his on May 21, after a six months' trip. He said that everything was in good condition. Conrad Howard, who is in India, says that is box was four months on the way, and that everything was good but the cheese!

     Tristram Coffin is now a lieutenant in the 114th Infantry.

     Victor Waelchli wrote to the LIFE from the floor of a "French barn billet." "I say French barn billet, as I believe that no country could boast of a more dilapidated bunch of horse houses. One does have to hand it them as to agriculture, however. Almost every square foot of soil is cultivated here so far as I have seen!" Victor is a motor machine gunner, and wrote of his work, "When Hans starts something worth while they take us for a joy ride in an armored car or motorcycle side-car to the entertainment, and allow us to watch it through the sights of a machine gun."

     The following letter from Mr. A. J. Appleton encourages us in the belief that this Committee is accomplishing the ends for which it was established: "I must admit that before I came under the particular notice of your committee I felt I stood absolutely alone, for it is rare to meet members of our own church. It is difficult to find words to express just the feeling now, for every few days brings a communication of some kind, and makes one feel that he really belongs to the church-something of official recognition. You can imagine that I get little sympathy for my views from those surrounding me. That is just why church literature is so much appreciated. It contains views of other Newchurchmen, and truth revealed in Doctrines to which the heart at once responds in feelings of inmost joy, a sensation of gratitude difficult for me to express or convey to others. I desire to express my sympathy with all concerned in the departure of the Rev. C. T. Odhner, but we can all recognize that his use here among us, having been fulfilled, he is required for a greater use in the spiritual world."

     Jack Cooper is now in Palestine, and in an interesting letter to the A. W. S. C. Secretary he tells of the different villages that he has passed through, He says that the sanitary conditions in several were so bad that they almost had to wear gas masks.

     Elie Hussenet, the only boy on our list who is still a prisoner in Gerrnany, wrote us a short letter but, of course, could tell us nothing about himself.

     Mrs. J. A. Wells has received a number of letters from men at the front who knew Roy. With her permission I quote from the letter written by Lieut. M. Caldwell, Roy's commanding officer. "I have been with Company A since the day it west into camp at Ft. Totten just a year ago, and your son was well known to me. I cannot begin to it tell you how keenly I feel his loss. He was always kind and gentle, and did much towards smoothing I out the little difficulties among others.

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He always performed his duties cheerfully, and I was always certain that whatever I gave him to do would be done thoroughly. He was very popular with all his companions, and never gave his officers any trouble, but on the contrary was a model soldier that we were all proud to have with us.

     "He was killed by the enemy's artillery fire while engaged in the construction of new defensive works. He was placed at rest with full military honors in the military section of a quiet little cemetery, in a quaint old French town. Before we left I personally saw to it that a suitable marker was placed at the head of his resting place. A record of this is kept, and at such a time as censorship regulations do not interfere with my mentioning the name of the village, I will be glad to inform you of the same."

     Mr. F. W. Elphick sent us an interesting account of his work in Salonika, but as space did not permit us to print the whole of it we turned it over to the BULLETIN.

     Lieut. Albert Cleare arrived safely in England, and from his letter we judge that he was having a fine time seeing the sights in London. He was quite surprised, he says, to find that he could not get meat without a coupon. Some war bread toast, some jam and a cup of tea were all that he could get at first.

     David Gladish has been to Kelly Field to complete his course in the flying school. He has been top sergeant of his squadron for some time now.

     Doron Synnestvedt writes that in his estimation the only ships that are torpedoed are mailships. Another appeal for letters.

     Though many New Church women are in war work of some kind, we would like to call special attention to the work of three of them: Miss Clarice Howard, who is nurse in England; Miss Viola Bobo, nursing in a war hospital in America, and Miss Bessie Caldwell, who is in France doing work that will release a man for active service. CLARA DAVIS.
ROLL OF HONOR 1918

ROLL OF HONOR              1918

     Who does not remember and love him who fights even unto death that his country may be free. (T. C. R. 710.)

LIEUT. W. REY GILL, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.
GUY CHRISTOPHER PEMBERTON, Durban, Natal, South Africa Killed in action at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
LEON ROSE, London, England. Royal West Surrey Regiment. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29, 1916.
REGINALD WATERS, London, England, Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
ROY S. WELLS, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. 11th R. R. Engineers. Died April 12, 1918, of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

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     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F.
ANSHUTZ, LIEUT. E. R., New York Coast Artillery, Fort du Pont, Delaware.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, B. E. F., France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56th Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, CHARLIE, Colchester, Eng. 142538, 3 A. M., R. A. F., No. 3 Flight, T Section, Hut 50, A Lines, Halton Camp West, Buckinghamshire, Eng.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. H. M. S. "Nerissa," Torpedo Boat Destroyer, c/o General P. O., London, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engs., U. S. A., American E. F.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, American E. F.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., American, E. F.
BARNITZ, CORP, GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTIFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks - 48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade. Md.
BELLINGER, LIEUT. FRED, Toronto, Ont., Canada. c/o Welsh Margetson, 16 Moor Land Fore St., London E. C., England.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, A Battery, Canadian Reserve Artillery, Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, England.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, B. E. F, France.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, E. J., Denver, Col. Co. 591 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. 28th Service Co., U, S. Signal Corps, Carnegie Institute of Tech., Pittsburgh, Pa.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602I08, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E. F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. Train Headquarters, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, CORP. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, 3rd Instruction Center, American E. F.
BURNHAM, LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
CHILDS, IST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Supply Co., 109th Inf., American E. F.
CHILDS, SYDNEY, New York, N. Y. A. F. C., c/o Personnel Officer, Headquarters, Camp Mills, Long Island, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. 5., Philadelphia, Pa. R. A. F., Cole & Co., Bankers, Charing Cross, London, S. W., Eng.

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COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. 51st Pioneer Inf., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2D LIEUT, R. T., Baltimore, Co. M., 114th Infantry, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PVT. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. 56, Marine Barracks, Paris Island, S. C.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals. Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COOPER, WILLIAM R., Philadelphia, Pa.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. School for Radio Mechanics, Goodwin Hall, College Station, Texas.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Engineer K. C. c/o Director of Construction and Forestry, Dept. Railroads and Docks, U. S. M. P. O., 717, American E. F., France.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 82nd Hut, H Division, Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epson, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., American E. F.
DOERING, 2ND LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks B, Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas.
ELPHICK, A. B. FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. H. M. R. N. Wireless Station, Culver Cliff near Bembridge, Isle of Wight.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F., France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Butt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240 R.A. F., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Ont., Can.
FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E. Mess. Morda Camp, Conway, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, Qe Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 1141 France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Q. M. C. N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, American E. F.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England. L. Z. 3624, Lewis Gun Section, D Co., Anson Battalion, R. N. D., E. E. F., France.
GLADISH, CADET DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn. Pa. U. S. School of Military Aeronautics, University of Princeton, N. J., Class of June 15th.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929, C. A. M. C., Seaford Camp, England, c/o Army P. O., London.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., American E. F.

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Grant, FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. No. 640231, Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service American E. F., with the Italian Army.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 309, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EMERY, Arbutus, Md. 3rd Training Co., 305th Engrs., American E. F.
HART, CORP. DOUGLAS E., Addiscombe, Croyden, England. 530713, 4 Platoon, 2/15 London Regt., c/o G. P. O., London.
HEADSTEN, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. Student Co. 310, Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa., Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Allied Officers' K Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARREL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa., c/o Naval Hospital, Brooklyn, N. Y.
HICKS, CADET KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, Longwood Convalescent Home, North Toronto, Ont., Can.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont., Canada. 490A 1st Canadian Reserve Park, C. A. S. C., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2996629, A Co., No. 2 Platoon, C. E. T. C., Seaford, Sussex, England.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C. British Conv. Depot, No. 4 Co., (Band Quarters), Trimulgherry, Deccan, India.
HUSSENFT, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie IV. Prisonnier de guerre, au Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet, Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, Paris, France.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, 15th Platoon, 4 Co. 13th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. France.
JOHNSON CARL E., Erie, Pa Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Batt., American E. F.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F, 3rd Engrs., Corozal Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview Ill. 21st Ambulance Co., Fort Riley, Kans.
KING, ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. F. Co., 40th Inf., Fort Sheridan, Ill.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sash., Can. 258676.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O. France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 751077, 47th Canadians, B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241, 64th Battery, Draft, Witley Came. England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087 21st Battn. Canadians, B. E. P. France, c/o Army P. O., England.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement) 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine d. et Oise, France.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD, Pittsburgh, Pa., U. S. Naval Reserve.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island, 2224 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Training Depot, St. John's, Quebec, Can.

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LOOMIS, W. A., CO. A., Military Police Tram Headquarters, Div. 851 Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldal Musicien an 237e Territorial l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M. 131st Inf., American E. F.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf. American E. F.
MORRIS; I/A. M; EDW. B., London, England. 377461 Ind Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England, 301276, 1/tn L. R. B., Transport Section, B. E. F, France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otage Regt. 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Barswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 4, B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER, 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. D, 50th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.
ODHNER, CAPT. MADEFREY A., Bryn Athyn. Pa. 63rd Inf., U. S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Motor Co. No. 10, Camp Greenleaf Annex, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 3, A. P. 0., 708, American E. F.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. 1, A. P. O., 714, American E. F.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Co. B, 33211, Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126111 Inf., American E. F.
PIBERES, SERGT. M. R., Philadelphia, Pa. Intelligence Section, A. P. O., 726, American E. F.
PITCAIRN HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Squadron 8, Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas.
PRICE, LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Engrs., American E. F.
PRICE, LIEUT. RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery C, 12th Battn, F. A. R. D., Camp Jackson, Columbia, S. C.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. 730 Rock Creek Church Rd., Washington, D. C.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Cavite, P. J.

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ROSENQVIST, PVT. FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, American E. F.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., American E. F.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. 228985, 772 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont., Can.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., American E. F.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H. F. A. U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. C, M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Santee," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. A, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, Americas Lakes, Washington.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, American E. F.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa., 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, Washington Barracks, Washington, D. C.
SMITH, HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa Co. F. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa Co. C, 313th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Co. A, Camp Rariten, Metuchen, N. J.
SNYDER, WILMER E. 148th Field Hospital, Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E, Philadelphia, Pa. 31st Balloon Co., Post Field, Fort Sill, Okla.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Soldat anglais interne a Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Suisse. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, PTE. FRED. E., Kitchener, Canada. 751124, and Canadian Pioneers, D Co., 15th Platoon.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa., Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Postal Detachment Box Z, Aviation Section, Reilly Field No. L, I, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 1131 Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. O. 705. American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co M, 131st Inf., American E. F.
TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J Bourbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Camp Jarvis; Talliaferro Field I, Fort Worth, Texas.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. A. A. S. Section 529, American E. F. with the Italian, Army.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L. St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.

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WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Depot, Shorncliffe, Kent, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, 3/A. M. Headquarters, Cadet Brigade, Royal Air Force, Royal Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, England.
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G.. London, England. 536534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F.
WELLS, CORP. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., American E. F.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet, whose business address is Messageries Maritimes, 8 rue Vignon, one-half block from the Madeleine. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peckham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.

     The Committee takes great pleasure in having two new members: Mrs. Rosalia M. L. Frost, who has been working with us in the temporary absence of our Chairman, Miss Freda Pendleton, and whom we are very glad to have now as one of the Committee; and the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, the Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.



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PREDESTINATION TO HEAVEN 1918

PREDESTINATION TO HEAVEN       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII AUGUST, 1918 No. 8
     The creation. of the universe and of its inhabitants is a testimonial of the Divine Love. It is the essence of God to wish "to love others outside of Himself," "to be one with them," and "to make them blessed from: Him." (T. C. R. 4.) Man, therefore, was created capable of satisfying all these essentials of the Divine Love, and with the intention that he should fulfill them. It is utterly incompatible with the essence of the Divine Love to construe God as decreeing from foreordained will that some individuals be doomed to hell from birth, while others are destined to heaven. Cruelty and favoritism are incompatible with Divine Love. No man is born predestined to hell; but all are born capable of satisfying the three essentials of the Divine Love. All are predestined to heaven. (D. P. 329)

     God, however, did not create man an automaton. A puppet without voluntary participation in the current of Divine purposes would not be one in whom these purposes could be achieved. If devoid of reactivity, if unable either to open to receive or to close against the influx of God, he would lack all individuality and would not be one whom God could love, be one with, or make blessed. Predestination to heaven, therefore, involves granting to the individual the right to choose what is truly heaven; or else to reject this and prefer some spurious and misleading bliss in its stead. Though man is predestined to heaven, yet it must be possible for some men never to get to heaven. God respects their freedom to reject heaven and allows them to remain in such rejection to eternity, and with full liberty of, will and thought, and even of action, so far as this does not infringe on the liberty of others.

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It would be mere cruelty to compel such recalcitrants to live in a heavenly state which was loathsome to them. Hell is itself a testimonial of the Lord's mercy to the rebels against His will; as also of His respect for their freedom even to go against the essential purposes of the Divine Love.

     Heaven is not a place, but a state. It is the state of the marriage of good and truth in the individual mind; the state of spiritual union between an angelic couple, husband and wife; and the state of the conflux of the infinitely varied but harmonious uses performed by all angelic couples. The form of these uses is said to be human, and for this reason heaven is called the Gorand Man. It may here be asked fitly, in what way does man's pre-destination to heaven, and his free will to achieve or forego the blissful destiny for which he was framed, affect his relation to heaven considered in each of these senses? Man's free will concerns his ability to further the Lord's plan for him, given at his birth, and to develop its efficiency to one of three degrees; or else to oppose it and confirm himself in one of three, degrees in this opposition. There is nothing else he is at liberty to change.

     He has no choice in the matter of his parents, in the sort of hereditary instincts and tastes that were transmitted to him, and in his sex. He has no choice as to whether he will be of the celestial or of the spiritual genius, since this is fixed in infancy, (cf. A. C. 2301; H. H. 333, 339), and, therefore, no choice as to whether he will belong to the celestial or to the spiritual kingdom. He has no choice as to what province of the Gorand Man he will belong to; for birth on a Particular earth, in a special nation there, and to a certain extent within a specific family, endows him with certain peculiarities that fit him for one province, district and precinct of the Gorand Man and for no other, (cf. A. C. 10585; T. C. R. 813; S. D. 5629). He is barn with a certain love which is not identical with any other, and will remain with him unalterably to eternity as the determinant of the use he will perform in the Gorand Man. This love or use assigns him to a definite and invariable situation in the Gorand Man, and the sooner he opens his eyes and clearly ascertains what it is, the earlier he may enter into the Lord's vineyard and enjoy that happiness which comes solely from an honest toil in His service.

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     The New Testament parable, with the injunction to be willing to take the lowest places at the feast, admonishes us not to aspire for uses that are not our own, and also to trust that if the Lord has destined anyone for an exalted service He will in His Providence lead him eventually to it. Even the choice of one's angelic mate is very limited. To those in the light of the Lord's heavenly bride, His true church on earth, and who from childhood have longed for a lovely companionship with one, it is promised that such a one will be provided (C. L. 49.) They will apparently be led away from entanglements with or infatuations for others, and be joined to none save that partner who will be eternally theirs. It would seem that those of the celestial genius would more than others have this fate, each having the dictate that would lead to recognizing the mate, like Adam, who on first beholding Eve, knew instinctively she was "bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh." For others, and frequently for those of the spiritual genius, who have little perception of the states of themselves and others, the teaching about similitudes seems to be intended (cf. C. L. 229, 320). Stated succinctly, a man or a woman might under this law choose anyone of a number of persons of the same religion, as his or her mate, it matters not which. But as soon as the choice has been made, and both will to be one, the Lord provides that they become to eternity a conjugial couple.

     Man is predestined to heaven, and to perform one of the myriad uses that are being daily added to its form. And even if he make his bed in hell and become with respect to the angels a species of spiritual gall or offal, even then he will not escape the use which he was destined to perform. (cf. D. P. 68.) It is only profaners who apparently escape this lot, and that is because they are so torn between conflicting impulses, now to serve the Lord and anon to resist, that finally nothing human is left in them to enable them to enter into that gigantic chain and bond of human uses. Except for this one case, a man will inevitably be led to perform that most special use for which he from, birth was, intended, and so enter predestinately into one of the uses of the Lord's government.

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     His deliberate choice of heaven or hell does not enable him to escape his use; any more than, Jonah's taking ship for Tarshish destroyed his eventual mission to Nineveh. He who chooses heaven is he who seeks to find out what use the Lord intended him for, and who, when he finds it, willingly co-operates. And he who seeks will find it, and whatever he prays for from the Lord, in the way of help and assistance to perform that use, will not be denied him. But he who chooses hell is one who rebels against the station the Lord put him in, and is never content with his lot, but eternally covets that of others. Yet he will not escape his use, but in hell, to which he turned as a refuge from it, he will be driven, under the duress of fear and the goad of punishment, to a grudging though useful performance of a vile phase thereof.

     The choice between heaven and hell means merely whether the man will serve the Lord willingly in the use to which he was predestined, or whether he will constantly oppose the Lord, and have to be driven to it. In neither heaven nor hell is there any rest from the performance of a use. Man, so long as he lives on earth, is free to choose in which way he will perform this use; and his choice here spells either eternal happiness hereafter or eternal chafing and vexation at having to perform it. He is free to open his mind to any one of three degrees, that is, to enter into anyone of the three heavens to which that use is associated; for he may do it from simple obedience to the truth, from love towards the neighbor, or from love to the Lord, as his mainspring. On the other hand, if he rebels, he is free to summon to his aid any one of the three hells, to confirm: him in his stubborn resistance to a compliance with the Lord's will. In that case he will after death be brow-beaten by external compulsion into some performance of that use. He will be assigned to hard labor in one of the prison work-houses of hell, though tempered by occasional reprieves, as a reward for docile subservience to his taskmasters.

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PEOPLE IN THE MOUNTAIN 1918

PEOPLE IN THE MOUNTAIN       Rev. L. W. T. DAVID       1918

     And of Zebulun he said: Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out; and Issachar, in thy tents. They shall call the people into the mountain; there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness; for they shall suck of the abundance of the seas, and of treasures hid in the sands. (Deuteronomy 33:18, 19).

     In every portion of the Word there is contained, and more or less clearly expressed, an affection of the heart and life. Sometimes of grief and pain, sometimes of exultation and gladness, now of pride, arrogance, hate and vengeance, now of despair, humility, contentment, or peace. Such is clearly the case in the blessing of Moses upon the tribes of Zebulun and Issachar, and the affection therein is obviously one of happiness, for the text begins with the word "Rejoice," and in all that follows there is the sense of fulness of life and of satisfaction; thus of blessedness. When such an affection of blessedness appears in the sense of the letter of the Word, it is because the things in that portion are descriptive of heaven or the heavenly state where happiness reigns. And this is the case here. But we should notice that the things here described are all a prophecy of the future, and that these tribes are bidden to rejoice because of the things that they are some time to enjoy. And we are reminded that in the Apocalypse these two tribes are recorded among the one hundred forty and four thousand who received the seal of the living God in their foreheads; by whom are meant those who are received into the Lord's Kingdom of heaven.

     By these are also meant, we are told, those who will accede to the New Heaven and the New Church, which are the special subjects of the Apocalypse. And thus in this prophecy of future happiness given by Moses is especially described the state of those who will be of this New Church.

     It may be well to consider briefly how far this prophecy was fulfilled literally in the history of Israeli and we find that in part it; was so fulfilled.

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For about one hundred and fifty years later, when Deborah summoned Barak and the tribes of Israel to fight against Jabin and Sisera, both Zebulun and Issachar took leading parts, and they were gathered together to prepare for the battle in Mount Tabor, whence they descended and destroyed their enemies. And we read in the song of Deborah, "And out of Zebulun came they that handled the marshal's staff, and the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; into the valley they rushed forth at his feet." And the victory they gained at that time caused great rejoicing. But thereafter these tribes practically disappeared from the history of Israel, and there was no further fulfilment of the prophecy, excepting this, a very important thing to note, that out of the country of Zebulun, out of the city of Nazareth, came One who should in truth call all people unto the Mountain where they may offer sacrifices of justice, and who should in truth cause them to suck the abundance of the seas and reveal to them treasures hidden in the sand, but in this case the fulfillment of the prophecy is the spiritual fulfillment that will come to realization only in the Lord's New Church.

     Now let us consider what is really meant by the prophecy, that we may know what the spiritual state is toward which we of the New Church are looking. The general internal sense is quite plain; as, that to call the people into the mountain is to lead them into a higher state; that there they shall offer sacrifices of justice is that they shall begin to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth; and, that they shall suck the abundance of the seas and treasures hid in the sand is that they shall abound with natural truths and with interior truths therein concealed.

     To "call the people into the mountain," we are told in the Arcana Coelestia signifies to cause truths to become goods, and the truths that are to become goods are meant by the people, while the goods which they are to become are meant by the mountain.

     The reason why people signify truths is that, as a matter of fact, man is nothing else than an aggregation of truths, or of appearances of truth, unless indeed he is an aggregation of the opposite, which are falsities and fallacies.

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For he is conscious of life or love in sensations, and sensation is nothing else than the learning of what things are by means of the various senses. The interior man consists of the things thus learned; that is, he consists of truths and the appearances of truths in a vast aggregate.

     But we are told that truths will be caused to become goods, and by goods are meant nothing else than all affections of life and of love, which are activities, uses, and delights, corresponding with that love. Therefore, that truths may become goods, they must become an affection of the life, or they must be filled with activity, uses, and delights.

     Now truths as abstract things, or as things outside of a man, cannot become so united with affections. It is only the truths that are in a man that can become goods, on which account those truths are called people. It is the people who shall be led into the mountain.

     By the mountain we have said is meant a higher state, and also that it is a state of good. In general there are three things signifying a state of good-mountains, hills; and valleys, and these signify states of good in three different degrees. All valleys signify natural good, where are carried on the multitudinous practical land moral uses of life. Hills signify a higher or more interior state of spiritual good, where is the dwelling place of the interior or spiritual man-the man who dwells in and acts from spiritual truth. And there is the highest state of all that man can have any knowledge of,-that of celestial good,-a state which few attain, represented by the mountain, where dwells the man who lives in and acts from celestial truth. It is this inmost or celestial state which is meant in the text by the mountain, and it is to this state that the people, or those who are in truth, or those who accede to the New Church, are to be led. Or, to put it abstractly, the truths that are given in the New Church; are to become celestial goods.

     How this is done is also shown; for it is said that the people shall be "called into the mountain. Now "to call" is to speak with the mouth, and speech from the mouth signifies instruction in truths; and it is by instruction that men become truths, or, we may say, it is by instruction that from being like an animal he becomes a man.

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Hence it is that by "people" here are meant those who are instructed. But "to call" implies something further. For a call is the voice of authority. It is a summons, commanding obedience; and so in the spiritual sense it means instruction with authority, or instruction having authority, and enjoining obedience. Such instruction is the Doctrine which is from the mouth of the Lord Himself. For it is said of the Lord that "He spoke as one having authority, and not as the scribes." It was by the voice of the Lord through the prophet Moses that the Commandments were given, and it was by the voice of the Lord through the prophetess Deborah that the tribes were summoned to battle, and were gathered and arrayed in order upon the mountain. So it is by the doctrine of truth from the Lord alone in the New Church that men are led, and indeed are called, to ascend into the mountain of the interior life.

     As it is instruction in natural truths that makes a man in the world to be a man and not a beast, so it is instruction in internal truths from the mouth of the Lord that causes him to be a spiritual man and not a man of this world alone. By this instruction men become such that they can be introduced into interior things; they become "people" who can be led into the mountain. And it is by hearing this call, and following where it leads, that the interior state is reached, or that the truths in man become goods.

     It is said that "there they shall offer sacrifices of righteousness," and by this is meant worship of the Lord that is genuine, because it is from charity. That is to say, it is from the interior state of good into which they have been introduced. It is only on this mountain that such worship can be performed; wherefore, to represent this it was commanded the Jews, when they had become established in the land of Canaan, that their sacrificial worship should be on Mount Moriah and nowhere else. And when they were driven from Jerusalem by the Romans that worship ceased, never to be restored.

     There are also collateral reasons for this genuine worship, as appears when we read the text: "And they shall sacrifice the sacrifices of justice, because they shall suck the affluence of the sea and the treasures hidden in the sand."

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By these latter are meant contributory things which serve for the perpetuation, perfection, and enlargement of that worship. The things meant by the sea and by the sand in the spiritual sense cannot of themselves make genuine worship. They signify truths that are most external with the man, and that are at the very border of his life; truths as scientifics; truths that are held in the memory and are thus at the threshold of the man's life; for the memory is an outer border of the spiritual man, and it is represented in the Word by the sea coast. These truths, however, or scientifics, are continually being changed or renewed; and there is a constant afflux of new scientifics into the memory, every one of which serves to illustrate some genuine or universal spiritual truth, to bring it forth in new applications, and to make clearer and fuller our understanding of that truth; and in like manner they serve for the perfection and the enlargement of goods, especially the goods of love to the Lord and love to the neighbor, leading them forth constantly into new and better activities. And so it is by means of these that genuine worship is perfected and preserved, and, though the essential cause of such worship is the state of celestial good represented by the mountain, the necessity for these truths is indicated by the fact that they are represented as the nourishment of this state, far it is said of these tribes that "they shall stack the abundance of the seas, and they shall suck the hidden things of the secrets of the sand." Truths as scientifics are as necessary to the sustentation of the spiritual man as earthly food is necessary to the body. And the affection of happiness that is so apparent in the text is from the satisfaction that accompanies the supplying of this need.

     But here we should remind ourselves that while in general all truth is meant, such as can be known as a scientific; in a special sense and the more real' sense is meant all the Letter of Divine Revelation, where such truths exist as broad as the sea and as numberless as the sands, and where especially there are secret things hidden-arcana of scientific truths which are spiritual and celestial treasures.

     The essential quality of the state described in this blessing is indicated to us in the names of the tribes, Zebulun and Issachar.

464


These represent respectively conjugial love and mutual love, two loves that are celestial loves when they are genuine, belonging especially to the third or celestial heaven. Of these it is said that they shall "call the people into the mountain."

     Now it was shown that man is called and led out of the lower state into a higher state, even into the highest, by instruction from the Lord alone; and yet it is said in the literal sense concerning these two tribes that "they shall call the people." The reason is, that by them are represented efficient causes in the Lord's hands for accomplishing His purpose. For if a man is to be led in any way, two things must concur-instruction that comes from without, and a certain internal disposition which, acting from, within, gives both consent to instruction and the impelling power to follow this instruction. This disposition and impulse are the things of good that the Lord can how into and use as efficient causes toward His ends,-remains, and here in particular remains of what is conjugial and of mutual love that have been formed in the sacred intimacies of the home. It is through the awakening of these remains to life and the activity thence resulting that a man is led to the celestial state.

     There are three loves, we are told, that reign universally in the third heaven-love to the Lord, conjugial love, and mutual love, and of these love to the Lord is the primary. And since the state that is treated of in our verse is a celestial state these loves-must be active in it.

     The prime essential of love to the Lord is shown by the fact that the call into the mountain is obeyed; that is, love to the Lord is in obedience to the Divine instruction. And also it is found representatively in the offering of sacrifices, which, since they are called sacrifices of justice, mean worship of the Lord from love to the Lord, in love towards the neighbor. But love to the Lord such as is found in this interior state does not alone lead a man, if we may speak according to the appearance, but it leads him through the instrumentality of these other celestial loves.

     To speak according to the reality, these loves are one; and only love to the Lord leads; nevertheless they appear as distinct. If a man should endeavor to love the Lord alone, and divorce from this every human love and every consideration of human needs and duties, his love for the Lord would become a merely natural love of His person, and every spring of spiritual life in him would dry up.

465




     The Lord's love is nothing else than a love of giving Himself to others, or of causing His life to dwell in others as their own. And this He does absolutely. In man the first or inmost concrete finite form of this is that heavenly love in which man wills that his life shall dwell in another as the other's own. And this is love truly conjugial, and also parental love. Then from this there springs mutual love in which man wills better to others than to himself. Thus genuine love to the Lord must take form in a man and present itself in these two loves; and these two loves rule universally in all his relations with men on earth or in heaven.

     Hence we see how these loves are efficient causes of leading men into the heavenly state when their remains have been awakened to activity. And if is these loves that the Lord has in view when He describes that heavenly state and all that pertains to it. For since these celestial loves are the most perfect human form and presentation of His love, it is His purpose that men and the church shall be inaugurated into them if possible. And He tells us that in the New Church it is possible. Wherefore in prophesying the state of the New Church in its perfection He says to Zebulun, "Rejoice, Zebulun, in thy going out, and rejoice, Issachar, in thy tents."

     This picture of the prophesied state of the New Church brings to our remembrance certain duties, and some one general duty is suggested by each clause of the text.

     First, there is the duty of looking to the mountain that the Lord has pointed out to us, the very mountain in fact on which is built that great City, and of heeding His call to assemble there, that we ourselves join the ranks of those who battle for the spiritual liberation of mankind, and that thus we shall see to it that the truths He has given to us may become genuine goods, that thereby the praises which we offer to Him may be sacrifices of justice. We need to look to it that we fail not to draw from the greater storehouse the truth which He has opened before us, for the nourishment of both our external and our internal spiritual life.

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     And lastly, we need to give heed in the fundamental relations of our life, in our relations with men in general, and in our relations within the sacred circle of our homes, that no injury be done to the remains of mutual love and conjugial love, but that these be fostered, that they may grow to a fuller measure of life and activity; thus that there may be rejoicing, satisfaction, contentment, and blessedness in ever-increasing measure as we approach that heavenly kingdom. Amen.
PERPETUATION OF THE CHURCH 1918

PERPETUATION OF THE CHURCH       Rev. W. B. CALDWELL       1918

     (Delivered at Academy Schools Commencement, June 14th, 1918.)

     We propose to consider some of the means whereby the New Church is to be perpetuated, that it may grow and increase in quality and numbers from age to age, and from generation to generation, and thus fulfill the prophecies made by the Lord to the effect that this Church will be established and last forever. The certainty of this is not in doubt. The Lord will bring it about in His time, for it is the burden of all revealed prophecy. Yet doubts may well arise as to whether the New Church is being perpetuated in this or that region of the world, with this or that group of men with whom it has had a beginning. Every generation must take heed as to its own responsibility of co-operation with the Lord, who does not operate without means or instrumentalities, and whose Divine Power is not exercised for the upbuilding of the Church without the reactive of men. The rational and voluntary response of men to the Divine action is essential to the establishment of the New Church of this age, which is not to be led by miraculous means, but by states of spiritual freedom such as no former church enjoyed.

     Before the incarnation the churches were perpetuated largely by open communication with the spiritual world, by instruction from spirits, and each generation was in this manner reminded of the traditions of their forefathers, and moved to preserve them.

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But in the New Church, instruction is to come from the written Word, interpreted and applied by men, and especially by the priesthood, in each age. And this freedom from supernatural guidance places a responsibility upon every generation of Newchurchmen, to seek intelligently for the means indicated in Divine Revelation whereby the Church is to be established with them, both for their own salvation and blessing, and for its perpetuation with oncoming generations. For this responsibility or an image of it resides in all created forms, which must not only maintain their own existence, but also produce fruits, within which are the seeds of a new production. With respect to the Church, as such a created form, if it is to have continued existence, it must be maintained not only for the benefit of one age, but must at the same time provide for its extension among future generations.

     The Lord has promised that this will be accomplished; it is of vital importance that all who have a knowledge of the New Church should fulfill the attendant responsibility with intelligence and zeal, that the "kingdom may not be taken from them, and given to a nation bringing: forth the fruits thereof."

     The prophecies concerning the establishment and eternal duration of the New Church were made not only in representative form in the Scriptures, but also in specific declarations of the Writings, as in the following:

     "That this church is to succeed those which have existed from the beginning of the world, and that it is to endure for ages of ages, . . . was prophesied by Daniel, where he said, 'In the days of these kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; it shall consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.' And it is said that this shall be done by a 'stone becoming a great rock and filling the whole earth, by which-is meant the Lord as to Divine Truth. And the same prophet says in another place, speaking of the 'One like the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven,' that 'His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.'" (T. C. R. 788.)

     "It is certain that the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, will exist, because it has been predicted in the Apocalypse; and it is also certain that the falses of the former church are first to be removed, because it treats of these also in the Apocalypse." (n. 547.)

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     "That this New Church truly Christian, which is being raised up by the Lord at this day, will endure to eternity, may be confirmed from the Word of both Testaments." (Coronis iii.)

     The enlightened rational sees that the Lord in His glorified Human cannot but provide for Himself a permanent abiding-place in the minds of men in the world,-a Church wherein He shall be present and received in love and faith, where He may operate the mercies of the Holy Spirit in the blessing of regeneration and the spiritual life, Performing the Divine work of saving the human race. For the Lord alone creates and preserves the Church, and its sustenance and perpetuation depend upon His presence and conjunction, according to the law that subsistence is perpetual existence.

     And so it was that after His advent into the world and glorification He indicated in the Gospel that the Christian Church was to be an eternal Church, the Church of the Divine Human of the Lord, though He also foretold that the first form of that Church, after a brief integrity, would fail in its mission, would become Christian in name only, making necessary a Second Coming and a new manifestation of the Divine Human, to found the Church truly Christian upon a Revelation of the True Christian Religion, after the former had been judged and a Christian Heaven formed, through which the New Jerusalem would descend.

     Among the Gospel prophecies concerning the permanence of the true Church of the Lord we may recall the saying to Peter, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,," where the "rock" is representative of the Lord Himself as to the Divine Truth, and Peter is faith in this Truth among men,-the acknowledgment of the Lord in His Divine Human revealed in the Word, signified by Peter's confession just preceding, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." That this meant an internal faith, the faith of love, upon which alone a lasting spiritual church is founded, is meant by the Lord's words, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona; for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father who is in heaven."

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     Thus the rock, as the foundation of the church, is but a symbol of that which is spiritually enduring, permanent, perpetual,-faith in the Lord from love, a living faith in which the Lord is present with His life, sustaining and preserving the organic church composed of men, as the soul sustains the body. In the Ancient Church, and thence in the Jewish, the rock was a symbol of perpetuity, like gold among the metals, and the oak among trees. Because the oak lived to a very great age, the ancients would hide under an oak what they wished to preserve for posterity. (A. C. 4552.) We find the stone and the oak brought together with this signification when Joshua made a covenant with the people after they had vowed allegiance to the Lord, and when "he wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness unto you, lest ye deny your God." (Joshua 24:25-27.)

     It will be seen that the rock or stone, because it is not easily injured or destroyed, is taken in the Word to represent that which alone is imperishable,-Divine Truth from the Lord, upon which the Church is founded when this Truth abides in living faith with men, the faith of charity, which is ultimated in works of use and piety with the man who "builds his house upon a rock." Thus the rock, as one of the most rigid and fixed of material things, is a symbol of that in man which is the softest and purest of all created substances, the substance of the human mind, where love and faith in the Lard abide in a region that is above all possibility of injury and destruction, being most immediately sustained and preserved by the Divine Life Itself. Under another figure the Lord spoke of this gift of eternal life to the Church, which He described as the flock, instructed by Him, and led by Him, when He said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." (John 10:27, 28.)

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     Sufficient has now been said to bring to our minds the promised certainty of the continued existence of the true Christian Church, the Church of the New Jerusalem, the Church of the Divine Human of the Lord, which is to be sustained by perpetual and unceasing influx of life from Him, received by all who are in genuine faith and; charity, who have thus spiritually received the Lord at His Second Coming in the Heavenly Doctrines, and have suffered Him to found and build His Church in them, upon the rock of an abiding faith and love.

     The angels told Swedenborg that they had "slender hope for the men of the Christian Church, but much hope for a certain nation distant from the Christian world, and thus remote from, infestation thence, which nation is such that it can receive spiritual light, and become a celestial spiritual man; and they said that interior Divine Truths are at this day revealed to that nation, and also are received in spiritual faith, that is, in life and heart, and that they adore the Lord." (J. 74.) Perhaps we of the Christian world may derive comfort from the thought that the Lord can bring about what is considered almost hopeless by angels, seeing that "what is impossible with men is possible with God." We must trust in the certainty of a true Christian Church, but we cannot be unmindful of the equal certainty that the falses of the former church are first to be removed, and that this is to be effected by individual repentance with the men of the New Church, as their prime duty of co-operation with the Lord for the perpetuation of His Church.

     In elucidation of our subject we will now dwell briefly upon the following points: 1. That there are both internals and externals of the Church that are to be perpetuated. 2. That there are three cardinal means of perpetuating these things of the Church, namely, Inheritance, Education, and Regeneration.

     That there may be a Church with men, it is most essential that there be with them a plane receptive of spiritual rife from the Lord; and that plane is only in the internal mind, and in the conjunction of charity and faith there. As the Divine Life is the union of Love and Wisdom, so this Life is received by men only in the conjunction of love and wisdom, charity and faith, in the heavenly marriage of good and truth in the mind and spirit, to which corresponds the union of the heart and lungs.

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And just as the body dies, when the heart and lungs cease to functionate, so the body of the Church perishes when spiritual life with man ceases, when the marriage of good and truth, or the conjunction of charity and faith, are not maintained by the life of regeneration. For then there is no longer a plane receptive of the Divine Life, which must inflow perpetually if the Church is to survive in the world.

     We read that "The union of Love and Wisdom is in every Divine work, from which is its perpetuity, yea, its eternity. If there be more of Divine Love than Divine Wisdom, or if there be more of Divine Wisdom than Divine Love, in any created work, it does not last, except in the measure that they are equally in it; whatever is in excess passes off." (W. 36.) This teaches plainly how the internal of the Church is to be perpetuated, which is done when men are in the truths of wisdom and in the love of them, in the knowledges of the Word and the affection of them, a union that is the source of all spiritual growth in the Church, of all spiritual production and use. The keeping alive of this spiritual affection of truth was represented in the Jewish tabernacle by the lamps that burned perpetually. To this the Lord exhorted men in the words of the Gospel, "Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; and ye yourselves like unto men that wait for their Lord, when He will return from the wedding; that when He cometh and knocketh, they may open unto Him immediately." (Luke 12:35, 36.)

     The externals of the Church also are to be perpetuated from one generation to another, as essential in their place, essential as ultimate instrumentalities, as the means of fostering, preserving, and promoting the internal life of the Church. Chief among these externals is the printed Word of Revelation, and the reading of it; the implanting of knowledges from the Word in the memory of every generation, as the basis of a spiritual understanding of truth; the teaching of Doctrine, and leading thereby to the good of life.

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Next in importance are the traditions of worship, of ritual, and pious observance; of ecclesiastical procedure and practice, of social conventions in the Church, and in the home sphere; of the education of children, the works of charity; lastly, those abiding ultimates in the form of church organization, places of worship, and other fixed habitations for the uses of the Church.

     These externals are necessary in their place. They are to be compared to the functions of the bones in the living body, and are involved in the idea of the rock foundation of the Church. The letter of the Word is not to be altered as to a jot or tittle, but the interpretation and application of the Word will vary in different ages and in different regions of the earth. The Lard's Prayer, Baptism and the Holy Supper, are essentials of a truly Christian ritual. "This do in remembrance of me," the Lord said. Other forms of worship may be greatly varied from time to time, and by different peoples. In the perpetuation of the externals of the Church the two elements of permanence and change are required. It is the way of all growth. Too great fixity and rigidity is devitalizing. The Book of Common Prayer in the Church of England has undergone little change in 300 years; and the elimination of a comma from it would require an Act of Parliament. Such permanence has its value in uniformity, but its danger in unyielding sameness.

     The same principle applies to all of our externals as a Church. Perpetuity demands both permanence and change. As the physical body requires the bones for its structural firmness, so also it must have muscles, nerves, blood vessels, in a word, flesh, that it may enjoy endless variety of sensation and action. In that organic body of men which we know as the visible Church, it is important that certain traditions of proved worth should he preserved from one generation to another, as part of an abiding structure, without which the organized Church would dissolve. It is equally important that a state of freedom should be preserved with each rising generation,-freedom; to adopt or reject both the internals and externals of the Church. Only in this freedom can those of a new generation know the charm and delight of taking hold of the things of the Church as something new, something of their own, with intelligence and enthusiasm.

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That freedom must include the right to recast and remodel the forms of our traditional custom, in the light of new needs, in adaptation to new states. In every generation there will accumulate forms and states that ought not to be perpetuated. Freedom wisely used will eliminate them. That freedom also brings with it the opportunity and privilege of embracing the great essentials of the Church in a life of faith and love, and of adopting and cherishing all those things of enduring value which our forefathers have attained by effort and struggle, thus to profit by and build upon the things that Providence has thus preserved as our inheritance.

     This brings us to a brief consideration of what we have called the three cardinal means of perpetuating the internals and externals of the New Church, namely, Inheritance, Education, and Regeneration. To these might be added a fourth, Evangelization, by which the simple good in Christian and gentile lands and to be brought into the New Jerusalem. There can be no question but that the Church is to be renewed from this source. But it has become an established belief with us that the Church cannot be formed from this source alone, while the young of each generation within the Church depart from their first enthusiasm and loyalty and become indifferent. We are treating today of the way and means of perpetuating the Church among those who have already received its teachings, with the posterity of those who have actually acquired spiritual states of regeneration by faith in the Lord and the obedience of love to Him, who have in them the conjunction of faith and charity, the marriage of good and truth, which is receptive of the union of Love and Wisdom inflowing as the Lord's life, the sole origin of the perpetuity and eternity of that Divine Work which is the Church, and a Heaven formed from the men of the Church. The Church has its real beginning in those who have acquired and made actual these states of regeneration, who have received them from the Lord in the life of repentance, of temptation resistance to the falsities and evils of their inheritance, which must first be removed as the corrupt residue of the former church before the goods and truths of the New Church can actually be ingenerated.

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     Here is where the New Church actually begins,-in the states of adult regeneration, with its spiritual intelligence and affection, its power over evil, its habit of worship and work. And the most essential form of its perpetuation is to take place by the transmission of these acquired states to the children of a new generation, in the form of inherited inclination to the things loved and done by their parents,-parents who, in the life of regeneration, have also acquired states of love truly conjugial in a life of marriage. It has long been acknowledged by us that hereditary transmission is a Divinely appointed means of perpetuating the Church, indeed, that the New Church cannot be established by other means without this. Experience itself has shown that a dependence upon proselyting alone, while the inheritance and education of the young are neglected, leads to the dissipation of the Church. But our belief in regard to this has been derived not only from experience and observation but primarily from the revealed wisdom of the Heavenly Doctrine, from a teaching there which, because of its importance to our subject, we will here briefly quote:-

     "That offspring born from those who are in love truly conjugial derive inclinations and faculties, if a son, to perceive the things which are of wisdom, and if a daughter, to love the things which wisdom teaches,... from which it is evident that an ability and a facility to conjoin good to truth and truth to good, thus to be wise, is inherited from birth by those who are born from such a marriage more than by others; consequently also an ability and facility in imbuing the things of the Church and Heaven.... This is the end for; the sake of which marriages of love truly conjugial have been provided by the Lord the Creator, and are still to be provided." And further it is stated that because those who lived in Most Ancient times were in love truly conjugial, whose offspring inherited inclinations to the conjugial of good and truth, they easily initiated their children by educations more and more interiorly into that conjugial, and that the children afterwards as of themselves, when they came of their own judgment, were introduced by the Lord." (C. L. 204, 205)

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     "An inclination and faculty of receiving conjugial love has been implanted in Christians from nativity, because that love is from the Lord alone, and has been made of religion, and in Christianity the Divine of the Lord can be acknowledged and worshiped, and religion is from His Word; thence is the insowing of that love, and also its transplanting from generation to generation. (C. L. 466.)

     It is not to be doubted but that this inherited inclination and faculty, this ability and facility in imbuing the things of the Church, is the most fertile and fruitful soil, Divinely provided as the most receptive ground for the spiritual truths and goods of the New Church, a ground wherein the earnest and zealous parent may implant and cultivate the seeds of true religion with every prospect of a successful; fruit-bearing.

     This sowing and cultivating is the work of education, a work of easy initiation when the ground has been provided. Parents and teachers, and all who are associated with the young, inspired by love and zeal for the things of the Church,-its truths, its goods, its institutions, its traditions,-moved with a desire for their perpetuation, are given by the Lord this noble use elf co-operation with Providence, the use of preparing children for actual introduction into the Church by the life of regeneration. It is of their function to recognize that inherited faculty and inclination, that ability and facility, to feed and form it, to lead forth the latent affections, to supply from the of Word of God the nourishing truth of everlasting life, to implant remains, to "provide bags that wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not," that these priceless gifts of the Lord may later, in His hands, bear the fruits of spiritual life and salvation.

     Both precept and example play their part in this great work. Acts are seen and imitated, thus opening the will, preparing the ground for instruction, precept, knowledge. The very love that inspires in this use pulses and waves forth in a potent sphere that touches and awakens the child's affection, and nothing can take the place of the good remains thus insinuated. For the after life, even when the rational has been opened and developed by later instruction and experience,-all the after life has its quality from the excellence and abundance of early remains. (A. C. 630, 2284.)

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     We cannot pursue this phase of our subject further, but we have indicated in outline what may be considered the vital and indispensable means of perpetuating the Church by human cooperation with Divine Providence. It will be seen that these means proceed in a circle, a perpetual circle, beginning at the point of adult regeneration, proceeding through the inheritance of all good states of actuality, which in turn become the ground receptive of remains as the beginnings of that education which prepares for regeneration by the Lord Himself, for entrance into the Church, thus for salvation and eternal life in heaven.

     "I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old; which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He hath done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children; that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children; that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments." (Psalm 78:2-7.)

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     NOTES AND REVIEWS.

     The Rev. Joseph Hollriegl, pastor of the New Church (Convention) Society of Manchester, N. H., concludes in the April issue of the BOTE DER NEUEN KIRCHE a serial article intended to show in regard to fourteen general beliefs and practices that there is an essential unity between the Roman Catholic Church and the New Jerusalem.

     It is a matter of regret that the writer did not choose something a little easier to test his skill as a correlator. Newchurchmen from time to time come across statements in the Writings that seem to contravene other statements. In such cases we have a dispute like that between the two Hebrews whom Moses saw fighting and tried to appease. Both sets of statements we can be sure are true, since they are alike matters of authoritative revelation. Unfortunately Mr. Hollriegl is trying to correlate antitheses and his effort is doomed at the outset. The scarlet woman cannot be bedizened into the bride of the Lamb. The dispute here is not that between two sets of equally true principles, but between heavenly verities and their opposites. It is an Egyptian who is maltreating a Hebrew, and the duty of the deliverer of the oppressed is to smite the Egyptian. (A. C. 6766.)

     As a sample of a hopeless attempt to align opposites, note the following: "What chiefly unites the New Jerusalem to the Catholic Church is the doctrine of the holiness and indissolubleness of marriage. Marriage, as it is understood by the Catholic Church, is a natural representation of that heavenly marriage taught by Swedenborg. . . . The Catholic Church expressly teaches that marriage consists principally in the consent of the two parties, and that this consent alone even without the sexual union makes the true marriage. . . . It regards marriage as a visible sign of an invisible grace, and teaches expressly that according to God's Word, and the example of the Lord Jesus Christ in His natural life, the state of celibacy is preferable to that of marriage.

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The New Jerusalem is not in opposition to this teaching, in spite of Swedenborg's assertion that marriage is preferable to celibacy; inasmuch as by marriage and conjugial love he means something else than the natural impulse to procreation which man has in common with animals."

     Mr. Hollriegl is convinced that the New Church as an organized body is dying out. But as Providence would not permit this without some compensating improvement elsewhere, he believes he has discovered signs of an interior growth within the Roman Catholic Church. He says: "The reason why the Catholic Church alone has the strength to grow, seems to be because it is so bound through the principle of charity with the New Church, that the New Jerusalem takes increments within the Catholic Church in the exact proportions that the New Jerusalem loses power outside the same. The naked fact is that the external organization of the New Church grows ever weaker as a Church, whereas the Catholic Church through its order and unity grows stronger." I do not deny that the writer's particular experience with that sect of the organized New Church to which he belongs may amply justify his assertion that the New Church "grows ever weaker." He would have done better, however,, to seek for a more general experience covering the New Church at large, instead of propounding as a universal canon that which may only be true of his particular sect. "From particular experience," writes Swedenborg in the introduction to the Economy (16), "only obscure notions are derived." The obscurity in this case is that he places the compensatory improvement in an infernally hostile religiosity and not in some other section of the organized New Church, as in Basutoland, for instance.

     It is a relief to note that the editor of the BOTE, the Rev. L. C. Landenberger, takes pains to show that he does not concur with many of the writer's conclusions, and has followed this up in the July issue with an able and thorough New Church expose of Roman Catholicism. Yet it may not be amiss to point out that Mr. Hollriegl's views are but the logical outcome of a doctrinal position that received some publicity a decade ago, and of which Mr. Landenberger was an apologist.

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I refer to the editorial declaration in, the MESSENGER Of Sept. 25, 1917, that other Christian bodies "are not one Church and we another. They are members of the body of which the specific New Church is the heart and lungs." If further recommends us to help "the Methodist, Episcopalian or Unitarian" by having "respect for their religion" and' to "encourage them to look to the Lord." Mr. Landenberger was not pleased at the way in which the Rev. C. Th. Odhner treated this declaration in his editorial, (LIFE, Nov., 1907), and submitted an affectionate remonstrance in defense of the MESSENGER'S position. (LIFE, Feb., 1908.)

     Now if the New Church, that is, the General Convention, is heart and lungs to a body composed of Unitarians, and other perverse religiosities, Mr. Hollriegl is perfectly logical in assuming that on its becoming a failure, some sort of compensatory enhancement must take place elsewhere, if that homogeneous organism is to be kept functionating. He just ventures further than the thought of a decade ago, by showing that in such an organism the so-called New Church would soon cease to be the heart and lungs, and be replaced by the modern Babylon. E. E. I.
Title Unspecified 1918

Title Unspecified              1918

     The advanced courses of the Collegiate Department of the Academy Schools are now made available to many who otherwise could not take them. As will be seen from the announcement appearing in our advertising pages, the Alumni Association offers a working scholarship to any and every student meeting the requirements. Last year twenty-eight persons attended various lectures of the College course, the curriculum of which is set forth in the Catalogue lust published, and includes normal training for those desiring to become teachers. The opportunity thus afforded carries with it the general advantages of a sojourn at Bryn Athyn, with its religious, educational, and social activities.

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BEGINNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1918

BEGINNING AND DEVELOPMENT OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION       Rev. RICHARD DE CHARMS       1918

     It should be perfectly manifest that education begins with the first or infantile life of the child. This education is given to the mother to perform. Really, therefore, it begins with the mother, as the one appointed by the Lord to attend to it in, the care of the child which she has brought to birth and life. The education of the mother, then, is the true way to provide for the education of the opening life of the infant child. In the care of the mother is placed the physical, mental, and spiritual development of the child.

     Now it should be very evident indeed that this care and development will depend upon the ability of the mother to give wisely and efficiently this first care and training of the young life, and that the girls should be educated and trained well to perform this most important use. My contention, therefore, is, that the whole training and education of girls should have as an end the most perfect fitting of them for marriage, and for the care of newly born children. I am convinced that this will result in the proper attention to the first degree, and will constitute the real and true beginning of New Church education. Now how is this to be done? The end must be seen to be the training and education of girls for marriage, and the case and education of the young covering the first period, or the first five or six years of the child's life. This education of the girl's is to be seen, then, as a development of conjugial love, of New Church marriage.

     It is to cover the whole course of their education and training up to the age of marriage, and to include the home and school and college life. The well-educated girl is the girl best fitted and prepared by training and education to perform the duty of the care and training of newly-born children.

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If she is properly fitted for this from birth to adult life, she will be able to bring to birth well-formed and healthy children, and be herself in the best physical and mental state to train and care for them in the first period, Divinely given her to perform. The effect of this training and education of the mother should be a growth of conjugial love in her, and so an advance in this most important development of the school and church.

     Of course, the training of the boys in the first period, and afterwards as they arrive at the proper age, is to go hand-in-hand with this work of the women, and is to be done by men in the home and school, to fit the youths far marriage, and so to make as full and complete as possible the state of marriage or conjugial love in the home and church. When the girl and boy arrive at the marriage age, they should be in the best possible state to form a true conjugial or marriage relation, to enter into the care and education of children. This action on their part, will, according to our doctrine, most perfectly cement the bonds of true conjugial love, and lead to its most perfect development.

     The end, then, being the most perfect preparation of girls and boys for true conjugial love and marriage life, the important question arises,, how shall the necessary means be most wisely and intelligently provided? We have said that the opening and development of the first degree is a matter of the education and training of girls up to the age of marriage, and that the first period never will be properly cared for unless the girls are previously trained and educated for its intelligent and efficient performance, and that the same is true of the proper training and education of boys. Now how is this most important end of New Church education to be reached with our present means and ability?

     In my opinion it is to begin with the training and education of girls, because the education itself is to begin in the development of the first period of life. It is peculiarly woman's work, and therefore women should take it up, and promote it to its fullest possible extent. The first and most important thing is for women to inform themselves as to what the Doctrine of the Church may tell them about the opening of this first degree, and the subsequent training of girls.

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For this they are to look to the priests of the Church. This teaching secured, the women are to develop from it the most important ways of training infants and very young children of both sexes, and the training of girls up to the age of marriage. Then they are to seek for practical applications from any available source, the knowledges required for the promotion of the physical and mental perfection of the child, and their own physical, pre-natal, and subsequent states, covering birth and ability to give proper care to the child.

     Now the question arises, how can this best be done? As far as the women are concerned-and they are first and most vitally concerned in this question of education-I think they would accomplish their work more efficiently by organization. They should have a head or a council, I think, composed of women most interested in this educational work, whose duty it should be to see that some such educational plan above suggested is carried out in school and family, so far as the heads of these departments are willing to accept what is suggested. The reading and study of the Doctrine and all collateral matter in harmony with such Doctrine, with a view to application, would constitute an important part of this council's work.

     This work will never be well carried out until some organized body takes it up, studies and works it out, in its internal and external form, and uses its influence to have it enter as fully as possible into the educational training of girls. It is a great work for New Church women to undertake, far reaching in its beneficent effects upon school, family and church. Its beginning in the center and extension to all outside will constitute the greatest and most vital educational work, and in its development of conjugial love will result in the most powerful aid to the educational work, and the present and future growth of the New Church. It means a women's movement of the highest order, calls for the most earnest, zealous, and intelligent work of New Church women, and will result, if wisely conducted, in the development of women themselves, and in the performance by them of the most vital and far reaching uses to the educational work and the uplifting and future growth of the Lord's New Church upon the earth.

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Of course, this is but a suggested outline. The real work, and the real development, is a work which will depend upon the love, and zeal, and the intelligence of women, which will be given to them as they look to the Lord and follow faithfully His leading in the Heavenly Doctrines now revealed.

     A PSEUDO-CELESTIAL BEVERAGE.

     The Rev. Lloyd Hastings Edmiston, pastor of the Riverside (California) Society since 1915, Presents a novel plea in favor of grape juice, which he lauds as the New Wine of the New Church, in an article under that title appearing in the January, 1918, issue of the NEW CHURCH REVIEW.

     He begins by disagreeing with Dr. Ellis's contention that Biblical wine was the unfermented juice of the grape, (WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH, vol. II. pp. 128, 422). This implies that the devotees of the "sweet, fresh, and fragrant juice of the grape" are now a house divided against itself. Mr. Edmiston says, "no adequate evidence to support his [Ellis's] claim" was ever offered. He is in fact fully convinced that fermented wine was the only wine familiar to the Jews and used in their Passover feasts. He feel's that the Lord in inaugurating the Holy Supper used in all probability the customary alcoholic beverage. He will even grant that Swedenborg by "wine" meant the ordinary fermented wine.

     "Now in admitting all this," he remarks, "it may seem that we are accepting in their entirety the conclusions, favorable to fermented wine, that are common among our New Church ministers and scholars." I wish most earnestly to assure Mr. Edmiston that he is. There is no doubt that by these admissions he has wounded to death the main one of the seven heads of that amazing argument which sought to impose on the Church the "sweet, fresh, and fragrant juice of the grape" in lieu of the sacramental wine.

     But Mr. Edmiston is not yet ready to see that he has accepted the conclusions of New Church scholars. He wishes first to develop a line of reasoning that will heal the deadly wound he has dealt the cause of the "sweet, fresh, and fragrant juice of the grape;" and so to rally about his views the now thoroughly perplexed followers of the dethroned Ellis.

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     The articles of the new platform he proffers are:

     1. The Lord's institution of fermented wine in the Holy Supper was only meant as an accommodation to the first Christian Church. But those of the New Church because of their more elevated state, may now in the Holy Supper dispense with wine and imbibe instead "the sweet, fresh, and fragrant juice or the grape.

     2. The process of fermentation has nothing to do with the correspondential value of the sacramental wine, which is based exclusively on the correspondence of the grape.

     3. Since grape juice is closer to the grape than is wine after its fermentation, therefore its correspondence is more elevated.

     4. Grape juice represents celestial truth from good; but wine, only spiritual truth from good.

     In defense of article One, Mr. Edmiston adduces no evidence to show that the Lord intended to limit the use of fermented wine in the Holy Supper to the period of the first Christian Church. He merely "hints" at this, surmising that because of the use of "cup" in the institution of the Eucharist its contents were not definitely prescribed. He then intimates that by "the fruit of the vine" which the Lord would "drink new with them in the kingdom of God," is implied a change in the character of the cup's contents.

     The "New Church ministers and scholars" whose study of the Writings has convinced them that the wine of the Holy Supper is wine, and not some immature raw product, will however have considerable difficulty in forgetting that in the TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, which contains the universal theology of the New Church, the Lord's institution of the Holy Supper given in the Gospels is repeated in full as the law for the New Church. Swedenborg also defines definitely the contents of the "cup," now re-enjoined upon the New Church, as being wine: "Moreover that by flesh and blood is meant good and truth, both spiritual, is evident further from the signification of bread and wine in what now follows, because the Lord says that His flesh is bread and that His blood is the wine which was drunk out of the cup." (T. C. R. 705.)

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Remember that Mr. Edmiston admits the Lord instituted fermented wine in the Eucharist, and grants that Swedenborg by "wine" means fermented wine. In T. C. R. 708, which sets out to show that by wine is meant what is similar to what blood means, the passage about drinking the fruit of the vine new is cited in corroboration. "Nothing else is meant," says Swedenborg, "than the truth of the New Church." The New Church also has a new baptism, but this does not ultimately involve that a substitute for water must be discovered as a new ritualistic medium for it.

     To establish Article Two, Mr. Edmiston courageously cites four passages (D. P. 25, 284, C. L. 145, A. C. 7906) that are fatal to his purpose. They teach that alcohol when rectified by purification, and wine when it has become clear and generous through the process of fermentation, correspond, respectively, to wisdom and to good which has prevailed ever evil. And as if this were not destructive enough of his thesis, he goes on to quote that: "If evil conquers, good with its truth is removed to the sides, and becomes turbid and offensive (sometimes translated 'foul') like unfermented wine or liquors." (D. P. 284.)

     But in spite of this inauspicious start, Mr. Edmiston thinks he is now ready to add his minor premise and so press to his conclusion. "In these passages," he confidently remarks, "Swedenborg is not discussing the especial fitness of fermented wine for sacramental purposes. In all the many passages where the symbolism of the elements is directly dwelt upon, he never refers to the fermenting process."

     But what of it? Supposing he hasn't? Yet Swedenborg has said that wine must be used in the Holy Supper, and Mr. Edmiston has admitted Swedenborg meant fermented wine. Surely if elsewhere Swedenborg further describes wine, and develops additional phases of its correspondence with regenerative processes in man,-surely these are only so many more predicates to be added to the sacramental wine, which in conjunction with the unleavened bread is the sign and seal of man's regeneration!

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     But Mr. Edmiston rules that predicates given to wine when not mentioned in connection with the sacrament, must not be added to but subtracted from those given to sacramental wine. After making the subtraction, he has so little remainder that he is obliged to conclude,-"both wine and must have their holy signification, solely because they are both derived from the vine and the grape." If that were so, then the unleavened bread must have its correspondence solely because it came from the olive and the wheat, and none of the many uses of the unleavened bread as a finished product would have a right to be included as contributory causes to its correspondence. To be consistent Mr. Edmiston ought to advocate a return to grapes, wheat in the ear, and olives as the substances to be taken directly by the communicants article Three is just upside down. That which is closer to the raw material is certainly less elevated and perfect than the finished product. Pig-iron, for instance, is nearer to iron ore than is the finished steel, but it is surely in no sense more perfect. The wild-ass youth is nearer the infant than the regenerating man, but is not on that account more elevated. Certainly the unfermented wine which is styled as "turbid and offensive" in contra-distinction to the "generous and clear wine" resulting from fermentation, (D. P. 284), can scarcely be construed as superior to it. If so construed, then by analogy an imaginary heaven where the good and the evil are intermingled is superior in state to the condition of the good after the evil have- been separated. Then a field sown with wheat and tares is superior in state to the wheat in the barn from which the tares have been removed. The modern methods of sterilizing grape juice so as to check the growth of the bacteria which entrain the fermentation, do not on that account produce a juice acceptable as a substitute for wine in the sacrament. The Babylonians in the world of spirits, who by their magic aimed to arrest the oncoming judgment, did not by arresting it temporarily produce a state at all satisfactory. Certainly it was in no way superior to the conditions of the good there after the judgment.

     By his Fourth Article Mr. Edmiston removes the spiritual degree from the Holy Supper.

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He gives to it celestial good and celestial truth from good, nothing spiritual, and then a termination in natural substances. Mr. Edmiston, in spite of his extensive reading about the Holy Supper, has overlooked the fact that its bread and wine are said to be in the relation of the celestial to the spiritual. If all the degrees were not correspondentially present there, the entire Lord and all His redemption, (T. C. R. 716), could not be in it.

     The guiding spirit of Mr. Edmiston's article is far different from one on the sacramental wine by his predecessor in the Riverside pastorate, the Rev. Albert Bjork published in the NEW CHURCH LIFE for January, 1915. Mr. Bjorck is sure that the Writings are correct, and reports the findings of all competent scholars as to their teachings in regard to the wine of the Holy Supper. Mr. Edmiston, however, has started from the conviction that the modern temperance movement cannot be wrong, and reasons that it must therefore have the approval of the Writings. Although he frequently refers to the Writings, it is not as to a final court of appeal, but only as a man might refer to a time-honored tradition to show it did not militate against some view of his own. His court of appeal is first, last, and foremost, a supposed celestial dictate in human minds to the effect that the "sweet, fresh, and fragrant juice of the grape" must be the "New Wine of the Lord's New Church."

     "The anti-alcohol movement," he urges, "has originated since the last judgment, and there are many New Church people who believe it to be a New Age movement, and bound to triumph." The same may also be said of Evolution, Eugenics, Christian Science, and the Doctrine of the Superman.

     Arguing that grape juice is more suitable than wine for the celestial man, he later remarks,-"Because from experience he knows something of the sweetness that is in mutual love, it follows that all things of right conduct and neighborly kindness possess for him a luminous and self-evident quality. The sweet, unreasoned wine of his truth flows immediately from the grapes of love! And there is a heavenly warmth and strength-giving nourishment for right thinking and right conduct in the unfermented sweetness of that wine.

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In this quality of truth we can see there is nothing to intoxicate or make insane." In this latter point Mr. Edmiston is perfectly correct. Grape juice does not intoxicate or make insane. It attacks, even when taken in moderation, a different and a lower order of viscera, inasmuch as "the must of unfermented wine, tastes sweet, but infests the stomach." (T. C. R. 404.)

     "We do not suppose," he continues, "that Swedenborg knew anything of a clarified and sterilized unfermented wine [but] through the New Age knowledge of how to clarify, sterilize and preserve the sweet, fresh and fragrant juice, just as it flows from the ripened grapes, it seems to me the Lord's providence has graciously given us the needed new symbol of the heavenly New Wine of the New Church. If these things are true, then the Christian peoples of the New Dispensation are free to let go of the alcoholic symbol of a past and consummated dispensation, and as we look into the future, we may vision the entire social life of the New Age as cleansed of the blight of the liquor traffic. If the world-wide anti-alcohol movement is ordained of God, surely we of the New Church should sense that fact and do our best in hastening its complete triumph."

     The shock of its triumph might be the only way to arouse with some Newchurchmen a perception of the real spiritual agencies that are behind attempts to tamper with the sacrament of the Holy Supper. The endeavor to find a substitute for wine purified by fermentation, clearly corresponds to the desire of some to attain to the wisdom of heaven without becoming regenerated by the shunning of evils as sins. The reason why the must of unfermented wine is cited, (T. C. R. 404), as infesting the stomach, a fact of ordinary experience, is because this is, without qualification, the direct correspondent of the evil of love of the world treated of in that number. A constant appeal to movements in the world as a reason for New Church imitation, certainly lays one open to the charge of being overmuch concerned about the opinions of the world. E. E. I.

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JOURNAL OF THE TWENTY-SECOND MEETING OF THE JOINT COUNCIL OF THEGENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1918

JOURNAL OF THE TWENTY-SECOND MEETING OF THE JOINT COUNCIL OF THEGENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Various       1918

     Bryn Athyn, Pa., June 22, 1918.

     The meeting was opened at 3 p. m. by Bishop N. D. Pendleton, who read from the Word and led in the Lord's Prayer.

     There were present

     OF THE COUNCIL OF THE: CLERGY:
Rt. Rev. N. D. Pendleton      Rev. C. E. Doering
Rt. Rev. W; F. Pendleton      Rev. T. S. Harris
Rev. K. R. Alden               Rev. E. E. Iungerich
Rev. J. E. Bowers          Rev. H. L. Odhner
Rev. R. W. Brown           Rev. E. S. Price
Rev. W. B. Caldwell          Rev. G. H. Smith
Rev. E. R. Cronlund          Rev. Homer Synnestvedt
Rev. G. de Charms                    Rev. F. E. Waelchli
Rev. R. de Charms          Mr. Ernest Pfeiffer.

     OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:
Dr. Felix A. Boericke      Mr. Paul Synnestvedt
Mr. E. C. Bostock          Mr. Raymond Pitcairn

     OF BOTH BODIES:
Rev. W. H. Alden

     1. The Minutes of the 20th Meeting of the Joint Council, as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE for July-August, 1917, were approved without reading.

     2. The Minutes of the 21st Meeting were read and approved.

     3. The Rev. W. H. Alden then read the following:

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     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY

     OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     1. MEMBERSHIP. The General Church of the New Jerusalem numbers at present 1,346 registered members, showing a net increase of 53 persons over the membership reported a year ago. Altogether 67 new members have been received since the last report, and two, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Morse, of New South Wales, reported resigned last year, have been replaced upon the list of members, at their own request, while sixteen persons, whose names are given below, have passed into the spiritual world.

     2. DEATHS. The following members have died since the report last made:
Mr. James Cartwright, of Clinton, Ont., July 22, 1917
Mr. Edgar Parker, of Philadelphia, July 29, 1917
Mrs. Elizabeth Hogan Norris, of Pittsburgh, Pa., August 13, 1917
Lieut. W. Rey Gill, of Colchester, England, killed in action in France, August 21, 1917
Mrs. Carl Th. Odhner, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., Sept. 3, 1917
Mr. Andrew Frederick Bergman, of Mason, Wise., Sept. 19, 1917
Mr. Arnold Steiger, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., Oct. 19, 1917
Mr. Augustus Grant Gilmore, of Pittsburgh, Pa., Jan. 8, 1918
Mr. Ernest Bellinger, of Toronto, Ont., Jan. 17, 1918
Dr. Edward Pollock Anshutz, of Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 31, 1918
Mrs. Homer Synnestvedt, of Pittsburgh, Feb. 22, 1918
Rev. Carl Theophilus Odhner, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., March 11, 1918
Mrs. Lewis Allen, of Homestead, Pa., April 4, 1918
Mr. Leroy Starkey Wells, killed in action in France, April 12, 1918
Mr. George Carter, of Toronto, Ont., April 22, 1918
Mr. Charles Brown, of Toronto, Ont., May 18, 1918

     3. NEW MEMBERS, The following new members have united with the General Church during the past year:

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     A. IN THE UNITED STATES.

     Ontario, Cal.
Mr. Christian Z. F. Rott
Mrs. Christian Z. F. Rott

     Denver, Colo.
Mr. A. E. Bundsen
Mrs. A. E. Bundsen
Miss Ingrid Elizabeth Bundsen
Mrs. Elizabeth Martha Johnson
Miss Emilie Johanna Oberschelp

     Glenview, Ills.
Mr. Henry Longfellow Barnitz
Mr. Arthur Wood Burnham
Miss Katherine Patience Burnham
Mr. Laurence B. Burnham
Mrs. Susan Wood Burnham

     Kansas City, Kan.
Mr. Frank Crane

     Cincinnati, O.
Mr. Frederick Ehrman Merrell

     Middleport, O.
Mrs. Fred. Davis

     Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Mrs. Randolph W. Childs
Miss Mabel Anna Fitzpatrick
Mr. Francis Laible Frost
Mr. David Marshall Fuller
Dr. Charles Louis Olds
Miss Gwynneth Wells

     Ivyland, Pa.
Mr. Wilner Earl Long

     Pittsburgh, Pa.
Mr. R. H. Faulkner
Mrs. R. H. Faulkner
Mr. Walter Lee Horigan
Mr. Walter Christian Rott
Mrs. Walter Christian Rott
Miss Lucile Synnestvedt

     B. IN CANADA.

     Kitchener, Ont.
Mr. Harold Diebel Bellinger
Miss Frieda Aurelle Deppisch
Miss Elvera Louisa Deppisch
Miss Irene Deppisch
Mr. Raymond Frank Kuhl
Miss Ruona Rosdhman

     Toronto, Ont.
Mr. Cyril Eugene Bellinger
Mr. Frederick Albert Brown

     Mrs. Beatrice Vida McColl
Mr. Frank Roy McGlennon

     Waterloo, Ont.
Miss Edith Kuhl

     Laird, Sask.
Mr. Abram Klippenstein
Mrs. Abram Klippenstein
Miss Agatha Klippenstein
Mr. Peter Klippenstein

     Rosthern. Sask.
Miss Helena Hamm
Mr. William Hamm
Mr. Erdman Heinrich

     C. IN ENGLAND.

     London.
Mrs. H. W. Ashley

     D. IN FRANCE.
Miss Moiltreuil sons Bois, Seine
Mr. Gilberte Vanderzvalmen
Miss Marcelle Vanderzvalme
Mr. Pierre Vanderzvalmen-Duc

     E. IN SWEDEN.

     Gothenburg.
Mr. Christian Nikolaus Bromberg
Mr. Sten Frithof Bromberg.
Mr. Sven Olaf Bromberg
Mr. George Edward Lunden

     Stockholm.
Miss Gurli Maria Amalia Cnattingius
Mrs. Louisa Eleanora Doyer
Mrs. Gurli Amalia Kuylenstierna
Miss Ingrid Malmgren
Mrs. Anna Adolfina Matthiesen

     F. IN SOUTH AFRICA.

     Durban, Natal.
Mr. John D'Arcy Cockerell
Mrs. John D'Arcy Cockerell
Mr. Stanley Dunbar Cockerell
Mrs. Stanley Dunbar Cockerell
Mr. Percy Douglas Ridgway
Mrs. Percy Douglas Ridgway

     G. IN AUSTRALIA.

     Martinsville. N. S. W.
Mrs. Alice Lilian Sutcliffe Barnes

     Sydney, N. S. W.
Miss Evelyn Hill White

     Newcastle, N. S. W.
Mr. Charles W. Morse
Mrs. Charles W. Morse

     Respectfully submitted, W. H. ALDEN, Acting Secretary.

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     4. The Rev. W. B. Caldwell then read the following

     REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     During the past year two meetings of the Council of the Clergy have been held, a special meeting, February 7th and 8th, attended by fourteen ministers, and the annual meeting which opened June 21st, with an attendance of twenty-one ministers and one theological student.

     The reports presented at the annual meeting show that during the year ending June 1st the ministers of the General Church have officiated at 94 baptisms, 17 confessions of faith, 20 marriages, 23 funerals, and 111 administrations of the Holy Supper.

     The reports also indicate that the uses of our societies, under the direction of their resident pastors; have been regularly maintained, though not unaffected by war conditions. The smaller societies, the circles, and the isolated have continued to receive the ministrations of the visiting pastors.

