PREDESTINATION       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
January 1963
No. 1

Predestination
     A Sermon on John 15:16     George de Charms     1
A Right Education
     Charter Day Address     Dandridge Pendleton     6
The Two Witnesses of the New Church     Erik Sandstrom     11
Mrs. William Ryle Cooper
     Extracts from a Memorial Address     George de Charms     17
Self-Destruction     W. Cairns Henderson     19
Temptation     Benjamin I. Nzimande     22
Do We Look for Another?          Daniel W. Heinrichs     28
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     34
Review
The Spiritual Diary, Volume 1     36
Editorial Department
     A Faith for the Years     38
     The Scope of Evangelization     39
     The Inquiring Mind     40
Church News     41
Announcements
Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     46
Annual Council Meetings-January 28-February 3-Program     48

Vol. LXXXIII
February 1963
No. 2

Carmel Church Chancel and Building     Frontispiece
The Lord in His Divine Human
     A Service on Revelation 1:1          Geoffrey Childs     49
Dedication of the Carmel Church Building     Vivian Riepert     54
The Mission of the Academy     Charter Day Banquet Address     George de Charms     65
The Academy and its Future     Charter Day Banquet Address     Hugo Lj. Odhner     69
Russia and Atheism     Donald L. Rose     75
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     85
Review     Unity in the Universe     87
Editorial Department
     A New Beginning     89
     Repentance in the Christian Church     90
     The Concept of Regeneration     90
     Rewards Can Be Useful     91
Church News     92
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths 95

Vol, LXXXIII
March 1963
No. 3
NEW CHURCH LIFE

Meditation in Life
A Sermon on John 5: 4     Moreley Rich     97
The Doctrine of Genuine Truth
     1. Introduction: The Nature of the Word     George de Charms     103
The Blessing of Work     David R. Simons     108
A Heaven from the Human Race     Frederick L. Schnarr     113
Repentance and the Holy Supper      Erik Sandstrom     118
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     123
Reviews
In the King's Service     125
Come and See     126
Editorial Department
     Love, Charity and Works     127
     The Demands of Accommodation     128
     Humiliation and Glorification     129
     They Have Their Reward     130
Church News     131
Announcements     
Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     135

Vol. LXXXIII
April 1963
No. 4
NEW CHURCH LIFE

The Sign of the Prophet Jonas
     A Sermon on Matthew 12: 39     Willard D. Pendleton     137
The Easter Message
     A Talk to Children     Karl R. Alden     143
The Doctrine of Genuine Truth
     2. How the Doctrine is Acquired     George de Charms     146
The Cross of Jesus     Kenneth O. Stroh     151
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     158

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

Council of the Clergy Sessions     W. Cairns Henderson     160
Joint Council Session     Hugo Lj. Odhner     162
Annual Reports
     Secretary of the General Church     Hugo Lj. Odhner     172
     Secretary of the Council of the Clergy     W. Cairns Henderson     176
     Corporations of the General Church     Stephen Pitcairn     181
     Treasurer of the General Church     Leonard B. Gyllenhaal     184
     Editor of New Church Life     W. Cairns Henderson     188
Publication Committee     Hugo Lj. Odhner     188
     Pension Committee     Edward H. Davis     189
     Religion Lessons Committee     Karl R. Alden     189
     Sound Recording Committee     W. Cairns Henderson     190
     Visual Education Committee     William R. Cooper     190

Editorial Department
     All Men Unto Me          191
     Why A Second Redemption?     192
     And Follow Me     193
Church News     194
Announcements
     Annual Corporation Meetings - June 15, 1963     199
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     199
     Academy of the New Church Calendar, 1963-1964     200

Vol. LXXXIII
May 1963
No. 5
NEW CHURCH LIFE

A Mother in Israel - A Sermon on Judges 5: 7     Martin Pryke     201
The Doctrine of Genuine Truth
     3. Its Loss and Restoration      George de Charms      207
Resist Not Evil - Donald L. Rose     212
Thomas, Which Is Called Didymus - W. Cairns Henderson     217     
The Power of Prayer - Sydney B. Childs     223
The Bryn Athyn Epsilon Society - Procedures and Recent Activities     Robert H. P. Cole     229
Notes on the Calendar Readings - Frederick L. Schnarr     234
Review - Gems From The Writings     Donald L. Rose     236
Editorial Department
     The Unpardonable Sin     238     
     Two Kingdoms, Three Heavens     239
     Who Is Worthy?          240
Communication
     The Doctrine of Genuine Truth - Fred Frazee     241
Announcements
     Annual Corporation Meetings-June 15, 1963          242
     48th British Assembly-July 19-21, 1963     242     
     Swedenborg Scientific Association Annual Meeting-May 15     242
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriage, Deaths     242     
     Academy of the New Church: Calendar, 1963-1964     244

Vol. LXXXIII
June 1963
No 6.

Chosen and Ordained     
A Sermon on John 15: 26     Hugo Lj. Odhner     245
The Doctrine of Genuine Truth
     4. How the Lord Protects the Innocent     George de Charms     252
Russia and Atheism
     Donald L. Rose     258
A New Philosophy
     Geoffrey P. Dawson     269
Notes on the Calendar Readings
     Frederick L. Schnarr     282
Editorial Department
     A Continuing Education     284
     The Foundation of the Church     285     
     The Purpose of the Second Advent     285
Announcements
     Annual Corporation Meetings - June 14. 1963          287
     48th British Assemably - July 19-21, 1963     287
     Sons of the Academy Annual Meetings - June 21-23, 1963     287
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths          287

Vol. LXXXIII
July 1963
No. 7

The Miami Church     Frontispiece
Eternity
     A Sermon on Revelation 1: 8     Kenneth O. Stroh          289
The Doctrine of Genuine Truth
     5. The Doctrine Fully Revealed     George de Charms     296
Miami Church Dedication          Morley D. Rich     301
Merciful Cherubim
     A Pre-dedication Sermon     Morley D. Rich     301
Morality in International Relations     William R. Kintner     314
Ordination
     Declaration of Faith and Purpose     Geoffrey H. Howard     323
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     325
Editorial Department
     Our First Responsibility     327
     Offering for Dedication     328
     The Source of Forgiveness     328
Communication
     The Son of Man     Theodore Pitcairn          329
Church News
Announcements
     6th Northwest District Assembly - August 17, 18, 1963     334
     Ordination, Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     334
     48th British Assembly - July 19 - 21, 1963 Program     336     

Vol. LXXXIV
August 1964
No. 8
NEW CHURCH LIFE

Innocence in Education
     A Sermon on Exodus 23: 19     Robert S. Junge     349
The Holy of Holies
     Presidential Address at British Assembly     George de Charm     355
The Importance of Perspective
     Lorentz R. Soneson     Swedenborg's Missionary Work     366
Swedenborg's Missionary Work     Donald L. Rose     367
Reason and Rationality
     2. Reason in Pre-Christian and Christian Thought     Elmo C. Acton     371
Ordinations
     Declarations of Faith and Purpose
          Alfred Acton     376
          Peter Martin Buss     376
Our New Church Vocabulary     377
Review
     Creation     379
Editorial Department
     The Church and Intellectualism     381
     The Enigma of Peace     382
     Hard Sayings: 6. Conjugial Love     382
Church News     384
Announcements
     Ordinations, Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     387
     Educational Council-August 21-28, 1964     388
     
Vol. LXXXIII
September 1963
No. 9

Keeping the Sabbath
     A Sermon on Exodus 20: 8-11     Frederick L. Schnarr     377
Our New Church Vocabulary     383
The Holy Spirit
     2. The Operation of the Holy Spirit     Geoffrey H. Howard     384
Taste and See     Erik Sandstrom     392
William Frederic Pendleton
A Biographical Sketch     Theodore Klein     401
In Our Contemporaries     411
Ordination
     Declaration of Faith and Purpose     Donald L. Rose     412
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     413
Editorial Department
     Continuity     415     
     The Pastoral Use     416
     Religion in Education     416
     Maker of Heaven and Earth     417     
     Governor Among the Nations     418
Communication
     A Traditional Usage Defended     Alexander McQueen     419
Church News
Announcements
     Chicago District Assembly - October 18-20, 1963     427
     Eastern Canada District Assembly - November 3-10, 1963     427
     Charter Day - October 11, 12, 1963          427
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriage, Deaths     427

Vol. LXXXIII
October, 1963
No. 10

From Spiritual Youth to Spiritual Maturity
     Dandridge Pendleton     429
The Holy Spirit
     Geoffrey Howard     435
The Perfection of Human States
     David Simons     443
Use
     Eldin O. Acton     451
Sixth Northwest District Assembly     454
Notes on the Calendar Reading
     Frederick L. Schnarr     457
Editorial Department
     The Triune Word     460
     The Bride and the Wife of the Lord     461
     The Elect     462
Communication
     A Need for Neither Fiscal Nor Political     463
Local Schools Directory     465
Church News     466
Announcements
     Chicago District Assembly     471
     Eastern Canada District Assembly     471
     Charter Day     471
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     471

Vol. LXXXIII
November 1963
No. 11

Reception of the Lord's Mercy
     A Sermon on Psalm 107: 8     Elmo C. Acton     473
Thanksgiving
     A Talk to Children     George de Charms     478
Imputation
     W. Cairns Henderson     481
Our New Church Vocabulary     487
48th British Assembly
     Report of Proceedings     Frank S. Rose     488
General Church Educational Council
Report of Proceedings     Carl Gunther     492
The Confession of the Celestial Church     Colin M. Greenhalgh     494
In Our Contemporaries     497
Swedenborg's First Rule of Life     Sydney B. Childs     498
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     501
Editorial Department
     It is Good to Give Thanks     503
     Providence, Man and Democracy     504
     The Values in Security     504
     Eternal Life     505
Church News
Announcements
     Eastern Canada District Assembly - November 8-10, 1963     511
     Baptisms, Marriages, Deaths     511

Vol. LXXXIII
December 1963
No. 12

From Nazareth to Bethlehem
     A Sermon on Luke 2: 4, 5     Geoffrey H. Howard     513
The Heavenly Host
     A Talk to Children     Ormond Odhner     519
The Understanding of the Word
     Address at British Assembly     Erik Sandstrom     522
Our New Church Vocabulary     530
A Charter Day Address     Robert S. Junge     532
Charter Day Banquet Addresses     
     Teachers in Training     Nancy H. Woodard     537
     Ministers in the Making     W. Cairns Henderson     541
     Educators in a Continuing Quest     Martin Pryke     544
In Memoriam: John Fitzgerald Kennedy     Elmo C. Acton     550
Notes on the Calendar Readings     Frederick L. Schnarr     552
Review
     Mary Lou and Johnny     Lyris Hyatt     555
Editorial Department
A Sign Unto You     557
     The Unity of God     558
     Facing Both Ways     559
     Directory of the General Church     560
Church News     567
Announcements
     Baptisms, Confirmations, Marriages, Deaths     575
     Annual Council Meetings: January 27-February 1, 1964     576

Vol. LXXXIII
January 1963
No. 1
     "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." John 5: 16.

     The love of God is infinite. It goes forth in equal measure to all men, and is never withdrawn from any one. All the judgments of the Lord are just, and His tender mercies are over all His works. That this must be true, all men instinctively acknowledge. Yet both in the literal Scriptures and in all human experience there is a strong appearance of injustice, as if God arbitrarily gave Divine protection to some and withheld it from others.
     For instance, concerning the Jewish nation it is said: "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth."* In Isaiah, we read: "I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of My mountains: and Mine elect shall inherit it, and My servants shall dwell there."** In Matthew, the promise is given concerning the Lord at His second coming: "He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other."*** And in speaking to His disciples, the Lord said: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."****
     * Deuteronomy 7: 6.
     ** Chap. 65: 9.
     *** Chap 24: 31.
     **** John 15: 16.
     From these and many similar passages there has arisen the doctrine of predestination; namely, that some human beings have been created for heaven, and others for hell. It has been taken for granted that some enjoy the protection of a special providence which is denied to others. If this were true, it would follow that salvation is an arbitrary act of Divine will, over which man has no control, and that only those who have been chosen by the Lord will be saved, and all others will inevitably be condemned. Yet to suppose that God could create any one for eternal suffering, while providing everlasting happiness for others, is to ascribe to Him unimaginable cruelty and injustice.

     All human experience does indeed testify that the gifts with which men are endowed by the Lord are by no means equal. Some enjoy material, physical and mental advantages far greater than those of others. Native talents and abilities are individual to each one, and are infinitely various. They are predetermined by the Divine Creator, and they cannot be altered in the least degree. Men may or may not develop the gifts they receive from the Lord, but they cannot change them. Taken all together, they constitute the personality which distinguishes each one from all others.
     Furthermore, it is obvious that there is great inequality in the opportunity which is afforded to develop whatever abilities a man may have. One who is born and raised among primitive peoples cannot possibly enjoy the benefits of education which are available to those who belong to any of the highly civilized nations of the world. Even among these nations, those who are born in time of war, when educational opportunities are greatly restricted, or under conditions of poverty and want that put higher education beyond their reach, or with physical or mental handicaps that render education difficult or impossible-under all such circumstances men are deprived of opportunities that others enjoy. In all these respects there is the greatest possible inequality among men; and yet it is an eternal truth that all men are equal in the sight of God.
     How can this be? Every human being is born with the potential ability to know God, to love Him, to understand His will, and to become conjoined with Him by a life of use in His heavenly kingdom. Every one, from conception, is endowed with a combination of faculties and abilities which is peculiar to himself, which sets him apart from all others, and which enables him to perform a special use for which no one else is equipped. For this use the Lord has chosen him, and ordained him. For the protection of this use the Lord watches over him from the first moment of his birth even to eternity, with a very special providence. The Divine end in view is a heaven from the human race, and heaven is a kingdom of uses which are infinitely various, and for each of which a human being is specifically created. Every one, therefore, is predestined for heaven, and indeed for a particular use in heaven.

3


Whatever restrictions may prevent the performance of this use during the life of the body, every one is given the opportunity after death to develop his God-given faculties, to enter by means of them upon the use for which he was created, and to progress in that use with ever-increasing joy and happiness to all eternity, just as far as he is willing to do so. In this respect all men are equal in the sight of God. And because both this ability and this opportunity are free Divine gifts which no man could possibly have acquired for himself, that which the Lord said of His disciples is equally true of all men: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain."
     Furthermore, all men are equal in this, that they are endowed with freedom of choice in regard to spiritual things. Whatever restrictions a man's environment may impose upon him, every one is free within himself to think and to will in favor of what he believes to be true and right, or, instead, to disregard this in order to satisfy some ambition for self-advancement or worldly gain. This freedom may be inhibited for a time by physical illness, by injury to the brain, or by violent passion that deprives one of all reason. It may be inhibited for an entire lifetime by mental retardation, or by various forms of insanity; but all of these are temporary and external restrictions that can prevent the exercise of spiritual freedom for a time, but cannot permanently injure or destroy it. As soon as these restrictions are removed, freedom is restored; and they will be removed, if not during the life of the body, at least after death, when the spirit of man is released from all external and worldly bonds. However long it may lie dormant, the Divine gift of rationality and liberty, which is the very human itself, the image and likeness of God with man is secretly protected by the Lord so that nothing but his own deliberate choice can deprive any man of the eternal happiness and the heavenly use for which he was created. In this respect all men are equal; all men are blessed in equal measure with the merciful love and protection of their Heavenly Father.

     Nevertheless, because every individual is created for a distinctly different use, because he is endowed with a different combination of faculties and abilities, and because the circumstances and conditions of life into which he is born are extremely various, the Lord's providence is not the same for all men. It is infinitely adapted to the particular needs of each one, having regard to the preservation of his spiritual freedom, and to the protection of his opportunity to enter at last upon the particular heavenly use for which he has been Divinely predestined.

4


In this sense there is a special providence watching over each one; not that the Lord favors one more than another, not that He elects to save some and refuses salvation to others, but because He strives for the salvation of each one in a different way-in a way made necessary by the individual gifts and by the special circumstances that set each person apart from all others.
     By the "elect," then, who at the Lord's second coming are to be gathered "from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other," are meant all those, wherever they may be in the whole world, who in simplicity and innocence of heart live according to the best they know, and abide by whatever they believe to be the will and the law of God. To these the Lord referred when He said, in His prayer to the Father: "Those that Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition."* However primitive their faith may be, however mistaken their idea as to the nature of God and the laws of His kingdom, because they are willing to be taught, they all can be brought at last to know the Lord truly, to understand His Word, and to keep His Divine law. Only those who deliberately refuse this opportunity when it is presented to them close the gates of heaven against themselves and persist in the life of evil.
     * John 17: 12

     Furthermore, those are called "the elect" who, during the life of the body, can be led in freedom to receive the Lord, to accept instruction from His Word, and from it to form the conscience by which they live. It was because the sons of Israel were willing to worship Jehovah, to obey the laws promulgated from Mount Sinai, and to keep the judgments and the statutes of the Mosaic law, that it could be said of them: "Thou art an holy people unto the Lord thy God: the Lord thy God hath chosen thee to be a special people unto Himself, above all people that are upon the face of the earth." This was not because the Lord loved them more than others, but because they were willing to perform, at least for a time, a most important and essential use; namely, the use of representing the true church, the kingdom of God with men; and, so doing, to prepare the way for the Lord Himself to come into the world as the Savior and Redeemer of the human race. To the degree in which they performed this use, and as long as they continued to do so, their nation was protected by a special providence; but when they failed to do so, this protection was withdrawn; they were overcome by their enemies, and were carried away into captivity. What was true of the Jewish and Israelitish nation is true of all who are willing to receive the Lord at His coming, to search out the truth of His Word, and to live according to its teaching. Of such as these the true church consists. But no one can come into the church who has not been prepared for it, in a thousand secret ways, by the Divine Providence. Unless the Lord had directed his steps and opened the way for him to discover the true meaning of His Word, and had thus given him the opportunity to enter into His kingdom, no one could become a member of His church.

5


That is what the Lord meant when He said: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." This is not because the Lord loves the people of His church more than others; it is not because they are better or more worthy than others. It is because they could be led willingly to perform a very special use, because they could be prepared freely during the life of the body to serve the Lord in the great task of establishing His kingdom among men. In spite of this fact, they have inherited the same tendency to evil that is common to all men. Unless these evils are overcome they cannot be saved. Indeed, entrance into the church brings to light evils of which others are mercifully unaware-deeper, more malevolent evils that induce severer temptations than others are called upon to meet. The church brings with it spiritual responsibilities that must be met, because only as they are met can the members of the church be regenerated and saved. But in the degree that they will earnestly endeavor to fulfill the requirements of the special use upon which they have entered, the Lord will sustain them and give them power to achieve the victory in temptation, for He "is ever mindful of His covenant,"* and guards with infinite care the spiritual life of all who take up their cross to follow Him.
     * Psalm 111: 5.
     Only those who are willing "to follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth"* can truly belong to the church of the Lord. Nevertheless, their entrance into the church is ever made possible by Divine selection. Their continuance in it, and their progress in regeneration, are ever the result of a special providence for which they owe a debt of profound gratitude. That they may enter into it more interiorly and learn to perform its use more perfectly should be the continual prayer of their lives; a prayer in which there is nothing of pride, nothing of contempt for others, nothing but profound humility, together with thankfulness and praise to the Lord for His infinite mercy in setting their feet upon the only path that can lead to their salvation. They must acknowledge that the church is not their own but is a Divine and miraculous gift from the Lord; and they must love to have it so, knowing that the Lord referred to them when He said: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." Amen.
     * Revelation 14: 4.

LESSONS: John 15: 8-27. DP 322.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 467, 440, 484. Psalmody, page 48.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 29, 106.

6


RIGHT EDUCATION 1963

RIGHT EDUCATION       Rev. DANDRIDGE PENDLETON       1963

     (Delivered at the Cathedral service on Charter Day. October, 19, 1962.)

     On November third, in the year 1877, the Academy was chartered under the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as an "independent association of members of the New Church," whose purpose shall be the "propagating [of the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and establishing the New Church signified in the Apocalypse by the New Jerusalem, promoting education in all its forms, educating young men for the ministry, publishing books, pamphlets, and other printed matter, and establishing a library."* This statement, which constitutes Article II of the Charter, is well known in the General Church because of the frequency with which it has been repeated. There is, however, another statement, one concerning the Academy's Charter, which, although not actually a part of that document, bears with considerable significance upon the whole concept of education in general, and the Academy in particular. In the Journal of Education for 1901-6-in reference to the Charter, and under the heading, The Corporation of the Academy-we read the following sentence: "The Charter herewith presented is most liberal and comprehensive in its provisions, conferring upon the Academy all the rights, privileges and immunities common to Scientific Academies. Colleges and Universities."**
     * See Journal of Education, 1901-6, 36, 37
     **Page 36.
     "All the rights, privileges and immunities common to Scientific Academies, Colleges and Universities"! Here is a statement well worth considering; for we live in a day when educational institutions of both lower and higher learning are struggling, against increasing odds, to retain their autonomy on the local, state and federal levels. We can no longer assume that the "rights, privileges and immunities" granted in the past will remain unchanged. Events, swiftly gaining tempo within the last twenty years, make it entirely conceivable that the "rights, privileges and immunities" so liberally granted to the Academy in 1877 might be altered, diminished, or even completely revoked in the future. Nothing is assured any longer on the institutional level of education. This being so, we cannot afford to regard with complacency the educational gifts that the Academy has so far had to offer.

7


May her Charter never become a memento to things Past: hanging on some forgotten wall, a relic of visions gone the way of time-and of death.
     Yet we live also in a day when prophecies of doom and destruction echo so loudly from every quarter, and on every issue, that there is danger of the human ear growing numb from the clamor and becoming insensitive to the real problems that face us. What do we have at the Academy that is worth saving? That is the question. And if the answer is given clearly, forcefully, and in the light of genuine principles, then the fallacies and falsities which threaten will be revealed; for we are told in the Writings that while truth cannot be seen from falsity falsity is seen from truth.*
     * See DP 318.
     What, then, does the Academy have to offer that is worth saving, and therefore worth loving and fighting for-yes, worth dying for, if necessary? Many answers, all equally correct, might be forthcoming to this question. We would here present our own definition of that unique gift which the Academy is capable of bestowing in the educational world of today-a right education. This phrase is taken directly from the Writings. There we read:

     "Many believe that no truth can be seen by man, except when it has been confirmed; but this is a falsity. In the civil and economic affairs of a kingdom or republic, what is useful and good can be seen only by a knowledge of many statutes and ordinances there; or in the things of nature, like physics, chemistry, anatomy, mechanics, and so on, only when man has been well instructed in the sciences; or in judicial matters, only by a knowledge of the laws. But in things purely rational, moral and spiritual, truths are seen from the light of truth itself, provided man has, from a right education, become somewhat rational, moral and spiritual."*
     * DP 317.
     
     The reason this is so, the number goes on to say, is that our understanding is interiorly in association with, and influenced by, the spiritual world; and it is from this constant association and influence that the human mind is able, without previous instruction, to "think analytically . . . from conclusions about what is just and right in civil affairs . . . see what is honorable in moral life and good in spiritual life, and many other truths, which are sunk in darkness only by confirmed falsities."*
     * Ibid.
     This inborn or connate ability, which all men possess in varying degree, is said to be comparable to the way in which we are able to see the disposition of another from the expression of his face, and to perceive his affections from the tone of his voice, "with no other knowledge than what is inherited in everyone."
     * Ibid.
     Man is born, by inheritance, into evil tendencies of every kind. This we all know well from the Writings.