     We present from the reports the following points of especial interest:

     BISHOP N. D. PENDLETON, as Bishop of the General Church, and Pastor ex-officio of the Bryn Athyn Church, reported that he had preached, twenty times during the year. He ordained three ministers: Rev. Theodore Pitcairn and Rev. Karl R. Alden into the first degree, and Rev. H. Lj. Odhner into the second degree. He presided at District Assemblies in Glenview, Bryn Athyn, and Pittsburgh; also at Local Assemblies in Denver, Kitchener, Toronto, and Philadelphia. In addition he made episcopal visits to Sharon, Church, Chicago, to the Rev. John Headsten's Circle, Chicago, and the Immanuel Church, Glenview. He reported further that Rev. W. B. Caldwell was called to Bryn Athyn to become Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE and to teach in the Academy Schools; that Rev. Gilbert H. Smith was called to become Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview; that Rev. D. H. Klein was given temporary charge of the ecclesiastical affairs of Sharon Church; and that he had appointed Rev. E. E. Iungerich a member of the Consistory. He had administered the affairs of the Academy as President, and taught in the Theological School.

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     THE RIGHT REV. W. F. PENDLETON, Bishop Emeritus, has continued to teach in the Theological School of the Academy, has preached three times, and taken part in other services, besides dedicating the home of Rev. Karl R. Alden, in Philadelphia.

     THE REV. ALFRED ACTON has held five services in Washington and forty-three in New York. The Washington Circle gives promise of larger attendance at its meetings, owing to the fact that three General Church families, and one member besides, have taken residence there for the period of the war. In New York the attendance varies greatly, both at worship and Sunday School, because of the distance to and from the place of meeting.

     THE REV. W. H. ALDEN has preached eight times, and has visited Rockport and Abington, Massachusetts.

     THE REV. GUSTAF BOECKSTROM, of Stockholm, Sweden, reports a membership of thirty-three adults in that society, and fifteen children, with an average attendance of twenty-nine at services and thirty-two at the doctrinal class. Very hard times are being experienced in that country.

     THE REV. JOHN E. BOWERS has made two trips on his circuit. In Ontario, and in six states, members and friends of the Church were visited, in forty places, twenty-four being visited once, and sixteen twice. In the places where no ministers are located he met, during the year, eighty adult New Church persons, and forty children who have been baptized into the New Church.

     THE REV. EMIL CRONLUND reports a good attendance at the services and classes of the Olivet Church. A ladies' class has met fortnightly, and of late the Sunday School has been held every week. The society has been able to pay off the mortgage on its property, and now looks forward to the building of a church when this becomes possible.

     THE REV. ANDREW CZERNY states that Sunday services have been maintained in London and Colchester, but that evening doctrinal classes have been suspended owing to the danger of air raids. For the same reason the celebrations of June the Nineteenth and Swedenborg's Birthday were held in the afternoons of those days.

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     THE REV. L. W. T. DAVID reports that the Denver Sunday School has three new regular attendants, and that the children also have a Friday afternoon class and party, as heretofore A lady has become interested in the Doctrines who was led to attend church by the street car advertising of last winter.

     THE REV. C. J. FERCKEN will shortly move to Geneva, giving up his work in Lausanne.

     THE REV. T. S. HARRIS, pastor 6f the Arbutus Society, made four visits during the year to the Abington and Meriden Circles, and spent the month of August in New England, preaching each Sunday at Abington, and conducting doctrinal classes twice each week. He reports the Arbutus congregation as having suffered on account of removals and war conditions.

     THE REV. JOHN HEADSTEN has kept up the services, Sunday School, and mid-week classes, except during the summer. An attempt was made to combine the Englewood and North Side meetings, but proved impracticable. He visited points in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, during a ten weeks' missionary trip in the summer.

     THE REV. HUGO LJ. ODHNER became pastor of Carmel Church on July 1st, 1917, has preached on forty occasions, conducted twenty-four doctrinal classes, fifteen men's or ladies' classes, three children's services, twenty Sunday classes for children, twenty-two young people's classes, and certain other classes and lectures. On account of a coal famine the church was closed for three weeks in January, and during February and March services were held in the school room; the school, now including only five pupils, being held at the "parsonage." The absence of most of the young men, now serving in the army, has affected the average attendance at church functions.

     THE REV. HOMER SYNNESTVEDT reports having given two lectures on the general subject of the spiritual world to groups of prominent women in Pittsburgh, who are interested in Swedenborg owing to remarks of William Dean Howells in Harper's Magazine.

     THE REV. F. E. WAELCHLI, whose pastorate of Carmel Church came to a close on June 30th, 1917, is now devoting his entire time to the work of visiting pastor.

495


During the past year he visited thirteen places, six of these once, two twice, three times, and two four times. Some of these visits were for a day or two, but the most were for about a week, and that to Rosthern and Hague, Sask., was for six weeks. Arrangements have been completed for his removal to Cincinnati in the early part of October, so that his time when at home may be given to the Circle there.

     MR. WILLIAM EVENS, authorized lecturer, has sold 130 copies of the Writings during the year, and has delivered two lectures. He mentions the following incidents: In my travels I meet with all kinds of people. One man, who was scarcely civil to me in refusing to buy, after I had gone away called me back, gave me ten cents, and apologized, but would not take a book. A lady in Tara bought Heaven and Hell, and said she was acquainted with the New Church people in Montreal, that they held strange views, but lived good lives. She said she was interested in the New Church, but explained that she had no inclination to believe the Doctrines. A lady in Orillia bought a couple of books with the avowed intention of refuting some man in the same town who believed in the sole Divinity of the Lord! Another, with whom I spent an hour conversing on the doctrines, thought that the fall of man consisted in their having children, but I assured her that such was not a correct view. I called at a house in Orillia which had a text of Scripture prominently exhibited on the front of the house. When I knocked at the door, a woman came out and said: "We're all saved here." That being the case, she did not need any books. W. B. CALDWELL, Secretary.

     5. The Rev. W. H. Alden then read the following:

     REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

     FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1918.

     The Executive Committee has held during the year four meetings, dated respectively June 23, 1917, Feb. 8, Feb. 9, and March 20, 1918.

496




     At the meeting in June, 1917, it was voted oil the recommendation of the Council of the Clergy, to bear the expense of publishing 750 copies of Mr. Odhner's Catechism on the Ten Commandments. This expense was small, on account of the previous publication of the work in the pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE, and there is reasonable prospect that returns from sales will reimburse the outlay. The unusual character of the work has attracted the attention, of New Church periodicals outside the Academy. The NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY remarks: "It has very little of the character of the ordinary 'catechism' about it, and constitutes an entirely new departure, so far as our knowledge goes, in that field of literature."

     At the meeting of Feb. 8, Dr. F. A. Boericke was elected President of the Corporation of the General Church, to fill the vacancy created by the death of Mr. John Pitcairn; and Mr. Raymond Pitcairn was elected to the office of Vice-President formerly held by Dr. Boericke.

     The Treasurer reported the receipt of a bequest from the late Mrs. Elizabeth Norris, in the following terms: "To the New Church Orphanage, one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), to board and clothe a child located where it can get a New Church education."

     As the Committee on the Orphanage Fund was not prepared to make immediate use of the bequest, the Treasurer was directed to make such investment of the money as might be approved by the Committee on Investment.

     On the presentation by the Treasurer of a statement of the loss sustained by the Academy Book Room, on account of its undertaking the publication of the Liturgy, the obligation of the General Church for this loss was recognized, and it was on motion, voted, to offer to the Academy of the New Church to purchase the plates of the Liturgy for the sum of $1,200, to be paid in four annual instalments of $300 each.

     The question of paying the expenses of members of the Consistory to the meetings of the Consistory was discussed, and the Secretary was requested to have the subject placed upon the docket of the Joint Council at its meeting in June next.

497




     The question of the acquisition of the stock of Swedenborg's works, held in Paris by Mme. Humain, was discussed. It was understood that Mme. Humain was very desirous of disposing of the books, and some fear was felt lest they be disposed of in such manner as to be lost to the Church. By vote the Treasurer was instructed to ask M. Hussenet to endeavor to learn through some second hand dealer in Paris at what price the books might be obtained. It was felt to be not desirable for the: General Church to undertake their purchase, unless at an extraordinarily favorable price, and that the books, even if purchased by a second hand dealer, would still be available for the Church through that dealer.

     At the meeting of the Committee, March 20, on the recommendation of the Bishop of the General Church, the following action was taken with respect to the vacancy in the office of Editor of the NEW CHURCH LIFE, caused by the death of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner:

     Whereas, The Bishop of the General Church has recommended the Rev. W. B. Caldwell to be Editor of the NEW CHURCH LIFE; therefore, be it

     Resolved, That the Executive Committee appoint the Rev. W. B. Caldwell Editor of the NEW CHURCH LIFE, to serve as such until the next General Assembly.

     In addition to the special matters referred to above, the Committee has formally appropriated sundry amounts for salaries and for pensions.
     WM. H. ALDEN, Acting Secretary.

     6. The Rev. W. H. Alden then read the following

     REPORT OF THE TREASURER

     FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1918.

Balance on hand June 1, 1917                          $275.92

     RECEIPTS.
Interest on Investments                $125.00
Interest on Bank Account                13.35
Liturgy Revision Account                1.52

498



Sale of Liturgical Offices                26.14
Sale of Catechism                     64.45
Rent of Addressograph Machine           7.00
Copy of record                     .51
                                        237.97
               
CONTRIBUTIONS.
California                          $100.00
Colorado                          108.10
District of Columbia                     12.00
Georgia                          150.25
Illinois                          1.00
Chicago                          6.00
Glenview                          67.15
Indiana                          11.00
Maryland                          8.99
Michigan                          15.00
Nebraska                         1.00
New Jersey                          23.00
Mew York                          96.50
Ohio                               326.25
Pennsylvania                     203.13
Bryn Athyn                          2,866.00
Philadelphia                          35.00
Pittsburgh                          325.35
Texas                          5.50
U. S. Navy                          5.00
Washington                          13.75
West Virginia                     42.00
Wisconsin                          5.00
Canada                          121.45
Kitchener and Waterloo                176.80
Toronto                          399.39
Australia                          38.84
Great Britain                          36.81
Holland                          10.00
South Africa                          8.22
                                                            5,218.48

     NEW CHURCH LIFE
Subscriptions                          $1,013.27
Advertisements                     4.70
                                        1,017.07
Total                                                   $6,750.34

499




     EXPENDITURES.
Salaries of Bishop's Office                $2,700.00
Missionary                          500.00
Treasurer's Office                     780.00
Traveling Expenses, Missionary           130.95
Bishop                          236.00
Secretary Council                     66.00
Member of Consistory                50.00
Publication of Catechism                118.28
Academy Book Room, deficit on publication
first edition Liturgy, on account           100.00
Printing Quarterly Reports and Circulars      49.50
Postage                          25.40
Stationery                          15.31
Addressograph Expense                7.70
Interest on Loans                    4.82
Baptismal Cards                     4.49
Sundries                          4.92
                                        $4,793.37

     NEW CHURCH LIFE.
Salary Editor                          458.34
Traveling Expense Editor                10.00
Printing and mailing issues May 1917,
to May, 1918, inc.                    1,019.14
Cover paper                          93.75
Paper                          136.50
Envelopes for mailing                29.27
Stationery and Postage                70.49
Cuts                               7.25
Bound LIFE to Subscribers and
Complimentary, 1916                10.07
Sundries                          2.88
                                                        1,837.69
                                                                  $6,631.06
Balance on hand May 31, 1918                                   $119.28

     The Executive Committee, recognizing the responsibility of the General Church in the publication of the Liturgy, has agreed to pay to the Academy Book Room for the plates of the work the sum of $1,200 in four annual instalments. One hundred dollars has been paid on this account. Had this instalment not been paid, and had one contribution of one hundred dollars which was paid shortly after the new year, been paid before June 1, there would have been shown a larger balance than a year ago.

500


And this in spite of the fact that an expense of $118.28 was incurred on account of the Publication of the Catechism, of which $64.45 only has thus far been returned: from sales. The contributions show a falling off of $44.18, but this is more than offset by an increase in payment of subscriptions to the LIFE of $148.89, and in miscellaneous receipts of $74.14, showing a net increase in income over last year of $178.85. Expenditures on general account show an increase of $319.97, and on LIFE account $126.77. This increase is due chiefly to three items: the Catechism, instalment paid for LIFE plates, and unusual charges for traveling expenses of the Bishop, who, in addition to other episcopal visits, made a trip to Denver, and a special visit to Glenview and Chicago. The traveling expenses for the Bishop, Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, member of Consistory, and missionary, amount to approximately five hundred dollars, as against about three hundred dollars for the same items during the previous year.

     NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     ANALYSIS OF SUBSCRIPTION LIST, JUNE 1, 1918.

Subscribers who are members of the General Church      334
Subscribers who are not members of the General Church     119
Academy Book Room                          42
Agents                                    5
Libraries                                   8
Exchanges                                    26
Sent free                                    22
                                                            556
New subscribers      23
Discontinued           60

     PENSION FUND.
FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1918.
Balance on hand May 31, 1917                     $1,447.65

     RECEIPTS.
Interest on Investments                $3,134.67
Rank Interest and Interest on Loans           44.40
South American Fund, on account Loans
and interest                          405.00
                                                        3,584.07
                                                       $5,031.72

501




     EXPENDITURES.
Pensions                         $2,396.65
Loan to South American Fund, Extension
Fund                               195.56
Rent of Safe                          6.86
                                        $2,59907
Invested in Liberty Bonds                          1,000.00
                                                       3,599.07
Balance on hand May 31, 1918                                   $1,432.65

     EXTENSION FUND

     FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1918.

RECEIPTS.
Balance on hand May 31, 1917                     $482.75
Income from Investments                $5,600.00
Bank Interest                          20.32
Books sold by Missionary               .50
                                        5,620.82
CONTRIBUTIONS.
Colorado                          $5.00
District of Columbia                     3.00
Illinois                          10.00
Maryland                          5.00
New York                          13.50
Ohio                               157.25
Pennsylvania                          2,832.67
Washington                         3.00
Canada                         156.35
England                          4.03
Sweden                          6.00
                                                        3,195.80
                                                                      $9,299.37
EXPENDITURES.
Extension Work                     $2,626.10
Aid to Societies and Circles                5,922.99
Books                                        7.20
Sundries                         51.66
                                                                  8,607.95

     Balance on hand May 31, 1918                              $691.42

     W. H. ALDEN, Treasurer.

502




     7. The Rev. W. H. Alden then read the following

     REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON CHURCH EXTENSION

     FOR THE YEAR ENDING MAY 31, 1918.

     The Committee has held three meetings during the year, on the dates, June 5, Sept. 6, 1917, and March 31, 1918 with the exception of making appropriation from the South American Fund for the publication of a missionary pamphlet by Mr. de La Fayette, and for compensating the Rev. K. R. Alden for missionary work during the summer of 1917, the meetings of the Committee were essentially merely formal ratifications of action considered in joint sessions with the Consistory. The present report, therefore, is the report of matters considered jointly by the Consistory and Extension Committee.

     An application was considered from the Circle in Paris to give an independent income to M. Hussenet, which would enable him to give his entire time to the work of his ministry. This did not appear feasible, but a modest appropriation was made in recognition of his faithful service to the Church for twenty years.

     Mr. Harris made application for assistance in bearing the expenses of quarterly visits to Abington. The Committee had previously felt that, with the various calls upon its resources, it was not possible to continue to bear the cost of these visits. But it was represented that the Abington friends would bear one-half the amount and the Committee agreed to appropriate the other half.

     Some assistance has been given to the Rev. J. S. David in bearing the expenses of a series of missionary lectures in Denver, Colo.

     Careful consideration has been given to the general field of the work of the Extension Committee for the coming year. It has been felt necessary in view of the many calls upon the funds, to curtail appropriations where it was possible to do so. Also, in pursuance of the policy of decreasing progressively the assistance rendered to societies, a decreased appropriation has been made for the assistance to the Societies in Arbutus, and Sharon Church, Chicago.

503




     An increasing burden has been laid upon the Extension Fund by reason of the adverse sate of exchange between this country and Sweden and Holland, making it necessary not only to provide the nominal appropriation but sufficient in addition to meet this adverse financial tide.

     The question of the change of Mr. Waelchli's residence from Kitchener to some point more central, and within the United States, has received much thought in consultation with Mr. Waelchli and others. It has been concluded that it will be for the best interests of his work for him to move to Cincinnati, at which point he can do effective local work for the Church, and at the same time be more favorably placed for his various missionary trips to other points. Provision has been made for the expenses of his removal and readjustments of salary, which will on the whole make the change an advantage both to Mr. Waelchli and tea the Extension Fund. It is expected that the change will be made in the early fall.

     For several years the Rev. G. J. Fercken has been supported in his work in Lausanne, Switzerland, by the private beneficence of the late Mr. John Pitcairn, which support has since been continued by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn. It has seemed more orderly to Mr. Pitcairn that this support, if continued, should be under the oversight and judgment of the Committee on Church Extension. This charge has been undertaken by the Committee in the hope that results may justify its continuance.

     The financial report of the Extension Fund is encouraging, due to the liberal personal contributions made by Messrs. Raymond and Theodore Pitcairn, There is shown a balance on hand at the beginning of the year of $482.75. At the end of the year there is a balance of: $691.42, and this notwithstanding that there was sent to Holland for Mr. Deltenre $400 (or with exchange $458.53) more than we have been accustomed to send at this time. This would make an actual gain during the year of $667.20, and if we take into account our expectation that we shall be compelled to sell $500 of securities, we are better off by the sum of $1,167.20 than we estimated would be the case at the beginning of the year.

504




     The expenditures of the Extension Fund during the past year aggregate $8,607.95, the largest sum in any year of its existence, and $1,228.52 more than in the previous year, and this without taking into account the increased amount sent to Mr. Deltenre before the expiration of the year.

     The needs of the Fund are bound to increase from year to year. If we have the wisdom and the courage to guide it into useful channels, we may go on with confidence that means will be provided for all the work which, in the Divine Providence, requires to be accomplished. For the Committee on Church Extension, W. H. ALDEN, Secretary.

     8. The following is the Report for the year of the

     ORPHANAGE FUND

     OF THE

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     Statement from June 13th, 1917, to June 5th, 1918.

RECEIPTS.
Cash balance, June 12th, 1917                          $335.72
Henderson Bequest, Interest                               120.18

     CONTRIBUTIONS.
Bryn Athyn Church, Children's Service Offerings      $63.58
Olivet Church, Toronto                     14.54
New York Sunday School, Christmas Offering      14.46     
Pittsburgh Society, Children's Christmas Offering      23.96
New York Society, New Year's Offering           24.25
Middleport Sunday School, Christmas Offering      7.50
Baltimore Society                          5.00
Bryn Athyn Church, Christmas Offering           34.00
Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ont.                25.00
Philadelphia Society, Easter Offering           14.73
Colchester, England, Society                5.50
Academy School, Breakage Refund                5.00
Mr. Wm. Evens                          2.00
Miss Alice E. Grant                         4.75
Mrs. W. S. Howland                     77.00

505



Bishop W. F. Pendleton and family                5.00
Mr. Philip C. Pendleton                     1.00
Mrs. Jacob Schoenberger                     10.00
Mrs. Regina Iungerich                    5.00     
Mr. A. W. Manning                          10.00
Rev. Alfred Acton, Offerings at family worship      15.66
Rev. E. S. Price                          2.20
Dr. Felix A. Boericke                     25.00
Mr. A. E. Lindrooth                         2.75
Rev. Richard Morse                          4.50
Mrs. A. K. Roy                          1.00
Mr. and Mrs. E. H. S. Fuller and family           3.60
Miss Winnie Boericke                     5.00
Children of Mr. and Mrs. C. H. Ebert           2.13     
                                                  354.11
                                                                  $810.01
DISBURSEMENTS.
Assistance to sundry persons                    $601.22
Expenses                               6.02
                                                                      $605.24
Balance in Bank, June 5th, 1918                              $202.77

     WALTER C. CHILDS, Treasurer.

     9. On motion, it was then "RESOLVED, That we, the Joint Council do herewith record our deep sense of loss on the removal from our midst of our co-laborer and brother, Carl Theophilus Odhner. His sturdy and virile Newchurchmanship, and his zeal to do his duty, are a token that the uses he has now entered upon will be faithfully served. Our love and our esteem follow him."

     10. On motion, it was RESOLVED, That the Rev. W. H. Alden be appointed Secretary of the General Church, to act until the next General Assembly.

     11. The subject of the State of the Church was taken up for consideration, and was discussed by a number of speakers.
     W. B. CALDWELL,
     W. H. ALDEN,
          Secretaries.

506


DIRECTORY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1918

DIRECTORY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH              1918

     OFFICIALS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     Bishop.
The Right Rev. N. D. Pendleton

     Secretary and Treasurer.
Rev. Wm. H. Alden

     Consistory.
Bishop N. D. Pendleton
Rev. Alfred Acton                    Rev. F. E. Waelchli
Rev. C. E. Doering, Secretary      Rev. W. B. Caldwell
Rev. Homer Synnestvedt                Rev. E. E. Iungerich

     Executive Committee.
Dr. Felix A. Boericke, President
Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, Vice-President
Mr. Paul Carpenter, Secretary
Rev. Wm. H. Alden, Treasurer

Mr. Edwin T. Asplundh                Mr. Charles G. Merrell
Mr. Edward C. Bostock                Mr. Seymour G. Nelson
Mr. Robert Carswell                    Mr. Richard Roschman
Mr. Randolph W. Childs           Mr. Rudolph Roschman
Mr. Walter C. Childs                    Mr. Jacob Schoenberger
Mr. S. S. Lindsay                    Mr. Anton Sellner
Mr. Paul Synnestvedt

     Committee on Church Extension.
Dr. Felix A. Boericke, Chairman      Mr. Raymond Pitcairn
Rev. Wm. H. Alden, Treasurer      Mr. Randolph W. Childs

     DIRECTORY OF THE CLERGY.

     Bishop.

     PENDLETON, NATHANIEL DANDRIDGE.
Ordained, 16/6, 1889; 2d degree, 2/3, 1891; 3d degree, 17/11, 1912. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President of the Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

507




     Bishop Emeritus.

     PENDLETON, WILLIAM FREDERICK.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 3/9, 1873; 3d degree, 9/5, 1888. Professor of Theology, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Pastors.

     ACTON, ALFRED.
Ordained, 4/6, 1893; 2d degree, 10/1, 1897. Pastor of the Circles in New York and Washington. Dean of Theological School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ALDEN, WILLIAM HYDE.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 30/5, 1886. Secretary and Treasurer of the General Church. Manager of the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     BARLER, ORSON L.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 1/11, 1879; R. F. D. Lit Beatrice, Nebraska.

     BOWERS, JOHN E.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 11/5, 1873. General Missionary, 37 Lowther Ave., Toronto, Ont., Canada.

     BRICKMAN, WALTER E.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 7/1, 1900. 419 Evaline St., Pittsburgh, Pa.

     CALDWELL, WILLIAM BEEBE.
Ordained, 19/10, 1902, 2d degree, 23/10, 1904. Professor of Theology, Academy of the New Church. Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     CRONLUND, EMIL ROBERT.
Ordained, 31/12, 1899; 2d degree, 18/5, 1992. Pastor of the Olivet Church, 32 Springhurst Ave., Toronto, Ont., Canada.

     CZERNY, ANDREW.
Ordained, 10/6, 1883. 2d degree, 21/3, 1886. Pastor of the Societies in London and Colchester, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. London, England.

     DAVID, LLEWELLYN W. T.
Ordained, 28/6, 1914. 2d degree, 19/6, 1916. Pastor of the Denver Society, 543 Delaware St., Denver, Colo.

     DECHARMS, GEORGE.
Ordained. 28/6, 1914; 2d degree, 19/6, 1916. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

508




     DECHARMS, RICHARD.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 21/1, 1877 Instructor in the Academy Schools, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     DELTENRE, ERNST.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 26/5, 1912. Missionary in Belgium and Holland, 33 Rue Gachard, Brussels, Belgium.

     DOERING, CHARLES EMIL.
Ordained, 7/6, 1896; 2d degree, 29/1, 1899. Dean of Faculties, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     FERCKEN, GASTON JOHN.
Ordained, and ad degrees, 28/10, 1906. Geneva, Switzerland.

     GLADISH, WILLIS L.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 3/6, 1894. Franklin Park, Ills.

     GYLLENHAAL, FREDERICK EDMUND.
Ordained, 23/6, 1907; 2d degree, 19/6, 1910. Pastor of the Society in Durban, Natal, South Africa, 186 Essenwood Road.

     HARRIS, THOMAS STARK.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 8/4, 1897. Pastor of the Society in Arbutus, Md.; Halethoupe, Md.

     HEADSTEN, JOHN.
Ordained, 1st degree, 19/6, 1913; 2d degree, 28/6, 1914. Missionary, 3749 Janssen Ave., Chicago, Ill.

     HUSSENET, FERNAND.
Ordained, 1st and 2d degrees, 10/10, 1909 Pastor of the Society in Paris, 31 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.

     IUNGERICH, ELDRED EDWARD.
Ordained, 13/6, 1909; 2d degree, 26/5, 1912. Professor of Theology, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     KLEIN, DAVID HAROLD.
Ordained, 26/6, 1898; 2d degree, 27/10, 1902. 1231 E. 46th St., Chicago, Ill.

     MORSE, RICHARD.
Authorized Minister and Pastor, pending ordination, 31/7, 1913. Pastor of the Society in Sydney. 180 Regent St., Redfern, Sydney, N. S. W., Australia.

509




     ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGBERG.
Ordained, 23/6, 1914; 2d degree, 24/6, 1917. Pastor of the Carmel Church, 820 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont., Canada.

     PRICE, ENOCH S.
Ordained, 10/6, 1888; 2d degree, 19/6, 1891. Professor, Academy of the New Church. Pastor of the Allentown Society. Address, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ROSENQVIST, JOSEPH E.
Ordained, 19/6, 1891; 2d degree, 23/6, 1895. Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

     SMITH, GILBERT HAVEN.
Ordained, 25/6, 1911; 2d degree, 19/6, 1913 Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill.

     SYNNESTVEDT, HOMER.
Ordained, 19/6, 1891; 2d degree, 13/1, 1895 Pastor of the Pittsburgh. Society. 337 South Pacific Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.

     WAELCHLI, FRED. E.
Ordained, 10/6, 1888; 2d degree, 19/6, 1891. Visiting Pastor, General Church. 820 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont., Canada.

     Ministers.

     ALDEN, KARL RICHARDSON.
Ordained, 19/6, 1917. Minister of the Advent Church, Philadelphia. Address, 6016 Jefferson St., Philadelphia, Pa.

     BAECKSTROM, GUSTAV.
Ordained, 6/6, 1915 Minister of Circle in Stockholm, Sweden. Grefgatan, 57.

     BROWN, REGINALD W.
Ordained, 21/10, 1900. Professor and Librarian, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     PITCAIRN, THEODORE.
Ordained, 19/6, 1917 Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Authorized Candidates and Preachers.

     EVENS, WILLIAM.
Authorized, 8/7, 1913. Penetanguishene, Ont., Canada.

     PENDLETON, CHARLES R.
Authorized, 4/6, 1905 Instructor in the Academy Schools, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

510


Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     CELEBRATIONS OF THE NINETEENTH.

     ARBUTUS, MD.-Owing to the difficulty of coming together on a week day, our celebration of the Nineteenth was held on the preceding Sunday, and began with the morning service, at the conclusion of which the Holy Supper was administered. In the afternoon the chapel was converted into a banquet hall, where we arranged two tables, one for the adult members of the society, the other far the younger members and children. This simplified the matter of serving, especially as wine had been provided for the grown folks, and grape juice punch for the younger ones.

     Suitable songs were sung, and the Memorandum,-T. C. R. 791,-was taken as the basis for the speeches, Mr. Knapp speaking first on the significance of the phrase, "After this work was finished." This was followed by a speech on "The calling together of the twelve disciples," by Mr. Behlert; one on the "whole spiritual world, into which the disciples were sent," by Mr. H. W. Gunther; another on the "Gospel taught by the disciples,-That the Lord Jesus Christ reigneth," by Mr. Reynolds, the series closing with remarks on the "Nature and extent of the Lord's kingdom," by Mr. A. Gunther. Mr. Amrhine, a member of the Baltimore German Society, responded to a toast to our guests, and a toast to "Our boys with the colors" was responded to by Mr. L. L. K. Behlert.

     On the evening of Wednesday, the 19th, the men's Circle met to discuss the speeches which had been delivered at the banquet on Sunday. T. S. HARRIS.

     BRYN ATHYN.-Our observance of the Nineteenth this year opened with a morning service conducted by Bishop N. D. Pendleton, who administered the rite of confirmation to seven young ladies, after which the Holy Supper was celebrated. The ceremonies of the day included also the baptism and marriage of Mr. Ernest Pfeiffer and Miss Jacoba Courtier, performed by the Bishop in the presence of a few friends.

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In the afternoon an appropriate service was held for the children, and this was followed in the evening by a general picnic under the spreading cherry tree on the campus. The repast ended, we were invited by the Assistant Pastor, Rev. George de Charms, to gather in a semi-circle in front of a platform and piano that had been placed under the tree, there to sing the songs of our church and country, and to hear the speeches. After Mr. de Charms had voiced the sentiments of the day in words adapted to the children, Mr. Paul Synnestvedt read the following address:

     THE DAWN OF A NEW DAY.

     We are gathered together this Nineteenth Day of June to celebrate the Advent of the Lord, which was proclaimed in the Spiritual World 148 years ago. Concerning this Advent, so frequently foretold in the Scriptures, we read in the True Christian Religion, 791:

     "After this work was finished, the Lord called together His twelve disciples, who followed Him in the world, and the next day. He sent them throughout the whole Spiritual World to preach the Gospel, that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigneth, whose kingdom shall endure for ever and ever, according to the prophecy in Daniel and in the Revelation, and that. 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.' This was done on the 19th day of June, in the year 1770."

     In the Arcana we read, that the Advent of the Lord into the world is called "morning," and in like manner that "morning" signifies every advent of the Lord, but it seems fitting that our celebration this year conies as the shadows deepen toward the night.

     All the world around is struggling in darkness even well-nigh to despair, yet we of the New Church, we who have been "called to the marriage supper of the Lamb," know of a surety that the desolation of this night is really but the beginning of a new day, and that after the night the morning cometh. There can be no doubt but that now is a time of preparation for a greater and fuller acceptance of the Truth, the gift of which we celebrate on this Nineteenth day of June.

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     It is not meet for us to be here grieving over the shadows of the past, nor the seeming impenetrable obscurity of the future. We know from Divine Revelation that the old church is dead, and no doubt the present great holocaust of war is but an accompaniment of that death, and that from it must spring a new birth and life freedom especially must be born anew. Not alone from, our enemies without does this attack on freedom come. From within as well, from the evils in our own country, from the evils in ourselves, our freedom is attacked, and this assault is really the greater menace, although not so obvious, nor apparently requiring such urgent measures of defense. In these times our thoughts of Church are inseparable from thoughts of country and our country's need.

     Our minds turn to those who have gone forth to battle in the country's cause. In this noble devotion let us see an image of the service and sacrifice of those who have given battle for our Church; those who have stood the shock of attack and assault both from without and within; those who have held aloft the standard of distinctive New Church Faith and Life. And in remembering those who stand as Fathers of the Academy, let our thoughts reverently and sacredly dwell for a moment also on the Mothers of the Academy, who have really made the greatest of all sacrifices in our noble cause, and who, by bringing forth sons to take the places left vacant by the Fathers called to the Great Beyond, have helped the Truth to be born anew in the hearts of the New Church Man.

     In thinking of our country's need, let us not forget that this war for freedom cannot be won without the Church. The great spiritual forces that must come into play, to bring order out of chaos, must have a base or resting-place upon the Lord's New Church. Our part is most important. We must continue in integrity to worship the one only God, the Lord in His Divine Human, who has come again to us in the Revelation of His Word, proclaimed throughout the whole spiritual world this Nineteenth day of June, one hundred and forty-eight years ago.

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     If we neglect our part, the cause of Freedom with us must surely fall, and great will be that fall, and dark the night that follows. This must not be. We must not let it be. We who are called to this marriage supper, we of the Lord's New Church, early the greatest responsibility in the world; but we can rest assured that if we do well the part allotted to us, civilization and freedom will not perish from the earth.

     At the conclusion of this address, which touched the hearts of all, other speakers came forward.

     Mr. Wilfred Howard feelingly expressed the wish that our celebrations of this day might know more of the enthusiasm, of earlier days, which he believed would be the case if we fully realized the necessity of individual effort in co-operation with the Lord for the upbuilding of His Church, not expecting this to be accomplished by miraculous means.

     Rev. Alfred Acton spoke of Christmas and the Nineteenth as celebrations of two comings of the Lord. It is said that when the Lord was born He brought peace and good will to men, and the same is to be said of the Second Coming. He hoped that the present war would not leave hatreds in its wake, but rather good will between nations, which means that the individual citizens of our own and other countries must avoid cherishing ill will toward enemies after the conflict.

     Rev. W. H. Alden recalled the central message of this day, that "the Lord Jesus Christ reigns," and pointed out that the Lord reigns among men especially through His Church, that only through His Church can genuine good will be brought down among men. And because the Lord reigns, He will certainly bring about the good which He has intended by permitting this war.

     The "Academy Colors Song" was then sung by a quartet of ladies, and Miss Margaretha Lechner recited some strikingly prophetic pre-war poems, after which we all joined in singing "Our Glorious Church." W. B. C.

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     GLENVIEW.-Celebrations in connection with New Church Day may be said to have commenced on Sunday, June 19th, when our Pastor preached a sermon suited to the occasion, and administered the Holy Supper. On Wednesday, the 19th, there was a service for the children, and in the evening the usual banquet. Several Chicago friends were present, and the meeting proved to be a very enjoyable one. There was a tone of seriousness not always present at a banquet, but which surely ought to be present when speakers deal with such vital and sacred subjects as the coming of the Lord.

     Our Pastor, in opening the formal part of the program, spoke of the need that such meetings be made an inspiration to a greater love for the Doctrines of the Church. Mr. H. L. Burnham referred to the exceeding greatness of the Lords love in creating man, and of His ardent desire that man should reciprocate His love. Mr. Sydney Lee spoke on "The sending out of the twelve into the spiritual world," showing how the event we were celebrating was brought about by the promulgation in the spiritual world of the same truth that is now to be proclaimed on earth by the New Church. Mr. John Synnestvedt dealt with the "Descent of the New Church into the world," giving a historical sketch of the visible New Church in this world, from its commencement in Swedenborg's time to the present day. Mr. H. S. Maynard gave a very forcible address on "Blessings of a life in the New Church," and spoke of the distinctive knowledge of God, and the things He has revealed to us concerning Himself and His kingdom, as our greatest blessing. Other speakers were the Rev. John Headsten, Mr. S. C. Nelson and Mr. A. E. Nelson.

     In the early part of the evening Miss Helen Wiedinger rendered the beautiful song; "If with all your hearts," and a number of appropriate songs were sung by all during the banquet. Dancing by the young people concluded a very delightful occasion. G. A. MCQUEEN.

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     PITTSBURGH.-The following account has been sent by the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society:

     THE NEW CHURCH NEW YEAR.

     June the Nineteenth, 1770, is regarded by some as the head of the year, and they even wish to begin a new calendar dating from that time. But owing to the remains stored in childhood by all the sacred happiness of Christmas, there seems to be little present likelihood of success in that direction. Christmas does indeed appeal more strongly to children, commemorating as it does the advent of our Lord upon the plane of lowest ultimates. But that is no reason why we should omit all effort to make New Church Day significant and delightful to them.

     At least that was the thought of Mr. Jacob Shoenberger, who is many times a grandfather; and the Pittsburgh Committee agreed with him. So the way was opened for the Pastor to initiate something that would come as near as possible to an expression of our feeling about that day and the epochal event which it commemorates. Here was a worthy commission for an artistic purveyor of happiness. As Bobby Caldwell, (now Major Caldwell), following the lead of a similar development in Bryn Athyn, had provided for us a type of Christmas representation which touched all the deepest feelings of our hearts, so it became our task, without his help, to plan for the Nineteenth something distinctive and at the same really delightful upon both planes.

     Among the precedents were the uses of worship, (especially the Holy Supper), the early Academy love feasts, pageants, and song festivals. For the two latter we were manifestly not equipped, partly because our young folks are nearly all away at Bryn Athyn until late in June. As to worship, it has been our custom here to have the Holy Supper on the nearest Sunday, and besides we wanted to have something adapted to the states of our children. So we agreed to make trial of a kind of combination of goad things. Having secured an ideal spot within easy reach of the city, we began to prepare the minds of all, young and old, as to the spiritual significance of the day, and to practice a few songs. Besides this, we gave up our annual Sunday School picnic on May 30th, and promised the children the usual sports and prizes upon the afternoon of the Nineteenth.

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Neither was the banquet idea neglected in the plans, though it happened, owing to the scattered location of the tables, that the sphere of this feature was weakened, and our main reliance for the "white cloud" that really makes a success of such an undertaking was upon the preparation of the mind beforehand, and upon the opening worship.

     Knowing how spirits attach themselves to things and places in this world, according to their use, one would hardly expect much of a sphere of worship at a picnic ground. At Alnwick Grove, in the old days of the Advent Church of Philadelphia, the preliminary worship had a tendency to become perfunctory, the interest in the expected physical delights being too great. But ours was no ordinary picnic ground. Besides, we were prepared, and our first thought, before anything else except the raising of the flag, was to gather upon the smooth platform beneath a wide-spreading oak, there to arrange ourselves as best we could with cushions and folding chairs, until the Pastor had robed and an altar had been erected.

     With our hearts and minds full of the spirit of the day, who could help being inspired with feelings of awe, as we realized how nature had here enclosed us with a cathedral of her own making, with firm floors carpeted in green, pillared and arched with trees, vaulted with deepest azure, and draped with fleecy, slowly moving white! Moreover, the entrance to the enchanted spot was across a bridge, and by a gateway cut through a natural barrier of rock, looking like a giant propylon. Here, on one side was the place of assembly, while across the stream was the place for the games and sports of the children, and of the young men and maidens, who, just returned from Bryn Athyn with a number of visiting classmates, added much to our pleasure. All it needed was the organ, but what an organ it would need! Possibly the organ was there, playing all the time, and accompanying great choirs of angels, but our ears were not opened to hear them. We only sensed a most general feeling of awe and harmony.

     After the worship the children were allowed to wade, or otherwise to occupy themselves while the dinner was being made ready, when would follow the to ass and songs of blessed memory.

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But this was postponed until after the prize contests, baseball match, (Pittsburgh, 8; B. A., 4), and the quoit tournament. When we reassembled for supper each one had a taste of the sparkling wine befitting the occasion, and then we listened to a speech that had been delivered by the elder Doctor Cowley in 1883, sang the appropriate songs, and ended with patriotic toasts, songs, and readings. Then there was dancing, but soon the autos were pressed into service to take the children home, the young people remaining for another hour or so of dancing.

     Thus ended a perfect day, an inspiration and preparation for the heavy burdens and great hardships, already being borne by those who are "over there," and increasingly to be borne by us as the year wears on. "That day," the "Great Day" of prophetic promise and age-long hope, has at last begun, and our warfare against the present enemy is only the first step, opening the way for the greater victory that will be won by everyone who fights and endures bravely in the name of Him who is able to slay the dragon himself, the real enemy of all mankind.

     Some folks think that spiritual delight and natural delight won't mix, but that is a dangerous half truth. They do mix, and it is most vital that they should mix, if heaven is really to be brought down to men. The only question is, which sphere is going to predominate? The law is, that any sphere is qualified by that which rules within it, which is the end therein. If merely natural delight is the end, this will be the prevailing quality of the sphere, and the sphere of sensual and selfish pleasures will sooner or later cut off the influx of the heavenly delights and the thoughts that open heavenward. Soon there will he a growing impatience with the exercises of piety, or with anything serious, in fact. This is why the real use of church festivals often becomes weak and dies. On the other hand, it is necessary to the reception of higher things that they be allowed to express themselves at proper times upon the lower planes, socially and even physically. We are human, which means that Divine things must be received by us as of ourselves, must reach even our senses. With children we provide for this largely by association, by surrounding the things of the church with external pleasures of various kinds, taking care not to allow the lower to supplant the higher.

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These things, so enjoyed in childhood and youth, afterwards remain as our deepest foundation, nor can they afterwards be quite made up if not experienced then. So it is a worthy work. Let us do all that we can to make the Nineteenth of June, as well as Christmas, delightful and significant to our children. HOMER SYNNESTVEDT.

     ROSTHERN, SASK., CANADA.-On the Nineteenth of June we gathered at the house of Mr. John Lemky, near Rosthern, in order to celebrate the significant event which took place on that day, one hundred and forty-eight years ago, for the salvation of mankind. We were only a small New Church circle, consisting of the families Lemky, Heinrichs, Hamm, and Bech, of Rosthern; the Klippenstein family, of Laird, and the undersigned, from Hague; but all the participants entered into the celebration with love and affection, and this true New Church spirit found expression in songs and appropriate addresses.

     Mr. John Hamm opened the celebration with a short address, and this was followed by the singing of a song. Then Mr. John Bech read True Christian Religion, 791, and pointed oat that when the Christian Church in course of time reached its consummation, the Lord provided that from the remnant of the good a New Church should be established in heaven and on earth, and that in order that this might be effected, the self-instituted imaginary heavens in the world of spirits were cast down, and the New Church, the New Jerusalem, established in their stead, in which Church love and truth shall reign, and the children of God find therein genuine freedom, and their redemption and salvation. After another song, the writer of this communication gave an address on the same subject, dwelling on the great importance and necessity of the sending out of the Lord's twelve disciples in the spiritual world, and the far-reaching consequence of this event for Christianity, and also pointing out oar responsibility in regard to the proclamation of the Heavenly Doctrines. The young people then rendered a Hebrew anthem, Psalm 24, verses 1 to 10, to the great delight of the older folks.

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Mr. Peter Klippenstein, who now made a short address, spoke of the great: use of such a celebration of the Nineteenth of June, and of the lasting benefit which we all ought to derive from it.

     The gathering was now invited to partake of refreshments, and it soon became evident that the members of the New Church know how to enjoy a good social time, and to prize a delightful hour spent in lively conversation, singing, instrumental music, and the like.

     As usual at our gatherings, we parted and went to rest with the exalted realization that we had been richly blessed.

     "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases." (Psalm 103:1, 2, 3.)
     P. CLAASEN.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.-Two days, June 16th and 17th, were spent with the ERIE, PA., Circle. On Sunday, the 16th, services were held in the morning, including the administration of the Holy Supper, and in the evening there was the usual doctrinal class. On the 17th, in the afternoon, instruction was given the children, and in the evening the Circle celebrated the Nineteenth of June, at the house of Dr. and Mrs. Edward Cranch. The celebration opened with: a supper. After a time there came toasts, accompanied by their appropriate songs. Five-minute speeches, all bearing on the great event of the 19th of June, were made by eight of the men, the last speaker being the Pastor. Between the speeches there were musical selections on the phonograph. The evening was a most delightful one. Twenty-five persons, old and young, were present, among them Mr. Eugene Cranch, who had just arrived from his graduation at Ann Arbor, to be at home for a few days before entering his country's service. F. E. WAELCHLI.

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     SCHOOL CLOSING EXERCISES.

     BRYN ATHYN.-"The Child and the Academy" was the subject of the address at the closing service, held in the chapel on June 13th. The Rev. Karl Alden, in developing his subject, quoted a prophecy of Bishop Benade's, who voiced his vision of the future of New Church education, and pictured a great central university, fed from smaller schools, through which a continuous stream of children would pass. Mr. Alden compared these children to a river, in which the particles of water are ever changing, but which is always the same river. Thus the pupils of New Church; elementary schools pass into the Academy Schools, and thence into New Church membership. The thing he wished to impress upon them, so that they would remember it always, was simply to stay in the New Church. This, he said, is an easy thing to do,-to marry and bring up their families in the Church, so that the stream of children, now so small, may increase to thousands. The speaker's words were charmingly adapted to the comprehension of the children, and full of images that appealed to them.

     The service was attended by a goodly number of adults and about eighty-seven children, who entered singing a processional, the exercises being led by Bishop W. F. Pendleton and the Rev. Richard de Charms, who conducts the school openings throughout the year.

     At the close of Mr. Alden's remarks, Bishop Pendleton said that he wished to say a few words to the children, and the substance of his short talk was that any good thing which we want from our hearts the Lord will give us, not when we most desire it, but in His own good time, and perhaps when we are not thinking about it. The Bishop then announced that the Principal desired to make a presentation to the pupils of the Eighth Grade. The five girls and two boys of this grade then came forward, and received from Mr. Heilman certificates of graduation from the Bryn Athyn Elementary School.

     The Bishop pronounced the Benediction, and the children retired singing a recessional, bringing an impressive service to a close.

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     We have had an enrollment of 88 pupils this year, and feel that there is every reason for encouragement at the spirit and progress manifested in the work of the school.

     GLENVIEW.-The closing exercises of the Immanuel Church School took place on Saturday, June 15th, bringing to an end a fruitful year, with 50 pupils in attendance. After a brief service and an address by the Pastor, the members of the graduating class read the following compositions: "The Five Churches," by Virginia Junge; "The Most Ancient Church," by Dorothy Nelson; "The Ancient Church," by Hope Cole; "The Israelitish Church," by Dorothy Cole; "The Consummation of the Age," by Ernest Burnham; "The New Church," by Howard Hohem; "On Entering the Spiritual World," by Noel McQueen. After the reading of these papers, which were listened to with great interest, the Pastor presented to each of the graduates a certificate and a red and white favor, the latter the worn in remembrance of the benefits gained in the School. He also addressed the pupils on the significance of the colors, with special reference to the manner of honoring them, throughout life. A violin solo was very nicely rendered by Virginia Junge.

     In the evening of the same day the whole School took part in an operetta, entitled "The Witch of the Fairy Deli." It may be truly said that our new stage came into its own on this occasion. In the scene depicting the village fair, the stage was crowded with a very animated throng of peasants and peddlers and many kinds of people, and it certainly looked like the real thing. The singing and acting was good, and while some of the performers deserve special mention, we refrain from giving names because all were so good. Miss Katherine Burnham was responsible for the production, of the operetta, and during the evening was presented with a bouquet of roses in recognition of her success, and as a token of appreciation on the part of the audience. G. A. MCQUEEN.

     PITTSBURGH.-A prosperous year in our School, with 25 enrolled pupils, saw its conclusion on June 7th, when the closing exercises were held. Worship in the chapel was followed by the reading of compositions by the four graduates, who now pass from our 7th grade with a standing equivalent to the "higher eighth" in other Pittsburgh schools.

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One of the papers was entitled "A Pilgrimage and a Dedication," and described the journey of the whole Pittsburgh Society to Bryn Athyn to attend the dedication of the new church now being built there. Another bore the title of "Rulers," and brought in King David, Louis XIV, and President Wilson, treating especially of the enlightenment enjoyed by wise governors. A third was on "Luther, Melanchthon, and Calvin," while the fourth was called "What makes Men go to War. Afterwards we all sat down to supper, and then participated in the ceremony of "burning the mortgage."     H. S.
HIGHER EDUCATION 1918

HIGHER EDUCATION              1918

     "If the Church is to grow in knowledge and understanding, there must be provided a place and sphere where the study of the interior truths of the Word, and thence of all fields of human endeavor, may proceed in a measure undisturbed; a haven of peace, where the first purpose is to advance in studies, to seek for interior understanding, and to prepare fully for the higher uses granted to man. For this the College has been established, and it has been devoted to this use since the early days of New Church education. The College is, at least as to its Purpose and high function, a garden for shelter in the heat of the day, such as those in the other world where walk men and women who love the things of intelligence and wisdom."-Donald F. Rose, B. A., Valedictorian, 1918.

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CHURCH NEWS 1918

CHURCH NEWS       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     TORONTO, CAN. The Olivet Church, though not heard from for some months, has been steadily pursuing its activities. With the burden of war relief work added to our regular uses, there has been small opportunity forest or leisure.

     The Ontario Assembly, which, in view of war conditions, it was considered wise to postpone, was most adequately replaced by a delightful visit from Bishop N. D. Pendleton and Rev. Theodore Pitcairn. Every meeting was a feast of inspiration, and the accounts of the unique missionary campaign conducted by the two young ministers, Rev. Mr. Pitcairn and Rev. Mr. Alden proved most entertaining.

     On the 29th of January the children were entertained at a dinner, given by the Theta Alpha, in honor of Swedenborg's birthday. Before leaving the table, the older pupils of the school read charming papers on the life and character of Swedenborg, after which followed lively social.

     The adult celebration, which was held on the 30th, took the form of a supper, at which the subject of Evangelization was discussed. In this connection, Mr. Charles Brown gave a most interesting and encouraging resume of the development of the Parkdale Society from its early days to the present.

     The removal to the spirit world of two of our oldest and most faithful members, Mr. Ernest Bellinger and Mr. Charles Brown, inevitably cast a shadow over the society. Only the sure knowledge that their usefulness to the Lord's Church has been infinitely increased can compensate those who are deprived of their earthly ministrations.

     Mr. Brown had been Treasurer of the society almost from its inception, and to him its financial affairs were as his own. Just prior to his death, though ill and suffering, he was the moving spirit in our final and successful effort to wipe out our long-standing mortgage.

     On Thursday, May 30th, the annual tea, given by the Theta Alpha to the ladies of the society, proved to be a "kitchen shower" for Miss Lillian Wilks, whose marriage to Mr. Theodore Rothaermel took place on Wednesday, June 12th. The church room for this occasion was very beautiful, with festoons of evergreen and a profusion of flowers. At the close of the ceremony the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to the married pair, after which all adjourned to the dining hall below, also gay with flowers, evergreens and prettily shaded lights, where the young couple received our congratulations and good wishes.

     On the evening of the 14th we met to celebrate the annual closing of the local school. This is always a delightful event, as it brings into prominence the sphere of innocence present with little children. Essays, based on various stories from the Word, were read by the pupils, interspersed with songs, classic and patriotic. Each child received a book, the annual gift of the Ladies' Aid, and, in addition, the teacher presented several special prizes, as rewards of merit. The pastor's brief address reminded the children of the primary object for which the school exists, to inculcate the fundamental truths of the Doctrines, that through them they may become active members of the Church, and useful citizens in the world. In touching upon the war, he remarked that the intense stimulus to patriotism involved in it should prepare us for a more intense love of, and desire for, heaven, which shall one day be our country.

     Under the able direction of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Longstaff, the 19th of June was the occasion for a picnic supper on the church lawn.

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When it grew too dark for games, there was a general adjournment to the building, where several of our young men, in brief speeches, discussed a few of the means by which the Church may be established and developed upon the earth. M. S. C.

     REPORT OF THE REV. J. E. BOWERS. My spring trip on the circuit began on March 22. (For the sake of brevity, the names of the members and friends of the Church visited, and at whose homes services were held, are omitted in this report. But the names are the same, in the places mentioned, as those given in the report of my trip in the fall of 1917, which appeared in the last January issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     I preached for the Pastor of Carmel Church, at Kitchener, Ont., on March 24. Services were held near Milverton, Ont., on March 31. Sermon and administration of the Holy Supper. Eight communicants.

     I preached for the Circle in Erie, Pa., on April 7, and had conversations with several of the members at their homes. Services at Youngstown, Ohio, on April 14. The thirteen adults present took part in the Holy Supper.

     Calls were made on members and friends of the Church, at Eureka, Leetonia and Greenford, O., on April 17 and 18. We held a service for preaching, near Columbiana, O., on April 21. Attendance, fourteen adults and two children. At Bellaire, O., April 28, a sermon, the baptism of a child, and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, five ladies partaking.

     From April 29 till May 4, members and friends of the Church were visited at Zanesville, Athens, and Waverly, O. May 5, my temporary home was with the family of the General Church in Columbus, O. There are in the family three adults and three children. The youngest, an infant, was baptized on the date said above. From May 6 till 9 I was with old-time friends of the Church, at Gallon, O.

     The evening of May 10 was the beginning of my usual visit in Pittsburgh, where I preached for the Pastor on the 12th. Services were held at Renovo, Pa., on May 19. The attendance was eight adults and nine children. The latter have all been baptized in the New Church. All the adults took part in the Communion.

     On May to, at Lock Haven, Pa., I visited a family in which there are two members of the General Church, and eight children who have been baptized into the faith of the Lord's New Church.

     At Philipsburg, Centre County, Pa., my stay lasted a week, as usual, at the home of two aged friends of the Church, brother and sister. On July 26th we "held a meeting, at which seventeen persons were present. A discourse was given, extempore, on "The Way of Salvation."

     The last place on this trip was Williamsport, Pa., May 28-30. In the family with whom I have been many times, in the course of some years, eight children have been baptized. But there is now only one person, a lady, in the city who is actively interested in the New Church.

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ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE       CLARA DAVIS       1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.



     There are one hundred and fifty-eight names on our list this month.

     Upon investigation we find that it is impossible to send packages to our men overseas, except to the French boys through the French Relief, and to the prisoners. Again we urge the American and Canadian soldiers to let us know what they need before they sail for France.

     We have now sent out twenty-six of the series of sermons, and know from the responses that the soldiers appreciate them. But the Treasurer reports that the fund for printing these sermons is used up, and we shall be glad to receive further contributions from those who are interested in this use. Please send to the Rev. Mr. H. Alden, Mgr. Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     News Notes.

     Thirty-five of the American soldiers of the General Church are now in France. Many of these sailed during the past month.

     We received word recently that Lieut. Gordon Kaemmerling had been killed in action. Mr. Eliot Cranch sent us his name some time ago, and stated that while Lieut. Kaemmerling was not a member of the New Church he was interested in the Doctrines, and would like to receive the sermons we have been sending out. We complied with this request, but have not heard whether he received the sermons that were sent to him regularly.

     The four Glenview boys of the First Infantry have landed safely in France, and are now at work back of the lines. They sailed on the Leviathan, a pleasure all of our troops hope for.

     Lieut. Richard de Charms is, at present, stationed at Tours, "an old city filled with places of beauty and interest." He slays that he has had several pleasant chats with Sergeant Kesniel Acton, who is the only one of our boys he has met in France. Neville Wright is now on active service with the American Expeditionary Forces, doing mechanical work behind the lines. He writes that the French are still smiling as they go into battle; they are eager for peace, but not for a German peace.

     Doran Synnestvedt states that a package addressed to Alan Synnestvedt, Camp Merritt, N. J., reached him safely in France. This is a fortunate circumstance, as Doran was in need of the woolen goods, which we could send to Camp Merritt, but not to France. Alan writes that he hadn't heard anything about the package since February, and thought it was lost, but is glad to know that his cousin received it. Lieut. Loyal D. Odhner is doing guard duty at Camp Merritt.

     Winfred Smith says that he had just made up his mind that he had joined a mighty fine branch of the service, when he was given his overseas examination and rejected as physically unfit for duty in the tank corps. Nothing daunted, he is going to join the infantry, and hopes he will get the chance to go over. Fred. Grant and Pierre Vinet have left for service with the Ambulance Corps in Italy.

     Lieut. Fred. Bellinger, of the Royal Flying Corps, had a most interesting trip across, and writes that fourteen transports went over together, the largest Canadian group that had crossed. He is now in a Flying School in England, and in a letter to a member of the Committee states: "I Came out to camp yesterday, and who do you think is here?-Albert Cleare! I was in the lounge room last night, and spied NEW CHURCH LIFE lying on the table, so I wondered what New Church boy was here, and the next thing I knew Albert came up and spoke to me."

527




     Cadet Harold Pitcairn has been sent from Dallas to the School of Military Aeronautics at Austin, Texas.

     Arthur Synnestvedt, who left Bryn Athyn recently for Camp Greenleaf, enclosed the following circular letter, saying, that it was given him with the request that he send it back home: "Arthur Synnestvedt has arrived safely at this camp. He will remain here for some time, getting used to army life, and learning the first simple things that our soldiers must know. The Army supplies him such necessities as clothing, shoes, plenty of good food, comfortable quarters, and medical attendance, but in another way your help is needed. He needs the support of your confidence and cheer. Write to him often. Getting mail is a big event in a soldier's day, and getting none is a real disappointment. If pleasant things happen at home, write him about them. If you are proud of him, tell him so; let him know that you are back of him. You, too, are a part of this Army-you are the Army of Encouragement and Enthusiasm. Write letters filled with these things to Your Soldier, and you will help us to help him."-(Signed.) N. T. Kirk, Major, M. C. Battalion Commander.

     A letter from Arthur came to the Committee a short time ago, written in a Y. M. C. A. tent. "Directly opposite me," he says, "sits a Jew, writing vigorously and rapidly and 'backwardly' in Hebrew. It looks very strange. I hope he addresses the envelope in English, so the Post Office gets off easy. . . . This morning we marched in a company to the out-door 'Y' theater, where we listened to a patriotic service. A Y. M. C. A. man read the Declaration of Independence, and an officer who had been three years over there have the speech of the occasion. The Declaration was delivered in a manner worthy of its greatness, and made a more powerful impression on my mind than it ever did before."

     Some of our boys who went through England to France about a month ago have sent home the facsimile of King George's message to the American soldiers in England, which was presented to them on their arrival.

     Francis Frost writes from "Somewhere in France" that he has been doing considerable traveling about in connection with his work, and is seeing, hearing, and doing interesting things. "Of course; we can't write about the big things we see and hear, the things that are counting heavily for the Allies, and that are so encouraging! But we can tell you at home to hold your heads high when the American soldier in France is spoken of, for he is making things hum, learning all he can, and putting it into use in such an effective manner that France idolizes him. And the latter fact, far from turning his head, is giving him a truer view of what the French mean by 'camaraderie.' You should see a bunch of blue-clad poilus, veterans, too going along a pretty French road singing a lilting song, a smile on their faces, and the very ends of their waxed moustaches bristling with the unconquerable spirit of France!. . . The Australians are a fine body of men, too. They and the Americans get along fine. When we marched to camp we had plenty of chances to try our French with the children, who would run along by us and beg for 'un sou' or a collar button. Many of them talk a little English, and it is always good. They are serious minded little folks, God knows. But they are happy, nevertheless, and glad to see 'Sammee.'"

     Fred. Stroh, in a letter that took a month to come from France, says, "The weather, for about a month, has been very beautiful, with scarcely any rain, so we haven't had to worry about muddy trenches, etc. Poppies, buttercups, and daisies, make the fields a riot of color, and although war has ruined the trees and towns, it takes more than shells to ruin all that nature creates."

528


He has been transferred to the Engineers, and they were putting in some dug-outs at the front line.

     Rifleman Geoffrey Morris, in reply to a letter from a member of the Committee, writes, "Yes, that article you were reading in the Literary Digest (May 4, p. 422 was quite true, and was the description of an action we took part in, some time during the last few months. Our Colonel was awarded the D. S. O. for that stunt. By the way, he left us a short time ago, as he was promoted to a Brigadier-General, and about a week ago we heard that he is now missing, after having been in action somewhere down south. He was such a fine man, and well liked by everybody. He has been with us ever since the regiment came out here in 1914. We are still quite near the places mentioned in that account. Our regiment was very highly complimented on the splendid work we did on that occasion, although I am sorry to say that we lost an awful lot of splendid fellows. You ask if we ever get as sleepy as they say. Well, I guess we do, and I dare say you will be surprised when I tell you that we get so tired that we can go to sleep standing up!"

     The following is quoted from a letter received from Francis Roy, who has recently arrived in France: "I enjoyed the trip over immensely which, of course, goes without saying. Very few boys were sick on the trip, and had little reason to be, as the weather was perfect from start to finish. There were many interesting and humorous things which we shall always remember about our trip, although few that I can tell you of at present. Carrying life-belts continually got rather monotonous, I must say. We enjoyed a most hearty welcome at our landing-place, the English spirit showing itself in full blast. Our stay in England was so terribly short that I could tell you little of it outside of one impression, that its countryside is almost perfect in appearance, with its rolling hills and dales, outlined with its quaint hedges everywhere. A wild ride through France on a freight train was most enjoyable, and now it's a pretty little French village to study. Our quarters are very comfortable and there is not the least sign of Sickness to be found anywhere; everybody is in the best of health. I am picking up the French language rapidly, and will have little trouble in conversation after a few more weeks. Have become well acquainted with a French family, and enjoy their hospitality very much. They are wonderful people, simply wonderful, and the more we see of them the more we think of them. . . . I am getting along splendidly, and will be back in good old B. A. before many months go by."

     Joseph Headsten sprained his ankle just before his company left for France, so that he is still "over here," after some weeks in the hospital. We are pleased to hear that his engagement to Ruth Synnestvedt has been announced.
     CLARA DAVIS.

529




     THE ROLL OF HONOR.

     Who does not remember and love him who fights even unto death that his country may be free. (T. C. R. 710.)

     LIEUT. W. REY GILL, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.

     GUY CHRISTOPHER PEMBERTON, Durban, Natal, South Africa. Killed in action at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.

     LEON ROSE, London, England. Royal West Surrey Regiment. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29, 1916.

     REGINALD WATERS, London, England, Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.

     ROY S. WELLS, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. 11th R. R. Engineers. Died April 12, 1918, of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNERS MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F.
APPLETON, PTE. A. F., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, E. E. F., France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56th Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, CHARLIE, Colchester, Eng. 142538, 3 A. M., R. A. F., NO. 3 Flight, T Section, Hut 30, A Lines, Halton Camp West, Buckinghamshire, Eng.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. H. M. S. "Nerissa," Torpedo Boat Destroyer, c/o General P. O., London, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engs., U. S. A., American E. F.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, American E. F.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., American, E. F.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks _ 48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, LIEUT. FRED, Toronto, Ont., Canada. R. A. F., Scampton, Lincoln, England.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, A Battery, Canadian Reserve Artillery, Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, England.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, B. E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, E. J., Denver, Col. Co. 59, 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston, Kansas.

530



BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. Squadron A, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Battn.. C. E. F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. 2nd Batt., 161st Depot Brigade, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, CORP. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, 3rd Instruction Center, American E. F.
BURNHAM, LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., American E. F.
CHILDS, 1ST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Supply Co., 109th Inf., American E. F.
CHILDS, SYDNEY, New York, N. Y n. F. C., c/o Personnel Officer, Headquarters, Camp Mills, Long Island, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. T., Philadelphia, Pa. R. A. F., Scampton, Lincoln, England.
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. 51st Pioneer Inf., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2D LIEUT, R. T., Baltimore, Md. Co. M, 114th Infantry, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PVT. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. A, 2nd Casual Batt., 2nd Platoon, U. S. Marines, American E. F.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co. C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COOPER, WILLIAM R. A., SERGT., Philadelphia, Pa. H. G. S., Rifle Ranges, Rockcliffe Camp, Ottawa, Can.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Law Big., Radio Section, University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Engineer R. C. c/o Director of Construction and Forestry, Dept. Railroads and Docks, U. S. M. P. O., 717, American E, F., France.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 82nd Hut, H Division, Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epson, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., American E. F.
DOERING, 2ND LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa, Wilbur Wright Field, Fairfield, Ohio.
ELPHICK, TELEGRAPHIST FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. R. N. V. R., H. M. W/T Station, Inchkeith, Scotland.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 5462461 R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F, France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Butt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240, R. A. F., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Ont., Can.

531



FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E. Mess. Morda Camp, Conway, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABU, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, Qe Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114. France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Q. M. C. N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, A. O. P. 745, American E. F.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England. L. Z. 362d Lewis Gun Section, D Co., Anson Battalion, R. N. D, B. E. F, France.
GLADISH, CADET DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa; Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929, C. A. M. C., Seaford Camp, England, c/o Army P. O., London.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., American E. F.
Grant, FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. No. 640231, Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 309, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EMERY, Arbutus, Md. Co. F, 305th Engrs., American E. F.
HART, CORP. DOUGLAS E., Addiscombe, Croyden, England. 530713, 4 Platoon, 2/15 London Regt., c/o G. P. O., London.
HEADSTEN, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. Student Co. No. 1, Camp Joseph E. Johnston, Jacksonville, Florida.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HEINRICHS, HENRY. 3353775, CO. 5, 1st D. B. S. R., Regina, Sask., Can.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN Chicago, Ill. Allied Officers Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Cuba.
HICKS, CADET KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, Longwood Convalescent Home, North Toronto, Ont., Can.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont. 4904 No. 1 Army Auxiliary Horse Co., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2006629, A CO., NO. 2 Platoon, C. E., T. C., Seaford, Sussex, England.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C. Maude Camp, Bangalore, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie IV. Prisonnier de guerre, au Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Cloud, Seine et Oise.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, 15th Platoon, 4 Co., 13th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F, France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Batt., American E. F.

532



JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F, 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 4th Div. Sanitary Train, Ambulance Co. 21, American E. F.
KING, ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. F. Co., 40th Inf., Fort Sheridan, Ill.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. 258676.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 7th Platoon, B Co., 50th Batt., B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYa60ND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241, 64th Battery, Draft, Witley Camp, England.
KUHL, SIG. T. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn. Canadians, B. E. F., France, c/o Army P. O., England.
LEONARD, PTE. EDGAR MOREL.207th Co., U. S. Marines, Paris Island, S. C.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD, Pittsburgh, Pa., U. S. Naval Reserve.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island, 2224 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Training Depot, St. John's, Quebec, Can.
LOOMIS, W. A., CO. A., Military Polite Train Headquarters, Div. 851 Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial 9 1'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M. 131st Inf., American E. F.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf. American E. F.
MORRIS, I/A. M. EDW. B., London, England. 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England. 301276, Transport Section, 1/5 Batt., L. R. B., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otage Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. T., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 41 B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER; 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. D, 50th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.
ODHNER; CAPT. MADEFREY A., Bryn Athyn. Pa. 63rd Inf.. U. S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Motor Co. No. 10, Camp Greenleaf Annex, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.

533



PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 3, A. P. 0., 708, American E. F.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. I, A. P. O., 714, American E. F.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Co. B, 332nd Machine Gun Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., American E. F.
PIBERES, SERGT. M. R., Philadelphia, Pa. Intelligence Section, A. P. O., 726, American E. F.
PITCAIRN, HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. School of Military Aeronautics, Austin, Texas.
PRICE, LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Engrs., American E. F.
PRICE, LIEUT. RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 11th Bn., F. A. R. D., Camp Taylor, Ky.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. 730 Rock Creek Church Rd., Washington, D. C.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 12607, 126th CO.,Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Cavite. P. I.
ROSENQVIST, PVT. FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn; Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, American E.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., American E. F.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. 228985, 772 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont., Can.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., American E. F.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL II., F. A. U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Santee," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. A, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, American E. F.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, Washington Barracks, Washington, D. C. .
SMITH, HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. F. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313 Inf., American E. F.
SMITH, WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. A, Camp Rariten, Metnchen, N. J.
SNYDER, WILNER E. 148th Field Hospital, Camp Sheridan, Montgomery, Ala.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 31st Balloon Co., Post Field, Fort Sill, Okla.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Soldat anglais interne a Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Suisse. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months now exchanged.)

534



STROH, PTE. FRED. E., Kitchener, Ont. 751124 2d Pioneers Canadians, D Co., 15th Platoon, B. E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, ARTHUR, Detention Camp, Bn. 15, Co. to, Camp Greenleaf,' Chickamauga Park, Ga.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa., Brooks Field, San Antonio, Texas.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 14th Balloon Detachment, Fort Omaha, Neb.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 1131 Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. O. 705. American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F.
TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J., Boutbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, American E. F.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. A. A. S. Section 529, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Depot, Shorncliffe, Kent. England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, 3/A M. Headquarters, Cadet Brigade, Royal Air Force, Royal Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, England.
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G.. London, England. 536534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F.
WELLS, CORP. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, B., E. F., France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., American E. F.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peakham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 631 Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to c set New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.



535


PLACE OF THE CLERGY IN RECEIVING THE COMMUNION 1918

PLACE OF THE CLERGY IN RECEIVING THE COMMUNION        W. F. PENDLETON       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII SEPTEMBER, 1918          No. 9
     (This paper, in its first draft, was read, and the subject discussed, at the annual meeting of the Council of the Clergy in June, 1917, and again in June, 1918.)

     What is the true order of the administration of the Lord's Supper? Shall the minister receive the communion before the people or after them? The object of this paper is to give expression to the conviction that the administration of the Holy Supper would be improved in its form and quality if we should return to the custom of the Christian Church, in use from its early days, when the clergy received first, and then administered the bread and wine to the people. We propose to consider some of the reasons why it would be advisable to make the change suggested.

     There is no direct teaching on this subject in the New Testament, nor any in the Writings, and so we are left to the conclusions Of a reasonable inference as to the best mode to be followed in receiving the Holy Supper. Does a reasonable inference bear us away, or lead us in the direction of the Christian custom of which we have spoken? While the Gospels afford no distinct or explicit indication as to the proper mode of administration, still there are passages which bear upon it, and which, taken together with some related teachings in the Writings, will doubtless lead us to a clear and definite conclusion.

     In the original institution of the Supper, the apostles received the communion at the hands of the Lord Himself.

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This act was the beginning of the Christian Church, and the fact that they received it first in order of time, or before it was administered to the Church, is itself evidence that it was the one initial step necessary in the line of their preparation for the work which they were afterwards to do; that it was necessary for them to receive the Supper themselves before they were ready to administer it to the church. And we may feel safe in assuming that in the after days of the Christian Church this first Supper, as received by the apostles, was a guiding example as to the place of the clergy in all the offices of the communion which were to follow.

     Again, we read that after the resurrection the Lord appeared to two of His disciples on the way to Emmaus, "And He went in to tarry with them. And it came to pass, as He sat at meat with them, He took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him;" and when they returned to Jerusalem, they told the other disciples "how He was known of them in the breaking of bread." (Luke 24:30, 31, 35.) In a representative sense what was done to the two disciples was the same as if done to all of them, and the significance is in general similar to that which took place at the last Supper; except that the supper with the two disciples occurred after the resurrection, and it was then said that "their eyes were opened," and that they "knew Him in the breaking of bread." Their illustration, or spiritual enlightenment, was now more distinctly in view, which reached its final stage of unfolding on the day of Pentecost. It was necessary that they should receive this spiritual enlightenment before they were ready to teach and lead, and administer the sacraments and rites of the church. It was necessary that their eyes should be opened in the breaking of bread, and by the fiery tongues, before they could be endowed with a full measure of the apostolic gifts.

     Since the general is the type of the particular, something similar must take place, and does, in fact, take place, in all the development of the apostolic and priestly uses of the church; and in the particular case in question, this preparation is more fully represented by the clergy first partaking of the elements of the communion.

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     There are other examples in the New Testament, wherein this principle is illustrated, some of which we shall here present in brief.

     In feeding the multitude, "He took the five leaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and brake, and gave the leaves to His disciples, and the disciples to the multitude." (Matt. 14:15-21, and elsewhere.) In this passage, and in several others, we note that He gave the bread first to His disciples, and that the disciples then gave it to the multitude. The disciples are made the medium of transmission, first receiving it from Him themselves. It was a representative act, the bearing of which on the question before us is manifest.

     And in John (21:15-17), we are told that at a certain place by the sea, after the resurrection, the command was given, "Feed my sheep," "when they had dined." They must first be fed themselves before they were ready to feed the flock.

     We learn also from John (13:1-4), that after the supper was ended, Jesus washed their feet, and said, "If I, your Lord and Master, wash your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet." After eating the supper, and after He had washed their feet, they were then sanctified, and so prepared for their work; and in the time to come they were to do as He had: done unto them, wherein lies a principle of general application, not limited to one particular form of ritual, such as the washing of the feet.*
     * This ritual of the Ancient Church, which the Lord performed with His disciples, has been brought into effect in some modern religious bodies; but it does not, at present, appear likely that any proposition will be made to do so in the New Church. The general principle involved is that in which we are interested. Thus, at any rate, it will be carried out in spirit.

     In the miracle at Cana of Galilee, Jesus commanded the water that was made wine to be borne to the governor of the feast (John 2:8). This was done, not only because it was a customary act of deference to one in authority, but because it represented a principle of Divine order, which is, that all mediate influx is first into the center, and thence into the remaining parts, an illustration of which we find in the influx of the spiritual world first into the brain, and thence into the body.

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There are many examples of this law. See what is said of its operation in the heavenly societies. (H. 218, 275. Compare H. 319 and A. C. 6028.) The finest particles of the food also go first to the brain. (See Chapter on "The Tongue" in the Animal Kingdom.)

     The position of the clergy is central in the church, as to all things of its faith, its doctrine, its worship, and its works. The center or head must occupy its proper place in all these things, not only for representation, but for the sake of orderly sequence, and efficient performance. This is true in the administration of the Holy Supper, as in all the uses of the church.