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But man is also born equipped with what we may legitimately call certain spiritual instincts: the instinct, and therefore the innate ability, to think analytically, and to form civil, moral and spiritual conclusions as to truth and good. It is this ability which the human mind possesses above and beyond the level of merely animal life; and it is the drawing forth of this ability, by means of a right education, that the Academy seeks to achieve: an achievement which, if properly sustained and forwarded, can safeguard your minds from that deadening process of imbibing falsities which, if confirmed, cause the ability to form genuine moral and spiritual conclusions to become "sunk in darkness" and destroyed.
     But what is a "right education"? In brief, a right education is education that has as its source, and its constant reference, the light of revealed truth. If Divine revelation does not serve as the origin, and the authority upon which by reference education is built, then human intelligence does; and of merely human intelligence as the starting point of source-principles the Writings have nothing good to say. On a certain occasion Swedenborg saw a beautiful temple in one of the heavens, and he wrote this:

     "When I drew nearer, I saw this inscription above the door, Nunc Licet [Now it is permitted]-which signifies that it is now permitted to enter with understanding into the secrets of faith. From seeing this inscription, it came into my thought that it is exceedingly dangerous to enter with the understanding into the dogmas of faith that are concocted out of self intelligence, and therefore out of falsities, and still more so to confirm them from the Word. By this means the understanding is closed above, and gradually below as well, to such a degree that theology is not only despised, but also obliterated from the mind. . . . Then the thought abides only in political matters, which have regard to man's life under the government where he is, and in the civil matters pertaining to his employment, and in the domestic affairs of his house. In all these things he constantly kisses nature, and, owing to the allurements of her pleasures, loves her as an idolator loves the golden image in his bosom."*
     * TCR 508.

     Herein is contained a principle of revealed truth from which we, as New Church men and women, should reflect deeply and carefully as to the state of education in general today. To think and to form one's principles from self-intelligence-which is done by all who do not consciously and deliberately place the Word as their very foundation and authority-is to have as one's end and effect the dread spectre of materialism; and in that state, the Writings point out, the mind abides only in "political matters . . . civil matters pertaining to [one's] employment . . . and the domestic affairs of his house." All of these things, be it noted, are increasingly emphasized as central in the public school education of our country today; and yet these things constitute rank materialism, if they are taught and learned apart from Divine revelation as their basis.
     Where, then, can a "right education" be obtained in the world today on the institutional level?

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Not outside of the Christian Church, for the Word is not acknowledged there. Not within the Christian churches as organizations, for the dogmas concocted by human intelligence have entirely superseded the Word as it is contained in the New Testament. A right education could have been given, and to some extent was given, in the early Christian or Apostolic Church before the Council of Nicea, for that was a genuine church. By the same token, there are individual Christians today, perhaps many of them, the quality of whose belief in the New Testament is such that they have at least the basis for a right education. The problem here is that there are not enough of this type in the educational field, and that the over-all effect of institutional education is, therefore, to remove the mind far from Divine revelation, and to emphasize the merely natural side of life as the proper end to which education should look and which it should achieve in its students.

     By a "right education," then, the Writings mean education formulated in and from the sphere of genuine truth. To orient formal education from any other principle than this is to lead men away from the attaining of true humanity, no matter how persuasive the arguments and the appearances to the contrary may be. That is why the Academy was founded in the beginning, and that is the end toward which the Academy seeks perpetually to perfect the courses which are taught under its jurisdiction. We seek to impart a genuine understanding of life, and of the Divine purpose in creation, in order that your hearts may be stirred with affection for that purpose and inspired to contribute towards its fulfillment. An education at the Academy cannot give spiritual life, or a love therefor; only the Lord can do that. But a right education, we are told, can make a man "ready to receive the influx from God through the soul; and such as this preparation is, such is the reception, and such [is] the transformation of natural faith into spiritual faith."* For "faith in God enters into a man through . . . the soul into the higher parts of the understanding; while knowledges about God . . . are drawn from the revealed Word by the understanding through the bodily senses; and these inflowings meet midway in the understanding, and there natural faith, which is merely persuasion, becomes spiritual, which is real acknowledgment. Thus the human understanding is like a refining vessel in which this transmutation is effected."**
     * TCR 8.
     ** TCR 11.
     It is this "transmutation," or conversion, of merely natural knowledge and thought into the higher realm of spiritual and eternal values that was represented by the Lord's turning of water into wine at the marriage feast in Cana. This was His first public miracle, signifying that the establishment of a truly interior faith, through the understanding, was the primary purpose of His coming on earth.

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As your parents, ministers or teachers, we cannot cause this conversion of natural into spiritual faith to take place. The Lord alone was able to perform the miracle. We are as the servants who were commanded to fill the waterpots to the brim with water; that is, to impart to your minds every facet of learning about both natural and spiritual truth of which we are capable-to fill them "to the brim." More than that we cannot do. Nor can you yourselves go further than receiving these knowledges in the intellect, and thinking about them. Only the Lord can perform the miracle. He alone can give that love which causes the mind to be affected by knowledge, affected by truth, and thus to become a form of the affection of truth: and it is this affection which causes the conversion of natural knowledges and concepts into spiritual belief and faith. Yet this cannot take place in a moment. There must be preparation. The ability to think from truth, to form moral and spiritual conclusions as to what is right, is there to begin with. The vital preparation made by a right education does not cause anything new to come into existence; rather does it preserve this "instinctive" spiritual ability, already present from birth, for future infilling-an infilling which, according to the Writings, will be prevented only if falsities are taken in by the intellect and confirmed in the will."*
     *See DP 317, 318.

     Strangely enough, the world today, while unable as yet to accept the New Church, is desperately seeking those very qualities of thought and life that only the New Church has to give. In the Lord's providence, the coming to light of the new truth, and the acknowledgment of it by men, are slow in being fulfilled. We ourselves, with all the advantages of a right education from our childhood, are slow to become real, internal members of the New Church; how much more gradual, then, must be the approach of men for whom a right education has never even existed? In the meantime we must ready ourselves, each one of us, to participate in the coming enlightenment with whatever abilities the Lord has given us.
     As students, your main work, now and in the future, is to begin searching for those gifts within yourselves, so that you may discern in what ways you can best contribute to the new age which is surely coming as a result of the New Church and its increased establishment with men. You are, even now, being blessed with the advantages of a "right education," in that your hearts and minds are being led to the Lord Himself as your Heavenly Father and the source of all life. Use these advantages wisely! Open your minds to the Word itself! If you will do that, then through all the trials you may be called upon to endure, yours will become a steadily increasing perception of life's purposes and a deepening contentment with those interior states of achievement that the Lord has provided for your use and happiness.

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TWO WITNESSES OF THE NEW CHURCH 1963

TWO WITNESSES OF THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1963

     All the teachings of the Writings are capable of being brought together into the summary form of the two "essentials of the New Church." These two essentials are the "two witnesses" in the book of Revelation. The words of the Writings with regard to this matter are as follows: "'I will give unto My two witnesses,' signifies those who confess and acknowledge from the heart that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth and that His Human is Divine, and who are conjoined to Him by a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue. Such persons are here understood by the two witnesses, because these two things constitute the two essentials of the New Church."* And again, in explanation of the words that immediately follow: "`And they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days.' signifies that these two articles, the acknowledgement of the Lord and a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue, which are the two essentials of the New Church, are to be taught until there be an end and a beginning."**
     * AR 490
     ** AR 491.

     There are two essentials, then. Anyone can see that they relate to the Lord and His kingdom. So did the two tables of stone in the ark of the covenant: for the first table gave prescriptions concerning God-that none other was to be worshiped, that His name must be kept holy and His sabbath day remembered: and the second' table gave the law concerning the neighbor. All neighbors, taken together, constitute the kingdom. The same applies again to the Two Great Commandments, which enjoin love to the Lord above all and love towards the neighbor as one's self.
     The two tables of stone are for all ages to come; the Two Great Commandments are for all ages to come; and so now are the "two essentials" for all ages to come. Nor are these things only looking forward; they have always been, for the things contained within them are eternal.
     It is only the form, or expression, that has changed from one age to another; and as the form has changed, clarity and force have been added. When Moses received and proclaimed the Ten Words written on stone, Jehovah God was understood by the people to be an invisible God who was essentially the God of their nation only, although He was at the same time superior to all other gods.

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But when the Lord was on earth. He directed the minds of His followers to Himself. He indeed affirmed that in times past God had been invisible, for He said: "No man hath seen God at any time"; but He taught in addition: "The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath set Him forth."* So also, in giving the Two Great Commandments, He used the word "Lord" instead of "Jehovah," knowing well that the disciples had become accustomed to calling Him, Lord. Indeed, He virtually commanded them to address Him by that name, when He said at the Last Supper: "Ye call Me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am."** It is also known that after the resurrection the disciples constantly referred to Him as `the Lord." In all this it may be seen how the Lord added clarity and force when He said: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God."
     * John 1: 18.
     ** John 13, 13.
     Yet the children of this earth were only at the beginning of a real concept of Him as the one God of heaven and earth. Their hearts were warmed to Him who walked among them; they turned to Him in prayer. But they were not able to see Him and the Father as one and the same person. Full glory was not as yet accorded to Him. That was to come later. That was for another age: an age that was to begin at His second coming, when He was to reveal what He could not disclose before, and say the many things that formerly they could not bear.* Hence the two essentials of the New Church add still further clarity and force. For now it is openly declared that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that His Human is Divine. This calls for the acknowledgment of the heart, the acknowledgment of love, that Divine and infinite glory, also Divine and infinite power, belong to Him who was on earth, who fought and conquered all evil and falsity, who broke the bonds of death and rose to live for ever as God with us.
     * See John 16: 12, 25

     It is the same with the second of the two great doctrines of life. Again we see how later revelations have clarified the concept and expanded and deepened the power of it. The Jews were not able to think of the neighbor otherwise than as their fellow Jew. Neighbors were all those who were circumcised; all others were gentiles and strangers. That is how they thought of the second table of the covenant: and that, too. Is the context in which they read their version of the second of the Two Great Commandments; for to them it was said: "Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."*
     * Leviticus 19: 18.
     Not that the interior meaning of "neighbor" was not there. It was for ever there! But it was not apparent to them; the deeper and fuller meaning had not yet been revealed.

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But when the Lord came into the world He began to show them that meaning. He widened the concept. He said that the Samaritan was neighbor, that is to say, whosoever does well. He cried out, saying: "Who is My mother, or My brethren? And He looked round about on them which sat with Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and My sister and mother."* Yet even then it was not possible to open up the concept such as it was with the angels themselves. That would not have been understood; so it, too, belonged to the "many things" that were yet to be said. The angelic concept is that it is the good within a person that is the real neighbor, for they know that it is the good with him that makes him to be what he is. But even there the thought of angels deepens; for they know also, with a full heart, that there is nothing good save that which comes from the Lord's Word. "Without it was not anything made that was made."** Hence we read concerning angels as follows: "In heaven . . . to love the neighbor does not mean to love a companion as to his person, but to love truth which is from the Word; and to love truth is to will and do it."*** They think of the Lord's truth as leading all to the good of life, and to the continual exchange of mutual services. It is thus that they see in each other what is good from the Lord, and it is on this account that they love each other as brethren.
     * Mark 3: 31-33.
     ** John 1: 3.
     *** HH 15.

     This is what has now been revealed on earth in order that we, too, may learn to love the neighbor as the angels love him. Note the wording of the second essential of the New Church: "[To be] conjoined to Him [the Lord] by a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue." The precepts of the Decalogue are the Word in a summary; and to live according to them is to will and do the truth, thus to love the truth. Yet this does not mean the precepts in their literal sense only. We must all begin that way. But the man of the New Church is called upon to keep them in their spiritual sense also, and, in the end, in their celestial sense. These senses have been revealed, and to what purpose except that they might be obeyed? The literal sense, of course, is in no way abrogated. It is only strengthened and made full. It remains, but at the same time it is opened up. First we had: Thou shalt not kill thy fellow man; then: Thou shalt not hate thy fellow man; and finally: Thou shalt not harm or destroy that which is from the Lord in thy fellow man. It is obvious that he who lives by the interior meanings of the Ten Commandments cannot bear the thought of sinning against them in their literal application.

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So, in the two essentials of the New Church, these commandments are sustained and at the same time fulfilled; and what is said about the summary of the Old Testament, of the New Testament, and of their fulfillment obviously applies to the whole in each case. What we have now is the fullness of truth, whole and undivided, teaching and guiding each and all degrees of conscious human life.

     We say, then, that the two essentials of the New Church-the acknowledgement of the Lord as God and as wholly Divine as He stands forth revealed in His Human, and conjunction with Him by a life according to His precepts-are a restatement of the two most universal truths in religion. We say further that they have been restated for the sole purpose that they might restore spiritual life in the world.
     Spiritual life depends on these two things as the life of the body depends on the heart and lungs. The heart, by its pulse, is everywhere in the body; and the lungs, by the elements from the air which they add to the bloodstream, are everywhere in the body. It is precisely thus that love to the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God with us, is the pulse of man's spirit, and that genuine, undefiled love toward the neighbor is the breath of that spirit. No man can live internally without these two things: and since these two are the essentials and universals of the New Church, therefore the whole body of doctrine in all the Writings is contained in them, and is quickened and inspired by them. There are, in a sense, no more than these two universal doctrines, just as there is no life in the body except from the life of the heart and the lungs. This is simple and easy, and it is a mark of truth that it suffers itself to be stated simply and easily.
     What is simpler than to say that a man must look to the Lord Jesus Christ alone, and that he must shun as a sin against the Lord anything that might harm his neighbor? What can be more universal? Therefore he who has and believes these two things has and believes the Writings; and if he lives according to them, too, then he is a man of the New Church. Particular doctrines add depth to the concept, and life according to particular doctrines perfects love; but no particular doctrine is ever outside the scope of the two universals, nor is any application of doctrine to life anything but a variant of love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor. Moreover, the universal doctrines open up and lead on to particulars. They are like entrance gates into the whole world of truth and life. As the Writings say: "The intellectual cannot be enlightened unless it is believed that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are the principal and essential things of the church. He who proceeds from the acknowledgment of these, provided he himself is in them, sees innumerable truths; nay, he sees very many arcana disclosed to him, and this from interior acknowledgment, according to the degree of the enlightenment from the Lord."*

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     * AC 7233e.
     But it is related in the Word that the two witnesses lay dead "in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified"; and that they lay thus for "three days and an half."* This means that the two essentials are dead in the former Christian Church. Remember that the first essential is love of the Lord Jesus Christ, and Him only, and this from an acknowledgment that He alone, in His glorified Human, is God; and that the second essential is love of His truth, and from this a sacred fear lest anything be harmed that is of the truth with the neighbor. The old Christianity does not turn to the Lord Jesus Christ alone, nor does it shun evil as a sin against His holy truth. The "great city" mentioned in the Apocalypse is Jerusalem, and that is what the former church thinks it is. But spiritually it is called "Sodom and Egypt," for the Lord has again been crucified. His being rejected in faith and life is His crucifixion.
     * Revelation 11: 8, 9.

     So the two witnesses must rise again. The book of Revelation deals with things that are to come. It deals with the Christian Church and its consummation and then with the new Christian Church which is the Jerusalem that descends from God out of heaven. Hence it was that the two witnesses seen in John's vision were revived. "And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet."* It is remarkable that the same thing happened to the servant of the Lord in His second advent.** It happened to him in the spiritual world, even as John's vision was seen in the spiritual world; for in each instance there was a representation of the state of men. The two witnesses stood upon their feet. So also the servant who wrote the doctrines that came down from God out of heaven rose again, and he went forth, and preached anew: "Do the work of repentance, and believe in Christ, and your sins will be remitted, and you will be saved; otherwise you will perish."***
     * Revelation 11: 11.
     ** See AR 531.
     *** See AE 732; AR 547.
     Yet, strangely, the world has not taken note. It is as if the theme of the two essentials, and all the embroidery on that theme, had never been revealed. But this was foretold. It is signified in the Word by the call of the great voice, saying unto the two witnesses, "Come up hither," and by their ascent "up to heaven in a cloud."
     This is after the two witnesses have done their first preaching following on their revival; that is, after the publication, spread and first reception of the Writings. There was a wide knowledge of the New Church then. History testifies to that point. But it was not to last. The small, nascent church was soon forgotten. Those who loved the old traditions, the dogmas, however stable, yet sanctified by age, saw to that. Temptations inside the gates set in, too, while the New Church went into oblivion.

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The two witnesses seemed no longer to be heard in the world. Yet they were not lost. It is said that "their enemies beheld them" as they ascended up to heaven in a cloud. If the enemies beheld them, they are only suppressed in the world. It is not as if they had never been known. They are, in fact, protected by heaven; that is what is signified by their ascent thither. In the meantime, they must continue to live with the few.
     The same is meant also by the woman in the wilderness, in the next chapter of the book of Revelation. She is the New Church in seclusion, the New Church among the few. But it has been Divinely revealed that the Lord makes preparation in the meantime for the spread of His church among the many. We are in that period of seclusion now. The Lord alone knows when the time shall come. But preparation is within the church as well as outside of it. The church universal and the church specific are one in the sight of the Lord. Hence it is for us to learn to live in the pulse and breath of the Lord's new kingdom among men; learning to love the Lord truly as He is now revealed and known, and learning, too, from Him to love the neighbor in a spiritual way.
     It is thus that the lamps will be kept burning in the New Church. They must be: for, as is stated in the beginning of the Apocalypse Revealed, where the two essentials are also mentioned, "unless a new church arises which acknowledges these two essentials, and lives according to them, no one can be saved."*
     *AR 9.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Divine. By this term is meant in the Writings the Infinite and Eternal which is called in the Word "Jehovah" and "the Father"; the Divine love and wisdom itself which is the esse of good and truth. Thus it is the source from which all things are. The Divine with man is love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. The term, Divine, occurs in many compound expressions, but always with reference to the Divine in the Lord or to what is from Him, namely, the good and truth of the rational and the natural. An important compound which may be specially noted is "Divine proceeding," which means Divine truth within which is Divine good flowing from Divine love, as light within which is heat proceeds from the fire of the sun. The Lord's Divine is distinguished into good and truth because these can be received separately by men. (See AC 5134; DP 48, 49; AC 2023, 4696; HH 7; AC 3704.)

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MRS. WILLIAM RYLE COOPER 1963

MRS. WILLIAM RYLE COOPER       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     Extracts from a Memorial Address

     The Lord alone can know the governing love that is the inmost soul of each man's life. He alone can be aware of the deepest longings of the heart that spring therefrom; and therefore He alone can foresee the use for which each one has been created, and what experiences of life are needed to prepare one for it. Only He who is infinitely wise can so control the forces that play upon man's mind from both the natural and the spiritual worlds as to keep open for him the path which leads to his appointed place in heaven, that each individual, if he wills, may walk therein.
     Although man cannot know the goal toward which the Lord is leading him, he must, at least in some small measure, see the path of life which leads thereto. He must seek that path, and follow it by conscious effort. He must choose it freely, for there is no happiness in heaven to which man may be brought against his will. That is why the Word is given, that it may be a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. To love the truth of the Word is to love the way in which the Lord would have us Walk. To live according to that truth is to love the Lord, to love the neighbor, and to serve the neighbor truly in every use and work our hands may find to do. As far as we find unselfish joy in such an earthly use, the Lord can prepare us for a greater use, and for an incomparably greater happiness in the life eternal.

     As far as human judgment can discern, this love of use was the outstanding characteristic of our lifelong friend, Gertrude Cooper. From childhood she was raised to love the spiritual truth of the Word, and to seek an ever more perfect understanding of that truth through the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine. She made that teaching her rule of life. She delighted to serve the neighbor, and especially, by means of uses, to promote the welfare of the New Church. Above all else she sought to instill into the hearts of her children true principles of life derived from Divine revelation, and to imbue them with the spirit of love to the Lord and charity.

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This she loved to do, not only for her own children, but for those of others; and for twenty-eight years she gave her home and all her thought and energy to the conduct of a nursery school for Bryn Athyn children. Nor was this all, for she served for many years with skill and devotion in the work of the Chancel Guild, contributing much to the worship of the Bryn Athyn Society. Indeed, in every other way that presented itself she performed uses invaluable to the church she loved.
     She was no stranger to the pain and sorrow of personal loss, or to the trials and anxieties that are the common experience of all mankind. These she bore with patient endurance, and unfailing trust in the overruling mercy of the Lord. But through it all she found inner peace and happiness in the uses she loved, and she was blessed with a long and full life of nearly eighty years. Although her passing brings inevitable sorrow to all who loved her, we cannot but rejoice with the angels who even now are welcoming her into the life eternal, knowing how great is the increase of use and happiness that awaits her in the Lord's heavenly kingdom. It was her constant endeavor to conjoin the spiritual truth of the Word with the good of love and charity in the performance of use to the Lord and the church. Surely, in so doing she was prepared to enter into the joy of an everlasting use in the Lord's heavenly kingdom; for heaven, with all its happiness, results when the spiritual truth of the Word is conjoined with the spirit of charity from love to the Lord. This indeed is the meaning of the Lord's promise, as expressed in the 133rd Psalm: "As the dew of Hermon. . . that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." Amen.
WHY THE FUTURE IS HIDDEN 1963

WHY THE FUTURE IS HIDDEN              1963

     "As a knowledge of future events takes away the human itself, which is to act from freedom in accordance with reason, a knowledge of the future is granted to no one; nevertheless, everyone is permitted to form conclusions about the future from the reason; and in this the reason with all that pertains to it finds its proper life. This is why a man is not permitted to know what his lot after death will be, or to know about any event until he is in it; for if he knew this he would cease to think from his interior self how he must act or must live in order to come into it; but would simply think from his exterior self that he was coming into it; and such a state closes the interiors of his mind, in which the two faculties of his life, liberty and rationality, have their chief seat" (Divine Providence 179).

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SELF-DESTRUCTION 1963

SELF-DESTRUCTION       Rev. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1963

     When tragedy touches our lives, real strength, comfort and consolation are to be found, not in natural compassion, but in the truth of the Word which is the form of the Lord's love and wisdom. That truth may seem to wound at first, but in it alone is genuine healing.
     It is plain teaching of the Writings that self-destruction is in itself evil-a sin against the Lord and the neighbor. Nowhere, it is true, do they forbid suicide in so many words; but a rational revelation teaches clearly many things which it does not spell out, and so it is in this matter. No impulse to self-destruction ever comes from the Lord or from the angels. It comes only from evil spirits, whose eager desire and constant endeavor it is to destroy men; and while a man's yielding to that impulse is under the government of the Lord's providence, it is never of the Lord's providing. It is always a permission, and things which are permitted are always and only evil.

     Murder is expressly forbidden in the Decalogue, and the prohibition of homicide evidently includes suicide-killing of one's self as well as the killing of others. The precept, "Thou shalt not kill," is said in the Writings to be altogether of charity, and in the case of those who offend against it by taking their own lives the application can be clearly seen. There is a proper sense in which man is neighbor to himself; and the man who knows the Word, yet takes his own life acts against the neighbor in himself. He is preoccupied, if not obsessed, with self and its problems, and in that preoccupation he acts against good and truth. Far more obviously does he act against others, for his deed lays upon those who love him most a burden of cruel shock and bitter suffering-perhaps also of embarrassment and shame-which he can do nothing to share or to life. At the same time he acts against the Lord; for by his deed he is in effect, seeking to force the issues of life and death, instead of waiting for the Lord and seeking His aid with humility and patience.
     The precept against murder is given for men, for man alone among the Lord's creatures can choose to take his own life. Animals cannot do this. Yet the ability does not give man the privilege, still less the right, to terminate his life whenever he chooses!

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To do so is an abuse of that freedom and a surrender of that rationality which make the human itself. The man who ends his own life has taken it upon himself to decide beyond any shadow of doubt that there is no other solution of his problems. Yet suicide solves no problems; it simply adds to a burden that may be lifted only by repentance. It is not thus that freedom and rationality are exercised. Rather are they to be used in resisting the spheres of depression, despondency and despair that inflow from the hells, and in reaching out to others for help if we cannot do so alone, before we become so enmeshed in them that self-destruction may seem to be the only course that lies before us. Here, as in all other temptations, we have a duty to resist the hells; and especially to resist the corroding effects of self-pity, which so often leads to self-destruction.

     We have need to realize and acknowledge these things. But having done so, we can and should feel nothing but pity for those who depart from this life by their own hand. It is the part of charity to look for mitigating circumstances: but mitigation of an evil, not a theory that will excuse or condone the act, and still less justify it. Yet if serious confusion is to be avoided, we need to understand that there are things which are evil in themselves but which, in certain circumstances, are not imputed to men as evils. If this distinction is not seen, we may, in our reluctance to impute evil to someone, make the mistake of not recognizing as such the evil itself, or even of trying to explain it away. Such confusion may become extremely dangerous.
     Judgment is not within our province. Nor do we really know why anyone commits suicide, and it is ill-advised, if not presumptuous, for us to attempt complete explanations. There are some who are permitted to die as to the body by insanity and suicide lest a worse thing befall them, but we cannot tell who these are. If suicide is committed in states that are not of rationality and liberty-and acute fear, serious misfortune, mental and bodily disease may, and sometimes do, deprive one of these two faculties-then the man who committed it will be judged by whether his will and understanding concur in justifying or condemning his act when, in the world of spirits, he is returned to states of rationality and liberty. If the man was able to consult the understanding, but from accidental causes was not able to do so at the moment, and so took his own life, he will be judged according as the understanding afterwards favors or does not favor his acts when, in the world of spirits, he is again able to consult the understanding freely. Thus guilt may or may not be imputed, and when it is the degree of guilt may vary considerably.

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Yet it may not be such that it cannot be purged by repentance; and we may well conjecture that good men, when they realize in the world of spirits how they had departed from this earth, will not seek to excuse or justify the manner of their going, but will place themselves on the side of Divine truth, while trusting that they may be judged with mercy.
     This, however, we may know with certainty. The Lord's infinite love has not been withdrawn for a single moment from those who took their own lives; His Divine wisdom has not ceased to act even for an instant. As one who neither wills nor provides, but against whose own order it would be to prevent because of the end, the Lord permits; and we may be sure that, although we cannot see it, His end is one of deepest mercy. With that assurance we may take our stand on the truth of the Word, not compromising or diluting its teaching, but resting in the Lord's infinite mercy and compassion.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     THE YEAR BOOK of the General Conference contains an interesting report by the Conference Council and the Ministerial Advisory Council on the Priesthood. The report states that "the Lord alone is, in Himself, the Priest of His Church, and that the uses of the Ministry are those of administering the things which pertain to the Priesthood in the Lord. The particular uses of the priesthood mentioned in the Writings are those of preaching and teaching Divine Truths, both publicly and privately, and leading men by those truths to the good of life: administering the Sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper; and officiating at Marriages. These are the primary things for which the Church exists, and these are the uses that must be maintained as primary uses in every Society of the Church. Nothing can take precedence over these." "As to the ordering of the Ministry," the report continues, "the Writings make quite clear that there should be a trinal order of subordination, from a primacy, through discesan or district Ministers, to the ministers of individual societies." The order thus envisaged is seen to be episcopal, but the report differs from the view held by the General Church in its finding that the episcopacy is vested in the Ministerial Council, which would consist of the diocesans.
     UMCHAZI continues to reflect the thought and life of the General Church Mission in South Africa. Of particular interest in the autumn issue are a sermon on the parable of the ten virgins by the Rev. B. I. Nzimande and a paper, "Can You Prove that from the Word?" by the Rev. S.B. Mkize. Six short papers read by students at the Winter School throw interesting light on what these children, 13-17 years old, are learning.

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TEMPTATION 1963

TEMPTATION       Rev. BENJAMIN I. NZIMANDE       1963

     I have chosen this subject because temptation affects the regenerating man every day of his life. Every day he passes through some form of temptation. The main difficulty seems to lie in the fact that man is not aware that he is not life but an organ receptive of life, either from heaven or from hell, yet is kept in freedom all the time to choose the life he prefers. Man is not aware that he is a spirit as to his interiors, and that he lives in both worlds at the same time. He believes that all the affections which come to his mind, and all the thoughts, are his; he is not aware that they inflow from the spiritual world; and he makes himself guilty of things that do not belong to him because he is not willing to believe that he is not life but a mere vessel receptive of life.
     Temptations are useful in this, that they tend to educate the man. They make him see at last that there are superior forces outside of him, but from which he acts. They make him see that from his own power he cannot conquer a single evil, but will give in all the time. It begins to dawn on him that the only real power to conquer evils comes from the Lord alone; and he then discards his foolish ideas that he has power in himself, lives from himself, and can fight from his own power.
     We are told that there are two kinds of temptations, natural and spiritual. We are told also that only those who are being regenerated undergo spiritual temptations. For we read:

     "Those only who are being regenerated undergo spiritual temptations; for spiritual temptations are pains of mind induced by evil spirits with those who are in goods and truths. While those spirits excite the evils which are within them, there arises the anxiety of temptation. Man does not know whence this anxiety comes, because he does not know his origin."*
     * HD 187.

     "Interior anxieties are also experienced by those who are not in goods and truths; but they are natural, not spiritual anxieties; the two are distinguished by this, that natural anxieties have worldly things for their objects, but spiritual anxieties, heavenly things."*
     * HD 189

     With every man there are both good and evil spirits. Good spirits excite his goods, and evil spirits his evils, whence comes a collision between the two opposing parties; and that produces an interior pain and anxiety.

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In temptation there is a contest for dominion-a contest to decide whether good will rule over evil, or evil dominate over good. In fact, the contest is between the spiritual and the natural man. In the event that evil conquers good, then the natural has dominion over the spiritual; if the good conquers, then the spiritual man has dominion over the natural. We are told that if man fights from any other principle than from the Word, that is, from the Lord, he does not conquer. For we read:

     "The combats are carried on by the truths of faith which are from the Word. From these man must combat against evils and falsities; for if he combats from any other principles, he cannot conquer, because in these alone the Lord is present."*
     * HD 191.

     What are those other principles from which a man may fight, and not conquer? They are such principles as are devoid of innocence, such principles as are from the love of self. But what is innocence? It is an interior willingness to be led by the Lord alone; it is a recognition that of himself man is nothing but evil and that all good and truth come from the Lord alone. When a man is in the state of innocence, he is in a state in which he can be led and taught. If he fights from self he conquers nothing, for the Lord is not present in that kind of combat.
     How these assaults are carried on in man by evil spirits is described in the following:

     "These assaults take place in various ways; as by influx of scandals against truths and goods in the thoughts and in the will; also by drawing forth and continually bringing to remembrance of the evils which one has committed, and of the falsities which he has thought, thus by inundation of such things; and at the same time by an apparent shutting up of the interiors of the mind, and, consequently, of communication with heaven, by which the capacity of thinking from his own faith, and of willing from his own love, is intercepted. These things are effected by the evil spirits who are present with the man."*
     * HD 196.

     Note the fact that they continually bring to remembrance the evils the man once committed. This they do that the man may lose hope, fall into despair, and thus give up the struggle-in which case they win. They also as it were intercept influx between heaven and man, and thus hinder communication and cast a shadow on his truths and goods, so that it appears to man that he is left alone, when the fact is that the Lord is more present with man, and that man has more freedom, in temptation than at any other time. Evil spirits cast a shadow on this so that man may be in doubt and obscurity and finally in despair. It is at such times that man must look to the Lord and use the weapons provided for him in the Lord's Word. If he conquers in temptations, there follows a state of peace and tranquillity. Man does not know whence this comes; yet every time good and truth are conjoined, peace and tranquillity follow, and this is a sabbath.

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There is an interesting number which tells us from where those spirits come who induce these temptations. The teaching is this:

     "When a man is being tempted he is also near hell, especially the hell which is signified by 'the sea Suph,' for in this hell are they who have been in the memory knowledge of truth but in a life of evil, and thereby in falsities derived from evil. From these hells, through spirits, those things flow in which bring anxiety upon man in temptation."** AC 8131.

     Instead of temptations being a discouragement to man they should be an encouragement. The fact that they are being induced shows that he has started on the way of regeneration; for there are no temptations, that is, spiritual temptations, where there is nothing spiritual, since there is then nothing that evil spirits can attack in man. We read:

     "No one can be tempted unless he is in the acknowledgment, and at the same time in the affection, of truth and good, because there is otherwise no combat, for there is nothing spiritual to act against what is natural, thus there is no contest for dominion."*
     *AC 3928. Cf. AC 4299.

     "Temptations exist with those who have conscience, that is, with those who are in spiritual love; but more grievous ones with those who have perception, that is, with those who are in celestial love."*
     *AC 1668.

     This explains to us that the more interior is the degree of good with man, the more grievous is the quality of his temptations. Temptations increase in severity according to the degree of the love that is being attacked; hence we can realize how grievous the Lord's temptations must have been, for He was the Divine love itself and His love was for the salvation of the human race.
     We read that in the state of despair brought on by temptations man speaks bitter things, but the Lord does not attend to them.* When in temptation man has a tendency to pray that the temptation may be stopped. He does not know that in so doing he is praying against his own salvation; for if the temptation were to cease before it had run its course, the end for which it was permitted, namely, his salvation, would not be effected. Therefore, as we read, the Lord does not give much attention to such prayers, since they are out of order.
     *See AC 8165.

     "Those who are in temptations are wont to slack their hands and betake themselves solely to prayers, which they then ardently pour forth, not knowing that prayers will not avail, but that they must fight against the falsities and evils which are being injected by the hells. . . . For this reason, moreover, the prayers of those who are in temptations are but little heard; for the Lord wills the end, which is salvation."*
     * AC 8179.

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     We should not pray that the temptation may pass, but that we may have strength to fight it. Temptations do not come only once but many times during man's life in the body, for there are many evils and falsities to be removed. We read:

     "They who are regenerated undergo temptations not once only, but many times, because many evils and falsities are to be removed."*
     * AC 8403.

     If man's hereditary evils were removed all at once his life would be destroyed. His evils must be removed gradually, and goods must take their place gradually. That is what is meant in the internal sense by these words:

     "I will not drive them out from before thee in one year; lest the land become desolate, and the beast of the field multiply against thee."*
     *Exodus 23: 29.

     Man should beware that if he falls in temptation his latter state will be worse than the former. That is what is meant by these words of the Lord:

     "When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first."*
     * Luke 11: 14-26.

     Temptations do not take place only in this world, they take place also in the world of spirits. False things which the man had believed on earth, and filthy thoughts, intentions and actions, tend to obscure or obliterate whatever truths he had learned and whatever goods he had been imbued with in the world. These lie as it were hidden, and they can be brought forth only by infestations, as we read:
     
     "Such infestation is permitted to the end that falsities may be removed, and truths insinuated, which cannot be done without infestation. . . . And this being so, it must needs be that there cling to him things foul and filthy, and also evil and false, from his life in the world; and which cause the truths which the man has also learned, and the goods which he has imbued, to be hidden."*
     * AC 7122.

     There are also temptations of little children in the spiritual world. Although they have no actual evils, as adults do, little children are equally in evil, and, like the angels, are withheld from evil. About their temptations we read:

     "I have talked with angels about little children, whether they are free from evils, inasmuch as they have no actual evil as adults have; and I was told that they are equally in evil, and, in fact, are nothing but evil; but, like all angels, they are withheld from evil and held in good by the Lord so as to seem to themselves to be in good from themselves.

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For this reason when children have become adults in heaven, that they may not have the false idea about themselves that the good in them is from themselves and not from the Lord, they are now and then let down into their evils which they have inherited, and are left in them until they know, acknowledge and believe the truth of the matter."*
     * HH 342.

     This passage brings to remembrance the important teaching of the Writings that in shunning evils as sins against God, man must do so as if from himself, but believe that it is from the Lord. If this is lacking, man develops the idea of merit. He thinks that he is wise and good from himself. He thinks that he is a wonderful creature, and starts to look down upon others as being nothing in comparison with himself. He becomes a worshiper of self. This is a very dangerous attitude; it destroys everything heavenly in man. Therefore the Lord takes the greatest care that infants in heaven are made to know and acknowledge the truth that they are good only from the Lord and not from themselves.
     The combat in temptations is on different levels. Those who are of the spiritual church are tempted as to the truths of faith, wherefore with them the combat is by means of truths. But the men of the celestial church are tempted as to the goods of love, wherefore with them the combat is by goods.*
     * See AC 1668.
     Unless the spiritual mind is opened man cannot be regenerated. This is because the Lord acts from the interiors into the exteriors, and there the evils are subjugated and removed, as is described in the following number:

     "The internal spiritual man is opened and conjoined with the external by means of temptations, because the Lord acts from the interior, and flows in thence into the external, and removes and subjugates the evils therein, and at the same time subjects and renders it subordinate to the internal."*
     * AC 10,685.

     Evils and falsities are only removed, subdued and separated; they are not abolished or exterminated. When good and truth flow into the center of man's life, the evils that occupied the center before are removed to the circumference, and lie there helpless and unable to do any harm. That is what is meant by these words in Isaiah:

     "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.. . . They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain."*
     * Isaiah 11: 6, 9.

     In temptation man ought to compel himself to resist as if of himself, but believe that he does so from the Lord, for in no other way can a heavenly proprium be received. Without man's effort to resist, the heavenly proprium cannot possibly be given.

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How can a man expect to obtain that proprium if he hangs his hands down and waits for immediate help? Without a conscious effort on his part it is impossible for him to have this new proprium.
     We must fight against the evils and falsities in ourselves of which we become aware; the Lord does the rest for man. It is not expected of man that he shall do anything more than that which lies within his power.
     In conclusion, let me summarize as follows:

     1) Temptations are necessary for man's salvation, since good and truth cannot be conjoined without temptations.
     2) Man ought to fight as if of himself, and yet believe that it is from the Lord that he fights.
     3) If man fights from himself he conquers nothing, because all power over the hells belongs to the Lord alone.
     4) Man must not yield in temptation; if he does, his latter state becomes worse than the first.
     5) The Lord is present with man in temptation more than at any other time, although the appearance is otherwise. Furthermore, the Lord does not suffer man to be tempted more than he can bear. Hence these words in the Lord's Prayer: "Lead us not into temptation."

     [EDITORIAL NOTE. The Rev. Benjamin I. Nzimande is assistant to the superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa. Inaugurated into the priesthood in 1938, and ordained into the second degree ten years later, he serves as pastor of the Deepdale and Bulwer Districts, Natal. The address published above was delivered to the Ministers' Meetings at Kent Manor, Zululand, in 1962.]
REVELATOR TESTIFIES 1963

REVELATOR TESTIFIES              1963

     "In such ignorance at the present day are they who are of the church that what is related concerning the celestial and spiritual is scarcely comprehensible to them. Be it so; nevertheless, as it has been granted me of the Lord's Divine mercy to be at the same time in heaven as a spirit and on earth as a man, and therefore to speak with angels, and this now continually for many years, I cannot do otherwise than open those things of the Word which are called mystical, that is, its interiors, which are the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord's kingdom" (Arcana Coelestia 4923e).

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DO WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER? 1963

DO WE LOOK FOR ANOTHER?       Rev. DANIEL W. HEINRICHS       1963

     Throughout the Lord's life the Jews repeatedly raised the question of His genuineness and disputed His claim to Divinity. To the sight of the eye He appeared like any other man. What right, then, had He to claim that He came down from heaven? Had not the prophet Daniel prophesied that the Son of Man would appear in the clouds of heaven?* True, he performed many miracles and cast out many devils, but, they said: "This fellow doth not cast out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils."** Others said: "When Christ cometh, no man knoweth whence He is."*** "Howbeit we know this man whence He is."**** Yet others said: "Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, whence David was?"*****
     * Daniel 7: 13, 14.
     ** Matt. 12: 25.
     *** John 7: 27.
     **** Ibid.
     ***** John 7: 41. 42.
     It will be observed that those who disputed the Lord's claim appealed to two things to support their objections: 1) the Scriptures, and 2) their own limited knowledge and experience. "Is not this . . . the son of Joseph?"* Had they been open-minded and willing to investigate, they would have found ample evidence to support His claim that He was the Son of God and not the son of Joseph. "Shall Christ come out of Galilee?"* Had they, with open minds, enquired into the place of His birth they could have easily convinced themselves that He was indeed born in Bethlehem of the house of David. But their minds were not open. They were interested in confirming their own preconceived ideas concerning the Messiah, and any evidence which was advanced on the Lord's behalf they rejected out of hand without proper scrutiny, passing judgment according to external appearances.
     * John 6: 42.
     ** John 7: 41.
     An examination of the Gospel record reveals another interesting and significant fact. Those who questioned the Lord's Divinity can be divided into three classes: 1) those who were sincerely interested in finding out if they could accept Him for what He claimed to be; 2) those whose minds were closed through ignorance, prejudice and blind adherence to the opinions of the leaders of the church-the Scribes and Pharisees of whom the Lord said, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind.

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And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch";* and 3) the leaders themselves who saw that acknowledgment of the Lord's genuineness meant the end of their own power. This they were not willing to jeopardize "for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."**
     * Matt. 15: 14.
     ** John 12: 43.
     We have an example of the first class of person in the nobleman who had a sick son at the point of death. He came and besought the Lord to come and heal his son. To him the Lord said: "Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe."* The man still desired that He should heal his son; so the Lord told him to go his way, for his son lived. When the man heard later from his servants that the fever left his son at the same hour as the Lord had spoken to him, it is recorded that he believed and his whole house with him.
     * John 4: 48.
     ** John 4: 53.

     He was, in a manner, testing the Lord, for the Lord perceived his unbelief. But he was sincere in his desire to believe, so the Lord gave him the evidence which would convince him. We have also the example of the woman of Samaria at the well of Jacob. There was a doubt in her mind also, but she listened to what the Lord had to say and came to see Him as the promised Messiah. Again, we have the example of the man with a child possessed of a devil. The Lord told him that if he could believe, his son would be cured. The man cried out: "Lord, I believe; help Thou mine unbelief."* The child was then cured. From these examples it is clear that all who were in doubt but were willing to be convinced were given to see that the Lord was who He claimed to be. The disciple Nathaniel is another example. His initial reaction to Philip's statement that they had found the Messiah was one of doubt, even skepticism. He said: "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?"** But he agreed to Philip's invitation to, "come and see." The evidence presented to him was sufficient, for Nathaniel replied to the Lord: "Rabbi, Thou are the Son of God."***
     * Mark 9: 24.
     ** John 1: 46.
     *** John 1:49.

     We have an example of the second class in the Jews who boasted of their being descendants of Abraham. When the Lord showed them that they were not true to the principles which Abraham followed, they took up stones to cast at Him.* They had questioned His Divinity. He did His best to show that He was the Messiah; seeking not His own glory, but the glory of God. But because of their prejudices, conceit and blindness, they rejected Him.

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Their rejection of Him stemmed not from His being false but from their being unwilling to give up their preconceived ideas of how the Messiah would come.
     * John 8: 59.

     The Scribes and Pharisees, the chief priests and lawyers, are examples of the third type. They were able to read and were learned in the law. Because the masses of the people did not possess these advantages they were completely dependent on these rulers for their instruction in God's Word. They in turn loved this power and exploited their position to maintain it. When they saw that many people ceased to follow them and began to follow the Lord, they sought every occasion to discredit Him and even put Him to death; if possible, by legal means. Thus we are told in John: "Then gathered the chief priests and Pharisees a council and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If we let Him alone, all men will believe in Him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation. . . . From that day forth they took council together for to put Him to death."* Although they repeatedly questioned Him in regard to His claims of Divinity they were not interested in determining whether His claims were justified or not. They were interested only in maintaining their positions of power, and the confidence of their Roman overseers. In questioning the Lord they sought only to disprove His claims. To these, and those of the second type, the Lord said: "Why do ye not understand My speech? Even because ye cannot hear My Word. . . . And because I tell you the truth, ye believe Me not. Which of you convinceth Me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe Me? He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God."**
     * 11: 47, 48, 53 [Italics added.]
     ** John 9: 43, 45-57.
     All who came into contact with the Lord were faced with a choice. Was He, as He claimed, the Son of God? Or was He, as He appeared, an ordinary man-the son of Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth? Had the coming of the Savior taken place in Him, or was it yet to come? That was the issue that had to be faced, and those were the alternatives.

     Today the same situation obtains. There is in existence a well defined set of volumes which claim to be a Divine revelation. They claim to be the Lord in His second advent. The claim is true or it is false. Whether we have been born and raised in the church which acknowledges these doctrines as Divine, or whether we have come upon them in later life, we are ultimately confronted with this decision. Are the Writings a Divine revelation constituting the Lord's promised second advent? Or are they, as they externally appear, the works of their human agent, Emanuel Swedenborg?

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     If they are the latter, then, no matter how learned, enlightened and useful they may be, they have no authority. If on the other hand, they are what they claim to be-a Divine Revelation of the Lord in His second coming-then we ignore or reject them at our peril. The question arises: How are we to know whether they are what they claim to be or not? How can we judge? Is it possible to arrive at an absolute conviction as to their authenticity? We shall address ourself to these questions.
     In regard to the first question: How are we to know whether they are what they claim to be? One thing is certain. We cannot know unless we give them a reasonable examination. As Christians we know that the genuineness of the Lord's claim could not be determined by judging appearances or by superficial acquaintance. Outwardly He appeared like any other man. To all those who knew the family, Joseph appeared to be His father. To judge the Lord's claim fairly and accurately it was necessary that they hear the doctrine which He taught. The Lord said to those who questioned His Divinity: "My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true and no unrighteousness is in Him."*
     * John 7: 16-18
     The same principle applies to judging the claim which the Writings make for themselves. Just as the Lord externally appeared like any other man, so the Writings externally appear like any other books. As Joseph appeared to be the Lord's father, so Swedenborg appears to be the author of the Writings. But the Lord said: "Judge not according to the appearance but judge righteous judgment."* That is, judge according to truth. To be judged fairly and accurately, the Writings, like the Lord, must be judged by the doctrine which they teach. Do they promote a wise, moderate, good and useful life, or do they promote selfishness and lead towards evil? Do they turn men's minds toward God and the eternal purposes of life, or do they focus attention on the human instrument who made them manifest? Do they seek the glory of God or that of their human agent? These questions can be answered only by an honest and open-minded examination of the doctrines which they teach.
     * John 7: 24.
     The Lord has given us another standard by which we may judge the claim of Divinity or Divine authorship. John the Baptist said to those of his disciples who would have placed him above Jesus, "He must increase but I must decrease. . . . He that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth; He that cometh from heaven is above all. And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony. He that hath received His testimony hath set to his seal that God is true.

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For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the spirit by measure unto Him."*
     * John 3: 30-34.
     Do the Writings speak of earthly things, or do they speak of spiritual things and testify to the wonders of heavenly life? Do those who receive the testimony of the Writings have a vague, weak and wandering faith in God, or is their faith strong and abiding-have they set to their seal that God is true? Again, an honest answer cannot be given to these questions upon a superficial examination or acquaintance.
     In warning the people against being misled by false claims to Divine authority, the Lord said: "Beware of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits."* Here again, we are warned against judging by the appearance-the clothing. It is the interiors, the teaching, that reveals their real quality. "Ye shall know them by their fruits." What are the fruits of life that the teachings of the Writings would inspire and bring forth? Do they teach a life of self-indulgence and irresponsibility? Do they undermine the laws of order and morality? Do they countenance deceit, hypocrisy and slothful life? Do they advocate the pleasures of the body and the world, at the expense of those of the soul and mind? Or do they teach a life of chastity and order? Do they encourage a life of actual service to God, our country, our community and our fellow men? Do they strengthen and support the commandments of the Decalogue? Do they teach us to look in all things to what is eternal? Do they teach us to act with judgment and mercy? Once again, a superficial examination will not supply just answers to these questions.
     * Matt. 7: 15, 16.
     To the Jews the Lord said: "He that believeth on Me, believeth not on Me, but on Him that sent Me. And he that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me. I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on Me should not abide in darkness. . . For I have not spoken of Myself; but the Father which sent Me. He gave Me a commandment what I should say and what I should speak, and I know that His commandment is life everlasting."* Compare this statement with the final one in the True Christian Religion, number 779, where we read: "That the Lord manifested Himself before me, His servant, and sent me to this office, that He afterward opened the eyes of my spirit and thus introduced me into the spiritual world and granted me to see the heavens and the hells, and to talk with angels and spirits, and this now continuously for several years, I affirm in truth; as also that from the first day of that call I have not received anything whatever pertaining to the doctrines of that church from any angel, but from the Lord alone while I have read the Word."