     In every representative ceremony there is something that takes place within, not seen by the outward eye; something that takes place in the spiritual world, not seen in the world of nature. We are taught that as Baptism is introduction into the church, so the Holy Supper is introduction into heaven (T. C. R. 719), which means that with all who approach the Super worthily, with all who have been living a life of repentance, there is an opening of the internal into heaven by this most holy act of worship. This took place with the apostles at the Last Supper, and with those to whom they afterwards administered it; and we are safe in concluding that what was true in general, or for the church as a whole, is true in particular or each time the communion is administered; that it is of order for the apostle, priest, or minister first to be introduced into the angelic communion, before he is in the best sense prepared to administer the Supper to the people; and that this is an essential part of his preparation, which it is better not to postpone until after the solemn act of administration to the people.

     For a fuller understanding of this subject, it will be necessary to consider what is meant by being sanctified. The Israelitish Church was told that "the priests who come near to the Lord shall sanctify themselves." (Exodus 19:22.) The people also were to be sanctified when they drew near to the Lord. (A. C. 4545, 8788, 8832.) It was with them a representative sanctification, which was effected by means of sacrifices, washings, sprinkling of blood, anointings, etc. (A. C. 4545, 8788.)

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To sanctify signifies to put on, what is holy, (A. C. 8832), that is, it signifies to put on a holy external, and, at the same time, to enter into the presence of those in the spiritual world who are in the thing signified by that holy external. With the Israelitish people there was no opening of the internal into heaven. The internal with them was closed because of evil, and therefore had to be veiled or covered. Otherwise simple good spirits could not be with them in their external worship. In this manner the people, and especially the priests, were sanctified. (See Arcana Coelestia in the exposition of Exodus throughout.)

     The Christian Church was intended to be, and the New Church is to be, an internal church. In such a church is there a process of sanctification by which the minister is more fully prepared for the office of the communion? And does receiving communion before administering to the people represent that preparation? Sanctification, or making holy, is in its essence purification by repentance, and introduction thereby into angelic consociation. This was represented by the Jews in their various forms and modes of purification. With them it was the representation of purification. They put on the form of sanctification as a garment, and their interiors were temporarily veiled. But in an internal church sanctification is not only representative, but real. In such a church there is not only the putting on of a holy external in the things of worship, but at the same time there is an opening of the internal into heaven. This, of course, presupposes that all the conditions of an internal church are fulfilled. Priest and people are then in internal worship from previous repentance of life. When this state exists, the formal sanctification, or the putting on of a holy external in worship, has in it a spiritual internal, or an opening into heaven, even as it is said in the True Christian Religion of those who approach the Holy Supper worthily. (719- 721.) If, then, a way be found more fully to represent this, and to bring it more fully into effect, it would follow that when it is seen it ought to be adopted, for the sake of perfecting the worship, and the uses of worship.

540




     It is a familiar fact that ministers are taught and prepared for their work previous to entrance into it. This takes place in order that they may come into a state of illustration as to their understanding, and be inaugurated into consociation with the heavenly societies wherein is the priestly function. This general fact of a preparation and inauguration should be represented in all the particulars of instruction and worship, in all of which the minister is to lead and not to follow.

     As we have said, there is no positive teaching in the Writings in the subject we are considering, but there are passages which bear upon it, especially one in the Canons, "The Divine proceeds from the Lord through the clergy to the laity, by means of preaching and by the Sacrament of the Supper." (III., IV.) This passage speaks of a twofold mode by which the Divine of the Lord proceeds through the clergy to the laity, namely, by preaching and by the sacrament of the Supper. We have just spoken of the general preparation for instruction, which takes place before a minister is ordained and enters upon his use. There follows throughout the whole period of his work a particular preparation every time he gives instruction, whether by sermon or other form of teaching. The law of preparation is universal, and the Holy Supper is no exception. If the Divine is to proceed through the clergy to the laity by means of the sacrament of the Holy Supper, there must be preparation for it. Preparation includes a number of things, but the point in these remarks is that an essential element of this preparation is that of the minister himself in receiving the sacrament first, by which he is inaugurated interiorly into the use he is about to perform, or into angelic presence. The value of this ought to appear as soon as it is seriously considered.

     There are other teachings that have a general bearing, such as that in the True Christian Religion, 784, where it is said that "the New Church is formed first with the clergy, and through them with the laity." The application of this may readily be seen, and there are other teachings of a similar nature. But it does not seem to be necessary at this time to draw further from the Writings on this subject.

541




     Now, when the minister is sanctified, that is, puts on a holy external, and the internal is opened whereby the angels are present with him, or adjoined to him, then in the performance of his office he communicates the sphere that is in and around him, and introduces the recipients into a similar sphere and a similar consociation, by which they are also sanctified, and thereby inspired to renewed efforts in the duties of spiritual life. The minister is more fully prepared to perform this use of communication and transmission when he has first received the elements of the Supper. For in partaking of the sacrament first he puts on more fully the representation of what is holy, and at the same time by a personal state of confession and repentance he is, as a man in his private individual capacity, introduced into heavenly consociation and environment. Both of these things are necessary in the offices of an internal church, namely, that he should be environed both as a priest and as a man.

     Does our present practice arise from a mistaken conception of the requirements of humility? Suppose it should be said that it is like a host who presents food to his guests before partaking himself. Such a position would, at least, argue a want of reflection upon the representative character of the priesthood. That all priests represent the Lord, see A. C. 3670, 9809. It is not the priest who administers the sacrament, but the Lord. It is not the priest's table; it is the Lord's table. Is it not better, then that humiliation, both representative and real, should precede and not follow?

     As a general truth it will be admitted that the minister should worship the Lord before administration, in order that he may be in a state of spiritual preparation for the office he is about to perform. Should this worship be only in private, or merely incidental, or should it be a formal and, at the same time, a real act of public worship, before the eyes of the people? Receiving the communion is an act of worship, the most holy act of worship in the church; and the point we wish to bring forward is, that if the minister is to worship the Lord before administration to the people, his worship would be mote full and complete if he should perform the most holy act of all in the presence of the people, as the initial step to actual administration.

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     It is to be remembered also that the congregation is a sympathetic witness of this solemn act of the clergy, and in a state of sympathetic co-operation. The people themselves would thus be passing through a state of preparation, while the clergy are receiving the sacrament of the Supper. This use to the people while the clergy are receiving, and before partaking themselves, is an important element of the administration, and deserves attentive consideration in planning the ritual of the Holy Supper.

     Let it not be said that the mode of administration herein proposed is the only one, and that the Holy Supper is not the Holy Supper unless administered in this way. The absence of direct teaching places the judgment in a certain degree of freedom of choice. We simply claim that the form proposed is the most complete mode of order, and when seen ought to be carried out. But there are also other forms. The minister may receive the communion first, or he may receive it last; he may administer it without partaking himself, or all may partake together. In each case it is the Lord's Supper, for the minister leads in all these modes, and the Lord Jesus Christ is worshipped in all. This sanctifies the Supper whatever be the manner of administration. It is simply a question of a better way. Every work is to be improved when a more perfect way is shown, and worship is no exception.

     Perfection is a progressive thing. Worship in the temple at Jerusalem was more perfect than the worship of the tabernacle in the wilderness, and the worship of the tabernacle more perfect than that which preceded it from Egypt to Sinai. But in all was the worship of Jehovah. So in all the modes of worship and administration, the form is sanctified when the Lord Jesus Christ is worshiped as the God of heaven and earth.

     In every work the way that is the most intelligent and the most efficient is the one to be adopted, when it is seen and acknowledged. In this manner the church provides for a continual growth and increase in its worship, and in all its uses.

543


JOY OVER ONE SINNER THAT REPENTETH 1918

JOY OVER ONE SINNER THAT REPENTETH       Rev. ANDREW CZERNY       1918

     "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just ones, that have no need of repentance. (Luke 15:7.)

     The Chapter from which our text is taken opens with the words: "Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." To this the Lord replied with the parable concerning The Lost Sheep, and closes the parable with the memorable words that form our text: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just ones, that have no need of repentance."

     The Pharisees and the scribes were the leaders and teachers of a Church that had become wholly consummated; that is to say, of a Church which had lost all understanding of the teachings of the Word, and with it all knowledge and perception of what true religion is. They placed the all of religion in a strict observance of the rites and ceremonies prescribed in the Law of Moses, as interpreted and augmented by the so-called learned in the Law. By these interpretations and additions the Law was wholly perverted, and in consequence thereof their worship lost its representative character. The laws of their religion were thus man-made laws; their religion a merely human institution, devoid of everything that is Divine, thus saving. And in regard to their life, the Lord frequently pointed out to them, that not what they did, but what they omitted to do, was essential to salvation. Thus He says in the 23d Chapter of Matthew: "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel."

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     Thus, according to the Lord's own words, their religion consisted in mere externals without any spiritual internal. But a holy external and an evil internal are not only utterly incongruous, but it is a dangerous thing to cultivate such an external, without striving, at the same time, to bring the internal into harmony with it, by examining one's thoughts and intentions in the light of Divine Truth, and shunning the interior evils disclosed by that light. For the internal pervades the external, and qualifies it. Hence the Lord commands man: "Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."

     The mind is the man. Words and actions are like garments that clothe the man. A thief, a robber, an adulterer, a pretender, a hypocrite, is such, even if he be clothed in purple and fine linen. And there are spiritual thieves and robbers and adulterers, All those who ascribe what is Divine to themselves, and profane the goods and truths of the Word, are such. The Pharisees and the scribes were such, for they placed merit in their works, and as the Lord declared: "All their works they do to be seen of men."

     Now it is to be observed, that it was not the external life of the Pharisees that was evil. They led a good life. The Lord nowhere condemns it. It was the love of self and of the world, their contempt of others, their deceit and hypocrisy, which the Lord so severely condemned; all of which are interior evils, evils that may be concealed behind a holy external, but which destroy the internal man, and defile the external thus assumed. And it seems very strange, that any man should choose such a difficult life, when every one is free to lead an evil life or a good life, external and internal, either of which is less difficult. And there is real freedom in the latter, and at least the appearance of freedom in the former; which appearance is real to him who leads such a life.

     Moreover, we are taught that it is not so difficult to lead the life of heaven as many suppose. All that is necessary is to shun the loves of self and of the world, and to do the good of the moral and civil life. In this consists the true exercise of love towards the neighbor.

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He who does this fears the Lord, and not man. And in this fear is love to the Lord. In an outwardly good life, however, before the loves of self and of the world are removed, there is no love to the Lord, nor love towards the neighbor. And such a life is a difficult life, because the man who leads it really loves evil and not good. And the good which he does, he does from himself, by his own unaided power and strength. He has no help from above. One who shuns evils as sins has help from above. The Lord and the angels fight for him, and protect him. Their help never fails. But he who loves evil separates himself from heaven. Hence whatever he does, he does from himself. When he shuns evils in the external he does it from himself, and for the sake of himself. And when he does good in the external, he does it from himself, and for the sake of himself. And to do good in the external, while evil is internally loved and cherished, is abomination in the sight of heaven. It is profanation:-more abhorrent to the angels than a wholly evil life; that is, evil both external and internal.

     Besides, to abstain from doing evil in the external, while it is loved and cherished internally, is not shunning, but suppressing it, that it may not appear. The evil, instead of being removed, is driven inward, and destroys the soul. In a word, to purify the external without the internal is most difficult. In fact, it is impossible. For the teaching is, that: man is such as he is internally, and not such as he appears.

     Those who consider it sufficient to practice a strictly religious life in the external, whatever the quality of man's interiors may be, do so because they regard such a life the most perfect man can reach. And this idea naturally leads him who practices such a life to suppose that he is worthier than those who are less rigid in the observance of the externals of religion. This is spiritual pride, the kind of pride manifested on various occasions by the scribes and Pharisees, and constantly rebuked by the Lord. And as the Gospels show, they looked upon all those who did not conform to their rules as unclean, to be shunned and held in aversion. They continually found fault with the Lord because He received all men, and rejected no one, as is evident from the opening words of our Chapter: "Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him.

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And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, Saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." And the Lord replied: "There shall be joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just ones, that have no need of repentance."

     By both "the sinners" and "the just ones" the Lord here means those who regarded themselves as such. Of these the so-called "just ones" were in the worse state, for they felt no need of repentance. Sinners, however, are all who are in evils, whether they see them in themselves or not. But in our text the Lord means those who are conscious of evil in themselves, and thus capable of repentance. These He compares to the "lost sheep." At the time when the Lord was in the world all men were in evils. For there was no knowledge of the genuine truths of the Word, until the Lord began to preach and to teach. And evils cannot be removed without a knowledge of these truths, and obedience to them. Hence, when the multitude came to the Lord and heard His teaching, there were those among them who felt in themselves that their life was not such as to render them acceptable in the sight of God. And from the Lord's repeated declaration that the publicans and sinners were in a more salvable state than others who seemed worthier than they, it would seem that the majority of those who were conscious of their unworthiness were "publicans and sinners."

     The seeing and acknowledging of one's unworthiness, after instruction, is the first step to heaven. Spiritual pride, on the other hand, closes heaven to man. And in order that man may see his unworthiness, a desire of good and truth must be awakened in him. And this is possible with every one so long as he is not confirmed in evils. Such a desire is awakened through the remains implanted with man in infancy and childhood. It is these remains which enable him to receive instruction in the knowledges of good and truth, without which he could not know what evils are. This he must know, far in the work of removing them man must co-operate with the Lord.

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     Now it is to be observed, that the remains implanted in infancy and childhood are stored up in the interiors of man, and are not called out until man is affected by the truths of, the Word. And he is not affected, (that is to say, interiorly affected), until he sees some evil in himself, acknowledges it, and begins to desist from it, because it is against some teaching of the Word. This is the beginning of a new life. Remains are then called out. The remains in him have enabled him to see his state, and to make this beginning.

     Such are meant by "sinners," In our text. They are those who, after having been instructed, perceive that they are in evils, and begin a life of repentance. That they were in evils, they did not know before, and could not know; for no one knows that he is in evils until he is instructed in truths. He has no knowledge of them before, because evils are not perceived tot be evils until man is regenerated. And this for the reason that all man's hereditary inclinations are evil, and hence favor them which causes evils to be perceived as goods.

     It has just been observed that there was no knowledge of the genuine truths of the Word in the Church until the Lord came into the world. This fact is referred to in the parable, the closing words of which form our text There the Lord says: "What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when the hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. The state of the Church, when there is "O knowledge of the genuine truths of the Word, is here signified by "wilderness." This is from correspondence. For the truths of the Word are like the seeds of noble and useful plants, and the spiritual goods resulting from an application of the same are like the fruits of these plants. The Church itself is hence called "a field" in the Word. A wilderness, on the other hand, is ground that is unproductive Of anything useful to man. And whatever springs from such ground signifies falses and evils.

     What has been said of the Church as a whole applies also to the individual man of the Church. His mind, before instruction, is in a wilderness state.

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And the mind of him who can be regenerated is a wilderness that can be made productive by cultivation. The goods in him, or the remains of good in him, are the "sheep lost in the wilderness,"-lost among the falses of a consummated Church in his mind, and the hereditary evils to which he inclines. No one can save that good but the Lord'. And He "leaves the ninety and nine just ones'' to their falses and evils, and awakens the good in the one that is lost. The ninety and nine just ones are in their natural state, the wilderness state is the state they love. There the Lord leaves them, and goes after the one that is lost. And when He has found it, He "lays it upon His shoulders rejoicing."

     The Infinite Mercy of the Lord extends over all, over the self-righteous as well as over those who are able to repent. He leaves the former in freedom to follow the life they love, but He follows the latter, and brings them back to Himself; for He sees that they are capable of being prepared for a heavenly state. He "goes after the sheep that is lost, and when He has found it, He lays it on His shoulders rejoicing."

     By the sheep that is lost is signified the good of remains, as has already been stated. This good is not acquired good. It is good that has been implanted in man, to serve as a means to his regeneration. Through this good the Lord operates from within, and through it He instils affections of good and truth, in the degree that man is disposed to receive the Lord's Divine Influx; that is to say, in the degree that man suffers himself to be affected by the same, and opens his mind to it. Remains are the internal means through which the Lord operates. The truths of the Word are the external means. These latter become the means by which the latent affection of good and truth is excited and brought to man's consciousness. For be it remembered, the remains implanted in man, which render the Lord's operations in man's interiors possible, are the early states of innocence and qualified by a reception of spiritual good and truth, incline the mind to such good and truth, provided man has not given the love toward parents and others, which states, though as yet unreins to hereditary evil, or suffocated these early states by internal evils, such as deceit and hypocrisy.

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For so long as man has not by such evils wholly closed his mind, although he may not have actually acquired spiritual good, the good of remains continues intact, and can become the means of his salvation. This good is the sheep lost in the wilderness. And this the Lord seeks until He finds it. The falses implanted in childhood and youth, and evil states, prevent its appearing. But as soon as man suffers himself to be affected by the Lord's teachings it comes to view. It is found. It is, as it were, found; for it was dormant in man, and has been brought into activity; and, as it were, to life.

     The Lord leads and protects man every moment of his life, and this unknown to man, that is to say, unperceived by him. The Lord knows the time when regeneration can begin, and makes preparation accordingly. In the meantime all the states of innocence and peace and love, implanted in early age, are carefully guarded by the Lord. For as man approaches adult age his hereditary tendencies manifest themselves more and more fully. He falls into many evils, evils of the thought and of the will. But the Lord tempers these, so far as man suffers it to be done, through angels present with him, as we are taught in the following:

     "Their office is to inspire charity and faith, to observe the direction of man's delights, and to moderate them, and to bend them to good, so far as man's; free will permits. They are forbidden to act violently, and thereby to break man's lusts and principles, but are enjoined to act with gentleness. Their office also is to rule the evil spirits from hell who are with man, which is effected by innumerable methods. . . . By such offices the angels from the Lord lead and protect man, and: this every moment, and every moment of a moment. For if the angels were to intermit their office only a single instant, man would be plunged into evil, from which he could never after be extricated." (A. C. 5992.)

     And as evils are not removed except by repentance, therefore heaven is opened to none but those who repent of their evils. These are those of whom the Lord says in our text: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just ones, that have no need of repentance." Amen.

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TWO FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH 1918

TWO FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH       Rev. R. W. BROWN       1918

     ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     "There are two foundations of truth, the one from the Word, the other from nature." This is the universal and characteristic principle upon which true philosophy is built; it is the basis upon which it firmly rests. The simple statement of the principle which I quote, was first called to my attention years ago while reading Bishop Wm. H. Benade's Conversations on Education.* Bishop Benade stated further, that so far as these two foundations of truth, from the Word and from nature, concord, "the mind is opened by the one to the other," that is to say, by the Word to nature, and by nature to the Word. The reference given for this teaching was Spiritual Diary n. 5709. I propose to consider the teaching in greater detail.
     * Benade: Conversations on Education, p. 210.

     The universal principle that there are two foundations of truth-the Word and nature-may be expressed in various ways. It involves that the two foundations are revelation and experience, that is to say, revelation from the Word, and experience from nature and from life in the natural world. It involves also that the two foundations are cognitions and sciences-cognitions or doctrinals derived from revelation, and corresponding sciences derived from natural experience.* Without going into a detailed consideration of these two parallel; sets of concepts-the Word, revelation, and cognitions on the one hand; nature, experience, and science on the other-we shall for the most part refer to the foundations from the Word and nature as revelation and science, as is so frequently done throughout the Writings, understanding by revelation the foundation from the Word, and by science the foundation from nature.
     * For definitions of cognitions and sciences as here contrasted see New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, n. 51; Heaven and Hell, excerpts from A. C. following n. 356. Compare also A. C. 1164e, 1198, 1911, 6386e, 91034, 9724.

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     The general teaching in regard to these two foundations is: That revelation is the only foundation and the only source of any true knowledge and understanding of God and of the spiritual world, or of the mysteries of faith. And that science from God through nature, or through the world which He has created, in correspondence with the spiritual world, is the sole source and foundation for the ultimate expression and concrete realization of the truth. To quote further from Spiritual Diary 5709, and the number following if, "The Word is the foundation itself," and is "for the universal heaven and for those who are in the light of heaven" or "for those who live well and acknowledge the Word as holy and Divine," and nothing can be founded "[upon nature or] upon scientifics [derived from nature] except it be previously founded upon the Word." Nature or science is essential to the man of this world as a secondary foundation because "all ideas of thought are based upon natural things," and "all things of heaven constantly have their foundations in the laws of nature, in the world and in man, so that this foundation remains permanently fixed."

     A parallel teaching in respect to the two foundations is given in Influx 10, where it is said, "There are two things which produce all the effects in the universe, Life and Nature, and they produce them according to order when life from within actuates nature." As in the productions of all created things, so in the intellectual establishment of the truths concerning them. The highest use of the created universe and, in a peculiar sense, of nature, which the senses were formed to perceive, is for man's instruction. In a broad sense the Lord reveals Himself to man through the marvels of His creation. Nature in itself is an expression of God's truth-the most ultimate expression of it. One of the uses of the senses is to learn the truth which nature expresses and teaches. The senses are most marvelously adapted to this end. But just as nature produces only when actuated by life, so man through the senses cannot appreciate the living or spiritual significance of the truths revealed by God through nature except in the light of revelation. Revelation alone supplies the peculiar thing which is absolutely essential to spiritualize the truths which the senses are capable of learning from nature.

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Moreover, revelation supplies a touchstone by which every science and every scientific fact learned from nature may be converted into a spiritual idea. Revelation teaches that nature is a theater representative of the spiritual world, and that "so full of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom is the universe in greatest and least things, and in first and last things, that it may be said to be Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in an image." (D. L. W. n. 52.)

     In most ancient times men perceived spiritual and Divine truths when they viewed the wonders of creation; heavenly arcana were unfolded from nature as from the Word itself. Men have changed, but God's omnipotence sill shines forth from the visible heaven and the habitable globe. (A. E. 1135:5.) The senses, viewed in themselves, are no more fallacious than they ever were, especially since they have been reinforced by so many reliable aids for accurate observation. It might rather be supposed that opportunities for looking more deeply into the marvels of creation have steadily increased. The difficulty at the present day is neither with nature, nor with the senses; it lies far deeper, in the hearts and minds of men.

     Such are the limitations of the present age, that so long as men live in this natural world they cannot see spiritual things as they are in themselves. To man in the world spiritual things as such transcend the apprehension; they cannot be expressed in the terms and ideas of natural language. During the life of man in the world he thinks naturally concerning spiritual things, and it is enough that spiritual truths be in some measure naturally perceived.

     "Spiritual ideas are supernatural, inexpressible, ineffable, and incomprehensible to the natural man;. . . consequently imperceptible to any wise man in the natural world." (C. L. 3261.)

     "Man, so long as he lives in the world, and is therefore in the natural degree, cannot be elevated into wisdom itself such as it is with the angels, but only into higher light even to the angels, so as to receive enlightenment from their light which flows in from within and enlightens." "The natural mind can be elevated even to the light of heaven in which angels are, and perceive naturally, thus not so fully, what angels perceive spiritually." (D. L. W. 256, 257.)

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     "Such spiritual things as are abstracted from natural things, . . . have no expressions in natural language except some most general expressions which one man may comprehend more intelligently than another." (D. W. 111.)

     "A spiritual idea cannot be had except by those who are in the other life." (A. C. 3579.)

     That the human mind although similar to the angelic "does not attain so much wisdom in the world, is because it is in an earthly body, and in that body its spiritual mind thinks naturally. But it is otherwise when loosed from its connection with that body; then it no longer thinks naturally, but spiritually; and when it thinks spiritually, it thinks things incomprehensible and ineffable to the natural man; thus it becomes wise as an angel." (H. H. 314.)

     "Man during his life in the body, can feel and perceive little of all this, for the celestial and spiritual things with him fall into the natural things which are in his natural man, and there he loses the sensation and perception of them. . . . Therefore neither can they come to his knowledge, before he puts off those external things. Blessed them is he who is in correspondence, that is, whose external man corresponds to the internal." (A. C. 2994, compare ib. 3347.)

     Such being the case in regard to man's apprehension of spiritual things, it is necessary that the revelation of spiritual and Divine things be expressed in natural terms and ideas, or in forms derived from nature and from, natural life, in order that they may be apprehended by man. Herein nature appears in a most important sense as a foundation of truth. This fundamental function of nature is revealed in the following teachings:

     "The Word in itself is spiritual, and therefore treats of spiritual things, and spiritual things are those which are of heaven and the church; these are set forth in the sense of the letter by means of natural things, because natural things serve spiritual ones as a basis, as the Word without such a basis would not be a Divine work, because not complete; the natural, which is the ultimate of Divine order, completes, and causes that interior things, which are-spiritual and celestial, may subsist upon it, as a house upon its foundation." (L. 65.)

     "All things that are in nature are outmosts of Divine order, and the Divine does not rest in the middle, but flows down even to outmosts and there rests. From this it is that the Word in the letter is such as it is, and unless it were such it would not serve as a basis for the wisdom of the angels, who are spiritual." (A. E. 175:2.)

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     "But let it be known, that the Word in order to be Divine and at the same time profitable to heaven and to the church, must be wholly natural in the letter; for unless it were natural in the letter there could be no conjunction of heaven with the church by means of it; for it would be like a house without a foundation, and like a soul without a body, for outmosts enclose all interiors, and are a foundation for them. . . . For this reason the style of the Word is such as it is; and as a consequence, when man from the natural things that are in the sense of the letter of the Word, thinks spiritually, he is conjoined with heaven, and in no other way could he be conjoined with it." (A. E. 71:4.)

     "The sense of the letter of the Word consists only of external things which are in nature and appear before the eyes; and this for the reason that the spiritual sense may be in single things as the soul in the body, for otherwise the Word would not be communicative with the angels, for it would be as a house without a foundation." (A. E. 98:5.)

     The general relation of the two foundations of truth may be summed up as follows: The Word in Itself is spiritual, and treats of spiritual things. Nature and all things of nature are the outmosts of Divine order. The Word, therefore, to be Divine and profitable to man in: the world, must be wholly natural in the letter, must be expressed in the forms which are in nature, appear before the senses, and are matters of actual experience. The important thing so far as accommodation is concerned is that it be by those things that are, or may become, a part of man's actual experience. It is not so important that the accommodation be by absolute truths, because it is impossible for man to comprehend absolute truths, but it is essential that it be by means of such relative truths as he does comprehend because part of his experience.

     In a moment I will place before you several important corollaries to this teaching which are set forth in the numbers of the Spiritual Diary already referred to, but before doing so let me state the main point discussed in the series of numbers immediately preceding them. The subject of the whole series as indicated in its heading is, that those appear learned and are believed who can confirm their own dogma no matter what it may be. Many, it is said, "have been esteemed as learned in the world, and some more learned than the rest of mankind, because they knew how to speak from; the memory as if from the rational, when yet nothing was from themselves but from others." (5702.)

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The problem presented is, how may it be perceived whether a principle is true or not true? Because whatever exists or comes to the mind from another, even though most false, is yet able to receive light or become luminous through confirmation, and such: confirmations may be from, the Word or they may be from nature or science. Such confirmations, also, whether from revelation or from science, may be the means of closing the understanding and of preventing interior illumination. The answer given to the problem is that the light to see whether a principle is true or not true enters from heaven through good, thus through the will, because "heaven does not enter through any other way than by way of good or of love, thus through the will," consequently if men lived the life of good "they would then see light in the principle itself, but otherwise nothing but darkness." Seeing light in the principle "they would then see confirmatory things in their memory" [either from the Word or from nature]. But "even if they knew all things which were in the universal heaven, and were not in the good of life, they would still not have heavenly light but an inferior light which is merely natural."

     With these things in mind let me quote in greater detail the passages which contain the particular theme of this address. "Afterwards," says Swedenborg, "I spoke about the foundations of truth," [S. D. 5709], that they are two, one from the Word, the other from nature or from the truths of nature; and that the foundation from the Word is for the universal heaven, thus for those who are in the light (lux) of heaven; but the foundation from nature, for those who are natural and in natural light (lumen), thus for those who have confirmed themselves from the letter of the Word in things not true, yea, in falsities, so as to be convinced of them." I would particularly call your attention to this statement "that the foundation from nature," or if you will, from science, "is for those who have confirmed themselves from the letter of the Word in things not true." "For these are no longer able to be convinced from the Word." But still, they (i. e., these two foundations of truth) agree the one with the other; which is proved by a contemplation of certain things in the Word. Since sciences have shut up the understanding, therefore sciences may also open it; and it is opened so far as men are in good.

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And it was also proved that all things of heaven constantly have their foundation in the laws of the order of nature, in the world and in man, so that this foundation remains permanently fixed; just as are the body and the things which are of the body and its sensation, compared with the interior things which are of the will and understanding; but, still, because falsities have shut up the intellectual, and all ideas of thought are based upon natural things, therefore, also, such things must be as a foundation to the former, with those whose ideas are false. (5710.) The Word, also, was spoken of, namely, that it is the foundation itself, but only for those who live well and acknowledge the Word as holy and Divine; but, with those who are in doubt respecting it, either by reason of various things in the sense of the letter, or the style, and such things as they think to be trifling, and for other reasons that for them, the Word, such as it is in the internal sense, or in its interiors, must be laid open even by natural truths, by means of which conflicting ideas are thrown off," etc. (Here follow two illustrations of how the foundation from the Word accords with the foundation from the truths of nature. )

     A question which naturally interests us in regard to these teachings is as to whether they imply that there are two classes of men in this world, one class described as "those who are in the light of heaven," who have no need of science or of the foundation from nature, and to whom revelation or the Word is all sufficient; and another class described as "those who are natural and in natural light," "who have confirmed themselves from the letter of the Word in things not true, and in falsities," being no longer able to be convinced from the Word, and who alone are able to have their understandings opened by means of the sciences. Or whether these teachings do not also apply to all men who are in good, since all depend constantly upon both foundations of truth in the degree that they are in the one state or the other. The latter appears to be the rational interpretation. For all men, so far as they are good, are in the light of heaven and capable of receiving it, which is the premise presented in the preceding numbers.

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Again, all good men are in appearances, fallacies, and even falsities; all are limited in respect to their interpretation and understanding of the truth, and have confirmed themselves more or less in the appearances, fallacies, or it may even be falsities-in which they are,-although such falsities are not regarded as falsities of evil in the sight of heaven. It is even said that they are accepted as truths. Moreover, all in this degree are natural and in natural light, in which they may be confirmed not only from the things of nature, but similarly from the letter of the Word, and with Newchurchmen from limited human interpretations of the truths of the Writings themselves.

     The teaching in regard to the two foundations of truth seems therefore to imply that in so far as anyone's limitations become confirmed by means of the scientifics of revelation, and that he becomes convinced that his ideas are supported by revelation, in that degree it becomes difficult for him to be convinced of anything else. In such case it is implied that nature or science may serve as a foundation or a fulcrum whereby the mind may be loosed by being rendered capable of appreciating its limitations. Because "all things of heaven constantly have their foundation in the laws of the order of nature," this foundation remaining permanently fixed.

     Note, as has already been indicated, that the teaching refers to the good, who alone are capable of receiving spiritual light. With others nature or science could avail nothing. Note also that particular reference is made to those of the good whose minds are closed, or at least obscured, by confirmations from the Word itself, for such confirmations, from the fact that they carry the weight of religious authority, exert the most potent and persuasive influence upon religious minds. The cause of the hard-shelled dogmatism of those who rest in a too literal interpretation of revelation is well described in Spiritual Diary n. 1624, where Swedenborg says, "Moreover, when I apprehended only the literal sense of the Word, there was a closing up, as it were, of the way to the understanding of interior things. Accordingly those who inhere only in the literal sense of the Word have the brain hardened, and are so hemmed in, that the way to the interior sense, and still less that to that inmost sense, does not appear.

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In this way a crust is induced, which is glued together out of corporeal or sensual external things."

     Reference might also have been made to such confirmations as are derived from, nature and science, because they likewise, when they are confirmations of appearances, fallacies, and falsities, obscure and close the mind. But it is a question whether such confirmations take so deep a hold, and make it so difficult for the good, or for those who are sincerely seeking for truth, to realize their own limitations and be convinced of anything else.

     Swedenborg might well have had in mind great situations in human history, which are outstanding evidences of the deadlocks that may entangle the mind under the guise of the authority of the church and of revelation. Situations in which limited interpretations of men have become so entrenched behind confirmations from Scripture, and minds so convinced that they are in the truth, and that what they believe as truth is from revelation, "that they are no longer able to be convinced from the Word" that their cherished ideas, which are merely human interpretations of the truth, are fallacious. History presents no better illustration of such a state than during the Dark Ages, culminating in the age of Scholasticism, the age of authority, both ecclesiastical and Scriptural; the age of confirmation of limited interpretations of revealed truths; the age also of confirmation of interpretations of nature, conceived in ignorance of the facts or truths of nature; the age of dogmatism.

     That age was so steeped in the notion that its ideas were founded upon the authority of Scripture, that there was an intellectual and spiritual deadlock. The minds of men were closed because they were satisfied that they were right. Intellectual progress had virtually ceased, with the exception of a peculiar type of intellectual activity which, during the age of scholasticism was extremely fertile, namely, deductive or synthetic reasoning, giving birth to a corresponding synthetic philosophy and science.*
     * References to the effects of deductive or synthetic reasoning when divorced from inductive or analytical reasoning may be of interest. A. K. n. 9-10, 459 note (f), 467. (Continued on opposite page.)
     That the analytical way is the peculiar way for men on earth. Princ. Pt. 1:ch. ii:n. 3, Pt. III: ch. i; A. K. 11-13, 307 note (f); Senses n. 2-3; A. C. 4154, 5497. That the synthetic is the way of superior beings. A. K. n. 459; W. and L. of G. n. 52, note (n); Rational Psychology, Preface.

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     This method of reasoning was based upon the idea of authority, upon the idea that knowledge is to be derived from the Scriptures by a process of deductive reasoning. The method so well suited to the genius and ignorance of the time, was, strange to say, derived from one of the greatest inductive or analytical philosophers of all ages. The scholastics saw in Aristotle only what was suited to their genius, and what they saw they regarded as practically of equal authority with Scripture itself. These scholastics, who were monks and theologians, who decried any attempt to study nature at first hand, who instigated burning at the stake any who did, who flared with odium theologicum when their deductions were called in question. These scholastics-cut off in the cloister, perchance-by a synthetic process which they called logic and dialectic, wove the most subtle explanations in regard to all things in the universe. Starting from generals they claimed to reason out by logical steps to particulars, and so to construct complete systems based upon the authority of revelation. Probably no more fertile period of speculation than this ever existed, for the very reason that imagination, under the guise of reason and logic, was untrammeled. Ignorant in the first place of the facts of nature, and secondly, grounded in the idea that the senses are deceptive and that the sciences are of the world and worldly, they were intolerant of anything which even appeared to call in question the authority of revelation, even while really calling in question only those human interpretations of truth which are taken for revelation itself.

     It is most instructive to see how, in the Divine Providence, this situation was met. Men had the Word, but they could no longer be convinced from the Word, I am not now speaking of the common people. The learned, even those who were evidently well intentioned, were already so convinced from the Word, that their minds were closed to anything new.

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The mode of meeting the situation was in line with the whole purpose of the creation of the natural world, for without the creation of this world men could have no intellectual freedom, and it would be impossible for them to realize their limitations, and thereby change their minds.

     The intellectual deadlock produced by the age of authority and scholasticism was broken through the direct study of nature, and through the growth of the sciences from the study of the laws of nature, both in the world and in man. Once men's minds were brought face to face with the obvious truths of God's creation, with His revelation of Himself through the works of nature, the synthetic webs of scholasticism which either ignored nature or held science derived from nature in contempt, were shattered, and seen to be the weavings of imagination rather than of reason. The study of nature and the development of science, however, could not and did not lead directly to spiritual light. What it could do and did do was to show how obvious facts and realities contradicted human interpretations of Scripture, and the deductive speculations founded thereon in ignorance of the facts of nature, and in ignorance of a full understanding of the teachings of revelation itself. Scholastic authority was broken. Dogmatism lost its power. The human mind was freed, and the way prepared to distinguish between revelation and human interpretation. So nature showed its place as a foundation of truth when men were no longer able to be convinced from the Word, and the sciences showed their function as a means of opening the understanding. Hand-in-hand with the development of science, it was provided that revelation, the only gate to the mysteries of faith, should be brought nearer to men through better translations,-translations in the vernacular, printing, and wide distribution. All this too was made possible through the development of the sciences.

     "The Word is the foundation itself," yet "only for those who live well and acknowledge the Word as holy and Divine." "With those," however, "who are in doubt respecting the Word or revelation, either by reason of various things in its literal rendering, or of its style, or of such things as they think to be trifling, or for other reasons-for these, it is said that the Word, such as it is in its internal sense, or in its interiors, must be laid open by natural truths, by means of which conflicting ideas are thrown off," etc.

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This teaching likewise appears to apply not to a limited class of individuals but to the church as a whole, and to every individual, in the degree that obscurities and problems arise in regard to interpretation of the truths of revelation. In other words, nature and science has a fundamental place in the intellectual development of the church, and of each individual of the church, a place which is second only to the Word or to revelation, as the only foundation which can give to development that quality which is called spiritual. The sciences are an essential foundation without which revelation cannot be understood, any more than the spiritual world, as it was designed to be by God, could exist without the natural world, any more than the soul or spirit possessed of freedom and rationality could exist without birth in the natural world, and without experience based upon life in this world. Man's knowledge of the spiritual world is limited by his knowledge of the natural world, his interpretation of revelation by his understanding of the forms of nature. So true is this that whenever the Lord reveals Himself to men He does so by means of such forms of nature as men are familiar with, and according to their understanding of them. In this way alone; that is, through accommodation and adaptation, could the Divine touch the minds of men and lead them in freedom.

     (To be concluded.)

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GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY 1918

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY              1918

     AN EPISODE FROM "RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH," BY ROBERT HINDMARSH. PAGE 13.

     A circumstance may here be adverted to, which, in itself, will possibly be regarded by some as of the most trivial moment, but which, connected with the time when the New Church doctrines were as yet in embryo, and only beginning to be published, has often suggested thoughts on the connection between the spiritual and the natural world. On almost all the walls in and for miles round London, the following words were chalked out in large, legible characters, viz., "CHRIST IS GOD." Wherever the eye was turned, this inscription met it; and no one could tell by whom it was done, or when it was done. It continued, however, to excite the attention of the public for several years; during which time, whenever by rains or from other causes of decay it began to fade, it was immediately and constantly renewed by some unknown hand. The sentiment was forcibly impressed on every observer; and though in some respects it was agreeable to the faith commonly but blindly professed by Christians at large, yet in other respects it was altogether opposed to it. For who in the Christian world, that regards Christ as the mere Servant or Messenger of the Supreme God, as a Mediator between God and Man, as an Intercessor with the Father, or even as the Son of God, according to the usual acceptation of those terms, can in his heart believe that He is absolutely the Supreme God Himself, as the above inscription truly imports? If He be not the supreme God, it is evident He must be no God at all; and it is idle, and worse than vanity, to say with modern Christians that Christ is God, while another is acknowledged to be of a higher order, and superior to Him in dignity and authority. But the title written upon all the blank walls of the metropolis, like that upon the cross in ancient times, when properly and rightly understood, announces no less than that the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the One Supreme and Only God of heaven and earth.

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The chalk writer, whoever he was, had probably some such idea of the high character of the Christian Redeemer, as that here alluded to; and being impressed with its great importance, yet perhaps without knowing the full force of the words he used, or the source from which he was, as it were, impelled to write, committed to the walls and stones of the town that testimony, which the powers of the spiritual world were at that time earnestly engaged in making known to men; in the natural world, in a more explicit and intelligible form, by the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem.

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     MODE OF ADMINISTERING THE SACRAMENT.

     SOME HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS.

     In connection with the article by Bishop W. F. Pendleton, on "The Place of the Clergy in Receiving the Communion," which is published elsewhere in this issue, we present herewith some historical data bearing upon the special point treated of. During the discussion of this paper at the recent meetings of the Council of the Clergy, search was made in the Academy Library for information as to the historical precedents in the case. This has been supplemented by later investigation, and the results are given below in a series of references, upon which we base the following summary:

     In the Christian Church, even from apostolic times, it has been the prevailing custom for the priest administering the Holy Supper to partake of the bread and wine himself before giving to other officiating ministers and to the lay communicants. This order was followed in the Roman Church after the fourth century, and also in the Greek Church. After the Reformation it was continued in such Protestant denominations as the Reformed Lutheran, the Church of England, the Methodist, and the Presbyterian, both in Europe and the United States. But a change came about in some of the English Nonconformist bodies, such as the Free Methodist, Presbyterian, and Congregational Churches, in which the priestly function is more or less subordinated to a congregational form of government. And this was reflected in the Sacrament by an emphasizing of the "communion" idea of all partaking together, the minister with the others, or afterwards.

      A similar transition has occurred in the New Church. The rubric of the early liturgies, prepared by Robert Hindmarsh, provided that the minister should partake first; and it so remains in the Liturgy of the General Conference to this day.

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It was retained also by the early New Church in the United States, when the Hindmarsh Liturgy was reprinted in Baltimore and Philadelphia. But after that early period of the New Church in this country an alteration of the custom seems to have entered gradually, as we have shown to be the case in certain denominations of the Old Church. Our research in the New Church journals of the period has so far yielded no exact information as to the time and cause of the change; though we may cite as an indication of the trend in some quarters the contention of Professor George Bush, in 1850, that laymen should be permitted to administer the Holy Supper, since the "hierarchical tendencies" of the Church had led the clergy to arrogate that right to themselves for the sake of official exaltation. (New Church Repository, 1850.) And we find that the Pastor of the East Bridgewater Society, in 1859, introduced a novelty when in the administration of the Sacrament, "the bread and wine were received from him by one of the communicants, and distributed to the others." Journal of the Massachusetts Association, p. 440)

     It seems likely that a variety of modes was practiced in the Church when, in 1838, the General Convention published its Liturgy, which prescribed to special time in the ceremony for the minister himself to partake. But in 1867, in the rubric of The Newchurchman's Prayer-Book and Hymnal, compiled by the Rev. Frank Sewall, the earlier method was again provided for. Mr. Sewall was Chairman of a Committee of General Pastors who, in 1907, prepared the Sacraments and Rites for the Book of Worship now used in the General Convention, the rubric of which seems to indicate that the minister should partake first. We understand that in some societies of the Convention this is observed, while in others it has been the Practice for all to take the bread together, and the wine likewise when individual cups are used; in others again the minister partakes last, and this, we know, has been the mode followed in the Academy worship from the beginning, having been adopted from the custom prevailing in some societies at the time, apparently without much consideration being given to it. For the rubric of the Academy Liturgy, 1876, is quite similar to the early Convention liturgies, and prescribes no special mode as to the time of the minister's partaking.

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     We shall be glad to hear from any of our readers who, either from memory or books, can throw further light upon the historical aspect of the subject. In the New Church much has been written upon various phases of the Holy Supper, but we have not been able to find anything that treats specifically of the point in question. The above outline of precedents is derived from the following citations, which we have grouped in chronological order.*
     * In compiling these we have been greatly assisted by Prof. Wm. Whitehead.

     CHRISTIAN CHURCH PRIOR TO THE REFORMATION.

     Matthias, of Janow (d. 1394), in a work, entitled De veglclis veteris et novi Testanzenti, "affirms, that the primitive priest, following Christ's example, had always first taken the Holy Supper himself, and then distributed it to the others in order. Such had continued to be the practice from the time of the Apostles for the period of a thousand years, until in these more recent times. . . . (Neander's History of the Christian Religion and Church. Boston, l872. V:229.)

     "Since the 4th century a certain order was introduced in approaching the communion table, so that first the higher and lower clergy, and afterwards the laity came." (McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia.)

     "First let bishops receive, then the presbyters, deacons, subdeacons, readers, singers, and ascetics; among the women, the deaconesses, virgins, and widows; after that, the children, and then all the people in their order." (Constitutions, quoted in Bingham's Works, V:371.)

     "Gregory the Great (6th century) in his Sacramentarium, gave that form to the Roman Liturgy relative to the Lord's Supper, which it has substantially preserved ever since." (Gieseler's Ecclesiastical History, I:515.)

     In the early Roman Liturgy "the hierarchical order was observed in receiving Holy Communion. The bishops received first; then followed successively the priests and inferior clergy, the ascetics, monks, the nuns, and lastly the lay people." (Alzog's Church. History, I:719)

     CHRISTIAN CHURCH AFTER THE REFORMATION.

     "As Christ was the Priest, so His Disciples did for that Time represent the People, who themselves did not consecrate, but received, from the hands of their Priest, the consecrated Sacrament. But God did shortly after elect and institute them Priests, that they might consecrate the same Sacrament, in Commemoration of Him.

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And what else then is this, but that they should consecrate, and not only receive it themselves, but likewise give it to the people, and offer it to God!" (Defence of the Seven Sacraments, Henry VIII., King of England. 1521.)

     "In the Episcopal Church of England . . . the clergy first commune among themselves, then the communicants, who approach without observing any distinction, and kneel down at the communion table, receiving the bread and the cup into their hands. The same service takes place in the Protestant Episcopal Church, and substantially in the Methodist churches. (McClintock and Strong, Cyclopedia.)

     In the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England, the rubric reads: "Then shall the Minister first receive the Communion in both kinds himself, and then proceed to deliver the same to the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, in like manner, (if any be present*), and after that to the people also in order, into their hands, all meekly kneeling." Commenting upon this, Wheatly states, "This is consonant to the practice of the primitive Church, in which it was always the custom for the clergy to communicate within the rails of the altar, and before the Sacrament was delivered to the people." (Rational Illustration of the Book of Common Prayer, p. 303)
     * Meaning "if any be present" in the Chancel.

     In the Order of Worship for the Reformed Church (Lutheran), the rubric reads: "The officiating Minister shall first receive the Communion in both kinds himself, and administer the same to his assistants; and he shall then proceed with their help to administer it, first to the elders and deacons, and afterwards to the people; distributing first the bread and then the cup."

     In the ritual of the Methodist Episcopal Church (United States), the rubric reads: "Then shall the Minister receive the Communion in both kinds, and proceed to deliver the same to the other Ministers, (if any be present). . . . The Minister shall then proceed to administer the communion to the people in order. . . ." (History of the Revisions of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church. David Sherman, D. D., 1874.) The same applies to the Methodist Church in Canada. But the "Book of Services" of the (former) United Methodist Free Churches, of England, contains no rubric whatsoever as to the manner in which the minister himself shall partake though the frequent but not general practice is to partake after the laity. And in other Nonconformist bodies in England the rubric is characterized by a latitude believed to be consistent with "freedom and simplicity of worship."

     For the Presbyterian Church the Westminster Confession of Faith, A. D. 1647, prescribed that the ministers were to "declare His word of institution to the people, to pray, and bless the elements of bread and wine, and thereby to set them apart from a common to a holy use; and to take and break the bread, to take the cup and (they communicating also themselves) to give both to the communicants."

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But the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church in the United States provides that: the Minister himself is to communicate at such time as may appear to him most convenient."

     THE NEW CHURCH.

     The first administration of the Holy Supper in the New Church took place in London, on Tuesday evening, July 31st, 1787. Mr. James Hindmarsh had been chosen by lot to officiate. The occasion is described in Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church, p. 58, and the order of procedure, determined beforehand, was as follows:

     "The Form of the Holy Supper to be thus:-All to sit at the Table. Read the last part of No. 703. Universal Theology, concerning the Lord's Doctrine. One person (chosen by Lot) to break the Bread, and bless it by repeating the Lord's Prayer, and reading the first part of the Institution respecting the Bread. (Universal Theology, No. 703.) Then every one to take the Bread and eat. Again, the chosen person to take the Wine in a Cup, and give thanks by again repeating the Lord's Prayer, and concluding the Institution. Then every one to drink thereof."

     This took place at the home of Mr. Thomas Wright. In the same year, 1787, Mr. Robert Hindmarsh prepared the first New Church Liturgy for use in public worship. In the third edition, published in 1790, the rubric reads: "Then the Minister, after receiving the Communion himself, is to deliver it into the hands of the People," The same rubric is found in The Liturgy of the New Church, by the Rev. Joseph Proud, published at Baltimore in. 1792, "being a reprint, with few alterations, from the third edition, printed in 1790, by Robert Hindmarsh in London." In The Liturgy of the New Jerusalem Church, "compiled from a Liturgy now in use in Great Britain," and printed in Philadelphia, 1818, 1822, we find a similar rubric.

     The Liturgy of the New Church; prepared by order of the General Conference, London, 1828, 1852, etc., contains the rubric: "The Minister shall first take the Supper himself; after which the People shall assemble round the Place of Communion, except where they are accustomed to take it in their usual places." It is similar in the Liturgies now used in the General Conference.

     In the Book of Public Worship, prepared by order of the General Convention, and published at Boston, 1838, 1942, etc., the rubric reads: "Then the Minister, distributing the bread, shall say:" "And when ha gives the cup, he shall say."

     In the rubric of The Newchurchman's Prayer-Book and Hymnal by Rev. Frank Sewall, 1867, 1884, we read: "The Priest shall first take the Supper himself, and then proceed to administer the same to the other Communicants assembled about the Place of Communion, all devoutly kneeling."

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     In the Book of Worship, prepared for the General Convention by a Committee of General Pastors, Rev. Frank Sewall, Chairman, 1907, the rubric reads: "When he takes the Bread himself and when he presents it to the others he shall say:" and "When he takes the Cup himself and when he presents it to the others he shall sat."

     The Academy Liturgy, 1876, simply reads: "Giving the Bread, the Minister will say:" And "Giving the Wine, the Minister will say." The Liturgy for the General Church, 1908, contains a similar rubric, but after the communicants have received it reads: "The Minister shall then partake of the Sacrament.
Title Unspecified 1918

Title Unspecified              1918


     "A tender regard for the attitude of the 'outsider' makes some of us afraid to put forward the Doctrines as a Divine Revelation. Surely this is to do the poor 'outsider' a great disservice. We were all 'outsiders' once, or many of us. Was it really that kind of considerate treatment that made us 'insiders?' Or was it merely that we realized our condition as sinners in need of a Savior, and that we found Him in the Word as it was opened to us in the Writings? . . . We make it far too easy for people to enter the Church, and the consequence is, the people think it too cheap."-Rev. W. T. Lardge, in The Reminder.

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PROFANATION AND PROFANITY 1918

PROFANATION AND PROFANITY       Editor       1918

     A letter has recently been called to our attention from one of the New Church soldiers on active service, raising the question as to whether the use of profane language is identical with the unpardonable sin of profanation referred to in A. C. 8882. It is clear from the general teaching of the Writings that such is not usually the case. For profanation as the unpardonable sin is an internal state, resulting from the acceptance and acknowledgment of the truth in heart and life, and the subsequent denial of that truth in heart and life. This is, indeed, unpardonable, because it conjoins good. with evil, and truth with falsity, in such manner that they can scarcely be separated to all eternity. The evil cannot be taken into heaven, nor can the good be remanded to hell. Yet the separation of the two is so difficult that the spirit must be reduced to a most deplorable state, sometimes bordering on absolute extermination, before it can be accomplished. The use of profane language, however, in itself is an external thing. It easily becomes, under the influence of prevailing custom, a thoughtless habit of the lips, upon the meaning of which there is little or no reflection. So far as it is this, it cannot be called identical with profanation, nor has it the destructive results to the spirit of man, which are characteristic of that sin. A man may have a sincere acknowledgment of God, a belief in His Word, and a desire to obey His Commandments, and yet, not deeming the use of profane language an infringement of the precepts of the Decalogue, he may yield to the habitual use of such language. So far as he is an external man, such a habit will not be attributed to him as the sin of profanation. Its only effect will be to draw about him spirits who are in the love of profaning, who, by means of this ultimate, will be able to infest him, and continually assault his faith. He will undergo vastation in the other life, as a result of this influx and infestation, and the evil ultimate will have to be removed before he fan enter into heaven. That such is the case is well illustrated in the Spiritual Diary, no. 4056, where the state in the world of spirits of one who, though well-disposed, had acquired in the world the habit of using the name of the devil, is described.

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Of him it is said: "When the spirits with whom he was associated were indignant that he should so frequently use this mode of expression, he indeed restrained himself for a time, but still he continued to speak in this manner; wherefore he was let into the veil, as into a sack, where he suffered anxiety. When he was delivered he came to me, and I perceived the anxiety and terror which he had suffered; he told me that when he was in the veil he despaired of ever being delivered."

     With an internal man, the case is different. If he knows the internal sense of the Word, realizes the laws of influx from the spiritual world, and perceives the actual ultimate power of the Lord's name, and the true nature of its holiness, then, from love to the Lord, and from a profound respect for the things of religion, the use of profane language will become abhorrent to him. This state is described by Swedenborg in nos. 1128, 1129 of the Adversaria, as follows: "Thus one is to guard exceedingly against the thought of those things which are profane and damned, for they then infest the thought of the mind; as I have often experienced, that the mere mention of oaths and profane things so hurt the mind, that I did not know which way I should turn that they might be removed. For they who are spiritual, and who thus ought to refer all things to God Messiah, when they hear wicked things, they smite the mind, in the way anyone would strike the body with whips and flails. I can sacredly testify that this happened to me within the year, so that I could scarcely be in company where such things are referred to as are direful, etc."

     If one who is in this spiritual state of enlightenment still wilfully persists in the use of profane language, he will be led into actual profanation, in the full meaning of that term. For then his outward act is impressed upon the interior will of his heart, and becomes eternally fixed in the very life of his spirit. If, on the other hand, one in such a state consciously resists the temptation to use such language, then does this serve as an opportunity for him to ultimate and fix eternally and powerfully, the love, reverence, and fear of the Lord, in his heart. G. DE C.

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     We have received the May issue of the SOUTH AFRICAN NEW CHURCH OPEN LETTER, being No. 8 of this four-page publication of the Durban Society, edited by Mr. W. M. Buss. 'Its contents include an article on "Contributions by Non-Resident Newchurchmen," signed "Layman," and presenting reasons why the isolated receivers in South Africa should contribute to the financial support of the Durban Society, since their minister is at all times available, and the only one in that region, to administer the sacraments and rites of the Church and give spiritual instruction, Another article, entitled "Keep Your Children in the Church," earnestly recommends that parents cultivate the love of the Church with the young, teaching them the Doctrines, and also concerning the history and literature of the New' Church. "In this way they will provide for their children the ground of loyalty to the Church, and at the same time they will develop a closer and nobler companionship with them. Parents surely should be in the love of saving souls as well as in the love of offspring. The way for them to save souls is to keep their children in the Church. If they cannot keep their children in the Church, it is scarcely likely they will be able to interest sincerely and genuinely an adult from outside the Church."

     "The Lucky Airman" is the title of a story for children, by Mrs. J. H. Ridgway, the opening chapter of which appears in this number. From the news items we learn that the Rev. Mr. Gyllenhaal was to visit the New Church natives in Orange Free State and Basutoland during the month of May.

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QUESTION OF VALIDITY 1918

QUESTION OF VALIDITY       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1918

     Editor of the NEW CHURCH LIFE:
Our attention was recently called to an article in the CHURCH REVIEW, July, 1917, by the Rev. L. Eric Wethey, of Kitchener, Ont., entitled, "The Validity of Our Orders and the Doctrine of Apostolic Succession."

     The writer there exposes, in a scholarly manner, the fallacy of the old idea that the Christian priesthood was valid because of an unbroken historical sequence of ordinations traceable to the apostles who were ordained, by the Lord Himself. He points out that the existence of such a succession may be disproved from the earliest records of the apostles themselves,-the Acts. He emphasizes the fact that the Holy Spirit alone can ordain, and that the laying on of hands, vested as in episcopal function, is only representative of the transfer of the Holy Spirit; and he shows that now, in the old church, internally viewed, there is no church and no ministry, but only a dead, external and literal worship (p. 335). And so it became necessary for the early Newchurchmen to institute a priesthood, of this need Mr. Wethey says:

     "It was clear to them that the New Church called for and involved a priesthood. A priesthood, externally valid, but internally impotent because it could not receive the Holy Spirit, already existed. But this priesthood would not open its heart to receive the Lord in His Second Coming. nor would it repudiate its evil doctrines. Nor indeed has it done so even at the present day. Consequently it became necessary for those who did receive the Lord to possess themselves of its Word and the sacraments, in order that the external and internal church might again be conjoined, never again to be separated." (p. 341.)

     Mr. Wethey further testifies to this necessity when he says that for the sake of the perpetuation of "a church and a priesthood," "the sacraments and ordination had to be provided for in an orderly way,* and this was done when, under the Divine Providence, the early Newchurchmen took the act of ordination from the Word, and conjoined it to the internal ordination which the five original priests had received from the Lord Himself. . . ." (p. 353.)

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He states again, (on page 353), that the Lord inspired their act, and that it was "orderly,," and, (on page 348), shows the confusion which would have resulted had no such orderly setting apart of the first members of the New Church priesthood been effected.
     * The italics, here and below, are ours.

     Although at times the writer's acquiescence seems grudging and forced, and a thread of restraint runs through the article, yet from such statements as those quoted above one might certainly be led to conclude that Mr. Wethey believed in a distinct New Church priesthood. And this no doubt is true. But compare what the same author says in the same article:

     "The New Church does not offer to men a new Word. It simply reveals the internal structures of the old Word. Like Daniel, the prophet, it shows the true interpretation thereof.* And the sacraments, ordination, marriage, are part of that imperishable Word. Just as the New Church does not bring a new Word, so it does not bring a new Baptism, or a new, ordination, or a new marriage, for it possesses nothing but what is already in the Word. If re-Baptism is a logical issue, then on the same grounds re-Communion, re-ordination and re-marriage are necessary. But the Lord instituted these things once for all, incorporating them in His Word, because they proceed from Himself, and so in the Church, against which He said the gates of hell would never prevail." (p. 332.)
     * We cannot resist asking whether the book of Daniel should be rejected from the Word on that account! And if not Daniel, why should the "divine revelations," given through Swedenborg, be excluded? All revelations are interpretations of the more ultimate revelations previously given. The New Testament was spiritually present within the internal structures of the Old even while the Old was being written. But still, after the Gospels and the Apocalypse had been published, they became known as a new Word, in that they were a Word adapted to the Christian Church, a new form of the eternal Truth, a new manifestation of the Logos.

     There are appearances both in the Scriptures and in the Writings which might seem to support such a position, and these appearances entangle the mind in a maze of problems such as those above presented.

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We sympathize with these difficulties, and also wish frankly to add that the author of the opinions above quoted commands our respect and admiration for the intuition and doctrinal energy he usually exhibits. But because such surprising statements are made,- statements which bear a good deal of resemblance to certain other arguments used within the Church, and which lead to much confused thinking, and hinder clear perception of principles, it seems necessary at this time to take issue with them. For confusion of thought tends to injure the vital things of the Church, and affords a basis for doubts concerning truths.

     We have no desire to quibble about terms. We can but suppose that by "re-Baptism" the writer means the baptism, on entrance into the New Church, of one previously baptized by a minister of the old Christian Church; involving the acknowledgment of the New Church as entirely distinct. A meaning of somewhat similar import is implied, we take it, in the terms "reordination," "re-Communion," and "re-marriage." The claim is made in the REVIEW that if one of these things is necessary they are all necessary; if one is unnecessary, all ought to be dispensed with. And the corner-stone on which this logic rests is the assertion that the New Church does not offer to men a new Word. Surely, if we are to talk about "logical issues," here is a field for fruitful enterprise.

     It is clear that Mr. Wethey does not encourage "re-Baptism;" and he thinks that partaking of the Old Church Communion will "not harm a Newchurchman's immortal soul." But does he not believe that re-ordination is necessary? If not, whence is his anxiety to prove that it was necessary for the first ordaining New Church ministers to have their Divine call ratified in an orderly manner by the representative act-even though this was done by laymen? What was this but "re-ordination," to use his own term?

     The admission which Mr. Wethey makes concerning the orderliness of this first New Church ordination service held in London, June the first, 1788, seems to be the main object of his article. One could not better prove the "Validity of our Orders" than by showing that the ordaining power of the Holy Spirit was actually "ratified" in an, "orderly" way by the representation of its descent through the new heaven.

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How else can it be demonstrated? We can only judge by the order or disorder of the establishment and perpetuation of the priesthood, provided, of course, that there be within it the full acknowledgment of the Lord as He comes to the New Church, and the courageous promulgation of the true Christian religion. The question of the validity of the priestly "orders" resolves itself into the question whether they were founded and perpetuated according to an order which might serve as the true ultimate and basis of the operation of the Holy Spirit, and which would not furnish a plane for the presence of the disorderly spirits that seek to remove illustration.

     Mr. Wethey adduces evidence which, to a Newchurchman, shows that the providence of the Lord operated for and in the establishment of the priesthood, and that His Spirit guided the early receivers in their selection of a mode of ordination. They rejected the idea of an apostolic succession; they did not recognize the old church ordination; they desired that the new priesthood should be born within the New Church. In other words, they put into practice, and the Church has since perpetuated the idea, of what is above termed "re-ordination." Mr. Wethey, in commending this, by his own logic, is forced to admit that he (unofficially?) regards also "re-Baptism" and "re-Communion" necessary; even though in the same breath he does object that they are not. We congratulate him; and will forego his naive addition of "re-marriage" to the list, with the observation that nuptials are a civil' covenant, as well as an "essential" rite in which the priest administers a blessing, and that by the very laws of order in the world the matrimonial consent once so given cannot be dissolved, (except by death or adultery), for reasons clearly stated in the doctrines; wherefore any renewal of the nuptials would, to say the least, throw doubt upon the bond.

     It might, of course, be retorted that although the re-ordination of these first Newchurchmen was orderly and necessary, yet now, when the perpetuation of the priesthood is provided for, a minister having been made "half a priest" by ordination in the old church, need not consider himself under any obligation of conscience to take steps toward a New Church ordination before ministering to the New Church.

577


We can indeed imagine circumstances where such a practice might be permissible, but none where the desirability of an ordination into the New Church priesthood is removed. It is always of order; and in the Church we must always aim towards the greatest degree of order. For order in the external Church is the ultimate, basis, and containant of order, illustration, charity, and spiritual progress in the internal of the Church.

     In spite of this there are statements made by Mr. Wethey which appear to convey that what was orderly and necessary with the first New Church priests is now no longer of need, as witness the following extract:

     "It would have been quite unnecessary for these men* to have submitted to the rite of ordination at the hands of laymen, if they were merely to Preach doctrines and not perpetuate a Church and a Priesthood. But to do this the sacraments and ordination had to be provided for in an orderly way, and this was done when under Divine Providence the early Newchurchmen took the rite of ordination from the Word and conjoined it to the internal ordination which the five original priests had received from the Lord Himself." (p. 353.)
     * Who had received old church ordination before.

     Are we to surmise from this that for preaching and teaching the "orderly way" is not necessary? And are we to suppose that the need of New Church ordination is any less urgent at the present time, among those upon whom the perpetuation of a priesthood does not devolve?

     But if, on the other hand, the writer in the REVIEW admits the principle of "re-ordination," why does he not, in practice and faith as well as in "logic," admit that not only the entrance of the priest into his office but also the introduction of the layman into his office of Newchurchmanship should be effected in the orderly way of sacred appointment? Or else let him throw his "logic" overboard and tell us that the New Church, to his mind already lacking any new Word, or any new baptism, or any new ordination, or any new communion, or any marriage (!), is really not a New Church but is a one with the old.

578




     Perhaps the writer vaguely felt where his position led him. For to escape the involuntary conclusions above referred to, he at times strives to make his commendation of "re-ordination" less unequivocal by various derogatory but inconsequential comments on the position of the early receivers.

     Mr. Hindmarsh pictures their attitude thus: "As the New Jerusalem; Church is altogether a New Church distinct from the Old, and of which it is written:. . . 'Behold, I make all things new;' it was conceived that this declaration applies not only to the doctrines of the Church, but also to its institutions and ordinances of every kind, and among the rest to that of the Ordination of Ministers, whose authority to teach and preach and administer the sacraments must be derived from the Lord alone in his own Church, and not from any priesthood of a fallen, consummated, and finished church." (Rise and Progress, p. 68.) To this Mr. Wethey triumphantly retorts:

     "They could not have made this statement had they read the definition given above; that the words, 'Behold, I make all things new,' refer to the doctrines of the New Church. The sacraments, ordination, etc., as we "have pointed out, are derived from the Lord in His Word, which the old Church had equally with the first believers of the New Church."

     But perhaps they had read the passage referred to (Doctrine of the Lord, n. 65) Their study of the Writings was so thorough that it embraced even Apocalypse Revealed, n. 886, and Mr. Wethey "could not have made" his statement had he remembered it:

     "But now to the explanation: By 'Him that sat upon the throne' is meant the Lord (n. 808, at the end). That the Lord here spoke 'upon the throne' is because He said, 'Behold, I make all things new;' by which is signified that He would execute a last judgment, and then would create a new heaven and a new earth and so (atque) a new Church with all and single things which [would be] in them. . ." (A. R. 886.)

     According to the Doctrine of the Lord the same passage (Apoc. xxi:5) means "nothing-else than that in the church now to be set up anew by the Lord, there will be New Doctrine, which was not in the former church. . . ." (n. 65)

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There is no contradiction here. For doctrine is in the sight of heaven never divorced from life. "All and single things" which are to be in the new heaven and the new church are new because the doctrine is new. Divine Truth, Divine Doctrine, is what executes a last judgment. At the end of a church the Lord makes His advent as Divine Truth, and this Divine Truth then fashions, creates and establishes a church according to its own form. The Doctrine that was new therefore formed the New Heaven and the New Church and gave them their newness. All and single things of the future church are also to be made new from doctrine: all things being perpetually renewed, illustration being continually replenished; new truths being given all the time, and the institutions and organizations of the church being kept in a plastic state adaptable to progress, the New Church would fulfill the prophecy involved in its name.

     Mr. Wethey is careful to observe that the old church is entirely dead, that there is now in it no worship, no church, no ministry. But, he says, while there is no internal church, there is still worship drawn from the literal sense, and since Baptism, ordination, and the Holy Supper, are based on that sense of the Word, (which we have in common with the old Church), he concludes that there is no new baptism, etc., distinctive to the New Church. Though he would probably object to anyone calling the shell of a fruit, "half a fruit," he lingers in the belief that "the old church is half a church" and that "the old priest is half a priest," (p. 338), and evidently thinks that the external half of a rite having been administered in the old Church, all that the New Church has to do is to supply the internal half. How this militates against all order!

     Of course, all of us realize that the letter of the Word, which the New Church enjoys, is in general the same as that of the old Church, and that the rites, sacraments, etc., of the New Church are very similar in form to the corresponding rites within the old Church. "There is nothing new under the sun:" it would be fairly impossible to find a ritualistic act or element which has not already been used in a former dispensation.

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If, for instance, by "re-baptism" one means something which in outward appearance as well as in essence is entirely different from the old, it must be candidly admitted that there is no such thing. It was instituted as washings in the ancient churches, and later these took the form of baptism. The baptism of John prepared the way of the Lord, and its particular effect was, that in the other world the hells were closed and the Jews Preserved from a total destruction, (T. 689); wherefore when those who were baptized by John received faith in Christ they were "re-baptized" in the name of Jesus (cp. T. 690; Acts xix:3-6). It is interesting to note further, that as by the Johannean baptism the Jews were enrolled and numbered among those in heaven who in heart expected and desired the Messiah, whence angels were then sent and made their guardians, so that Christian baptism, which represents regeneration or the cleansing of the internal man, no doubt introduced among those who in heart expected the Lord's second advent, i. e., introduced into the internal of that church in the other world.

     But what is the internal" of those two churches, the Jewish and, the Christian, now, after their consummation has become full? What think ye, does a shell containing a corrupt, withered kernel ever become the womb for a new and perfect one? Surely not. There must be a new growth, from within; a new shell is then formed and in that shell a perfect kernel ripens to sweet maturity. The shells both look alike. So it is with baptism. Old Church baptism introduces neither into the New Church nor into the New Heaven. It introduces into the religious community, in this world and in the other, where the baptism is performed. It is the shell of a corrupt fruit. Of course, it does not condemn any more than the new baptism saves. New Church baptism; is not anything more than a sign of regeneration. It is a means, a mode of Divine assistance; but it does not bind; man can counteract its effects.

     Nonetheless baptism is not even "half" a baptism (as Mr. Wethey implies) if there is no internal within it except what springs from Babylon and the Dragon. The quality of all worship is according to the quality of the church. And baptism is of worship.

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And the Heavenly Doctrine has much to say respecting the quality of that church:

     "'Until the consummation of the age' is until the end of the church (n. 658*): and then if they do not go to the Lord Himself and live according to His precepts, they are left by the Lord; and being left by the Lord they become as pagans who have no religion; and then the Lord is only with those who will be of His new church." (A. R. 750.)
     * This reference says: "'Until the consummation of the age is until the end of the church, when there is a new church with which the Lord will then be."

     But we may ask, is not the worship of the old Church still valid; is it not still worship? Speaking of the last state of the church when "the internal of the church would cease," it is said:

     "Therefore, when [the good of charity] ceases, the church itself also ceases, for the good of charity is its essential. External worship indeed remains afterward, as before, but then it is not worship, but ceremony, which is preserved because so appointed; but this ceremony which appears as worship is as a shell without a kernel, for it is the external which remains, wherein there is no internal. When such is the state of the church, it is at it send." (A. C. 6587.)

     Since, then, the Lord has left that church, and since its worship is mere ceremony, how can a baptism which, without a doubt, is intended to introduce a man into the old Christian church, into its false doctrinals and into its life, be thought valid in introducing him into the New Christian Church, either here or in the heavens! Moreover, we are taught that baptism has three uses: the first is introduction into the Christian Church, and at the same time insertion among Christians in the spiritual world; the second, is that the Christian may know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior, and follow Him; the third and final use, is that man may be regenerated. (T. C. R., ch. xii.) Without regeneration as the final state following from baptism, the baptism is non-effective. If the uses of baptism are not present, what is baptism? Little by little those uses were destroyed in the former church until finally there were no longer any uses, because worship and doctrine were perverted until the internals of the church (by which the uses of baptism were to be effected) became abominations of desolation in the holy place.

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     "But because Christianity itself is now first dawning, [and], a New Church which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse is now being established by the Lord, in which God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are acknowledged as one because in one person, it has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, that this church might come into the very use itself (ipsum usum fructum) of the sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, which is done when men see with the eyes of their spirit, i. e, with the understanding, the holiness which is concealed therein, and apply it to themselves by the means which the Lord has taught in His Word." (T. C. R. 700.)

     The uses of these sacraments could not be brought to light "except by means of the spiritual sense, which is at this day disclosed for the New Church on account of its use in the worship of the Lord." This is stated in the True Christian Religion, n. 669. And note the continuation:

     "Those sacraments also may be compared to a double temple, one of which is below and the other above; and in the lower of which the gospel concerning the new advent of the Lord is preached, and also concerning regeneration and thence salvation by Him. From this temple around by the altar there is an ascent into the upper temple, in which the Holy Supper is celebrated, and thence a passage into heaven where the Lord receives them. . . ." (T. C. R. n. 669.)

     Scan the wide world for such a temple where the gospel of the second advent is preached! Only in the New Church is there a place for the Son of Man. Only there is there a worthy performance of Baptism-a Baptism which can introduce into the church as the Holy Supper approached through that temple is an introduction into heaven. And yet we hear it said that it will harm no Newchurchman's soul to partake of the old Church communion. Is this practice orderly? If it is not, why is it advocated? Surely it cannot be disorderly and beneficial at the same time!

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     We have drawn attention to the article in the REVIEW in order to put in a plea for greater definiteness in the discussion of this important topic. The confusion resulting from vague assertions and contradictory inferences in relation to the sacraments of the Church is inimical' to progress, for the basic idea underlying all progressive Newchurchmanship must involve the realization that in the second coming the Lord established a new specific Church by which heaven is conjoined with the human race through means appointed by revelation. HUGO LJ. ODHNER. Kitchener, Ontario, June, 1918.
MOTHER'S DAY AND FATHER'S DAY 1918

MOTHER'S DAY AND FATHER'S DAY              1918

Editor NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Two questions, in which I am interested, are brought up by "Patriot" in your department of "Communications" for June. Truly it is a privilege to be able to join in uses with our neighbor everywhere, so long as we do not lose our distinctiveness.

     As to the question of Mother's Day, I also have felt that we in the Church cannot enjoy the apparent leaving of the fathers out of consideration, and I wish we could have also a Father's Day. For it does not seem that it would help the use to have them on the same day. This, I believe, would do away to a large extent with the use that Mother's Day was intended to meet, which arose, I think, from the common perception that mothers and their uses are, as it were, submerged.

     For myself I would greatly like to see a form of celebrating both days such as I have never heard of. Wouldn't it be an addition if our fathers and mothers would then give us of the messages of their hearts? Can we any more truly express our love and veneration for them than in our readiness to hear what message they have for us? For a while it would be desirable, perhaps, to have gatherings of the mothers and daughters without the presence of the men folks. Otherwise I fear we would not hear from our mothers some of the matters of the wisdom of women that we need to learn, for they have not been over encouraged to express themselves.

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Happily these days would come around anew to us each year, and in time each father and mother who felt able and willing could give us a message of cheer, and of vision maybe; for we know that youth is not the age of wisdom.

     Doubtless there would be the desire at times to invite fathers and brothers and sons to the Mother's Day celebration. I can imagine that the Father's Day meeting might not always be for the men only. But I feel that they should not be held on the same day, for each should have its full share of attention. With love to the fathers and mothers, and wishing to learn from them,
     Sincerely yours,
          DAUGHTER

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     * This reference says: "'Until the consummation of the age is until the end of the church, when there is a new church with which the Lord will then be."
Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     DENVER. The outstanding event in the annals of our society is the wedding of Mr. Harry Lang Tyler and Miss Emilie Johanna Oberschelp. At seven o'clock in the evening of the nineteenth of June our Pastor conducted the marriage service for these two in the presence of a goodly number of our people and children-all who could possibly go there. The chancel was made very beautiful with red and white carnations and asparagus fern and palms. The bridal pair were attended by Miss Margaret Tyler and Mr. James Oberschelp. After the ceremony the company returned to the home of the bridegroom's parents, where a reception was held, giving opportunity for congratulations and felicitations and further acquaintance with the bride, who has won a warm place in our hearts during the comparatively few months we have known her. It was a pleasure to meet her father again too, who had come from Oklahoma to be present at his daughter's marriage. All who had met her brother, Arthur, in the winter, regretted that he could not be with us, but he had recently written from "Somewhere in France." At the close of the reception the young people went to their home in North Denver. And so we have another roof-tree added to our faithful, earnest little circle of New Church families,

     Another wedding, which took place an the first day of June, gave the friends a genuine surprise. Mr. Arthur J. Ebert came from Cripple Creek the last day of May, and everything was arranged for the Ceremony the next morning. The bride-elect, Miss Ruth Mary Carmichael, was en route from a town in Oklahoma, where she had been teaching the past year. The elements enforced a dreary and anxious period of waiting. Heavy the rains had and the train did not caused bad washouts on the road and the train did not arrive until evening. Mr. Ebert and Miss Carmichael reached the chapel in time for a nine-o'clock wedding. Harry Tyler and Miss Oberschelp were present at this Is wedding, the young men having known each other at Bryn Athyn. When the service was ended we spent a little time getting better acquainted, then the young people and the Pastor went down town and had a supper together in honor of the occasion. We regret that circumstances did not permit Mr. and Mrs. Ebert being with us over Sunday. They had to leave on the train for Cripple Creek, where Mr. Ebert is establishing himself in business, and where Mrs. Ebert, whose parents came from Northwestern Canada, was brought up.

     Our Easter service was very delightful. The children carried red geranium plants in pots when they entered in procession and, afterwards, each one had a plant to take home. The selection, "I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes," was sung by the children in Hebrew, they having learned this at the Friday class. The average attendance at Sunday School during the year was unusually good, there being but little sickness. L. W. T. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL. July the Fourth was celebrated by our society, as in times past, but with increased patriotism, and a more serious tone was given to the speeches made during the proceedings. It was our effort to emphasize the greatness of the occasion, and it may safely be said that our little community observed the day in the spirit desired by the President of our country.

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     Assembling on the ball field at 9:30 A. M., the Boy Scouts, assisted by several members of the home infantry regiments, under the leadership of Mr. Sydney E. Lee, executed some military drill, at the conclusion of which our Pastor made a brief speech to the company, pointing out that they were "drilling for America." All present then formed in procession and paraded the park, led by comet and drum, until they reached the flagstaff, where the flag was raised and saluted in strictly military form. Dr. King then spoke of the flag as being the ultimate form which should always stimulate loyalty to our country, and which, especially at the present time, should cause us to consecrate ourselves to the furtherance of this holy and sacred war being fought for liberty and freedom.

     A meeting was then held in the Assembly Hall, presided over by Dr. King, who first called upon Mr. Henry S. Maynard, Sr., to speak on the subject of "Patriotism." Mr. Maynard's address was listened to with deep interest, and no doubt will be remembered for years to come by all who heard it. He said:

     "The idea of patriotism, in its essence, is that of obedience to properly constituted rules and regulations, and these begin at home. The child who disobeys its parents is planting seeds of disloyalty. When children disobey teachers in school they are planting seeds of disloyalty. The parents and guardians who do not check these seeds that choke the ground in the minds of the disobedient are assisting in the spread of disloyalty.

     "After the home and our community there is the village with its laws, which should be obeyed. Those of adult age should take their part in seeing to it that the laws of the village are obeyed, and that the new laws which are made are just laws. If they do not do this, they are not patriotic. From the village extends the responsibility we are under to other forms of government. It is our duty to acquaint ourselves with what is going on in the government of our country, in order that we may act as we should when the time arrives for us to do our share in choosing our governors. That duty has also been thrust upon many of our ladies, and they, as well as the men, should take an interest in the government, in order that they may vote intelligently.

     "Our government, perhaps above others, has made the acknowledgment of God, and expressed a trust in Divine Providence. It was incorporated in our Declaration of Independence. No government will lastingly succeed which does not make that acknowledgment, and make it the basis of its action. Washington said, "Morality without religion as a basis would be a failure," and I think experience will bear this out. We, as Newchurchmen, above all others, have been instructed in the things of Divine Providence, and know that we are led continually in freedom.

     "Our success as a nation has been by the development of character, and it will continue to be so. If this government, which is government by the people for the people, fails, it will be because of the degeneracy of the citizens of the country, brought about by their selfishness and indifference to the welfare of the neighbor. I would call the attention of parents and guardians, and the teachers of our schools, to the fact that this character building is the essential thing.

     "As to the war, we are in it, and we are in it to win. Our boys are giving a good account of themselves. They possess the will to do and the strength to do, and they have right on their side. Out of the situation comes another thing which arouses our patriotism. The large number of people in civil life who are engaged in work that must be done to carry on the war are showing their patriotism when they answer to the call from those in authority.

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The Government has found it necessary to control the supply of certain necessities, such as food and fuel. Those who have taken this step are in a position to decide whether or not these rules and regulations are necessary, and it is our patriotic duty to uphold those rules, and so to be loyal to those who are fighting for us on the other side."

     Dr. J. O. D'Courcey then spoke at length on the "Origin and Advancement of the United States of America," quoting from the Declaration of Independence to show that the American nation has been abundantly blessed in the past, and must go forward to bless the world in the future. The meeting concluded with the singing of "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

     At noon a basket picnic was held in the park, at which Mr. Alec. McQueen read the address written by President Wilson solely for the use of the "Four Minute Men" on July Fourth. Sports, consisting of races of various kinds, ball games, etc., occupied the afternoon, the winners being presented with thrift stamps through the generosity of Mr. Oscar Scalbom. In the evening a very successful dance and entertainment took place in the Assembly Hall, and brought to a close a very complete celebration of this great day of the year. G. A. McQ.

     PHILADELPHIA.-From the summer edition of The Advent Church News, we learn that the most two deserving pupils of the Sunday School will receive scholarships to Bryn Athyn, and "as the children all think a great deal of Bryn Athyn, this promise lends added zest to their work. At the end of the year those pupils who had not missed a Sunday were presented with Thrift Stamps, five being so rewarded, though the records of many others were excellent."

     Throughout the past year the classes in the Sunday School "have dealt with the various phases of the Lord's life upon earth. Every week new correspondence was learned which bore directly on the lesson for the day, making a deep impression upon the minds of the children, and going a long way towards impressing them with the fact that there is an internal sense to the Word, which gives a fuller meaning than can be obtained from other sources than through the New Church."

     "In the troop of Boy Scouts, organized last spring, there are nine regular scouts and five junior hikers. Mr. Lechner the Sunday School Superintendent and Scout Master, drills the boys once a week, teaching them the mysteries of scout-craft." Under his supervision, and with the Pastor's assistance, the boys recently were treated to camping expedition near Bryn Athyn, where they enjoyed roughing it, besides meeting the Bryn Athyn boys, and taking part in the Fourth of July sports, on which occasion Mr. Knudson addressed them, and presented them with a flag.

     We learn further that a missionary campaign is in progress, the Revs. Karl Alden and Theodore Pitcairn do-operating, and being assisted by others. A series of four Sunday evening sermons on evangelical subjects has been arranged, the first being on "The Life Beyond." This was well attended by our own people, but only two strangers turned up, in spite of the fact that a thousand fans bearing a neat advertisement of the lecture had been distributed. The next sermon was on the subject of "Who was Jesus?" and was better attended, despite the hot weather. Six strangers were present, and a good number of our own folks. The concluding sermons will treat of "The Bible" and "The Second Coming of the Lord."

588




     "We are once more carrying on street speaking, and on Saturday evening, July 20, we had quite an exciting time, getting into a battle royal with one of the host of Dragonists, who contended that man is saved solely by 'faith alone.' Anyone who thinks that the Dragon is dead should go along on one of these occasions. I do not believe that so much as one of his heads has been cut off.

     A new feature of the missionary work is the calling on individuals who have evidenced some interest, either by coming themselves or by sending their children to the Sunday School. Every Tuesday evening has been devoted to this use by Mr. Pitcairn and myself, and we look eventually for some profitable results. We must keep in mind that in missionary work for the New Church we have a deeply spiritual message to impart, and that the number of persons who can be affected by anything spiritual is at the present day extremely small. However, I am sure that the Lord will bring forth good results out of any persistent effort we shall make.-K. R. A."

     REPORT OF REV. J. E. BOWERS. After the Council of the Clergy, at Bryn Athyn, in compliance with an invitation, I went to Syracuse, N. Y., on June 26, to visit Mr. Lyman S. Loomis and family. Mr. and Mrs. Loomis are members of the General Church, and their three children were baptized in July, 1912, at their home, which then was in Springfield, Mass. My recent visit of two days at their present home was very enjoyable. Especially so, as Mr. and Mrs. Loomis are earnest in the faith of the Church, and try to teach their children accordingly.
Lyman Stevens, the grandfather of Mr. L. S. Loomis, whom I had the pleasure to visit two or three times in the beginning of the eighties, was a friend and supporter of Prof. George Bush, who preached in Syracuse, Rochester, and other places, in the earlier days of the New Church.

     On invitation of Mr. Wm. Evens, I went to Penetanguishene, Ontario, on July 2. For nearly half a century he has been a reader of the Writings, and an active Newchurchman. We had talks on a number of interesting points of doctrine. Services were held at the home on July 7. Eight adults and four children were present. A sermon was given, and all the adults-all members of the Church but two-took part in the Holy Supper.

     On July 8, Mr. Evens and I made the journey to Tara, Bruce Co., Ont. There we stopped at the home of Mr. and Thomas B. Keeling.

     On July 10 our destination was Lion's Head, fifty miles north of Tara. The place is on the peninsula northward between Lake Huron and the Georgian Bay. The trip from Wiarton, twenty-six miles, is by stage; but the road is good all the way. In the evening we arrived at the home on the farm of Mr. Henry Hellyer and family, near the village.

     On Sunday morning, July 14, the two younger children of Mr. and Mrs. Hellyer were baptized. The sacrament of the Lord's Supper was also administered, in which four persons took part, and in the evening a talk on the Doctrines was given at the house of the parents of Mr. Henry Hellyer nearby, to about fifteen persons. Mrs. Hellyer is a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Evens, and the baptism of the children was the main object of my being invited to go to that part of the missionary field of Ontario.

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ACADEMY SCHOOLS 1918

ACADEMY SCHOOLS       Rev. C. E. DOERING       1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.




     The Forty-second School Year of the Academy of the New Church will commence on Monday, September 16th, 1918. The Schools of the Academy comprise:-
The Theological School, offering a three years' course of instruction in the Theology of the New Church, the principles of Swedenborg's Philosophical writings, the Sacred Languages, and Church History.

     The College, offering a series of courses in Religion, Philosophy, History, Language, Science, etc., and professional courses in Education.

     The Secondary Schools, including a Boy's Academy and a Girl's Seminary, offering a four years' course of high school study for boys and girls. For detailed information, address
     REV. C. E. DOERING,
          Dean of Faculties,
               Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE       LOUISE DAVIS       1918

     News Notes.

     No letters have been received by the Committee for some time from the American boys in France, but we can understand this, as many of them are known to be in the midst of the fighting on the Aisne-Marne front.

     From the Canadians over there we have lately received quite a few letters, indicating that they are not as busily occupied as the Americans. Fred. Stroh writes, "Just at present I'm in luck as, (censored ......), and having a fairly easy time of it. Have seen Harold Kuhl, and had a chat with him for a couple of hours. He is quite a distance from here, and I had a lot of trouble finding him. I traveled about 70 kilos that day, and, believe me, it isn't a ride I would want for a regular pastime. Rupert Kuhl and I manage to get together once in a while, so it isn't as if we never saw any of our friends. While out on rest we drill and train for our next trip in the line. The work isn't so very hard, and we get plenty of time for baseball, etc.

     Rupert Kuhl, in a letter written July 9th, says he is also on a rest where they don't have to worry about shells and bullets. "Harold Kuhl came over to see me several days ago. He had no idea how far it was between us, or I'm afraid I'd not have been so lucky. He couldn't stay long, as the distance back was about to kilometers, and it keeps a person going to walk that in half a day, as you never know whether a ride is coming or not. Yes, when I say nothing exciting is happening, it generally means no raids, attacks, etc., being pulled off, while, at the same time, no doubt, shells are dropping all over the place, and possibly getting a bunch of casualties. That's the thing that gets on a person's nerves, and makes him want a rest-the incessant shelling, often for days with hardly a let-up."

     George Bellinger wrote from England that he had completed his training there, and was awaiting draft for France, where he expects to be in the near future.

     One of the latest names to be added to our list is that of Henry Heinrichs, who graduated from the Boys' Academy this spring. In a recent letter to the Committee he says, "Soldier life is not so bad except when it is muddy. We've had a couple of big rains here, and this mud sure is sticky. Some of the tents were swamped, and the occupants had to find shelter in the barns and offices. However, mine was all right. It's just a foretaste of trench life, I guess, only trench life will be much worse. There is a draft of 3,000 men under orders here at present, and they may sail any time. They just received four days' leave this week, which will be their last leave. I have been here pretty nearly four weeks already, and have not yet had one, but the Captain promised me one this week. I am not in the lines now, but have an office job connected with the Canteen, and it's pretty soft-almost as soft as scholarship work."

     Mr. Will Cooper is now at a camp in Ottawa, where he is taking a course in Physical Training. The Government wanted a number of men to take this special course, and the men who wished to try for it were asked to apply. "I applied," he writes, "together with about forty others, and we were immediately turned over to a very strict Sergeant-major to decide which of us were best fitted for it. He drilled us very hard for two and a half days, and then picked out fifteen of us (myself among them) to take the course. We were sent up here, and on our arrival were made Acting Sergeants. Those of us who pass successfully through the six weeks' course, and get our diplomas, may retain our rank of Sergeant."

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In describing the beauties of his surroundings, he says, "I have seen some beautiful scenery in my travels, but I don't think I ever saw a place that has given me as much pleasure to look at as Ottawa."

     Edward Davis, in an interesting letter to the Committee, expressed his appreciation for the little sermons sent each week. "I find that they keep me more closely in touch with the Church than any of the other things I read, and I am glad that they have been coming so regularly. Whenever I move it seems that they are always the first mail forwarded to me. When I get to Berlin I expect to find one waiting for me there. For me life in the Army has developed into more of an electrical engineering course. I have finished one course at the Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, and, at present, I am taking another at the Texas University. The main idea is to make Radio operators of us, but our roster includes a little bit of everything from army mess to airplanes. The work is very interesting, and, judging from the lectures which a French officer has been giving us, it will be much more so when we get to France. I am very well satisfied with this branch of the service, as I think that we will probably be in the most interesting and exciting part of the whole works when we get over there." We understand that in France the work of Radio operators is receiving messages from aeroplane observers. There is a large amount of responsibility connected with this, as it is one of the most important factors in forming liaison between the infantry and the artillery.

     Sydney Childs, who is stationed at Camp Mills, an embarkation camp, writes, "I am at present taking charge of the Insurance Section of our office, and find the work very interesting. It gets me in touch with nearly all the different regiments coming in, and, at times, seems to give an opportunity for rendering a service that should be of more or less lasting value. . . . The New Church boys have certainly been very fortunate in being so well remembered, and I trust we shall be able, at some future time, to show our appreciation for this."

     Arthur Synnestvedt has been transferred to the Development Battalion. "This Battalion," he explains, "has but recently been formed, and is for the purpose of finally disposing of doubtful cases, discharging those found actually unfit for service of some kind, 'developing' those who can be made fit for service, or recommending some special service in other camps. It is a sort of clearing house. My one consolation is the fact that I was, after examination, immediately placed on the list 'fit for duty' even though limited. They decided that I was not a 'wreck,' and that I could well be used somewhere. Then they proceeded to ask me if I could run a typewriter. Upon an affirmative answer I was put right into the battalion headquarters' office, and there I am yet, and bid fair to stay for some time, I think. ...The work is dry and uninteresting, decidedly routine in character. Sometimes I get simply furious that they won't pass me for overseas."

     We have heard that Herbert Ashley is very ill and in the Naval hospital-the second time that he has been there.

     Joseph Glenn has also been in the hospital suffering from a gas attack, we hear. The hospital is situated n a hill overlooking the sea, on the northern coast of France.

     Francis Frost writes on June 18th, "I am 'Somewhere else' in France since I wrote last time, and have had an opportunity of seeing some of the country in my trip overland. Among other things I have got a first-hand acquaintance with French mud.

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It seems to be our fate always to `arrive' at night. This time also it was raining, and owing to circumstances we were necessarily quartered in a barracks with a leaky roof. However, one gets used to anything, and there is always humor to be found in any situation. During the trip we passed through the outskirts of a certain city where there was an air raid in progress. There was considerable noise connected with and we could see the flashes light where bombs hit. It didn't last long, and served to arouse only a passing interest."

     Word has been received in Bryn Athyn recently that Llewellyn Price has been slightly wounded, and that Griffith Asplundh, who is in the same company, has been commended for bravery. It is also reported that Thomas Schriver has been gassed.

     We have occasionally mentioned the need of writing to the soldiers. The following, quoted from a letter received by a member of the Committee, is an appeal which we are sure is in the heart of every soldier. "Don't be downhearted because you aren't 'somewhere in France.' I feel that it is more than ever the duty of our mothers, sisters, and sweethearts to 'keep the home fires burning,' as you quote in your letter. Home is becoming the most sacred thing in the lives of many of us in the Army, much more sacred than ever before. We need our women back home, we men do. We would be most unhappy, and far, far more war-weary and forlorn than we are now, if we knew that our dear ones were deserting our homes and running away to Europe. This may be utterly selfish-if so, I can't help the feeling. The letters I get from home are the real pleasures of my life here, and the more they tell of the little, intimate things of home the better they are for us."

     In publishing this, it is hoped that it will bring to the young woman who is discontent, and feels that she can only be of service in France, the realization that she can help as much in staying at home, by writing to the men who have gone to war cheerful letters that carry with them the sphere of home and the Church. LOUISE DAVIS.

     THE ROLL OF HONOR.

     Who does not remember and love him who fights even unto death that his country may be free. (T. C. R. 710.)

LIEUT. W. REY GILL, Colchester, England. Artists' Rides. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.
GUY CHRISTOPHER PEMBERTON, Durban, Natal, South Africa. Killed in action at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
LEON ROSE, London, England, Royal West Surrey Regiment. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29, 1916.
REGINALD WATERS, London, England, Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
ROY S. WELLS, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. 11th R. R. Engineers. Died April 12, 1918, of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

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     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, B. E. F., France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156,56th Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, 3 A/M CHARLES, Colchester, Eng. 142538, R. A. F., 124th Squadron, Fowlmere Aerodome, N. Royston, Herts, England.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. 66 E. Dulwich Grove, E. Dulwich, London S. E. 22, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engs., U. S. A., American E. F.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 110d Engrs., Co. B, American E. F.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., A. P. O. 716, American, E. F.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTIFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks 48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, LIEUT. FRED. H., Toronto, Ont., Canada. R. A. F., c/o Welsh Margetson, 16 Moor Lane Fore St., London, E. C., Eng.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319 A Battery, Canadian Reserve Brigade, C. F. A. Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, Eng.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, B. E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. L, 158th Inf., Camp Kearny, Cal.
BERGSTROM, E. J., Denver, Col. Co. 59, 164th Depot Brigade, Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. Squadron A, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, Co. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E, F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W, Glenview, Ill. 4th O. T. C., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
BURNHAM, SERGT. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 3rd Instruction Center, American E. F.
BURNHAM, SERGT. LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., American E. F.
CHILDS, 1ST LIEUT. R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Headquarters Adjutant, 28th Division Headquarters, American E. F.
CHILDS, SYDNEY, New York, N. Y. A. F. C., c/o Personnel Officer, Headquarters, Camp Mills, Long Island, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. T., Philadelphia, Pa. R. A. F., c/o Cox & Co., Bankers, 16 Charing Cross, London, W. C. 2, Eng.

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COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. 51st Pioneer Inf., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2ND LIEUT, R. T., Baltimore, Md. Co. M, 114th Infantry, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
COLE, PTE. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. A, 2nd Casual Batt., 2nd Platoon, U. S. Marines, American E. F.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co. C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COOPER, L. CORP. WILLIAM R., Philadelphia, Pa. H. G. S., Engineers Training Depot, St. Johns, P. 9., Canada.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Law Bldg., Radio Section, University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
DE, CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Engineer R. C. c/o Director of Construction and Forestry, Dept. Railroads and Docks, U. S. M. P. O., 717, American E. F., France.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, DAVID, Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 82nd Hut, H Division, Convalescent Hospital, Woodcote Park, Epson, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., American E. F.
DOERING, 2ND LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks 54 P. T. S., 3rd Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
ELPHICK, TELEGRAPHIST FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. R. N. V. R., H. M. W/T Station, Inchkeith, Leith, N. B., Scotland.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F.. France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Putt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240, R.A. F., 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto; Ont., Can.
FINLEY, 2ND LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. R. E. Mess. Morda Camp, Conway, N. Wales, England.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, 30 Batterie de rog long 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Q. M. C. N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, A. O. P. 745, American E. F.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England. L. Z. 3624, 142 Maiden Road, Colchester, Eng.
GLADISH, 2ND LIEUT DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 5th Cadet Squadron, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.

595



GLENN, PTE. JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929. C. C. C. Bn., C. E. E., France. c/o 72nd General Hospital.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., American E. F.
Grant, FRED.. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. No. 640231, Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
GUNTHER, W. H., Baltimore, Md., Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 309, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EVERY, Arbutus, Md. Co. F, 305th Engrs., American E. F.
HART, CORP. DOUGLAS E., Addiscombe, Croyden, England. 530713, 4 Platoon, 2/15 London Regt., c/o G. P. O., London.
HEADSTEN, 2ND LIEUT. JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. c/o Depot Quartermaster, Omaha, Nebraska.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa., Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HEINRICHS, HENRY. 3353715, Co. 5, 1st D. B. S. R., Regina, Sask, Can.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Allied Officers' Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Auxiliary Reserve, Barracks 5-E, c/o Lieut. B. O. Wills, Pelham Bay Park, N. Y.
HICKS, CADET KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, 84th C. T. S., Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Can.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont. 4904 No. 1 Army Auxiliary Horse Co., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2606629, F Co, 2nd Canadian Engineers Reserve Batt. Seaford Camp, Sussex, Eng.
HOWARD, CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C. Maude Camp, Bangalore, Mysore, India.
HUSSENT, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie IV. Prisonnier de guerre, au Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Cloud, Seine et Oise.
HUSSENET, ELlSEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, 15th Platoon, 4 Co., 11th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F, France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Batt., American E F.
JOHNSON, RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F, 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 4th Div. Sanitary Train, Ambulance Co. 21, American E. F.
KING, ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. Machine Gun Co., Camp Custer, Mich.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask.,Can. 258676.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada, 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon; 6th Canadian R. R Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 7th Platoon, B Co., 50th Batt., B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241, 64th Battery, Draft, Witley Camp, Milford Surrey, England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751987, 21st Battn. Canadians, B. E. F., France.
LEONARD, PTE. EDGAR MOREL. Chicago, Ill., 217th Co., Marine Barracks, Paris Island, S. C.

596



LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD, Pittsburgh, Pa. U. S. N. R. S., U. S. Naval Aviation, Foreign Service.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island, 2224 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Training Depot, St. John's, Quebec, Can.
LOOMIS, W. A., CO. A., Military Police Train Headquarters, Div. 851 Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial Q 1'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf. American E. F.
MORRIS, 1/A. M. EDW. B., London, England 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England. 301276, Transport Section, 1/5 Batt., L. R. B., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otage Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 41 B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER, 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. D, 50th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. T. Bryn Athyn. Pa. 63rd Inf.
ODHNER, CAPT. MADEFREY S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Motor Co. No. 10, Camp Greenleaf Annex, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf. Address, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 3021 Prov. Co. 3, A. P. O., 708, American E. F.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. 1, A. P. O., 714, American E. F.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Development Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., American E. F.
PIBERES, SERGT. M. R., Philadelphia, Pa. Co. 2, S. O. S., A. P. O. 702, American E. F.
PITCAIRN, HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. School of Military Aeronautics, Austin, Texas, Barracks, K-2-A.
PRICE, LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Engrs., American E. F.

597



PRICE, LIEUT. RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 11th Bn., F. A. R. D., Camp Taylor, Ky.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. 730 Rock Creek Church Rd., Washington, D. C.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Cavite. P. I.
ROSENSQVIST, Pa. FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, American E.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs, American E. F.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. 228985, 772 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont, Can.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., American E. F.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H., F. A. U. S. R., F. A. School of Instruction, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery C, 15th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Melville," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. 6th Co., 4th Bn. C. O. L. S., Camp Pike, Ark.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, American E. F.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, Washington Barracks, Washington, D. C.
SMITH, HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. F. 314th Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., American E. F.
SMITH, WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 540-541 W. 7th St., The L. B. Harrison Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio.
SNYDER, WILMER E. 148th Field Hospital, 112th Sanitary Train, 37th Division, American E. F.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 31st Balloon Co., West Point, Kentucky.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Soldat anglais interne a Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Suisse. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, PTE. FRED. E.,Kitchener, Ont. 751124 B Co 5th Batt., Canadian Engineers, B. E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN, Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, ARTHUR, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Development Bn., Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa. Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 28th Balloon Co., Camp Eustis, Lee Hall, Va.
SYNNESTVEDT, O, D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 1131 Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. O. 705. American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F.

598



TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J., Bourbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, American E. F.
VINET, CORP. PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. A. A. S. Section 529, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.
WARREN DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C., Mech. Transports Base Depot, Shorncliffe, Kent, England.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Kegr., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England.118516, 3/A, M. Headquarters, Cadet Brigade, Royal Air Force, Royal Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, England.
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G., London, England. 536534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T, B. E. F.
WELLS, CORP. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006 Canadian Section, G. K. d., 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., American E. F.

     ADDITIONAL.

CREAYER, SGT. MAJOR FRANCIS B., Williamsport, Pa. Headquarters 28th Div. U. S. A., American E. F.
GLADISH, DONALD G., Chicago, Ill. U. S. Marines.
PETERSON, ELMER E., Chicago, Ill. Co. F, 5th Reg., Barracks 525-F, Camp Ferry, Great Lakes, Ill.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peakham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.



599


WRITTEN IN THE EARTH 1918

WRITTEN IN THE EARTH        N. D. PENDLETON       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII OCTOBER, 1918 No. 10
     "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed; they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they were forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters." Jeremiah xvii:13.

     Those who forsake the Lord, the Fountain of living waters, shall be written in the earth; they who reject Divine revelation are recorded among the damned.

     Standing at the well of Jacob, and speaking with the woman of Samaria, the Lord said, "Whoso drinketh of the water that I shall give unto him shall not thirst again, but it shall become in him a fountain of living water springing up into everlasting life." (John iv:13, 14.)

     In Jeremiah the Lord is called a "Fountain of living waters" and it appears from John that the expression has reference to eternal life, which the Lord gives to those who approach Him in His Word, and by a life of love and faith are conjoined with Him. "Living water" is truth Divine from the Lord-Divine Truth adapted to human states of reception,-the truth of revelation, which, when received, imparts eternal life and a blessed hereafter; when rejected, it causes man to die in his sins. He that so dies is said to be "written in the earth," that is, recorded among the damned; for the earth, and the dust of the earth, signifies that which is damned. The serpent licked the dust of the earth, because he was accursed.

     The place in the world of spirits which nearly adjoins the hells is called the lower earth. The sphere of damnation pervades it. Those who are there think themselves lost.

600


Hell overpowers them. Man, as to his spirit, is in this lower earth when in the despairs of temptation. This lower earth is a desert place, because of the lack of living water. It is a hopeless state, for the Lord is seemingly absent.

     The fruitful earth-the habitation of men,-the seeding ground of the race, signifies the Church. Only when dry, yielding dust, does it signify the state of the damned. This dry earth is meant when it is said, "They that depart from the Lord, the Fountain of living waters, shall be written in the earth." This writing signifies their damnation, even as salvation is meant by having the name written in the Book of Life. To write is to impress upon the inner life. That which is so inscribed remains forever, and wholly qualifies the character. If this deeply qualifying thing, moulding the inner life, be evil, the man "departs from the Lord, the Fountain of living water," and falls into lowest things,-debased states, and his name is "written in the earth." On the other hand, if that Which centrally penetrates and forms the life be good, the man drinks of the water of life and it "becomes in him a fountain of living waters, springing up into everlasting life." He is lifted into the sphere of heaven. His name is written in the Book of Life. This Book "corresponds to heaven with him." (E. 199.)

     "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed; they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters." Note the three ideas,-departure from the Lord, being made ashamed, and having the name written in the earth; and hear the following from John:

     "Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives; and early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came unto Him; and He sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they said unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest Thou? This they said tempting Him, that they might accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote on the ground.

601


So when they continued asking Him, He lifted up Himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again He stooped down, and wrote oil the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up Himself, and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more." (VIII:1-11.)

     The woman's accusers, the scribes and Pharisees, demanded her condemnation,-stoning, according to the law. Hearing them, Jesus stooped down, and with His finger wrote upon the ground. They pressed Him for judgment. He answered, "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her; and again He stooped down and wrote upon the ground;" and they, being ashamed, withdrew from His presence.

     The Lord stooped and wrote on the ground to signify the damnation of adulterers, and when pressed for judgment, He stooped again and wrote. This signifies that the damnation of those who depart from the Lord was assured. This writing of the Lord was not concerning the poor women; she, in His wisdom, and mercy, was not condemned. Of whom then was the writing a judgment! Obviously it referred to the representatives of a wicked and adulterous generation, who, by the accusation, brought upon themselves the damnation which they sought to impose upon another.

     Few have known the meaning of this action of the Lord in writing upon the ground. Pious churchmen have labored to find excuse for the Lord's mildness in His treatment of this woman. The evil spirit in the accusation of the scribes and Pharisees has been noted. But why should the Lord write upon the ground? On no other occasion is it recorded that He wrote. In order to suggest some explanation the authorized version adds the phrase (He wrote) "as though He heard them not," giving the impression of an inconsequential action in a state of mental abstraction.

602


Among the many speculations a few have nearly touched the truth. In some manuscripts, to the statement that He wrote upon the ground, is added the phrase, "their sins who accused her, and the sins of all men." Even so, the full significance-the correspondential nature of the act-was not known.

     Yet the truth might have been divined, if the Lord's act of writing on the ground had been connected with the statement in Jeremiah, "They that depart from me shall be written in the earth." Why so written? "Because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters." Because they have fallen away from the Divine into debased states, signified by the earth, the earth of lower things, which is a state of damnation. Because of this the Lord stooped, and twice wrote on the ground,-a sign of the double damnation of the spiritual adulterers, represented by the accusing Pharisees. The woman was, indeed, "taken in adultery." Yet she was capable of repentance, for the Lord said unto her, "Go, and sin no more." This is repentance as distinguished from contrition. Contrition is sorrow, regret, anguish of mind over some sin committed. Repentance means to sin no more.

     Natural adultery is a grievous sin. It closes heaven, which cannot again be opened save by severe contrition followed by repentance. The question is often asked, Can this or that sin be forgiven? Any sin is forgiven of which a man, repents; but let it be understood that repentance means to sin no more. No other kind avails. Certainly not the anguish of contrition, unless this be sustained by victorious resistance to the evil.

     A sin repented of is forgiven. But not all can, repent. Sin indulged until the spirit is perverted renders repentance impossible. In this case the spirit of the man is infected. Natural irregularity has become an incurable spiritual disease. There is a broad distinction between a natural sin as an, act and its spiritual correspondent as a state of life. The act is a passion indulged; the other, an inward mental perversity. A natural passion may be controlled and subdued, but a mental perversity, once confirmed, can hardly be changed.

603


These two were represented, the one by the woman, and the other by the group of scribes and Pharisees; to the one the Lord, in His wisdom and in His mercy, said, "Go, and sin no more." In answer to the others, He twice stooped and wrote upon the ground.

     "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed; they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters."

     It is a curious fact that the phrase, "written in the earth," is taken by some to signify that which quickly passes away, or is readily blotted out, as figures drawn on the sand are erased by the first rain that falls or wind that blows. This interpretation is ingenious. Marks made upon the ground are soon erased. But how can the text yield the idea of impermanency? "They that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord." Permanency rather is signified. Departure from the Lord looks to permanent removal. The Lord did not give a temporary judgment against the evil of adultery represented by the scribes and Pharisees. It was a pronouncement of doom-forever fixed.

     That which is "written in the earth" stands in opposition to what is "written in heaven," as damnation is opposed to salvation. This is known. A marginal note to Jeremiah xvii:13 (our text), refers to Luke x:20, which reads, "Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Having the name written in heaven is cause for rejoicing, as having it written in the earth is cause for shame. When the Lord stooped and wrote on the ground, the scribes and Pharisees withdrew ashamed. They were convicted, having fallen into the evil trap they laid. Their names were written in the dust, and they knew it. By a name is signified quality-the character of the man. The men who took part in this drama were representative of a wicked and adulterous generation, and subject to an evil influence, which endeavored not only to destroy the woman, but also to "tempt" the Lord. Their evil impulse reacted upon them, and they withdrew from His presence, and departed ashamed.

     "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake Thee shall be ashamed; they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the Lord, the Fountain of living waters."

604




     He is the Fountain of living waters-healing waters, which wash away sins, and give new life to the spirit of man. Whoso drinketh of this water becomes an immortal in the blessed hereafter. The Divine life is transferred into him by means of the truths of revelation. This truth is that "water." It contains a Divine potency, which causes it to live and grow and multiply beyond measure, so that in man it springs up into everlasting life, and confers upon its recipient joys unending.

     The fate of those who depart from the Lord is in dismal contrast. Immortality is not denied them, but they rest under an abiding curse; and some under the double condemnation of which the Lord wrote. Happily the poor woman, was of those who repent. Perhaps She, like her sister, who bathed the Lord's feet, "loved much."

     "He went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And behold, a woman, . . . which was a sinner brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with: the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now the Pharisee spoke within himself, saying, This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him; for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors; the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And He turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased: to kiss my feet.

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My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much; but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven...thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." (Luke vii:36-50. )

     The Divine mercy is revealed in this simple account of a sinning woman, who in deep humiliation and loving service bathed the feet of the Lord. She loved much; therefore was she forgiven.

     As by all stories in the Word, deep things are signified-profound laws, eternal verities. The woman stands as a representative of the Church receiving the Lord at His coming in humility, and with loving service,-the Jewish remnant, which was capable of repentance and submission of heart. In this she is the same as the woman taken in adultery.

     The Pharisee, in whose house the Lord was, also represented the Church, that part of it which, holding every pious observance, was conscious of no sin, nor of any need of repentance. This was the Jewish Church, rejected of the Lord. "I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet; but she hath washed my feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss; but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment."

     Two states of mind with regard to the Lord prevailed at the time of His coming, one represented by the correct, the precise, the self-righteous Pharisee, shocked that one, seeming to, be a prophet, should allow himself to be touched, by an unfortunate woman. The other by the woman herself, acutely conscious of her sin, and in profound abasement falling before Him, bathing His feet with her tears. The Divine mercy and forgiveness can reach the fallen woman; it must needs pass by the Pharisee. These two states prevail now. In varying degree they pertain to all. There are times when we may become acquainted with the self-righteous Pharisee within us; when we congratulate ourselves that we are not like those others,-sinners.

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There may also be times when we see in ourselves the sinning; and sorrowing woman, when we are bowed with the consciousness of sin, and are afraid to look up, falling at the Lord's feet.

     Men differ, it is true, but are much alike. This becomes daily more apparent. First we note the difference between ourselves and others, later the likeness. In the beginning we make much of the difference, later we feel the touch of sympathy arising from our common likeness. We begin by loving the neighbor ideally, at length actually. We love an ideal neighbor, then the human brother. A certain personal friendship is condemned in the Writings, but: a real love of the creatures whom God has made is not denied, it is enjoined. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. This love cannot be with the self-righteous Pharisee in us; it may, however, be given to the sorrowing woman, convinced of her sin.

     We see evils in others from doctrine-we convict them of sin. Until we have done the same to ourselves, we are not on a level with our brother. We can neither understand nor sympathize with him. We are too far off. If we see his sorrow and his struggle, his sin, his contrition, we say we are sorry for him, we admit that he brought it on himself, which is quite the fact. But there may be no heart in our sympathy; we have not yet learned to love. This is the Pharisee in us. Sorrow not of love is an intellectual pretense.

     When born we know nothing, and feel nothing. Everything comes by experience. So are we trained into spiritual life and love by temptations, spiritual experiences, by contact with evil, first with evil outside of ourselves. Temptations of this kind are superficial; afterwards the evils in ourselves give rise to temptations which penetrate and move more deeply. These strike the Pharisee in us, and maybe reveal the sorrowing woman. Then do we come to the Lord, and kiss His feet. Then we come to know ourselves, and we think of others as better than ourselves,-we hope they are.

     This realizing sense of sin has a remarkable influence upon our relations with our fellow men; before, we held aloof; now, we draw near,-not from sentimentality, but because of a deep-seated sympathy with all who, like ourselves, are fixed in evils.

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     Natural sympathy extends to all who suffer. It feels the brotherhood of man, and stops not to inquire. One who does not heed the cry of distress lacks humanity. Sympathy is the noblest of the natural affections. It is the basis of all superior spiritual loves, even of the Divine love of saving souls. With the regenerate it is transformed into a deep tenderness for all who are suffering from evils.

     All men shrink when they hear of acute physical pain or direful disease. They imagine themselves suffering in like manner, or they have so suffered, and are moved by the memory. They are quick to give response. How many are as keenly moved by the sight of evil, the knowledge of the devastation of sin? The Pharisee in us does his part when he condemns, and evil must be condemned. Only those who have suffered from evil, who have become acquainted with sin by repentance, are moved with compassion. They condemn not, but say, I may not judge, lest I be condemned with mine own judgment. Herein we perceive the attitude of charity. If ye would be forgiven, ye must forgive. If you would have justice, ye must give justice. If ye would be loved, ye must love in return. That only is received which is given. Our sins are not remitted unless we forgive others. Forgiveness is of love, always. We know not how to forgive others until we realize our own need. This is the meaning of the story of the sinning woman and the self-righteous Pharisee. The one, cast down by the sense of guilt, asked for mercy, and was forgiven because she loved much. The other spake within himself, saying, "This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him, for she is a sinner." He could not understand. For this the Lord came into the world-that sinners might touch Him, might embrace His feet, even as this woman, and find forgiveness. Answering the Pharisee, the Lord said, "There was a certain creditor which had two debtors, the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.

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Tell me, therefore, which of them loved him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And He said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged . . . to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

     The Lord's forgiving is according to the need, the asking; he is forgiven but little who asks but little, having but a mild sense of sin. The deeper and clearer the man's spiritual state of life, the keener is his sense of evil with him, of the nature of his self life, and the keener the pain he feels because of it. The more earnestly he realizes his need of mercy, the more he abases himself before the Lord. These are they who love much, who are profoundly grateful to the Lord. According to their gratitude to the Lord is their charity to man. Whatever is given to the Lord is returned to man, that he may give it to others in the Lord's name. The need in the giving is with the man. The Lord requires gifts, but He asks and receives through the neighbor. "If ye have done it to the least of these ye have done it to me. I am in them and they in me." "If ye love me keep my commandments."

     This is the spirit of the commandments: Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God and do no evil, but good only. The Lord in the neighbor is to be loved; not as an abstract something in the neighbor which allows us to love the Lord and despise the man, but the Lord as He is in whatever of good the man may possess, even the individualized good in the life and character of the man. To this we are to look, not regarding the evil. From the neighbor's evil we are to avert our eyes, that in seeing we may yet not see. If our love waits on perfection in others it waits in vain. The thought of our own imperfection gives pause. Self-sufficiency is intolerable. The thought that we can do without the love of others is a delusion. We may deny and attempt to defy this love when our own self-love is wounded. It is futile to do so. The great human need is love. Look upon the Lord,-He came a Man into the world, He sat down to meat with sinners. He walked in the way with publicans, He touched the lepers, and permitted the woman, a sinner, to embrace His feet. He loved all men, every man. His loving service continues; His Human by glorification was not lost in the illimitable infinite.

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He came to work as man with man, and He continues so to work in the spirit-the Holy Spirit, which is a Divine Human Spirit.

     Newchurchmen must not lose their grasp of this primitive Christian idea. The Writings are given for its reinforcement,-its renewal. The Lord God is a Divine Man, who knows, loves, and forgives the repentant sinner, even as a man knows and loves and forgives, but the Lord Divinely so. The idea of the child is nearer the truth than the concept of the philosopher.

     The early Christians saw Him in the Body. They could think of man only from the body. It is now revealed that man is man from the spirit. The same is true of the Lord. We are to think of Him from the Spirit, "For God is a Spirit." We are to worship Him "in spirit and in truth." His Spirit, since the Glorification, is a Divine Human Spirit, everywhere working with men, forgiving their sins, and healing them. This Divine Human Spirit is the one God in Person and Essence. We need not seek, for we shall not find the Body which hung upon the cross. That is where you will. But the Divine Man, who is Man from the spirit, we may find if our eyes are opened,-if the gift of spiritual sight, which is faith, be granted; otherwise He must ever remain invisible. Only when He was on earth, and clothed with a material body, was the sight of Him forced upon men, regardless of the state of their faith; even then they did not see Him, but only the material vestment which He put off, never to resume. It is well so. Men, now as ever, must see the Lord spiritually, must see Him in the Spirit-as a Divine Man Spirit.

     Man is a spirit, and the spirit is the man. It is the spirit that knows and loves, that sins, that seeks and finds forgiveness. It is the Divine Man, the Holy Human Spirit, who hears and grants the plea for forgiveness, who knows and loves the weak and struggling spirit of mortal man, even as a man-father knows and loves his children.

     The one thing in life is to see and know the Lord. The Pharisee entertained Him in his house, but knew Him not. The sinning woman fell at His feet. In the humility of her love, her eyes were opened and she knew Him. Amen.

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TWO FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH 1918

TWO FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH       Rev. R. W. BROWN       1918

     ANNUAL ADDRESS TO THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     (Continued from NEW CHURCH LIFE, September, 1918.)

     In connection with the general teaching that interior things may be laid open by natural truths, by means of which conflicting ideas may be thrown off, and doubts healed, I wish to quote a passage from, the Fragment on the Soul. The passage does not refer directly to the healing of doubts respecting revelation. It refers to the healing of corresponding doubts respecting theories in regard to the soul, and has a particular bearing upon the type of scholastic authority to which we have already referred. "Wherever the mind turns," says Swedenborg, "it finds some occult barrier opposed to it. . . . Philosophy is stuffed with occult qualities and with nothing else, and aims to overwhelm the mind and blunt the intention. . . . But if the streams be thus arrested, and if we are to fly at once into the arms of ignorance as a refuge, ... then we must give up all' hope of borrowing any light at any time from: science and scientific experience, and of penetrating the causes of things or attaining wisdom. Moreover we must submit to the yoke of authority, and be sold into slavery, until the mind and philosophy almost lose the recollection of breathing the free and pure air of heaven. With the view, at the present day, [of demolishing the systems and inventions of the ancient: philosophers], we have attempted to decorate the entire stage with experiments and phenomena, and to proffer the torch and light the way; simply that occult nature may be drawn from its abyss and den of refuge in human ignorance; because we are ashamed of living any longer in the spectral darkness of the ancients. On this account we endeavor to elicit all kinds of knowledge from experience, and to bathe our eyes in healing waters, to clear them of those specks and clouds that cover the pupil and obscure our sight. And even though we fail, yet are we supported by the hope that at any rate our children's children, by our industry and effort, will enjoy the introspection denied to ourselves, and see deeper than we into nature, and the occult sphere of causes; inasmuch as we transmit to them numerous means and indications of knowledge, like blazing torches in the night of ignorance; and leave them our possessions for an inheritance."

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(Posthumous Tracts, tr. by Wilkinson, pp. 120-121.) Compare with this the signification of "the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations." It is explained that even those who are in evils and falsities and do not read the Word, if they have sound judgment, can be healed by rational truths. (A. R. 936.)

     But how may doubts respecting the Word of revelation be solved by means of the sciences; how may the Word, such as it is in its internal sense, or in its interiors, be laid open by natural truths, and conflicting ideas be thrown off? Such an idea interests us, and not alone because it indicates that the sciences have a very intimate part to play even in intellectual religious life, contrary to a very common opinion that the sciences are not essential to the life of religion; Such an idea also demands our attention because at first glance it appears to be inconsistent with the teaching that it is impossible to enter into spiritual things by means of the sciences. I am inclined to think that the apparent inconsistency arises from our ignorance of the sciences, and of the part that a wise Providence intends they should play as a foundation of truth. Ignorant of the sciences, we would be unable to gain a full appreciation of their use.

     If I mistake not, the answer to the apparent inconsistency is given many times over in the Writings, as also in Swedenborg's philosophical works. It is contained in the so-oft repeated statement, that it is impossible to enter into the mysteries of faith by science,* natural philosophy, or natural theology.** The mysteries of faith are those cognitions of spiritual and Divine things which it is impossible for men to become cognizant of except through revelation.***

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This does not necessarily mean that there are no knowledges and conclusions in regard to spiritual and Divine things which man may arrive at through the exercise of his reason when grounded in the two foundations of truth,-the Ward and nature, or revelation and experience, or doctrinals and sciences. "It should be rightly understood," as stated in S. D. 2301, "what is meant by entering into spiritual things by means of natural philosophy, namely, that it is never forbidden to confirm; the verities of faith and spiritual things by means of the things which are in nature, because all things have a correspondence; for then truth rules, and natural truths serve to confirm it. Human minds are such that they acknowledge spiritual things better in this manner, for no one can have any idea of purely spiritual things except by means of those things which are in the world; yea, the words by which the senses (of things) are expressed, the ideas thereof are material; for then the Lord, who is truth itself, leads and inflows, and thus illumines the mind by means of confirmatory things. But to believe nothing, or to acknowledge no spiritual truth, as not even heaven, angels, spirits, the life after death, and many more things, except one sees and perceives them by means of natural philosophy, or as they say, unless they have been demonstrated to their senses, this is altogether forbidden."
     * A. C. 233, 8636, 1072, 1462, 939116, 301-302. S. D. 2725-2727, 3572, 155, 34642299-2300. E. A. K. 1:297-8. Fibre, 268.
     ** Infinite, pp. 85-86.
     *** The mysteries of faith which cannot be penetrated, S. D. 1595, 1600-91, 1291, 2781, 3386. A. C. 206, 1676. T. C. R. 508e. Princ. I. ch. i:4 (Clissold, p. 35).

     In over-emphasizing what is said in the last quotation and elsewhere of the value of the sciences as confirmatory, we are apt to lose sight of other services which the sciences are shown to involve. It is very clear from many teachings in the Writings, and these confirm similar teachings in Swedenborg's philosophical works, that mere confirmation is not the only use of the sciences, for it is frequently said that the spiritual mind is opened by means of the sciences, and even that man actually enters into certain spiritual knowledges and doctrinals by means of them. It is only into the mysteries of faith that man cannot enter through the sciences, unless it be granted in Divine Providence that his spiritual eyes be consciously opened, and that he be gifted with the type of perception enjoyed by the most ancients. Even in this case the greatest of all mysteries-the existence and nature of God-could not be known except by revelation from God Himself, who is above the apprehension even of the angels themselves.

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The mysteries of faith can only be confirmed through nature and science. It is therefore said, as already quoted, that it is altogether forbidden to believe nothing concerning heaven, and concerning God, except one sees them by means of natural philosophy. Natural philosophy, or rational truth derived from nature, is of itself unable to reveal them.

     As expressed in the treatise on the Infinite, reason or "Natural Theology must proffer her hand to revealed theology where the meaning of revelation seems doubtful; and revealed theology must lend her guidance to rational theology when reason is in straits. For revealed and natural theology can never be contrary to each other, if the latter only be truly rational and does not attempt to penetrate into the mysteries of infinity, in which case it is not truly rational" (p. 85-6). How science and philosophy may lend a helping hand is indicated in many places. Speaking of the Doctrine of Representations and Correspondences in the Animal Kingdom, Swedenborg says that so completely do the things throughout nature correspond to supreme spiritual things, "that one would swear that the physical world was purely symbolical of the spiritual world. Insomuch that if we choose to express any natural truth in physical and definite vocal terms, and only to convert these terms into the corresponding spiritual terms, we shall by this means elicit a spiritual truth or theological dogma, in place of the physical truth or precept, although no mortal would have predicted that anything of the kind could possibly arise by hare literal transposition; inasmuch as the one precept, considered separately from the other, appears to have absolutely no relation to it." (A. K. 293, note n.)

     In no. 463, note (f), of the same work, Swedenborg states "that we may arrive by means of comparison at some knowledge of these things that are above the sphere of our mind; for without the ideas insinuated and coming up through the external senses, we cannot possibly conceive those things that are above ideas; in fact, these must in a manner be attached to some sensual idea, before they can come to the sight of the understanding."

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     So fundamental a part of philosophy did Swedenborg consider this analytical method of arriving not only at a knowledge of the invisible things of creation, but also at certain knowledges of spiritual and Divine things, that he conceived it to be a universal mathesis. In the Hieroglyphic Key he even reduced this mathematical philosophy to a simple equation which, he adds, contains "the first rudiments of that universal mathesis." In this connection he says, "That from the world we can be instructed concerning the Divinity, is confirmed by the Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans, ch. i, ver. 19-20: "That which may be known concerning God is manifest in Him; for God hath made it manifest to them. The invisible things of God from the foundation of the world, being perceived from the things which He hath made, are clearly seen, even His eternal power and divinity, to the end that they may be without excuse."

     Similar principles have been enunciated, though not so completely, by the greatest philosophers of all ages. Indeed, philosophy in its most eminent sense is the fruit of the highest development of human reason, resting upon the two foundations of truth, the Word and nature, or revelation and experience.

     But let us consider further what revelation itself teaches in regard to these principles, and particularly in regard to the problem that knowledges and conclusions as to spiritual things may be drawn from; nature, experience, or science. In the first place, it is said in A. C. 4760 that scientifics are to be consulted in regard to Divine Truth, and further that "to consult scientifics concerning Divine Truth, is to see from them whether it be so; but this is done in one way by those who are in the affirmative that truth is truth, and in another way by those who are in the negative; when the former consult scientifics they confirm the truth by them, and thus corroborate faith; but when the latter consult scientifics they cast themselves the more into falsities." By consulting scientifics to see whether Divine Truth be so, I understand consulting scientifics to learn whether one's own or some one's else interpretation of the truth be correct or not, and not from any doubt of Divine Truth itself, except with those who are called negative.

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     Note again what is said in regard to drawing conclusions "from the facts of experience" in Last Judgment (Post.), n. 315: "But the things which we have hitherto said concerning degrees and atmospheres are, for the most part, theoretical; but all theoretical things should be drawn and concluded from the facts of experience, and also be confirmed by them. For unless the facts of experience as it were lead the hand of man in coming to conclusions, he may be deceived in theoretical things, and from some imaginary hypothesis be carried away into false principles entirely opposed to what is true, which he can then confirm, by fallacies and appearances of every kind; for false principles may be confirmed by appearances and fallacies to such a degree, that a man may believe that they are truths themselves. I wish, therefore, now to produce some facts of experience, by which not only what has been said may be confirmed, but also by which everyone who is in the light of the mind, or who has natural ability, may draw conclusions as to many other things."

     In the light of these teachings the reference which Swedenborg makes to the Lord's having introduced him first into the natural sciences, and thus preparing him from the year 1710 to 1744, is significant. "Every one also" he adds, "is led by means of natural things to spiritual things. (Letter to Oetinger. Tafel, Doc. 232.) Similar statements are made elsewhere, (compare Influx n. 20), as in Adversaria 2:839, where he says, "What the acts of my life had involved I have been taught afterwards as to some of them, nay, as to many of them, from which I could at last clearly see that the tenor of the Divine Providence has ruled the acts of my life from adolescence itself, and thus has governed, so that at last I arrived at this end, that I could understand through the knowledges of natural things, and could thus, of the Divine mercy of God Messiah, serve as an instrument for opening the things which lie inmostly concealed in the Word of God Messiah."

     In D. L. W. 412, after speaking of the general correspondence of the heart and lungs with the will and understanding, it is said, "Many more things may be uncovered (or discovered) from, the structure of the lungs compared with the understanding, to which, it corresponds; but as the science of anatomy is known to few, and to demonstrate or to confirm anything by means of things unknown, places the things in obscurity, it is not permitted to say more concerning these things.

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From my knowledge of the structure of the lungs I am fully convinced that love through its affections conjoins itself to the understanding." (See A. C. 5715.)

     Similar statements occur elsewhere, showing how conclusions in regard to spiritual things may be drawn from the knowledges not only of the animal kingdom but also of the other kingdoms of nature. For instance, in respect to the knowledge of the vegetable kingdom, it is stated that "Such is the representative similitude between the fruit-bearing tree and the man who is regenerated, that from a tree may be learned how the case is with regeneration, if so be something be previously known concerning spiritual good and truth." (A. C. 5115.) It is unnecessary to multiply instances of this sort, since they are so numerous and familiar. All I wish to emphasize is the teaching they involve in regard to the opening of the mind to particular and extended spiritual knowledges, and to spiritual enlightenment, with those who already have a general knowledge of spiritual things.

     Philosophically considered, the practical significance of the doctrine of correspondences-called the science of sciences-rests in the basis which it furnishes for the discovery of new truths, both on the natural plane and on the spiritual. Knowing that everything in nature corresponds to something in the spiritual world, whenever some new fact or law or rational truth is discovered, it logically follows that the mind begins to search for the spiritual correspondent. In this manner the rational mind is opened more and more, and the way prepared for entering into spiritual knowledges and applications before undreamed of. The Principles and method of this unfolding by means of the science of correspondences is very fully treated of in the Writings, especially in regard to the letter of the Word. The same principles apply to all correspondences, thus to all those of the natural world, the theater representative of the spiritual. This was what Swedenborg had primarily in view as the purpose of the universal mathesis, or mathematical philosophy of universals, as is clearly shown in the Hieroglyphic Key, which is the key to the interpretation of invisible and spiritual things by means of visible and natural ones, thus by the doctrine of correspondences.

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The treatise contains an exposition of the principles and rules for applying this key or principle of interpretation. As already stated, Swedenborg reduces the fundamental rudiments of the doctrine of correspondences, or the mathematical philosophy of universals, to a simple equation, and shows that this provides a working basis for the discovery of new truths.

     In a meeting of the clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, it is unnecessary to emphasize the importance of the prime foundation of truth-the Word or Revelation. We stand as a unit on the authority of the letter of the Word and of the Writings. In this stand is our greatest strength, yet it may also be our weakness. I believe it is oar strength in so far as it involves at the same time a recognition of the second foundation of truth-nature, and science from nature. On the other hand, I am convinced through the teaching of revelation, and through all experience past and present, that it involves a weakness in so far as it ignores the place of nature and science as a means by which interior things may be laid open, and conflicting ideas thrown off. The tendency of ecclesiastical bodies is always to be rather conservative in their attitude towards the sciences, and that is as is should be, because religion is focused upon spiritual life, and because the church realizes that when the loves of self and of the world become the prime ends of life, and when the sciences are regarded as the sole foundation of truth, that the sciences then becomes the means of totally closing the mind to spiritual things. Yet even here it is clear that the sciences are no more responsible for the closing of the mind than the letter of Revelation may be responsible for the closing of the mind. It is the attitude of mind which is responsible. The church which loses sight of the place of science as fundamental, second only to revelation, is doomed. The development of rational faith based on the authority of revelation without the counteracting influences which Providence provides through the sciences is impossible.

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This great principle, and its peculiar relation to religious development, has been expounded through the second coming of the Lord, and makes it possible to understand how men are to enter intellectually into the truths of faith, instead of resting on mere authority or blind faith. In great measure the principle is distinctive to the New Church, inasmuch as it has never in the history of mankind received the same religious sanction as in the doctrines of the New Church. Such is my understanding of the teachings of the New Church, summed up briefly in the oft-repeated statement, that as the sciences have closed the understanding so are they to open it. They close or open, the understanding according to the state of the will. The serious question is whether the will seeks the truth, or merely to establish its own interpretation of the truth; is the will affirmative or is it negative?

     If the sciences are so important, one might ask why they are not revealed. The answer is very simple. Such revelation would defeat the whole purpose of the Divine Providence. It would nullify the reciprocal use of the two foundations of truth-the Word and nature. The Lord reveals nothing that man can find out for himself. The Lord reveals the mysteries of faith, which it is impossible for man to find out for himself. He reveals all, that is essential for man to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith, and all that is essential for the development of sound reasoning and a true philosophy concerning Divine, spiritual and natural things. But there are many things, some even in regard to the spiritual world and spiritual life, which are not directly revealed simply because it is possible for man to find them out for himself if his faith is founded upon what is revealed, and if he makes proper use of what is so revealed. We are taught that all truth is revealed in the Lord's Word. We are also taught that it is to be discovered to man through his own efforts. Nature was created primarily to make such efforts possible.

     The Lord at His Second Coming might have revealed the fact that two great planets, Uranus and Neptune, revolved in our solar system beyond the then known planets. But He did not. He might have revealed the cause of gravitation, the most subtle of all nature's forces, which the greatest philosophers of all ages have frankly confessed they could not fathom. But He did not. He might have revealed the existence of the eighty odd chemical elements, only fifteen of which were known to Swedenborg. But He did not.

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He might have revealed thousands upon thousands of facts and natural laws or truths which have been discovered even since the time of His Second Coming. But He did not. And why did He not reveal them? In the first place because He had already revealed them; in creating the world in the manner in which it was created. The Divine book of nature is complete, and open wide. In the second place, in the degree that the Lord forestalled the discoveries of men by revealing in any other manner the things which men can find out for themselves, in that degree men would cease to think for themselves, would take all things on mere authority, would be impelled to believe that their human rendering of revealed truth was the Divine Truth itself. The power of the clergy would become tyrannical, dogmatism would prevail, man, would lose the God-given basis of human freedom and rationality.

     The universal law of Divine Providence is, that "If man knew the effect or event from Divine prediction, his reason would cease to act, and with reason his love." (D. P. 178.) This universal law logically includes the revelation of all natural facts and conclusions which are within the sphere of human effort guided by the revelation of such knowledges and truths as man can never arrive at except through revelation.

     The purpose of revelation is primarily to disclose those spiritual things which men cannot find out for themselves, and such revelation, since it must he clothed in forms that can be understood by men, makes use of the knowledges that are derived from man's experience, and from his reasoning as if from himself. The formula of revelation is: It is known to man from experience that such and such a thing is true, this illustrates how the case is in spiritual things. As compared with the important scope and context of the sciences the actual amount of science unfolded in revelation is not extensive. This is in accordance with what appears to be the general law of both in respect to revelation, and in respect to science. Revelation is primarily concerned with the cognitions and doctrinals, or if you will, with the facts and sciences of spiritual things.

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The sciences or laws of natural things are used by way of illustrations, based on the fact that nature is a theater representative of spiritual things; The student of revelation may be struck by the providential selection of the materials of science in the revealed Word. It would appear that the scientific ideas made use of in revealing spiritual truths are for the most part very general in their nature, and that those scientific knowledges derived from the experiences and reasonings of men, and especially from Swedenborg himself as a man, are the very knowledges that have been borne out by later experience. There are apparent exceptions, but even these serve the Divine end of preserving the rational mind in freedom. What revelation, and especially the revelation to the New Church, is particularly insistent upon is the use of the sciences, their actual development being left to men upon whom the responsibility of this development is incumbent.

     With these ideas in mind I believe we call realize the Divine purpose in Swedenborg's scientific and philosophical preparation for his mission, and the full significance of his science and philosophy as a basis for the development of New Church science and philosophy. The Writings reveal the facts of the spiritual world, the doctrines or sciences of spiritual things, and of the relations of spiritual things with natural. They are concerned only secondarily with the development of the sciences of the natural world. On the other hand, Swedenborg as a man, according to the laws of intellectual development which apply to all men, but at the same time under the special guidance of the Lord, attempted to work out the sciences and a system of philosophy on the basis of experience, guided by revelation, and with the exercise of human reason. There is nothing more essential in this whole system, nothing on which he places more stress, nothing which is in greater agreement with revelation, than the method which he presents for the development of a true science and philosophy.*

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In Swedenborg's production as a man we are presented with a comprehensive method for the development of the science of natural things, just as in the Writings we are presented with a comprehensive method for the development of the science of spiritual things.
     * The method to which I refer, described by Swedenborg as the analytic method, is treated of most extendedly in Principia, ch. i, Means conducing to a True Philosophy; Introduction to E. A. K. Pt. I:nos. 1-28; Prologue to A. K. Pt. I:nos. 1-23; Epilogue to A. K. Pt. II:nos. 458-466 and notes; Preface to Rational Psychology, Way to a Knowledge of the Soul in Posthumous Tracts; Introduction to Brain; E. A. K. nos. 208-218; Words for the New Church, vol. I, Science and Philosophy in the Light of the New Church, pp. 279-329, 371-446, 477-570. The last reference contains an excellent summary of the teachings in the Writings on the subject.

      In conclusion, permit me to quote several passages from the final number of the chapter on the Wise and Simple in Heaven, in the work on Heaven and Hell. This chapter treats throughout of the subject on which I have addressed you, and in it we are left in no doubt as to what is meant by the two foundations of truth. It is said that "he who is in faith, and in a life according to faith, is in the power and faculty of becoming wise:" But this power and faculty is not intelligence and wisdom. That "in order for him to become intelligent and wise, it behooves him to learn many things, not only those things which are of heaven, but also those which are of the world; those which are of heaven from the Word by the church, and those which are of the world from the sciences." Again we are left in no doubt as to what is meant by the sciences in this connection, for they pre specifically defined. It is said "that by the sciences are understood experimental things of various kinds, physical, astronomical, chemical, mechanical, geometrical, anatomical, psychological, philosophical, historical, things pertaining to kingdoms, as well as the critical productions and languages of the learned world." Finally we are left in no doubt as to the duty and responsibility of the New Church and New Church education to do everything in its power to develop the sciences in the spirit of preserving the freedom and rationality of the Church, as a means of bringing us face to face with our human limitations in the matter of interpreting and understanding the truths of revelation, and at the same time of making it possible for the New Church to live a spiritual life in the natural world.

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For it is said "that man is made spiritual by cognitions [derived from the Word] and sciences [derived from nature], and that these are the means of becoming wise, but only with those who in faith and life have acknowledged the Divine. Such are they who are accepted before others in heaven, and are among those there who are in the middle, because they are in more light than the rest. These are the intelligent and wise in heaven, who shine as the splendor of the firmament, and who give Fight as the stars. But the simple there are those who acknowledge the Divine, love the Word, and live a spiritual moral life, but the interiors of whose minds have not been cultivated in the same manner by cognitions and sciences." (H. N. 356.)

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FIBRE 1918

FIBRE       Dr. J. B. S. KING       1918

     THE ECONOMY OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM, CONSIDERED ANATOMICALLY, PHYSICALLY AND PHILOSOPHICALLY. By Emanuel Swedenborg. (Transaction III. The Medullary Fibre of the Brain and the Nerve Fibre of the Body; The Arachnoid Tunic; Diseases of the Fibre.) Translated from the Latin and Edited by the Rev. Alfred Acton, M. A., Th. B. Philadelphia: Swedenborg Scientific Association, 1918. Cloth, pp. LXII and 382, $4.00.

     This work of nearly four hundred pages constitutes the third volume of the Economy of the Animal Kingdom, and is uniform in binding and general appearance with the two preceding volumes, which have been accessible to English readers for many years.

     The publication of this third volume will be eagerly welcomed by all lovers of the scientific writings of this remarkable man; it treats of the highest and noblest organs of the human economy-the brain, nerve tracts, including the medulla and the spinal marrow, their membranes and their diseases. We will undertake to say that no one interested in anatomy and the higher reaches of physiology, whether professional or layman, whether of the New Church or of the old, will fail to be interested and even startled by the novel and stimulating views here set forth.

     The brain has always been a puzzle to the anatomist and a terra incognita to the physiologist. Unlike many organs, its structure does not obviously suggest its function, or hint at its mode of operation.

     Take the liver, for an example: it was not difficult to make a good guess at the liver; here was a large parenchymatous organ, which received blood from two sources-venous blood through the Portal Vein, and red blood through the Hepatic Artery. It had a duct, plainly intended for something-not blood-to run through. One could hardly miss seeing that blood entered the liver and was either manufactured into or separated from the dark, greenish, viscid, sluggish fluid that ran through the Hepatic Duct.

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Similarly nature had put her signature upon the Pancreas, and upon the Parotid Gland, in such a way as to indicate something of their functions and mode of operation.

     Not so the brain; the anatomist, looking at those mysterious forms, could derive no hint from the disposition of their fibers as to what function they fulfilled; all he could do was to give them names according to some fancied resemblance. Hence arose such names as Septum Lucidum, Corpora Albicantia, Nates, Testes, Cuneus, and so on. Swedenborg, in this work, treats of these very bodies and tissues, and lucidly, philosophically, and convincingly expounds their functions. We recommend paragraph No. 117a to the attention of the reader as a model of clearness and perspicuity, and very helpful to an understanding of the subsequent disquisition. If the reader is in an affirmative state toward this paragraph, he will understand what follows, but if he denies it, he may as well close up the book. The denial of the function of the fibre, and of the pure animal fluid that gyrates through it, is what keeps the up-to-date scientists halted at the very threshold of true knowledge.

     We once recommended a Nose and Eye specialist to read Swedenborg's account of the Olfactory Bulb, the Cribriform Plate of the Ethmoid, and how the Brain was purified of unprofitable debris by that route. He was totally unimpressed by it, and remarked that the anatomy of the part showed plainly that nothing could pass from the cranial cavity through the Cribriform, there being no duct, tube or opening there, except those in the bone, and they were filled with soft tissues. As a matter of fact, the anatomy of the parts demonstrates to an open mind the very thing which he took them to deny. The broad philosophical view that Swedenborg takes of the human body is very much needed by the scientists of the day; immersed in details, they lose the scope of the whole.

     For three years out of the last four, in a certain society of Eye specialists, there has been a heated discussion going on about a perfectly obvious point, which Swedenborg would have settled in a few moments from general principles.

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The mooted question was as to whether the motion of the eye, from the action of its extrinsic muscles, was an oscillation or a rotation; or, stated differently, when the eye moves in its socket, is the fixed point behind the eye at the Optic Nerve entrance, or is it within the globe? The society was split up into two factions; expensive models, life size and also macroscopic or gigantic, were made by advocates of both sides, but without result. Finally a crucial experiment was made in a blind but mechanically perfect eye of a living subject, with the patient's consent. The globe was transfixed by needles at right angles to each other, and X-ray skiagraphs taken of it in two contrasted positions, so that the fixed point was clearly demonstrated. Instead elf this settling the question, each side stuck to its own opinion, a coolness arose, and many withdrawals from membership. Doubt, confusion, and headstrong opinions like these are inevitable so long as observers are hide-bound to the senses-so long as human functions are limited to the phenomena presented to the senses. When the mind is immersed in details, without general principles to guide, it is almost certain to be led astray. From a few painted Babylonian bricks one might build up forty erroneous theories and conclusions: it is only by knowing something of the Babylonian people, their religion, their history, and their architecture, that the few bricks become a valuable aid in forming a conception of the palace, of which they were but the sorry fragments.

     The reader or student of this work of Swedenborg's will feel his mind lifted above the mere consideration of particular tissues; by the doctrine of series and degrees, by the doctrine of forms and motions, everywhere permeated and informed by faith, and reverence for the wisdom of the Almighty, Swedenborg penetrates the hidden recesses of the human economy, discovering its poles, its axes, its parts, and giving to each its true province and function.

     The Economy of the Animal Kingdom was never completed; the XVth chapter of the Diseases of the Fibre is headed as to subjects, but the MS. ends abruptly. Swedenborg was a man who thought out loud for many years; the thinking and the writing was really more for his own state than for any reader; under the unknown guidance of Providence, his mind was being filled with material useful for the revelation that was soon to be made.

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Swedenborg did not realize, this; before a book was finished, the use of that train of thought was fulfilled, and he was hurried along to something else. But in the meanwhile the thinking aloud, was accorded, and stands for the use and benefit of those interested in such subjects.

     It is a work to be studied rather than read, to be chewed and digested, not skimmed over. We recommend this new volume to the scientific classes that are carried on at the various local centers of the General Church, as an, enlightening and interesting subject for next winter's study.

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VARIETY OF FIBRES 1918

VARIETY OF FIBRES              1918

     EXTRACT FROM THE WORK ON THE FIBRE.

     245. In the whole system, there is not a single fibre, still less any fascicle of fibres, and still less again any nerve, which in respect to all its accidents, is wholly similar to any other. Moreover, in the single subjects or individuals of the animal kingdom, they are so varied that there is not a fibre, fascicle or nerve in one which is absolutely similar or equal to that in another. Nay, if there were myriads of earths, and if in each earth myriads of inhabitants were born every moment, yet, in this perverted state, there could never be a fibre of one exactly similar to that of another in respect to character, nexus, form, determination, anastomoses; that is to say, in respect to all essentials and accidents. This is confirmed by the marvelous variety which we find in individuals, in whom the single parts of each member are just as distinguishable from each other, as the individuals themselves are distinguishable by their outward appearance. For we are born, not only into the mingled form of both our parents, but also into their animus and habits. The animus of the mother is changed times without number in the space of a few days or hours; and a similar change flows into the fibrous and nervous system, wherefrom the form and the imaginative force of the pregnant woman is derived into the body of the embryo, which is marked in due conformity thereto. To these also are added changes arising from constant variations in our own animus.

     248. Moreover, the fibres and their fascicles and nerves are changed by time. For in first infancy they are in the utmost integrity, soft, almost fluid, obedient to the laws of their nature, and unanimous. Principles do not then wage war with affections, nor affections with effects; for then is the time of the Golden Age, and the kingdom is ruled by Astraea. But as we decline through our periods even to old age, the fibres and their fascicles and nerves, grow obsolete, become hard, resistant, disobedient to nature, discordant. Principles then wage war with affections, and affections with effects. Then is the time of the Iron Age, and the kingdom is ruled by the Furies, together with the rest of the Plutonian crew. Thus we grow weaker every moment, and are snatched away to death.

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TRANSPORT SAILS 1918

TRANSPORT SAILS              1918

Today my heart sets sail. This trembling heart,
That ne'er before has ventured far beyond
The encircling walls of home and love, fares out
Aghast, upon a waste of treacherous waves,
Beneath whose crested tops of glittering white
Lurks death, with cruel eyes and venomed fangs.

O heart of mine, be brave to know' and bear
All things which must be borne by his stout heart,-
His heart of steel, which once, short years ago,
Beat close beneath thee, feeble, small and weak;
And follow, follow on, by dark and day,
Across the long leagues of that lonely sea,
Until, God willing, loom the shores of France,
Before his eager, waiting, boyish eyes.

So young to go,-but steadfast, unafraid.
Did I not teach him early to fear naught
In all the world except to do a wrong?
He cannot fear who fights for truth and right.
And I must stay with him in steadfastness,
Girding my spirit to be brave as his.