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     * John 12: 44-46, 49, 50.
     Do the doctrines which the Writings contain lead to a belief in Swedenborg or the Lord? Do we see in their teaching the imperfection of man or the perfection of God? Do they throw light upon our purposes, uses, and relationships, or do they throw these into obscurity? Is their commandment temporal life in the world, or life everlasting?
     There is only one way to determine fairly the answers to these questions, and that is to examine the doctrines themselves and not rely on what men say of them. For the Lord said "I receive not testimony from man."* The Writings are either true or false regardless of what men say about them. We err greatly, therefore, if we judge of them on the testimony of men.
     * John 5: 34.
     From a knowledge of those who received the Lord in His first advent we may see how we can determine whether the Writings are His second advent. We may approach them with doubt, but not a negative doubt or a closed mind. We must be willing to be convinced if the internal evidence supports such a belief. If we are lovers of truth, searching for truth, then the Lord will enlighten our eyes. If falsity is presented we will detect it, and when truth is presented we will recognize and embrace it. "Blessed are those servants, whom the Lord when He cometh shall find watching."*
     *Luke 12: 37.
FUTURE: CURIOSITY OR TRUST? 1963

FUTURE: CURIOSITY OR TRUST?              1963

     "A longing to know things future is innate with most people; but this longing has its origin in a love of evil, and is therefore taken away from those who believe in the Divine Providence; and there is given them a trust that the Lord is directing their lot, and consequently they have no wish to know beforehand what it will be, lest they should in some way interfere with the Divine Providence. This is taught by the Lord in a variety of ways in Luke 12: 14-48.
     "That this is a law of the Divine Providence can be shown by many things in the spiritual world. Many persons when they enter that world after death wish to know their lot. They are told that if they have lived well their lot is in heaven, if they have lived wickedly it is in hell. But as everyone fears hell, even the evil, they ask what they must do and what they must believe to gain entrance to heaven; and the answer is that while they can do and believe as they will, they may be sure that in hell good is not done or truth believed, but only in heaven" (Divine Providence 179: 1, 2).

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our readings from the Arcana Coelestia this month we find the following statement concerning the man who is being reformed and regenerated: "the more of truth there is insinuated, the more is the life of charity perfected; wherefore according to the quality and quantity of truth, so is the charity with a man."*
     * No. 2189: 2.
     This teaching is most important for the life of the church, and one that deserves our closest thought and attention; for we live in an age which is pregnant with the denial that charity, or good, depend on the quality and quantity of truth. On every side we hear the modern gospel: "It does not matter what a man's religious convictions are, as long as he does good"; or, "a man need not know what is true in order to do what is good." It is expressed in different ways; sometimes the assertion is deeply hidden, more often it is blatant and apparent.

     So much does this falsity appeal to the loves of self and the world within us that the very hells rise up to embrace it. In countless ways the hells inflow through its presence in our minds, seeking whatever means they can find to confirm it: to confirm it, and thereby destroy the Lord's presence with us, and the only means of His establishing His New Church in our hearts and minds. From our perverted heredity we incline to lackadaisical, indolent and lazy attitudes concerning the necessity of learning truths. In our early adult years, when the learning of truth is apt to be somewhat casual, the hells focus our thoughts on general statements, taken out of context, so that they may be used to confirm falsities. A favorite expression used to minimize the importance of learning truth is: "After all, the life of religion is to do what is good."* Some will complain that the knowledges of truth do not make a man good, and thus excuse themselves from learning those knowledges. Some will regard individuals, or communities of other New Church men, and not seeing the charity or the good of heaven they expect to find, will foster, or perhaps confirm themselves in, a belief that the learning of truth is not so important after all!
     * See Life 1.
     Now it is true that a man can do a certain kind of good without having the knowledges of spiritual truth from the Word.

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This is called "gentile good." It can be formed with any man of any religious faith who acknowledges a Supreme Being and strives to obey what he believes to be true. Through such good the Lord can hold man in such a state that, after death, he can be regenerated, having then been taught the spiritual truths of heaven. But it should be noted that such good is not spiritual; it is not true charity. Because it does not have the light of truth from which to see it is confused, often foolish and lacking in judgment, and is easily led astray unknowingly. It is not the good that is to constitute the life of the New Church.
     It is also true that the knowledge of spiritual truth does not bring man automatically into spiritual good. A man may have all possible knowledges from the Word, and still become a devil! But these considerations do not in the least take away from the primary teaching of the Writings that man must have the knowledge of spiritual truth before spiritual good can be born. No good can ever be formed except through a truth; that is the universal law, and one we must never tamper with or forget. Man cannot even know what spiritual good is until he is taught by the Lord through the learning of truth. That is why all truths are called "knowledges of good."*
     * AC 3680.
     For a man to enter into the life of the New Church, which is spiritual charity and good, he must first acquire the means whereby that life can be formed in him. That is why the Writings teach that nothing "is of more importance to a man than to know what is true."* To have the means to be of the church, we must learn and study the truths of the Heavenly Doctrine; and if we use them as the Lord directs, then it will be true with us that "the more of truth there is insinuated, the more is the life of charity perfected; wherefore according to the quality and quantity of truth, so is the charity with a man."
     *AC 794.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1963

     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Pittsburgh Society, effective September 1, 1963. Mr. Asplundh is assistant to the present pastor of the Pittsburgh Society, the Rev. Louis B. King, who has been called as pastor by the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois.

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REVIEW 1963

REVIEW              1963

     THE SPIRITUAL DIARY. By Emanuel Swedenborg. (Volume 1, nos. 1-1538) Translated by W. H. and A. W. Acton. The Swedenborg Society (Inc.), London, 1962. Cloth, pp. 448.

     This volume of the Spiritual Diary has long been out of print and virtually unobtainable for the English reader. Its republication in a new translation is therefore a noteworthy event in the annals of the Swedenborg Society, and one not less to be acclaimed because it has been so long awaited. The translation was first made in draft form by the Rev. W. H. Acton, who devoted many years of labor to the work but did not have time to prepare his translation for the press. Upon his death, the Rev. A. W. Acton, who had served as his consultant, was asked to be responsible for the translation. This, he found, necessitated his going over the entire work afresh; a task in which he acknowledges the valued assistance of the Rev. F. F. Coulson, who was appointed his consultant.

     The translation under review is based on the Latin edition of Diarii Spiritualis, published 1843-1846, but comparison with the phototype edition of the manuscript published in 1901 suggested several hundred new readings a few of which are major changes. As noted by the translator, Swedenborg did not prepare the Spiritual Diary for publication, and the very nature of the work-especially the first volume-makes the translator's work one of unusual difficulty. It is not for nothing that translation has been called the art of frustration, and here we find obscure and abbreviated passages which tax scholarship considerably. Yet it would seem that while certain readings may be questioned in the future-and to translate at all is to invite criticism-the aim to carry over the style as well as the accurate meaning of the original has been well achieved; and there will surely be no doubt that the present translation is superior to the previous English one made by Professor George Bush and the Rev. J. H. Smithson and published in 1883 by James Spiers of London. The vocabulary and style are, with occasional lapses, far less Latinized, with the result that the text reads more smoothly and is more in agreement with good modern English, while there is no sacrifice of accuracy in rendering in English what Swedenborg wrote.
     In addition to dealing fairly and skillfully with the text, the translator and his consultant have furnished the work with several scholarly helps.

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A general preface to the Spiritual Diary and a special preface to the first volume contain much background, explanatory and descriptive material that will be helpful to the serious student. There is a list of amended readings of the Latin text, notes and comments on the Latin text, a list of Swedish words and phrases, information concerning the dates and order of writing of the "missing numbers," compiled by the Rev. F. F. Coulson, and an index of words and subjects compiled from the section headings-all presented in a series of appendixes. The text includes a reconstruction of the "missing numbers" (1-148) derived from entries in the index prepared by Swedenborg himself.
     
     While the translators are to be congratulated unstintingly on their scholarly achievement, it must be noted that the work is marred by some editorial defects and deficiencies. The title page fails to indicate that this is volume one of the Spiritual Diary and not the entire work. The reader who removes the jacket will find that information on the spine of the book; but it is not where it should be, and the omission, together with the inclusion of an index, might lead to confusion. It would be more in accord with scholarly practice to list in the preliminary matter Latin editions and previous translations, with dates and the names of editors and translators. In view of the fact that there are two prefaces and seven appendixes, a table of contents would have been welcome; as it is, the reader must page through the entire volume to find out exactly what is in it. The make-up of the Index of Words and Subjects could be improved. The subentries are set flush with the margin and in small capitals; they would be much easier to find if they had been indented and set in boldface. Finally, the type and paper leave something to be desired; the impression does not seem always to be uniform, and the type on the reverse of a page shows through, resulting in a loss of clarity.
     These defects are mentioned only in the hope that some of them at least may be remedied in future volumes, for we trust that the translator and his consultant may be encouraged to continue with their work. Although the remaining four volumes of the Spiritual Diary appear in better dress, the Swedenborg Society's commendable policy of making good modern English translations might well be extended to them. The New Church is in debt to the late Rev. W. H. Acton for his careful work, and to the Rev. Messrs. A. W. Acton and F. F. Coulson for the worthy manner in which they have continued it. If they should choose to place us further in their debt, or if that option should be taken up by others, the obligation is one that will be gladly acknowledged.

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FAITH FOR THE YEARS 1963

FAITH FOR THE YEARS       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     The faith of the New Church has as its very being, confidence in the Lord God the Savior, Jesus Christ, and trust that he who lives well and believes aright will be saved by Him. Confidence and trust are by no means peculiar to the New Church. That which makes them to be its faith is truth from the Word. Until they are put to the test, it is easy for men to have confidence and trust that the Lord will do for them that which their hearts desire. It is only as men approach the Lord, learn truths from the Word, and live according to them that they can be given a confidence and trust that will not be shaken by the failure of their plans, the frustration of their ambitions, and the denial of that upon which they have set their hearts.
     Genuine confidence and trust are given beyond the limits of human foresight and prudence. They are grounded in the faith of love in the unfailing operations of the Lord's Divine Providence. It is entirely proper for men to hope and plan for the future, and natural for them, in weighing the signs of the times, to regard certain possibilities as conducive to their welfare and others as inimical to it. It is spiritual to have a calm assurance that whatever may be the impact on their lives of history's unfolding, the Lord will bring about that which is conducive to their spiritual welfare, if they will but believe in Him and try to live according to His commandments. It is not given to us to know what a new year may bring, but in this we may find a faith for the year, and for all the years of our lives: that if we trust in the Lord and in His ways, He will do that which is best for us and for His church.

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SCOPE OF EVANGELIZATION 1963

SCOPE OF EVANGELIZATION       Editor       1963

     It has become fashionable among certain New Church writers to intimate that only two courses lie before us: to carry the new gospel into the world, or to wither and die in selfish concern for the perpetuation of our ecclesiastical bodies. But is that a fair statement of the case? We think not. It entirely ignores a third possibility-that of seeking to develop the organized church spiritually as a strong center in which, and from which, the work of evangelization may be done.
     To say that the organized body is not the church, while true, is no more helpful than to assert that the physical body is not the man. All New Church men would agree with that. Man is a spirit. Yet without a body, material or spiritual, through which uses may be performed, he would not be man at all! The man who neglects his physical and mental health is imposing limits upon his ability to perform uses to others; and if he neglects also his moral and spiritual development, the quality of his uses must fall far short of what was intended in his creation.

     The church itself is a spiritual communion consisting of those men and women in whom the church is. But the organized body is the ultimate within which that communion dwells, and as an instrument in the hands of the Lord it indeed has a responsibility to spread the knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrine wherever it seems likely that this knowledge will be received. Yet that does not exhaust the scope of evangelization. The church has also a duty, through education, to evangelize its children and young people who, although within the church, are not yet of it; and history shows that those who have been most zealous in promoting the church's mission to the world have often neglected that important field.
     Furthermore, if the work of evangelization is to be done from spiritual motives, for spiritual ends, and through the means revealed by the Lord, there is an internal evangelization that must go on continually in the church itself. Those who regard the Writings primarily as something to be given to others, and about which they need not concern themselves unduly, are not likely to succeed as evangelists. If the work is to be the Lord's, the men and women of the church must concern themselves regularly with learning, understanding and trying to live the truth of the Writings. Then, and then only, can they offer that truth to others from a burning conviction that it is the Word of life. If the work of internal evangelization is to progress, there must also be those who engage in profound study of the doctrines. Where the full scope of evangelization is thus utilized there will be a living church: not one which lives to itself alone, or questions its value, but which serves vital uses.

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INQUIRING MIND 1963

INQUIRING MIND       Editor       1963

     Anyone who browses through the Memorabilia must be impressed by the frequency with which a spiritual experience is introduced in this way. Swedenborg relates that he observed at a distance a group of angels or spirits engaged in discussion, or else that he saw and heard strange sights and sounds; and then says that, being filled with a strong desire to know what was being talked about, or what was meant by these unusual happenings, he drew near. The result was the imparting to him of some arcanum of angelic wisdom, or some enrichment of his knowledge and understanding of the laws, life and phenomena of the spiritual world.
     It may be trite to say that if Swedenborg had not possessed that intense interest in what was going on around him in the spiritual world those particular experiences would have passed him by: yet what is trite may nevertheless be true. Although he was indeed the servant of the Lord, Swedenborg observed, questioned, thought and wrote as if of himself; and one of the characteristics that fitted him for his unique use, and that was of inestimable help in preparing him for it, was an active and inquiring mind. Swedenborg's life in both worlds was marked by a lively interest in the realm of ideas and a keen desire to understand the meaning of what he learned. This was far from being idle or restless curiosity. It was the ardent and sustained desire of a man who, dedicated to the search for truth, explored with eagerness and sagacity everything that held promise of leading to it.

     Those who would enter into the truth revealed by the Lord through Swedenborg may well ponder the necessity of cultivating the inquiring mind-of developing a lively interest in learning. There is no more effective impediment to the entrance of knowledge and truth into the mind than complete indifference to the opportunities for learning that present themselves. Where there is interest, obstacles will eventually be overcome; but an entire lack of interest is self-defeating.
     The Lord speaks to men continually in His Word, but unless they are moved by an ardent desire to draw near they will never hear what He is saying. He speaks to men also in the preaching and teaching of the Word, but they will never learn what the Word has to say to them there if they do not have sufficient interest to find out by drawing near. He speaks to them, too, through other men, but, if they are indifferent to what others have learned and understood from the Writings, much that is of value will pass them by entirely. The invitation to learning is extended constantly by the Lord; but it is given to those who must act as of themselves, and it is therefore accepted only by the inquiring mind.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

     A year has passed since our last report. That year was highlighted by a number of "firsts." We were able to welcome Bishop Willard D. Pendleton on two occasions; our Sunday school building was completed and dedicated to its uses; and we had an exchange of ministers one Sunday, the Rev. Harold Cranch going to San Diego while the Rev. Douglas Taylor conducted service in our chapel.
     The completion of the Sunday school building has made it less difficult to perform and participate in the many uses of a society. We have services and Sunday school every Sunday in the year. Friday supper and doctrinal class are enjoyed once a month in the Sunday school building; on other Fridays doctrinal classes are held at various places in Southern California. Theta Alpha, the Sons of the Academy and the Epsilon Society are all functioning with various activities.
     Recently we welcomed the Aye and Zecher families to our circle. We have no statistical proof, but believe that our guest list was the longest we have ever had. Certainly our visitors were too numerous to be listed. The exception must be Candidate Kurt Nemitz. We did enjoy having him for one Sunday.
     A.M. NICKEL

     SOUTH OHIO

     The South Ohio Circle is proud to report a population of ninety members and affiliates, including forty-seven adults and forty-three children, all learning under the instruction of the indefatigable Reverend David Holm. Monthly services in Glendale (Cincinnati), Ohio, are attended regularly by the five New Church families in Glendale, and occasionally by more far-flung Buckeyes, Hoosiers, and Blue Grass believers.
     In addition to his work in Glendale, our pastor keeps up with a busy itinerary which takes him to each outlying member of the circle in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana, once every six weeks. His pastoral visits include services, doctrinal instruction for the adults, and religion lessons for the children. The General Church Religion Lessons Committee's mimeographed material is the basis for the children's instruction, and the children respond with affection and eagerness to their individual tutorial meetings with the pastor.
     The South Ohio Circle is widespread, and when almost all of us convened at Glendale last July 1st for an annual meeting and celebration of New Church Day, it was estimated that the total miles traveled amounted nearly to a trip to the North Pole. We were happy to be in Glendale, however, instead of at the North Pole, for after church we enjoyed a sumptuous picnic lunch, complete with games for young and old, on the spacious lawn of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Fries. The Circle meeting ensued, idyllically, on the lawn, after the presentation of New Church Day gifts to the children.
     On the weekend of September 22-23, we again gathered in Glendale for our first episcopal visit from Bishop Pendleton. The residents of Glendale hospitably opened their homes and arranged various social gatherings during the weekend, so that the visitors could meet informally with the Bishop and with one another. The children of the Circle visited with the Bishop on Saturday afternoon, and in the evening there was a banquet and an episcopal address. Bishop Pendleton preached at the Communion Service on Sunday morning.
     Taken all together, the South Ohio Circle comprises a sizeable group of New Church people, though many of us are, day by day, out of association with other members of the church.

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There is a certain loneliness in this isolation, and yet it emphasizes the ubiquity of the New Church. And while some of us may look back nostalgically down the roads which we have followed away from New Church centers, we also look hopefully about us and find many fine people to whom it may be our privilege to extend the Divine revelation given to the church.
     DAVID F. GLADISH

     DURBAN, NATAL

     During the month of March the social committee arranged another film show for us in the church hall. The film, Laughter in Paradise, was obviously enjoyed by all, if we may judge by the peals of laughter that echoed round the hall during the screening.
     Danny and Mim Heinrichs arrived back during that month, and instead of the usual doctrinal class we had a welcome-back tea at the home of the Rev. and Mrs. Wynne Acton. Danny gave us a resume of their trip, telling us how he had enjoyed and benefited from discussions and meetings with members of the church in the United States, Canada and England. He mentioned how busy he had been answering questions from ex-Durbanites, and from members and relatives now studying in the United States. Needless to say, we kept Danny busy answering questions late into the night as we sought news and views of the Bryn Athyn Society.
     Saturday, May 26, saw the first of the traveling banquets to be held in the Society. We started off with cocktails at one home, then adjourned to various homes throughout the evening for the different courses, and what a success it was! The Perrys opened their home to us for soup, and from there the contingent of cars traveled to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Schuurman and the Wally Lowe home; the final course being at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Brown, where the teenagers danced until well into the early hours of the morning.
     Once more our New Church Day was celebrated with a banquet at the Durban High School Old Boys Club. The hall was attractively decorated with red poinsettias and white gladioli, and candles adorned the tables. After a delicious meal, all members joined in toasting the Church, Bishop Pendleton and absent friends. The toastmaster, the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs, read telegrams from various friends who, even if they are scattered to the four corners of the world, were with us in spirit on that New Church Day. The subject for the evening was "New Church Education." Mr. Fred Parker delivered an interesting and informative speech on "New Church Education in the Home," stating that while the church is the main source of religious instruction, the home is the place where the example is set, family worship is held, and instruction is given throughout the day. Dr. Willard Mansfield followed with a dynamic and thought-provoking paper on "Formal New Church Education." Dr. Mansfield pointed out that out of forty children born into the church only ten remain within the church as active members. How could we argue, he reasoned, that formal New Church education is unnecessary? He then went on to quote passages from the Writings, and then explained that anyone who had not been taught to study the Writings would not have a hope of understanding a single sentence from some of the passages in the Writings. He suggested that each member of the Society increase their subscription to enable us to support another teacher and thus increase Kainon School to Standard Five level. He realized that there were numerous problems to contend with, but stated that where there was a will there was a way. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton concluded the program with a conscience-stirring paper on "Adult New Church Education" in which he said that the only way to increase one's knowledge of the Writings is to read them diligently, and attend not only church services but doctrinal classes as well. He pointed out also that the young people of the church should attend the doctrinal classes, and learn to make doing so a habit.

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We ended the banquet with the singing of "Our Glorious Church." Music was then laid on, and we danced until midnight.
     The children's banquet was held on the Sunday preceding the 19th. The children sat down to a delicious meal of vegetables, a spicy meat loaf and gravy, and there were four papers given by the older children. There were five new faces at the banquet, which shows that the church is growing.
     On June 27, all members and friends of the Society were grieved to hear of the instantaneous death of Ian Parker. It is difficult for our finite minds to understand why a young man beginning a life in the world which held such promise should be suddenly taken, but we are fortunate in having the assurance that the eternal use for which he was created will nevertheless be continued in the other world. We are reminded of the teaching that "all things, nay the leasts of all things, are directed by the Providence of the Lord, even as to the very least steps. . . . There is no such thing as chance, and whatever appears to be accident or fortune is Providence in the ultimate of order."
     The Sons gave us all a most enjoyable evening on Friday, July 27. We started off with a braai in the school grounds, a feature of which was the delicious salads provided. We then adjourned to the hall, where we heard a recorded discussion of various aspects of New Church education by our young people who are now studying in Bryn Athyn. They all remarked on how fortunate they had been in having the opportunity to attend the Academy. The subject was both stimulating and interesting. Willard Mansfield, president of the Sons chapter, then addressed us briefly on the same subject, reminding us of our responsibilities toward Kainon School and envisaging, in the not too distant future, its re-elevation to high school status.
     About seventy members and friends gathered at the hall on Friday, August 16, for the showing of the film Chase a Crooked Shadow. The twist at the end had everyone gasping for breath, and delicious sandwiches and coffee were served by the social committee.
     The annual table tennis tournament was held in the hall on Friday, September 7. As there were not many teenagers present, only two sections were held this year-the men's and women's sections. The tournament was closely contested, and one of the eventual winners was that evergreen of table tennis, Miss Sylvia Pemberton. The final match of the evening was between Mr. M. Cockerell and Mr. J. Levine. Spectators and participants alike were astounded at the skill they displayed. Mr. Cockerell was a most deserving winner. Delicious hot dogs and hot coffee were served during the evening.
     It was nice to welcome Laura Lumsden home after an absence of two years at the Academy of the New Church College in Bryn Athyn. Laura's friends gathered in the hall shortly after her arrival to welcome her home. Mr. Acton said a few words of welcome on behalf of the Society, and in her reply Laura told us how much she had benefited from her stay in Bryn Athyn and what a truly wonderful time she had had in college.
     On October 9, our church hall was transformed into a sidewalk cafe on "Twist Street." Gay tables, white canopies and dim lights helped to create the effect. Tables and chairs were dotted beneath the canopies, and the evening started with a chat and a drink. A supper of curry and rice was served, after which followed some delightful and amusing cabaret acts. There was dancing between these, and all seemed to enjoy themselves very much.
     The children's Hallowe'en party was held in the hall, and, unfortunately, the children had to remain indoors as the weather was miserable. It was evident from the costumes that the mothers of all the children present had been kept very busy. The children loved their games and the treasure hunt, and a delicious supper disappeared in no time at all. The party ended with the traditional peanut scramble.
     SERENE DE CHAZAL

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     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention.-The NEW CHURCH MESSENGER announces that the El Cerrito church is "trying an experiment in Christian living." This Convention society is employing two clergymen-the Rev. David Garrett, a New Church minister, and the Rev. Thomas Grimm, a Presbyterian. For vital church activity, it is stated, the program will emphasize worship, study, mission and fellowship.
     The Journal of the General Convention states that in 1962 that body had 5,223 members and 69 societies, 419 of the members being isolated. There were 64 ministers, 52 of whom were reported through Associations, and 18 licensed lay leaders. No information is given concerning the holding of doctrinal meetings or other activities within societies.

     General Conference.-The statistical table in the Year Book shows that the General Conference had 3899 members in 1961, no figures being given for 1962. There were 56 societies and 19 ministers serving in Great Britain. Forty-one of the societies report that they hold reasonably regular doctrinal meetings, although rarely in these days by that name, and there are only nine societies which have not made some effort to attract newcomers to the church.
     In order to accelerate the work of revising the translation of the Pentateuch, the Old Testament Translation Committee met three times during the last Conference year. The revision is reported to be proceeding satisfactorily.
     The New Testament Translation Committee has considered whether the church requires a special New Church translation, and if so what type of translation. The committee is persuaded that the translation should be made from the Received Text, since the Writings clearly take that text to be the basis of the interior senses of the Word, and is of the opinion that unless the Conference favors such a translation it must abandon the hope of producing a work of any real value to the New Church.

     Australia.- The Melbourne Society has sold its city church and services are being held regularly at the manse pending relocation in a new building. The services are being conducted by the Rev. E. L. Bennett and the Rev. Richard H. Teed, assisted by some of the men of the Society.
     Doctrine of Charity has been selected as the text for the new Correspondence Study Scheme. The notes will be prepared by the Rev. C. V. A. Hasler, president of the Australian Conference and pastor of the Brisbane Society.