Down every dark rough road of march he treads,
My soul shall walk beside. I shall be near,
Feeling the cold wet dews of dawn that wash
His sleeping upturned face and soft brown hair.
I shall hear with him all the noise of war,-
The awful roaring of our rescuing guns,
Answering the thunders of the enemy;
See the sad, ravaged lands he goes to save,
Their little children, homeless, poor and weak.

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I shall sit by him when he rests, or plays
A little, watching him at common tasks
Which come to all, ev'n there, like the soft lights
Of morn against a weary night of war.
And on a day when he does valorously
Some noble deed, as soldiers strive to do,
Exult for him, who will not for himself.

Sick, wounded, lonely, dreaming of his home,
Far-reaching love may make the dream seem true.
In prison,-at that word my spirit quails,-
I cannot speak it, Lord, unmingled with
A prayer to Thee, who came on earth to save
The sons of men, and lay, a little child,
Upon Thy mother's breast. Be Thou a rock,
To shield him from the horrors of that hell,
And hold me up, to stand until the end.

If he must fall that our great land may live,
Heart, be thou strong to bear with him that day
His battle agony of blood and death;
Strong to die with him on his glorious field,
And rise with him into a land of peace,
A new land for his service and his love,
Where death is but another name for life.

O Lord, the God of Battles, who didst give
     To men immortal life, and deathless love
Of freedom, in Thy power and might alone
     My weak, home-keeping heart embarks today

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GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY 1918

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY              1918

     The following article appeared in The New Church Repository and Monthly Review, for September, 1850, a periodical conducted by Professor George Bush, M. A.

     BOREAL WORSHIP IN THE SPIRITUAL AND THE NATURAL WORLD-STRIKING COINCIDENCE.

     The objectors to the revelations of Swedenborg, vouchsafed for the benefit of the Lord's New Church, are prone to insist upon the incredibility and absurdity of the Memorable Relations. The following among these has been made the butt of much contemptuous ridicule on the part of opponents, such as Dr. Pond and others, although the reply uniformly urged is that in all cases they are founded upon and to be interpreted by the principle of Correspondence, which, when strictly analyzed will always be found to disclose some analogy in the natural sphere affording an adequate basis for the representations in question. In the Relation before us the scope is evidently to set forth a species of worship abounding in the outward form, but lacking entirely in vital heat and life. In the appended letter, taken from the foreign correspondence of a secular paper, and giving an account of a visit to a church in Berlin, we have nearly a counterpart to the spiritual scenery portrayed in the vision. The one may at any rate be made an illustrative offset to the other.

     MEMORABLE RELATION.

     "In the spiritual world there are climates and zones as well as in the natural world; there is not anything given in the latter which is not also in the former; but they differ in origin. In the natural world the varieties of climates are according to the distances of the sun from the equator; in the spiritual world they are according to the distances of the affections of the will, and thence of the thoughts of the understanding, from true love and true faith; all the things there are correspondences of these. In the frigid zones in the spiritual world there appear similar things as in the frigid zones in the natural world; the lands there appear bound up by ice, and likewise the waters, and also snow upon them. Those come thither and dwell there who in the world had lulled their understandings to sleep by indolence in thinking about spiritual things, and who are thence, at the same time, indolent about doing any uses; they are called boreal spirits.

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Once I was seized with a desire of seeing some country in the frigid zone where those boreal spirits were; and therefore I was led in the spirit to the north, even to a region where all the land appeared covered with snow, and all the water congealed with ice. It was the day of the Sabbath; and I saw men, that is, spirits, of a similar stature to men in the world, but, on account of the cold, they were clad as to the head with the skin of a lion, whose mouth had been applied to their mouth; but as to the body, before and behind, as far as above the loins, they were covered with the skins of leopards; and as to the feet with the skins of bears. And also I saw many riding in chariots, and some in chariots carved in the shape of a dragon, whose horns were extended forwards. Those chariots were drawn by little horses whose tails had been cut off; they were running like terrible wild beasts, and the driver, holding the reins in his hands, was continually impelling and urging them on their course. I saw, at length, that the multitudes were flocking to a temple, which, because it was covered with snow, had not been seen. But the keepers of the temple were loosening the snow, and by digging were preparing an entrance for the worshipers who had arrived; and they descended, and entered. It was given me also to see the temple within; It was illuminated with lamps and candles in abundance; the altar there was of hewn stone, behind which there was hanging a tablet, on which it was written, THE DIVINE TRINITY, FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT, WHO ESSENTIALLY ARE ONE GOD, BUT PERSONALLY THREE."-T. C. R. 185

     LETTER.

                         Berlin, April 2, 1850.
     I have only been able to find out two churches in the city which are heated. In the list of services, which is published every Saturday, so that any one can know at what hours and where services are to be held, and who is to preach, if any church is heated, it is specified with care as an exception, and is an extraordinary circumstance. I was anxious on one occasion, in the winter, to hear a celebrated preacher, and ventured to make the trial-it was on a raw, cold day-but the fame of the man called out a large congregation (large for Berlin, say 400 people). There was no fire, and never had been one in the church-the pavements were of stone and the walls very thick. I braved it out through the sermon, but I never came so near freezing in my life. When I went out doors it was like passing from a cold to a warm room, it was so much colder in the church. The congregation were wrapped up to their eyes in cloaks and overcoats, and looked like so many half-frozen people; and whether a ray of warmth penetrated to them from the sermon, I could not tell. This is truly a specimen of what can be seen any day in all the churches.

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I have been in ten of the principle ones in the city during services, not to remain, but for the purpose of looking at the monuments for a few minutes; they were all but one so cold that I was afraid to stand even 15 minutes with my hat off, for fear of taking cold. It is difficult to imagine more gloomy looking places than these churches; after seeing them, one feels like taking back a great deal that he may have said against the extravagance of our people in making churches so very comfortable.

     I have been like a pilgrim several times to visit the oldest church in the city, and to gaze at the monuments of the past collected there; but it is so horribly cold that at this season one's imagination, like his blood, sinks to zero, and you run for your life. In summer they must be delightfully cool and pleasant, though still dangerous places to remain long in. The only reason the Germans give for this extraordinary state of things is the same answer they give on other occasions,-that their ancestors were able to endure the cold, and therefore the present generation ought to do the same. Of course, this is all wrong. If there was any life, any strength in the religious denominations, they would endeavor to make their places of worship as comfortable as possible, in order to bring many within hearing of the Gospel. They know how to manage with their theaters and concert rooms; and where one lavishes his treasures he shows pretty clearly where his affections are.

     The King announced his determination in his last speech to "serve the Lord with his whole house." One might ask him most respectfully whether he thought the theatre or the church the proper place to show the sincerity of his professions. He is not inclined to freeze to death himself in church, and has a partition put up in the gallery of the cathedral, opposite the pulpit, along the front of which are sliding windows, the same as one sees at a green-house, and a small stove with a fire is placed in it to bring up the temperature to the neighborhood of 60 degrees. Down below, the congregation are sitting wrapped up as usual, and probably imagining that they crucify the flesh by this exhibition of their powers of endurance. In the theater the King has a magnificent box, trimmed with gold and purple, and made comfortable by every appliance of modern skill. The opera house is said to be the finest in Europe. If there are any churches more cold and dismal in Europe than a large majority in Berlin, I should like to see them.-Query, which stands first in the affections of the King and the people, the church or the theater!

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918

     SEEMING CONTRADICTIONS.

     One has not to look far in the Writings for passages that appear to contradict one another, and the same may be said of the Scriptures. Yet in all cases the one and ever-consistent Divine Truth lies within the literal forms, which, on superficial examination, manifest discrepancies. There can be no real contradiction in Divine Revelation. Appearances of such are dispelled when the interior light of Divine Doctrine is brought to bear upon them. And this light falls into the understanding when universal truths are taken from Revelation itself to guide the rational in its interpretation. Sometimes two conflicting passages in the Writings are reconciled by a third, which either connects the two or contains the universal idea that embraces them both. Often a wide collation of statements is necessary to a harmonizing of all points at variance. But it is not to be expected that we of this age should be able to solve all difficulties of interpretation. Many must be left for future solution. The very worst form of procedure is to force an explanation where none as yet clearly appears.

     Of the seeming contradictions in the Scriptures the Writings have to say:

     "The literal sense of the Word is for the simple, for those who are being initiated into the interior truths of faith, and for those who do not grasp interiors. For it is written according to the appearance before the sensual man, thus according to his grasp. Hence it is that in the literal sense there often appear things dissimilar and as it were contradictory to each other, as for example, when it is said that the Lord leads into temptation, and elsewhere that he does not; that the Lord repents, and elsewhere that He does not repent; that the Lord acts from anger and wrath, and elsewhere that He acts from pure clemency and mercy; that souls are brought to judgment immediately after death, and elsewhere that this is done at the time of a last judgment;" and so on. (A. C. 9025.)

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Again,

     "Some things appear like contradictions, when yet in the Word, regarded in its own light, there is no contradiction." (S. 51.)

     The formula for reconciling these apparent discrepancies in the Scriptures need hardly be repeated here. It involves a comparison of passages, and the consulting of correspondences, in the light of Doctrine. "By means of Doctrine the Word is not only understood, but also shines in the understanding. For Doctrine is like a candlestick with lights lit. A man then sees more than he had seen before, and also understands what he had not before understood; obscure and discordant things he either does not see, and passes by, or he sees and explains them so that they agree with Doctrine." (T. C. R. 227.)

     As examples of apparent contradiction in the Writings we present herewith two passages, one of which seems to recommend a Simple faith, ignorant of philosophical and scientific truths, while the other points out the indispensable value of such truths in the pursuit of wisdom and for the confirming of faith. To quote:

     "It is better to be ignorant of all things, and simply to believe that the Lord's life inflows into all and single things, and that His Providence rules all and single things, than to give oneself up to the exploration of such matters. It is better not to know; for if men desire this knowledge they launch out into a boundless field; just as in my own case, when I wished merely to know how the actions of the muscles bear relation representatively to the ideas of thought, and to the endeavors and forces of the will, I at first labored for many years to ascertain the applications of the lungs to the single acts, afterwards those of the muscles, of the motive fibers, the nerve fibres, and the connection and disposition of them all; how actions resulted from the fluxion of the brains, as when the tendinous fibres draw now backward, now obliquely, now into a gyre; and so on; when yet the action does not exist according to those things, and to explore them all would be a labor of many years, and still scarcely the generals would be known. Wherefore it is better to know only that the will inflows; still more desirable is this in the things which pertain to the influx of the Lord's life, and His Providence." (D. 4010.)

     On the other hand we read:

     "I spoke with certain spirits who affected me with their weariness at my treating of things interior and indeed unknown, such as things philosophical, and those pertaining to the interior viscera of the human body.

635




     But because the matter is really such, and is true, such things are not to be passed lover in silence, merely because there is scarcely one in a thousand who understands them,-as those seen and heard today concerning the cistern of the chyle. But inasmuch as it cannot otherwise be made manifest what is the state of spirits and angels, therefore they are not to be passed over in silence. For there are those who perceive and love such things, and there are those who admit them although they do not understand them, who see that they confirm universal truths; wherefore such things have been written for these persons, not for others. For I can testify that the angels exquisitely understood such things, the confirmation whereof is deduced from anatomical and philosophical truths, . . . ." (D. 1145.)

     The first of these passages appears to deprecate the investigation of scientific and philosophical truths, while the second teaches their great value. Consider, therefore, a third statement:

     "They who have faith from revelation can confirm it by many things in nature, and thus strengthen (corroborate) their faith. . . . If the things of faith are confirmed by natural verities, which are of the sciences, the faith is strengthened." (D 4758.)

     Third connects the other two, and warrants an interpretation of the meaning of the first,-that it is better to have faith in the Lord's influx and Providence, and simply to believe that the will inflows into the act, than to withhold this faith until one has labored for years to learn from science and philosophy how the influx operates. But, in the light of the other teachings, if one begins from faith, he may confirm and strengthen it by the investigation of science and philosophy. To explore the hidden things of nature is not condemned when it is entered upon with an end of strengthening faith. For Swedenborg's own "labor of many years" in that field began from faith, and was, according to his own frequent declaration, a providential and essential preparation for later reception of interior truths of faith, to be based upon the former, to be illustrated and confirmed by them.

     To take another example of seeming contradiction in the Writings, one might gather from some passages that the angels are in greater light from the Word when it is read by children than when it is read by adults, while from other statements it would appear that the angels are in greater illustration when an enlightened man of the church reads it.

636


To quote:

     "When infants read their Holy Bibles the angels understand or perceive the sense of the Word more clearly than when adults read." (D. 895) "In the literal sense the Word appears scarcely otherwise than something inordinate, but when it is read by man, especially, by an infant boy or girl, by degrees as it ascends it becomes more beautiful and delightful, and at length is presented before the Lord as the image of a man." (A. C. 1871.)

     From these statements, taken alone, we might conclude that the angels would benefit if the Word were read only by children. But consider the following:

     When the judgments and statutes revealed for the Jewish Church in the Old Testament "are read by a Christian man, the Divine things which are in them, and which were represented by them, are apperceived in the heavens, and fill the angels with what is holy; and then, at the same time, by influx from the angels, they likewise fill the man who reads, and still more if the man himself then thinks concerning the Divine things which are in them." (A. C. 89722.)

     "When infants or other pious persons read the Word there are few things which they perceive, but many which the angels perceive indeed the angels perceive things that have never come into the idea of man, since he is in the literal sense, which is relatively obscure, and almost no sense. But it was given me to say to them, that it would be better if man also were at the same time in light. Thus they would make one, and order would be full." (D. 4246.)

     These seem to teach the opposite of the former, but the solution is found in the following:

     "The angels understand the internal sense of the Word better and more fully when infant boys and girls read it than when adults who are not in the faith of charity. The reason was told me, that it is because infant boys and girls are in a state of mutual love and innocence; thus their most tender vessels are almost celestial, and mere faculties of reception, which can be thus disposed by the Lord, although this does not come to their perception except through a certain delight conformable to their genius." (A. C. 1776)

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     Here then is the "key passage." It is because little children are in states of mutual love and innocence that their reading of the Word is said to have greater effect in heaven than the reading of adults,-adults who are not in the faith of charity, but who are in falsities, which are "rejected on the way to heaven, lest anything such should inflow and infest the angels." (T. C. R. 258.) But this cannot be said of the adult man of charity, who is at one with the angels in the light of the internal sense when he reads the Word. "A delight and blessedness inflows from the angels, that is, through the angels from the Lord, with the man who is in the affection of charity when he reads the things of the Word, and more so when he believes that there is what is holy therein, and still more when he grasps something of what is contained in the internal sense." (A. C. 4027.)
"NEW JERUSALEM MENNONITES." 1918

"NEW JERUSALEM MENNONITES."       Editor       1918

     So long as new receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines are not well instructed as to the distinctiveness of the New Church, and led to ultimate their separation from the old sects by baptism on entering the New Church, we may expect, as the inevitable fruit, such attempts at conglomeration as the one involved in the above caption. It will be seen from a communication published elsewhere in this number, that among the Mennonites in the Canadian Northwest who became receivers of the Doctrines some years ago, a clergyman recently has declared that he is a "duly ordained and authorized minister of the New Jerusalem Community of the Denomination of Christians called Mennonites." That the name of the New Church should thus be coupled with a sect of the vastate church is a grievous thing, and we cannot suffer it to pass without a solemn protest. For it is an utterly unwarranted use of the name of the New Church, and a gross misrepresentation of its true character.

     The act, however, is a powerful confirmation of the reasons for re-baptism, which was not required of those who are now members of this newly-formed combination. We believe that the great majority of converts from the old sects, if rightly instructed as to the distinctiveness of the New Church, would ardently desire and spontaneously seek, not only complete separation from; their former affiliation, but also baptism into the New Church, which they would regard as a badge of loyalty to the teachings and life of the Church, and a "sign and memorial" of their new faith, their new name.

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And that baptism, in its ultimate power and effect, would then be a source of strength to them in times of infestation. When both the proper instruction and the baptismal requirement are omitted, it becomes a case of the "blind leading the blind, and both fall into the ditch."

     There is no valid excuse for this omission, for the Doctrines are explicit as to the need of it. To quote:

     "Because Christianity itself is now first beginning to dawn, and a New Church, which is meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse, is now being established by the Lord, . . . it has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, that this Church may come into the use and fruit of the sacraments, baptism and the holy supper; which is done when men, with the eyes of their spirit, that is, with the understanding, see the holiness which is concealed therein, and apply it to themselves by the means which the Lord has taught in His Word." (T. C. R. 700.)

     "That without a knowledge concerning the spiritual sense of the Word no one can know what the two sacraments, baptism and the holy supper, involve and effect." (T. C. R. 667.)

     "Who does not see, if he is willing to see, that there is what is Divine in that institution [baptism], which has hitherto been concealed, because the spiritual sense of the Word was not before revealed? And this has been revealed at this day because the Christian Church, such as it is in itself, is now first commencing; the former Church was Christian in name only, but not in reality and essence." (T. C. R. 668.)

     The latter two declarations, coming at the beginning of the chapter on Baptism, show unmistakably what is meant by the term "Christian Church" throughout the chapter, which treats not of baptism into that Church which was "Christian in name only," but of baptism into the New Christian Church, where alone the spiritual sense is revealed and known. We are well aware that the import of this introductory and qualifying statement of the chapter is ignored or twisted by those who have regarded re-baptism as non-essential, and who have so instructed new receivers of the Doctrines, many of whom, if they were to read that chapter without previous bias, would ask to be introduced into the New Church by the gate of baptism.

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     Lacking that definite instruction, and its associated baptismal requirement, it is to be expected that they will not realize what "baptism involves and effects," namely, that it involves separation from their old sect in faith and life, thus in name, and that it effects an actual insertion among true Christians in the spiritual world, according to the further teaching:

     "That not only infants, but also all, are inserted by baptism among Christians in the spiritual world, because peoples and nations in that world are distinguished according to their religions. . . . In the spiritual world all things are most distinctly arranged. On the distinct arrangement there the preservation of the whole universe depends, and this distinction cannot be effected unless everyone, after he is born, be known by some sign, indicating to what religious company he belongs; for without the Christian sign, which is baptism, some Mohammedan spirit, or some one of the idolaters, might apply himself to Christian infants newly born, and also to children, and infuse into them an inclination for his religion, and thus draw away their mind and alienate them from Christianity, which would be to distort and destroy spiritual order." (T. C. R. 678.)

     If, then, baptism effects these things, inserting both infants and adults among those of their own distinct societies in the spiritual world, preserving and protecting them from the infestation of other spirits, it is clear that these effects are lacking with those who have been admitted to the New Church without baptism. We realize that baptism, will not be a protection to the adult who does not regenerate, and also that the well-instructed man, who has acquired spiritual strength by resistance in temptation, has protection even if not baptized. But the truth remains that those who have been neither baptized nor well instructed as to the distinctiveness of the New Church are lacking in two important means of resisting the infestation that arises from the spirits of their former faith. "Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast: which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God; and I will write upon Him my new name." (Apoc. 3:11, 12.)

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SOUTH AFRICA 1918

SOUTH AFRICA              1918

     From the NEW CHURCH WEEKLY (London), for July 27, 1918, we learn that the Annual Conference of the New Church Mission in South Africa was held at Benoni, Orange Free State, January 25-27, 1918, and was attended by 86 persons, of whom 50 were receivers of the Doctrines. Mr. L. W. F. Keys was present as the Local Representative of the English General Conference, which, by resolution, "on June 19th, 1917, recognized (under the above title) the work being carried on by the Rev. David William Mooki and his associates, from Krugersdorp, Transvaal, as a center, and that it be carried on under the direction of the Foreign and Colonial Missions' Committee." The Conference opened with a sermon by the Superintendent, Rev. D. W. Mooki, on "The Tree of Knowledge-that whosoever eateth of it shall surely die." Considerable business was transacted, and the Conference closed with appropriate services and the Holy Supper.

     Commenting upon the Transvaal movement, the editor of the WEEKLY says in part: "They look to the General Conference; and we think it will be well for that body to take care that no influence enters into this business that might bode ill for future harmony. Those who can read between the lines will understand what we mean perfectly well, in the light of past history. We hereby extend our greetings to our African brethren and counsel them, while conducting their affairs according to their own racial genius, to seek advice from those who have had experience in the Church and are well versed in the knowledge contained in the writings of Swedenborg. We shall follow this movement with interest, carefully note the results, and rejoice at every sign that the Lord is working with them."

     In pleasing contrast to the cryptic suggestiveness of the foregoing editorial are the sentiments expressed by the editor of the NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY, (April, 1918, p. 96), which we quote with due acknowledgments: "It is evident that the 'General Church' are in earnest, and do not intend the Basutoland corner of the 'vineyard' of the Lord's New Church, the responsibility for which, in the Divine Providence, and without any seeking of their own, has been placed upon them, to go uncultivated.

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A rumor has also reached us, in a very round-about way, of steps said to be in preparation for one (at any rate) of the younger 'General Church' ministers from Bryn Athyn going to Basutoland to devote himself exclusively to this great and noble work. If the Conference will do as well in the Transvaal corners of the 'vineyard' in South Africa as the 'General Church' in Basutoland, then the evangelizing of the Gentile races of Africa will have made a genuine start under auspices rich with promise, and may be expected to proceed apace. Here is our English Conference's opportunity at its approaching session. May it rise to the glorious height of it, and take this work in hand in real earnest; not in any spirit of rivalry with the 'General Church'-that is to be earnestly deprecated-but for pure love of the spiritual welfare of the Gentile 'neighbor-!'"
NOTES AND REVIEWS 1918

NOTES AND REVIEWS              1918

     Announcement is made in the JOURNAL OF EDUCATION OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH that during the continuance of the war this publication will be issued annually instead of quarterly, as heretofore. The number for 1918, now to hand, includes the Catalogue of the Schools, with full information concerning the faculties and courses, and the Annual Reports for the year ending last June, which contain much that is of general interest. A copy of the JOURNAL is sent upon application.


     Our readers will be pleased to hear that the Rev. Alfred Acton is now engaged upon a translation of the Adversaria, and has completed a considerable portion of Volume I. Hitherto accessible only to readers of the original Latin, the valuable contents of the Adversaria are unknown to the church at large, except for the portions quoted here and there in the Pott's Concordance, or brought forth occasionally by writers in our journals. But now there is definite promise that before a great while the whole will be available in English. As a foretaste we expect to publish, from time to time, in our pages some of the many striking passages to be found in this work, Mr. Acton having kindly consented to furnish them for this purpose.

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     Our sympathy is extended to the Rev. and Mrs. Glendower C. Ottley, whose three sons have given their lives in the war, all of them officers in the British Army, and grandsons of a distinguished officer of the Indian Army, Major-General C. G. Ottley. From the July number of THE YOUNG NEW CHURCH MAN, (London), we learn that Captain Algernon Ottley, the eldest son, died in the hospital at Boulogne on May 19th, 1915, from wounds received in the second battle of Ypres; that 2nd Lieut. Kendal C. C. Ottley died in a hospital at Zanzibar, E. Africa, on October 31st, 1916, from the effects of tetanus following malaria; while the third and youngest, Lieut. Reginald Benade Glendower Ottley, was killed in action in France on December 23rd, 1917.


     "Everybody reads a little Swedenborg," a professional gentleman once remarked to us. A fact, no doubt, if by "everybody" we understand a "good many." And hence the not infrequent "evidence" of "permeation" found in the books and sermons of the day. Conversing recently with a Methodist, we were agreeably surprised to find' him rather sound in his views on several important matters of doctrine, until he intimated that many years ago he had "read a little Swedenborg." We realized then that we had encountered a prevalent form of "permeation" (or shall we call it "infiltration?")-a form likely to increase as time goes on, owing to the wide distribution of the Writings. But is this inevitable seepage and percolation of New Church ideas with the many who "read a little Swedenborg" to be regarded as the real descent and reception of the New Jerusalem?


     We are moved as with the pleasure of greeting a new friend to welcome the work on The Fibre, just arrived from the press of the Swedenborg Scientific Association. As a first class example of the binder's and printer's art, it makes a dignified impression worthy of its contents.

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A review by Dr. King appears in our present number, but we wish here to speak of two features of the volume which call for special mention,-the Index of Subjects and the Plates. The translator and editor the Rev. Alfred Acton, with much painstaking labor, has furnished a more detailed and exhaustive Index to this work than will be found in any other edition of the philosophical works. In fact, as he states, it is in the nature of a digest of the contents. As such it will be a special aid to students, who must depend to a large extent upon indexes, since we are not yet possessed of a concordance to the philosophical writings of Swedenborg.

     The student will also appreciate the generalizing of subjects, which Mr. Acton has interspersed in a novel way throughout the alphabetical list of particular topics. These latter often are very striking and suggestive, and will appeal to the casual reader, stimulating his curiosity, and producing a desire to look up the passage referred to. Taking a few at random, we may ask, who will not be curious to find out what Swedenborg, in a book dealing with the fibers, has to say concerning Baths, Beer, Bees, Laziness, Oysters, Puppies, Sharks, Strawberries, and Turkey Cocks? For ourselves, we are reserving a choice hour to investigate.

     The five Plates, grouped at the back of the book, are modern reproductions of some that appeared in, the 1719 edition of Leeuwenhoek's Epistolae Physiologicae. As they are often referred to in The Fibre, they have been so placed as to lie open in view of the reader while he is perusing the text, a convenient arrangement that is to be warmly commended.

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WRITINGS AS THE WORD 1918

WRITINGS AS THE WORD       W. H. ALDEN       1918

     Editor NEW CHURCH LIFE:
The enclosed letter is sent you with the writer's consent, and I believe its publication would be useful, since it presents an interesting trend of thought in regard to the important subject he treats of.
     Sincerely yours,
          W. H. ALDEN.

Dear Mr. Alden:
     I have been thinking further about the subject of the Writings as the Word. We have, of course, the explications, such as the Arcana Coelestia, Apocalypse Revealed, Apocalypse Explained, and others, giving the spiritual sense of most of the Old and New Testaments. Then we have the more strictly philosophical works, as Divine Pr/evidence, Divine Love and Wisdom and so on. We have also the more nearly systematic theological works, as True Christian Religion, Four Leading Doctrines, and others. Finally, aside from, the miscellaneous works, we have a great body of descriptive matter relating to the spiritual world, all seen in the spirit by Swedenborg; this, of course, scattered through A. C., T. C. R., and A. R., at the end of the chapters, and elsewhere abundantly, particularly in the Spiritual Diary, Heaven and Hell, Conjugial Love, and Last Judgment.

     Had Swedenborg's descriptions been given in the compact, terse phraseology of the Prophets or Revelation, without explanation, it seems to me we would have had Writings essentially like those of parts of the Scriptures. For they are descriptions of representatives relating to the Lord, to heaven, and to the church. Why, then, do not these parts of the Writings form a new body or portion of the Word within the limits of any definition wide enough to include the Prophets and Revelation?

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     Swedenborg's statement that he wrote nothing that he did not get from the Lord alone is an exact equivalent to-"And the Word of the Lard came to Isaiah," (or to whatever prophet was Speaking), and to John's, "Write, for these sayings are faithful and true."

     The Writings are perhaps not in representative language, though I am inclined to doubt it, as we have the prophecy of a Latin Word in the Latin inscription upon the cross. They certainly give us representative pictures.

     I assume there is nothing new to you in the viewpoint shown herein, and my excuse for writing it is that it has been coming to me with compelling force recently.

     The more I think of it the more it seems to me that the Memorable Relations and the like are of fundamental importance, containing, as they do, facts essential to a comprehension and acceptance of New Church theology. I know they are the most delightful to read.
     Sincerely,
          EDWARD H. NUTTER.
San Francisco, Cal., June 13, 1918.
"THE NEW JERUSALEM COMMUNITY OF THE MENNONITES." 1918

"THE NEW JERUSALEM COMMUNITY OF THE MENNONITES."       F. E. WAELCHLI       1918

Editor NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     In western Canada live a large number of Mennonites, who came from Russia about forty years ago. They were originally from Germany, and had gone from that country to Russia about a hundred years previously, founding large colonies, in which they preserved their German language and customs. They had been induced to go to Russia largely on the promise of exemption from military service for a period of one hundred years, as non-resistance, or pacifism, is an article of the Mennonite faith. At the end of the one hundred years the privilege expired, and so they emigrated in large numbers to western Canada, and also to some of the western States of the United States. Those who came to Canada were guaranteed exemption from military service by the Dominion Government.

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     About the year 1885, a considerable number of these people received the doctrines of the New Church. (See full account in NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1913, p. 620.) There are now four resident clergymen, ordained by the General Convention, ministering to the several societies and the isolated, namely, in the Province of Saskatchewan, the Rev. Messrs. Klaas Peters, John Zacharias, and Henry Peters; and in the Province of Manitoba, the Rev. John Ens. A fifth minister, the Rev. Peter Hiebert, in Saskatchewan, is no longer active. The General Church has been represented in the field by the undersigned, during the summers of the past six years. In most of the work the German language is used.

     During the present war the Canadian Government has fulfilled its pledge to the Mennonites from Russia, and certain of their ministers, after making due declaration, were authorized to grant to those of their faith certificates of immunity. Many of the New Church people, former Mennonites, were dissatisfied because they also could not obtain them; on the part of some there was even talk of returning to the old faith. To remedy this condition, the Rev. Klaas Peters travelled to Ottawa, and there made certain representations to the Canadian Government, as a result of which he, too, was authorized to issue such certificates. What was the nature of the representations made, appears from the papers he issues to those who desire them, wherein he declares that he is "a duly ordained and authorized minister of the New Jerusalem Community of the Denomination of Christians called Mennonites."

     We wish to say for the Rev. Mr. Peters that when he makes solemn declaration that the New Church is [in this community] a sect of the Mennonites, he is declaring what he believes to be the case. We heard him make a similar statement, before the war, at a meeting of the North West Conference of the New Church, in a speech opposing distinctive New Church baptism, and upholding the validity of the Mennonite baptism, which he and others had received.

     Many of the receivers of the Doctrines have obtained from Mr. Peters their certificates of immunity, and among them is also a member of the General Church.

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Their reason for doing this is not, except perhaps in some few cases, that they still hold the Mennonite doctrine of non-resistance. The reason is that they have no zeal for the cause of the Allies in this war.

     It is gratifying to be able to state that in this North West not only the members of the General Church generally, but also some of those who adhere to the Convention, most strongly condemn the whole proceeding; and among them are some who, in the matter of the war, are of the same mind as those who have taken out the papers.

     We can believe that many of those who have obtained the certificates, did so without realizing the seriousness of the step taken,-the denial of the Church involved. When this is brought home to them if their leaders will do this-it may be that they will deeply regret what they have done, and duly repent. We know of one case where such regret has come, and with it the decision not to use the certificate obtained. It is to be hoped that others will be led to do the same.

     Pages of comment might be written on this matter, but to do so would be to sat what all loyal Newchurchmen will think for themselves. Our desire is but to put the facts into print, so that they may stand as a part of the history of the New Church in North Western Canada, and also as an indication of the nature of the results that follow a lack of recognition of the distinctiveness of the New Church.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.
Rosthern, Sask., Can., Aug. 15, 1918.
UNCHARITABLENESS 1918

UNCHARITABLENESS       W. W. WHITE       1918

Editor NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     In what does uncharitableness to the neighbor consist? When one says another is uncharitable, is not that one judging the other's motive, which the Writings teach cannot be done?
     Yours sincerely,
          W. W. WHITE.
Glenbrook, Macclesfield, South Australia, June 9th, 1918.

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     REPLY.

     By way of a brief answer to these questions we would say that as charitableness towards the neighbor consists in being kind and benevolent towards him in all relations, also considerate of his weakness, tolerant of his faults and shortcomings, forgiving his sins, so, uncharitableness consists in not being these things. It is also uncharitable to judge another harshly and severely, thus unjustly. One may do this in saying that another is uncharitable, thus imputing a motive which may not be his. It is not uncharitable to judge justly of another in the moral and civil life, for this is necessary. But to judge of his internal spiritual state, and to condemn it as evil, is contrary to spiritual charity, and may be called uncharitable. In fact, as you say, it cannot be done, because the internal spiritual states of men are known to the Lord alone.

     That some judgment of others is necessary, is indicated in the following teachings:

     "Who does not see that if it were not allowable for a man to judge concerning the moral life of those who dwell with him in the world, society would fall? What would society be, if there were not public judgments, and if every one had not his own judgment concerning another? But to judge of what quality the interior mind or soul in any one is, thus of what quality his spiritual state is, and thence his lot after death, concerning this, because it is known to the Lord alone, it is not allowed to judge. . . . A general judgment, as this, if you are such in internals as you appear in externals, you will be saved or condemned, is conceded; but a particular judgment, as this, You are such in internals, therefore you will be saved or condemned, is not conceded." (CL 523)

     "It is the common opinion at this day that every man is equally the neighbor, and that good is to be done to every one who is in need of help; but it belongs to Christian prudence to scrutinize well the quality of a man's life, and to exercise charity according to that. The man of the internal church does this with discrimination, thus with intelligence; but the man of the external church, because he cannot so well discern, does it indiscriminately." (A. C. 6704)

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     Commenting further upon the subject, we would observe that the terms "charitable" and "uncharitable" do not occur in the letter of the Word or in the Writings, but have come into use among Christians to describe phases of the moral and Christian virtue of charity, and the lack of it. What the common usage is will be evident from the following dictionary definitions:

     Charitableness-exhibiting charity, or Christian love; kindness; benevolence; good will; affection; an act or feeling of affection or benevolence. Liberality or lenience in judging of men and their actions; a disposition that inclines men to put the best construction on the words and actions of others. "The highest exercise of charity is charity toward the uncharitable."- (Buckminster. )

     Uncharitableness-Not charitable; contrary to charity; severe in judging; harsh; censorious.     (Webster.)

     Newchurchmen use these terms in common with others in the Christian world, and with the same meaning, though they may also put into them the ideas they have gained from the Writings, where charity is treated of primarily as a spiritual state of the internal man, something more interior than "charitableness," which is rather to be classed as "morality and benevolence in externals," (T. C. R. 592e, 374), or as "Christian charity." (D. P. 251.) Spiritual charity may be defined as the love of the spiritual truth of the Word, by which a man wills to be actuated in all his relations with the neighbor. Hence we are told that "by loving the neighbor is not meant loving a companion as to his person, but loving the truth which is from the Word, and to love the truth is to will and do the truth." (H.H. 15.) A man then exercises charity with "discrimination and intelligence," and with judgment in the light of truth as to the qualities of others, so far as these can he seen. Hence again we read that "to love the neighbor is not only to will and do good to a companion, a friend, and a good man, but also to a stranger, an enemy, and an evil man; but charity is exercised toward the latter and the former in different ways; towards a companion and friend by direct acts of kindness, towards an enemy and an evil man by indirect acts of kindness, which is done by exhortations, discipline and punishment, and thus corrections." (T. C. R. 407.)

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To the evil man this may appear uncharitable, when yet it is charitable, because it regards and loves his real good.

     But merely natural good is charitable and benevolent toward others without discrimination in the light of spiritual truth, and may often benefit the evil in mistaken kindness. And so the effort to shun this form of charitableness, and to act from rational and spiritual charity, that is, to do good to the neighbor from love and with true understanding, may appear to him as uncharitableness. Spiritual charity, therefore, does not always manifest itself outwardly in benevolence and charitableness, though it is always moved by these sentiments internally, and exhibits them outwardly so far as it is not contrary to prudence and good judgment to do so. On the other hand, a very charitable exterior may be assumed by those who are inwardly imbued with self love, hatred, and ill will, which are the real origins of all uncharitableness. EDITOR.
SPECIAL NOTICE 1918

SPECIAL NOTICE       GILBERT H. SMITH       1918




     Announcements.


     The Chicago District Assembly of the General Church will be held at the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill., October 11th to 13th, inclusive. An especially interesting and useful program is anticipated. All who can arrange to, attend are cordially invited to do so, and to notify the undersigned.
     GILBERT H. SMITH,
          Glenview, Ill.

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     DURBAN, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA.-The 19th of June was celebrated in Durban this year on perhaps a more fitting basis than heretofore, a development which indicates that the instruction received by the laity in previous years is bearing fruit is a more general acknowledgment of the great importance of the day to Newchurchmen. An effort was made at a previous General Meeting to have the day generally recognized by members as a Holy Day, and although this was agreed to, it was found to be impracticable amongst a few of the business men and for some of the children attending secular schools, in which schools unfortunately examinations were being held. Nevertheless a great advance was made, and it is hoped that in future years arrangements will be made well in advance, so that secular engagements will not clash with New Church Day, and the difficulty of observing it as a Holy Day will be overcome.

     At 10 A. M. Divine Service was conducted in the Church by our Pastor. The attendance was gratifying and the whole sphere impressive, the congregation being made up of the enthusiastic adults and all the children who were not engaged in examination. The text of the sermon was from Daniel 7:13-14, and furnished much new instruction on the subject of the Second Advent.

     At 11:15, a special tram having been ordered, the congregation proceeded to the Ocean Beach to picnic for the day. The children, for whose more immediate benefit this function was arranged, reveled in games oil the sand, paddling, and the various amusements common to children of all ages and nations, at the water's edge. Deck chairs for the adults were hired on the grassy front at the higher level, forming the headquarters of the party and the scene of the disappearance of the contents of several hampers at 1 o'clock. This little outing terminated at about 4 P. M.

     At 7 P. M. the Bayley Hall bore an animated appearance, the occasion being a Feast of Charity. Four long tables formed a quadrangle decorated with flowers and viands. The Pastor called upon various member; to read papers bearing on the Doctrine of the Second Advent, after himself giving a stirring address which all appreciated; music, too, was interspersed among the numerous toasts and addresses. The time passed so quickly that it was 11 o'clock almost before anyone had observed the fact, and the enjoyable evening was brought to a close after the minister had made some forceful and earnest remarks upon the Peace of Victory, and a toast to the hope of this had been drunk in absolute silence.

     Great pleasure was expressed by all of the Durban members at the presence throughout the day of Mrs. E. L. Rogers and her two children, Yveline and Norbert, of Kopjes kraal, P. O. Meadows, O. F. S., and at the presence of Mr. and Mrs. de Chazal, of La Mercy, Natal, who attended the service and picnic. It is hoped that next year more visitors will be able to attend.

     The following is the complete program of the Feast of Charity:

1. Toast: The New Church.
2. The Value of Feasts of Charity.
An address by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.
3. Toast: The Nineteenth of June.
4. Piano solo by Miss Cockerell.

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5. What the 19th of June meant to the Angelic Heavens. A paper by Mr. J. H. Ridgway.
6. What the Influence of the Second Coming is on the New Church Family. A paper by Mr. J. D'a. Cockerell.
7. Toast: Conjugial Love.
8. Cello solo by Mr. J. H. Ridgway.
9. What Effect the New Church Teaching has on a Business Man, a Member of the New Church. An address by Mr. Braby.
10. Song by Mr. J. D'a. Cockerell.
11. The Influence of the New Church on our Daily Lives. A paper by Mr. G. L. Pemberton.
12. Recitation by Miss Enid Cockerell.
13. Song by Mr. G. L. Pemberton.
14. The Hope of the New Church among the Nations of the White Race. An address by Mr. W. M. Buss.
15. Toast: The Peace of Victory. J. H. RIDGWAY.

     KITCHENER, ONT.-On the 19th of June, (if we may be pardoned for referring to so remote a date), we celebrated with a supper and social. As the older ladies were somewhat tired of making suppers, a committee of young ladies undertook to prepare the meal. In the absence of the Pastor, who was in Bryn Athyn, Mr. Thee. Kuhl acted as toastmaster, and a series of toasts concerning the "Message of the Disciples to the Heavens, the Earth, and the Universe," were responded to by Mr. Nathaniel Stroh, Dr. Schnarr, and Mr. Theo. Kuhl. After the regular speeches, Dr. Schnarr proposed toast to our new baby, George Kitchener Steen, and in the absence of the father response was made by both grandfathers, who expressed the hope that he would grow up a strong and loyal Newchurchman. (Hearty applause.) A toast to the boys at the front completed this part of the program, and we soon proceeded to dancing. During the evening a group of part songs were very acceptably rendered by a quartet of young ladies.

     In July the chief event of interest, outside of picnics of one kind and another, was the wedding of Mr. Ed. Hill and Miss Yadah Roschman. We surprised them, (really and truly), on July 6th by a miscellaneous shower, which turned out to be a jolly occasion. On July 24th the church was beautifully decorated for the wedding. Surrounding the chancel on three sides, and forming an arch in front for the bridal pair, was a lace-like curtain of green asparagus fern intermingled with sweet peas. Back of this, upon the chancel itself, palms, ferns, and flowers were banked in rich profusion, making a veritable garden of paradise. After the ceremony a reception was held in the school room, during which toasts were offered, and responded to by the Pastor, Mr. Theo. Kuhl, Mr. Rudolph Roschman, and the groom.

     On July 29th we lost one of our old and faithful members, Mrs. Charles Peppier, who passed away after a long illness. Immediately after the funeral a memorial service was held at the church, which was filled to capacity with relatives and friends. The text of the sermon was from Hosea 6:1-3. "Come, and let us return unto the Lord, for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up. After two days will He revive us; in the third day will He raise us up, and we shall live in His sight." After the service those present proceeded to the home of the Pepplers, where about eighty-six sat down to supper.

     During July and August some of us have taken a concentrated course in Sunday School teachers work, conducted by the Pastor. With two classes a week the time has been somewhat short, but we have managed to cover considerable ground, and feel that we have benefitted a great deal by the course.

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During the coming winter we are going to make use of what we have gathered, and hope to carry on a successful Sunday School.

     In the course of the summer we have had the pleasure of entertaining numerous visitors from far and near. Mrs. Geoffry Childs, of New York, and her two children; Mrs. Harry Hilldale and infant son, and Mrs. Henry Stroh, spent a great part of the summer with us. Among visitors of two to three weeks' stay were: Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Bellinger and family, Mr. and Mrs. Archie Scott and son, Mrs. Reginald Anderson and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Rothaermel and Mrs. John Rothaermel, Mrs. Percy Izzard and son, Miss Edith Craigie, and Mr. Walter Bellinger. Transient visitors were Mr. and Mrs. Percy Barber, Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Potts, and Mr. and Mrs. Ray Brown. F. V. R.

     PARIS, FRANCE.-The Nineteenth of June service was held on the 9th, to make it possible for Elisce Hussenet, convalescing from the effects of gas, to attend. The Pastor writes: "In spite of the existing terrible events, almost all of our faithful friends of the society were present. We had a superb day."

     SYDNEY, N. S. W.-We hear that the celebration of the 19th of June in this society was "spiritually uplifting and enjoyable. The room could not have held more. Some from a distance were unable to attend, which was a great disappointment to them." Mr. Morgan acted as toastmaster, and there were toasts to "The Church," "The New Church Boys at the Front," and "The Absent Ones." The Pastor, the Rev. Richard Morse, gave an address on "The Circle of Conjugial Love through the Ages."

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.-On March 29th we were pleased to have visit from Sergt. Harold Kuhl and Pvt. Nelson Glebe. Later, in Easter week, Pvt. Raymond Kuhl came down, and met a number of the friends.

     On Easter Monday we had good muster at a social, including Miss May Waters from London, and Pvt. Nelson Glebe (on leave from France), whose company was much enjoyed. It was also an old time pleasure to watch the enjoyment of the children, who included the three Pryke boys from Chelmsford. Later, a whist drive, arranged by Miss Gill, brought to a close a very pleasant evening.

     The celebration of June 19th was held on the 16th, our Pastor presiding. Twenty-seven were present, including Mr. and Mrs. Rose, of London. In an opening address on "The Mission of the Disciples, and its Probable Effect," the Pastor showed that the object of their preaching of the Gospel was to effect a closer conjunction between the Christian Heaven, the Ancient Heavens, and the New Church upon earth. After this came the following series of speeches:
1. The one thing lacking in the Ancient churches.-Mr. Cooper.

     2. Ideas concerning God must be based upon ideas of natural things.-Mr. Everett.

     3. The internal causes why representative churches-were instituted.-Mr. Appleton.

     4. The new Gospel presents a fuller idea of God than was known to the ancient churches.-Mr. Motum.

     5. The New Church is founded upon the new Gospel.-Mr. Potter.

     To the above our Pastor added much of interest and instruction. The informal was then in order, and several impromptu toasts and speeches manifested a strong sphere of affection, which brought delight and happiness to all, and the satisfaction that comes from partaking together of spiritual things. F. R. C.

654


ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE       CLARA DAVIS       1918

     NEWS NOTES.

     A number of the American boys have been heard from, and they have nearly all seen service in action. Ben McQueen says that he has gone in and come out all right, so he knows that it call be done. He belongs to the 131st Infantry, which General March praised so highly,- Chicago's old "Dandy First." Felix lunge also writes that he has had his initiation in the front line trenches.

     Laurence and Crebert Burnham are both Sergeants now. Laurence has complete charge of the mechanics of two aeroplanes, and is known as crew chief. Crebert, in a letter to a member of the Committee, says that he has enjoyed the many beautiful and historic castles which he has been lucky enough to see. The dungeons interested him most, but he didn't find one that was "cruel or bad enough to put the Kaiser in."

     David Gladish received his commission, and is now a Lieutenant in the aviation branch of the service. Donald Gladish recently joined the marines.

     Driver Joseph Hill has suffered from an attack of an epidemic that is going the rounds in his district, but writes that he is now ready to go on duty again, and expects to return to the line any day.

     The Committee has heard from Alan Gill for the first time this month, and he says that we have some Hunnish U-boat commander to blame for not having heard before. During the past year his life has been most eventful. He writes: "On April 6, when Fritz's first big drive was quieting down a bit, and we were enjoying comparative rest and quiet, (although still in the line), I was lucky enough to catch a stray bit of shell in the thigh. It went well in, and I got well away. After passing through numerous Advanced Dressing Stations, Field Dittos, Main Dittos, and Casualty Clearing Stations, I finally got to the Base. Next-morning I boarded a boat, and later the same day I arrived in dear old England once more. Now you see why it is considered lucky to get wounded. I was sent to another hospital in the north of England, and later to another, where, after six weeks, I was quite well again, and sent home on a ten days' leave. You can imagine how I enjoyed seeing all the friends in London and Colchester again, and I had one of the times of my life, though I won't say it was better than the leave I had in January when I came straight home out of the trenches, which were waist deep in water. On that occasion I managed to get to both the London and Colchester celebrations of the 29th. It was like coming from hell into heaven, or death into life, and you call imagine my feelings better than I can describe them. Well, when my leave was up I had to rejoin my unit at Aldershot, and was there in over a fortnight when eye trouble caused me to be admitted to a hospital, and that is where I am now. I hope to be better in a few weeks,-then I'll go back to the depot for a week or two, and on out to sunny (?) France again. You see what a lot of shifting about one does in the army, especially when one gets a Blighty, and it is quite possible that I might get another soon after arriving at the front."

     He adds that he has seen Raymond Kuhl, and that they had lots to talk about, as Raymond expected to go out to France shortly. He then goes on to say that he has "had a few exciting times, but the 21st of March stunt took the biscuit. For five days and nights we were scrapping almost continually, without a wink of sleep the whole time. It sounds impossible, but it's a fact, because I got doubtful myself at times, and had to reckon it up to see if it was right.

655


Hair-breadth escapes were common during those five days, and we gave ourselves up for lost more than once. It simply hailed bullets, and several times we were nearly cut off, and got out only by yards and minutes. I felt very sorry for the Germans when they were advancing. They came over in such masses, practically shoulder to shoulder, that you simply couldn't miss them with a Lewis gun, and the slaughter was awful."

     Elisee Hussenet was able to spend twenty days in June at his home in Paris, after three months in a hospital recovering from the effects of gas. He was present at the celebration of the Nineteenth, which was held on the 9th to enable him to attend, but has now returned to his army corps. It is hoped that Elie will be able to return to Paris soon, as an exchange of prisoners is taking place. Victor Waelchli seems to be having a terrible life of it in the army. He wrote home, "You said you don't like to think of all the hardships I'll have to go through. Well, I don't want to worry you, but they are something awful. Can't remember much farther back than three days, but I'll tell you of our hardships during that time. They only give us three meals a day, and then only give us all we want for one meal at a time, and not even an extra mess tin full to take on parade with us to eat while standing at ease. We have to get up in time for breakfast, too, as they won't even bring it around to our tents. And besides all this, instead of trying to make-life easy for us, we are compelled to go on parade or five hours every day. And when they might be letting us drill and have route marches, they take us into the shade beside our little river and give us lectures The only afternoons we have off, to make up at for that strenuous exertion, are Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. On Tuesday I was put on fatigue duty. Had to empty all the waste paper bags in camp, and there must have been about twenty. And it took all of half an hour, both morning and afternoon, to do the job. Oh, it's dreadful. One of the things we have to be thankful for is the newspaper. We hear all about this dreadful war almost as soon as you do."

     Lieut. Randolph Childs has recently been made a Captain.     

     Captain Alan Pendleton is in Bryn Athyn on a three months' sick leave.
     
     David Doering, who was seriously wounded some time ago, is still in a hospital. It seems that when he thinks he is on the way to recovery some new effect of his wound develops, and he is obliged to remain in the hospital, but his letter did not sound a bit downhearted. He says of the Americans, "Well, I think all hats off to the United States troops. They are like us Canadians-never give up, and will find a way or make one. The Yanks certainly are doing their share in this big drive."

     Sergt. Marius Piberes has been moving constantly-since his arrival in France. He says that he has visited a great many interesting French cities during the course of his travels.

     Sergt. Arthur Bond has charge of the cultivation of the land around Wittley Camp, England. In a letter to Miss Acton he tells of his many attempts to get in a draft for service in France, but each time he was told, "We will send you when we want you to go," and that he was "doing more good helping to feed the men" than he could do by going to France. The land around the camp was all wild common or moor, and had to be broken up. Some of the things they grew were-six acres of potatoes, one acre of red beets, one acre of parsnips, two acres of turnips, besides beans, peas, lettuce, radishes, cabbages, also flower beds in different parts of the camp, and a newly made lawn.

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     Harold Kuhl writes that his brother Raymond is still in England, "owing to that childish disease, mumps."

     Louis Pendleton is at Veineuil, France, on reconstruction work. He says, in a letter to a member of the Committee, "Our shops here are down in a valley, while up on one side, about half a mile away, are our billets. On a clear day we can see the French Alps, about forty miles away. On the opposite hill is a canal. All of our sand and stone for concrete is shipped to us via the canal."

     Corporal Frank Doering, who is with the 111th Infantry, has been in action ever since July 16th. He tells how in one advance they had to remove their equipment packs and shoot from behind them; in the charge that followed the packs were left behind and never recovered. He captured German helmet (with a spike), but was compelled to drop it during the fight. On August 10th Frank went through three gas attacks, in the third of which a piece of shrapnel hit his gas mask, and he "got a dose of arsenic and mustard gas. When he wrote he was in a hospital, but expected to return to the front soon.

     Llewellyn Price was wounded in the wrist by a piece of shrapnel. He was in the hospital about a month, and while there helped with the casualty records. He says that he considered it a vacation, and spent some of his time visiting the town and sketching.

     Fred. Grant is at Genoa, Italy. In one of his letters home he spoke most enthusiastically of the splendid work the American women are doing in the Y. M. C. A. and Red Cross huts there.

     In our September News Notes we reported that Thomas Shriver had been gassed, but are now glad to state that this rumor is absolutely unfounded. Tommy is in the best of health.

     Captain Asplundh wrote that he is an ideal soldier.

     Joseph Glenn is in a hospital suffering from shell shock, not from gas, as previously reported. He is much better now, and thinks he will not be in the hospital much longer.

     In the New Church Messenger for July 31, 1918, the War Service Commission of the General Convention publishes a list of about 300 of their members who are serving with the American and Canadian forces. CLARA DAVIS.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 31 Talfourd Place, Peokham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers can at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.

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ROLL OF HONOR 1918

ROLL OF HONOR              1918

     Who does not remember and love him who fights even unto death that his country may be free. (T. C. R. 710.)

LIEUT. W. REY GILL, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.
GUY CHRISTOPHER PEMBERTON, Durban, Natal, South Africa. Killed in action at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
LEON ROSE, London, England. Royal West Surrey Regiment. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29, 1916.
REGINALD WATERS, London, England, Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
ROY S. WELLS, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. 11th R. R. Engineers. Died April 12, 1918, of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F., France.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, B. E. F., France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56th Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, 3 A/M CHARLES, Co1chester, Eng. 142538, R. A. F., 124th Squadron, Fowlmere Aerodrome, N. Royston, Herts, England.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. 66 E. Duiwich Grove, E. Dulwich, London S. E. 22, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engs., A. P. O. 744, American E. F., France.
ASPLUNDH, GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, American E. F., France.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., A. P. O. 716, American E. F., France,
BARNITZ CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. ed. M, 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
BEDWELL, PTE. K., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTIFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks - 48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, LIEUT. FRED. H., Toronto, Ont., Canada. R. A. F., c/o Welsh Margetson, 16 Moor Lane Fore St., London, E. C., Eng.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, A Battery, Canadian Reserve Brigade, C. F. A. Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, Eng.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, C. D. Cable Section, Canadian Signal Corps, B. E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, PVT. E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. D, Hdq. Battn. G. H. Q., A. P. O. 717, American E. F., France.

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BERGSTROM, PVT. E. T., Denver, Col. Provost Guard Co.. Hdq., Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. Squadron A, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E. F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, 1ST LIEUT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. C. O. T. C., Camp Lee, Virginia.
BURNHAM, SERGT. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 3rd Instruction Center, American E. F., France.
BURNHAM, SERGT. LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., American E. F., France.
CHILDS, CAPTAIN R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. c/o Headquarters Adjutant, 28th Division Headquarters, American E. F., France.
CHILDS, SYDNEY, New York, N. Y. A. F. C., c/o Personnel Officer, Headquarters, Camp Mills, Long Island, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. R. A. F., c/o Cox & Co., Bankers, 16 Charing Cross, London, E. C. 2, England.
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. 62d Pioneer Inf., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2D LIEUT, R. T., Baltimore, Md. Co. M, 114th Infantry, American E. F., France.
COLE, PVT. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. A, 2nd Casual Batt., 2nd Platoon, U. S. Marines, American E. F.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, Co. C, 161st Batt. Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COOPER, L. CORP. WILLIAM R, Philadelphia, Pa. H. G. S., Engineers Training Depot, St. Johns, P. Q., Canada.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont." c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
CREAMER, SERGT. MAJOR FRANCIS B., Williamsport, Pa. Headquarters 28th Div., U. S. A., American E. F., France.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Squadron C, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn. Pa. Engineer R. C. 21st Engrs. (Lt. Ry.), A. P. O., 747, American E. F., France.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, PVT. DAVID F., Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 16th Canadian General Hospital, Ward 7, Orpington, Kent, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. K, 111th Inf., American E. F., France.
DOERING, 2ND LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks 50, P. T. S., 3rd Ellington field, Houston, Texas.
ELPHICK, TELEGRAPHIST FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. R. N. V. R., H.M. W/T Station, Inchkeith, Leith, N. B., Scotland.
ELPRICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika . Forces, Salonika, Greece.
EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F., France.

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EVERETT, SERGT. W. E. 124 Batt Road, Colchester England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150140, R. A. F. 79 C. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Ont., Can.
FINLEY, 1ST LIEUT. HORACE London, England. 273 Railway Co., R. E., R. S. F., Salonika, Greece.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, 3e Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, PVT., IST CL., FRANCES L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Q. M. C. N. A., Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, A. O. P. 745, American E. F., France.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester England. L. Z. 3624, 142 Maiden Road, Colchester, Eng.
GLADISH, 2ND LIEUT. DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLADISH, DONALD C., Chicago, Ill. U. S. Marines.
GLEBE, EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 5th Cadet Squadron, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, PTE. JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929. C. C. C. Bn., C. E. E., France. c/o 72nd General Hospital.
Grant, CORP. J. FRANK, New York, H N. Y. Co. K, 38th Inf., American E. F., France.
Grant, PVT. FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. No. 640231 Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
GUNTHER, PVT. W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary, Remount Depot 309, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, PVT. ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp C. Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EVERY, Arbutus, Md. Co. F, 305th Engrs., A. P. O. 756, American E F., France.
HART, CORP. DOUGLAS E., Addiscombe, Croyden, England. 530713, 4 Platoon, 2/15 London Regt., c/o G. P. O., London.
HEADSTEN, 2ND LIEUT. JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. c/o Depot Quartermaster, Omaha, Nebraska.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa., Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HEINRICHS, PVT. HENRY. 3353715, 1st D. B. S. R., 136th Draft, C. E. F.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Allied Officers' Headquarters, 86th Division, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
HICKS, DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Auxiliary Reserve, Barracks K-E, c/o Lieut. B. O. Wills, Pelham Bay Park, N. Y.
HICKS, CADET KENNETR F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 15159B 84th C. T. S., Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Can.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont. 4904 No. I Army Auxiliary Horse Co., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER T. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2006629, F CO., 2nd Canadian Engineers Reserve Batt. Seaford Camp, Sussex, Eng.
HOWARD, PVT. CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T A. S. C. Mob.. Camp Bangalore, Mysore, India.
HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France. 55331, Cie IV. Pnsonmer de guerre, au Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken Prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St Cloud, Seine et Oise.

660



HUSSENET,ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, 15th Platoon, 4 Co., 13th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F, France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Ratt., American E. F., France.
JOHNSON, PVT. RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F. 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 4th Div. Sanitary Train, Ambulance Co. 21, American E. F., France.
KING, PVT. ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. Machine Gun Co., Camp Custer, Mich.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. 258676.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 7th Platoon, B Co., 50th Batt., B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241. 64th Battery, Draft, Witley Camp, Milford Surrey, England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn. Canadians, B. E. F., France.
LEONARD, PVT. EDGAR MOREL, Chicago, Ill. Co. T, N. C. O. School, Paris Island, S. C.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD, Pittsburgh, Pa. U. S. N. R. S., U. S. Naval Aviation, Foreign Service.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. and Class Petty Officer, League Island, 2224 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Draft 85, B. E. F., c/o Army P. O., London, Eng.
LOOMIS, PVT. W. A., CO. A, Military Police Train Headquarters, Div. 851 Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial 9 1'Ecole Mjlitaire, Paris, France.
MCCANDLESS, DAVID, Pittsburgh, Pa. Sub-Chaser, 78, Brooklyn Navy Yard, New York.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M 131rst Inf., American E. F., France.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf. American E. F., France.
MORRIS, A. M. EDW. B., London, England 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. F. C., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN, GEOFFREY, London, England. 301276, Transport Section, 1/5 Batt., L. R. B., B. E. F., France,
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otage Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PVT. K., Colchester, England. 49541, No 1 Platoon, A Company, 1st Battn. Northamptonshire Regt., B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 15, A. P. O. 4, B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
ODHNER, 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. D, 50th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.

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ODHNER, CAPT. MADEFREY A., Bryn Athyn. Pa. 63rd Inf., U. S. A., The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Motor Co. No. 10, Camp Greenleaf. Annex, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 63rd Inf. Address, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, PVT. LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 3, A. P. 0., 708, American E. F., France.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. 1, A. P. O., 714, American E. F., France.
PETERSON, ELMER E., Chicago, Ill. Co. 21, 16th Regt., Camp New Isolation, Great Lakes, Ill.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O. Chicago, Ill. Development Batt., Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
PETERSON, PVT. VICTOR HEN Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th American E. F., France.
PIBERES, SERGT. M. R., Philadelphia, Pa. Co. 2, S. O. S., A. P. O. 702, American E. F., France.
PITCAIRN, HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. School of Military Aeronautics; Austin, Texas, Barracks, K-2-A.
PRICE, PVT., 1ST CL., LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103rd Engs., American E. F., France.
PRICE, LIEUT. RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 11th Bn., F. A. R. D., Camp Taylor, Ky.
REICRENBACH, CRARLES A., New York, N. Y. 730 Rock Creek Church Rd., Washington, D. C.
RIDGWAY, KENNETH HOWARD, Durban, Natal, S. A. Real Air Force, England.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Cavite. P. T.
ROSENQVIST, PVT. FRIEDET., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, American E. F., France.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., American E. F., France.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. 228985, 772 King St., W., Kitchener, Ont., Can.
SCHNARR, MAT. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Corps Artillery Park, Depot Co., American E. F., France.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H., Battery B, 151st F. A., American E. F., France.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Candidate Detachment, A. P. O. 718, American E. F., France.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, MAX H.. Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Melville," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL W., Sandoval, Ill. 6th Co., 4th Bn. C. O. T. S., Camp Pike, Ark.
SMITH, SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, American E. F., France.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, American E. F., France.
SMITH, CORP. HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. F, 314th Inf., American E. F., France.

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SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., American E. F., France.
SMITH, PVT. WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 540-542 W. 7th St., The L. B. Harrison Hotel, Cincinnati, Ohio.
SNYDER, PVT. WILMER E., 148th Field Hospital, 112th Sanitary Train, 37th Division, American E. F., France.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 31st Balloon Co., Air Service Camp, West Point, Kentucky.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Soldat anglais interni a Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Suisse. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, PTE. FRED. E.,Kitchener, Ont. 751124 B CO., 5th Batt., Canadian Engineers, B. E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, ALAN G., Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, PVT. ARTHUR, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Development Bn., Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa. Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
SYNNESTVEDT, HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 28th Balloon Co., Camp Eustis, Lee Hall, Va.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa., 1131 Civilian U. S. Employee, c/o James Stewart & Co., Inc., U. S. M. P. 0. 705, American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
TYRRELL, SERGT. HUBERT J., Bourbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, American E. F., France.
VINTET, PVT., 1ST CL., PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance service, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis. Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., N. A., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, No. 8, Ordnance Mobile Workshop B. E. F., France.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, I/5th L. F. A., R. A. IM. C. T., B. E. F.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A Co. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, 3/A. M. Headquarters, Cadet Brigade, Royal Air Force, Royal Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's-on Sea, England.
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G., London, England. 536534, A Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. P.
WELLS, PVT. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F., France.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS, Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, NEVILLE. Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., American E. F., France.

     ADDITIONAL.

HICKS, PVT. DONAL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. I, 6th Inf., Training and Replacement Battn., Camp Lee, Va.
ODERSCKELP, PVT. ARTHUR W., Denver, Colo. Co. C, 318th Engrs., American E. F., France.



663


EFFICACY OF PRAYING FOR OTHERS 1918

EFFICACY OF PRAYING FOR OTHERS       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVLII NOVEMBER, 1918 No. 11
     Does the prayer of one person for or concerning another have a direct effect upon the other? This is a very practical and important question. On almost every important subject the New Church has a teaching that is not the same as that of the Old Church, though it may have points of similarity. Does the teaching of the New Church militate against, or modify in any vital respect, what has been taught in the Old Church regarding prayer for others? Wherever the New Church does present a teaching that differs from what is commonly believed, needless to say it is essential that such a difference should be understood and observed.

     Our question will be seen to involve another. Does any man or woman ever stand in the position, of an intercessor for another person or persons? Days set aside for special prayer have become more numerous since the war began. Can we intercede with the Lord for the success of our Arms, or for the safety of our friends, sons, brothers? Does our prayer for them have any effect upon the trend of their fortunes? It does; but not by changing the Lord's will toward them, or increasing His mercy and providence in their behalf.

     Much is said in the letter of the Word, as well as in the Epistles and Acts of the Apostles, about prayer for others, but little is said in the Writings about it; in fact, scarcely anything about the effect of prayer upon others directly. In Genesis we read that Abimelech was told in a dream that he should restore Abraham's wife, "for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live." (20:7.)

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Samuel said to the Israelites: "Gather all Israel together to Mizpeh, and I will pray for you unto Jehovah." (I Samuel 17:5.) He also said, "Far be it from me that I should sin against Jehovah in ceasing to pray for you." (12:23.) In Matthew we have the injunction, "Pray for them that Persecute you." (5:44.)

     In the Epistle of James we find: "Is any among you sick? let him call for the elders of the Church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord and the prayer of faith shall save him that is sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, it shall be forgiven him. Confess, therefore, your sins one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The supplication of a righteous man availeth much in its working. Elijah was a man of like passions with us, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain; and it rained not on earth for three years and six months. And he prayed again; and the heavens gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." (James 5:14-18.) In the Revelation it speaks of the "golden bowls full of odors, which are the prayers of the saints."

     The truth cannot be reached, however, through the mere letter of the Word, unless one is guided by genuine doctrine. It is easy to see that for a prophet to pray for others, in the days of the representative dispensation, when all that a prophet did carried a spiritual significance, might convey no injunction to the effect that the ordinary man should thus pray for others. Matthew tells us to pray for our enemies, but not; especially for our friends. It is evident also that the remarkable passage from James, which is not part of the Divine Word, urges a kind of practice of faith-healing and forgiveness of sins that is not far removed from faith-healing of the modern stamp. What is the secret of prayer for others; when and how should it be practiced, if practiced at all; and what is its internal effect?

     A valuable suggestion is contained in the quotation from, the Revelation, "the odors were the prayers of the saints." Prayer is like odors; it is like the main perceptible sphere with which man is acquainted.

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If it has any effect, the passage suggests, it is an extension of spheres, the spheres of affection and thought which surround every person. But of this later.

     In consideration of what we are taught about spheres and their extension, and of what we know from other general teachings, let us present this general theory of prayer for others:-The most direct and potent effect of prayer, even when it is for others, is upon those who do the praying; but this is not to say that there is no indirect effect upon others; for not only is it certain that prayer affects the supplicant, but it is probable and understandable that it also has an effect upon those for whom the prayer is made. However, there would seem to be certain necessary conditions to be fulfilled before that effect upon others can become appreciable. And it must also be borne in mind that the prevailing Old Church idea of the effect of prayer for others upon them is a gross and corporeal idea. This also belongs to our proposed theory, namely, that there are two means by which our prayer is fulfilled in regard to others, one through spirits in the other world, and another that depends-upon natural means of embodying our prayer for others in actual deeds and circumstances. But this we hope to make more clear.

     THE EFFECT OF PRAYER UPON THE SUPPLICANT.

     The centermost truth on this subject is that all things are in the hands of the Lord. This remains true, whether anyone pray to Him or not. Prayer does not change His will nor alter His Divine thought. There seems to be something of this idea, however, in the thought of the devotees of "Christianism." Nevertheless, it is of great importance and benefit to make supplication to the Lord. The benefit to ourselves is that we may thus realize in a state of elevated thought what the things are that are really good and desirable. The first value of prayer is its benefit to the person who prays.

     When we pray for the success of our national Arms, and the safety of our beloved sons, brothers, and friends, it is that we may see more clearly what is involved in our prayer, and also it has the effect of arousing our affections, or strengthening them, for the very things for which we are asking. Thus it gives us new hope, new courage, resolve, purpose, and especially a new sense of the relation of things temporal to things eternal, and of the dependence of all human affairs upon the Lard.

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This new state induced by prayer makes it more possible for the Lord to grant, to our own spiritual advantage, the things we desire, because we can then receive them with greater appreciation and gratitude to Him.

     This we may call the subjective use of prayer. To insure this use two things are necessary: first, the mind must be directed to the Lord as the only God and Father; and second, the prayer must be made "in truth." When truth is employed in prayer, the mind is enlightened and consequently elevated. Prayer is effective only when there is some enlightenment and elevation. It may not be too much to say that prayer is such elevation, and that its subjective use is great or little according to the degree of enlightenment. He plays best whose mind is the most enlightened, and whose spirit is in the greatest repose and freedom from anxiety. One may pray in anxiety, and one usually does. But prayer made in a state of freedom from anxiety is more effective. For anxiety destroys enlightenment. Thus our prayer for our loved ones in danger on the field of honor should not be offered merely because we are anxious or worried over the outcome for them. It is natural we should feel such anxiety, but to be dominated by it, or by fear, is not the state conducive to effective prayer, for it destroys more than it promotes our conjunction with the Lord. We, who are far from the battlefield, are by that circumstance alone in a more favorable state to reap the benefits of prayer. By removing anxiety, which they at the front cannot so well do, we may see more clearly our own part, and be fortified with new confidence, energy, and willingness to lay down selfishness, and to love the cause more ardently for which our national Arms stand.

     Thus it seems that the most direct and evident effect of prayer is upon those who pray, or that it is subjective.

     THE EFFECT OF PRAYER UPON OTHERS; ITS OBJECTIVE EFFECT.

     It cannot be so easily established from what is said in the Doctrines that there is also an indirect effect of true prayer upon those for whom prayer is offered; but there is enough teaching to justify us in taking an affirmative attitude toward the probability of such an effect.

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The effect upon others, as I see it, may become palpable and evident through two distinct means, these two means being made available either separately or at the same time. When both are in operation at the same time the effect will be greater.

     Prayer even from one person creates a sphere of affection and thought. Every person is indeed encompassed with such a sphere whether he prays or not. But prayer generates and extends the sphere with which a man's mind is encompassed. It extends that sphere in two ways. It extends it into societies in the spiritual world, and it also extends it to others living in this world. Those who are in the immediate vicinity, and who hear the prayer, are without doubt affected by it. Hence, when several pray together the sphere is perceived to be strong, and stronger in proportion to the unanimity and similarity of state.

     When the Writings speak of the extension of sphere they usually refer to its extension into spiritual societies. This extension of sphere is really effective, although we are not sensible of its effect. And those at a distance from us for whom we pray are affected by it, though not consciously, if the spirits who are with them are similar to those with us. It would seem that the only way of reaching by prayer those in this world at a distance from us, unless we have actual physical means of communication with them, is through the spiritual world. If, therefore, the spirits with them are similar in thought, affection, and state, to those with ourselves, then the effect is much or little according to the similarity. When we pray, and thus are in greater enlightenment, the spirits that are with us pray, and are in enlightenment. Their enlightenment, and their affections produced from it, are communicated through the spiritual world to those other spirits that surround our loved ones, and they in turn excite in those for whom we pray all things that agree with their state. On this theory, or rather fact, telepathy may be readily explained. Thus our states may be transmitted through the spiritual world to others at a distance from us in this world, the Lord, of course, disposing and regulating not only ourselves, and the objects of our thought and care, but also the intermediary spirits.

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In this way our love for others intercedes; for the Writings tell us that love is intercession, or that there is intercession in all love. The intercession of our love, however, operates through the spiritual world. Our sphere extends to others in this world, when there is no physical communication, by extending its sphere into and through the spiritual world.

     The effect of this extension may be imperceptible, because without physical communication we have no way of noting it. But when there is this extension of our sphere towards others, through the spiritual world, and at the same time physical communication, then the effect may not only be appreciated but it may even be very marked. The effect produced upon a soldier at the front by receiving a letter or a useful gift is so appreciable and so highly valued that we need only mention it here. Those natural objects carry our sphere to him, especially if he knows that our prayer goes with them. This is the other means referred to above, of extending our sphere, or, if you wish, our prayer, to others at a distance from us. When this means is coupled with the other means of extension-through the spiritual world-the effect is greatest. It may be compared to the force of the Lord's influx to us when it is both mediate and immediate.

     So we may set it down as true, I think, that mere verbal prayer is not so effective upon others as that prayer which is also accompanied with some form of physical communication, unless those for whom we pray are in a state very similar to our own. Our knowledge of their state of thought and affection, and their knowledge of ours, must also have a great deal to do with the effect of our prayer upon them. Thus if our heroes at the from have reason to believe that we at home are praying for them, then that knowledge in itself must serve as a powerful vehicle for conveying our sphere to them. A soldier knows that his mother prays for him, or his wife, or his children, and that knowledge alone helps to make the prayer more effective with him than it would be if he did not know it.

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     It is for such reasons that we have said that the extension of our sphere, which is created through prayer, has two ways of going forth, one, through the spiritual world, and the other through physical communication, or common knowledge, and that our sphere affects others more powerfully when the sphere goes forth in both ways simultaneously.

     So on every account it is useful to pray for others. It has a beneficial effect upon ourselves, directing our thought more truly, and conjoining our spirits more closely with the Lord. And it also benefits those for whom we pray through the spiritual world alone, if other means of communication are cut off, when they are in a state to receive the good from the Lord which we wish for them. But if we can embody our prayer in word or (lead through actual communication with them, the effect for good cannot be doubted.

     CONCLUSION.

     This question of the use of prayer has arisen because of the war, although it is always, or should be, a live question. And the great war, being the result of the great Last Judgment in the spiritual world, is a decision and consummation which concerns every one, no matter where he is, no matter how far behind the lines of battle. No man or woman can escape it. If it does not bring physical encounter with the enemy, it will bring another kind of conflict. It will have a far-reaching effect in the mind of every one who knows what is going on. We must of necessity make a judgment in his own mind, an individual judgment as to the spiritual and moral issues involved. And the judgment he makes will be a matter of his own regeneration. If he remains in his own mind neutral, and puts the whole decision out of mind,-if he has not the courage to look the situation in the face, and decide for himself on which side truth and justice lie,-he is avoiding his duty, and passing up a great opportunity for spiritual progress. According to his information he must make a judgment in his own heart and mind. And it makes a difference as to his regeneration upon which side his judgment falls. Spiritually, the men and women at home are as much in the war as the soldier at the front; We should all look to the Lord for enlightenment as to the real issues and for the true decision to make.

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This is the principal thing to pray for on days of universal prayer. And having made the decision, we should support it with our whole heart, and feel the necessity not only of praying, but of making the utmost physical and material sacrifice for it, and for those we love; and we should do this from a love of what we regard to be truth and justice. We at home are not one whit less responsible than those at the front. In the spiritual world there are but two sides, those who think spiritually and those who think naturally. The battle between Michael and the Dragon is renewed upon the earth. The use of prayer to the Lord is that we may be enlightened from Him, that with this enlightenment we may choose the side of truth and justice, and having chosen it, that we may be inspired continually with loyalty and devotion. Then our sphere will be extended to our loved ones, through the spiritual world if not through the natural. But the better we devote ourselves to the support of our men at the front by natural means also, the more power will our prayer have to affect them for good.
INTERCESSION 1918

INTERCESSION              1918

     "In all love there is intercession, consequently in all mercy, for mercy is of love. That he who loves, or who is merciful, continually intercedes, can be seen from examples: A husband who loves his wife wishes her to be received benignly and well treated by others; this he does not say openly, but continually thinks it, and thus tacitly is continually asking it, and interceding for her. Parents do likewise for their children whom they love; those also who are in charity do so for the neighbor, and those who are in friendship for a friend. From this it may be evident that intercession is within all love constantly." (A. C. 8573.)

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LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD 1918

LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1918

     "Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?"     (Matthew 20:19.) Lessons: Isaiah 5. A. E. 695:20.

     The promised land of Canaan was described to the Israelites as a land flowing with milk and honey. When that homeless people approached it from the south, their spies returned with a cluster of grapes carried upon a staff between them, two men to one cluster. Canaan was a fruitful land. The mountain sides were covered with vineyards, and the hills as it were dropped wine. This was the country they were to conquer and possess. And it is interesting to note that while the chosen people were still wandering in the burning deserts, their Divine lawgiver enacted the most minute rules and regulations for the cultivation of the vineyards that were yet to be conquered. And the prophecy had already been given ages before, that Judah would "wash his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes." On the sides of the hills of this marvelous land were to be seen innumerable vineyards, marked by their watch-towers and walls, seated on their ancient terraces, of which the prophet Isaiah sang his parable, "My well-beloved hath a vineyard on a very fertile hill." (Isa. 5:11 et seq.)

     Isaiah, in his inspiration, would not have sung that song of the vineyard, were it not that the Spiritual Church is the Lord's vineyard, which He has fenced about and planted; the men of the church being the laborers whom He hires to work therein. And this appears clearly from the fact that the Lord when on earth told us that "the kingdom of heaven is like unto a householder, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard."

     The vineyard, in the Divine parable, signifies the church. The church is the Lord's. He has planted it, and hedged it about. He, in His providence, has prepared the world for the establishment of the church. He has revealed the truth from heaven as the rain which covers the earth with blessings.

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He has called a remnant from the old church in the days of its consummation, and transplanted it, as a vine brought from Egypt, into the new vineyard. But the vineyard must have workers, hired to weed and to prune, to gather the fruit and press out the blood of the grapes, that it may become noble wine. The Lord provides the vineyard, but men must labor in it, that they may receive their hire and live.

     The parable tells how the husbandman went out in the early morning, and hired men to work in his vineyard during the day, for a penny, a day's wage. But at intervals during the day he went out again, at the third, the sixth, and the ninth hour, and gathered in more laborers who stood idle in the market-place, no one having as yet hired them. Some he hired even at the eleventh hour, when but one hour of the working day remained. And when the day was over, they each received a penny for their work, those who had come last alike with those who had come first. But when they who had borne the burden and heat of the day began to murmur against the goodman of the house, he answered and said to one of them, "Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good'"

     Many have asked what the Lord meant by this parable. In the natural sense the Lord teaches what must appear to some to be an injustice. For it is a common perception, and accepted by most men, that the reward should be commensurate with the labor. A small task brings a small recompense; while a great work is rewarded with more honors and larger payment from those whom it benefits. This is a law of moral and civil life,-a law of human fairness and equity. And yet we find in our parable that the Lord compares Himself to a husbandman who ignored this law, and who gave to those that worked in his vineyard for an hour a reward as great as to those who had borne the burden and heat of the whole day.

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     But if anyone should on this account seek to injure our ideas of the holiness and truth of the Word, let us remember that God cannot be judged by the standards of men. "My thoughts are not your thoughts, saith Jehovah, neither are your ways my ways, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways." Let us, then, approach the consideration of the teaching of the text in a reverent spirit, for there are more of the marvel's of the kingdom of heaven and its justice involved in the parable of the vineyard than words can express: there are opened up in the text visions of sublime truths of mercy, which to the spiritual man overshadow all appearances of injustice that are seen in the letter.

     The parable, in its general moral sense, manifestly teaches that the Lord is debtor to no man: that He has established the laws of His mercy, which do not change from eternity to eternity, though men in their blindness may at times murmur and complain. It teaches that men must not succumb to envy and malice when the Lord blesses their fellowmen with riches or success.

     The Lord, be it observed, did not come to earth to establish the laws of civil life, primarily; He did not come to fix the wages of human labor. Men are to adjust this for themselves, according to mutual agreements, and according to the dictates of their conscience. But He came to fulfill, glorify, and reveal spiritual, celestial and Divine laws, the laws of His spiritual kingdom. It was of the labor in that kingdom of heaven, His own vineyard, that He spoke, that men might know the price of salvation. And what is that price? Hath He not said, "He, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isaiah 55:1.) Heaven is offered to all, freely, a gratis gift; and ah who thirst, all who come at His call, receive their "penny," receive eternal life; not for the work they have done, whether it was for an hour or a day, but for the fact that they hearkened to His offer; because they permitted themselves to be hired of Him; because they were willing to work in His vineyard.

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     The simple teaching of the spiritual sense of our text will now be clear, namely, that the man of the church should not regard his own salvation as something that can be purchased by his labor, or as a reward earned by his own merit; but as something that is freely given by the Lord, given to all alike, if they but receive; to all alike-one "penny," if they have entered into the vineyard.

     The Lord in His infinite mercy does not measure out salvation as a reward; from His justice He knows that in such a case none-no flesh-could be saved, for none would deserve salvation. He does not so judge. For so to judge is not the way of God, but of man. In the wide world how many are they who know this, and act accordingly? Who know that their works do not merit salvation? Or merit any blessing at all? How many are content always with the dispensations of the Divine Providence, and devoid of envy toward those who are more fortunate than their selves? The cry of all men is for their "rights,"-for equal rights with all others; and though it is desirable that every human soul should have as great opportunities as is possible in each individual case,-opportunities to grow and develop along the lines of greatest usefulness;-yet men, in the mad pursuit of their aims, forget that Providence owes them nothing; forget that they cannot demand what is not theirs; forget that they have no intrinsic rights!

     The world at this day is obsessed by the loves of self and of gain, loves that are ruled and kept within bounds only by the laws of civil life and the standards of moral life. In the civil and criminal laws of every land there are provisions against those acts of injustice and dishonesty which spring from the love of gain, or from the passionate desire to obtain as much reward as possible for the uses that men perform. For those who are in the love of gain are never content; they are constantly in the expectation of rewards, and never willing to do anything for which there is no visible reward. This is the spirit of a world of commercialism, of material prosperity and industrial competition,-the spirit of that Christian civilization which, in its far-off beginnings, was founded upon those words of Christ, "Love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing again; then shall your reward be much, and ye shall be sons of the Most High." (Luke 6:35)

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     To perform uses, of whatever nature, with the idea of a material reward in view, or in the expectation of attaining worldly happiness, material comfort and pleasure thereby, is merely natural. The motives for such action are not at all spiritual, but are found in the perverted and self-centered affections of the natural mind. And the common realization that the love of gain and the seeking for rewards are the most stable, and ofttimes the only possible plane of appeal in the conduct of the world's business, is at once an admission that the Christian civilization is now spiritual only in name; and that its dominant motives are merely of the natural mind.

     The state of the world is natural. The state of all men, from birth and heredity, is natural. And in the world of today so few are regenerated that the natural state continues to rule even among adults. And because the men of the world are natural, the Lord approaches them on that natural plane. He approaches the human mind by bending the affections toward Him. He appeals to certain affections in the natural mind which are not so external nor so gross as the love of material gain. He appeals to those desires of the interior natural mind that are associated with the rational perceptions implanted by the Lord in childhood,-the perception that there must be a heaven, and an immortal life beyond the grave. He appeals to the desire to acquire some spiritual gain, some spiritual reward for the good men do upon earth, the desire to enter heaven and enjoy its bliss.

     The natural man is raised gradually from his first state of sordid natural ambition by the promise of heaven and the fear of hell; even as he is withdrawn from a state of open and flagrant evils by a fear of the penalties of the law, and the hope of material honor, respectability, and reward. The thought of a spiritual reward in the after life is the thing that can help him in his extreme state. For he is not yet initiated into good, and its delight of unselfish service. He cannot but think about rewards; for the love of self is still active with him, and this love can be tempered but gradually by the desire for heaven. We are told, moreover, that this belief in heaven as a reward is not hurtful to those who are in innocence, as children and the simple-minded are; with such it is but a means of strengthening their obedience to the Divine commandments, and thus a means of leading them into genuine good.

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But it should be observed that when childhood is past, or the simple have been instructed in truths, the desire of heaven as a reward for uses performed on earth must not remain, lest it be confirmed, and lest the spirit of selfishness that rules in the world begin to infest even the spiritual things of religion; lest the calculating attitude, and the conceit of self-merit, pervert the mind and the heart.

     With the natural and the simple, however, the Lord permits the idea of heaven as a reward for work done. In the minds of such men this idea becomes, under His careful nursing, a means of conjunction with Himself. And this is why the husbandman in our parable is said to have gone forth early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard, agreeing upon one penny as their hire, promising them one penny as their day's wages. One penny! The reward for a day's labor! But in the spiritual sense, eternal life!-the reward for a lifetime of obedience to the commandments of God. When the Lord first seeks to reform the spirit of man, He seems to offer this prize, as a reward for man's obedience. It is the first call, early in the morning of life. It comes in childhood or early youth; or in the simple, child-like states recurring later in life. And if man then hearkens to the call, he enters into the vineyard to labor. But a new call comes. The Husband-man goes forth to hire more laborers to work for Him. The Lord appeals to other states, states of greater intelligence and more discerning ability; and converts them to His service. But now a new appeal is made. We notice in the sacred text that it is no longer "a penny" that is offered as an incentive, but "whatsoever is right,"-whatsoever the husbandman chooses to give. The laborers trust his goodness, and are hired. Yet again the householder goes forth for laborers, at the sixth and the ninth hour, when the day is far advanced. Finally, at the eleventh hour, when the sun is near the horizon, he hires still others to work, to prune, and to gather fruit among the arbors.

     As man's regeneration advances, his response to the Lord's constant call to service becomes different.

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At first he responds only on the promise of reward in heaven; later he does not think of reward. Instead, he delights in the truth he is taught, and in the uses he has learned to perform. He has come to trust in the munificence of providence. He does not bicker for advantage or payment, but feels the joy of being useful to be his reward, and accepts with gratitude whatever blessings heaven may bestow.

     So in the parable, when the day was done, and the wages were given out,-one penny to each man,-they that had come first murmured, and said, "These last have wrought one hour only, and thou makest them equal unto us, who have borne the burden and heat of the day." The day had been long for them. Their discontented spirit, and their attitude towards the work, had taken all the joy out of it, and only the "burden" and the "heat" were left. Though they had received what they had asked, yet they were not satisfied. The internal' sense makes clear who these laborers are. They are the natural, who enter only into the forecourt of the heavens, or into the lowest part of heaven. They have lived in obedience from the promise of reward. And this is a natural love, within which there may be something of a spiritual charity. They are in spiritual poverty, and see genuine truths in obscurity; they perform services for which they are rewarded, each according to his worth.

     But these same laborers, who came first and yet were made last, also signify certain states of the natural mind, as we have indicated,-states with man while he is in the world. They signify states of external, simple good, such as that with children, and with those who have not yet advanced in the life of regeneration. Men of all ages have such states aroused at times, states in which perception and love wane, and the pleasure of performing uses has for a while departed. Only the idea of reward can then sustain man in his work, and in the warfare of regeneration itself. At such times he says to himself, not "I love to do this," but "I must do it." He falls into a natural state, wherein the fear of hell and the promise of heaven alone sustain him until the delight of spiritual life returns. It is his evening state, when the exhaustion of the body draws the spirit down from its height awhile.

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With the regenerate man, however, such a state does not last. He is withheld from keeping his mind intensely fixed upon reward, for reward would then become his end-in-view, and this would mean a backsliding, a permanent decline and retrogression. With the spiritual man such states do not last, because his love is not one of reward, but of uses. He knows also that the thought of recompense renders mutual love (the love of uses) impure, and defiles it. The idea of reward leads the thought to self; and the happiness of heaven, the delight of use, cannot be communicated to those who concentrate the influx of happiness from heaven upon themselves, not transmitting it to others. Heavenly joy is received only in the measure that the thought of merit and recompense is removed. Wherefore, they who are spiritual become sorrowful in spirit if what they do is at all believed to be for the sake of self.

     Thus it is that in the Household of the Divine Husbandman each receives his hire, one penny, when his sun sets. Each receives his hire, and the Heavenly Doctrine tells us that "hire" signifies the means of conjunction. The conjunction between man and God is a covenant between servant and master, with its marvelous bargain of one penny against a lifetime. One penny for all alike! For the means of conjunction are the same with all. To some they appear as severe terms; to others they seem light. In reality they are alike to all, are fitted to the capacity of each mind. To those who begin to think, when the Lord offers them the blessings of heaven freely, gratis, that He does it because they deserve it, or can earn it by their works,-to such the terms are hard, the terms of an exacting taskmaster, who reaps where he has not sown. But to those who enter His service without asking for the terms of the service, or considering the wages of their fellow workers, to these there is joy and delight.

     Before the eyes of all does the vision of heaven spring up, to lighten the burden and make them forget the heat of the day. It is the same "penny," the means of conjunction, To some it comes as the love of reward, or the love of obedience for the sake of reward. To others it comes as mutual love, the wages of heaven itself;-mutual love,-the love of giving and receiving the goods and truths of the heavenly life, which flows in from the heavenly marriage of good and truth, the heavenly conjugial.

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This is the means of conjunction with the angels. This is the "penny" they receive. And this also will every man receive who has entered the Lord's Vineyard before the going down of the sun. For only by obeying the call to labor does man appropriate the loves which the Lord offers to all; and he must do this before the love and innocence of early life grow cold and die.

     There are those who never hearken to the call; who idle their day away with pleasures, and say, "Because no man hath hired us." For these there is no promise of heaven, but only the beckoning vision of a worldly paradise. They acknowledge no master, but become slaves to the hells. But let those of the New Christian Church never say, "None hath hired us." We have entered into the Vineyard, there to prune, to weed, but also to gather the fruit and press the wine. We are told the will of the Gardener, that the uses of mutual love are done (can only be done) in the measure that evils are removed. We are commanded to work the soil of our hearts and minds, to bring forth fruit unto eternal life; but we are warned that, even as a gift cannot be bought, or friendship made the subject of a bargain, so the work of human hands cannot purchase salvation, whether life be short or long. But the dying babe is assured of heaven, even as the man who has borne the many years well.

     "Is it not lawful for me," says the: Giver of salvation, "to dot what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good " And this is the truth that will make the evil eye whole: Salvation is given by the Lord to all men without their desert; but some appropriate evils of life, and thus squander their patrimony. The babe is saved without any merit of its own. The old man, who has struggled and fought and won, by the Lord's; help, is saved without any merit of his. For "the Lord alone is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth is for all generations." Amen.

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GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY 1918

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY              1918

     EXTRACTS FROM "RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH" BY ROBERT HINDMARSH. PAGE 128.

     A new Temple having been erected about this time in Birmingham, for the use of the New Church, (being the first of the kind erected in England, or in any part of the world), it was opened and consecrated on Sunday, the 19th of June, 1791, by the Rev. Joseph Proud, who, after being a respected Minister for many years in the connection of General Baptists, had now for some considerable time been a zealous advocate for the cause of the New Jerusalem. Divine service was performed three times on that day, and each time the place was crowded to excess. Mr. Proud preached in the morning; Mr. James Hindmarsh in the afternoon, and Mr. Proud again in the evening; both Ministers officiating in the robes, which were prescribed by the preceding General Conference. I was myself present on the occasion, and can bear witness to the extraordinary sensation that was produced by this first public annunciation of the new doctrines in that town. Professors of all denominations were assembled, excited either by curiosity to hear something new and strange, or by the more praiseworthy desire of being made acquainted with the great truths of the new dispensation. Among the rest, the celebrated Dr. Priestley was an attentive hearer, who afterwards expressed his surprise, and, indeed, satisfaction, at the proceedings of the day. He was invited to tea by Mr. Samuel Hands, an active and zealous member of the Church, at whose house a number of friends were assembled to give the Doctor a meeting.

     He came the next day in the afternoon, when a most interesting conversation took place on the doctrines of the New Church. He acknowledged that he was altogether ignorant of the existence of such a body of Christians as he found us to be; and was particularly pleased with the arguments he had heard advanced in favor of the Divine Unity, in opposition to the idea generally entertained of the Divine Trinity. But he was much puzzled, and perfectly astonished, to find that we maintained the Sole and Exclusive Divinity of Jesus Christ; imagining, at first, that it was impossible for any set of Christians, who believe in the absolute Unity of the Divine Being, and rejected the unscriptural notion of Tripersonality, as we did, still to ascribe to the Savior of the world the undivided Majesty of the whole Godhead. This, he said, was a doctrine altogether new to him, and in his judgment incompatible with the many declarations to be found in the Apostolical Writings, and the general tenor of Divine Revelation. Seeing, however, that we appeared to be reasonable men, and that we cited the authority of Scripture in support of our views, he admitted that we were entitled to a candid hearing, and expressed his intention of examining the Writings of Swedenborg, from which we professed to have derived our information on the subject.

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     After much agreeable discourse on this and other topics relating to the peculiar doctrines of the New Church, against some of which he could scarcely raise an objection, the conversation turned to subjects of a lighter character. Anecdotes, of which the Doctor possessed a rich fund, amused and enlivened the company. One, however, of a complexion calculated to excite painful emotional rather than entertainment, I can never forget. It was, indeed, of a very extraordinary nature, and tended to show to what excess of folly and fanaticism the human mind is capable of being carried by false principles and persuasions under the pretense of religion, if the term religion can for a moment be allowed to mix with, such wickedness as the event about to be related discloses.

     The Doctor began by stating, that the Government of the United States of America, in their zeal to prove their love of religious toleration, at one time provided a building as a place of worship for any new sect that might start up, to give them an opportunity of gaining proselytes to their cause. They were gratuitously allowed the use of this building for one whole year; in which time, it was thought, if their religious opinions were at all worthy of countenance or support, they would be sure to obtain as many converts to their doctrines, and as much pecuniary assistance from their friends, as would enable them to secure their continuance as a body in some other place of worship, to be afterwards provided by themselves. This was in Philadelphia, the capital of Pennsylvania. It so happened, that a wild fanatic, with a few adherents as wild as himself, claimed the use of this Chapel, to try their luck in raising a Society as other adventurers had done before them. It was one of the leading doctrines of this sect, "That whoever died suddenly, no matter by what means, whether by the visitation of God, by accident, by the unjust violence of another, by his own hands, or by the hands of the executioner, such a one was sure of his final salvation, and a joyful entrance into the kingdom of heaven hereafter." Strange as this doctrine: may appear to be, the delusion wrought most powerfully and unfortunately on the mind of one individual of this dangerous Society. Being determined to secure his own salvation against the mischances and uncertainties of a protracted life, and, at the same time, willing in his kindness to confer a similar boon on some other of his fellow-creatures, he sallied out of his house one morning into the street of the city, with his gun loaded and primed, fully intending to kill the first individual he should meet. The person, whose fortune it was to be passing by at the moment, was a Quaker, who immediately, and before the other had time to present his piece, accosted him in a cheerful and friendly manner, saying, "Good morning, my friend, I hope thou art well." This salutation struck the fanatic as something uncommon, or unexpected, as coming from a stranger, and a Quaker, too.

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He, therefore, paused a moment, and ruminated on the singularity of the occurrence; while in the meantime the Quaker, little suspecting the danger of his situation, passed nimbly on, and escaped the sudden death, which was intended to prove his sudden salvation. Not so the poor unfortunate man who next came in the way of the fanatic, for as soon as he came up to him, he leveled his gun, and shot him dead upon the spot

     Immediately an alarm was given, and the culprit was seized. Being asked if he knew what he had done, and why he had perpetrated such an atrocious act upon a passenger in the street, without provocation, and, indeed, without a word: passing between them, (for the crime was witnessed by more than one), he calmly replied, that he was perfectly aware of what he had does; he had committed murder, and: was willing to abide the consequences. He was, of course, taken to prison, and in due time tried, convicted by his own confession, as well as by the testimony of others, and afterwards executed.

     The American Government now perceived its error in keeping a place open for the indiscriminate occupation of all sorts of adventurers, and thus holding out encouragement, as it were, to the inventors and propagators of every species of fanatical, fantastical, and diabolical whims, that might eventually endanger the peace of society. "The place of worship was, therefore, immediately closed, and the custom of lending it to strangers abolished.

     This anecdote, which Dr. Priestly related to the company as a matter of fact, he declared he had from the mouth of the celebrated Dr. Franklin.

     Soon afterwards, in the same year, 1791, the riots took place at Birmingham, where Dr. Priestly resided; and, as his political sentiments were deemed inimical to the Government and Constitution of this country, his house, library, and valuable scientific apparatus were destroyed by the mob, while he himself narrowly escaped from their fury. The houses of several of the leading Unitarians, and both their places of worship, were also destroyed. The New Jerusalem Church had a narrow escape; but a collection having been made the day before, the minister, who lived next door, with great presence of mind, threw the money among the mob, informing them, in a brief but energetic address, that the minister and worshipers were not Unitarians, nor inimical to the Government. A shout was raised,-the New Jerusalem forever, and the mob dispersed.

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Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918


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

     THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Rev. W. H. Alden, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
One Year                          $2.00 (8s. 4d.) payable in advance
Single Copy                              20 cents
     THE BRYN ATHYN CHURCH.

     The April number of THE NEW AGE, (Sydney, Australia), contains a review of Mr. E. Donald Robb's article on "The Bryn Athyn Church," which appeared in the NEW CHURCH LEAGUE JOURNAL, and was reproduced in NEW CHURCH LIFE for April, 1918. Speaking of the article as "containing a description of the wonderful church edifice which is being built at Bryn Athyn, the review goes on to say:

     "Every effort is being made to have all the details modeled according to the principles laid down in the Writings. The main idea seems to be to construct: a shrine for worship rather than an edifice for the purposes of instruction. Had the latter been the object, the general idea of the 'temples' in heaven would have been followed. In, these, we are told, the hearers are seated in the form of a circus, so as to be all under the view of the preacher. (H. 223; C. L. 23.) See also T. C. R. 508, where the magnificent temple significative of the New Church about to be formed is described, as seen by Emanuel Swedenborg. 'The ideas thus suggested point to an auditorium characterized by the greatest possible facility for speaking and hearing. The Academy Church, however, as represented by the engraving, and described in the article, 'resembles the type of English country church of the late fourteenth century.'"

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     Quoting from Mr. Robb's description, and speaking of his question, "Are we on the threshold of a new artistic dispensation corresponding to the advent of the Lord's New Church?" the reviewer then remarks:

     "With every desire to do honor to the zeal, sincerity, and ungrudging monetary expenditure of our friends at Bryn Athyn, one must say that from this point of view it seems somewhat of an anti-climax to be presented with the type of English country church of the late fourteenth century. However, the real touchstone of everything-the true criterion of values-is Use. What is the Use of a church edifice? It should be so chastely beautiful as to arouse feelings of devotion. That is true. But great beauty may make one with great simplicity. Is not the chief use of a church building to impart instruction in Divine things? Is the Gothic scheme of architecture, its nave, chancel, and rows of pillars, the best adapted for teaching and hearing!"

     The writer in the NEW AGE then raises a question as to the value of the effort to produce a "perfect" result by the modeling, changes, and improvements that are being made as the work on the church proceeds, and asks

     "If every detail is to be directed by symbolism, is it possible to arrive at finality? . . . Is it not almost certain that, when all is finished, acute minds will still be able to suggest further improvement and refinement! Is it possible to make any approach to perfection along such a path? In the Writings, indeed, we are told that in the Spiritual Heaven the temples are 'magnificent.' But the building materials there are as plastic as the minds which conceive the plan, and expense does not come into consideration. Rising to the Celestial Heaven, which is higher or more interior, through which, indeed, proceeds the influx that vivifies the Spiritual, the places of worship affect no magnificence. They are called 'Houses of God,' and are built of wood. One pleasing item connected with the work is the 'extraordinary spirit of co-operation' among the workmen on the building. It seems to be felt that, as an edifice for the worship of God, and one in which no shoddy materials or scamped work are tolerated, it calls for the best effort of all concerned."

     The review then concludes:

     "Earnestly one prays and sincerely hopes that this fine church edifice may be abundantly blessed to the Church at Bryn Athyn, and, through its members, to the community generally. Some of us, perhaps, would have preferred a building that should more nearly accede to that Divine ideal: 'Behold, I make all things new" (Apoc. 21:5.) But 'Quot homines, tot sententia.' "

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     In a spirit of friendly criticism this review raises several questions, bearing especially upon the form of a New Church temple, and the relative place of ritual and instruction in worship, these two being closely allied, since a building should correspond to its uses. Believing the subject to be one of general interest we wish to offer some comments upon it.

     The reviewer gained the impression that the Gothic form was chosen at Bryn Athyn with the idea of constructing "a shrine for worship rather than an edifice for purposes of instruction." He wonders why the form of the temples in heaven was not followed; why "the type of English country church of the late fourteenth century" was chosen, if we are "on the threshold of a new artistic dispensation;" and how "finality" is to be attained by the methods of scrupulous care and experimentation that are being employed. Nevertheless, he concludes, broadly and wisely we think, that after all there may be many opinions as to the form of a New Church temple,-"Quot homines, tot sententiae." For assuredly the future will witness the expression of a great variety of opinions and tastes in the ecclesiastical architecture of the New Church. Finality will not be attained in the Bryn Athyn edifice, nor claimed for it, though we believe it may fairly be regarded as the most advanced attempt made in the New Church,-an earnest and costly effort toward an ideal. Finality, we may add, is not in the lexicon of the Gothic architect, who alms to represent the eternal and ever-growing spiritual church in his "never quite perfect, never finished" structure.

     FORM OF A NEW CHURCH TEMPLE.

     The desire for something new in the form and adornment of a temple is naturally quite general among Newchurchmen. But it is doubtful whether this will be attained by any mere imitation of the semi-circular form of the two described in the Writings (C. L. 23; H. 223), for this general type may be found throughout the world. Nor is it to be assumed that this is the only form of temple in heaven, where there must be endless variety in the different societies. Clearly we should not confine our thought to these two examples, or to the others given in the Writings, such as the representative one described in T. C. R. 508, and the likeness of the Jewish tabernacle, seen by Swedenborg in the heaven of the golden age. (C. L. 76.)

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There is, of course, no good reason why the architectural forms of heaven should not be imitated upon earth, to such an extent as it is feasible and men desire it. It is not unlikely that this will be attempted in the future of the Church. In this matter, as in other externals, we are left in freedom by the Revelation given to us, which contains no command or specific recommendation with regard to it. It is simply said that there will be temples in the New Church, as where we read, that "By the words, 'I saw no temple therein,' is not meant that in the New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, there will not be temples; but that in it the external will not be separate from the internal, because by 'a temple' is signified the Church as to worship...." (A. C. 918.) In the mere imitation of the heavenly temples we fear the result would be artificial, and thus merely "external," because it would not be done with rationality, intelligence, and good taste, and so would not be a spontaneous expression of the men of the Church.

     In the matter Of detailed adornment, however, a temple built in the simplest general form may now be something new, both within and without, where there is the intelligent and artistic use of applied correspondences, or symbolism. And in this respect the Bryn Athyn church, of the old Gothic pattern in general, is to be something quite new in the world. The symbolic forms cut in stone and carved in wood, the figured windows, the chancel furnishings, and above all the repository, are to be representative of the New Church, both in color, design, and imagery. Much, of course, is adapted from the Scriptures, but in the light of the spiritual sense. And the west window, for example, is to depict the five churches, as described in the Writings. As in our ritual, so in building churches, we must borrow and adapt from former ages. We must work with the old materials,-wood, stone, metal, glass; with the square, the angle; the circle, and the curve; with correspondential images from the Word and the kingdoms of nature. And when this is done in the spirit and light of the New Church, shall we not have something genuinely new?

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     The desire for something new in the form of a temple was felt in Bryn Athyn when the building of a church was proposed, though it produced no definite suggestion of any radical departure from known forms. Among the Christian types the choice lay between the Gothic church, with its choir err chancel, and the auditorium or theater style, with its platform and central pulpit, the latter obviously similar to the two temples described in the Writings. But the development of ritual in the General Church had departed from the central pulpit idea, which subordinates all else to the preacher and the sermon, and had led to a chancel ceremonial wherein the central thing is the repository for the Word, before which stand the altars for the sacraments, with lectern and pulpit in front on each side. This, it will be seen, involved the idea of a threefold chancel, as proposed by the Bishop in conformity with our established ritual.

     THE CHANCEL.

     The floor-plan of the chancel, therefore, became the logical starting point of a building that was to Be adapted to our worship, and it led inevitably toward something of the Gothic style, in contra-distinction to the auditorium church, with its central pulpit. The idea of imitating the two temples in heaven was necessarily abandoned, for it will be observed that they were primarily places of instruction, accompanied with no forms of worship, such as are essential in the church upon earth. (A. C. 1618, etc.) Extended consideration led to the adoption of the Gothic style and plan in general, this being regarded as the highest development of ecclesiastical architecture in the Christian Church. The altar and sacrament was the central thing in the ritual above and around which the Gothic church was reared, and the sacrament remains with us as the holiest ceremonial of worship in the New Church, wherein truly Christian worship is to be performed in the light of the Heavenly Doctrine. The Gothic, by its shadows, sought to represent the sacred mysteries of the Ward and worship; these shadows remain, but are dispelled in the light of the opened Word. And so the church at Bryn Athyn is to have something not found in any Gothic structure,-the sanctuary, with its repository for the Word, as the innermost plane of a trinal chancel, beyond the altars on the second plane, the lectern and pulpit on the first.

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This fact, indeed, Mr. Robb speaks of, when he says in his article, "Perhaps the most noticeable departure from the traditional Gothic form of plan is to be found in the addition of a sanctuary to enshrine the Word. This is indeed significant, for is not the truer understanding of the Word one of the principal reasons for the new dispensation?"

     By this inmost recess of the chancel, where the repository for the Word is placed, is represented the Lord's presence in the light of the open Word in the inmost of the New Church,-a new light of Doctrine imparting new understanding and fruit in the administration of the sacraments upon the middle plane of the chancel, and orally taught by lesson and sermon from the lectern and pulpit on the outmost plane. Thus the element of instruction is not: only represented but also provided for in full measure by the arrangements of this chancel. Moreover, good acoustics are regarded as essential, and a feature that need not be sacrificed in a Gothic church. For, to quote an authority, "a church, if properly designed, may be a perfect sanctuary, a perfect temple, a perfect auditorium."

     INSTRUCTION IN WORSHIP.

     Not long ago we had a chance conversation with a minister of the Lutheran Church who had visited the new building at Bryn Athyn, and who said that he had referred to it in a sermon as an example of a temple adapted to ritual but not to preaching. We assured him that such was not the case, but that the element of instruction was duly provided for in our Liturgy, and commonly occupied the major portion of the service; that it was not our intention to multiply forms of ritual to the neglect of other functions of the church, such as doctrinal teaching, education, and social life, all of which had been developed hitherto in our church without a corresponding growth and ultimation in worship. We had built schools and perish houses as the first pressing need, and were now reaching the stage of providing temples or church buildings, to be set apart for Divine worship, for the administration of the sacraments and rites, especially baptism and the had supper, and for instruction from the Word of God in a sphere of worship.

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     It is true that the Gothic form has tended to exalt the sacramental at the expense of the prophetic function of the church, or to place ritual before preaching. And this fact, no doubt, accounts for the idea that has gained currency, as expressed in the review we are considering, that the Bryn Athyn church is to be "a shrine for worship rather than an edifice far purposes of instruction," carrying with it the implication that the element of instruction is to be sacrificed. We think we have made it plain that such is not the case, either in the services of the General Church, or in this new edifice.

     The truth is that neither worship nor instruction should be sacrificed, but that both should be preserved in due balance and proportion. A temple is a holy place where men go to worship the Lord, and to receive instruction in Divine things. They go there to render homage to their God in humble acts of devotion, to give rather than to receive, though no sincere worshiper fails to receive richly of the Divine blessings in spiritual uplifting and enlightenment. In all Divine worship humiliation on man's part should precede. The Lord can then instruct, and exalt man's state thereby. Thus a state of worship is essential to an interior reception of the Divine teaching; without this enlightenment the acts of worship tend to become empty forms. The ideal of the church, therefore, is instruction in a sphere of worship, and justifies the employment of the arts in "beautifying the sanctuary of the Lord," that there may be an appeal through the senses to the loves of the heart, preparing them for reception of their companion wisdoms through the instruction of the understanding. This, we believe, is the end and aim in the building of the Bryn Athyn church.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS 1918

NOTES AND REVIEWS              1918

     For obvious reasons, the transactions and publications of learned societies in Europe during the eighteenth century are of considerable interest to serious students of Swedenborg's philosophy. One of the striking characteristics of this bulky literature is the amount of attention devoted to the slowly developing microscope, as the pioneer microscopical observations of Leeuwenhoek and Swammerdam in Holland, Malpighi in Italy, and Hooke and Crew in England, aroused numerous disciples of the hitherto undreamed-of microcosm.

     THE SCIENTIFIC MONTHLY, for September, reminds us that among the disciples of the great Dutch microscopist, Leeuwenhoek, was a Henry Baker, of London, who was almost contemporaneous with Swedenborg, (b. 1698; d. 1774). In an article entitled "Baker on the Microscope and the Polype" Professor L. L. Woodruff, of Yale University, discusses Baker's work, and mentions that "Martin Folkes, during his eleven-year presidency of the Royal Society, was on terms of considerable intimacy with Baker, being one of a small group of the Fellows who met now and then at Baker's home to consider matters philosophical. Folkes apparently had great confidence in Bakere's skill with the microscope, and frequently asked him to verify observations communicated to the Royal Society through the president."

     An evidence of the confidence reposed in Baker appears in the form of a facsimile title-page of a book, entitled "An Attempt' Towards a Natural History of the Polype: In a Letter to Martin Folkes, Esq., President of the Royal Society, Describing Their different Species; the Places where to seek and how to find them; their wonderful Production and Increase; the Form, Structure and Use of their several Parts (etc.). By Henry Baker, Fellow of ~he Royal Society, and Member of the Society of Antiquaries, in London."

     The references to Martin Folkes will remind the New Church reader of No. 344 of Divine Love and Wisdom, which commences, "I heard two presidents of the English Royal Society, Sir Hans Sloane and Martin Folkes, conversing together in the spiritual world about the existence of seeds and eggs, and about productions from them on the earth. The former ascribed them to nature, and contended that nature was endowed from creation: with a power and force to produce such effects by means of the sun's heat. The other maintained that this force is in nature unceasingly from God the Creator.

     The article in question contains much of interest to a student of Swedenborg's philosophy. W. W.

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CHURCH, THE SCHOOLS, AND THE WAR 1918

CHURCH, THE SCHOOLS, AND THE WAR              1918

     [EDITORIAL NOTE:-The following extracts are taken from an address delivered to the assembled Schools of the Academy of the New Church, by the President (Bishop N. D. Pendleton), at the opening exercises of the Forty-second academic school year, held on September 16, 1918. These passages will be of especial interest to all who are thinking of the welfare of the institutions of the Church during these days of change and war. The remainder of the address appeared in THE BULLETIN OF THE SONS OF THE ACADEMY for October, 1918.]

     "We believe that the New Church, and its education, will adapt itself to the coming ages-even until it reaches that crucial point in its history when it will adapt the age to itself.

     "I do not believe in evolution in the commonly accepted meaning of the word, but some of its teachings may be observed with profit; for instance, the sequence of life-forms on the earth suggest an interesting;-story one feature is impressive, namely, the quiet development of a superior form in an obscure but safe place, prior to its coming forth at the appointed time to conquer the earth. This has always appealed as involving something fundamentally true, and as being in principle that which is signified by the growth of the Man Child in the wilderness,-the brooding of a few for an age in some protected place. In this connection I was struck anew with this statement: 'It will be a long time before the internal sense of the Word is recognized." (S. S.) It will be a long time before the superior spiritual man of the New Age is sufficiently formed to come forth and conquer.

     "In the meantime the Church, while awaiting the day, must be in a safe place, must guard itself, must assume that form which is known to be most durable, which Bishop W. F. Pendleton has so often commended. In order that it may carry safely through the coming changes, it must name a pliable surface, with an unyielding interior. If either of these two conditions be lacking, it will be broken by future contingencies.

     "The Lord reveals His law, He rules by the events of His Providence. We must see to it that the law: revealed rightly interprets the event. Then will the event confirm the law. By the event I mean all that the future has in store in the way of providential discovery in the field of human knowledge, calling for alterations in the interpretative theories, whether of revelation or science.

     "If, for instance, when Africa is covered by European settlements, no celestial Church such as we have pictured be discovered, what shall we say of the account given in the Spiritual Diary?

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Some students of the Writings, among them Bishop Benade, have held that in this matter we have confused natural with spiritual phenomena, that we must seek in the spiritual counterpart of Africa the object of our quest.

     "This is but a crude illustration. There will be more subtle and far reaching problems, making demands upon our adaptability. Time is an inexorable judge, and an impartial rectifier of misconceptions. Every human delusion is on the way to ultimate destruction; only that survives which is fit, which is true, and adaptable to changing states of mind and conditions of life. In the flux of natural life-forms on the earth, only that which can be adapted endures, and on the plane of the spirit, only the truth abides;-the truth of God, religion, and the life to come. This alone will survive the conflict of the ages. The faith that we have in this truth sustains us-enables us to look with confidence to the unknown future.

     "The New Revelation will adapt itself to the changed states-the needs-of the coming ages, and will in time adapt these states to itself-will produce them. We must distinguish between the Revelation and the passing partial conceptions of it, which characterize our minds today; we must make this distinction for the sake of future freedom, not forgetting, however, that the Revelation and the Church are to us just that which we see them, to be, no more, no less. Our conception may in part be fallacious; yet for us, and for the time, it is valid. This state of the Church with us is our holy thing. It may at times be signified by minor ultimates, in themselves inconsequential, but because they are significant, they are important, for the time being at least. I refer to those things which, because significant, have become ritualistic and habitual with us, and serve to give ultimate distinction to our worship and work. In our worship, for example, the opening of the Word with marked reverence is significant of the essential character of the New Revelation. It is an ultimate recognition of the internal sense of the Word spiritually opened. In our school the sacred use of the Hebrew language, and to a less extent of the Greek and: Latin, is based on considerations comprehended by Newchurchmen only. These things serve us well, and it may be they will continue,-the one to characterize the ritual of our worship, and the other to give a certain distinguishing quality and color to our educational work. The general use of the sacred languages looks like a waste of time to the devotees of the vocational idea in education, and while we may; have to concede something to this idea in self-defense, we certainly shall be under the necessity of resisting its dominance....................

     "In the development of every use: there are two phases-one of the need and the other of fruition. In some respects the manifest operation of the spiritual law above referred to is more obvious in the need than in the fruition.

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While the need may, indeed, be accompanied by doubt and depression, yet the fact of the need produces a call-a demand which brings an answer-and records, as it were, a miracle.

     "We have evidence of this at the present time-on a large scale in the world. Witness our country. A hundred million souls united by a common thought; the whole mass conspiring in a single effort, in order that it may exercise the totality of its power in a given direction. Never has America so felt its solidarity, so sensed its existence as one individual. This is so marked that all men feel it, and are exalted by the realization of it. This is a blessing to a country such as ours. The new power developed is greater than that arising from a simple addition of the power of so many million hands. It is a multiplying of the power of the nation's spirit. Men are speculating upon the marvels resulting from the concentration of the thoughts and affections of so many million minds. They speculate fantastically perhaps. And yet the fact of this speculation proves a realizing sense of the organic unity of many minds in a larger form; and a new spiritual power is discovered, capable of working miracles.

     "Recently I half read, half dreamed, the story of a man-a politician-somewhat of a rascal in the selfish, game of life. The war came. He was deeply stirred. Far from a saint, yet he answered the call to serve as a unit in the great American Man, gathering for battle The unworthy part of him was for the time put aside. He was borne along by a force superior to himself, superior to every counsel of safety. At first he seemed as the victim of a restless urge, then as one transformed by passion for his country. Finally he found himself in the grip of a force which gathered in its folding movement all who could be redeemed from the fear of death and feel the pulse of freedom for mankind. The story was moving and instructive.

     "I thought of another force, definitely sensed by fewer souls, yet of even deeper moment and more universal scope, having regard not to natural freedom, but to spiritual salvation,-a force gathering into its fold all who could be redeemed from selfish, fear and the error of sin, working through all instrumentalities of doctrine-all religions capable, even in partial idea, of presenting God in human form, but working clearly and purely by means of that Revelation which has inaugurated the Second Coming of the Lord by a manifestation of the Human Divine God, Jesus Christ, visible in and by means of the internal sense of the Lord, who has come again in power to destroy the heaven and earth of human formation; because that formation, that ecclesiastical structure, was of false design and based on wrong. Yet the Lord came again not only to break, but to build out of the fallen wreck, of all redeemable parts, another heaven and another earth, a New Church signified by the Holy City of ancient prophecy, the New Jerusalem of Divine promise and thus in the end to grant to the race the final fulfilment of its hopes, so long deferred.

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     Nothing less than this is signified by the New Jerusalem, and this is the import of that fine spiritual force which is now definitely sensed only by the sparse groups of New Church believers scattered throughout the world.

     "This force is a pulse, a wave of light and life from the spiritual sun. Few, indeed, are they who sense it, few are as yet spiritually attuned to its rhythmic beat-capable of being caught and ordered by its enfolding movement, but these are redeemed from selfish fear, and raised above the error of sin, and they become soldiers in the greatest cause humanity has known, or can ever know."
FAITHFULNESS 1918

FAITHFULNESS       PETER CLAASEN       1918

     (A paper read at asocial gathering, held at Rosthern, Sask., Canada, September 1, 1918. See News Notes.)

     In Revelation 2:10 we read: "Be those faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life."

     It is important that we understand clearly the meaning of the word "faithful." In the natural sense the words, "be thou faithful unto death," signify that they who are hare alluded to must not depart from their fidelity, even to the end of their lives; but in the spiritual sense, that they must receive and acknowledge truths, until falses are removed and, as it were, abolished by them; for this sense is properly for those who are in the spiritual world, who are not liable to death; wherefore by death is here meant the end of their temptations, (A. R. 102.)

     To "receive truths until falses are removed" means to make progress in regeneration continually, until we have attained the measure of a man, which is of an angel. We certainly should take to heart the natural sense of the passage, namely, to prove faithful and true in everything, even to the end of our lives. But we must lay the principal stress upon its spiritual sense, because spiritual truths, enfolded in natural truths, are what promote our regeneration; for only the man who begins to think and to will spiritually can be regenerated, and he is regenerated in so far as his thinking and willing are free from falsity and evil.

     In the successive decline of the Christian Church the knowledge of the internal truths of the Word became lost and, as a result, the thought of men has become merely natural, and is constantly becoming more completely so. But the spiritual coming of the Lord, revealing the: power and glory in the letter of the Word, hitherto unknown, will restore a new golden age, like that of ancient times, when there was an intimate conjunction of the Lord with men. The man who knows only the letter of the Word remains in natural perceptions, or in natural enlightenment.

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This light, I dare say, sends out a certain brightness, like that of the moon at night, but it does not give power for real growth and development. Thus by natural knowledges or truths, and a natural good life, man cannot be regenerated to any interior degree, and so enter into an interior conjunction with the Lord. But the spiritual sun, with its magnificent light and life-giving warmth-corresponding to wisdom and love from God-as shining forth from the letter, gives us the qualifications for becoming truly regenerated. In the power and great glory, revealed in the Second Coming of the Lord, lies the true essence; which can transform us into angelic men.

     In the course of spiritual transformation, which is called regeneration, we are to be faithful unto death, that is, until falses are removed and, as it were, abolished by truths. Perseverance and constancy, in all that pertains to truth and uprightness, must lead us on to victory. We must not withdraw the hand put to the plough, for to do so would prove that we are not qualified for the kingdom of God. The act of ploughing means preparation from good to receive truth. (A. C. 5895.) And let us bear in mind that the slightest departure from the path of truth and honesty may obscure the truth received, and thus shake the heaven that has been built up within us by severe combats. By withdrawing the hand from the plough is signified departure from acknowledged Divine Truths, which leads to the great sin of profanation. Let it be our deep and firm resolve that such shall not be our lot.

     Do we understand thoroughly the meaning of "faithfulness?" The word has a wide range of meaning, as verity, honesty, sincerity, credibility, confidence, conscientiousness, belief, truth, purity, carefulness, adherence; fidelity, reality, righteousness, straightness, honor, dignity, chastity, fair dealing, devotion, obedience and allegiance.

     The Newchurchman must be faithful from religion, that is, his faithfulness must have its origin in the endeavor to keep the Ten Commandments as laws of God. This involves that we must be faithful in domestic life, in social life, in our lives as citizens of the country, and in our life as members of the Church. These duties we find clearly set forth in the Heavenly Doctrines. The course of spiritual reformation and regeneration is pointed out to us distinctly, so that if our will to walk therein be firm, we cannot miss the way. Yet we are weak, and must constantly fight with the giant Goliath, the Philistine, the depraved proprium, and this combat brings with it many hardships. We become indolent; tired, indifferent; but mercifully we are led again into elevated and happy states. It must be so; the life of combat and regeneration requires these alterations. If we remain faithful, submitting our will entirely to the Lord's, then will the Lord fight the battle for us, and carry out His, wonderful work in us.

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     That faithfulness in the kingdom of God must be something great and very important, is evident from the fact that we are so often told in the Word how faithful the Lord is, and we also are asked to be so. And if we should look up all the passages in the Word that treat of our being faithful, we would find that, in connection with these passages, the promise of help and assistance from the Lord is always given, so that we may carry out our faithfulness confidently and joyfully.

     The close of our passage from Revelation reads: "And I will give thee a crown of life." Such is the result, the reward, when we are faithful, when we truly hold out in the combats of temptation, which accompany the life of regeneration. The crown is an ensign of warfare and victory; hence it was an ensign of victory to martyrs, because they had conquered in temptations. (A. R. 103, 300)

     To be faithful calls for a life of use. This is evident from what the Lord said of Moses, that he "was faithful in his whole house." There are few men that give their lives to the service of the Lord and mankind as faithfully and unselfishly as Moses did. As described in the Word, he will live eternally as a shining example of usefulness in the kingdom of the Lord. A life of devotion to uses is required of us as Newchurchmen, and this on both the heavenly and the worldly planes. We have, therefore, a two-fold liability. We know the will of the Lord in respect to both spiritual and natural affairs. As to both we must be faithful. This requires wisdom, which we can always receive from the opened Word, the Divine source, which can never be exhausted.

     Through the activity of a minister of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, during the summer season now closing, we have received spiritual knowledge in harmony with revealed truth. The young people have made gratifying progress. In general we can observe a more deeply affectional and a truer spiritual life. This we perceive, and we thank the Lord for it all. We also thank the man who has been the instrumentality, and we shall look forward to the happiness of having him with us again in the future, if it be the Lord's will. We may say of him, that he is "faithful in his whole house." And to the parting friend, brother and minister, we call out heartily: "God reward you for it!" and "Till we meet again!"-if not here, then in the: more beautiful world.

     In the foregoing we have endeavored to describe the excellent state that should exist in the Church of the New Jerusalem a state of faithfulness. But what we have said is but a slight reflection of the heavenly faithfulness in which the angels are. May we come into this more and more fully, so that in the Church there may be fulfilled the words of the Lord:

     "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evenmore."

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Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     KITCHENER, ONT.-September has been a rather busy month with us, in getting our various activities started for the coming season. School opened on September 3rd, with an attendance of seven pupils. Miss Evangeline Iler is teacher.

     On the following Sunday our Sunday School began, with a large attendance of children and a number of adult visitors. The order of the day is as follows. First, a service, at which the Pastor gives a short talk on the topic of the day's lesson. Then the children adjourn to their class rooms, (there are four at present), to be instructed by their teachers in the day's lesson from the Word, to learn the Ten Commandments, passages from the Word, etc. This lasts for half an hour. Then they reunite, and the Pastor asks some short oral questions upon the preceding week's lesson. A singing practice follows, and a short service concludes the afternoon's exercises.

     The society's weekly Friday meetings began with a social, and on this occasion we seized the opportunity to surprise the Pastor and Miss Constance Waelchli with a "shower." It was a genuine surprise to them, and added much life and zest to the party.

     The young people opened their season's activities with a supper, at which forty-four sat down to table. A number of these were married couples, but we include these in our young folks. While still at table we held our annual meeting with the election of officers. As this occupied more time than we had anticipated we were compelled to abandon part of our toast list. However, we managed to get in several toasts, (with perfectly good cider), and to hear the remarks of two of our speakers. These were followed by expressions of opinion from others, and it was generally agreed to hold two or possibly three such suppers during the year, at which the young people would feel free to discuss their needs and, failings, and to take up subjects of interest for discussion.

     Owing to the epidemic of influenza, which has taken more or less possession of the society, and which keeps the doctor hustling, we were obliged to postpone a surprise party for Mr. Jacob Stroh on the occasion of his seventieth birthday. Nevertheless we managed to present him with a gold-headed, initialed cane, which we sent up to his house, along with a note from the Pastor on behalf of the society. F. V. R.

     PHILADELPHIA, PA.-The Church will doubtless be interested to hear the results of the summer's missionary work. As was noted in recent LIFE, wherever we attempted street-speaking this year we met with a hostile reception. All through the winter, in fact for one consecutive year, we ran our street car advertisements, and the result of these was to stir up a good deal of curiosity and interest in people. It made them take the trouble to go to their ministers and ask them about Swedenborg and the New Church. Of course we got the back-fire from these interviews, and it was not an uncommon experience to see a man stand patiently on the pavement for an hour or more just for the chance of coming back at us. These arguments were usually fruitless, and consumed a great deal of time.

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However, some new prospectives were added to the list of possible Newchurchmen.

     The results so far are thoroughly promising. As one business man told me, "Some of my best customers today are concerns that turned me down for three or four gears, but I did not give up." We are not going to give up. In time we are bound to get results.

     The item of greatest importance in the Advent Society news for October is the Sunday School. Last June, when we closed for the summer, the membership was 35, and we have been somewhat anxious to see how many of the pupils would return to us in the fall. During the summer we held one picnic and this helped to keep the School together. But the greatest factor was the ardent work of Mr. Harvey L. Lechner as Scout Master. He practically devoted his summer to the Scouts, denying himself a much needed vacation. The results of his faithful work manifested themselves upon the opening of the School this month, for we had not lost a single pupil, and three new ones had come to us unsolicited, increasing the membership to 38. Our slogan now is, "Fifty before the end of the year!" And I feel confident that we will be able to gratify the readers of the LIFE some time next spring, by announcing that this result, of which we are now only dreaming, has become a reality.

     The outlook for the coming year is exceedingly bright. In the first place, we have one year s successful work in the Sunday School to use as an argument when asking parents to send their children to us. That means much to the faithful workers who visit individual families with the object of gaining children for the School. In this connection, I would like to take the opportunity of thanking Mrs. Hilldale, Sr., for the faithful work she did for us last fall. At that time she had only promises to offer the people she called upon, and it is greatly to her credit that we now have nine pupils secured by her during the year.

     Another thing that makes the outlook for the Sunday School so bright, is the fact that we have seen our way clear to establish an activity for the girls, corresponding to the Scout movement for the boys. The need for this has been felt for some time, as we have been gaining more boys than girls. So now we are to have a sewing class for the girls, conducted by Mrs. Samuel Fred. Haxton, who has had a great deal of experience in matters of this kind, and who will, we feel sure, make a decided success of the class.

     During the month the men of the Society have been very busy making the pews for the church, so that we may have an artistic unity in our little chapel. By the time this is read they will be in place, a source of inspiration to the members of the Society. K. R. A.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.-The months of July and August were spent, as usual, in the Canadian Northwest. The first call was made at REGINA, Saskatchewan, where I had a delightful day with Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger. In the evening we had a short service.

     Thence I proceeded to CHAPLIN, Sask., where I remained for two weeks, preaching and holding meetings frequently, both near Chaplin and in a farming community fifteen miles south of the town. The attendance, though not so good as in former years, was encouraging, the average at services being twenty-four. The General Church has a number of staunch members and friends in the Chaplin district. An interesting experience was the conducting of a marriage service in accordance with the Mennonite custom, followed by the New Church people there, the ceremony being preceded by a service, including a sermon.

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During this service the couple occupy the front seat. In our sermon we presented the doctrine concerning the conjunction of souls and minds in true marriage, and the discourse held the close attention of the audience of about sixty persons, many of whom were not of the New Church.

     Six weeks were spent at ROSTHERN, Sask., ministering to the circle there and at HAGUE, twelve miles distant. The program of work was much the same as in preceding years. Services, Sunday School, and classes for old and young, were held regularly, totaling eleven gatherings each week. The attendance was good, and the interest shown was most earnest. In the Sunday School, at Rosthern, there were twenty-four pupils, and it was seldom that any of them were absent. We had the pleasure of a week's visit from Mr. and Mrs. William Evens, of Benton, Alberta. During their visit a picnic was held, at which fifty-five persons, old and young were present. Concerning the delightful events of our closing Sunday there will, I understand, be a direct communication to the LIFE from Rosthern.

     During my last week at Rosthern I made side trip to Kerrobert, Sask., to visit Mr. and Mrs. George Pagon and Mrs. W. Schnarr, Mrs. Pagon's mother. Here two most enjoyable days were spent. The children of the family received instruction twice, and one evening we had services.

     On my way home I stopped off for a day at Winnipeg, Manitoba, and in the evening conducted services at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Peppier.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     ROSTHERN, SASH., CANADA.-On Sunday, the 1st of September, the summer's activities of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli in Rosthern and Hague came to a close. The Hague members spent the day with their Rosthern friends. Divine services were conducted in the morning, the church being beautifully decorated with plants and flowers for the occasion. During the opening service a confirmation took place. Then we heard an excellent sermon from the Pastor. At the close the Holy Supper was celebrated, in which twenty persons participated.

     In the evening, at eight o'clock, a farewell banquet was held at the residence of Mr. John Hamm. There were present from Hague, Mr. and Mrs. Unruh, Mr. and Mrs. Bergen and family, and Mr. Peter Claasen; from Rosthern, the families Hamm, Heinrichs, Lemky, and Bech, and young people from several other families. All these formed quite a considerable circle of New Church people, forty-eight persons in all. From the beginning to the close of the festival ever, one was in exalted and joyful spirit. Mr. John Hamm acted as toastmaster. The first toast was to "The Church." Then came the toast to "The Faithfulness of the Church," in response to which addresses were made by the Messrs. John Bech, Peter Claasen, Henry Bergen, Erdman Heinrichs, Peter Klippenstein, and the Pastor. In closing the consideration of the theme the Pastor dwelt eloquently on the great necessity of our being faithful to the Heavenly Doctrines and this in every relation of life. Other toasts then followed, among them to the General Church and to the Academy. Beautiful songs heightened the happiness of the occasion.

     Afterwards refreshments mere served, and then our circle continued in the enjoyment of social pleasures until nearly midnight. Reluctantly we parted, bidding a hearty and grateful farewell to Mr. Waelchli. All took home with them the conviction that we had been privileged to enjoy a blessed evening.
     P. CLAASEN.

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     PALISADES PARK, MICHIGAN.-The New Church people at Palisades Park, and at Covert Beach adjoining, held regular services during the months of July and August. The Rev. David H. Klein conducted worship part of the time; the Rev. W. L. Gladish preached on several Sundays; the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt officiated on one Sunday; and Mr. Seymour G. Nelson read a sermon on two occasions. The meetings were well attended, and greatly appreciated, especially by some New Church people to whom this offered the only opportunity of attending New Church services during the whole year. Special instruction was given the children by Miss Ellen V. Wallenberg, and social gatherings were held each week. S. G. N.

     RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.-In a letter to a friend in Bryn Athyn, Senhor Levindo Cnstro de la Fayette gives the following news:

     "The abode of the General Association of the New Jerusalem since September, 1917, is at Rua Visconde de Itaborahy 35, which is in a commercial center, a few steps from the post office, and near the harbor. It consists of three large rooms; in the front room, toward the east, the Sunday services are celebrated, as well as the annual feasts, which are, in their order, 1. Pax Vobiscum. or Easter, the first Sunday in April. 2. Pro Nova Hierosolyma, June 19th. 3. Verbum Domini, the third Sunday in October. 4. Invitatio ad Novam Ecclesiam, November 17th. 5. Primus Adventus Domini, December 29th.

     "On the 19th of June this year, we celebrated the feast at night, in the presence of a numerous gathering. For the first time there were songs written by a New Church composer, who contemplates making music for the services and the feast days of the New Church, and initiating a course of singing for the members of the Association. Since we have been in the new abode, the number of members has increased, and there is greater confidence and animation.

     "I have already organized the priesthood of the New Jerusalem in Brazil, though not without opposition. Brethren Henry Leonardos and Joao de Mendonca Lima have been ordained as ministers of the first degree. . . . By this act the New Church has entered into order, and has thereby progressed. The institution of the priesthood has given a new aspect to the worship; everything is done with greater discipline and reverence....A kindergarten is to be established, and also a Hebrew course under Senhor David Perez.

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WANTED 1918

WANTED              1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.



     A young lady to assist in light housekeeping. An opportunity will be given, if desired, to take some of the College courses in the Academy. Address: REV. W. H. ALDEN, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
NOTICE 1918

NOTICE              1918

     In compliance with the instructions of the War Industries Board, having for their purpose the conservation of paper, we now reduce our monthly issue from 64 to 48 pages, but shall hope to maintain the usual quantity and variety of reading matter, by printing some articles in smaller type. We trust this will be fully understood by contributors, and prove no hardship to readers.
ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD 1918

ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD              1918

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Bretevil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peckham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Patestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.

702




     THE ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE.

     News Notes.

     Hitherto our News Notes have been made up largely of news about the boys on the Western Front and in training camps. Lately we have received letters from some of those who are in the East-Palestine, India, and Greece. These will be of special interest in view of the late advances of the Allies in the East. John Cooper, who has been in Palestine for nearly two years, has traveled a great deal in that part of the world. He has been in Jerusalem, Jaffa, Ramleh, and in Egypt along the Suez Canal. In a letter received from him a few weeks ago he wrote, "I am now on the seashore at El Arish, the only decent place on the Sinai desert. We have worked all the way up from Kantare, on the Suez Canal, and to reach El Arish was an absolute blessing. You can well imagine the change, to be working alongside the sea, in place of nothing but sand for 100 miles.'" In a later letter he said; "Tomorrow we are moving away from this lovely little spot, and going down the desert. How muck longer our stay on this desert is going to be I don't know, but I'm hoping every day that we may be called back to Palestine, as it is not so hot up there." Now that the war news from Palestine has reached us, we can well believe his hopes were realized.

     Conrad Howard, who has been in a convalescent camp at Bangalore, India, writes, "I suppose you are wondering why I haven't been back to Mesopotamia months ago, and must begin to look upon me as bit of a 'lead swinger'-a soldier's term for a 'scrounger,' but I can tell you truthfully that this is not the case, as I shall he only too glad to get away anywhere, just for the sake of a change. Although I do not regret my visit to India, there is such a thing as having enough, and now I am 'fed up.' A soldier's life makes one very restless, I find. 'Before I go any further, let me tell you how much I appreciate the good work of the A. W. S. C. Surely there is no other society that ministers so generously to soldier's wants. It is very gratifying to be reminded in so many practical ways of the good-will that emanates from all the Church friends we have left behind. I think the fact of our being so far away gives us sometimes a clearer vision of what the Church should mean in our lives; especially out here in India, where the contrast between the Eastern and Western customs are so great." His entire letter is so interesting, we hope we can find space for more of it later.

     Lieut. Horace Finley has been in Salonica for the last few months. We received an interesting letter from him lately, telling of his journey down there.

     The Twenty-eighth Division, American E. F., which is known as the "Iron Division," has been in action, with but a few weeks' rest, ever since it arrived in France. Capt. Edwin Asplundh, of this Division, writes, "France is certainly a beautiful country, judging from what I have seen. The pretty little villages, with houses of stone and red tile roofs, have been built in the most picturesque places. Of course, an advancing army must live in enemy destroyed country, which is not at all pleasant, but one's spirit is kept up by the success. At present we are all very much delighted with the great work of our Allies. It is a most remarkable showing, considering what they have gone through. Our Division has been cited in General Orders for fine work, so you can imagine we are mighty well pleased. I hope every man in the army has an opportunity of getting into the real fighting. It is so different from the life in the rear, and it is only by this front-line experience that one can really appreciate the war problems in detail.

703


About eight of us live, or, rather, sleep, in a dug-out,-an old French wine cellar-no wine, as the Boches got it. I am fortunate in having a stenographer who plays a violin. He managed to smuggle this along with him even though his baggage allowance is extremely limited. It is really quite nice to have music up in our present location."

     In a letter to his mother, Corp. Frank Grant, of the 38th Infantry, wrote, "We are not on the front now; we are resting in one of the prettiest little towns in France. I do not know how long we will stay here, but I hope we get to stay a long time. All the boys are well, and in the best of spirits. You will remember that in my last letter I told you about the battle of the Marne; besides winning the French War Cross, our regiment earned the title of 'The Rock of the Marne.' If people don't believe that, I just wish they could talk to some German prisoners we took."'

     An interesting letter from Sergt. Aldwin Smith, written September 5th, was lately received. "Our organization has been in the thick of it," he writes, "since the beginning of the first drive from Chateau-Thierry up, and still going. For a long time we were hauling ammunition, which is pretty exciting work. One minute they would be shelling the road, and you have to duck for shelter, or some Boche aviator glides down, with his motor shut off so you can't hear him, and all at once turns a spot-light on you, and opens up with machine gun fire. It's a great life if you don't weaken. Just lately they took us off the ammunition train and put us to repairing guns (French 75's and 155's), I rifles, tractors, trucks, and machine guns. They don't think a thing about sending us right up into the lines to repair one of the above, and to the worst of it is that we can't reply to the Boche's shells, as we are a non-combative force. There is a little satisfaction in being able to reciprocate. The first day of September will be a day always to be remembered by me. I was sent out with a detail of twelve men to repair a tractor, which was hit by a shell. The town where the tractor was supposed to be was between the light 75 artillery and the infantry. But how close to infantry they didn't tell us. We reached the town all right, but couldn't find a sign of the tractor. So we went on above the town, looking on both sides of the road. After going about a mile up the road, I decided we had better look in the woods. While one crew was looking in the woods on one side of the road, I took another party of five up over, a hill to see what could be seen. Well, there wasn't a thing for us to see, but a German observer saw us, and in a couple of minutes we were under the worst artillery fire have ever seen. There is one shell remember in particular. It came singing over, and sounded like it was going to hit the truck and all of us square. But instead of hitting the truck it landed about ten feet from us, in a marsh, which allowed it to go deep before exploding, and when it did, it completely covered us with mud, as we were all lying on the ground. The marsh was the only thing that saved us, because if it had hit solid ground there wouldn't have been enough left of the truck or us to pick up."

     It is suggested that the boys write their names on the LIFE and BULLETIN when they leave them behind. Francis Frost wrote not long ago, "I wandered into a Y. M. C. A. hut in a certain place where I stopped for a few hours, and spied a copy of the December, '17, LIFE! I was rather surprised, and kept my eyes open for anyone I might know at that place. I saw no one, however. The copy looked worn, too. I wonder how it got there?"

     At Bryn Athyn we were all delighted to see Harold Pitcairn, who was home on a week's leave, after finishing his ground school training at Austin, Texas.

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On his return he will be sent to a flying school to complete his course. Winfred Smith also was home for a few days, expecting to leave for France soon.

     The latest word from Corp. Frank Doering is that he was stilt in the hospital at Angers, expecting to get back into action soon. Fred. Stroh, of the Canadian Engineers, wrote that he had been doing a lot of traveling lately. "I have seen quite a lot of former Zieinie territory, and it sure is an awful mess now. It's going to be a terrible task building up after the war. It looks good, though, to see a bunch of prisoners marching back, and some of them sure are ugly looking brutes, with their steel helmets. We have been working right behind the infantry, so we saw most everything there was to see, and though I wouldn't have missed it I hope I don't see very much more. It feels good to go forward though, instead of sticking Wound the same old place. It's harder work, but ever so much more satisfactory. The Americans are very well thought of by everybody over here, and no doubt they will be in at the finish. 'Wonderful' is all I can say about the way they have come into it. The French soldiers like them very much, and the French sure are the best fighters of the lot, without a doubt."

     Rupert Kuhl wrote that he was one of the first to go over the top in the Canadian advance during the middle of August, and says that the outstanding Boche characteristic is to throw up his hands.

     Lieut. Albert Cleare, of the Royal Air Force, has recently arrived in France, after spending some time in England and Scotland and also visiting Belgium. He writes, "Since I've been here I have seen one of our machines bring down one of the giant Gotha night-bombing machines used by the Boches, and a few days later I looked at the wreckage. It had five powerful engines in it, and a crew of nine men and the machine itself, with a load of bombs, was quite a large one. Our air men lost no time in going after it, and it was brought down in flames from some great height about 1 a. m. It lit up the sky for quite a distance around when it came down in flames. You could hardly imagine that a machine that size, with the weight of the engines, bombs and crew, would be able to fly, but it is, and quite a few are used on both sides; they travel rather fast, too."

     Arthur Schnarr has received his discharge from the Canadian Army, and is attending the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn. Trench fever was the cause of his discharge.

     Our soldier readers will be interested in the news that Miss Helen Colley, of Bryn Athyn, is now in France. She is a member of the entertainment branch of the Y. M. C. A., and will travel from place to place through France. She is anxious to meet the New Church soldiers. For the information of those who have never seen Miss Colley, she asks Us to say that her picture will be on the program posted in the Y. M. C. A. huts in which she will appear. We might suggest that the "Academy Whistle" will always bring quick response. Her Paris address is 12 rue 1 d'Ageusseau, c/o Mr. F. S. Edmonds, Y. M. C. A. Hdq. LOUSIE DAVIS.

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ROLL OF HONOR 1918

ROLL OF HONOR              1918

     Who does not remember and love him who fights even unto death that his country may be free. (T. C. R. 710.)

LIEUT. W. REY GILL, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.
GUY CHRISTOPIIER PEMBERTON, Durban, Natal, South Africa. Killed in action at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
LEON ROSE, London, England. Royal West Surrey Regiment. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29, 1916.
REGINALD WATERS, London, England, Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
ROY S. WELLS, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. 11th R. R. Engineers. Died April 12, 1918, of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa War Risk Section, S. O. S., American E. F., France.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 186 Inf. Brigade, Pioneer Company, B. E. F., France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56th Squadron, R. A. F., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, 3 A/M CHARLES, Co1chester, Eng. 142538, R. A. F., 124th Squadron, Fowlmere Aerodrome, N. Royston, Herts, England.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. 66 E. Dulwich Grove, E. Dulwich, London S. E. 22, England.
ASPLUNDH, CART. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engs., A. P. O. 744. American E. F., France.
ASPLUNDH, PVT. GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103d Engrs., Co. B, American E. F., France.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., A. P. O. 716, American E. F., France.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
BARNITZ, SERGT. H. L., Glenview, Ill. 17th Prov. Recruit Co., Engrs. Replacement Troops, Camp Forest, Ga.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTIFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks N-48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, LIEUT. FRED. H., Toronto, Ont., Canada. R. A. F., c/o Welsh Margetson, 16 Moot Lane Fore St., London, E. C., Eng.
BELLINCER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, A Battery, Canadian Reserve Brigade, C. F. A. Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, Eng.
BELLINGER, SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, 12th Canadian Inf. Brigade Signals, 4th Canadian Div., B. E. F., France.

706



BERGSTROM, PVT. E. E., Denver, Colo. Co. D, Hdq. Battn. G. H. Q., A. P. O. 717, American E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, PVT. E. T., Denver, Col. Provost Guard Co. Hdq, Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLACKMAN, PVT. G. E., Glenview, Ill. 15th Co., 161st Depot Brigade, Camp Grant, Ill.
BLAIR, PVT. J. EDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. Squadron A, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada. 602108, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E. F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, CAPT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. C. O. T. S., Camp Lee, Va.
BURNHAM, SERGT. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, American E. F., France.
BURNHAM, SERGT. LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., American E. F., France.
CHILDS, CAPTAIN R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters 28th Division, H. P. 0. 744a, American E. F., France.
CHILDS, SYDNEY B., New York, N. Y. A. F. C., c/o Personnel Officer, Headquarters, Camp Mills, Log Island, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. J, Philadelphia, Pa. R. A. F., c/o Cox & Co., Bankers, 16 Channg Cross, London, E. C. 2, England.
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. 62d Pioneer Inf., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2D LIEUT. R. T., Baltimore, Md. Camp Dir, N. J.
COLE, PVT. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. A, 2nd Casual Batt., 2nd Platoon, U. S. Marines, American E. F.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 654429, 16th Canadian General Hospital. Ward 6, Orpington, Kent England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COOPER, CORP. WILLIAM R.,. Philadelphia, PB. P.T. and B. F. Engineers' Training Depot, St. Johns, P. Q, Canada.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
CREAMER, SERGT. MAJOR FRANCIS B., Williamsport, Pa. Headquarters 28th Div., American E. F., France.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Squadron C, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Engineer R. C. 21st Engrs. (Lt. Ry.), A. P. O., 747, American E. F., France.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, PVT. DAVID F., Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 16th Canadian General Hospital, Ward 7, Orpington, Kent, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. 12, 111th Inf., American E. F., France.
DOERING, 2ND LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks 50, P. T. S. 3rd, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
ELPHICK, TELEGRAPHIST FELIX H.,Cheam, Surrey, England. R. N. V. R., H. M. W/T Station, Inchkeith, Leith, N. B., Scotland.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Salonika, Greece.

707



EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C, 42nd Batt., R. H. C.     B. E. F., France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Battn. Road, Colchester England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240, R. A. F., 79 Co. T. Squadron, 42nd Wing, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Ont., Can.
FINLEY, 1ST LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. 273 Railway Co., R. E., R. S. F., Salonika, Greece.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, Je Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, S. P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France,
FROST, PVT. A. C., Atlanta, Ga. Co. F, 8th Inf., 3rd Replacement Bn.,Camp Gordon, Ga.
FROST PVT. 1ST CL., FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, Q. M. C N. A., A. P. O. 745, American E. F., France.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, England. L. Z. 3624, 142 Maiden Road, Colchester, Eng.
GLADISH, 2ND LIEUT. DAVID F., Franklin Park, Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLADISH, DONALD C., Chicago, Ill. Co. 363, Bn. N., U. S. M. C., Paris Island, S. C.
GLEBE, EGERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 5th Cadet Squadron, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, PTE. JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929. C. C. C. Bn., C. E. F., France. c/o 72nd General Hospital.
Grant, CORP. J. F., New York, N. Y. Co. L, 38th Inf., American E. F., France.
Grant, PVT. 1ST CL., FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, A. P. O. 901, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
GUNTHER, PVT. W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 399, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, PVT. ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. EMERY, Arbutus, Md. Co. F, 305th Engrs., A. P. O., 756, American E. F., France.
HART, CORP. DOUGLAS E., Addiscombe, Croyden, England. 530713, 4 Platoon, 2/15 London Regt., c/o G. P. O., London, England.
HEADSTEN, 2ND LIEUT. JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. c/o Depot Quartermaster, Omaha, Nebraska.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa. Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HEINRICHS, PVT. HENRY. 3353715, 1st D. B. S. R., 136th Draft, C. E. F., England,
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Infantry Unassigned. c/o Postmaster, N. Y. American E. F.
HICKS, ENSIGN DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Auxiliary Reserve, Barracks K-E, c/o Lieut. B. O. Wills, Pelham Bay Park, N. Y.
HICKS, PVT. DONAL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. I, 6th Inf., Training and Replacement Battn., Camp Lee, Va.
HICKS, CADET KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, 84th C. T. S., Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Can.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont. 4904 No. 1 Canadian Army Auxiliary Horse Co., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2006629, F CO., 2nd Canadian Engineers Reserve Batt Seaford Camp, Sussex, Eng.
HOWARD, PVT. CONRAD, London, England. 2/180259 M. T., A. S. C. Mob. Section, Maude Camp, Bangalore, Mysore, India.