     Burma.-The New Church Mission in Burma reports that regular services have been held at Moulmein and Thayagone. A combined Christmas service was attended by more than two hundred persons.

     India.-Although there is no recognized missionary in India at present, informal work continues. Mr. Chetty has started a Swedenborg Society of South India which holds meetings and lends books; Mr. Jaituni distributes books and pamphlets and meets friends for talks in the park; and Mr. Nissanka has an extensive library of New Church books which he lends. These gentlemen have all corresponded with the Conference.
     West Africa.-The Rev. E. R. Goldsack has returned to Nigeria as superintendent of the West African Mission. A number of new stations have been taken into the Mission, which now numbers 48 groups

     SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION

     According to the 1961-1962 Annual Report, the Swedenborg Foundation, since its incorporation in 1850, has sold 563,747 volumes and donated 1,293,066 volumes to libraries and other public institutions, to ministers, theological students and other individuals. In addition, 508,000 copies of Brief Readings have been distributed. During the fiscal year, 11,946 copies of the missionary edition were distributed; 2,966 of these were distributed by colporteurs working in 13 centers located in the United States, Canada and Australia.

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Within the same period, 3,112 copies of the standard edition were printed and bound, and 10,907 copies of the missionary edition of Divine Providence translated by the Rev. William F. Wunsch. Total sales amounted to 8,361 volumes.

     SWEDENBORG SOCIETY

     The 152nd report of the Swedenborg Society mentions total sales in 1961 of 4,279 books and 3,587 booklets, with grants of 550 books and 405 booklets. Volume V of the third Latin edition of Arcana Coelestia was issued in July, 1961, and progress has been made in the preparation of volumes VI and VII. A new translation of the section on Good Works and the Ten Commandments in Apocalypse Explained was issued under the editorial title, Religion and Life. New translations of Last Judgment and Spiritual Diary, volume I, were issued; and a reprint of Doctrine of Uses under the title given to the manuscript by Swedenborg, On the Divine Love and On the Divine Wisdom, is in hand. The regular program of lectures and meetings was continued, and 141 items were added to the Library and Archives.
TWO WAYS, TWO FAITHS 1963

TWO WAYS, TWO FAITHS              1963

     "There are two ways of procuring the truths which are of faith-by means of doctrinal things, and by means of the Word. When man procures them only by doctrinal things, he then has faith in those who have drawn them from the Word, and he confirms them in himself to be true because others have said so; thus he does not believe them from his own faith, but from that of others. But when he procures them for himself from the Word, and thereby confirms them in himself to be true, he then believes them because they are from the Divine, and thus believes them from faith given from the Divine.
     "Everyone who is within the church first procures the truths which are of faith from doctrinal things, and also must so procure them, because he has not yet sufficient strength of judgment to enable him to see them himself from the Word; but in this case these truths are to him nothing but scientifics. But when he is able to view them from his own judgment, if he then does not consult the Word to see from it whether they are true, they remain in him as scientifics; while if he does consult the Word from the affection and end of knowing truths, he then, when he has found them, procures for himself the things of faith from the genuine fountain, and they are appropriated to him from the Divine" (Arcana Coelestia 5402: 2).

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1963

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1963




     Announcements





     JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 3, 1963

Monday, January 28
     3:00 p.m. Meeting of Headmasters
     4:30 p.m. Meeting of Pastors
     8:00 p.m. Meeting of Consistory

Tuesday, January 29
     10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy

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

Thursday, January 31
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy
3:30 p.m. Committee Meetings

Friday, February 1
     10:00 am. Council of the Clergy
     3:00 p.m. Board of Directors of the Corporations of the General Church
     7:00 p.m. Society Supper
          Address by the Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs

Saturday, February 2
     10:00 a.m. Joint Council of the General Church
     3:00 p.m. Corporation of the Academy of the New Church

Sunday, February 3
     11:00 am. Divine Worship
Academy of the New Church 1963

Academy of the New Church              1963

     APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION

     Preliminary letters concerning applications for admission to any of the schools of the Academy of the New Church for the academic year 1963-1964 should reach the Director of Admissions before February 1, 1963. This deadline applies both to new applications and to applications for readmission of students already in attendance. Letters which arrive after this date will be processed after work is completed on those which arrived before the deadline.

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LORD IN HIS DIVINE HUMAN 1963

LORD IN HIS DIVINE HUMAN       Rev. GEOFFREY CHILDS       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
February 1963
No. 2

     [Frontispiece: the Carmel Church Chancel and Building.]
     "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." (Revelation 1: 1)

     The words, "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," are the first in the book of Revelation-that inspired, spiritual diary written by John on the Isle of Patmos. Now it is a revealed law of the Second Coming that the first thing said in any series in the literal Word is the key to all that follows. Here the first words, "the Revelation of Jesus Christ," summarize or epitomize the whole of the Apocalypse; for, first and above all else, the Apocalypse reveals the Lord Jesus Christ, and treats of the qualities of our one and adored Lord. Moreover, of all the books of the literal Word, this last one is especially for the New Church. Its internal-historical sense treats specifically of the new heaven based on the Writings and of the establishment of the New Church on earth; whereas the Old Testament treats, in the internal-historical sense, of the Most Ancient, Ancient, Hebrew and Jewish churches, and the New Testament of the Christian Church.

     What is it that inmostly makes a church? It is its concept of the Lord. Therefore the book of Revelation treats above all else of the Lord as He is revealed to the New Church. Clearly, unforgettably, it portrays the one Lord in His glorified Human. That man's concept of the Lord is what makes the inmost of the church in him is not immediately grasped; it is a primary truth that needs to be reflected upon before it can be seen. Often it is only material things that seem real-the things man can see and touch, can experience with his senses. Ideas often seem to be unreal, theoretical, entirely removed from the basic issues of life. Yet this is not the case. This misconception is the flesh blinding man; for the truth is that the most powerful thing in each man's life is his idea of God.
     Thus, in a memorable relation, angels instructed inquiring spirits that "all who come into heaven have their place allotted them there, and thence eternal joy, according to their idea of God; because this idea reigns universally in everyone and in every particular of worship.

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The idea of an invisible God is not determined to any one, nor does it terminate in any [thing], therefore it ceases and perishes. The idea of God as Spirit, when a spirit is believed to be like ether or wind, is an empty idea. But the idea of God as Man is a just idea; for God is the Divine love and the Divine wisdom, with every quality belonging thereto, and the subject of these is man, and not ether or wind. The idea of God in heaven is the idea of the Lord. He is the God of heaven and earth, as He Himself taught. Let your idea of God be like unto ours [the angels concluded] and we shall be consociated together."*
     * AR 224.
     How can an idea-even an idea of God-be anything real? A first answer to this is that an idea is not real if it is merely a mental thing entirely separated from life and from loves. An intellectual abstraction, remote from love or affection is unreal. But man's inner idea of God cannot be apart from love or hate; it cannot be apart from a dominating affection or emotion. An evil man's idea of God is himself; and this concept is not an unreal or abstract thing. This idea is his very life's love; he himself as a god to be worshiped is the most real thing there is. A good man does not look to himself. He looks outside of himself to what is unselfish and of charity. He looks, in fact, to the source of unselfishness and charity, who is the Lord.

     Man's idea of God, then, is the idea of his life's love. In fact, to a certain extent it is true, particularly with the evil, that man makes God in his own, or man's, image. The modern, sophisticated atheist-and we speak here of one who has confirmed himself in evil-makes God an animal; for behind the evolutionary theory is the falsity that man evolved from an animal, and that, as the highest and most powerful animal, man is a god in the accidental world of creation. Why is this strange idea loved? It is because, as the proprium of today's man instinctively knows, an animal has no conscience, no need to shun evil and self-love. The negative evolutionist surrounds himself with erudite theories and with a sphere of unchallengeable learning; yet the pathetic fact is that his basic drive is to become an animal, so that he may do evil freely. If he yields to this drive, and confirms it by falsities, he makes himself an animal-and believes that this animal is God.
     Every ruling evil, in fact, makes itself a god. To this truth history amply testifies. We are told in the Writings that by the time of the Council of Nicea, the evil love of dominion had captivated the leaders of the Roman Church.

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This love of dominion then acted to make itself a god: first by dividing the true Lord into three, and thus destroying His reality for the church; and then by pronouncing the Pope and his priests as gods upon earth-the Lord's vicars upon earth who could give or take away salvation. When the veils of illusion are torn away, it is obvious that from love of dominion these false priests made themselves gods. So also, with many, the love of the world makes itself god. It proclaims voluptuousness and luxury to be the only ends in life and makes salvation consist in sensual pleasure.

     Where there is a good ruling love, however, man does not make any of his own loves a god. Rather does he look outside of himself in search of the true Lord. He searches for the objective reality-for the one God who made heaven and earth. He knows that within himself there is nothing to worship, and therefore searches for the source of all holiness, good and truth. To such men the Lord has always revealed Himself. Yet He has done this according to the ability of man to receive; that is, He has revealed as much of His Divinity as man could understand and love. The angels, too, follow this principle of not disclosing to man more than he is capable of understanding at any given stage of his development. Thus the angels said to certain spirits: "We will not say anything but what you can understand; otherwise our discourse will fall like rain upon sand, and upon seeds therein, which, although watered from heaven, still wither and perish."*
     * AR 224.
     Thus the Lord, in revealing Himself to the Jewish Church, appeared as a jealous and wrathful God-as the almighty Jehovah whose commands must be obeyed; for this was the type of God that the Jews, even those of them who were good, could understand. To the Christian Church the Lord could reveal something of His essential Humanity, His mercifulness and gentleness; for men were then at a stage of development in which they could receive and understand something of these qualities of the Lord. Even in the Golden Age, to the Most Ancient Church, the Lord could not reveal Himself fully. The first people on earth were in innocence itself; they were the wisest people in heavenly things who ever lived on this planet. However, though wise in heavenly things, there was little that they knew about the sciences and knowledges of this earth. Compared to what we know today of the natural world, the most ancients were as small children. Their natural minds were undeveloped; and this being the case, the Lord could not reveal Himself fully even to the people of the Golden Age. They saw Him in His celestial and spiritual glory, but in their natural minds there was darkness.

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In that plane of creation they could not see their Maker; therefore they did not see the Lord in His fulness.
     All these examples show that, even in the case of those who are good, man forms God to a certain extent after his own image. The celestial man's picture of God excluded His natural, for his own natural mind was undeveloped. The Jews' picture of God was limited by their own weaknesses and frailties. So was it even with the Christians. They could perceive something of the Lord's mercy and love. Yet the fulness of His glory-the glory revealed in the Writings-they could not perceive. Their rationality was not so far developed; the Lord had much to reveal which they could not yet bear.*
     * See John 16: 12.

     There was to come, in the history of the race, a great change. Mankind had not yet seen the Lord in His fullness, but that miracle was to come. Thus John wrote: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.... And I turned to see the voice that spake with me: and being turned, I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they glowed in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. . . . And His face was as the sun shineth in his power
     * Revelation 1: 10-16.
     Thus John saw the Lord in His glorified Human-as He is to be seen in the New Church. What is marvelous in this vision is that this was the first time the Lord was seen fully in the history of the human race. All the Divinity that man can perceive was now unfolded in its glory. This is the "revelation of Jesus Christ"; but it is a sight that can be seen only by the enlightened eyes of love-love represented by John.
     Before John saw the Divine Human, he heard a voice. This voice spake of the infinity of the Lord. The one God said: "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last." In the internal sense, these words signify that He who is speaking is the "self-existing and the only from firsts to ultimates, from whom are all things; thus who is love itself and only love, wisdom itself and only wisdom, life itself and only life . . . who alone is infinite and eternal, and Jehovah, and that He is the Lord."* Thus the literal words here and their spiritual sense tell of God's infinity-as much of it as man can grasp. Before this we bow in humility, for this is the source of all that is real within creation and within ourselves.

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     * AR 38.
     To His New Church the Lord reveals something never before seen-His Divine natural. Before His incarnation and glorification, the Divine celestial and spiritual could be seen in their actuality by good men; but with His glorification, the Lord became present actually, Divinely, in the natural; and He has revealed His fullness-His Divine celestial, spiritual and natural-in the Writings. He is there to be seen; and it was this wondrous vision that John saw when he turned toward the voice that spake to him. Here is the Lord: His celestial in His eyes and face and in the beauty of His head; His spiritual in His white robe and golden girdle; His natural in the glow of fine brass at His feet and in His voice that had the sound of many waters.
     We have said that, to a certain extent, even a good man sees the Lord after his own, or man's image. What a man lacks, that he cannot see in his Creator. Thus the most ancients could not see the Divine natural. Do not we, too, in the New Church, see the Lord partly after our own image? Do not our own lacks and frailties limit and narrow our vision? Yes, they do, for we cannot see beyond what we are. Yet now we have an opportunity unique in history. Now we know that the Lord has revealed Himself in His fullness in the Writings. He is there, waiting to be seen and loved; and we can see Him, fully and completely. How?-by the process of regeneration, by the shunning of evils as sins. For as we regenerate, or rather, as the Lord regenerates us, our lacks and frailties gradually fall away, until all the obstacles that block our vision of the Lord are gone. Then, like John, we turn-turn away from the proprium that is ours through heredity. We turn, and see the Lord whom we love. We see the Lord in the midst of the seven golden lampstands, whose eyes are as fire, and whose face is as the sun shineth in his power. The Lord in His glory touches us, and says, "Fear not." Amen

LESSONS: Isaiah 48: 12-22. Revelation 1. DLW 233, 234.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 479, 449, 466.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 23, 71.
WHEN KNOWLEDGE BECOMES TRUTH 1963

WHEN KNOWLEDGE BECOMES TRUTH              1963

     "Knowledges do not become truths in man until they are acknowledged by the understanding, which takes place when they are confirmed by him; and these truths do not become his own until he lives according to them; for nothing is made man's own except that which becomes of his life, for thus he himself is in the truths, because his life is in them" (Arcana Coelestia 5276e).

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DEDICATION OF THE CARMEL CHURCH BUILDING 1963

DEDICATION OF THE CARMEL CHURCH BUILDING       VIVIAN RIEPERT       1963

     The newly constructed building of the Carmel Church of the New Jerusalem, at R.R.# 1, Blair, Ontario, Canada, was dedicated by Bishop Willard D. Pendleton to the uses of worship, instruction and social life on Sunday morning, November 25, 1962, in the presence of a congregation numbering 361 persons.
     During the singing of the Processional, "0 Jesus Christ, Redeemer, Lord," Bishop Pendleton entered through the main door of the chapel, preceded by the pastor, the Rev. Geoffrey Childs, who carried the beautiful, large new copy of the Word. Mr. Childs was followed by the Rev. Norman Reuter and the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson. At the close of the hymn, Mr. Childs presented the Word to the Bishop, who placed it on the altar and opened it. The Sixth General Office was used and the lessons, read by the Rev. Norman Reuter, were I Kings 8:1-25, Matthew 16: 13-28, and Arcana Coelestia 10645: 2-4. An interlude of organ and flute music was followed by the 48th Psalm, after which the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson delivered the following sermon:

     DEDICATION SERMON

     THE PRESENCE OF THE DIVINE HUMAN

     "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded?" (I Kings 8: 27)
     Solomon's temple, seven years in building, was finished. The two tables of the law, enshrined in the ark of the covenant, had been brought into the holy of holies by the priests, and the ark rested behind the veil. This act, one of many ceremonies performed, was the dedication itself of the temple, and it had been celebrated with a sacred feast. The presence of Jehovah was now in this house of stone -the only place in all the world where sacrifices might be offered to Him and incense raised; and Solomon, his heart uplifted with gratitude, gave thanks to the Lord, blessed the people, and prayed before the altar with hands stretched out to the heavens.

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     But as the king prayed a question was inspired into his mind. While Judaism did not use the language of philosophy, Jehovah was thought of as both transcendent and immanent as outside creation, yet within it by virtue of His universal knowledge and providence. Heaven and earth were full of His glory, for heaven was His throne and the earth His footstool. He Himself, however, was far above His creation, and although He infilled it, it could not contain His fullness. To Solomon, then, it must have seemed a wondrous thing that the supreme God should dwell in a house of stone, which, although costly and lavishly adorned, was yet small; and so he was led to ask the question recorded in the text: "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded?"

     Centuries have passed since Solomon's temple was dedicated, but the question he was inspired to ask may still arise in the minds of those who are gathered to dedicate a house of worship. The church is founded upon the acknowledgment of the Lord in His Divine Human as the one God of heaven and earth. That is what is meant by the prophecy: "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner."*
     * Psalm 118: 22.
     It is therefore the church's constant prayer that the Lord may be present in and with His Divine Human. For without that presence the church is dead and the way of eternal life is closed: but where it is granted, the church is a living body; the way of eternal life is kept open, men are taught that way, and are led to walk in it.
     In the case of the church within man the doctrine concerning the Lord's presence is clear. The Divine Human is infinite, and the finite cannot itself receive the infinite. In that sense, even the spiritual and celestial kingdoms, the "heaven and heaven of heavens," cannot contain Him; how much less, then, the natural mind of man, considered as a receptacle? The Lord's presence is always and only in that which is His own with man. But when man acknowledges the Lord as the triune God, acknowledges the Divinity and authority of the triune Word, and enters into the life of charity first by looking to the Lord and shunning evils because they are sins and then by doing goods because they are uses, that which is from the Lord enters into his mind and is appropriated to him as a receptacle in which the Lord can dwell. For these three things are the essentials of the church; and it is of doctrine that the church is from the Lord, not from man. The Lord gives him a new understanding and a new will, an understanding of truth and a will of good the inmost of which is innocence; and this heavenly proprium, built in the natural, is indeed the Lord's own with man-a temple and house of the Lord in which He will dwell with man and out of which He will bless him; an earth to become fruitful in uses to the Lord and to the neighbor.

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     But in dedicating a church building we are setting apart and devoting an ultimate, and it may well be asked: How can the Divine Human become present and abide in that ultimate? How can the Lord enter into it to dwell therein as in His own? The answer lies in the fact that the ultimate is set apart and devoted to a use. For all uses are from the Lord, and His presence with men is in uses and according to them. This building is about to be dedicated to the uses of worship and instruction, and the other buildings to those of instruction, of education and of social life: to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ, the one God of heaven and earth, as He is now revealed in His second coming; to that instruction in the Word through preaching and teaching whereby men are led by truth to the good of life; to the education of children in the sphere of the church and the initiation of adult newcomers into that sphere; and to that social life which, as the proper diversions thereof, is an integral part of charity. These are all uses of the Lord through men; uses which men must perform as if of themselves but which they cannot do from themselves: and it is in the inauguration and continuance of these uses that the Lord will be present in this house-present as the source of those uses, in the good from which they are done, and in the uses themselves.

     Ultimates are set apart and devoted to certain uses, and when this has been done by a solemn religious ceremony, no other uses may properly be performed in or with them. But while the ultimate is devoted to a use, the use is performed by men, as if of themselves but from the Lord, and in the continuation of the use is the Lord's presence. Where the Lord dwells in His Divine Human, there His blessing is given. Inanimate things cannot be blessed; but men can receive the Lord's blessing, and it is imparted in the doing of use from delight and without thought of recompense. In one sense, the dedication of a church building is by a symbolic act, for the placing of the open Word on the altar is a symbol of the entering and presence of the Lord in His Divine Human. In another sense, the dedication is by a typical act, for it marks that which initiates the use that truly makes a building the Lord's house; the use in which is His presence.
     Thus it is with the uses to which this building is to be set apart and devoted. Whenever men and women unite in public worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one only God, the internal things that have been implanted in their minds by regeneration are excited; external things are kept in holiness so that internal ones may inflow; and they are gifted with states of holiness, of which they are unaware, which are preserved for them by the Lord for the use of eternal life.

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These are all Divine operations, and their taking place in worship implies, as it requires, the presence of the Divine Human in and with the worshipers.
     When men and women go up to the house of the Lord to participate in the most holy act of worship, the Sacrament of the Supper, the Lord is present, as to both the Divine and the Human, with the whole of His redemption; and to those who approach the Holy Supper worthily He opens heaven, introducing them into consociation with angels and into conjunction with Himself. Whenever the Word is read and is heard with attention, and whenever the internal sense of the Word is preached and taught, whether in sermons or in doctrinal instruction, there takes place, unknown to the worshipers, an opening of heaven and communication is effected therewith. Indeed we are told that there is then actually the coming of the Lord. His presence in the church results in the giving of the Holy Spirit; and we are taught that the Holy Spirit is received by the laity through preaching according to reception of the doctrine of genuine truth therefrom, and through the Holy Supper according to repentance beforehand.

     Thus will the Divine Human be present in the performance of the uses of worship and instruction to which this building is to be set apart and devoted; and that is why the priesthood, which administers those things which pertain to the Divine law and blessing, bestows the Lord's blessing upon all who have taken part in the sacraments and rites, the services and doctrinal classes, in which both worship and instruction take place. And that same presence may be granted in the uses to which the other buildings are to be devoted. If the work of New Church education is there carried out day by day, and faithfully supported, as the church's first use of charity, then the Lord will be in it and His blessing will rest upon it.     If there is developed there a social life that is expressive of, as it is inspired by, the affection of good will, one that consists truly of diversions of charity because its purpose is the re-creation of the affection of use, then the Lord will be in that also, and His blessing will be upon it as well. Thus will the Divine Human be present in all the uses of this church if those who form it open their minds to receive the Lord; and this house will become a blessing to all who go in and come out, and who dwell within sight of it.
     The presence of the temple in its midst had profound consequences for Jerusalem itself. Henceforward it was to be not only the royal city but also, and primarily, the city of the great King. Built on Mount Zion, the temple dominated the city of Jerusalem.

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It was the center of worship for all Judah, and those whose lives were passed within daily sight and sound of its ritual could not but be conscious of it and be subtly affected by its proximity and significance in their national life.
     So may it be also with this house of the Lord and with the community that will rise up round about it. It is a teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine that the common good exists from the goods of use that individuals perform, and that these goods of use subsist from the common good. If the Lord builds the house, this church and its community will be distinctly one-distinguishable in thought, each having its own functions, but one in use. They will form a commonwealth, a common good. As they go up to the house of the Lord faithfully, those who dwell here will be privileged to form that good as instruments in the hand of the Lord by their individual efforts to maintain and develop the uses to which this church is dedicated. In the measure that they love the doctrine and life of the church each will be given to make a unique contribution to that unity formed from a harmonious variety which is the spiritual quality of a society. At the same time, each will draw from the sphere of a living society that which will sustain them in their individual uses, as the very existence of the society provides them with the opportunity to perform uses to the church.
     This is indeed a day of beginnings, one on which our hearts are uplifted with gratitude to the Lord for what, in His providence, has become a reality, and further progress may seem to lie in a remote and uncertain future. Yet beginnings are of profound significance; for no fruit can become other than its seed, and in the beginning lies the potentiality of all future development. In the Lord's providence, and in His own time, as His leading is sought humbly and then followed with vigor and intelligence and patience, this church and its community will grow both spiritually and naturally; and those who are privileged to take part in the work will acknowledge that this is indeed the Lord's doing, and it will be marvelous in their eyes. Amen.

     INSTRUCTION

     The newly written Dedication Hymn was sung. The congregation being seated, the Bishop then said:
     Because of the use it is intended to serve, it is of order that a house of worship should be set apart by a solemn act of consecration.
     We have come here today, therefore, in order that we may dedicate this building-which has been erected by the members and friends of the Carmel Church-to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as He is now revealed in His Divine Human.

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     In placing the open Word upon the altar, we acknowledge the Lord to be our God, and dispose our lives to His service. Thus it is that in the dedication of this church our hearts and minds are turned to Him, of whom it is said in the Word: "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it" (Psalm 127: 1).
     In the dedication of this house of worship, however, it is fitting that we should recognize also that the other rooms of these buildings are designed to serve the supporting uses of New Church education and social life. Here the members of the congregation will gather to receive doctrinal instruction and to consider the uses they are organized to perform; here the children of the society will be educated in the truths of the Word; and here all will participate in that sphere of friendship which is expressive of the life of the New Church.
     It is, then, with a deep sense of gratitude to the Lord-who has enabled your hearts and your hands in the construction of these buildings-that we now call upon the representative of the Carmel Church who is authorized to present them for dedication.