708



HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris France. 55331, Prisonnier de guerre, an Camp de Hameln, Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet. 31 rue Henri Regnault, St, Cloud. Seine et Oise.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 285519, 15th Platoon, 4 Co., 11th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F, France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. D, 313th Machine Gun Batt., American E. F., France.
JOHNSON, PVT. RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F. 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, SERGT. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 4th Div. Sanitary Train, Ambulance Co. 21, American E. F., France.
KING, PVT. ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. Machine Gun Co., 40th Inf., Camp Custer, Mich.
KING, J. M., Glenview, Ill. U. S. S. "Rileade," 170 Border St., East Boston, Mass.
KLIPPENSTEIN, PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. 258675. The Armoury, Moose Jaw, Sask., Canada.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1996998, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, SERGT. G. HAROLD, Kitchener, Ont. 7th Platoon, C Co., 50th Batt., B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont. 335241 Battery, C. R. A., R. C. H. A., Witley Camp, Milford Surrey, England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn., Canadians, B. E. F., France.
LEONARD, PVT. EDGAR MOREL, Chicago, Ill. Co. T, N. C. O. School, Paris Island, S. C.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD, Pittsburgh, Pa. U. S. N. R. S., U, S. Naval Aviation, Foreign Service.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island, 2224 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, Canadian Engs. Draft 85, B. E. F., c/o Army P. O., London, Eng.
LOOMIS, PVT. W. A., CO. A, Military Police Train Headquarters, Div. 85, Camp Grant, Rockford, Ill.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldar Musicien an 237e Territorial a l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
LYNN, SERGT. A. C., Dixie, Ont., Can. Co., C, 1st Canadian M. R. Batt., B. E. F., France.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155898, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M. 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 13lst Inf. American E. F., France.
MORRIS, I/A. M. EDW. B., London, England. 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. A. F., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England. 301276, Transport Section, 1/5 Batt, L. R. B., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otago Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PVT. K., Colchester, England. 49541, No. 1 Platoon, A Company, 1st Battn. Northamptonshire Regt., B. E. F., France.

709



MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 01387, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops. Hut 34, A. P. O. 41 B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. HOW. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
OBERSCHELP, PVT. A. W, Denver, Colo. Co. C, 318th Engrs., American E. F., France.
ODHNER, 2ND LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. D, 90th Inf., Camp Merritt, N. J.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Motor Co. No. 10, Camp Greenleaf Annex, Chickamauga Park,     Ga.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN Bryn Athyn, Pa., 63rd Inf. Letterman Gen. Hospital, The Presidio, San Francisco, Cal.
PENDLETON, PVT. LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Quartermaster Corps, Mechanical Repair Shops, Unit 302, Prov. Co. 4, Unit 302, A. P. O., 772, American E. F., France.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. 1, A. P. O., 714, American E. F., France.
PETERSON, ELMER E., Chicago, Ill. Co. 21, 16th Rege., Camp New Isolation, Great Lakes, Ill.
PETERSON, CORP. HERBERT O., Chicago, Ill. Discharged on account of ill health.
PETERSON, PVT. VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., American E. F7 France.
PIBERES, SERGT. M. R., Philadelphia, Pa. Co. 2, S. O. S., A. P. O. 702, American E. F., France.
PITCAIRN, HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. G, Camp Dick, Dallas, Texas.
PRICE, PVT., 1ST CL., LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Casual Co. No. 2, A. P. 0. 726, American E. F., France.
PRICE, 2D LIEUT. RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 28th F. A., Camp Funrston, Kans.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. 730 Rock Creek Church Rd., Washington, D. C.
RIDGWAY, KENNETH HOWARD, Durban, Natal, S. A., Royal Air Force, England.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL, Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th CO., Canadian Forestry Corps, Ampthill, Bedfordshire, England.
ROSENQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Cavite, P. I.
ROSENQVIST, PVT. FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, American E. F., France.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103rd Engrs., American E. F., France.
SCHNARR, PTE. ARTHUR D., Kitchener, Can. Discharged on account of ill health.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Corps Artillery Park, Depot Section, American E. F., France.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H., Battery B, 151st F. A., American E F., France.
SHERMAN, CORP. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M. 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, SERGT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. Candidate Detachment, A. P. O. 718, American E. F., France.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. Battery D, 5th Field Artillery, American E. F.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval. Ill. U. S. S. "Melville," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN, PVT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. 6thCo., 4th Bn. C. O. T. S., Camp Pike, Ark.

710



SMITH, ORD. SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., 1st Corps Artillery Park, American E. F., France.
SMITH, PVT. EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465th Engrs., Pontoon Train, American E. F., France.
SMITH, HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Army Candidate School, A. P. O. 714, American E. F., France.
SMITH, 1ST LIEUT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., American E. F., France.
SMITH, PVT. WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Casual Bn., Camp Raritan, Metuchen, N. J.
SNYDER, PVT. WILMER E., 148th Field Hospital, 112th Sanitary Train, 37th Division, American E. F., France.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 31st Balloon Co., Air Service Camp, West Point, Kentucky.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Switzerland. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, PTE. FRED. E., Kitchener, Ont. 751124 B Co., 5th Batt., Canadian Engineers, B. E. F., France.
SYNNESTYEDT, ALAN G., Glenview, Ill. Medical Detachment, Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, PVT. ARTHUR, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Development Bn., Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa. Chanute Field. Rantoul, Ill.
SYNNESTVEDT. HUBERT, Bryn Athyn. Pa. 28th Balloon Co., Lee Hall, Camp Eustis, Va.
SYNNESTVEDT, O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa. 116th Engrs., American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 111st Inf., American E. F., France.
TYRRELL, PVT. HUBERT J., Bourbon, Ind, 17th Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, American E. F., France.
VINET, PVT., 1ST CL., PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, A. P. O. 901, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., Camp Lodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C. Mech. Transports, No. 8, Ordnance Mobile Workshop (Light). B. E. F., France.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A. Section, I/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F., France.
WATERS, LT.-CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A. Co. 5th, Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, E. J., London, England. 118516, I/clk., Hdq., R. A. F., Cadet Brigade, Royal Victoria Hotel, St. Leonard's-on-Sea, England.
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G.. London, England. 536536, A. Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T. F., B.
WELLS, PVT. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F., France.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS. Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, CORP. NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., A. P. 0. 702, American E. F. France.



711


TWOFOLD CHRISTMAS STORY 1918

TWOFOLD CHRISTMAS STORY       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1918


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XXXVIII DECEMBER, 1918 No. 12
     The value and importance of carefully preserving the literal order of the Scriptures in teaching the Word to children has long been acknowledged in the Academy Because the childish mind is utterly unable to grasp the Significance of spiritual truth, and must therefore rest wholly in the letter of the Word until an adult and rational state has been reached, it has been recognized that it is of first importance to impress upon the child that order of literal narration on which the whole series of the internal sense rests. For thus only can a fit vessel be formed in the memory for the later reception of the doctrine of genuine truth now revealed to the New Church, the perception of which is the end and goal of our whole system: of training and education. But this principle, which has been consistently observed throughout the teaching of the Old Testament, and of the individual Gospels, has been widely disregarded in its bearing upon the obvious relation of one Gospel to another. How destructive this is of the true order of the Word, may be well illustrated by the twofold story of the Lord's birth.

     It has been customary with us, at Christmas time, to unite in the same representation the account of the Nativity given in Luke and that of the adoration of the wise men, given in Matthew. The shepherds, the host of angels, the stable, the manger, the star, the wise men with; their gifts,-all are pictured together, and the children derive the idea that these two incidents took place at the same time. Yet in the Scriptures themselves these two events are kept entirely distinct. In Luke there is no mention of a star, of wise men, or of gifts.

712


And Matthew makes no mention of the shepherds, the angels, the stable, or the manger. There is every indication, from the literal sense, that the coming of the wise men did not take place until at least six weeks after the Lord's birth, and thus that it was not coincident with the adoration of the shepherds. And the idea of such a separation of time is essential to an understanding of the stories when spiritually interpreted. To place them together necessarily destroys the order and sequence of the internal sense, which in other respects we are so careful to preserve.

     The evidence showing that the story of Matthew belongs some time after that in Luke is plentiful, both from the Letter of the Word itself and from the Writings. The star, which represented the Human that the Lord assumed in the world, (A. C. 1675), appeared when the Lord was born, and could not have been seen before His birth. This is indicated in the Writings in A. C. 9293: "They also knew from their prophetic writings, which were of the Ancient Church, that the Lord was to come into the world, and that a star would then appear to them." And the fact that it was fully understood by the Jews, and also by the wise men, that the appearance of the star would be coincident with the birth of the Christ, is evident from Herod's inquiring of the wise men, "diligently, what time the star appeared" (Matthew 2:7), in order that he might determine the age of the child.

     The star, then, appeared to the wise men on the night of the Lord's birth, at the same time that the host of angels appeared to the shepherds watching over their flocks in the fields of Judea. The shepherds at once hastened to Bethlehem, and there found the infant Lord, "wrapped in swaddling clothes, and lying in a manger." The wise men, however, were in a far country, and, according to the testimony of the Writings, in the land of Syria. They were at least 120 miles, and probably 350 miles, from Bethlehem. For it is not at all likely that they came from southern Syria, or from the region around Damascus, where they would have had an intimate knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures, which they evidently did not possess; for they inquired of Herod "where the Child should be born."

713


It is more likely that they came from northeastern Syria, or Mesopotamia, and this view is supported by the Writings (A. C. 3249), where it is said that the wise men were of the sons of the east, and "that it was Aram, or Syria, where the sons of the east were, may also be evident from the fact that when Jacob went into Syria, he is said to have gone 'to the land of the sons of the east.'" And Jacob went to Mesopotamia, where Laban dwelt. This was over 300 miles from Jerusalem. It is evident, therefore, that in the case of the wise men some time must have elapsed, and indeed several weeks, before their long journey could be prepared for and traversed in the primitive manner of the time.

     That the two events could not have taken place together, is plainly indicated in the Letter of the Word by these additional circumstances: After the coming of the shepherds, it is said that the Lord was circumcised on the eighth day, presumably ill Bethlehem, and that "when the days of Mary's purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord." This period of purification was forty days in length, which would involve that the Lord was presented in the temple on the forty-first day after His birth. This would have been impossible if the wise men had come at the same time as the shepherds, for when the wise men had departed, "the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the Young child and His mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word; for Herod will seek the young child to destroy Him." (Matthew 2:13.) After Herod's wrath had been aroused, it was no longer practicable to bring the Lord to Jerusalem, and to present Him publicly in the temple. And finally, when the wise men came, they did not find the Lord in a manger, but in a house.

     A just idea of these two events, therefore, requires that we take into consideration the relation of the two Gospels in which they are described, and note the distinct circumstances surrounding both. And if this is necessary to a literal understanding of these passages, it is of equal importance to their spiritual interpretation.

     The two accounts represent the internal and external reception of the Lord by man, at His advent to the Church.

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     The account in Luke, when spiritually understood, describes man's first perception of the Lord in the internal mind, while the one in Matthew describes that perception in the external mind. Spiritually the former perception comes first, and prepares the way for the latter. The Land of Judea represents the internal mind. The "shepherds abiding in the fields, and watching over their flocks by night" represent the inmost presence of the Lord with man, His presence in earliest infancy, together with the sphere of the celestial heavens, guarding and protecting remains of innocence, which in adult age first open the door to the reception of the Lord. They would seem to represent specifically that "universal dictate in the minds of men, that there is a God, and that He is one" (T. C. R. 9), which first opens the mind to see and acknowledge the Lord at His Coming. It is because there is here described an internal perception, given out of the highest heaven, that it is said that "the glory of the Lord shone round about them," that they saw an angel of the Lord, and heard the song of the heavenly host. And it was for this reason also that they found the child "wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger," that is, the Lord's presence is perceived from primary truths in the Word itself, to which the mind may be opened by the internal dictate mentioned above.

     The land of the sons of the east, on the other hand, was the home of the Ancient Church, the place where remains from that church had been preserved, and thus where there was a knowledge of the Lord's Advent from the doctrine of correspondence Thus the wise men who dwelt in that land represent, not the state of infancy, with its celestial perceptions, as the shepherds do, but the truths instilled from the Word during childhood, when not the celestial, but the spiritual heavens are present. Thus the shepherds represent the remains of infancy, through which there can be a celestial perception of the Lord at His coming; while the wise men represent the remains of childhood, by which there can be a spiritual perception of Him, from a knowledge of good and truth from the Word. This latter perception is at first far more obscure. It is to the former as the appearance of the star is to the appearance of the angel and the host of angels.

715


Before this obscure perception can become clarified a spiritual journey must be undertaken. Preparation must be made. There must be thought, reflection, and conscious effort to discover the true meaning of the first vague idea of the Lord's Advent. All this is represented by the journey of the wise men to Jerusalem, where they seek further information from the scribes and chief priests, that is, from the doctrine of the Church that finally they may come to Bethlehem, and bow in adoration before the Incarnate God.

     A more particular study of the two stories will only confirm and establish more fully the fact that spiritually they must be considered separately, if they are to be rationally understood. And this has led us to the belief that, in the instruction of children, the literal, representative narratives should also be kept distinct, and placed ill proper relation to one another, to the end that the true order of the Word may be retained, and the minds of the children formed into a mould wherein the internal sense can be cast without distortion.
CHRISTMAS SONG 1918

CHRISTMAS SONG       R. M. L. FROST       1918

Where Bethlehem sleeps darkly,
     A glory breaks like morn.
Across the midnight silence
     A mighty cry is borne.
          O wondrous Light
          That floods the night!
          O angel throng!
          O endless song!
The Lord is born; the Lord is born.

Sad souls of men in prison,
     World weary, battle worn;
For you the song of promise,
     For you the shining morn.
          O living Light
          That floods the night!
          O Truth revealed!
          O Word unsealed!
The Lord is born; the Lord is born.-R. M. L. FROST.

716


BLESSING OF ESAU 1918

BLESSING OF ESAU       Rev. THEODORE PITCAIRN       1918

     "And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, even me also, O my father." (Genesis 27:34.)

     Esau cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. At the present time it seems strange that anyone should: be so shaken with grief by what appears to us as of comparatively little significance. If a father were to bless a younger son by mistake, the elder son would not cry out in utter despair, as Esau is here said to do. The reason for the change of attitude at this day is that the significance of blessing has partly changed, and partly been lost. In ancient times a blessing from a dying father was prophetic; it was a blessing of God. A first-born son whom his father refused to bless would be considered an outcast, under the curse of God. To refuse to bless a child was far more severe than disowning a child is now, for it not only involved all that disowning does, but was a prophetic curse as well. The refusal to bless involved not only that the son would lose all earthly blessing, such as wealth, peace, and comfort, but it was equivalent to ejecting him from the family, and this at a time when the family was considered the most sacred tie. One so treated would be considered an outcast and a vagabond. On the other hand, a blessing involved wealth, peace, victory over one's enemies, happiness, and a prominent place in the family, especially a close relationship with one's father.

     Bearing this in mind, we can fully comprehend why Esau cried with a "great: and exceeding bitter cry." We can sympathize with him, for we have all at times suffered the pains almost of despair, due to some natural cause, such as death, or failure in one of the great aims of our life.

     But when we are told that Esau, in the spiritual sense, represents the will or good of the natural mind, and his father, Isaac, the rational mind about to be regenerated; and that the blessing which Esau claimed represented the desire of the will part of the natural mind for conjunction with the rational mind, and the resulting spiritual wealth, peace, and happiness; we lose the personal feeling of the appeal, and are no longer moved to pity.

717


Before regeneration, and even with the regenerate during life in the world, it is largely natural things that raise us to ecstacy of delight, or cast: us into the depths of despair, while the great spiritual blessings and tragedies of life leave us little moved. Let us, therefore, try to perceive the spiritual emotion involved in the words of our text.

     In the earliest stages of regeneration, remains, signified by Abraham, are the dominating factor in our spiritual life. Of this plane of life we are little conscious. In the succeeding state the spiritual rational mind, signified by Isaac, is developed. While this is taking place, we learn and acknowledge with a kind of interior joy the truths and goods of the church; but as yet most of our life is in the natural mind, which is little affected by the spiritual truths we have seen. While at times our lives may be affected by perception of spiritual truth or spiritual good; still the interests of the world dominate our conscious thoughts. If regeneration continues, the time comes when this state of affairs no longer satisfies the rational mind. That mind perceives that the natural mind must be conjoined with it. The natural mind must accept the spiritual delights of the rational mind as its own. It must thus be conjoined with the spiritual mind, and be enriched with the blessing of heaven, instead of holding the blessing of the world as its chief delight. Isaac, the spiritual rational mind, in which are the goods and truths of heaven, calls Esau, the affection of good in the natural mind, to receive a spiritual blessing. But Jacob, the affection of truth in the natural mind, comes in his place, and is blessed.

     Man is born with curiosity, and while a child finds a natural delight in asking questions and learning many things. This delight is what is signified by Jacob before he is blessed by Isaac. The blessing of Jacob signifies the transferal of the delight of truth from the things of nature to the things of heaven.

     A gift has a twofold use,-it gives natural delight to the one who receives it, according to its intrinsic worth. But its more important use is that it conjoins the giver and receiver in closer bonds of friendship.

718


The giver is delighted with the thought of the pleasure he is able to confer, while the receiver rejoices at the love of the friend that is represented in the gift. Thus the friends are drawn more closely together. A blessing is a gift in a fuller and more complete sense than other gifts, and still more closely unites the one who blesses with the one blest. The two aspects of a gift, one its intrinsic worth, and the other the use of conjunction, are both involved in blessing. There is a like twofold aspect in the spiritual idea of blessing. When the rational mind blesses the natural mind, it not only fills it with spiritual wealth of all kinds, and gives it spiritual peace, but what is more important, it thereby conjoins the natural mind with itself.

     When Jacob, the external affection of truth, is conjoined by a blessing with Isaac, the spiritual rational mind, then the affection of the rational mind becomes the natural affection of Divine Truth. When a man has reached this stage on his way to heaven, the beauty of Divine Truth stirs him as no natural beauty or harmony ever can. He trembles with delight when he hears a great new spiritual truth presented. This is no longer the lofty affection of truth which before resided in his rational mind, above his ordinary sensations and consciousness; but it is that higher delight come down, and manifested in his natural feelings. This state of life is little manifest in this world, but is the essence of the spiritual heaven. When newcomers from our earth were shown the beauties of heaven, they were overcome with admiration. The angels, however, said that such beauty was not their great delight, but that the Divine Truth they saw represented therein gave them their great joy and happiness.

     With all sincere and upright Newchurchmen we may well believe that there exists a certain delight of the spiritual rational mind in the things of the church, but there have been notable signs that the natural affection for spiritual truth, represented in Jacob when blest has existed with the Academy throughout its history. It is true that this delight does not frequently manifest itself in our daily lives, but rather on impressive occasions, and often at banquets, as a promise and foreshadowing of what we may hope for in the future.

719




     The Academy has been accused of emphasizing truth at the expense of good. Possibly at times this criticism has to some extent been justified; but it must be remembered that Jacob must be blessed before Esau. We must have a strong natural affection for spiritual truth before we can have a strong natural affection for spiritual good. The only way to an affection of spiritual good is by the way of affection for doctrine, and if we strive to acquire the affection of spiritual good, while we let slip the affection of the truths of heaven, then, instead of reaching our goal we will fall into the affection of merely natural good, which we will mistake for the good of heaven itself. But if we persist in striving for the spiritual state in which we love the truths Of the New Church above all else, God in his own time will bring about the blessing of Esau,-that celestial state, the hope of the New Church, in which our greatest natural delight will be the doing of celestial good.

     The Lord passed through these same states in a Divine way that man passes through in his imperfect way. The Lord, we read, first made His Human Divine Truth, and then made it Divine Good on each plane, by conjoining it with the superior plane.

     The story we are considering, in the celestial sense, treats of the Lord. The approaching death of Isaac, when he desired that Esau should be blessed, signifies that the Divine Rational Mind of the Lord was nearly glorified. Esau, before the blessing, represented the pleasure and delight of the senses. These the Lord as a child had in common with all other men. The blessing of Esau by Isaac was to invert the state, so that the pleasures of the Lord's Natural Mind might become the delight of Rational Good. But instead, Jacob was blest, that is, the affection of the Natural Mind became delight in Divine Truth. This delight in Divine Truth appeared to the Rational Mind externally as the Affection of Good. This is represented by Jacob having on Esau's garments, and thereby deceiving his father, Isaac.

     The story then continues. Esau enters, and asks for his blessing, and Isaac, we read, "trembled very exceedingly," or literally "shuddered with an exceeding great shuddering."

720


The Lord perceived that His Natural had been made Divine Truth, but a total change of state took place, signified by Isaac's shuddering, when He perceived that His Natural Mind must still be made Divine Good. His Natural Mind now had become the love of Divine Truth, but still the pleasures of the body were natural delights; and not the Divine Good.

     The Natural Mind also, from the remains stored up by the Divine, inmostly perceived this to be the case. It realized that if it should remain in external delights complete glorification could not take place, but it would remain a vagabond, a curse, disjoined from the Divine Rational Mind. The doubt as to whether the natural pleasures of the Lord's sensuous mind could become one with the Divine Rational Mind by a blessing brought on the most severe temptation. The devils inspired the most grievous doubts as to whether the ultimate pleasures of the body, such as the delight in the beauties of nature, in the sounds of beautiful music, and even the delight of eating, could become Divine Good.

     If the most ultimate of the Lord's loves could not have been glorified, glorification would have been incomplete, and the human race would have perished. It was a perception of this, mingled with a doubt lest the natural loves might not be conjoined with the Divine Rational, that caused the despair represented by the cry of Esau. "And Esau cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said, Bless me, even me also, O my father."

     The blessing of Esau by Isaac followed, and represented that even the bodily delights and passions of the Lord, by being conjoined with the Divine Rational glorified, became the Divine Good Itself, the love of the whole human race. Amen.

721


ADVERSARIA 1918

ADVERSARIA       EMANUEL SWEDENBORG       1918

     423. The question, therefore, is now asked, which of the sons was it that Isaac blessed, Jacob or Esau? It was Jacob who said to his father, I am Esau, thy first born (v. 19); and again, when his father asked, Art thou then my son Esau? Jacob said, I am (v. 24). Moreover, in order to impersonate Esau, Jacob said, Eat of my venison (v. 19), when yet it was not venison but was kids of the goats taken from the flock; and further, when his father enquired how he had found it so quickly, Jacob answered, Because Jehovah thy God brought it before me (v. 20), when yet it was his mother who had brought it (v. 9). Furthermore, his father said, The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau (v. 22); thus he did not recognize him because of the hands (v. 23). Finally, when he smelled the smell of the garments of Esau, which Jacob had put on, then he at last blessed him and said, See, the smell of my sort is as the smell of a field (v. 27); for it was in the field that Esau had been asked to hunt venison (v. 3). Thus when Isaac uttered the blessing, it was in his whole mind that it was upon his son Esau, and not upon Jacob. The question is asked, therefore, whether the one blessed is he who hears the sound and takes it in, or he who is in the mind of the blesser and to whom the blessing itself is directed. What Jacob took from this blessing, and what Esau took, will better appear from what follows.

     424. Here, as above, let us put the Messiah for Isaac, the Jewish people for Jacob, and the gentiles for Esau; then from what has been just said, it can be evident what blessing was taken from the Messiah by this people which is called the people of Judah, and what by the gentiles, who are called Esau. The Messiah, who is fully aware of the inmost thoughts of all, well knew that Jacob's mother wished to deceive her husband, and that afterwards Jacob wished to deceive his father, in, order that she might take the blessing away from her son, and he from his brother, just as Jacob had previously taken away the birthright. But the Messiah permitted that people to do this, both because Jacob desired the blessing and because the Messiah Himself was to be born a man in that stock. Yet he so directed all Jacob's acts, that Jacob himself, and after him, the Jewish people whom Jacob then represented, might subsequently know that the Messiah was then aware of all these particulars. For who can say other than that the blessing came from Jehovah God and not from Isaac? or other than that Jehovah God who gave the blessing saw each and all of these events? Jacob was therefore examined and questioned by the Messiah, as by his father, as follows: Who art thou, my son (v. 18)? How didst thou hasten to find it, my son (v. 20)? Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my son (v. 21); The voice is the voice of Jacob, but the hands are the hands of Esau (v. 22).

722


And afterwards he said, Art thou then my son [Esau] (v. 24)? Nay, even after he had eaten, he said, Come near, I pray thee, and kiss me, my son (v. 26); and he also smelled the smell of his garments, that is, of the goodly garments of Esau which were with his mother in the house (v. 15); and likewise the smell of the kids wherewith his neck was covered, and the odor of which would be particularly sensible when he kissed him. He then said, The smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed (v. 27). Thus the question arises, Whom did the soul of the Messiah bless, before his death (v. 4 and 19)? the Jewish people, under the person of Jacob as its parent? or the gentiles under the person of Esau? We read in verse 23 that as a fact he blessed Jacob; but upon whom this blessing fell, which is now to be treated of, and in what manner, and for how long it fell upon Jacob, will be seen below.

     425. Isaac commenced his blessing thus: And he said, See, the smell of my son is as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed (v. 27). The smell of the garments and kids wherewith Jacob was clothed is here likened to the smell of a field, fruitful and abundantly productive, that is, of a field which Jehovah hath blessed. What the odor of garments and kids is, has indeed been explained above, but because in the writings of the Divine Word we read so frequently that Jehovah God smelled an odor of sweetness and also of rest, and moreover that He was delighted and also soothed by the smell, that is, by the smell of the victims and their blood, therefore, it comes now to be again explained. It is not the victim nor the blood of the victim that delights and soothes Jehovah, as is so often read in His Word, but that which is more internal, namely, that which exhales from the blood of the victims. Within the blood is the soul or the life thereof, as God Himself many times clearly declares. This soul or life cannot delight, and still less appease Jehovah God, but only the soul and life of that blood which, in the Jewish Church, was signified by the blood of kids and goats. It is this blood, and the life and soul of this blood, that appeases. That this was the blood of the Messiah who was the Lamb of God and the victim for the whole human race, both gentiles and the Jewish people, is so well known to every member of the truly Christian Church, that there is no need of further explanation. But the question now arises, What was fore-signified in the Jewish Church, and what is now signified in the truly Christian Church, by the soul and life of the Messiah's blood? It cannot be the blood itself but the merit of that blood which consists in obedience toward His Parent, and in love toward the human race. By reason of these He was led to undergo death, and indeed the death of the cross, that He might bear in Himself and thus take away all the sins of both peoples, Jewish and gentile. Hence He became justice, and indeed He alone, from whom Abraham was justified in his day, and afterwards all others in the true Jewish Church which was Christian, and also among the gentiles.

723


This, then, is the inmost thing that is here expressed by the smell of his son. More external, though relatively interior, are the things which Isaac is here said to have smelled, and which are compared to the smell of a field in which is a most abundant harvest, or, as we read here, "which Jehovah hath blessed;" it is not, however, the smell from the harvest, but the smell from those seeds and fruits which are called the works of the law, and consequently from the interior things which are faith, obedience, charity, and the like.

     426. After Isaac, or in place of Isaac Jehovah God, had smelled a smell of sweetness, as we read, though here it is "as the smell of a field which Jehovah hath blessed," then is the blessing first pronounced. This was that soul which blessed Esau (v. 4), and that which Jacob asked for* (v. 19). This same soul or life is not only within this blessing, but is within each and all of the Divine words. For the Messiah, who is the soul or life of His church, is regarded in all these words; so that there is nothing which does not regard Him directly and in another way. Now the blessing is as follows: Therefore, God will give thee of the dew of heaven, and the fatness of the earth and a multitude of corn and wine (v. 28). In these words is contained every blessing that can ever be attributed and given to the regenerate and new man. By the dew of heaven is meant all that which flows down into the human mind from Jehovah by the Messiah, and from the Messiah by the Holy Spirit. But what is especially meant, is love, which is the Messiah Himself, because it is in the Messiah; and hence charity, faith, obedience, and many like virtues, which How from the one only Love, and, like dew in the time of early morning, rain down from heaven and make minds to be fruitful. Love is the life of minds; for without love there can be no life, and as the love is, such is the life. Hence all these virtues, with their happinesses and felicities, are from the Love of heaven, that is, from the Messiah Himself. These, then, are what flow down from heaven. The fatnesses of the earth are those inner and richest parts that lie within the fruits. By this dew from heaven, not only are these fruits made to grow, but they are also so increased in fat as to be of a most grateful odor, as likewise of a most grateful savor. Such fats flow from that dew or Love. This was among the reasons why, in the Jewish Church of old, the fats of the victims were offered to Jehovah God. All fat takes its origin from the blood; for fats are collections of the best blood in receptacles or follicles; but they are the embodiment or the body of that blood. Thus by the fat in the sacrifices was represented the body of that life or soul which is within the blood. By a multitude of corn and wine is meant all that which nourishes this body.

724


From the above it can thus be seen that in this one blessing is contained everything that looks to the soul, mind, and animus, and also to the human body itself; so that there is nothing left which does not follow in its series from the first words of the blessing to the last.
     * Illud erat ipsa anima, quae Esavo benedicebat, ver.:4 et quod Jacobus petit.

     427. The things that have now been said involve all necessities; both spiritual and corporeal, and at the same time also heavenly and earthly, for those things in men which are spiritual are there also called heavenly; more properly, however, they are attributed to things on earth, and signify those things which are the origins of things on earth. Hence it follows that this same blessing involves also earthly abundance springing from heavenly gifts,-as the fatness of the earth, and thus the multitude of corn and wine, from the dew of heaven; all which things come to the spiritual man, and contain in themselves the blessing of heaven and a like blessing of the earth and of the man himself in whom is their effigy. That all these came to Jacob, that is, to the Jewish people, will be so clearly evident from the things that shall be said concerning that people, as drawn from the relations in the Divine Word, that it must needs be evident to all who read.

     428. What now follows concerning the blessing upon Jacob uttered by his father concerns the prerogative of that people, above all other peoples of the whole world, namely, that both peoples and nations were to serve it. The words of this part of the blessing are, Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee (v. 29). That these words regard the truly Christian Church itself, that is, the true church of the Messiah among this Jewish people, is quite clear from the several words of the text; and it clearly comes out when each is rightly examined; Wherefore Jacob here represents that people, in the midst of the Jewish and Israelitish people, which' acknowledged the Messiah and worshiped Him as their one only King and Priest, and at the same time, like servants, most humbly adored Him as God. In this sense Jacob, like all his posterity wherein was the church of the Messiah, stands for the Messiah. But since this true church of the Messiah existed not only among the Jews but also and indeed principally among the gentiles, therefore, here the Messiah is also understood under the person of Esau, but in respect to His human nature, as above chap. xxiv, v. 26 to the end. Thus it is the Messiah, now understood under the person of Jacob and also under that of Esau, whom peoples shall serve, and to whom nations shall bow down. It also comes to the same thing, when this church is assumed in place of the Messiah. For the Messiah is the all in all in His church, and consequently is His church which peoples shall serve, and to which nations shall bow down; that is to say, the peoples among both Jews and gentiles,* the latter being here called peoples, because they form the true church (that the nations are also called peoples, may be seen more clearly explained above [n. _]); in like manner also the peoples and nations outside this same church, among both Jews and gentiles;* but then, it is peoples that shall serve, that is, the universal people, both that called the Jewish and Israelitish, and all others who of old were called nations and thus peoples.

725


That these were servants is also well known from their history; and likewise that the nations bowed down. In this way are these words to be understood in the exterior sense, but as above in the interior sense, and as concerning the Messiah alone in the inmost sense. The truth of this is rendered still more evident from the subsequent words: Be master over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee (v. 29). Jacob had no brethren except Esau, and his mother had no sons except these two. Hence, other brothers and other sons are here meant, to wit., brothers in the house and outside the house. The brothers in the house were twelve in number, being as many as afterwards were the tribes. These brothers were indeed not yet born, but still it is they who are meant, and consequently that Jewish and Israelitish people which consisted of the twelve tribes. The brethren outside the house were the nations which formed the church, either by approach to the church of the Jewish people, or because they were without, and yet constituted that church. Both the latter and the former are the brethren and the mother's sons here mentioned, to wit., the brothers of Esau, that is, the nations; and his mother's sons, that is, sons in the church. Because the Messiah is in the church and alone is His church, therefore of Him, in the inmost sense, it is said, that he shall be master over his brethren, and that the mother's sons shall bow down to him; that is, he will be the Lord, and all others, both peoples and nations, will be his servants,** for all who are gathered together unto His church are called brothers and also sons.
     * The word gentes means both nations and gentiles and is translated into one or other of these words according to the sense.
     ** Here follows a line, crossed off by the author, which reads: These are here called mother's sons, because they are sons of Him and of the church in which He is.

     429. From this it can now be inferred, who it is, whether Jacob or Esau, that was blessed by the Messiah. That Esau, and not Jacob, was the one meant by Isaac is quite clear from what has gone before, and from what follows. But by the Messiah, who gave the blessing through the mouth of Isaac, Jacob was also meant, for it is said, Yea, he shall be blessed [v. 331; not Jacob as signifying the whole Jewish and Israelitish people, but as signifying the people among them who acknowledged our Messiah and continued His church. For this reason also Jacob is so often called a son. Who art thou, my son (v. 18)? How hast thou hastened to find, my son (v. 20)? Come near, that I may feel thee, my son (v. 21). Art thou therefore my son, Esau (v. 24)? Kiss me, my son (v. 26).

726


The Messiah well knew that it was Jacob and not Esau, but He acknowledged Him as a son because He saw among the Jewish and Israelitish people, that people ill whom the Messiah Himself would be; at the same time He saw Himself in that people from whom He would be born. But that He meant especially Esau, that is, the people among the nations among which was the Messiah and His church, is clear from Jacob's answer. For when the Messiah asked him, Art thou then my Son Esau, Jacob said, I am (v. 24); and previous to this, he had said, I am Esau thy first born (v. 19). Hence it is clear that Esau is here meant as the one who received the blessing, and Jacob only in that he represented the people in Judah and Israel who acknowledged and would acknowledge our Messiah, born among that people of the stock of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and finally of the stock of David, and who most humbly adored Him alone, who sitteth at the right hand of Jehovah His Father; to whom is given all power in the heavens and on earth; and by whom and from whom floweth every gift of the Holy Spirit to that church; and thus who worshipped Him as Jehovah their God, as also did Abraham and his servants.

     430. It is now set forth how the blessing of Isaac as parent, and as then representing the Messiah was applied to Jacob and Esau. Here first we read: And it came to pass, when Isaac had hardly made an end of blessing Jacob, it came to pass, I say, that Jacob, going out had hardly gone out from the presence of his father (v. 30). We twice read "it came to pass," but the one expression regards the blessing itself, and the other the going out of Jacob from his father's presence; consequently, the one involves the time of the blessing of the Jewish people, represented by Jacob its parent, and the other the time when that blessing expired, and was transferred to Esau, as will be seen below. That the Jewish people stole the blessing away from the gentiles, is clear from the history of that people; for they were admitted into the land of Canaan and there they took a multitude of corn and wine from the dew of heaven from above, and from the fatness of the earth, exactly according to the words of the blessing (v. 28). This "It came to pass" is involved in the former expression, where we read, "It came to pass when Isaac had made an end of blessing Jacob." That this people was at times cast out of the land of Canaan and driven into captivity, is moreover a well known fact; and also that finally, at the time of the Messiah, it was under the yoke and servitude of the Romans, being afterwards led off into captivity by the Romans under Titus Vespasian. From that time to the present day, a period of about 1700 years, it has lived scattered over the whole world; and has never been brought back to the land of Canaan. This is so well known to them that they themselves cannot but marvel that such events have happened them. From these things it is now clear how long this blessing declared to Jacob their parent endured, to with until the advent of the Messiah. They indeed still expect the Messiah; but whence He is to come they know not.

727


If they would look into their own oracles, which in themselves are Divine, that is, into Moses and the Prophets, it is absolutely clear that the Messiah was to be born of the stem of David. But where now is the stem of David, when their generations are so broken and confused that families hardly know their own ancestors beyond the grandparents? How then, supposing one should proclaim himself as their Messiah, Could they know whether he was descended from David? But that the Messiah, born of the Virgin Mary, was from David, is so clearly declared by the genealogies of that time that it was not called into doubt by their high priests, His adversaries, even when the people cried out with a great shout, Messiah, son of David; and that he was to spring from that stem, not even the Jews of the present day can deny. From these considerations, therefore, it is clearly seen that He who was then born a man of the stem of David, or the root of Jesse, is the Messiah Himself, whom their fathers so ardently desired to see, and whom the Jews of today should expect,-though as about to come,-when He will judge the whole world, and at the same time institute His kingdom. This, then, is what the second "And if came to pass" involves, namely, when Jacob went out from his father's presence. Thus it regards the former "It came to pass," to wit, when that blessing came to an end. Thus the one "it came to pass" regards the other, both the former the latter, and the latter the former. In the inmost sense, however, by Jacob is here meant the Messiah as a man born of his stem, and indeed of the stem of Judah and thus of David, namely, that at the time He was born, going out He went out from His Father when He had made an end of blessing that people, that is, as we read elsewhere, in the fulness of time. At this same time Esau his brother is said to have come and brought his venison; or as the words read, When these things had come to pass, Esau his brother came in from his hunting (v. 30). In the inmost sense, here as above, by Esau is meant the Messiah as to His human nature. It is said that when the Messiah, going out had gone out from His Father, then Esau came in, that is, the Messiah born a man. But this is in the inmost sense. In the sense called more interior, the gentiles or nations are taken for Esau, and the Jewish people for Jacob; it is clear, then, that when these two events had come to pass, the gentiles came from their hunting, and carried in their kids or rams, that is, their victims; and that these were faith, obedience, charity, and thus prayers and supplications, has been said above. That this also happened in the time when the Messiah came into the world, is evident.

728


GREAT CROSSING 1918

GREAT CROSSING              1918

     A STORY BY LOUIS PENDLETON.

     AUTHOR OF "THE WEDDING GARMENT," "CAPTAIN TED," ETC.

     (By permission of the Christian Endeavor World.)

     The sky was clear, the sea smooth, and on the deck of the Atlantic liner the long rows of steamer-chairs were filled. In spite of the recognized possibility of attack from an unseen submarine every one seemed cheerful; but unusual animation distinguished the conversation of a group farmed by three reclining rug-wrapped women and two upright men facing them on canvas stools.

     Helen Burwell and her aunt, Miss March, had long counted Howard Forbes among their old friends; but Mrs. Crawley and Dr. Moon were chance acquaintances of the voyage. Helen was accustomed to the prospect of becoming engaged to marry Howard Forbes, having accepted the dictum of her family, confirmed by her own deliberate judgment, that the successful young financier and social favorite was in every way suitable. Very unwelcome, therefore, was the conviction now forcing its way into her consciousness that the young physician whom she had known only five days was more unselfishly her friend. She smiled inwardly at her interest in Dr. Moon, he being "impossible" as a man without either wealth or social distinction, but felt increasingly attracted by his sincere eye and frank speech.

     Her interest deepened as he now spoke with evident enthusiasm of a chemical compound which he hoped to perfect with a view to purify the air and check disease in the crowded tenements of large cities. He said that for years he had devoted his spare time to study, investigation, and experiment, and at last felt almost sure of complete success.

     "Can you patent it?" asked Howard Forbes, with an appearance of polite interest.

     "The patent laws will hardly cover a thing of that sort, and it will be so cheap that; there'll be little money in it for anybody, carelessly replied young Dr. Moon, with no diminution of interest in the subject.

729




     "Then you won't make anything!" shrilled Mrs. Crawley, voicing the surprise that all shared.

     "Probably not, but think of the good to humanity that I may accomplish."

     It was Miss March, Helen's aunt, who broke the amazed silence. "I should think," she remarked, with a reproving yet kindly glance, "that only one of God's fools could afford an unremunerative pursuit of that sort."

     Mrs. Crawley laughed softly; but Helen stared at Dr. Moon with very serious eyes, and continued thus to stare when he unexpectedly replied:

     "I never thought of it in that light, and I'm sure I don't deserve the compliment. The noblest and most useful men that the world has known have been what many would call 'God's fools.'"

     "Moon is well named," said Forbes aside to Mrs. Crawley. "He's a bit lunatic."

     "Of course," Miss March meanwhile was saying, with an apologetic air, "if one has plenty of stocks and bonds, it is highly admirable to devote one's time to philanthropy."

     "Don't you think the expression, 'God's fool,' is a very curious survival?" smilingly inquired Mrs. Crawley of the company in general. "Who believes in supernatural beings, a future life, and all that; nowadays?"

     "I do, for one,'" said Miss March.

     "I think most people do-deep down," said Helen gravely. As she glanced absently out over the sunlit sea, she was conscious of a wish that Howard Forbes would share her aunt's conservative view of this question.

     "According to the thinkers," remarked Forbes indifferently, "`God' is but a man-made symbol, and a future life is an impossibility."

     "There are thinkers and thinkers," spoke up Dr. Moon promptly. In my opinion no scientist who explores the wonders of nature can so lightly dismiss a tremendous subject.

730


The Power that can provide this world and all that it contains-men, animals, and vegetation, eternally reproduced in the most marvelous manner-can as readily provide a different and higher realm for the souls of the dead. The latter would be no more miraculous than the former unquestionably is.

     Helen was regarding him, intently, and he looked straight into her eyes as he added: "What can a science that meets baffling mysteries even on the gross plane of matter know of the spirit which is the soul of matter? The underground mole cannot conceive of the stars in the heavens; yet they shine forever. We know next to nothing of the real nature and quality of electricity, for example, and the undying human soul may be a far finer and subtler essence, with its own peculiar envelope or body perfectly fitted for the plane of its existence. With our limited knowledge how can we-"

     The sound of the speaker's voice was lost in a deafening roar. The deck rose under their feet, and parted in ragged fragments. Helen Burwell felt herself lifted high in the air along with what appeared to be other persons and great sections of the rent ship. The staggering shock preceding the overpowering burst of sound might have suggested submarine attack, but her one conscious thought was that in throwing out her arm for support she had rudely clutched Mrs. Crawley's hair and torn away the mannish cap which that lady was accustomed to wear at sea.

     Real fear came only when she knew that she was descending and that the ocean would receive her. But the emotion of terror had scarcely taken form when she was stunned by the impact of her body against the smooth surface of the sea, and oblivion immediately followed.

     When consciousness returned, Helen knew that she lay in a steamer berth that Swayed slightly with the movement of the ship. The motion pleased her, and an agreeable drowsiness caused her for a time to be loath to open her eyes.

     Suddenly she remembered the catastrophe, and started up in alarm, only to find that apparently it was morning and that all was well, except that there was no sign of her aunt, who, on the Empress, had shared a stateroom with her.

731


Of course, it was another stateroom and another ship-the one that had come to the rescue, but what had become of her aunt?

     At the earliest possible moment Helen Burwell opened her door and hurried to the promenade deck. She walked the full length of the ship, seeing everywhere the familiar faces of passengers from the Empress, but looking for her aunt in vain. Joining Howard Forbes and Mrs. Crawley, who stood leaning on the rail at the stern, Helen was more disturbed than ever to learn that they had not seen Miss March.

     "I can't find her anywhere," she said anxiously. "It seems that we were not assigned to the same stateroom when we were taken on board this ship. When were we taken on? I remember falling into the sea and no more."

     "You are like all the rest," laughed Mrs. Crawley. "Everybody were talked with says the Empress was wrecked and that this is another ship, but neither Mr. Forbes nor I can remember anything. Really I don't believe anything happened. You people must have had bad dreams last night."

     "There certainly must have been an explosion or-something" insisted Helen, surprised and perplexed, "for I was carried up into the air and fell into the ocean. I am sure of that much, at least."

     "Then why can't you remember being rescued?"

     "If this is another ship," said Howard Forbes, "we were all brought on board in an unconscious condition; and, if that is so, how is it that we are all perfectly well now? I haven't found a man or woman who can remember anything about the rescue."

     "We've tried to interview a deck-steward and two or three sailors," said Mrs. Crawley; "but after talking like lunatics they referred us to the captain, and he is simply crazy."

     Helen was silent, looking searchingly at Forbes and Mrs. Crawley, convinced that they themselves had undergone a curious change, however confidently they might insist that nothing had happened. There was an indefinable alteration in both their manner and the expression of their faces. In the atmosphere of both she recognized a bewildering and unbelievable yet distinct suggestion of the disreputable.

732




     "It was nothing but bad dreams," said Forbes, rudely grasping the girl's arm, as she turned from them.

     "But my aunt," faltered Helen, disengaging herself and backing away.

     "Oh, never mind your aunt," said Forbes, seemingly unconscious of his brutality. "You ought to be glad to get rid of the old lady. I am."

     Shocked, amazed, and almost terrified, Helen turned and hurried away. She saw the captain alone on the bridge, and, calling out to him, went half-way up the stair, although aware that this was forbidden.

     "Oh, please, may I speak to you?" she begged, her anxiety slightly lessened when she took note of a certain gentleness in the expression of his face.

     "What can I do for you!" he asked kindly.

     "I can't find my aunt anywhere. Do you know anything about her-Miss March!"

     "She is not on board; for, if so, she would be with you."

     "But where is she?"

     "Probably she was not injured in the explosion, and no doubt she clung to a bit of wreckage until picked up by a passing boat."

     "But why not this boat? Wasn't it the first on the scene?"

     "You don't understand. She is not on this boat because she was-as you would say-'saved.'"

     "What do you mean?"

     "This boat received only those who were drowned or killed in the explosion."

     "I haven't seen any of those," faltered Helen, shuddering. "Have they-er-been buried already?" Were they picked up only to be-"

     "You see them all about you," said the captain, looking down at Helen very kindly. "You yourself are one of them. We carry on this ship only what you would once have called the 'dead.'"

     Helen gasped, and began to back down the stair, a great fear in her eyes.

     "Don't be alarmed," the captain called after her most kindly, "I assure you there is no occasion for it.

733


You may not see your aunt again for a long time, but you will be tenderly cared for and soon find contentment. Everything will be fully explained to you at the proper time, but-wait just a minute. Young lady, believe me, your earthly body is at the bottom of the sea. It is your spirit that now lives and breathes and speaks with me in the world of the immortals."

     Helen's feet were now on the deck; and, turning, she hurried in great fright toward the stern. As she neared the saloon door, Dr. Moon stepped out, smiling brightly at sight of her.

     "I was wondering if I should see you," he said.

     "I'm so glad I found you!" she cried, breathless. "Just think, the captain of this boat has gone crazy!"

     "Why do you think so?"

     "I went to him for news Of my aunt; and he-he-he actually told me that she's not on this ship because she was saved and that I am here because I was drowned!"

     Helen found Dr. Moon's smile cheering, but his words increased her concern.

     "You were not the first to have such an experience," he said. "I've interviewed the captain, too; and what he told me was even more startling. He said that I was blown to pieces, and intimated that the fishes have long since eaten them. What do you think of that?"

     "Something ought to be done," urged Helen. "He may become violent any minute."

     "Don't be afraid of that. He seems a mighty good sort of chap, if he does hand out such paralyzing eloquence. Come, let's take a walk and talk things over."

     His reassuring tone was helpful, and Helen gladly walked at his side. Unlike Forbes, Dr. Moon seemed to have changed for the better. The girl was conscious of some new and indefinable charm in his manner and smile; and she found herself thinking of him, in the midst of her anxieties, as a sort of haven of refuge.

     "Do you know," he said, ''I've been thinking-and-maybe that kindly chap up there on the bridge is right, after all."

     "Good gracious!-you don't mean-"

734




     "Well," he said, with his unfailingly cheerful smile, "we at least know for certain that an explosion wrecked the Empress, and it stands to reason that a great many were killed or drowned. Now, don't you think that if we had been among the 'saved' and not among the 'lost,' we shouldn't have been unconscious, and should now be likely to know more about what happened? Oblivion during the very crisis in the case of every passenger on board this ship would seem to admit of only one explanation. That's the point that makes me hesitate to reject the captain's startling disclosures as lunacy.

     "Oh, it can't be!" exclaimed Helen, shrinking from the conclusion toward which his words tended. "We have only to look at each other and around us in order to be convinced that we are not mere souls."

     "But, you see, we may be wrung in our ordinary view of the immortal soul," he suggested. "Granting its existence after death, it must have a human envelope or body of its own, and all its surroundings may correspond. Everything may seem in all respects similar to the familiar things of the earthly life. Of course," he added, "we must have further proof; and I don't presume to speak positively. My conceit"-he laughed-"has been pretty well knocked out of me.

     "I-oh I can't believe in" insisted Helen. "Isn't this a ship like any other, and isn't that the Atlantic Ocean?"

     "Well, if we were drowned, it would seem to be likely enough that our souls should first journey by ship on an ocean in the world of spirits before landing at the place provided for us."

     The girl stared far out over the quivering sea with a frown of perplexity, and remained silent. Dr. Moon spoke again on the subject that absorbed them, and they walked and talked for an hour, Helen finally retiring to her stateroom.

     Later, she again joined her friend on deck, finding him near the bridge, where he had been talking with the captain. He saw that she appeared to be more anxious than ever, and felt intuitively that she sought protection.

     "I want to ask you," she said timidly, "if I may stay with you when I am not in my stateroom. I-I am afraid-of Howard Forbes.

735


He-he just now-" She seemed to be unwilling to go on.

     "I shall be glad to see that he does not annoy you," Dr. Moon hastened to assure her; "but I am pretty sure he will not make trouble. He knows the captain and the officers have an eye on him. At least, I think so."
"Even physically he seems-different," said the girl, her eyes wide with wonder. "He-" She stopped, meeting the kindly glance of the captain, who was looking down at them.

     "Oh, captain," called Dr. Moon, "can you explain the seeming degeneration that some men on this boat have apparently undergone in a very short time?"

     The captain smiled, but his manner was grave. "I suppose you have noticed a marked change in many of our passengers," he said.

     "Yes. In some cases for the better, in others for the worse."

     "That," said the captain, "is because we are rapidly approaching a realm where character is recognized at sight, where no hypocrisy is possible, where every one's external form becomes an appropriate image of his real inner quality. Of course, this makes a separation imperative. When we land, some will go in one direction and some in another."

     "Oh!" breathed Helen fearfully.

     "But all this will be explained to you at the proper time much better than I can do it," added the man on the bridge, and said no more.

     "Don't be afraid," begged Dr. Moon, as Helen walked away with him. "Even if all that he says is true, you are bound to come out all right. As for me, I'll get my just deserts, I'm sure. I have no doubt this is the world of poetic justice, as we used to say-perfect justice."

     "Yell talk as if you were sure," said Helen anxiously.

     He was about to answer when, at sight of Howard Forbes and Mrs. Crawley walking together some distance away, Helen turned abruptly, and insisted that they take the other side of the deck.

     "Don't you notice something new and-er-repulsive about him especially?" she whispered. "What can it be?"

736




     "It suggests a kind of metamorphosis, and certainly tends to confirm some of the captain's assertions. But," said Dr. Moon optimistically, "who knows? He may get a grip on himself yet.
I hope so."

     Several hours later, shut in her stateroom, Helen heard a knock on her door.

     "Hurry up and come out," called the voice of Dr. Moon. "We are about to land, and there is much to see."

     Helen rose in a fright, and her hands trembled as she prepared to go forth. But she soon joined her waiting friend, and looked up at him inquiringly. She read absolute conviction in his eye, but for her own part still' doubted.
     
     "There is nothing more to be said," he told her, smiling, yet with a suggestion of awe in his tone. "I thought something of my puny intellect once, but in an experience like this one begins to understand how feeble and insignificant an atom a single man is. Even with only a partial lifting of the veil enveloping the mighty scheme of the universe the human mind can but faint before the spectacle."

     He rushed Helen on deck as he spoke, and found a place for her against the crowded rail.

     The girl drew in her breath with a gasp, and looked and looked in awed silence. Suddenly her eyes dilated, and she uttered a low cry, grasping her companion's arm; in her excitement. Her manner suggested that of a delighted child, and the anxious lines in her face relaxed into a smile.

     "Oh, look!" she cried. "There's John among those-those-people-there on the shore. He sees me-he beckons to me! John-my brother who died two years ago. . . . Oh, then, it's true! it's true!"

     "Yes, it is true."

     She turned for one quick glance at the faithful friend beside her, and saw that her conviction and willing acceptance had deepened the look of serenity and contentment in his eyes.

737


Editorial Department 1918

Editorial Department       Editor       1918


     NEW CHURCH LIFE

     Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

     Published Monthly By

     THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager      Rev. W. H. Alden, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

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     THE ADVERSARIA.

     As promised in our October number, we begin this month the publication of some passages selected from the Adversaria, which have been translated and kindly placed at our disposal by the Rev. Alfred Acton. The first instalment, consisting of nos. 423-430 of Volume I, forms part of the explanation of the blessing of Jacob and Esau by Isaac, and contains many striking things belonging to the internal historical sense of the Word; as, for example, the idea that Esau's return from his hunting prefigured the coming of the gentiles to the Messiah when He was born into the world (n. 430). The Adversaria is rich in valuable teachings of this kind, opening the mind to a new understanding of the natural sense, to a field hitherto little cultivated in our teaching and expounding of the Word.


     It will be observed that the form of treatment is in part a commentary upon the literal sense, bringing out the meaning of the letter, and in part expounds an internal natural sense, thus what is called in the Writings the "proximate" or "internal historical sense" of the Word, just within the letter, and intermediate between this and the spiritual sense. We may say, therefore, that in general the purpose of the Adversaria is to explain the internal natural sense of the Word, though the spiritual sense is frequently given also, and even the inmost or celestial sense.

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As early as no. 505, we find this subject specifically treated of, under the heading, "Concerning the Senses in the Divine Word."


     In Swedenborg's preparation for receiving and setting forth the spiritual sense of the Word, as was done first in the Arcana Coelestia, it was necessary not only that he should become thoroughly acquainted with the literal sense, but also that he should enter into the "proximate" or internal natural sense. At the same time he was receiving knowledges of the spiritual sense and of correspondences. In all of this preparation his mind was being stored with vessels adapted to the reception of the spiritual sense by Divine inspiration. It took place after his spiritual sight was fully opened in 1745, and before he began writing the Arcana Coelestia (1747-1748). The record of these preparatory studies is what is preserved for us in the marginal notes upon his Latin Bible, the Index Biblicus, and the Adversaria.


     The word "Adversaria" means simply "Notes," a title given the work by Dr. Immanuel Tafel, when he edited and published it in 1847. The bound volume of the original manuscript has upon the back, in type, the title: "Explicatio in Verbum Historicum Vet. Test." or "Explanation of the Historical Word of the Old Testanzent," placed there perhaps by Nordenskold, as Swedenborg gave it no title. It opens with the History of Creation as given by Moses, occupying the first 24 pages of the printed edition. In this little work, which has already been published in an English translation by Mr. Acton, Swedenborg institutes a "brief commentary upon the first chapter of Genesis," for the purpose of comparing with Revelation what he had set forth in his Worship and Love of God, with the result that he was "astonished at the agreement."


     We may conclude, therefore, that the internal natural sense of the Genesis story involves the actual mode of the creation of the world and man, as described in the Worship and Love of God, even as the spiritual sense describes the new creation or regeneration of man, as shown in the Arcana. Thus the little work that constitutes the opening portion of the Adversaria may be considered as the connecting link between the philosophical and theological period of Swedenborg's preparation. For at the close of the History of Creation we read: These things are premised. And then, on the opposite page of the manuscript, he continues: But let us examine the Scriptures, especially with a mind to investigate the Kingdom of God, as to what it will be, and many things pertaining to it. Not here and there, but everywhere, the Scriptures treat of the Kingdom of God, for that was the end in the creation of all things, both of heaven and of earth.

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     Here we have an explicit statement of the avowed purpose of the Adversaria. Entering through the portals of the Scriptures, he is looking toward the heavenly Kingdom of God, or the spiritual sense of the Word, but must needs pass through the interior natural sense, and treat of the Lord's kingdom on earth-the Church as it was with the Jews, or as it was represented by them in the Old Testament. And since he there describes the states of the Church with them, this intermediate plane of the Word may be called the spiritual-natural sense when viewed from within. The Writings themselves, which properly expound the spiritual sense, frequently set forth also the internal natural, or spiritual-natural sense. In the exposition of Genesis xxxii, in A. C. 4279-4317, Jacob's wrestling with the angel is explained as to both its spiritual sense and its internal historical sense. And the reason for so doing is stated in no. 4279, where also we are told the meaning of the term "internal historical sense."


     The passage reads: "In the Word there is not only a supreme sense, and an internal sense, but also a lower sense; and in this lower sense the internal Sense is determined to that nation which is there mentioned. In what follows this sense will be called the INTERNAL HISTORICAL SENSE, and this also because it is wont to be occasionally represented to the life and in form in the First Heaven, which also it has sometimes been given me to see." (A. C. 4279e.) Jacob's wrestling with the angel, in the internal sense, involved the glorification of the Divine Natural, represented by Jacob, and in particular that "the Lord in His temptations fought at last with the angels themselves, yea, with the whole angelic heaven," (i. e. with the proprium of the angels). But in the internal historical sense it describes the stubborn insistence of the Jews in wanting to enter the land of Canaan, there to be representatives of the Lord, though they had nothing of a true church with them. (See 4290, 4295, 4307-4317.)


     Turning to the Adversaria treatment of the same subject, we find it entitled, "The Wrestling of God with Jacob" (1452-1489). How the actual wrestling took place is there described, and what it represented in the internal historical sense is summed up in no. 1461, which reads: "This is the real explanation of the wrestling of the angel of the Messiah, that is, of the Messiah Himself by means of an angel with Jacob as Jacob, thus with his posterity, with whom likewise there was a wrestling, even until nothing could any longer be effected by wrestling with them. For they forsook the Messiah, and worshiped other gods, and thus their own loves. Hence they were forsaken, nor do they at this day look for any other Messiah than one who will favor those loves, and deliver to them the dominion and riches of the world; nor do they want to look for heaven, and the heavenly kingdom, from Him as their King." W. B. C.

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REFLECTIONS AT YULETIDE 1918

REFLECTIONS AT YULETIDE       E. E. IUNGERICH       1918

     The impressive and solemn purpose that once each year draws every man, woman, and child among Christian peoples to lay down their various concerns and meet to celebrate the birth of the Babe at Bethlehem, has a deeper and more reverent meaning to those who realize that the Lord has also come again. These are of His New Jerusalem, the city and bride of the Lamb, and worship the Lord Jesus Christ as Creator, Savior, and Regenerator, the One and Only God. They are the seed of Abraham, of whom the following prediction will some day hold: "And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars if thou be able to number them; and he said unto him, so shall thy seed be." (Gen. xv:6.)

     "'And he brought him forth,' signifies the sight of the interior man who from externals sees internals. . . . Internals are brought forth when anyone contemplates with the eyes of the body the starry heaven, and from it thinks about the Lord's kingdom. As often as a man sees anything with his eyes and as it were sees not the things he sees, but from them sees or thinks of those which are of the church, or which are of heaven, at that time the interior sight, or that of his spirit or soul, is brought forth. The eye itself is properly nothing else than the sight of his spirit brought forth, and indeed mainly for the end that from externals he may see internals, or, in other words, that from objects in the world he may repeatedly reflect upon those which are in the other life, since that is the life for the sake of which he lives in the world. Such was the sight of the Most Ancient Church; such is the sight of the angels who are with a man; and such was the sight of the Lord." (A .C. 1806.)

     Every man, woman, and child of those who acknowledge the Lord in His Second Coming needs, at Christmas, to objectize its various scenes, beginning with that starry sky which suddenly brought forth before the gaze of the shepherds a multitude of the heavenly host praising and magnifying God, and culminating with that of the wise men, who were led by one star to the abode of God Incarnate. On such an occasion, with the adult beholders, the sight of their spirit should be brought forth, and cause them to see in the spectacles of the drama events that should be occurring in the real life, the life of their spirit. The external object needs to be before the eye, but its internal and spiritual verities must be allowed to reel out and coruscate before the spiritual faculty within the eye.

     Spiritually, the Lord makes His advent whenever a new awakening of religious life is to be heralded. He comes to the heart and mind of the individual; He comes to the group consciousness of the faithful within His Church, by periodic enlightenments and reawakenings of zeal; and He comes at the end of a consummated dispensation to establish a new religious movement. Whenever He comes, the plain duty of those who see Him is to hear His voice, forsake their all, and follow Him.

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     To groups of Newchurchmen who have hailed the Writings of Swedenborg as evidence that the Lord has made His Second Coming, the further study of that crowning Revelation has made them feel that the Lord has many advents still to make, each as wonderful as that which they beheld when they first saw the Heavenly Doctrine illuminating the clouds of the Word to Christians. Each such new advent comes as a thief in the night, as an angel troubling the pool about which many impotent folk lay. It may pass unheeded, and be lost, unless there be a few who go to meet it, and who are spiritually picking up their beds and walking. Alas, for those who heed it not, when heed it they may. Such gravitate to the peripheries, and are in danger of falling among the consummated, with whom religious life and motion has slackened, ebbed and died down.

     The Levitical law which enjoined that a kid was not to be seethed in its mother's milk, and that the residue of a burnt offering was not to be eaten on the morrow, have a pertinent application to each new generation of Newchurchmen. That which is the source of enlightenment and zeal with one generation cannot serve the generation to follow, except as an external object that shall bring forth the sight of their spirit. The sight of this spirit, when brought forth, will be a new and deeper doctrine, capable of kindling the affections of the new generation, and in turn to serve as object for the reminder of a future one. What is bread for one generation becomes a stone to the next. The Lord will not be tempted to turn it into bread for them, nor will a spiritually loving parent give his children stones for bread. Their bread comes from heaven if they objectize the doctrines in which they were brought up, and read the Word to let the Lord correct what is erroneous in them, enhance what is true, and insinuate what is new, nourishing, and productive.

     Let us trace briefly the series of advents the Lord has made already to Newchurchmen, noting the benefits conferred at each one of these, and the ill effects of its non-acceptance.

     It may be said of the early New Church pioneers that they saw in the Writings a torch which, when applied to the Bible, would cause it to shine in parts that were obscure to Christians, and the basis of false doctrines. In their zeal at this discovery they translated and published the Writings in many languages, and caused them to be distributed to all parts of the world. But they were not as yet alive to the truths of the Writings as things to be loved and studied for their own sake. Their enthusiasm was as yet external and missionary. They had left Egypt and found the Jordan, but preferred the fair fields that were on its outer side.

     These pioneers, however, had been led to proffer to the second generation of Newchurchmen the Writings themselves, as the object on which their internal sight was to be brought forth.

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But in the majority of cases individual parents discouraged the Writings as the field for New Church attention and study, with the result that the second generation, having only a dim retrospect and respect for the struggles of their parents, slackened in New Church zeal and interest. At this point a new coming of the Lord occurred, namely, in the perception that the Writings of Swedenborg are the Lord's specific message or Word to His New Church, and are the palladium about which alone it will rise, progress, and multiply. Wherever the view found acceptance there was a notable kindling of zeal and enthusiasm, and, we might say, a crossing of the Jordan and a beginning to live in the holy land itself. It is of interest to note that the Lord Himself, in Providence, gave a sign in favor of this new perception. At the very moment when it was being most actively discussed, there came to light one of the two copies of the Brief Exposition, on the title-page of which Swedenborg had penned the words: HIC LIBER EST ADVENTUS DOMINI.

     We may note, however, that even such a perception as this could not outlive its generation unless a further and equally kindling perception to the subsequent generation were provided. It seems to the writer that such a perception is at present in its birth threes. It is the perception that Swedenborg's Scientific and Philosophical Works are the reliable covering and embodiment of his Theological Works,-that Assyria which will be the highway between Canaan and Egypt. But no perception can be received unless it lead to a greater and fuller state of life according to it. The perception that the Writings are the Word led to a closer state of "brothers dwelling together in unity," and to the providing of competent means to educate the young, and safeguard them from the influences of the Old Church until they could become rational, and cope with it themselves. This newer perception of the correlation between Swedenborg's Theology and Philosophy already gives promise of multiplying and extending the love of the Heavenly Doctrines, of giving an expansion into a realm of illustrative examples, and of enhancing use and life above intellectual disparities.

     Future ages will be led and kindled by other and deeper perceptions, and our only concern is to be faithful to the perception committed to our age, to yield it to no one, or from no unworthy motive; and lastly, not to hand it down to our children as a token of the final appreciation that will ever be attained by mankind. We must transmit it to them as what was a treasure to ourselves but as an object for their reverent gaze, in order that by their directing attention to it the Lord may again draw forth their spiritual sight, and so inflow as the bread of heaven in some new perception, to kindle their generation and prevent it from slackening in its upholding of the Church. E. E. IUNGERICH.

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SCHMIDIUS MARGINALIA AND INDEX BIBLICUS 1918

SCHMIDIUS MARGINALIA AND INDEX BIBLICUS       Rev. W. H. ALDEN       1918

     THE SCHMIDIUS MARGINALIA TOGETHER WITH THE EXPOSITORY MATERIAL OF THE INDEX BIBLICUS. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Deciphered, Compiled, and Edited by the Rev. E. E. Iungerich. Bryn Athyn, Pa., The Academy of the New Church, 1917, pp. 632. $3.00.

     On the margins of his Schmidius Latin Bible, Swedenborg entered in Latin many critical expository comments on the text, and also some references to passages in the Bible, Adversaria, Index Biblicus, Spiritual Diary, Arcana Coelestia, and Apocalypse Revealed. The notes are most numerous on the margins of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Teel, and Amos. These marginal notes have now been laboriously deciphered, and their translation published in the present work.

     To the marginalia have been added the expository portions of the Index Biblicus, which bulk about three times the material of the marginalia. About one-half of this is devoted to Isaiah, and three-fourths of the remainder to Jeremiah and Ezekiel. In the work before us, therefore, we find 490 pages devoted to the Greater Prophets, and only 140 pages to the remainder of the Bible. The passages from the Index Biblicus have been translated, and arranged in the order of the Bible books, and collated with the marginalia. The whole makes a stout volume of 632 pages.

     By his work Mr. Iungerich makes available to the student a very considerable body of new expository material by Swedenborg, which, whether contained in the almost undecipherable photolithograph of the Schmidius Bible, or under the form of the word-index of the Index Biblicus, and this only in Latin, has heretofore been virtually inaccessible. For the skill which deciphered the marginalia, for the patient industry which worked the mine of exposition contained in the Index Biblicus, and fashioned the results of the mining into such form as to place them ready to hand for every Bible student, the author merits our hearty gratitude. There are few men who have the faculty for this kind of work; it is never recompensed in any external sense, an has, as its only return, the heavenly reward of the knowledge that an important use for the church has been accomplished.

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     Of the success with which the work has been done we need say little. The determining of the text of the marginalia where the photolithograph occasionally left out two or three letters down the whole side of a page; the ever-present difficulty of reading the handwriting of Swedenborg; the making up of the exposition of a verse from various expositions of words as found in the Index Biblicus; these alone constituted: a task of no small magnitude. The translation is intentionally literal, and at times eccentric. The author himself will doubtless find some errors and opportunities for improvement. We do not propose to search out and lay before our readers such blemishes; they are trivial as compared with the doing of the great work itself.

     Whatever Swedenborg wrote must be of interest to the student of the New Church, however unimportant in itself it may appear. Nothing can be inconsequent which is written by the herald of a new spiritual age. Therefore we gather every manuscript, and even the least scrap, which Swedenborg left behind him, and phototype it that it may be preserved for all future time. We study every least expression, that we may the better understand the message which he was called to give to men.

     The question of the verity of the unpublished manuscripts of Swedenborg, as part of his inspired message, is no light one. They range in apparent consequence from the voluminous Apocalypsis Explicata, carefully copied out as if for publication, and then laid aside, to the merest scraps of personal correspondence or business signature. The Apocalyplis Explicata, the Spiritual Diary, and a few other smaller manuscripts, so closely correspond and fit, both in style and matter, with the works which were published by Swedenborg, that they are few indeed who would not include them in his family of the illuminata. On the other hand, there are few who would say, that because Swedenborg was; the herald of the new age, therefore everything he said or wrote from his earliest years must have been a part of the Lord's Word to that new age. But there is question as to the works that lie between these two extremes. Without considering here the question of the position of the scientific or philosophical works in relation to the theological, there is a striking difference between certain works distinctively theological, which were left in manuscript by Swedenborg, and those which were given to the world.

     There are four classes of exposition found in these manuscripts which do not merge with one another, to be noted in The Adversaria, The Marginalia, The Expository Material of the Index Biblicus, and the published theological works, with which may be grouped the Apocalypsis Explicata and the Diary. That there are resemblances in particulars is true, but it must be said that the relation between these several series is not what we would expect, on the supposition that the earlier were used as a basis for the later.

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     Mr. Iungerich quotes without disapproval the Rev. R. L. Tafel's conclusion, "that the greater part of the Schmidius Marginalia, and all the expository material of the Index Biblicus, were penned after Swedenborg's intromission into the celestial kingdom" and that "Swedenborg's Biblical Concordance [Index Biblicus] therefore contains that version of the Sacred Scripture which he approved while in the highest state of illumination, and for this reason also his Concordance was the storehouse on which he drew for Biblical passages in the preparation of the theological works, which he wrote from 1747 to 1771."

     Mr. Iungerich himself says in his preface: "The Marginalia and Index Biblicus together comprise a system of exposition of the Word that, while approximating that in the Arcana, is yet in many respects intermediate between the latter and the Adversaria treatment. In these earlier expositions the giving of the pure spiritual exegesls is less prominent, and their main value is in the historical, archeological and etymological studies that serve to bring out what is the genuine sense of the ultimate letter of the Word."

     One who reads these expositions from the Index Biblicus and the Marginalia cannot but be struck with their difference from the theological works which Swedenborg published. They are allied with each other by the common use of the term or title "God Messiah" for the Lord, which was given up when the Arcana was begun. The student will remark the more external application of the text, and will find earmarks of the theology of the Church in which Swedenborg had been raised and educated. Thus he defines infernal fire as "the torments of conscience" (p. 60), states that the Seraphim are the angels of God Messiah (p. 76), explains the roaring of the sea to be "powerful preaching;" declares that the Messiah suffered the punishment of the Cross, underwent death for the salvation of the human race, sustained damnation, underwent the punishment of damnation (p. 270). From passages in the Adversaria, and even in the Index Biblicus, it would appear that while writing these works, Swedenborg believed that the creation of the world literally took place, as stated in the Bible, only about four thousand years before the coming of the Lord.

     In an article in the NEW CHURCH QUARTERLY, for January, 1916, Mr. Iungerich has given in parallel columns the exposition of the 1st Chapter of the Prophet Ezekiel, as found in the Marginalia, the Index Biblicus, and in the published theological works. To these I have added others, which will illustrate the points that have been made.

     INDEX BIBLICUS.

     Isa. LIII:6, 7.-"The Church" is compared to "a wandering sheep" from of the evils.

     "Lamb," from innocence, for Messiah, that He suffered the punishment of the Cross.

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     "As a sheep is dumb before the shearers, and opens not her mouth," for Messiah sustaining the punishment of the iniquities of the human race; for God Messiah's sustaining with all patience all more interior and inmost spiritual punishments.

     8. He underwent death for the salvation of the human race.

     "Cut out" or "off from the land of the living," means He sustained damnation, to which in the supreme degree life itself answers, thus to undergo the punishment of damnation.

     ADVERSARIA.

     6. That He bore all iniquities upon Himself, because all in heaven and on earth are wicked and sinners, with, no exception.

     7. From the words of the New Testament these things are altogether confirmed; namely, that He became a sacrifice for our sins, and from this is called the Lamb of God.

     8. "Cut off out of the land of the living" is that He is dead, for it follows on account of the prevarication of the people.

     LATER WORKS.

     6. By "to make to meet in Him, the iniquities of all," the same is meant as by bearing griefs and iniquities." Lord 15.

     7. "To sustain exaction," signifies temptations; "to be afflicted" signifies the gravity of them; not to open his mouth" signifies patience. A. E. 813.

     By "Lamb" is signified innocence, and in the supreme sense the Lord as to the Divine Human, for the Lord as to that was "Innocence Itself." A. E. 314

     8. "The land of the living" is heaven, which lives from the Lord. A. C. 200.

     INDEX BIBLICUS.

     Isa. xlii:14.-"I was silent" or that He "acted deaf, contained Himself," refers to God Messiah, as to His not having revealed clearly from the time of the Ancient Church the more interior things of faith, but only through parables, and He Himself spake only through parables, lest the devil, here called "viper," should pervert truths, and thereby blind men and destroy the Church. For the more fully more interior things are opened, the greater the power given the devil to assail more interior things. He cannot attack ignorance and innocence, but intelligence and wisdom according to the degree of intelligence. "To be silent and act dumb of old," signifies here that God Messiah did not dearly reveal the more interior things of faith since the time of the Ancient Church. "Of old" or from an age, or from antiquity, means the time of the Ancient Church. "To act deaf," or that He had not heard, means that He did not suffer Himself to be questioned about them, thus that they should not be revealed by man; also for not to wish to reveal the more interior things of faith on account of the causes treated of. He, therefore, permitted heresies, and perturbations of the doctrine of faith from scientifics. "To contain Himself' is to hide these more interior things of faith, from a love of the end, which is the glory of Jehovah, His Father.

     ADVERSARIA.

     These things regard the two advents of God Messiah. At the first the enemy is to be conquered, and put to flight; at the second he is to be dispersed; in the meantime silence is predicated; this also is compared with birth. At His coming enemies will be dispersed, wherefore it is said to desolate and to swallow up.

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     MARGINALIA.

     Ez. 1:4-"Came from the north" for vastation; "a cloud with fire," for the first morning with mercy and light thence. When a turning of creation takes place, then reason and affection appear like a "cloud" and "a fire mingling itself."

     It is the vastation of the last time which is likened to a "storm from the north," which is a supreme thick darkness-with a stormy tumult. "Cloud," ignorance of celestial things; "fire in the cloud," is cupidities; "splendor" is natural lumen from this fire; "a coal out of the midst of the fire" is love of the world, which is likened to "a coal" or to a dry fire.

     INDEX BIBLICUS.

     "The wind of a whirlwind, or a stormy one coming from the north," denotes when there is the greatest vastation of the church on earth, and of the bound in the pit who are liberated when God Messiah came and will come. "Wind of a whirlwind" looks to the vastation of spiritual things. "North" is from cold and night together, and signifies the supreme vastation of the church when God Messiah came: and created, a new man, as also the vastation of those who are in the other life, or who are bound in the pit and are liberated.

     "A great cloud and a fire mingling itself, to which was a splendor round, about, and out of its midst as the form of a flaming eye, or, better, a coruscating flame out of its midst," denotes that when vastation is at its summit, which is the "stormy wind from the north," there is then a "great cloud," viz., spiritual things, which are quasi confused with celestial ones, viz., "the fire mingling itself," because after the state of supreme vastation such a quasi commingling appears. It has a "splendor round about," to denote that from the celestial which mixes with the spiritual. "From its midst," it regards the spiritual or the splendor, the spiritual having proceeded from the celestial. "As a flaming eye out of the midst," denotes the more interior and the inmost celestial, and wisdom which proceeds out of the midst of the middle fire. Thus it treats of the new creation of man from a celestial seed, when God Messiah came and will come.

     "A fire mingling itself," denotes celestial mercy. "Out of the midst of the fire," on the second occurrence of the word, stands for the more interior and inmost celestial, thus for mercy; thus the celestial spiritual in which is inmostly the celestial of God Messiah's mercy, which is beautifully described and likened to the "eye of a coruscating flame."

     LATER WORKS.

     "Clouds" signify the ultimates of the Word, or the sense of the letter. Divine truth, as it descends from the inmost heaven into the lower heavens, and, finally, into the world where men are, thus by degrees, from pure becomes denser; hence it is that in the lowest degree it appears like clouds, by which is signified the Divine Truth accommodated to the comprehension of the angels who are in the lowest heaven, and, finally, to the comprehension of men in the natural world. A. E. 594.

     "Fire" in the Word signifies celestial love, therefore the fire seen in the midst of the cherubs signifies the Divine Love, for the Lord is the Divine Love, and whatever proceeds from that Love is fire to which there is splendor round about. A. E. 504.

     MARGINALIA.

     Dan. XI:I.-Persia specifically signifies those who reason from the letter concerning celestial things, who thus remain in shade, for the doctrine of faith has passed successively from things more interior to externals, where is mere shade.

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     Greece, however, signifies those who, indeed, do not speak according to the letter, but according to the interior and the more interior sense, but yet disagree at heart. Wherefore among these princes a combat is waged; as when the salt of the New Church is among the leaders of the Old Church.

     LATER WORKS.

     "Islands" signify the Gentiles more remote from the worship of God, but yet who are to approach to it, because they can be enlightened; similarly by Greece, but the Church itself by the land of Canaan. A. R. 34.

     INDEX BIBLICUS.

     Isa. X:2.-The "weak" or the feeble, for those who are afflicted, or, as it were, broken by spiritual temptations, and who, acting from their conscience, no longer perceive with themselves anything of strength. To these ale opposed those who seem to themselves strong."

     "The poor," those who in spiritual and celestial things believe that they understand and are wise about nothing from self, and therefore possess no such spiritual riches from themselves, but that faith is given them by God Messiah. To these are opposed the rich, or those who seem wise to themselves.

     "Widow" for affections which have no patronage from the forces of one's own understanding, and from proprial counsels in all sorts of difficulties, but trust solely in God Messiah.

     "Orphans" for innocences, who believe they can understand nothing and have no ability from themselves, but trust solely in God Messiah is their Father, who understands and has ability in all things.

     ADVERSARIA.

     These things are frequently repeated. The poor in spirit are meant; they are the wretched among the spiritual; they are the widows, who are deprived of the understanding of spiritual things; they are orphans, who are under others, and believe others; they are under the protection of others, who pervert the faith and conscience of these.

     LATER WORKS.

     By the "wretched" and "poor" are meant those who are without cognitions of truth and good, for these spiritually are wretched and poor. A. R. 209.

     "A widow signifies good without truth, and good without truth is without protection, as a widow, for truth protects good." A. R. 764.

     INDEX BIBLICUS.

     Isa. IX:19.-"To cleave to the right and yet be hungry, and eat to the left and yet not be satiated" and "their eating severally the flesh of their arm," for an intrinsic and extrinsic disagreement from the love of self and the love of the world. "To cleave to the right and to eat to the left," is to break bread from the inverted order of life; is to love in inverted order, that is, to love one's self. Thus everywhere disagreement. "To hunger and not to be satiated," is never to be content, and to enjoy no peace. "To eat the flesh of the arm," is to cut apart from hatred at the same time, that is, the neighbor; and signifies intrinsic and extrinsic hatred arising from the love of self. "To eat the flesh of the arm" for intrinsic from extrinsic hatred, against self and the neighbor.

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     ADVERSARIA.

     The love of self is described which, whatever it seizes upon, yet hungers; now it is satiated, and a man will be against his brother; for they hold all in hatred, and they love no one except themselves; thence they spare not a man his brother; they hunger, and are not satisfied, yea, the flesh of their own arm they eat, that is, their companions, their very selves; for a similar hatred is in them within wherefore they tear themselves, from envy, revenge, etc., such is the love of self, such is hatred against all, against the neighbor, and against their very self.

     LATER WORKS.

     The deprivation of all good and all truth, however he inquire, is meant by, "If he cleave to the right, yet he shall hunger; and if he shall eat to the left, he shall not be satiated;" the right signifies good from which is truth, and the left, truth from good; "to cleave and to eat" these, signifies to inquire, and "to eat and not be satiated," is to be deprived; that evil extinguishes all truth, and the false all good, is meant by "a man shall eat the flesh of his own arm," the flesh of the arm is the power of good by truth; "A man" is the false, "to eat" is to extinguish, A. E. 386.

     In the earlier works will be found many suggestive and brilliant expositions and applications of the text; but palpably these works which Swedenborg wrote and did not publish have not the tone and atmosphere of the works which he did publish. It is one state: of mind that continually speaks of God the Father, God the Holy Spirit, and God the Messiah, and a distinctly different state which says, at the beginning of the Arcana, "In the following pages by the Lord is meant alone the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ; and He is called Lord without other names, for He is acknowledged as Lord throughout the whole heaven, because all power is His in the heavens and on the earth." (A. C. 14.)

     The state of Swedenborg, when writing these preparatory works, may be described as that of coming into tune for being the instrument for the revelation of the Doctrines of the New Church. He was not to be dealt with as were the prophets of the Old Testament, who, themselves not knowing, "spake the words of Jehovah." From his youth he was set apart and prepared. And no small part of this preparation was the attempt to express an exposition of the Word from such light as was in him. There is in these works a sense as if he were feeling after the message which the Divine Word contains. It is a state of dim spiritual light, wherein, indeed, are discerned many glimpses of wondrous things. Compare these expositions with any outside the circle of the light' of the new age, and those outside look paltry, indeed. They are vastly worth preserving, and deserving of our Study. And let us not be too much concerned about their being different from the revelation which followed them. It might, indeed, be expected that it would be so. Touched by the Divine Spirit, glimpsing the glories of the spiritual world and of the spiritual significance of the Scriptures, Swedenborg, the man, began to write.

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A work half the size of the Arcana was written and laid aside; many notes were entered on the margins of his Latin Bible; he laboriously prepared the index Biblicus,-and then, as with a mind attuned with the infinite by its preparation, the very revelation itself was penned with sure hand, and given to the world. The works connoting the preparatory mental states were laid aside and not again used or referred to by him, but in the providence of the Lord preserved. The Church will forever value them for what they are, and use the treasures which are in them.
Captain Ted 1918

Captain Ted              1918

     Captain Ted. A Boy's Adventures Among Hiding Slackers in the Great Georgia Swamp. By Louis Pendleton. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1918. $1.35, net.

     The author of this war tale of "a brave and devoted boy" needs no introduction to our readers. The tone of the book is necessarily in harmony with New Church ideals. No boy can read it without being helped along the path of courage.

751


SIXTEENTH CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1918

SIXTEENTH CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       G. A. MCQUEEN       1918

     GLENVIEW, ILL., OCT. 11-15, 1918.

     One of the many glorious things spoken of the "City of our God" is the statement in the Word concerning the Heavenly Jerusalem, that there will be "no night there." There will be twilight and dawn, but "no night." States of spiritual exaltation will pass into shade and coolness, but no state of entire separation from the Source of spiritual light and heat will exist in heaven. So with the Church on earth; there will be times of enthusiasm and affection for the Heavenly Doctrine, which, yielding to the pressure of worldly influences, will decline until there is obscurity and indifference as to the real things of life. But, "as in heaven, so upon the earth," the Church will be prevented from reaching the night state of denial and separation from the Lord. At the right time the affection for spiritual things, latent in the members of the Church, will again become active, and a new day will dawn.

     These thoughts are preliminary to a report of our recent Assembly. These meetings always seem to perform the use of ushering ill a new state of life, and may be compared to a passing from the twilight of evening to the dawn of a new day.

     The first session of the Assembly was held on Friday evening, Oct. 11th, in the Parish House of the Immanuel Church. Bishop N. D. Pendleton presided, and there was a good attendance. This is true of all the meetings, but the absence of our soldier boys was very noticeable. We all long for the time when they will be with us again, to take their places in the work of the Church which they had entered into with such energy before they left us.

     Supper was served at 7 o'clock, and followed by an address by the Bishop on the subject, "The Two Memories of Man." It goes without saying that the matter was dealt with in a way to stimulate the thought of the Church on the teaching given. It is to be hoped that the paper will be published for the benefit of the whole Church.

     On Saturday evening the Assembly met again to hear papers on various subjects; the principal one being by Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, on "Exhortation, Admonition, Warning and Persuasion." The main purpose of the writer was to discover whether in our Church we had departed too much from the old form of exhortation, both in our preaching and in the forms of our liturgy. The ultimate conclusion seemed to be that there is a place for exhortation of the right kind, and it was pointed out that a great portion of the Divine Word is in the form of exhortation.

752


In the discussion that followed the reading of the paper the subject of "Persuasion" received a good deal of consideration.

     The Bishop pointed out that exhortation was used in the Letter of the Word, and might be used legitimately in religious affairs, but in the matter of persuasion it was a somewhat different thing. In this he felt we were under the necessity of following the Writings, which use the word persuasion in a way to express something which should not be done. As he understood the term, as used in the Writings, it referred to the going after a man, and attacking him in such a way that, by frequent repetition and undue emphasis, you lured him into doing something which in a free state of mind he would not do. But it does not mean the stirring up of affection for the things of the Church. The great law of human life is human freedom; and intellectual contact which destroys freedom, however it is brought about, is wrong. The only way in which a man can be convinced of truth is by the "self-evidencing reason of love." The truth is seen in its light when the love is aroused; but that is not persuasion.

     The paper, entitled "The Importance of an Ultimate Expression of Mental States," was to have been read by Dr. J. B. S. King, but owing to the epidemic it was not written. The doctor, however, gave the substance of it offhand, under the following heads: Expression of Emotion in Animals; Expression of Emotion in Man; Modification thereof by thought; Supposed Emotions, and their bad effects on mind and body. The relief that follows expression, and the New Church philosophy upon which it is founded.

     On Sunday, the 13th, Divine Worship was held in our beautiful little church. The Bishop and the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith officiated. The sermon by the Bishop was from Deut. vi:8, "And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes." Very practical teaching was given as to the necessity for professing Newchurchmen to keep in mind the Divine Truths revealed to the New Church; and the preacher referred to the fact that even Swedenborg, one of the most illumined of men, placed before him a sign in the form of his "Rules of Life," to guide him in his daily life. We feel sure that those who heard the Bishop will appreciate, more than ever before, the value of those rules which have been known by the Church for so long a time. During the service the infant daughter of the Pastor of the Immanuel Church was baptized by the Bishop. As in the past, the musical portions of the service were greatly enjoyed.

     In the afternoon at 5 o'clock the Holy Supper was administered to a good number of communicants; the officiating ministers being Bishop N. D. Pendleton, Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, and Rev. John Headsten.

     In the evening a banquet was held in the Parish Hall, presided over by Mr. Charles Frances Browne, of Chicago.

753


As toastmaster, he first proposed the toast to the "Church," and after the response, "Our Glorious Church," had been sung, he introduced the subject of the speeches, which was that of "Happiness." He referred to various definitions of happiness, but said he could find none equal to those given in the Writings of the New Church. He believed that New Church people ought to be happier than other people in the world, because happiness can only come by living in harmony with the truths of the Church.

     Mr. H. L. Burnham was the next speaker, and referred to certain quotations from addresses delivered to students by a Harvard Professor. They were puerile when compared with the teaching to be obtained even from the Concordance to the Writings. There is that wonderful statement that creation is for man, and the end is that man should enjoy heavenly felicity. We could not know what happiness is except from Revelation. We there learn that it is not a state of mere rest, but one in which it is delightful to give happiness to others. We can only get glimpses of what is involved in the truly happy state.

     Mr. Alec McQueen followed, and told the experiences of one Charley Tomkins, who only found happiness after he had forsaken a life of ease and gone to the front to fight for his country.

     Bishop Pendleton said: "Happiness is the most illusive thing in the world. It is so illusive that you destroy it by the least reflection upon it. It is the rarest of all things in the world. Yet it comes to every human being in some way or other, whether devil in hell or angel in heaven. Happiness is the elixir of life, and is from God alone. We can only study, and to some extent analyze, the condition under which it comes. It is the vital principle which flows into this body of ours. The nearest we can get to a statement of the conditions under which this thing is felt, is that there is a rare moment of perfect harmony, a perfect equilibrium or balance of all the forces of the body. It comes as a physical thing when there is a right concordance of all its parts. I think it exists continually in the human internals. We say we should be happy; but we cannot be continuously happy; that is impossible. There are too many things to overcome. There are temptations; they are not happy things. There are drifts from the world which affect us in many ways. We are struggling and fighting all the time. It is a warfare, and we cannot look for this God-given happiness continually. That is what we are to look forward to in our education. So prepare the minds of the young as to bring about conditions for happiness. To get their minds so instructed and formed that they can receive and sensate the vibrations from the Spiritual Sun.

     On Monday evening, the 14th, a Men's Meeting was held in the Parish House of the Sharon Church on Center Ave., Chicago. The Rev. David H. Klein presided, and after all had partaken of a bountiful supper, provided by the city friends, Mr. Klein invited the Bishop to introduce a subject for the consideration of the meeting.

754


He responded as follows: "I have been thinking of the danger which the General Church might encounter, as it grows older and receives new elements of increase from without, and from our own children, who might not be able to realize without great difficulty the spirit of unity of purpose which prevailed in the Academy in the beginning. We all wonder whether the young men of the Church are grasping the vital thing that created the Academy and the General Church. It has been said of all movements, that they almost never accomplish just the definite thing they were organized for; that in the course of development their aims are diverted, although more or less successful in other directions. This tendency is illustrated by the saying, "Man proposes and God disposes." It is rarely, if ever, that the first intellectual conception is carried out in the way its originators intended. That is often the cause of heart burnings and discontent on the part of the originators of a movement, when they think that perhaps the very thing they imagined is not being accomplished. The early conception of the Academy might be considered analogous to the delightful state of primitive love which exists with newly married partners, which inevitably passes away; and when it passes away there is a struggle to maintain the first sentiments. Yet, as it passes, there comes to those who hold fast a truly ideal state. So with the Church. The early day of the Academy has gone, and the early states of the General Church are as delightful memories to us. The Church is growing and developing, and yet there may be a tendency on the part of societies and individuals to drift apart,-only tendencies it is true, but sufficient to cause us to think about it, and to take a greater interest in each other, and to meet more frequently for mutual support. Our movement must go on aggressively, and we must stand together, as in the past, to obtain what is given to strengthen the spiritual life of the Church. The world, now more than ever, needs the New Church and the New Church needs that which we call the Academy."

     The Bishop's address was listened to with rapt interest, bringing forth, as it did, the old time sphere of affection for our cause. This was shown by the spontaneous rising of the meeting to join in singing "Our Own Academy." A very full discussion followed, but space will not permit even quoting the speeches. Perhaps it will help if we mention the names of the speakers, all of whom are known to many readers of the LIFE, who will probably be able to form an idea of the nature of their remarks. The following are the names: Rev. David H. Klein, Rev. John Headsten, Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, Rev. W. L. Gladish, and Messrs. G. A. McQueen, H. L. Burnham, H. E. Blackman, Charles F. Browne, A. E. Nelson, G. G. Starkey, Dr. Marelius and Nels Johnson.

     At the close of the discussion the Bishop said that several of the speakers had mentioned an idea which he intended to refer to. "It was the idea that we as Newchurchmen love the Writings. They have a dominating influence on our minds.

755


We have a common mode of expression, and we know each other spiritually. The problem twenty-five years ago was to establish in the Church a certain firm foundation concerning the Writings themselves. In our body this foundation is now accepted. But this will not amount to anything unless we take a further step. We must get together at all times because we need to come into contact for the advancement of our regeneration. We cannot hark back twenty-five rears ago because the attack against our position has subsided. But we can love the Church as it exists with men. Perhaps we too easily see each other's faults, and desire to live to ourselves. But to believe there is something fine in men who believe in the Writings, whatever their failings, is to see the Newchurchman in each other, to excite it, bring it out, and love it. It is the most living of problems, and it takes a big man to see another's faults and yet be friendly with him. The thing to be done is to build up the New Church in our societies. Let us take the human view, and remember that while love is vital, it is to have the spark of Divine Truth within it, or it runs off into nothing. We understand that, and we can cultivate that love by affection for each other."

     At the conclusion of the Bishop's speech, Mr. John Forrest entertained the meeting by reciting in pure Scotch one of Burns' poems. A toast was then proposed to Mr. Forrest and his brother and sister for the excellent supper provided, and their earnest efforts to make the visitors feel quite at home. The closing toast was to "Our Boys Across the Sea," when all present joined in singing the hymn from our Liturgy, "When marshaled on the mighty plain."

     On Tuesday afternoon there was a Ladies' Meeting in the Library of the Immanuel Church, at which the Bishop gave an address on "New Church Education, its adjustment to the changes of the age." In the evening the ladies invited the men folks to attend a social meeting. The first part of the program consisted of instrumental music by Miss Katherine Burnham, songs and duets by Miss Helen Wiedinger and Miss Vera McQueen. Then followed a short play, entitled

     "Truth the Mischief."
Faith Hudson                Miss Agathea Starkey
Eleanor Wright           Miss Vera McQueen
Fairy Farrel               Miss Maud Reuter
Jane Martin                Miss Nellie Synnestvedt
Kitty Davis               Miss Katherine Burnham
Bridget                Miss Maud McQueen

     The play dealt with the formation of a club, at the meetings of which the members were always to speak the truth about everything. As may be supposed, the doing of this at the very first meeting of the club caused a great deal of trouble, and brought about some very amusing situations. After the play some time was spent in dancing. It has been truly said that "our ladies are beautiful and brave."

756


Their beauty speaks for itself, and their bravery is shown by the way they persist in their work for the church under war conditions. Whatever may be in their hearts, they go on doing their bit in support of the various relief agencies, while all the time they are thinking of what they will do "when the boys come home." At any rate they often sing that song.

     On Wednesday morning the Bishop paid a visit to the School at Glenview, and gave an address to the children on the Creed of the New Church.
     G. A. MCQUEEN.
ORPHANAGE 1918

ORPHANAGE       Various       1918

     To the Members and Friends of the General Church:

     Since June 1st, 1918, not a single contribution has been received for the support of the Orphanage of the General Church. Meanwhile, the regular expenses, averaging about $50.00 a month, have continued without intermission.

     The balance that will be left in the treasury of the Orphanage Fund on January 1st, 1919, after payments have been made for December, will be $36.80, against which sum, however, must be charged certain small bills not yet in hand.

     At Christmas time it has been customary for our societies and isolated receivers to make offerings for the use of the Orphanage. It is with this in view that the Orphanage Committee communicates the above information to the members and friends of the General Church.
     WALTER C. CHILDS,
     ANTON SELLNER,
     ALFRED ACTON,
          Orphanage Committee.

757


WHY I DO NOT BELIEVE IN RE-BAPTISM 1918

WHY I DO NOT BELIEVE IN RE-BAPTISM       L. G. LANDENBERGER       1918

Editor NEW CHURCH LIFE:
Dear Brother in the Lord:
     The October, 1918 number of Life has come to hand, and I have taken special interest in the Editorial on "New Jerusalem Mennonites," as I am one of the Convention ministers that visited the Mennonites in northwest Canada who have received the doctrines of the New Church.

     As to the position take" by the New Church brethren in the Canadian Northwest, in order to be exempt from taking up arms, I have not evidence sufficient to warrant me in forming an intelligent conclusion. I will only say now, that I can easily understand that people who have been brought up under the influence of the teachings of Menno Simon, and believe that it is contrary to the genius and teaching of Christianity to use carnal weapons, can still remain Mennonites as to their civic life and should not forfeit the right to be exempted from taking up of arms, as covenanted by the Canadian Government, even if they become members of the Church of the New Jerusalem.

     My purpose, however, in writing is to state reasons why I do not believe in Re-Baptism, as the Editorial above referred to claims that the action taken by the "New Jerusalem Mennonites" is "a powerful confirmation of the reasons for re-baptism," ""d you say that if "converts from the old sects" were "rightly instructed as to the distinctiveness of the New Church, they would ardently desire and spontaneously seek, not only complete separation from their former affiliations, but also baptism into the New Church."

     I hold, on the contrary, that if people were well instructed in the doctrines of the New Church, they would not feel the need of being baptized the second time, for the distinctiveness of the New Church can be seen, and the separation made, by the Rite of Confirmation, or in some way in which one publicly professes the Faith of the New Church. Consequently, there is no need of re-baptism. The same may be said to giving outward expression as to "loyalty to the teachings and life of the Church," which you mention, for Confirmation includes this.

     You also say that re-baptism would be a "sign and memorial" of their new faith and new name. I do not find in the Writings any statement that there is any such thing as "New Church Baptism," but I do find it said that Baptism is introduction into the Christian Church and at the same time insertion among Christians in the spiritual world, and in this connection Christian Baptism is a "sign and memorial," not to distinguish one kind of Christians from another, but Christians from Mohammedans.

758




     As to the next point you make, after quoting from T. C. R. 700, 667, and 668, that the "Christian Church" referred to in the chapter on Baptism means the New Christian Church and not the Church that was Christian in name only, I would say that a New Church Society, with all its beautiful doctrines, may be a Church in name only. To virtually indicate that only those who have a knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word constitute the "New Christian Church," is surely giving too limited a view of the Lord's New Church, for in the Apocalypse Revealed, nos. 342 to 385, where the signification of the "sealed" and the "multitude" are given, we are taught that the former are those who constitute the internal of the New Heaven and the New Church, and the latter the external of the New Heaven and the New Church, and these latter, it is said, consist of "all in the Christian World, who are in religion from good, and in truths from doctrine." (no. 365.) Of course, one can easily conclude that all such are instructed in the doctrines of the New Church before they become of the "New Christian Church," but I do not believe such a conclusion is warranted in the light of what the Writings say as to those who constitute the "external Church," for to be in "truths from doctrine" means much more than to have a correct belief. The objection to the position that only those who receive the doctrines of the New Church constitute the "New Christian Church" is, that it regards the Church as an ecclesiasticism and not as in the human form, and it leaves no room for the external Church, and thus for those who are in the appearances of truths from the Word.

     Now I trust you will pardon a personal reference, as I wish to make my view of the matter we are considering as clear as I can. My father and mother were converted in the United Brethren Church, and I was baptized as a child in that Church. I believe that body of people are Christians, and when I was baptized I was inserted among Christians in this world and in the other world, as the Writings teach. When I was 18 years old I was converted in the "Evangelical Association," as my parents moved from Circleville, O., where I was born, to Olney, Ill., where they became members of the last named Church. When I was 28 years old I received the doctrines of the New Church, and was seemingly born into a new world. I at once requested that my name be taken from the list of members of the "Evangelical" body. I united with the New Church Society at Olney by profession of faith.

     I recite the foregoing to say that I have never been re-baptized, nor have I ever felt or seen the need of it. I was a Christian, and among Christians both as to body and spirit, before I ever heard of the New Church. The position hereby taken is confirmed in my own mind by what the doctrines teach as to the effect of Baptism.

759


They teach that by Baptism man is inserted among Christians on earth, and in the spiritual world in a society corresponding to the one here. Baptism, therefore, is a sign of distinction as to religion, it is a sign that a man is a Christian. It distinguishes a man from a Jew, Mohammedan, and other religions. Consequently, when one who has been baptized, and has been inserted among Christians in the spiritual world, changes his religious belief on earth, and goes from a denomination in Christendom into the New Church on earth, he does the same in spirit in the other world: he changes from an external Society, if I may coin a phrase, and enters an internal Society. There is no need of re-baptism, for Baptism is not a gate that leads from one Christian denomination to another, but it is a UNIVERSAL GATE, as we are taught in T. C. R. no. 721: "Baptism and the Holy Supper are like two universal gates to eternal life. By Baptism, the first gate, every Christian (please note!) is introduced to what the Church teaches from the Word about the other life; all of which serves as means by which man may be prepared for and led to heaven. The other gate is the Holy Supper; through this every man who has suffered himself to be prepared and led by the Lord is intromitted and introduced to heaven. There are no other universal gates."' (Italics the writer's.) Baptism, in the light of this teaching, is not a denominational gate, but a universal gate for all Christians.

     I have in my possession Rev. R L. Tafel's brochure on "New Church Baptism," and in it he concedes the position set forth in regard to the effect of Baptism by a minister of one of the denominations in Christendom. He says, page 53: "By Baptism into the First Christian Church the persons baptized are associated with spirits as are in the understanding of the merely external or natural sense of the Word." He also says, page 55: "We have already stated our reasons on page 32, why we hold that 'by the Christian sign which is Baptism,' in T. C. R. 878, is meant an introductory sign both into the First Christian Church and into the New Jerusalem Churches." And on the same page, further on, states: "The Baptism of the First Christian Church . . . connects the persons with angels of the First or natural heaven."

     Yet, after saying all this, Dr. Tafel protested against the idea of calling the act of baptizing a person, who had been baptized, re-baptism! He states that those who do call it re-baptism "ignore all internal and spiritual distinctions, and who in spiritual matters, i. e., in matters belonging to the Lord's kingdom, consult simply the evidence of their external senses, excluding the interior rational evidence of the doctrines of the internal sense of the Word." Page 58.

     We would reply to the foregoing that those who so call the baptizing of a person by a New Church minister, which person has already been baptized by a minister of a Christian denomination, are observing the very distinctions which the doctrines in the Writings make between the internal and the external Church.

760




     We repeat: According to our reading of the Writings these many years, we fail to find anything in them which warrants the coining of the phrase "New Church Baptism." It would be just as reasonable to speak of "New Church Holy Supper." Swedenborg was chosen by the Lord because He knew that His servant could write the "Universal Theology of the New Church signified by the New Jerusalem" in such a way as to give a correct idea of the true doctrines of His Word, and nowhere does he use the language "New Church Baptism." Re-Baptism is a virtual proclamation to the world that the denominations in the Christian world are not Christian, that their Baptism is not Christian Baptism, and that their administration of the Holy Supper does not bring the communicant in touch with heaven and the Lord, when yet such a staunch believer in the distinctiveness of the New Church as above shown says that even Baptism by a minister of the First Christian Church connects persons with angels of the First heaven! Re-Baptism overlooks the doctrine that the New Church is internal and external, and it views the New Church as an ecclesiasticism, and fails to view it as in the human form, as taught in Apocalypse Revealed, no. 342-385.

     May I say in closing, that nothing in the above should be interpreted as indicating I undervalue the distinctiveness of the "New Church" as a "body" in the world. We say "body," but it would be more in accord with the doctrines to think and say that we are a part of the Lord's Church, which is in the human form. Then we avoid thinking mechanically of the Church, and think of her vitally. The real New Church is an interior organ, but is no more separated from the other Christians in the world than are the heart from the lungs, or the brain from the stomach, but all are vitally related to each other. So let us perform our function faithfully, but let us avoid thinking and acting as if we were the whole body.
     Yours truly,
          L. G. LANDENBERGER.
3741 Windsor Place, St. Louis, Mo.

761


Church News 1918

Church News       Various       1918

     FROM OUR CORRESPONDENTS.

     BRYN ATHYN.-On September 15th the winter services, with their more complete ritual, were resumed. The first Friday Supper of the year was held on October 4th, and was followed by the Annual Meeting of the Society. After the usual reports had been read and discussed, the subject of the disposition of the Building Fund was taken up for consideration. This Fund, amounting to about $7,000 represents the accumulation of twenty years or more, and the contribution of many persons toward the erection of a place of worship. After a lengthy discussion, it became evident that a large majority of the members present were of the opinion that the original purpose of the Fund would best be served, if it were simply donated to the General Fund already provided through the generosity of Mr. John Pitcairn for the church now in course of erection.

     Shortly after this meeting all public gatherings were suspended on account of the epidemic of influenza. The Friday Suppers were resumed on November 1st, and the first Class was held on that date, the subject chosen for the year being a study of the Book of Joshua.

     The Children's Services began on October 6th. The ritual has been shortened slightly this year, in accommodation to the younger children, and there will be an effort to introduce more recitations in Hebrew and Greek. In the addresses there will be presented scenes from the Prophets, with especial emphasis upon their historical and moral interpretation. The immediate object is to give the children a more thorough acquaintance with the parts of the Word that are not systematically taught in the school courses of religious instruction.

     The weekly class with the ladies has been resumed by the Assistant Pastor, and the study of the Doctrine of the Word is being continued. The Sunday evening class is for men has also opened for the year, and will be devoted to a study of the Doctrine of Correspondences and Representatives. G. DE C.

     PHILADELPHIA.-The influenza did not pass through Philadelphia last month without taking its toll from among those associated with the Advent Society. Many who have seldom been sick suffered from that strange malady, and three deaths resulted. Charlie Knudsen, the son of our old and esteemed friend, Mr. K. Knudsen, was the first to be taken. Mrs. Goldhorn, the mother of four of our faithful Sunday School scholars, was next taken, leaving behind her a newborn baby, who is now being cared for in Bryn Athyn. The third death was that of George Cubbler, aged ten, one of the Sunday School scholars. These deaths have made a great impression on the life of the Society, particularly on the children of the Sunday School. They have given Mr. Alden an opportunity to bring home to the children the reality of the spiritual world, and to awaken added interest with them in the things of the Church.

     The Sunday School has increased from 38, the number last recorded, to 47 loyal and earnest scholars, with prospects of several additional ones in the very near future.

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They are now studying the latter part of the Lord's life on earth. By means of a Sunday School Teachers' Class, conducted by Mr. Alden every Tuesday afternoon, he is training a corps of enthusiastic teachers, who are willing learners, using their best efforts to carry the instruction into practice, and this is bringing results of a concrete nature which are very gratifying. The Sunday School classes are divided into Primary, Junior, and Senior, the boys and girls, except in the Primary grade, being instructed separately. An experiment is being made in holding the Sunday School immediately after Church, from 12 to 1 o'clock, thereby leaving the afternoon free. So far the plan has worked very successfully and probably will be adopted permanently.

     The Sunday School has one great need, a reference library of books on Sunday School teaching, for the use of the teachers. This is being acquired gradually, and it is anticipated that in due course we will have a thoroughly equipped Sunday School, with thoroughly trained teachers. This feature of our work gives every promise of being most fruitful, and we expect a large growth from it. So far as the boys are concerned, it is made still more successful through the Boy Scouts under Mr. Harvey Lechner, the Scoutmaster, and Mr. Alden, Ass't Scoutmaster. Mr. Lechner is also Superintendent of the Sunday School.

     At the Semi-annual meeting of the Society, held November 3rd, it was decided to hold "Friday" suppers and Doctrinal Classes on Wednesday evening this year. These were inaugurated last Wednesday, November 6th. The work on Divine Providence has been taken up, as being peculiarly appropriate in these times of uncertainty due to war conditions. Last year we studied the Apocalypse Revealed, and we might state here that Mr. Alden's plan is to take up, in alternate years, the exegetical and topical books of the Writings, in order that the Society may gain a balanced view of the Doctrines from both standpoints.

     A most interesting experiment has been instituted in the missionary field. A moving picture theater has been engaged for a series of lectures, illustrated by moving pictures and lantern slides, to be held on Sunday evenings, a basket being placed at the door for a silver offering, primarily to defray the expenses. The first of this series was held November 10th, and the attendance was between 150 and 200 adults. All told there were about 400 present, and the collection amounted to $22.22, most of which, however, reverts to the theater. The meeting was opened by singing the Star Spangled Banner, followed by other patriotic songs. Then came a moving picture of modern Egypt. Mr. Edmunds favored us with a speech; Mrs. Edmonds and Mr. Alden entertained the audience with vocal and violin selections, respectively. The feature of the evening was a four-reel portrayal of the "Life of Moses," with an explanatory talk by Mr. Alden. His talk was mainly along the line of further relating the Biblical story, but at some points he worked in to good advantage some of the distinctive doctrines of our Church. As the series progresses these will become more numerous and more forceful, In this way we hope to keep the name of our Church before the public, and to glean from the neighborhood all who may possibly be interested in the New Church.

     As an indication of what the missionary work of the last year and a half has accomplished indirectly, by means of the street talks, street car advertising, evening services, and motion picture entertainments, we may say that it is now almost impossible to find a copy of the Writings, or even of the collateral works, on sale at Leary's Book Store, where formerly it was usual to find at least two shelves devoted to the Writings of the Church.

763




     The plans for our Annual Fair, to be held the night before Thanksgiving, are well under way, and it gives promise of being the most successful one held so far. This year, instead of depending entirely on contributions and donations, we have added, at the suggestion and under the direction of Mr. Heaton, a "Bond" selling campaign. "Bonds" have been issued to the amount of $500 in denominations of 10, 25, 50 cents, and $1. These are now on sale through the Boy Scouts, and will be redeemable at the Fair for their face value in goods. The slogan suggested by Mrs. Edmonds, "Bonds Buy Bundles," has been adopted, and is proving of great value in the campaign. If a sufficient amount is raised, it is proposed to build an extension to the church as gymnasium for the boys. W. A. C.

     LONDON, ENGLAND.-In the absence of our regular reporter, I will endeavor to register our little activities in the pages of the LIFE, so that our men, spread over the globe, may hear how we are doing. Generally speaking, the pulse of our little society is normal, and there are times when it beats to the rhythm of the Great Heart-the Lord of the New Church. Otherwise we should have perished long, long ago. We have been provided with spiritual nourishment through a man best suited and prepared to minister to the peculiar and varied wants of our society. The sermons and instruction we get are drawn from that vast granary of food,-the Divine Word. That they have been effective, we know; for children passing through the school have become members of the church, and have gone into the various uses in the world, performing their duties with more than an average degree of honesty and intelligence. They are now to be found in Glenview, Kitchener, Philadelphia, and Bryn Athyn.

     All our young men very early heard the voice of their country calling them to the fight for freedom, which they answered. Some have passed to the Inner World; the rest are serving, either in France, Salonica, Egypt, India, or at home. Their wives and children, and their parents, feel their absence, and pray for their return, also for patience to await the Lord's good time. But they are proud of them, and glad that they went out voluntarily to defend their own against the destroyers of the peace of the world. The church prays for them, and misses their cheerful presence at every service; this we do while acknowledging that the Lord alone will bring the war to a close, when His end is accomplished,-preparing the way for the growth of the church and the betterment of the world.

     The work of the school is being faithfully carried on; nine scholars are receiving instruction that will fit them to become useful citizens of two worlds, a thing unheard of in other schools. The love of this work, both with the Pastor and his lady assistant, is what keeps them steadily persevering; for we have been unable to pay them sufficient for the necessities of life under war conditions. But the church is being sustained in its uses, and when the men come home from the war, there will be great rejoicings that the Lord has made it possible for the Lamp of the church to be kept burning.
     HORACE HOWARD.

     Mr. Howard wishes us to announce the engagement of his daughter, Clarice, to Mr. Charles Gater, of Coventry, EDITOR.

764


NOTICE 1918

NOTICE              1918




     ANNOUNCEMENTS.



     In our November number we gave notice of a reduction in the average size of our monthly issue, to comply with the instructions of the War Industries Board. We are pleased to state that a later ruling of the Board classifies NEW CHURCH LIFE among the magazines that will not be required to curtail the comparatively small quantity of paper used by them. This information, however, was not received until after a large part of the matter appearing in our present number had been set in small type, for which we ask the indulgence of our readers.

765


ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE 1918

ACADEMY WAR SERVICE COMMITTEE              1918

     REPORT.

     The Academy War Service Committee was organized in October a year ago, the first report appearing in the December LIFE. As this Committee represents the General Church, a brief summary of the year's work will be of interest.

     On our list are the names of 166 men, and we have endeavored to keep in touch with them all, both by letters and by sending them literature of the Church. Their response for the little we have been able to do has been enthusiastic and most encouraging.

     The following reading matter has been sent them: a series of thirty-four pamphlet sermons-one each week-on the "Ten Commandments," written by the Rev. Alfred Acton; one sermon on "The Spiritual Value of War," by the Rev. George de Charms; a copy of The Evangel; a copy of Heaven and Hell or Divine Providence and a copy of the Doctrine of Charity. NEW CHURCH LIFE and THE BULLETIN have also been sent, by the generosity of the publishers.

     In addition, each man has been supplied knitted goods to the extent he has informed us of his needs. A medicine case, containing ten remedies, with directions for using, has been sent to every applicant. During the recent epidemic a special remedy was sent out, but unfortunately arrived too late to prevent some of the soldiers from taking the influenza.

     Last Christmas a box was sent to every man in the service, but this year, on account of Government regulations, the Committee will not be allowed to send any boxes. However we have sent cheques to the English and French societies, to assist them in making up Christmas boxes for their soldiers. The Treasurer's report for the year is as follows:

Total Contributions $777.83
Total Expenditures $658.04
Balance on hand ....$119.79

     NEWS NOTES.

     In a recent letter, Major R. B. Caldwell says, "Friday the 13th," at least of September, will long be a memorable day with me, because on that day we moved up the first step toward the front line. A giant fleet of trucks, a great many of them Pierce Arrows, carded us from our last place to this, and we are now some eight miles from the front trenches. Of course, 'Monsieur le Commandant' (me) rode in an auto, with one of the French officers in charge of the fleet. I will never forget that ride,-over roads sometimes quite fine, at others very rough, showing the results of Boche artillery from time to time in the last four years. Without lights, other than fitful attempts of a meager moon to pierce the clouds, and the glare of the shells, we moved on, an almost endless chain of trucks, each one guided only by a dim light on the tail of the camion in front. Here we passed so close to a furious bombardment that the air was filled with an almost continuous rumble, and the sky was lit like a sunset glow on a clear night." (This bombardment was the fight at St. Mihiel.)

     "Now and then, as we rumbled through the ruins of an almost deserted and destroyed village, we were stopped by American sentries, who scrutinized us, and allowed us to pass on through the night. At one place, giant truck making a sharp turn went right on down a ten-foot bank, and landed right side up. I sent these men, 25 of them, ahead on foot, leaving their heavy packs to come on in the morning.

766


At four in the morning, we were dumped unceremoniously in a ruined village, and, with guides, marched an hour and a half to our present place. And here, in patches of woods, we all live in huts. It is a quiet sector, one which in its day was anything but quiet, but which now by common consent has limited action. Each side knows exactly where everything is on the other side, so, as the French say, 'If we bombard his strong places he builds new ones and then we have to go to all the trouble to find where they are.' This kind of warfare has its useful side no doubt. It gives an opportunity to both sides to rest their tired soldiers, and also to accustom new ones to life in the trenches. But a war can only be won by the side that does not give the other side any chance to rest. This one will wind up that way.

     "Today I saw my first Boche airplanes, and watched them beating it for home with anti-aircraft guns playing a tattoo on the sky beneath them. One of the two was audacious enough to swoop down just when going over the line and send a 'tracer' bullet into a captive French balloon, and I saw it blaze up and go down. (The occupant escaped by parachute.) So I consider today a pretty good start." Very shortly after this letter was written the Major went into battle, during the course of which he was in a shell hole for some time dodging sniper bullets. His steel helmet saved his life, as it was struck several times.

     Two of the snipers were captured later, wearing French and American uniforms. Major Caldwell is now attending the Staff Officers' College behind the lines, where he will be until December.

     Roland Smith, lately commissioned Captain, was also in this battle. Hobart Smith, who is in the same division, is now a and Lieutenant.

     Felix Junge, who was gassed recently, is now in a convalescent camp. He is still very weak, and not allowed to exert himself.

     In an interesting letter to his sister, Emery Harris says, "I went over the top the other night, and it is an experience that, while I never will forget it, and will probably do it again, I am not as keen about as I was. It was early in the morning, and we all formed up ready for the charge. On zero hour pandemonium broke loose. Such a booming and rattle! The fire from the machine guns was something to listen to, and, of course, the artillery was raising a merry racket at our backs, but the machine guns seemed to be all around us. Shells breaking, bullets whining, and the boys streaming over the top. We engineers went over with them, and immediately started to get the roads and bridges in repair so the artillery and supplies could move forward. Maybe the boys didn't work! Shell-holes filled up in record time. In what seemed no time the artillery was coming up, and we were moving on, trying to keep up with the dough boys. But gradually they drew away from us, the bombardment grew less intense, the machine guns grew fainter, and the land,-No Man's Land,-was ours. The Germans couldn't stop Uncle Sam's Yanks! In the air, as it grew brighter, the airplanes started their work. Every now and then a Jerry plane would come whirling down, scattering machine gun bullets in the midst of the troops. Then the stream of prisoners started, then the wounded,-American wounded, Jerry wounded. This was the sad part of it, but they were all bearing up bravely. Some wounded were carrying other wounded, others hobbling, swathed in bandages. It was the cost of victory. For two days and nights we worked day and night, eating when and what we could. Finally our kitchen came up, and, oh, boy!-but that first warm meal was a Godsend! We are still on the road, but the front has gone some miles away from us. . . .

767


The other morning, after we came over the top, I saw familiar figure. It was young Friedel Rosenqvist, who was laying wire with the signal battalion. We had a few moments' chat, and then he went on laying his wire and I on my errand. He and Aldwin Smith, whom I met about four months ago, are the only N. C. boys that I have seen. If ever I run across the 103rd Engineers, I will see lots of them. From the LIFE I gather that most of them are Non-Coms. I joined that favored circle the other day, having been promoted to Corporal."
     Llewellyn Price writes that during the last few months he has divided his time between three hospitals and a casual camp. He is now in the town of Blois. In speaking of his attempts at learning French, he says, "Thanks to the efforts of M. Vinet, I have been able to make pretty good progress in the 'lingo,' and, believe me, my knowledge of the language has been a blessing." He also says that he has not seen any of the N. C. boys since leaving Griffith at the lines. He adds, "Speaking of Griff, let me say here that he did some wonderful work upon the line, acting as stretcher bearer."
     Captain Edwin Asplundh sent home the following citation of Griffith's work, "It gives me great pleasure to record, in General Orders, a tribute to the valorous conduct of the following named enlisted men of this Division, who have distinguished themselves by extraordinary gallantry in connection with the military operations against an armed enemy of the United States, under the following circumstances: . . . Private Griffith Asplundh, No. 1254698, Co. B, 103rd Engineers, serving as stretcher bearer at St. Agnan, France, July 16th and July 17th, performed his duty with exceptional coolness and bravery, many times rescuing men from other commands under heavy shelling.... This Order will be read to all organizations of this Division at the first assembly formation after its receipt. Charles H. Muir, Major-General, Commanding."

     We have received word that Rupert Kuhl has been gassed, but have not yet heard how serious his case is. Rupert has been in the trenches for some time, and hitherto had escaped all mishaps.

     Morel Leonard has recently been made a Corporal. He is training with the Marines at Paris Island. In his last letter he speaks of seeing Donald Gladish, but he has not seen him since the first meeting, as the troops on the Island have been divided and quarantined separately.

     Mr. C. D. Weirbach, of Allentown, has received a Captain's commission as sanitary engineer at' the Hog Island ship yard, Philadelphia.

     Mrs. Sharp wrote that her son, Joel, had been slightly wounded in action on July 15. On September she received two citations, one from General Gouraud, and one from General Menoher, commending the Division in which her son is for bravery. It spoke of their having been "told to stand or die."

     Henry Barnitz is back in the army again after many months severe illness.

     Arthur Synnestvedt wrote us a cheerful letter from the hospital. He has been very ill with pneumonia, but is now much better, and is rejoicing over the prospects of a furlough after he is discharged from the hospital. He was fortunate in being at the same camp as Captain Olds, a homoeopathic doctor, who "was very good to him, and came to see him regularly."

     Miss Clarice Howard writes that she is kept very busy, as the wounded soldiers come direct from the battlefields to their hospital The first convoy of American soldiers had just arrived. Miss Howard says that all of the wounded are very optimistic over the good war news.

     Charlie Ashley is in the Royal Air Force, working on the aeroplane engines. His brother, Herbert, is still in the hospital.

768




     Lieut. Richard de Charms had received orders about the middle of the summer to come home as an instructor, but his orders were changed, and he was transferred to the 21st Engineers. He is living near Angers, in a small bungalow with three other officers. We says that the bungalow reminds him of the "Brown Study" in Bryn Athyn. In a letter dated Oct. 13, he writes, "It is mean and rainy outside, but every one is happy, on account of the news that Germany is ready to accept terms. Of course, we cannot predict what it really means, but every hour that this conflict can be shortened is a blessing to the whole world."

     Arthur Wells, who is in the 76th Field Artillery, writes that they have been making it so hot for Fritz that he has offered a five hundred mark reward for the capture of any of the company.

     We received word recently that Sapper Theodore Bellinger has been awarded the military medal. No details are at hand, as he is too modest to tell how he won the honor. He had just come out of a terrible battle,-the worst he had been through, and he has been through a great many, having been in France since 1914.

     Miss Ellen Sherman sends us the following news of her nephews: Alvin Sherman attended a school at Camp Pike, Ark., where he received a commission as 2d Lieutenant. Guy was transferred to a railroad division last September, and reached the other side about the first of October. 2d Lieutenant Carl L. Sherman, A. E. F., was injured early in June, and in a hospital for about a month. Sergt. Fred. L. Sherman was seriously gassed, and for a while feared he would be totally blind, but has now recovered and, after rejoining his company, was sent to Saumer to attend school.

     As we go to press, the news has come of the signing of the armistice by Germany. The Committee wishes to inform the men that our work will go on as long as there is a man left in the service. We shall be glad, however, if they will notify us of their return home or change of address. CLARA DAVIS.

     ADDRESSES OF INTEREST TO SOLDIERS ABROAD.

     In visiting Paris, do not fail to look up the Pastor of the French Society of the General Church, Rev. F. Hussenet. His home address is 31 rue Henri Regnault, A'St. Cloud, Seine et Oise. The address of the Church is 84 Avenue de Breteuil.

     When in England communicate with the Rev. A. Czerny, whose home address is 19 Talfourd Place, Peckham, S. E. Services are held on alternating Sundays at London and Colchester, and if Mr. Czerny is not in London, Mr. and Mrs. Frank H. Rose will be glad to have the New Church soldiers call at their home, 174 Peckham Rye, S. E. At Colchester Mrs. Wm. Gill will be glad to receive any of the New Church soldiers at her home, 142 Maiden Road. Rev. W. H. Acton asks that his address be added to this list, 76 Glengarry Rd., E. Dulwich, London, S. E.

     For the benefit of any of the soldiers who may go to Italy, we add the address of Signorine Eden and Loretta Gnocchi, Via Palestro 63, Rome, Italy. These young ladies are anxious to meet New Church friends, as they are the only ones of the faith in Italy.

769


ROLL OF HONOR 1918

ROLL OF HONOR              1918

     Who does not remember and love him who fights even unto death that his country may be free. (T. C. R. 710.)

LIEUT. W. REY GILL, Colchester, England. Artists' Rifles. Killed in action in France, August 21, 1917.
GUY CHRISTOPHER PEMBERTON, Durban, Natal, South Africa. Killed in action at Arras, France, April 21, 1917.
LEON ROSE, London, England. Royal West Surrey Regiment. Killed in action near Albert, France, July 29, 1916.
REGINALD WATERS, London, England, Wireless Operator. Lost at sea, November, 1917.
ROY S. WELLS, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A. 11th R. R. Engineers. Died April 12, 1918, of wounds received in the battle of Picardy.

     THE FIELD OF HONOR.

ACTON, GUNNER'S MATE DARIC, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. S. "Vermont, c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
ACTON, BN. SERGT. MAJOR KESNIEL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. War Risk Section, S. O. S., A. P. O. 717, American E. F., France.
APPLETON, PTE. A. J., Colchester, England. 26170, 460 Field Co., R. E., B. E. F., France.
APPLETON, SERGT. W. S., Colchester, England. 16156, 56th Squadron, R. A. F., B. E. F., France.
ASHLEY, 3 A/M CHARLES, Colchester, Eng. 142538, R. A. F., 124th Squadron, Fowlmere Aerodrome, N. Royston, Herts, England.
ASHLEY, A. B. SEAMAN HERBERT W., Colchester, England. 66 E. Dulwich Grove, E. Dulwich, London S. E. 22, England.
ASPLUNDH, CAPT. EDWIN T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 103rd Engrs., A. P. O. 744 American E. F., France.
ASPLUNDH, PVT. GRIFFITH, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 103d Engrs.; American E. F., France.
BARGER, SERGT. GERRIT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. E, 1st Army Headquarters Regt., A. P. O. 716, American E. F., France.
BARNITZ, CORP. GARNER, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
BARNITZ, SERGT. H. L., Glenview, Ill. 17th Prov. Recruit Co., Engrs. Replacement Troops, Camp Forrest, Ga.
BEDWELL, PTE. R., London, England. 46318, 16th Platt., D. Co., 52nd Royal Sussex Regt., Room D 2, Goojerat Barracks, Colchester, England.
BEHLERT, ARTIFICER, L. L. K., Arbutus, Md. 5th Co., 2d Battn., 154th Depot Brigade, Barracks _ 48, 1st Platoon, Camp Meade, Md.
BELLINGER, LIEUT. FRED. H., Toronto, Ont., Canada. R. A. F., Pool Pilot's Range, A. P. O. S. 35, B. E. F., France.
BELLINGER, GUNNER GEORGE, Toronto, Canada. 341319, A Battery, Canadian Reserve Brigade, C. F. A. Milford Camp, Witley, Surrey, Eng.
BELLINGER, M. M. SAPPER THEODORE P., Toronto, Canada. 26, 12th Canadian Inf. Brigade Signals, 4th Canadian Div., B. E. F., France.

770



BERGSTROM, PVT. E. E., Denver, Cole. Co. D, Hdq. Battn. G. H. Q., A. P. O. 717, American E. F., France.
BERGSTROM, SERGT. E. J., Denver, Col. Provost Guard Co., Hdq., Camp Funston, Kansas.
BLACKMAN, PVT. G. E.. Glenview, Ill. Evacuation Hospital Unit 37, Camp Grant, Ill.
BLAIR, SERGT. J. FDMUND, Pittsburgh, Pa. Squadron A, Chanute Field, Rantoul, Ill.
BOND, SERGT. ARTHUR, Kitchener, Canada, 602108, CO. A, 3rd Reserve Battn., C. E. F., West Sandling, Kent, England.
BURNHAM, CAPT. A. W., Glenview, Ill. C. O. T. S., Camp Lee, Va.
BURNHAM, SERGT. CREBERT, Glenview, Ill. 400th Aero Construction Squadron, American E. F., France.
BURNHAM, SERGT. LAURENCE B., Glenview, Ill. 217th Aero Squadron, Field No. 2, Hempstead, N. Y.
CALDWELL, MAJOR R. B., JR.. Bryn Athyn, Pa. 314th Inf., 79th Div., American E. F., France.
CHILDS, CAPTAIN R. W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters 28th Division, A. P. 0. 744a, American E. F., France.
CHILDS, SYDNEY B., New York, N. Y. A. F. C., c/o Personnel Officer, Headquarters, Camp Mills, Long Island, N. Y.
CLEARE, 2ND LIEUT. A. J., Philadelphia, Pa. R. A. F., c/o Cox & Co., Bankers, 16 Channg Cross, London, E. C. 2, England.
COFFIN, CAPT. R. L., Baltimore, Md. 62d Pioneer Inf., Camp Wadsworth, Spartansburg, S. C.
COFFIN, 2D LIEUT. R. T., Baltimore, Md. Camp Dir, N. J.
COLE, PVT. CHARLES S., Glenview, Ill. Co. A 2nd Casual Batt., 2nd Platoon, U. S. Marines, American E. F.
COLE, PTE. F. J., Clinton, Canada. 6544429, Hospital Palace Hotel Annex, Burton, England.
COLE, PTE. OLIVER J., Clinton, Canada. 654822, Co. C, 161st Batt., Witley Camp, Milford, Surrey, England.
COOPER, SAPPER JOHN F., Colchester, England. 107557, 61st Motor Air Line Section, R. Engrs. Signals, Egyptian Exp. Force, Egypt.
COOPER, CORP. WILLIAM R., Philadelphia, Pa. P.T. and B. F. Engineers' Training Depot, St. Johns, P. Q., Canada.
CRANCH, 2ND LIEUT. EUGENE T., Erie, Pa. Sanitary Corps, Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga.
CRANE, GUNNER FRANK, Kansas City, Kans. U. S. S. "Vermont," c/o Postmaster, New York, N. Y.
CREAMER, SERGT. MAJOR FRANCIS B., Williamsport, Pa. Headquarters 28th Div., American E. F., France.
DAVIS, EDWARD H., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Radio Detachment, Aviation Field 2, Hempstead, Long Island.
DE CHARMS, 1ST LIEUT. RICHARD, JR., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Engineer R. C. 21st Engrs. (Lt. Ry.), A. P. 0., 747, American E.. F., France.
DEXTER, SERGT. CARLOS V., Meriden, Conn. 498th Aero Squadron, Langley Field, Virginia.
DOERING, PVT. DAVID F., Milverton, Ont., Canada, 727538, 58th Battn. Canadians, 16th Canadian General Hospital, Ward 7, Orpington, Kent, England.
DOERING, CORP. FRANK, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Base Hospital 27, A. P. O. 733, American E. F., France.
DOERING, 2ND LIEUT. HAROLD, Bethayres, Pa. Barracks 50, P. T. S. 3rd, Ellington Field, Houston, Texas.
ELPHICK, TELEGRAPHIST FELIX H., Cheam, Surrey, England. R. N. V. R., H. M., Wireless Station, Inchkeith, Leith, N. B., Scotland.
ELPHICK, PTE. F. W., Cheam, Surrey, England. 546246, R. A. M. C. T., Sanitary Section 43, British Salonika Forces, Saionika, Greece.

771



EVENS, PTE. ARIEL V., Penetanguishene, Canada. 408072, 9th Platoon, Co. C., 42nd Batt., R. H. C. B. E. F, France.
EVERETT, SERGT. W. E., 124 Butt Road, Colchester, England. Essex Volunteer Regt.
FERDINAND, ALFRED E., Kitchener, Canada. 150240 R.A. F., 79 C. T. Squadron, Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Ont, Can.
FINLEY, 1ST LIEUT. HORACE, London, England. 273 Railway Co., R. E., R. S. F., Salonika, Greece.
FLON, ABEL, Paris, France. Marechal des Logis Fourrier, 3e Batterie de 105 long, 117e Regiment d'artillerie lourde, Si P. 114, France.
FLON, PAUL, Paris, France. 3 rue Admyrauld, La Rochelle, France.
FROST, PVT. A. C., Atlanta, Ga. Co. F, 3rd Replacement Regt., Camp Gordon, Ga.
FROST, PVT. 1ST CL., FRANCIS L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Machine Shop Truck Unit 322, Q. M. C. N. A., A. P. 0. 745, American E. F., France.
GILL, A. B. ALAN, Colchester, Eng land. L. Z. 3624, 142 Maiden Road, Colchester, Eng.
GLADISH 2ND LIEUT. DAVID F., Chicago, Ill. Cadet Flying Squadron, Kelly Field No. 2, San Antonio, Texas.
GLADISH, DONALD G., Chicago, Ill. Co. 363, Bn. N. U.S. M. C., League Island, Phila., Pa.
GLEBE, 2D LIEUT. EGBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Ellington Field, Olcott, Texas.
GLEBE, CORP. NELSON H., Kitchener, Canada. 751630, 10th Batt., C. R. T., B. E. F., France, c/o Canadian Army P. O.
GLENN, PTE. JOSEPH R., Pittsburgh, Pa. 2606929. C. C. C. Bn., C. E. F., France. c/o 72nd General Hospital.
Grant, CORP. J. F., New York, N. Y. Co. L, 38th Inf., American E. F., France.
Grant, PVT. 1ST CL., FRED. M., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Repair Shop Detachment, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
GUNTHER, PVT. W. H., Baltimore, Md. Wagon Train, Auxiliary Remount Depot 309, Camp McClellan, Anniston, Ala.
GYLLENHAAL, PVT. ALVIN, Glenview, Ill. C Battery, 82nd Field Artillery, Camp Bliss, El Paso, Texas.
HARRIS, PVT. 1ST CL. EMERY, Arbutus, Md. Co. F, 305th Engrs., A. P. O. 756, American E. F., France.
HART, CORP. DOUGLAS E., Addiscombe, Croyden, England. 530713, 4 Platoon, 2/15 London Regt., c/o G. P. O., London. England:
HEADSTEN, 2ND LIEUT, JOSEPH B., Chicago, Ill. c/o Depot Quartermaster, Omaha, Nebraska.
HEILMAN, GLENN, Leechburg, Pa. Medical Dept. Base Hospital, Camp Lee, Va.
HEINRICHS, PVT. HENRY, Kosthern, Sask., Can. 3353715, 1st D. B. S. R., 15th Reserve Bn., Bramshott Camp, A. P. O., London, England.
HENDERSON, CAPT. ALBERT DEAN, Chicago, Ill. Infantry Unassigned. c/o Postmaster N. Y., American E. F.
HICKS, ENSIGN DARRELL P., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 400 W. 57th St., New York City, N. Y.
HICKS, PVT. DONAL C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Personnel Detachment, Camp I, Camp Shelby, Miss.
HICKS, CADET KENNETH F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 151593, 84th C. T. S., Camp Mohawk, Deseronto, Can.
HILL, DRIVER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Ont. 4904 No. 1 Canadian Army Auxiliary Horse Co., B. E. F., France.
HILLDALE, SAPPER J. HARRY, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 2006629, F Co., 2nd Canadian Engineers Reserve Batt. Seaford Camp, Sussex, Eng.
HOWARD, PVT. CONRAD, London, England. 180259 M. T., A. S. C. Mob. Section, Maude Camp, Bangalore, Mysore, India.

772



HUSSENET, ELIE, Paris, France 55331, Cie IV. Prisonnier de guerre, au Camp de Hameln,
Hanovre, Allemagne. (Wounded and taken prisoner at Charleroi, 1914.) Address, c/o M. F. Hussenet, 31 rue Henri Regnault, St, Cloud. Seine et Oise.
HUSSENET, ELISEE, Paris, France. c/o M. F. Hussenet.
JESSEMEN, STANLEY, Toronto, Canada. 13th Batt., C. R. T., B.285519, 15th Platoon, France.
JOHNSON, CARL E., Erie, Pa. Co. B, 301st Heavy Batt., American Tank Corps, B. E. F., France.
JOHNSON, PVT. RICHARD, Chester, Va. Co. F. 3rd Engrs., Corozal, Panama Canal Zone.
JUNGE, PVT. 1ST CL. FELIX, Glenview, Ill. 4th Div. Sanitary Train, Ambulance Co. 21, American E. F., France
KING, PVT. ARTHUR, Glenview, Ill. Machine Gun Co., 40th Inf., Camp Custer, Mich.
KING, J. M., Glenview, Ill. U. S. S. "Meade," 170 Border St., East Boston, Mass.
KLIPPENSTEIN, CORP. PETER, Laird, Sask., Can. 258675. No. 1 Co., The Armoury, Moose Jaw, Sask., Canada.
KNIGHT, SAPPER JOSEPH, Kitchener, Canada. 1006908, No. 3 Co., 12th Platoon, 6th Canadian R. R. Troops, Field P. O., France.
KUHL, PTE. G. HAROLD. Kitchener, Ont. 751077, 7th Platoon, C Co., 50th Battn., B. E. F., France.
KUHL, GUNNER RAYMOND F., Kitchener, Ont., 335241 B Battery, C. R. A., R. C. H. n., Witley Camp, Milford Surrey, England.
KUHL, SIG. J. RUPERT, Kitchener, Can. 751087, 21st Battn., Canadians, B. E. F., France.
LEONARD, CORP. EDGAR MOREL, Chicago, Ill. Co. T, N. C. O. School, Paris Island, S. C.
LESIUR, ROBERT, Paris, France (Reforme temporairement), 7 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.
LINDSAY, ENSIGN DONALD, Pittsburgh, Pa. U. S. N. R. S. F., U. S. Naval Aviation Hdq., Brest, France.
LONG, W. E., Philadelphia, Pa. 2nd Class Petty Officer, League Island, 2224 N. 15th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
LONGSTAFF, SAPPER JOHN C., Toronto, Can. 778322, F. Co, 2nd Canadian Engrs., Reserve Battn., Seaford, Sussex, Eng.
LOOMIS, PVT. W. A., CO. A, Military Police, 311 Trains, 86 Div., American E. F.
LUCAS, LOUIS, Paris, France. Soldat Musicien au 237e Territorial a l'Ecole Militaire, Paris, France.
LYNN, M. M. SERGT. A. C., Dixie, Ont., Can. 874107, Co C, 1st Canadian M. R. Bn., B. E. F., France.
MCCAY, L/CPL. C. D., London, England. 155598, 252 Friern Rd., Dulwich, London, S. E., 22. England.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. BENJAMIN, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
MCQUEEN, SERGT. HAROLD, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf. American E. F., France.
MORRIS, I/A. M. EDW. B., London, England. 37746, 2nd Squadron, R. A. F., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, RFN. GEOFFREY, London, England. 301276, Transport Section, 1/5 Batt., L. R. B., B. E. F., France.
MORRIS, PTE. H. C., London, England. 13957, 4th Otago Regt., 25 Baldwin St., North East Valley, Dunedin, New Zealand.
MORRIS, SERGT. W. J., London, England. 2728, Command Pay Office, London District (Room 106), 168 Regent St., London, W., England. (Address: 24 Westmoreland Road, Bayswater, London, W. 2).
MOTUM, PVT. K., Colchester, England. 49541, No. I Platoon, A Company, 1st Battn. Northamptonshire Regt., B. E. F., France.

773



MOTUM, PTE. NORMAN A., Colchester, England. 013871, 77 S Co., A. O. C., Workshops, Hut 34, A. P. 0. 4, B. E. F., France.
MOTUM, GUNNER PHILIP, Colchester, England. 177762, D. How. Battery, 115th Brigade, R. F. A., M. E. F., Salonika, Greece.
OBERSCHELP, PVT. A. W., Denver, Cole. Co. C. 318th Engrs., American E. F., France.
OBERSCHELP, T. B., Denver, Cole. Kelley Field, Texas.
ODHNER, IST LIEUT. LOYAL D., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. D, 50th Inf., Camp Sevier, S. C.
OLDS, CAPT. C. L., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Motor Co. No. 10, Camp Greenleaf Annex, Chickamauga Park, Ga.
PENDLETON, CAPT. ALAN, Bryn Athyn. Pa. 63rd Inf., Camp Meade, Md.
PENDLETON, PVT. LOUIS A., Macon, Ga. U. S. Q. M. C., Mechanical Repair Shops, Prov. Co. 4, Unit 302, A. P. 0., 722 American E. F., France.
PETERSON, PVT. CLARENCE E., Chicago, Ill. Advance Spare Parts Depot, Advance M. T. S. Depot No. 1, A. P. O., 714, American E. F., France.
PETERSON, ELMER E., Chicago, Ill. Co. 21, 16th Regt., Camp New Isolation, Great Lakes, Ill.
PETERSON, PVT. VICTOR HENRY, Kibbie, Mich. Co. C, 126th Inf., American E. F., France.
PIBERES, SERGT. M. R., Philadelphia, Pa. Co. 2, S. O. S., A. P. O. 702, American E. F., France.
PITCAIRN, HAROLD F., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Rich Field, Waco, Texas.
PRICE, PVT., 1ST CL., LLEWELLYN R., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. B, 116th Engrs., American E. F., France.
PRICE, 2D LIEUT. RICHARD W., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Advance School Detachment, 10th Div., American E. F., France.
REICHENBACH, CHARLES A., New York, N. Y. 730 Rock Creek Church Rd., Washington, D. C.
RIDGWAY, KENNETH HOWARD, Durban, Natal, S. A., Royal Air Force, England.
ROSCHMAN, SERG. SAMUEL. Kitchener, Can. 126074, 126th Co., Canadian Forestry Corps, Downham Hall., Brandon, Suffolk, England.
ROSENSQVIST, SERGT. ARIEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Naval Station, Marine Barracks, U. S. M. C., Cavite. P. I.
ROSENQVIST, PVT. FRIEDEL, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 305th Field Batt., Signal Corps, American E. F., France.
ROY, SERGT. FRANCIS T., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Headquarters Co. 103d Engrs., American E. F., France.
SCHNARR, MAJ. C. NELSON, Kenora, Can. Canadian Corps School, B. E. F., France.
SELLNER, CORP. HAROLD E., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 1st Corps Artillery Park, Depot Section, American E. F., France.
SHARP, 2ND LIEUT. JOEL H., Salem, Ohio. Battery B, 151st F. A., American E. F., France.
SHERMAN, SERGT. ALVIN H., Sandoval, Ill. Co. M, 44th Inf., Camp Lewis, American Lakes, Washington.
SHERMAN, 2ND LIEUT. CARL L., Sandoval, Ill. O. and T. Center, No., A. P. O. 7331 American E. F., France.
SHERMAN, CORP. FRED. L., Sandoval, Ill. S. A. S., A. P. O. 718, American E F., France.
SHERMAN, MAX H., Sandoval, Ill. U. S. S. "Melville," c/o Post master, New York, N. Y.
SHERMAN. 2ND LIEUT. NEIL H., Sandoval, Ill. 39th Co., 165 Depot Brigade, Camp Travis, Texas.

774



SMITH, ORD. SERGT. ALDWIN C., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 501st M. O. R. S., American E. F., France.
SMITH, PVT., 1ST CL., EARL S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. 465h Engrs., Pontoon Train, American E. F., France.
SMITH, 2ND LIEUT. HOBART G., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Army Candidate School, A. P. O. 714, American E. F., France.
SMITH, CAPT. ROLAND S., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Co. C, 313th Inf., American E. F., France.
SMITH, PVT. WINFRED, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Casual Section, Camp Raritan, Metuchea, N. J.
SNYDER, PVT. WILMER E., Pitts., Pa. 112th Sanitary Train, 37th Division, American E. F., France.
SODERBERG, ARTHOL E., Philadelphia, Pa. 31st Balloon Co., Camp Knox, West Point, Kentucky.
STAMPS, PTE. ROY, Toronto, Can. 27541, 48th Highlanders of Canada. Hotel Carlton, Villeneuve, Vaud, Switzerland. (Prisoner in Germany for two years and seven months; now exchanged.)
STROH, PTE. FRED. E., Kitchener, Ont. 751124 B Co., 5th Batt., Canadian Engineers, B. E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. ALAN G., Glenview Ill. U. S. Base Hospital, Camp Merritt, N. J.
SYNNESTVEDT, PVT. ARTHUR, Bryn Athyn, Pa. U. S. Gen. Hospital No. 14, Camp Greenleaf, Fort Oglethorpe, Ga.
SYNNESTVEDT, 2ND LIEUT. FRED. Pittsburgh, Pa. Payne Field, West, Point, Mississippi.
SYNNESTVEDT, 1ST CL., HUBERT, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 71st Balloon Co., U. S. Balloon School, Lee Hall, Va.
SYNNESTVEDT, PVT. O. D., Pittsburgh, Pa. Co. G, 116th Engrs., A. P. O. 733, American E. F., France.
SYNNESTVEDT, CORP. RALPH, Glenview, Ill. Co. M, 131st Inf., American E. F., France.
TYRRELL, PVT. HUBERT J., Bourbon. Ind., 17th Aero Squadron, Aviation Section, American E. F., France.
VINET, PVT., 1ST CL., PIERRE, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Section 529, U. S. A. Ambulance Service, A. P. O. 901, American E. F., with the Italian Army.
WAELCHLI, 1ST LIEUT. NOAH L., St. Louis, Mo. Co. L, 352nd Inf., Camp Dodge, Iowa.
WAELCHLI, PTE. VICTOR, Kitchener, Ont. 751657, Canadian M. G. R. D. (I. B.), B. E. F., France.
WARREN, DRIVER BENJAMIN, Kitchener, Canada. 512956, C. A. S. C. Mech. Transports, No. 8, Ordinance Mobile Workshop (Light). B. E. F., France.
WATERS, PTE. ALAN, London, England. 536551, A Section, 1/5th L. F. A., R. A. M. C. T., B. E. F., France.
WATERS, L/CORP. EDW. J., London, England. 202555, A. CO. 5th Reserve Batt., East Surrey Regt., Crowboro Camp, Sussex, England.
WATERS, CORP. E. J., London, England. 118516, Hdq., R. A. F., Cadet Brigade, Shorncliffe, Kent, England
WATERS, PTE. FRED. G.. London. England. 536536, A. Section, 1/5 L. F. A., R. A. M. C. (T. F.), B. E. F., France.
WELLS, PVT. ARTHUR B., Bryn Athyn, Pa. Battery E, 76th Field Artillery, American E. F., France.
WILSON, STAFF SERGT. FRANCIS. Toronto, Canada. 317006, Canadian Section, G. H. Q., 3rd Echelon, B. E. F., France.
WRIGHT, CORP. NEVILLE, Chicago, Ill. 9th Co., 2nd M. M. Regt. S. C., A. P. 0. 702, American E. F. France.