     PRESENTATION

     Mr. Murray Hill, the appointed representative of the Carmel Church, then came forward and formally presented the building for dedication, saying:
     The members and friends of the Carmel Church present this building to serve the uses of the Lord's New Church, and, on their behalf, I offer this key as a token that the building is now ready for dedication.

     ACCEPTANCE

     The Bishop then said:
     In the name of the General Church I do gratefully receive these buildings for the use of the Carmel Church. May they serve as an instrument in the Lord's hands to promote the growth of His church among men. And may all who worship here worship Him in spirit and in truth; that is, as the one God of heaven and earth, who at this day is plainly revealed in the spiritual sense of His Word.
     Let us therefore lift up our hearts with our hands in the acknowledgment of Him who is the Source of all our blessings, and dispose our lives to the worship of His holy name.

     DEDICATION

     The congregation rose as the Bishop ascended to the altar and, placing his hand upon the Word, said:

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     And now in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the presence of this congregation that has labored so diligently in preparing this place for Him, I do dedicate these buildings to the worship of the Lord according to the doctrine and the ritual of the Church of the New Jerusalem. May the Lord's blessing be upon all who worship here, and may they find in the uses to which these buildings are dedicated, their exceeding great reward.

     CONCLUSION

     The dedication was followed by the singing of Hymn 24, "Father All Holy, Lord of Creation." After the final prayer, the Benediction and the closing of the Word, the congregation sang the Te Dominum. So ended an exceedingly impressive service. For all the members of the Carmel Church it was a poignant climax to years of planning, months of work, and weeks of final preparations. And for the many visitors it was an opportunity, rarely offered, to witness a solemn church dedication.

     RELATED EVENTS

     Reception and Dance. The weekend festivities started on Friday evening with a reception and dance in the new, high-beamed assembly hall. Receiving the two hundred guests were Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton, the Rev. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Schnarr. Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton led the grand march, after which the Rev. Karl Alden led a rousing sing-song of patriotic and Academy songs. Dancing to the five-piece orchestra received competition from the greeting of friends from far and near and numerous tours of the building. Sandwiches, cakes and coffee were served from a buffet table. During the dance two inches of wet snow fell on the muddy countryside and congested parking lot.
     Coffee Party. Saturday morning, in dazzling sunlight, a coffee party was held at the church to show off the building and the surrounding countryside in daylight, and also to entertain the many visitors staying in motels. The coffee table was placed in the wide narthex and a very pleasant social time was enjoyed. For those with boots, a trip across the field to the manse, under construction by Society Sons, was a must.
     The Banquet. On Saturday evening a very memorable banquet was held. Miraculously the committee managed to seat 302 people in the assembly hall by using the stage at one end and the primary class room at the other end. With just such occasions in mind the architect had been persuaded to plan a removable wall between the assembly hall and the primary class room.

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Mr. Fred Hasen, as toastmaster, had the pleasant task of reading the wonderful messages that came from almost all the societies of the General Church and from individual friends. Three former pastors were with us and the Rev. Alan Gill sent a taped message from England and so was with us in voice and spirit. Visitors were present from Toronto, Bryn Athyn, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Glenview, Philadelphia and New York, and isolated points in Ontario and the United States.
     The Rev. Hugo Odhner proposed the toast to the church, saying: "I feel most honored to propose the first toast within these walls where the future stands around us as a silent prophecy of spiritual gifts yet to be received, and as a challenge of uses yet to be done. This is a time when the past and the future meet and kiss each other. . . So I give you this toast, to the Mother of us all, to the New Church of the Lord, Our Glorious Church."

     The first speaker of the evening, our pastor, the Rev. Geoffrey Childs, spoke on the "Spirit of Growth." Describing the society's vision for the future, he said: "This hope is that gradually around this site a New Church community will develop and that in time, with this development, our school here will grow and become a large elementary school with many pupils. And as time goes on-this may be fifty years from now, who knows-Canada will have a New Church community comparable in size to the communities in the United States. That is our hope. Beyond this we can dream-it's easy to dream! We would hope to see a high school, our own Canadian high school. Beyond that it gets hazy...
     "Preparing for this dedication we went back to the pages in NEW CHURCH LIFE which spoke of the former dedication of the Carmel Church on King Street West. This was almost 70 years ago. Yet even now, reading about it in NEW CHURCH LIFE, it stands out as a powerful, very moving event. This first Carmel Church was dedicated to the Divine Human of the Lord as revealed in the Writings. At the time Father Waelchli referred back to the work of Mr. Enslin and his peers. Implicit in this was the fact that they had a debt to the past, that they could not have existed without the work done by Mr. Enslin and those men in the mid 1850s. They were dependent on the past. The same thing is true with us today. Without the workers in the church for the last 70 years, the priests, teachers and laymen, there would be no new building to be dedicated today, there could be no dream and no promise of a community. . . . This church and a community have become real through a grand man of uses. . . . Many men were needed and many men have worked. . . . We come to this evening exhausted, and it is a powerful thing to see so many friends here and so much support behind us.

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It reinvigorates us and we are almost ready . . . to go ahead and face this challenge with hope and delight and looking forward to real progress."
     The second speaker was the Rev. Norman Reuter, who spoke on the "Spirit of Thanksgiving" as "an expression of the heart rather than of the intellect." He drew attention to the representative General Church gathering before us and stressed that any growth and expansion of uses in a society benefits the General Church as a whole. In speaking of the new building he said that we should rejoice in it as a representative of the inner building by the Lord. "It is difficult for us to turn our eyes in the world of time and space away from the things of sense and lift our minds to that inner building which is the kingdom of God in the hearts of men. This is of slow formation and, as has been said by previous speakers this evening, rests over many generations, the labors of many men. And this building becomes real when men begin to put aside the thought of self and are willing more and more to see that in dedication to the uses seen clearly from the Lord there is never anything of sacrifice, never anything of loss from the past, but only an opening to the future and an increase of opportunity to receive blessings from that Lord who builds when men open their hearts and allow Him to enter in."

     As third speaker Bishop Pendleton expressed his delight in the new building and the community project as seeming unbelievable. He also expressed his admiration for our pastor's creative leadership and had "Geoffrey and Helga" rise for an enthusiastic ovation. In speaking to his subject, "The Spirit of Hope," he said: "The future is something that we are not permitted to know. But our hope for the future can be very simply expressed-our hope for the future is the establishment of the Lord's New Church among men. That is the cause to which we are dedicated and that future is sure....
     "What the Writings offer us is something that has never been known before. The Writings give men a new concept of God, a new concept of good, a new concept of truth, a new concept of charity, a new concept of life, and a new concept of the meaning and purpose of life. Now, my friends, what is new is not readily seen, particularly when it calls men and women out of the faith into which they were born. What is new is only seen gradually, slowly, and that is why the growth of this church is almost imperceptible. But let me assure you that I for one have no concern whatsoever about the future of the New Church because the more I read the Writings the more convinced I become that this is the church of the future.
     Now it is to the uses of this church that these buildings are dedicated and we have all been deeply inspired by the dedication and devotion of those who made these things possible.

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And all that we can say on this occasion is, may the Lord be with you in your endeavors, and may you look to Him and may your hope remain in the Lord who made the heavens and the earth."
     The Children's Service.     In the hope of getting all the adults in the church for the dedication service (all but 24 were seated in the church), a special children's dedication service was planned for Sunday afternoon at four o'clock. Family seating was observed and 187 attended. Bishop George de Charms addressed the children, describing how the church had been dedicated in the morning and so had become the Lord's house. Following the address, Richard Hill, an eighth grade pupil in the Carmel Church School, came forward and presented a large wooden bowl to the Bishop on behalf of all the children of the Carmel Church Society. The lovely bowl is to be used at the children's festival services. After the service the children were served refreshments in the assembly hall.

     THE NEW BUILDING AND THE COMMUNITY

     The land purchased for the community is 120 acres of rolling farm land about three miles south of Kitchener's city limits. Mr. John Evens, whose farm was purchased, donated five acres for the church and school and manse. The church stands on high ground adjoining the proposed park area at the northern end of the farm. The plan for twenty-one building lots around the church has been approved by all the necessary boards and the lots have been surveyed and are ready to be sold. Eventually over one hundred building lots will be available and an area will be reserved for a future high school.
     The church and school building is constructed of wood and stone on the post and beam principle with all the beams visible on the interior of the building. The interior walls of the church are of the same stone as the exterior. The church is three steps above the school wing and is a foursquare building with high arched beams and a triangular tower over the circular chancel in the east corner. Colored glass windows of both bright and subdued tones are all around the chapel and in the clerestory above the chancel. Sunlight streaming through these windows gives a warmth of tone to the whole interior of the church.
     The school wing is comprised of three school rooms, a library, assembly hall, kitchen and furnace room. A pastor's study, ladies' sitting room, wash rooms, cloak room, chancel guild room and vestry complete the building.
     The Chancel. The chancel is on three levels, the highest level being a complete circle and the two lower levels being semicircular. On the highest level stands the altar with the copy of the Word surrounded by seven golden candlesticks.

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On the second level are the Holy Supper and Baptismal altars as well as the kneeling stools and chairs for the priests. The lectern and pulpit are on the lowest level. The lectern, pulpit and three altars are all of cherry wood. The high altar and baptismal altar were newly made to match the other pieces which came from our former chancel. Many hours of work by society members went into the refinishing of the chancel furniture, the finishing of the new pieces, the making of the candlesticks and the chancel rail. The chancel wall is paneled in cypress wood and the floor is an almost all white terrazzo, both adding to the simplicity of the setting.
     Two of the many thoughtful and beautiful gifts received by the society for the new building were the specially bound copy of the Word from the Olivet Church Society and the beautifully hand-carved offertory bowl from members of the Rev. Llewellyn David family, in memory of Mr. David, a former pastor of the society.

     VIVIAN RIEPERT
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Divine Endowment. The terms which make up our New Church vocabulary are not all taken directly from the Writings. A few have been coined, quite legitimately, to express concepts seen in the Writings, and "Divine endowment" is an example of this type. It was used by Bishop De Charms in The Growth of the Mind to express a conclusion drawn from a number of teachings in the Writings: to describe an endowment received from the Lord by every human soul at its creation by virtue of which man is formed into the image and likeness of God, and by virtue of which that image and likeness is, in its particular formation, individual to him in order that it may be adapted to a specific use.
     In other words, the Divine endowment is conceived as that which differentiates human souls. It is the primary cause of individuality and the third factor in determining heredity-the individual life-force derived by influx from the Divine which causes the soul to build the body in adaptation to a particular use, for which use the man was created. The fact that the term is not found in the Writings does not detract from it in any way; but it is useful for us to know that, together with other terms of this class, it is made up and is not a term of the Writings themselves although it expresses something found in them. (See The Growth of the Mind, pp. 40-45, 60, 73f, 84; Revised edition, pp. 39-45, 60, 74f, 85.)

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MISSION OF THE ACADEMY 1963

MISSION OF THE ACADEMY       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     (Delivered at the Charter Day Banquet, October 20, 1962, at Bryn Athyn, Pa.)

     The Academy was established as an educational institution for the sole purpose of propagating the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and of promoting thereby the establishment of the New Church. Apart from this it has no reason for existence. Of necessity, it is organized as an independent body; but it is so intimately associated with the General Church of the New Jerusalem that the two bodies are mutually interdependent and inseparable. They are united by the spiritual bond of a common faith in the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg as the Word of the Lord in His second coming. But in addition to this, the Academy, by mutual agreement, performs for the General Church three functions which are indispensable to its life: it prepares young men for the ministry of the New Church, it educates teachers for the elementary schools of the General Church, and it provides for the young people of the church a special kind of higher education which is designed to prepare them for the life of regeneration. In return for these services the General Church, through its governing Bishop, directs the educational policy of the Academy. That this should be so is of supreme importance, because education, inmostly considered, is a necessary function of the church.

     It cannot be otherwise, because education is preparation for life, and the whole purpose of human life on earth is that men may be prepared for eternal use and happiness in heaven. Nevertheless, man is prepared for heaven, not primarily by external worship, by prayer, or by partaking of the Sacraments, but rather by a life of use in the world, and by performing that use faithfully, justly and sincerely, not for self-advantage, but from the love of the neighbor, and inmostly from love to the Lord. A man's occupation, business, profession or employment is the arena in which the conflict of temptation must take place. Only through that conflict, and through victory in it, is regeneration possible. That is why, by means of education, every one must acquire the knowledges and the skills without which he is not equipped to perform a use of value to human society; but he must acquire these knowledges and skills in such a way as to lead him freely, and by his own choice, to perform his use in accord with the spiritual principles of Divine revelation.

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That is why the function of the Academy is so closely interwoven throughout with the work of the General Church, and why each body contributes an essential element to their common goal, a goal which neither one could possibly achieve by itself.
     Of course, when compared with the great colleges and universities of our Western civilization, the Academy is so small as to be almost insignificant. Yet, since it was founded eighty-five years ago in the city of Philadelphia, it has enjoyed a steady growth for which we are profoundly grateful. In view of the fact that the Academy has undertaken to inaugurate an entirely new system of education, its growth has been indeed truly phenomenal. The primary purpose of this new system of education is to bring together into understandable harmony the indisputable facts of human science and the spiritual truth of Divine revelation. This is a tremendous task, especially in view of the remarkably rapid advance in scientific knowledge for which our age is noted. However, it is a task that is made possible now for the first time in the history of the human race because the Lord has revealed spiritual truth in language adapted to man's rational mind. Through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg, He has explained the relation that exists between the natural world and the spiritual world, and has made known the laws according to which the Lord operates to control all the forces of nature, and to direct them secretly in such a way that they may contribute toward the accomplishment of the eternal ends of His Divine Providence. Because this knowledge is now given, it is possible for men to discover the real use, the inmost purpose, that underlies all things-why they have been so created, and how they are designed to promote not only man's natural welfare but also his spiritual life and his eternal happiness.

     Let it be well understood, however, that although the Heavenly Doctrine points the way to the discovery of this inner truth, the path which leads to the discovery is long and arduous. It can be traversed only step by step, and through the cumulative effort of many generations. The knowledge that is essential to it must be gathered by patient toil, both from the innumerable fields of scientific research and from a persistent study of Divine revelation. Both of these are necessary, and they must be constantly brought together into a harmonious mutual relationship. That is why progress toward the realization of this goal cannot possibly be made without an educational institution so organized as to bring together men and women devoted to the exploration of all branches of scientific knowledge, and men whose lives are dedicated to the study of the Word, in order that by mutual interchange of thought and experience they may discover progressively the truth that underlies and unites both science and religion.

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That is the real mission of the Academy; not only that this truth may be discovered, but that as far as it is seen, it may be transmitted with ever greater power and effectiveness to each succeeding generation.

     In order to carry forward this kind of educational work, the Academy must run counter to all modern educational thought and practice. The universal tendency of the times is to separate factual knowledge from religious faith. This is the case because no one can see any understandable relation between them. It is thought that factual knowledge is dependable because it can be certified by the combined experience of many men. Religious faith, on the other hand, is regarded as an emotional response to a deep but indefinable human need. Apparently, this need varies with individuals, with times and with circumstances. No one knows of any criterion by which it can be measured. It is largely unpredictable, and is based on no knowledge that can be proved or established to the satisfaction of everyone. From this it follows that if our religious emotions are allowed to influence our scientific judgment they will distort our vision, and will tend to establish and perpetuate false and indefensible opinions. This, indeed, is what has happened in the past. Only as far as men's minds have been liberated from the bonds of religious dogma have they been able to make progress in the understanding and use of the laws of nature. That is why, in our day, science has been so insistently divorced from religion. The result is that in the minds of men, God has been barred from His creation. He has been relegated to an invisible and an incomprehensible limbo outside of the knowable universe. Men have therefore been committed to the task of explaining all things in the realm of sense experience without reference to God, or to anything super-natural. Even those who acknowledge the existence of God, and profess to love and worship Him, in their endeavor to understand the operations of nature nevertheless think and act as if these things were entirely independent of Him, as if they were completely self-sufficient, producing all their wonders by purely mechanical laws, by chance or accident, without purpose, without the guidance of any universal and unifying wisdom and intelligence.
     It was Divinely foreseen that this would come to pass, and that is why it was necessary that the Lord should come again to make known His presence in the midst of His creation, governing it, directing all its forces ordering all things to the end that they might promote the spiritual and the eternal purposes of His providence. It was essential that men should see Him there, that in all of the operations of nature they might behold His love and His wisdom, and this with intelligent understanding and insight, and might learn to use these natural things as they were intended to be used; namely, in such a way that they would minister to the spiritual welfare of mankind, promoting a spirit of true charity and confirming true faith, and thus bringing all men into the peace and harmony of the Lord's kingdom, both in heaven and on the earth.

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     In her endeavor to accept this challenge and to achieve this unique purpose, the Academy is only in the barest beginnings. Yet the Corporation, the administrative officers, and the entire faculty, from the very foundation of the institution, have together been dedicated to the task of developing this kind of education. Under the protection and guidance of a beneficent providence, their work has prospered. Over the years, the Academy has been blessed with the material facilities, and with the men and women equipped and inspired to meet, step by step, the growing needs of our church, and this in a way that appears to us as nothing short of miraculous. "It is the Lord's doing, marvellous in our eyes." At this crucial time, when there is a change in the episcopal administration of the General Church, we rejoice in the prospect of continued and indeed of greatly augmented growth that lies immediately ahead. We foresee that the student enrollment will be greatly increased in the next few years; and due to careful planning and to extremely generous financial support, the Academy is prepared to meet its expanding responsibilities in the future, as well as, and even better than, it has been able to do in the past. This it will do, not primarily with regard to buildings and grounds, or educational facilities, important as these are, but above all, with regard to the quality of New Church education which its teaching staff is equipped to provide. We are profoundly convinced that the permanent establishment of the Lord's kingdom on earth is dependent upon the unceasing development of this New Church education. Small as it is at the present time, the Academy is contributing something of inestimable value, something in which there lies the greatest, if not the only, hope for the future of our race; which has so far separated itself from the acknowledgment and worship of the Lord as the Creator, the Preserver, and Governor of the universe in which we live, that it no longer looks to Him for the wisdom to direct the destiny of man, but seeks instead to find all the answers in human intelligence, based on physical experience and scientific discoveries alone. Only the vision of the Lord in His Divine Human, immediately present and immanently dominant, in both the greatests and the leasts of His creation, can restore to men a living faith. To make this vision not merely a pious profession, but an ever-growing reality in the minds of men: this, we believe, is the true mission of the Academy. To be given a part in this work, however small, we indeed may be grateful, and from humble hearts give glory to the Lord our Savior Jesus Christ now revealed in the Writings of His Second Advent.

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ACADEMY AND ITS FUTURE 1963

ACADEMY AND ITS FUTURE       Rev. HUGO Lj. ODHNER       1963

     (Delivered at the Charter Day Banquet, October 20, 1962, at Bryn Athyn, Pa.)

     Mr. Fitzpatrick, in the light-hearted way of toastmasters, has set me a difficult task, asking me in twenty minutes to depict the future of the Academy as a possible "intellectual center for the development and dissemination of a distinctive philosophy and culture based upon the doctrines of the New Church."
     It is our hope and prayer that the Academy may increasingly serve the New Church and the world as such a center. The future is, of course, never as we imagine it. Yet all our uses look to the future; and reason, enlightened by the new revelation, grants us to know that the eventual happiness of mankind can be reached only by the reception-in faith and life-of the Lord in His second coming as the glorified Word, the Heavenly Doctrine, the Spirit of truth that leadeth unto all truth.
     The crowning purpose of the Academy is to promote the planting of the New Jerusalem on the firm soil of earth. Yet the world is still shaking with the repercussions of the Last Judgment! We live in a new age-which Daniel calls "the time of the end," when "many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased."

     The Academy must be readied to meet the new age now in its birth-pangs. It is an age in which the forces of good and evil are in open conflict; and within the open issues which concern political and social freedom for nations and individuals, there are hidden issues which turn on the difference between freedom and license, and on different definitions of human responsibility and of the proper scope of man's intelligence.
     But the Lord has come to judgment. The criterion of that spiritual judgment is revealed in those Writings of which the Academy is a herald and exponent to the rising generation. In the eyes of the world, the Academy is still insignificant and its smallness has given it a certain protection. The staff of the Academy is made up of modest people who recognize that they are not as yet equipped to gain the ear of the world; but they do not hesitate to claim that the principles of the Academy, and its work, are so vital that without them, humanly speaking, the church would come to a standstill.

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     It has always seemed to me that the General Church and the Academy must co-operate as do the heart and the lungs in the body. The church, in its endeavor, the salvation of souls, provides the love, the warmth of worship, the life-blood of charity. The Academy is needed to defend the church from deceptive falsities, and to maintain in it soundness and purity of doctrine. Even as the lungs draw in the breath of heaven to cleanse the blood of the impurities and worn-out elements that might poison the tissues, so the Academy seeks to inspire the truths of the Heavenly Doctrine and lead us to "think from the Writings"-to examine every claim of fact and of theory as with a perpetual judgment.
     It might be imagined that every man can do this for himself, from his private reading of the Writings, without the help of any institution of learning! And time was, when every family was able to churn its own butter and raise its own corn!
     But things change! And in a letter to Dr. Beyer, Swedenborg suggests that the first indication of the beginning of the New Church is when "the universities of Christendom" will be instructed, "whence will come new ministers."*
     * Docu. 234.
     This is the purpose of the Academy. It is revealed that from modern Christendom there flow forth spheres of thought which induce a denial of the Lord's Divinity, a lethargy in spiritual thought, and a separation of charity from faith.* Before the new truths of the Writings can be received, the falsities now ingrained in the world's thinking must be eradicated; and "this cannot be done in a moment, but has to be done first among the clergy.**
     * TCR 619
     ** TCR 784.

     The necessity for New Church education indeed springs from the fact that only when human minds are not misled and perverted by falsities can they grow normally into an appreciation of spiritual truths and spiritual charity. In infancy and childhood a certain protection can be extended in our homes and parish schools. But in later life those only can receive the Heavenly Doctrine "who are interiorly affected by truths," and who have the ability to see these truths because they have "cultivated their intellectual faculty" and have not destroyed it in themselves by the loves of self and the world!*
     * AE 732.
     This does not mean that the New Church can consist only of "highbrows"! But it implies that the New Church must be able intellectually to meet the false philosophies that color every field of popular opinion from the university to the daily press, from the pulpit to the bed chamber, from politics to entertainment, from the business executive to the union boss: false philosophies of thought and practice which somehow seep into the textbooks of the schools as well as into all media of communication.

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     Let us not be ungrateful for the discoveries and inventions which have increased the skills of mankind, unlocked new reservoirs of energy, and lessened the impediments of space and time. Although they increase the powers of evil and falsity, they also serve new uses and widen our mental horizons to see new things in the Writings themselves.
     Yet the world, hypnotized by the swift changes brought about by a runaway science, has exalted the image of man without acknowledging that what is truly human comes from God. As one fantastic machine gives way to another, even human society is in danger of being turned into a soulless machine. What if these ominous engines become the playthings of men morally immature-who measure happiness by the fleeting excitements of the flesh or as a means to grasp more power? What is needed is not more machines, but men to control them-men of enlightened judgment and moral purpose.
     Far more fantastic than machines is the marvelous make-up of the human body, and the deeper mysteries of the human mind with its interior degrees that reach into the unseen realm of the spirit, which the Lord has now revealed to us in the Writings!
     The Academy looks to things eternal-to the purposes of God. It would trace in the past the underlying pattern of the Lord's providence. It possesses already the quality of a "university" in its truest sense: not by multiplying departments or technical schools, but by its search for those universal principles which can unify the complex phases of human knowledge and visualize the uses of society as to their true values and their discrete rank in the common purpose of the Divine economy.
     Indeed, there is only one supreme truth-the supreme among universal truths-the truth of the Divine Human, Creator, Redeemer, Regenerator. This is the Spirit of truth that leadeth unto all truth. It points to the human form as the inmost pattern in all creation. It presents finite man, not as a machine, nor, on the other hand, as a spark of Divinity, but as a receptacle of life. It reveals society, not as an accidental aggregation of people, but as a living organism of uses, a greater form of man.
     And there are other universals to which the world is as yet blind. There is the law of correspondences, which is the key to Scripture and to nature and is the interpreter of all human thought. There is the doctrine of uses-which points to the intertwining designs of creation and the subordinations of all things to a common end. There are the laws of the Divine providence, which protect the free will of man. There is the principle of the conjugial, which is reflected in the leasts and greatests of creation and finds its fulfilments in human life-both in every man's mind and in the marriage of two made one.

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     But how shall this little flock, which calls itself the New Church, stand up against hostile legislation, rising state socialism, confiscatory taxes and similar dangers? How can it expect to maintain within itself a center in which these revolutionizing doctrines, which combine to make all things new, may spell out the charter for a kingdom of God on earth?
     It has been the faith of the Academy from the start, that as long as there are men to love a use and work for it, the Lord will protect from external dangers and provide the means to carry on; and certainly the Academy, at the present moment, stands as the best possible investment against the future! The only danger we need fear is from within-from lack of courage or loss of faith.

     It would be childish to imagine that the Academy, with its limited resources, could in the conceivable future compete with the research centers of great universities and governments, or mother the inventions that are changing the surface of life on this planet. But the Academy has its own vast fields to harvest!
     What we need is the laborers for the harvest: men and women of talent to devote themselves to a unique type of scholarship-a scholarship that combines a knowledge (and if possible, a mastery) of the scientific data of their field, with a study of the principles given in the Writings.
     This may sound a fairly easy assignment. But the New Church teacher soon finds that he must plow virgin ground full of rocks and tangled roots. For the philosophy of the New Church must reinterpret all worldly learning, separate fact from theory, reorient the data in the light of universals or rational insights derived from the doctrine. And then he must write-and rewrite-new textbooks, and re-think each conclusion.
     But the cumulative work of generations of Academy teachers can help to formulate our findings and, by a tradition of methods, reshape the fields of human knowledge into a representation of God's designs for man.
     The first step must be an analytical study of the doctrine itself, whereby the infinite hidden riches of the Writings can be bared. The logic of the doctrine-its consistency and rational power-must be presented, not only for the young, but in a language and form which the learned world can respect and understand.
     All the learned are not atheists. I see special force in the teaching that the internal sense of Scripture "can bear witness to the Divinity and consequent holiness of the Word; and can convince even the natural man that the Word is Divine, if he is willing to be convinced."*

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Here lies a field of research, vast and essential, which the New Church alone can undertake! With it is connected a new study of the Old and New Testaments, beginning with New Church translations that can offset the many modern attempts to turn Bible study into a literary pastime.
     * AE 1065: 3.
     And the Bible can be understood only by means of the science of correspondences, which requires many life-times of labor before it can be presented as a replete and organized whole.
     Only the New Church can safely venture into a study of the spiritual world. Only a profound immersion into the new revelations of the Writings can yield a perception of the realities of that world-which is our future, whether we understand it or not! Only by spiritual meditation can we free ourselves from mechanistic modes of thinking and understand what the life of our spirits shall be like beyond space and time.
     The time will come when the church can spare men for continuous research in these many areas. Think what a New Church scholar could do if given the training and the time to delve into the buried records of the millennia which compose our intellectual heritage, to seek the remnants of ancient wisdom now hidden behind legend and barbarous ritual, yet gleaming out already as scattered jewels of truth which confirm the revealed history of the Writings!

     Some modern New Church men might question the use of such research when time and money could better be spent on practical missionary efforts to invite people to the New Church.
     But what is the New Church? To what do we invite new receivers? Do we not invite them into a sphere in which there is not only charity but faith-rational faith which can intelligently face the ever shifting attacks of falsity?
     Our best missionary work consists in our own intellectual progress, in keeping abreast with the new knowledge and new problems that beset the world. The New Church cannot blindly follow the new trends of the world's thinking. Neither can we ignore them! We are to be men in the world, but not of the world.
     The Academy cannot compromise in order to court the world's approval. It is not true that the Writings are obsolete or outdated. Christianity is still older. Truth is, of course, eternal. The universal truths which constitute the philosophy of the New Church are perennial. They cannot be denied for long, or upset by new discoveries. They pop up again and again, even out of the mouths of our antagonists.
     A well known Conference New Church man used to say: "I am tired of hearing only of the 'simple good.' Give me the complex clever!" Even among the learned there are men who marvel at the anticipations and in-sights of Swedenborg the scientist and philosopher, and men who would welcome a Divine revelation to show mankind the way out of the moral wreckage in which it is floundering.

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     It is for us to announce that way. To be the exponents of the new philosophy of thought and life we must encourage and support the scholars and spokesmen whom Providence may send us to champion the revealed truth by the written and the spoken word.
     When asked for a miracle or sign, Swedenborg once replied: "The sign given at this day will be enlightenment, and thence an acknowledgment and a reception of the truths of the New Church; with some also there will be a speaking enlightenment, which is more than a sign. But some sign will perhaps still be given."*
     * Docu. 232.
     Even for the New Church, to whom the Holy Spirit of the opened Word has come, there will be a day of Pentecost, when we shall receive the gift of tongues which all devout men shall understand.
EDITORIAL NOTE 1963

EDITORIAL NOTE       Editor       1963

     [EDITORIAL NOTE. The two addresses given at the last Charter Day banquet are published now as being of especial interest during the month in which the Academy schools will be re-evaluated by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools. The re-evaluation will be carried out by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Learning and the Commission on Secondary Schools, affiliates of which the Middle States Association is the parent body, and which act as accrediting agencies. The Boys School, then the Boys Academy, was accredited in 1945. Under a "unit rule" adopted later by the Middle States Association, an institution consisting of several schools must be evaluated as a whole by the appropriate Commissions; so when the Boys School was re-evaluated in 1952, the Girls School and the College were evaluated at the same time and were duly accredited. Periodic re-evaluations of accredited institutions are made in order to ascertain whether they are still in good standing as such. It is such a re-evaluation that the Academy schools face this month. It will be conducted by a committee of nineteen educators who will visit the schools for several days. The evaluation is made on the basis of the schools' own statements of educational philosophy and objectives and their analysis of their own performance. While the Academy will issue its own official statement, readers of NEW CHURCH LIFE will be advised later of the results of this re-evaluation.]

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RUSSIA AND ATHEISM 1963

RUSSIA AND ATHEISM       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1963

     A STUDY

     (The first installment of a two-part article.)

     A Nation in the Light of the Writings

     It may seem strange, and perhaps dangerous, to use the teachings of Divine revelation in the discussion of a nation of the world, but the Heavenly Doctrine does permit of such a mundane application. We know that the Writings give direct teaching on civil as well as on ecclesiastical government,* and we try to apply the principles of the Writings to such everyday practical matters as the discipline of our children.
     * See HD 311.
     We live in a day of travel and of contacts with people of different nations, a day in which many follow their occupations outside of their native land. Now, more than ever before, we see situations in which the principles taught in Doctrine of Charity, Chapter IV, have direct application. Such teachings in the Writings throw light on the who-is-my-neighbor questions of a world in which international relationships become more prominent with every passing year. We discriminate between nations; observing carefully the policies of a given nation, its morals, and also its religion.

     There is a wealth of teaching in the Writings dealing with the nations of the world. The internal nature of men from different kingdoms is disclosed, and it is noted in True Christian Religion that this aspect of the revelation is indeed important.*
     * TCR 806.
     Dangers do exist when men use these teachings in the discussion of a nation. The danger of using Divine revelation merely to confirm personal persuasion and prejudice is present in a study of any kind. If ever the teachings of the Writings are made mere servants of the political and economic predilections of men, the understanding will be closed and the truths of theology will be obliterated from the mind. "Then the understanding abides only in political matters which have regard to man's life under the government where he is, and in the civil matters pertaining to his employment, and in the domestic affairs of his own house."*

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Those of us with English blood could take caution against a possible preoccupation with politics which may withdraw our minds from "studies of loftier inquiry, by which a higher intelligence is acquired."** If we go to the Writings with an open mind, however, even if our study be in politics and economics, we will learn to see things in true perspective and in right subordination.***
     * TCR 508
     ** TCR 808.
     *** For an example see TCR 55.

     Though the study of a nation may not be one of loftier inquiry, it has its place. There are many reasons why the nation of Russia attracts interest at this time in history, but the most important aspect of our inquiry is that nation as to its religion. On the one hand, we see in Russia the numerical strength of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The coming into being of that church, in 1054 A. D., is one of the momentous events in Christian history. As in the event of the Protestant Reformation, we may see something of the Divine Providence in it. There is reason for interest in this segment of Christendom, today numbering around 150 million people. The "Greek Church, which long ago separated from the Roman Catholic Church," seems to be pointedly omitted from certain statements in the Writings about Protestants and Catholics.* This is the church that comes to our minds when we read: "The Word is also but little read in Russia, but yet it is believed to be holy."**
     * See BE 18.
     * Verbo XVI
     On the other hand, we are interested in Russia as the bastion of an ideology that is avowedly atheistic. Atheism itself, as it inflows from hell in all parts of the world, is of special concern to those who know about the new revelation. That revelation was granted to protect the world against the infection and corruption of a "spirit of denial."* The Lord opened Swedenborg's spiritual eyes, and granted a revelation, lest man should become an "atheistic naturalist."** The Writings are the only real defense against atheism; the doctrinal formulations of today's Christians will not be able to stand against the spirit of denial any more than the Council of Nicea could give real protection against Arianism. Unless the fundamental errors which pervade Christian theology are abolished, "atheism will invade all Christendom."***
     * See HH 1.
     ** Infl. 3.
     *** TCR 628.

     Unbelief is to be found in all nations. Ideally, justice and judgment are truly guarded in a nation, and "men are compelled not to speak against religion and to do nothing in opposition to it."* Perhaps no nation today measures up to this ideal, or even to the ideal that its governors should be wise men "who fear God."**

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But in Russia we can see the very antithesis of these ideals; for anti-religious propaganda is fostered, and the rulers of that nation do not even profess to fear God.
     * DP 129: 1.
     ** HD 313, 323.
     No nation seems to be untouched by the atheistic undertones of the "naturalism" of which the Writings speak.* The spirit of denial is evident in many modern universities; but the educators of Russia speak openly and fondly of the progress of "atheistic education." We read, for example, in the official newspaper of that nation: "Not a few Russian people are still shackled by religion." "The work of atheistic education has noticeably increased in recent years . . . however, the scope and content of scientific-atheistic propaganda is not yet in line with the demands of the time."**
     * See DLW 69, 162, 349.
     ** Pravda, Sept. 26, 1962

     Nations in Ecclesiastical History

     It is noted in the Preface to Apocalypse Revealed that the Word does not treat of empires and kingdoms, but of heaven and the church. The history of the church, however, is within the history of nations, and that is why we find that certain verses of the Apocalypse have to do with the French nation.*
     * See AR 740, 745.
     We see the workings of the Divine Providence in the coming into being of the French nation before the Reformation;* and we see the Lord's hand in the raising up of nations which would espouse the Reformation and revive the reading of the Word. "He raised up Sweden, Denmark, Holland and England that they might receive."**
     * DP 257: 4.
     ** Inv. 24.
     We see only the barest generals of the workings of the Divine Providence, however, not the particulars. It is enough for us to know its laws and to acknowledge its presence in the happenings of the world. We are not told what modern nations answer to the Philistia and Assyria of old,* but we are to be aware that worldly threats and conflicts have their spiritual counterparts. The Writings show that man cannot know the future and is incapable of determining what should be the outcome of a worldly conflict;** but the spiritual man should, as it were, see the Divine Providence, even when "he looks at civil matters."*** Especially as he looks at the history of nations can he see the "wonderful activities of the Divine Providence";**** a notable example of this being the emergence of the Greek Church, which flourishes in Russia.
     * See DP 251: 4.
     ** See DP 252.
     *** DP 189
     **** DP 257e.
     In history the Greek Orthodox Church stands in striking contrast to the Roman Catholic Church.

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The Roman Church has a history of dominating nations and manipulating civil power, while the Greek Church has been dominated by civil rulers from the time of the Russian Czars to the present day. The characteristic of Roman Catholicism has been a Babylonish pursuit of power, while the characteristic of the Greek Church seems to fit a passage in the Spiritual Diary about the Russians which states that they are in obedience and subordination and do not aspire to high places.*
     * SD 5963.

     Judging an Entire Nation
     We hesitate to make sweeping generalities about an entire nation. Any individual man we meet, "from whatsoever kingdom," is our neighbor according to his good.* Yet every one of us, "even if unconsciously," thinks of a body of men as of one man.** When we consider nations, a general idea of their quality comes instantly to mind.*** This is a psychological phenomenon we can all observe in ourselves, and it does not mean that the ideas we have about nations are necessarily sound. They are from the things that are dominant in us at the time;**** and these can include feelings of vengeance or envy, coupled with distorted concepts and misinformation. But the idea of a nation as one man originates in a spiritual reality. The angels have a distinct idea of each nation as to the quality of its worship, and they have this from the Lord, before whom every nation is as one man.***** "All the English appear before Him as one man; likewise the Dutch, all the Germans, all the Swedes, also the French, the Poles, the Russians."******
     * Char. 87.
     ** DLW 24.
     *** AC 1258
     **** Ibid.
     ***** AC 1258; Char. 84.
     ****** Love VI
     Some nations are mixtures and are more difficult to generalize about than others. Germany is noted as an example of a nation that is thus difficult to describe,* and yet the law of one nation being as one man still applies. The general statements about nations in the Writings are remarkable; as, for example, the statement that in the spiritual world "every nation" has its place allotted in accordance with its idea of God as a Man."** It is provided that there shall be some religion "nearly everywhere";*** and it is interesting to compare this provision with such statements as "all nations in the wide world who have religion" and with the teaching that "there is in all the world no nation possessing religion and sound reason that does not acknowledge a God, and that God is one."**** Perhaps at a given time we may say of a nation that it is without religion, while we acknowledge that in the Lord's providence no nation is completely and irrevocably a godless nation.

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     * TCR 813
     ** DLW 13.
     *** DP 326: 9.
     **** Life 65; TCR 9.

     The saying is trite but true that there are good and bad men in every nation. "Suppose an infernal kingdom in the world (although there is none such) where none but the love of self ruled."* There is no nation in which all the people act from infernal motives. Like each individual, each nation has its attendant good spirits and its attendant evil spirits. In this respect each nation may be regarded as two men. All those in the nation who are in the genuine love of uses make up a "man-angel," while those who are not make up a "man-devil."** One or the other may be dominant at a given time. We note that both good and evil men have infernal spirits with them, and that "these infernal spirits rule with the evil, but with the good have been subjugated and are compelled to serve."*** Obviously we consider a nation according to those who are in power in its government, our attitude to Germany now being different from what it was when the Nazis were in power. "When a kingdom is regarded as a man, certain persons are called members of the government; and they constitute among them one man, whose members are the individuals therein."**** At a time when the activities and policies of a nation are evil, measures of many kinds are taken against it in the hope of changing it. The nation is then treated as an evil man would be treated in the hope that he may become good. Steps are taken "as far as possible to provide for his improvement, even though it be by threats, chastisement, penalties and privations."*****
     * DP 25): 4.
     ** See Love VI.
     *** AC 968.
     **** Char. 80.
     ***** Char. 79.
     In exploring the quality of an individual, the primary thing considered is his confession of God. "It is to be known that one is admitted into heaven in accordance with his confession of God; he is explored as to the quality of his thought and faith concerning God. . . . The first and primary thing, therefore, is to know and acknowledge, believe in, and love, God; all other things depend on this."* Those who comprise the man-angel in a nation are those who love their use "and at the same time look to God."** When we speak of judgment of a nation, the religion of that nation must be a prime consideration. "It must be borne in mind that in the spiritual world the state of every nation and people in general, and also of individuals, is in accordance with their acknowledgment and worship of God."***
     * Ath. 147
     ** Love VI.
     *** TCR 795.

     Human Evaluation of Nations

     Are we in the natural world permitted to evaluate a nation as to its religion? In Doctrine of Charity we seem to be bidden to do just that.

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Without moral judgments society would perish.* We are not to practice indiscriminate charity towards the nations of the world. "The human race is the neighbor in the widest sense; but as it is divided into empires, kingdoms and republics, any one of them is neighbor according to the good of its religion and morals, and according to the good that it performs to the country and makes to be one with its own good."** This matter of religion, or the acknowledgment of God, in a nation will be discussed in the second part of this study. Suffice it to say for the present that it is most important, although many in the world are indifferent to it. They are mistaken who think that religion in a nation makes no difference, or who say: "What does acknowledgment accomplish? Is it not mere thought?"***
     * See CL 523
     ** Char. 87.
     *** DP 326.

     In our world of interdependent economies, one nation's judgment of another is no meaningless abstraction. Nations do choose from which other nations they will buy a certain commodity. Decisions are made among nations as to which shall be included in special trade associations, trade and immigration quotas, and defensive alliances, and there are factors which qualify diplomatic courtesies.
     The friendliness and policies of another country are taken into consideration, and so also are its morals. It is common today for one nation to make a moral judgment of another nation's racial policies; and incidents which involve the killing of many people, such as the suppression of the Budapest uprising in 1956, often change the way in which a nation is regarded as the neighbor. Immoral policies or immoral actions evoke not only protests but economic and diplomatic reprisals. Every responsible statesman regards a foreign country according to the good that it performs to his own country, and he consults the safety of his native land in taking care lest he put weapons in the hands of an aggressor.
     The New Church man's attitude toward different nations will be influenced by his understanding of the Writings. They will help him to think rightly in the face of today's multiplicity of nations and today's emergence of new nations. As he observes the characteristics of a nation he will relate them to certain principles and specific teachings. Besides teachings about religion, these include notably teachings about freedom and teachings about law.
Freedom is not to be confused with license. We are shown the harmful results when a country has excessive liberty "of cheating by cunning and deceit, and also of killing"; and we are shown the salutary effect on the English nation of a freedom that is fostered together with the firm restraint of crime."*

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We speak of the "free world" and of "free nations," and the phrases are justified in so far as the people of one nation enjoy freedom that those of another do not. Something that can be easily observed is the simple matter of the freedom of people to come and go as they wish. We note the teaching of the Writings that "free nations are like the larger deer with lofty horns that roam the fields, groves and forests at perfect liberty; while nations that are not free are like the deer kept in parks to please a prince."**
     * SD 5629
     ** TCR 815.
     Because of the teaching of the Writings we look for freedom of speech and freedom of the press in a nation. We read of the favorable state of the English nation "because it is allowed to speak and write freely."* Under despotic governments there is suppression of expression and control of the press. Germany under a despotic government is cited: "As the Germans are under a despotic government in each particular dukedom, they have no such freedom of speech and of the press as the Hollanders and the British have, and when that freedom is restrained, freedom of thought, that is, freedom to investigate matters to the furthest extent, is also kept in restraint."** In this passage such restraint is likened to a "high wall."
     * LJ post. 5.
     ** TCR 814.

     The Writings speak of the establishment of useful laws, of government under law, and of the function of judges in the use of laws.* They also allude to international law.** Three things are noted as being needful for governors. They should be skilled in the law, wise and God-fearing.*** We are taught that they also have laws in heaven, according to which they live together, and that governors there administer all things in accordance with the laws, which they understand because they are wise.****
     * See Char. 161, 163 et al.
     ** See DP 251: 2.
     *** See HD 313.
     **** HH 215.
     A man's religious understanding is intimately related to his wisdom in matters of civil law, for civil law is from rational law, and this is from Divine law.* In certain legal questions today the need for the principles of the Writings is evident. We note, for example, the debated legal requirement in some states that a candidate for public office must profess to believe in God. Today, some question the requirement of the phrase, "so help me, God," in the oaths taken by federal officeholders in the United States. In this connection we note the teaching concerning the seemly use of the name of God in reference to inductions into public office.** In some places blasphemy laws still exist which forbid the public casting of doubt on the fundamentals of religious belief.

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Such laws as these are to be considered in judging the state of a nation; for we are taught that in kingdoms where justice and judgment are guarded, men are compelled not to speak against religion.*** One thing emphasized in the Writings is that the ruler of a nation must himself be subject to the law, and that he does not have a right to the possessions and lives of his people.**** It was on this subject that Swedenborg contended with Russians in the spiritual world.*****
     * CL 276; HD 322.
     ** TCR 297.
     *** DP 129: 2.
     **** HD 322-324.
     ***** See SD 5949.

     The Russians in the Spiritual World

     There are some intriguing passages in the Spiritual Diary under the headings "The Russian Nation" and "The Russians." Into the reader's mind may flash pictures of Russia's history long after the time of the Czars. In the active imagination, the fear of the Czar and his omnipresence becomes the fear of Stalin.* Submission to the Czar's officials becomes submission to the secret police.** The worship of the Czar as a god brings thoughts of processions to Lenin's tomb, or of the huge and ubiquitous portraits of Russian heroes.*** The disposition of the Russians to "purge" their society calls to mind the purges of more recent days; and the casting forth of undesirables, who never return, evokes visions of Siberia.**** Russians are pictured conversing furtively about "freedom such as there is elsewhere."***** The scant description of a kind of workers' society, which was "heaven" in their estimation, may seem like a communist dream; or perhaps the processions of women there brings to mind women shoveling snow on the streets of Moscow.****** One notices Swedenborg's contradiction of what seem to be persistent Russian ideas about individual rights and private ownership.*******
     * See SD 5452.
     ** See SD 5963.
     *** See SD 5949
     **** See SD 5963.
     ***** SD 5452.
     ***** See SD 5453.
     ****** SD 5949.
     As to the quality of the Russians, we find it said that they are not so wicked as the rest in Christendom; and yet it is said elsewhere that the Italians and the Russians have the distinction of being the worst nations in Europe.* A possible solution of this apparent contradiction is suggested by the phrase, "the rest in Christendom." Perhaps it means that, although the Russians are one of the worst nations in Europe, those Russians who are Christians are not so wicked as other Christians. The coming into being of the Eastern Orthodox Church in 1054 AD. may have provided a large body of simple good that would serve as a cushion against the evil spheres of Christendom. Swedenborg wrote: "Russians have been with me several times; and through them the evil from the Christian world were kept away."**

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But certain Russians exercise an evil influence. It was said that they were inwardly more wicked than others, and that they operated in an exceedingly powerful way."*** One passage speaks of Russians not having the same evil effect as Christians. They are not in the love of self, but in a predatory love of the world; and the effect of the love of the world, when not subordinated to any love of heaven, is to draw men away from spiritual love, from heaven and from the Divine.****
     * SD 5963. Cf. SD 5034.
     ** SD 5963.
     *** SD 5455.
     **** See SD 5949. Cf. HH 565.

     Russia and the Reception of the Heavenly Doctrine

     We are interested in a nation as to its part in the history of the New Church. We know that the church will be collected by the Lord from all nations,* and, as we look for areas most favorable to the growth of the New Church, we are interested in what the Writings call "each nation's common faculty of receiving Divine truths."** Some of the earliest reception of the Writings took place in Russia, but also some of the earliest opposition to them. Under the year 1783 we read in Annals of the New Church: "A society of readers of the Writings is formed at Moscow by two young men. They soon experience persecution from the government, and but little is heard of the subsequent fate of the movement."
     * See AR 859.
     ** LJ 48.
     Perhaps the lack of other religious dogmas may make Russians appear to be favorable missionary prospects. Some are said to be entirely empty; but it is not an emptiness that thirsts for truth, it is the emptiness of indifference. They do not care for religion, nor for truths, but merely say:
"If there is a God, there is."* We know how unreceptive those people are who take no interest in religion, and who, when reasoning with the believer, simply say: "Can I not easily acknowledge God when I come to know with certainty that there is a God?"** Yet there must be states of reception among Russia's millions, and the prohibition of religious literature can whet appetites.
     * SD 5454.
     ** DP 326.
     We note the reference to spirits "from the north part of Asia" who, from their life in the world, were of such a disposition as to be able to receive the Heavenly Doctrine.* The same passage, however, mentions those who were in sciences as being most unreceptive. The state of reception was among those who had not extinguished the gift of perception by sciences. Here we should take warning not to imagine that advancement in science makes men receptive of spiritual enlightenment. It is easy to fall into the notion that those who probe most diligently into the nature of things will be most disposed to belief. The Writings speak of the man who thinks that a kind of natural theology will illumine the mind and cause it to believe.

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"Any such one is much deceived. He goes in inverted order; or by means of a grosser into a purer thing, by natural things into spiritual. This is wholly contrary to order; for then man is blinded more and more, and at length so much so that he believes nothing, yea, denies all spiritual truth."**
     * SD 4779
     ** SD 4758
     How many people think of science as the light of the world, and care nothing for Divine revelation! It is true that science is to be rightly used in the opening of the mind; but it is also true that it is because of science that the spirit of denial is more grievous now than ever before in the history of mankind. "At this day, however, it is much worse than in former times, because men can now confirm the incredulity of the senses by scientifics unknown to the ancients, and this has given birth to an indescribable degree of darkness. If men knew how great is the darkness from this cause, they would be astounded."*
     * AC 232.
     Our study has to do with Russia and atheism. That nation, of which it was said that "they are in greater darkness than the rest," is now known for its prowess in science. Today is the day when the scientist is held in awe and when many consider religion a thing of the past. Atheists now hail the historic day when a Russian rocketed into the heavens and proved at last that there are no angels and that there is no God. We who hail the pursuit of learning should bear this in mind as we read the following in a Memorable Relation: "I asked the satan what his occupation was; and he said, 'My occupation is the pursuit of learning.' Swedenborg continued: "Since you come from a society where learning prevails, tell me what you and your companions believe in regard to God." The satan answered: "God, heaven, angels and the like, about which many in the world have much to say, are empty terms and fictions taken from the meteors which play before the eyes of many people."*
     * TCR 80.
     Such is the spirit of denial which seeps into the world, and which only the Writings can arrest and dissipate.

(To be concluded)
OF INTEREST TO COLLECTORS 1963

OF INTEREST TO COLLECTORS              1963

     The Immanuel Church Library has many complete volumes and odd numbers of NEW CHURCH LIFE. If anyone would like to have all or some of these please write: Immanuel Church Library, 74 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month we find some rather unusual teachings concerning the subject of temptation. So much is said in the Writings about temptations being the necessary and only means whereby man can be led to the life of heaven, that sometimes we are apt to think that the very presence of a temptation is a sign that we are doing the work of regeneration. It is true that the presence of a temptation may well indicate that regeneration is taking place-especially when that presence is viewed after the temptation has passed. However, as our readings point out, man can also fall in temptation, and in so doing bring himself closer to the life of hell.*
     * AC 2273: 1.
     What changes the Lord is able to effect in man during a state of temptation depends upon man's intent therein. From what motive, affection and thought does he fight? It is possible for man to desire, and seem to achieve, a victory in temptation entirely from selfish motives. So we read:

     "Man is not saved on account of temptations if he places anything of merit in them; for if he does this, it is from the love of self, in that he congratulates himself on their account, and believes that he has merited heaven more than others, and at the same time he is thinking of his own pre-eminence over others by despising others in comparison with himself."*
     * AC 2273.

     The Lord permits temptations, with all their despair, strife and doubts, so that man may look, not to his own resources and strength, but to the strength and power of God. For the Lord is able to help man, and to be present with all the goods of heaven, just as far as man in his freedom asks the Lord to help him: asks the Lord to help him from an acknowledgment that all good is from the Lord alone and that man of himself is nothing. In such an acknowledgment there can be no idea of merit, nor of gain or honor or reputation. Vanity and the pride of self-intelligence must be banished from the thought. Indeed, such are the Lord's order and help in the permission of temptation, that the very thoughts which come to man are that he is the least and the most unworthy of all men, unclean and evil. It is when man is in this thought and the consequent despair, and yet from the knowledge and conviction of truth fights to overcome as if of himself, that the Lord draw near to do for him what he cannot do for himself-change him into an angelic man.

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     After a temptation has passed, there are some indications we can have as to what has been effected in the temptation. We mentioned, for example, that in temptation man feels that he is the least worthy of all men, and that he is infernal rather than heavenly. If, after the temptation has passed, these thoughts depart and contrary ones take their place, it is a sign that he has not yet overcome the evil which led to the temptation. For we read:

     "The thoughts which the man has had in temptations are those to which can be bent the thoughts which he has after the temptations; and if the latter cannot be bent to the former, the man has either yielded in temptation, or he again comes into similar ones, and sometimes into more grievous ones, until he has been reduced to such sanity that he believes he has merited nothing."*
     * AC 2273.

     We all incline to different evils. Those evils which particularly infest us cannot be overcome quickly or easily. For the Lord to be given by us the freedom to reach the roots of a certain evil will require many states of temptation, many combats, and a constant seeking of the Lord's help. Yet that help is there for the asking; it is free, and it is sure. No massing of hell's fury can prevent His presence, or stop the work that His mercy and love seek to create and bring forth in the man who gives his life into the hands of his Creator.
BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL 1963

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL              1963

     "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy" (Matthew 5: 7).
     "Those who are merciful during the life of the body, and, indeed, who bestow but a little mercy from the heart, in the other life receive indefinite things, therefore an unspeakable reward, namely, felicity; for through mercy, because [proceeding] from mercy, arises all felicity; and they receive so much mercy in each and all things, together with felicity, that it is ineffable, and attended with the greatest perception. It is the same with innocence. No comparison is granted, for each and all things are exalted in the other life, where the body does not rage, and the sensuals of the body do not command, but they are left to interior and more interior perception" (Spiritual Diary 2420).

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REVIEW 1963

REVIEW              1963

UNITY IN THE UNIVERSE. By David R. Simons. Illustrations by Leon S. Rhodes assisted by Alfred D. Sandstrom. Published by the author, 1962. Cloth, pp. 156.

     If this book were presented to the New Church public as a science textbook, it would be open to certain criticism. According to the author, however, that is not what it essentially is; nor is it intended that it should be used as a source of scientific fact. It grew out of teaching science to the seventh grade, and was written to be used as the basis for a science course, but its entire emphasis is said to be on religion and philosophy. The author's conviction is that religion needs to be matched and confirmed by science, and science needs to be ordered and interpreted from the Word and his purpose is to show how the facts of science-which are readily obtainable, and which the teacher is urged to acquire from as many sources as possible-can be ordered by the truths of the Writings so as to demonstrate the plan and purpose behind them, and thus transform our thinking about the natural world by revealing the underlying unity of the universe.

     Mr. Simons rightly believes that only religious truths can provide basic concepts which are simple enough to be learned early by the young but which can be infilled in later education as the foundation of true rationality; ideas to which others can be related, but which in themselves remain fixed and constant. He holds that universal truths concerning God, the mode and purpose of His creation and the order of His Divine providence, furnish concepts which the mind must have in order to understand and appreciate the world in which it lives; and that, regarded from such truths, the facts of nature fall into their proper place, are brought into harmony, and make sense. It is in the light of these beliefs that his book should be judged.
     For convenient use during the school year the book is divided into nine chapters. The introduction, "Order in the Universe," is intended primarily for teachers and adults "as a means of setting the philosophic tenor of all that follows." In the nine chapters themselves, Science, Creation, Astronomy, Light, Electricity, Air, Geology, Botany, Zoology and Anatomy are dealt with, respectively. The facts are ordered under the relevant principles; questions are asked to stimulate thought; and examples, analogies and explanatory material are offered in abundance.
     The author explains that in preparing the material he has relied heavily on information obtained from others.

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The original set of notes, developed for teaching seventh grade science, was written with the direct help of several New Church men; the writer supplying the general principles, while they furnished the illustrations in science. Of particular interest are the illustrations, thirty in all, done by Leon S. Rhodes; they show both imagination and clarity in translating ideas into visual forms, which is never an easy task.
     To the critical mind, the subtitle of Unity in the Universe, "a philosophy of the New Church as applied to the world of nature," may seem somewhat pretentious and not borne out in the matter which follows. Every subject field has its philosophy, which must be sought in and developed from the Writings, and in the light of which the data must be ordered, presented and interpreted; but a careful reading of the book did not leave this reviewer with the clear impression that such a philosophy had been presented. This is not to depreciate what has been done, but to warn against inflation of our literary currency to the point at which its symbols cease to have real meaning or value.

     Ever since the Academy was founded the cry for New Church textbooks has been heard. The need is acknowledged by all, but how to meet it is not understood by too many. Good textbooks are rarely just written-they evolve over a period of years; or rather, they are the product of a carefully controlled process of aging and maturing. Usually a good text finally emerges from a well-prepared course, taught over a period of years and constantly revised in the light of experience. Sometimes it is used in draft form by colleagues of the writer in teaching their courses, and their suggestions and criticisms are carefully considered before the work is readied for the printer.
     As Mr. Simons has been careful to explain, Unity in the Universe is not a science textbook. However, it does represent several years of study, thought and teaching in the field, enriched by the co-operative efforts of others which are freely acknowledged. As such it should be of considerable help to those who are engaged in the teaching of science to the upper grades in our elementary schools if used as intended-as a basis for the science course. Out of such use over the next few years, with such modifications as experience may suggest, a science text may eventually come. If this should be the result of his labors, the author will no doubt feel amply rewarded. As it is, he has produced a book of current value, and one that should encourage teachers in other fields.

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NEW BEGINNING 1963

NEW BEGINNING       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     The past which entered deeply into it, and the future to which it looks, combine to invest the dedication of the new Carmel Church building with unusual significance. Other societies have with reluctance and eagerness left old buildings in which strong affections centered, but which the most loving eye could not fail to recognize as outworn beyond renovation and unsuited to the uses to be performed. Here, however, in addition to a new building of striking beauty and with adequate facilities, is the promise of a new community; of homes growing up around the building in which worship and instruction, education and social life will take place, to combine with it in a single form of use.
     From the standpoint of the Carmel Church, the dedication was the happy consummation of years of discussion and planning in which harmonious agreement was gradually and freely reached; months of diligent search and unremitting work; and weeks of final preparation. Tribute has deservedly been paid to the dedication and devotion of those who made that consummation possible. The delight of our Kitchener friends in their new home, their wonderment that it had actually been achieved, were most touching to experience; and the entire General Church, so well represented for the occasion, will wish them a long, useful and happy life in it.
     In the order of human life, ends attained become new beginnings. It is our hope that in the uses done there the new Carmel Church will serve as an instrument in the Lord's hands to promote the growth of His church among men; and that all who worship and live in the community will worship and serve the Lord in spirit and in truth.

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REPENTANCE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1963

REPENTANCE IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH       Editor       1963

     It is sometimes asked just how far repentance is possible in the Christian churches. There is little direct teaching in the Writings to which we may turn for an answer. However, it would seem that actual evils can be repented of by the so-called easy method prescribed in the Writings; that is, by a man resolving, when he sees that he is meditating a certain evil, that he will not do so because it is a sin against God. At the same time, it would seem that internal hereditary evils cannot be repented of because they cannot be recognized; thus that the evil heredity of the human race cannot be diminished by the kind of repentance possible to Christians-which places responsibility upon us.
     We may, perhaps, put it this way. Christians can repent of the ultimate evils forbidden in the precepts of the Decalogue, and of the moral offenses against those precepts brought out by the Lord's teaching in the Gospels. They may recognize ethical concepts and universal spiritual truths in the Word, and may even have some insight into a symbolic meaning within certain commandments; may see, for example, that there are other forms of idolatry than worshiping images. However, they cannot repent of offenses against the spiritual and celestial senses of the commandments because they do not have the spiritual truth of the Writings which reveals those senses. When it is added that repentance involves temptation, and that without spiritual truth there cannot be any spiritual temptations, we may conclude that interior repentance is not possible within the Christian churches today.
     This does not mean that those who are within these churches cannot be saved. Within a sincere will to keep the commandments as they are understood is the will to keep them in all the senses in which they may be rightly understood; and those who have that will yet perform interior repentance-in the spiritual world after death if not in this life.
CONCEPT OF REGENERATION 1963

CONCEPT OF REGENERATION       Editor       1963

     There is a high degree of probability that the average Christian seldom, if ever, thinks about regeneration-at least by that name. He is concerned, if at all, with the ideas embodied in such terms as "salvation," "conversion," and, more recently, "commitment." For the most part he thinks of these as taking place, or being made, instantaneously, or else holds that the time element is unimportant. The devout Roman Catholic seeks sacramental salvation; and the more evangelical the movement to which a Protestant belongs, the more likely is he to seek definite assurance that he has been saved.

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Indeed, Protestants have been known to ask us what good our religion is if it does not bring the conviction that we have been saved! The evolutionist, of course, sees no need for salvation; and if he accepts religion at all, he does so as promising the completion of the evolutionary process.
     The teaching of the Writings has entirely different implications in the field of religion. It leads us to conceive of regeneration as a life-long process; as being effected gradually through a life of religion-a life which consists in looking to the Lord, shunning evils because they are sins against Him, and thereby entering into the doing of goods because they are uses. At no time is the regenerating man given an assurance that he has been saved; at no time does he even have the positive assurance that he will be saved. In looking to the Lord he is required also to have implicit trust in Him.
     Regeneration results neither from a life of piety nor yet from an emotional response to religion, but from a life of religion. That is the essential difference between the teachings of the New Church and the former church; one of the many things that make for the distinctiveness of the New Church, a distinctiveness that should be reflected both in its teaching and in its life. It should not be thought, however, that the life of religion is either uncertain or unhappy. Spiritually as well as naturally, men are happiest when they are pitting themselves against obstacles which challenge but do not overwhelm their capacities, and when they are sustained by hope from trust in the Lord's providing.
REWARDS CAN BE USEFUL 1963

REWARDS CAN BE USEFUL       Editor       1963

     The use and abuse of rewards, especially in the training of children, has frequently been discussed in the church. Although it does not solve all the problems that arise, a helpful principle may be found in the teaching that reward is of service as a means of conjunction with those who have not been initiated in good and its affection. The test suggested here is this: is the reward, and the manner in which it is promised and given, likely to promote conjunction; or is it more likely to disjoin the giver and the recipient? If the proffered reward appeals only to selfishness and cupidity it is more likely to disjoin, for only self-gratification is excited. But if it is associated with a use which the giver properly desires shall be performed, then an affection of the use can be stirred, and in that the giver and receiver can be conjoined.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN

     At this writing we are all happily anticipating the beautiful Christmas season. The sermon at the evening service on December 2 was on "The Savior of the World," and the only doctrinal class in December was to be on an advent subject. Those who will assist with the presentation of tableaux on December 15 are busy being fitted with costumes and attending rehearsals, working on stage effects, etc. Singing practises have been planned in preparation for the joyful singing spirit that goes with Christmas. The children will meet during the week for their practise in place of the regular religion classes, and there will be an adult sing at the church on Friday, December 21. The usual children's festival service will be held on the Sunday previous to Christmas instead of on Christmas Eve. The social committee is making arrangements for the caroling. There is to be a supper at the manse at 6:00 p.m. for the carolers. On Christmas Day the service will be addressed mainly to adults. This most inspirational season will have its culmination in Divine worship and the administration of the Holy Supper on December 30.
     In September our pastor, the Rev. Norman Reuter, announced that the first doctrinal class would be given over to discussion of a doctrinal program for the Society. He thought it best to drop the special study group class of last year and to return to a series of general doctrinal classes designed to meet as wide a range of interests and states as possible. Mr. Reuter said that if all would participate, then as a society we could expect to experience a growing together in doctrinal thought and understanding which would provide a unified guidance
through wisdom derived from the Lord; a guidance which would gradually replace the divisive effects of self-derived intelligence. The general subject of the three classes in October was "Doctrine"; but in November Mr. Reuter began a consideration of "The Literal Sense of the Old Testament in Relation to the Spiritual Sense." The suggested reading for this series is a continuous covering of the literal sense of the Old Testament Word.
     We have attempted to arrange fewer activities this year in the hope of getting a better attendance at all church functions. The new arrangement seems to be working out well. The average attendance at doctrinal class has increased; our Fall Frolic in October drew 65 children and 37 adults; and the combined Sons' Meeting and Men's Assembly had a good attendance and also made it possible to cover a great deal of business in one evening instead of two. The Women's Guild will have only six meetings this year, and Theta Alpha will have just two meetings. It is not always a lack of interest that keeps people away from church functions, but a lack of time and of the physical endurance needed to keep up with too many functions.
     To most of us, the General Assembly was the focal point of the year. Including students, there were 55 persons in attendance from Detroit. Our thanks go to all those who were responsible for making it such a fine Assembly. This includes those who opened their homes to so many of us. I am sure that we all experienced the "exchange of spiritual ideas and the intercommunication of affection" with our fellow New Church men of which Bishop Pendleton spoke in his message concerning Assemblies.
     It was a great pleasure to have Dr. Whitehead visit with us last February.

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He spoke on church history at the Sons' banquet. It is good to be reminded that in looking back through the history of the church we can see that so much real progress has been made. The Rev. and Mrs. Daniel Heinrichs also came to Detroit that month. Mr. Heinrichs spoke to an informal gathering at the church about his work in South Africa. On July 10, there was an open house at the home of John and Eunice Howard for the Rev. and Mrs. Bjorn Boyesen of Stockholm, Sweden. Mr. Boyesen gave an informal talk about the New Church in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
     The recent dedication of the new church and school building in Kitchener drew 22 persons from Detroit. It was a most inspiring weekend. Our sincere congratulations for a job well done!
     FREDA BRADIN

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     Traffic was heavy between Glenview and local vacation areas last summer. Boaters and campers kept on disappearing, boys and girls clubs had their annual outings, and cottages in Linden Hills and Hazelhurst welcomed new tenants every week or two. Some visitors flowed in. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen and his wife lingered in the U. S. A., after the Assembly, visiting friends east and west. We enjoyed having him preach for us during his travels. The Rev. Louis King journeyed with his wife and family to Wisconsin in two Volkswagens, leaving the cool north winds to occupy our pulpit one Sunday.
     On an August Sunday everyone turned out after church to honor Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Lee on their golden wedding anniversary. A dozen silver goblets were presented to them as a token of our love and admiration. The Lees are sure to use them, as they love a toast to the church and a song better than most. But they do not stop with lip service; they are one of our busiest couples, actively engaged in running the Book Center which adjoins their home.
     Dr. and Mrs. Donald Gladish were similarly feted for twenty-five married years of service to the Society. Among other things, Dr. Gladish has offered free medical examinations to the school children for most of those years. The doctor and his wife were presented with a silver bowl and a purse.
After a regular visit from the state fire marshal, custodian John Barry, assistant Arthur Wille and others removed great quantities of combustible materials from the school attic, and even burned the ancient rock collection-the rocks were papier-mache, made as props for tableaux. They were permitted to keep, after an eloquent plea from Mr. Alan Fuller, suits of armor and the school skeleton.
     Because the fire marshal considered our aging school a menace, other steps were taken. Fireproof doors are being installed in the boiler room as well as louvered windows that close automatically in case of fire. An alarm system has now been installed which will give a sufficiently raucous warning to allow the children to escape. In the past, some of the upstairs children theoretically burned up, since they never heard the fire alarm during drills.
     More classroom space was provided by moving the school office out of one classroom and installing it in the former kitchen, now mostly unused since Friday suppers are held in Pendleton Hall. A small unit in the new office provides water, refrigeration and a small stove for the use of teachers and those children who eat their lunch at the school. Some strenuous painting was done by Mr. Marshall Fuller, Mr. Roy Fuller, and many friends and relations of the latter, who kept appearing at church with green paint in their hair. The hallways are fresh and cheerful now, although much painting remains to be done.
     Each classroom is now filled to capacity, and we know that expansion is inevitable. Miss Gladys Blackman, Mr. Bradley Smith and Mrs. Warren Reuter remain on our ever-changing teaching staff. They were joined in September by Miss Diana Carpenter, Miss Gale Coffin and Miss Ruth Parker. Since there are two classes in each room, volunteers are needed to give each teacher more time for each class; therefore art, music, orchestra and field trips are increasingly offered by society members.

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Even so, the teachers have their hands full.
     For example, our small school has been one of the first in this area to endorse President Kennedy's physical fitness program. Each day, during school hours, the children have twenty minutes of strenuous activity in Pendleton Hall. Mr. Smith, Miss Parker and Mrs. Geoffrey Howard share this assignment. It means changing into gym clothes for all the children and the ladies, and then changing back again before classes are resumed. So far everything has moved smoothly, but it will he tricky when there is deep snow on the grounds between the buildings.
     Since no tests were given before the program began it is hard to say how well the children are doing. After five weeks tests were given which indicate that there is room for improvement. The girls are a little above the national average, the boys a little below. The only thing in which the boys excelled was softball throwing. Perhaps the President is concerned that we are raising a generation which has only enough "vigor" for baseball!
     The Epsilon Society, our newest organization, has done very well of late. In October it helped to organize a series of five talks by the Rev. Geoffrey Howard on WGN-TV. Every morning at 7:55 we could turn on the TV and hear a simple talk presented by the assistant to the pastor in a well modulated voice and a sincere manner. These talks were taped and repeated late at night. Although we do not feel that Mr. Howard is a threat to the ratings of established television personalities, he did a fine job as compared with ministers from other churches who have appeared on this program.
     Even more successful was an advertisement in the Chicago Sunday Tribune for Heaven and Hell. So far the Epsilon Society has mailed out 169 copies, and has had several phone calls, and even one visitor. Mr. Robert Brickman reports that the Tribune advised him to postpone the second advertisement until the holidays are over, since response is poor at this time of year. On hearing this, the Rev. Elmo Acton remarked: "It is interesting to think that people are willing to postpone heaven and hell until after Christmas."
     Mr. Acton has been in our thoughts a great deal in past months. As many of you know, he has been called to the office of Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church, effective September 1. It is hard to describe our feelings after nineteen years of having him with us. There will be many tributes before he enters into his new work. We might mention some of the best remembered things. Dedication to education and the raising of children comes at the top of the list; a large group of parents in this society has raised children with Mr. Acton's understanding advice. Strong adherence to the principles of the Academy-whether one agreed with Mr. Acton on the application, it would be hard to disagree on the principle behind it; joyous participation in the festivals of the church and preparation for each one with enthusiasm; affection for the music of the church, and devotion to Hebrew; consideration for those who enjoy working with him: this is one person's list, everyone in Glenview will have his own to remember.
     Although we are losing Mr. Acton as our pastor, we will be gaining him in his service to the church at large. We are thankful that he and Mrs. Acton will be in Bryn Athyn, where we have the best chance of seeing him often. Our students traveling to school will surely see him, and perhaps even study with him. It is only fair to share his ability with a larger group.
     We are grateful also to Bishop Pendleton for the orderly manner in which the transition was made. With his help we chose a method for inviting a new pastor. A committee of seventeen was elected to counsel with the Bishop on the selection of one name. After the committee had met several times with him, and with Mr. Acton as his delegate, the Bishop presented to us the name of the Rev. Louis B. King. This choice was warmly approved by ballot. As Christmas approaches we look forward to a busy and happy year. We hope that Mr. and Mrs. King will be as happy with us as we will be to have them.
     GLORIA BARRY

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SOME GENERAL CHURCH USES 1963

SOME GENERAL CHURCH USES              1963




     Announcements





     GENERAL CHURCH RELIGION LESSONS. Graded lessons and other material from preschool through Grade 12. Address inquiries to: Pastor-in-charge, Rev. Karl R. Alden, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     GENERAL CHURCH SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE. Tape-recordings of services, children's services, doctrinal classes, etc. Address: General Church Sound Recording Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

GENERAL CHURCH VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE. Biblical and other slides. Address: Mr. William R. Cooper, Director, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     NEW CHURCH EDUCATION. Published monthly, September through June, by Religion Lessons Committee. Subscription, $1.50 per year. Editor: Rev. Karl R. Alden.
NEW SOCIETY 1963

NEW SOCIETY              1963

     On January 17,1963, the Glendale Church of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Glendale, California, was recognized by the Bishop as a Society of the General Church. The new Society, of which the Rev. Harold C. Cranch is pastor, had previously been recognized as the Los Angeles Circle. In making this announcement we congratulate the members of the Glendale Church, and extend good wishes for its development.

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MEDITATION IN LIFE 1963

MEDITATION IN LIFE       Rev. MORLEY D. RICH       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
March 1963
No. 3
NEW CHURCH LIFE
     "For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had." (John 5: 4)

     In the story of the healing of the paralytic by the Lord are pictured the place and function of truth in every person's life. For the pool described represents the Lord's Word, its waters represent the truths contained in the Word, the angel stirring the water pictures the way in which every man may be vivified and purified by those truths; and, finally, when the Lord commanded the paralytic to "arise, take up thy bed, and walk," He was conveying the need for a final step by man in the process of his being healed or regenerated, namely, the need for reflection-for meditation upon the teachings, the truths, by which he has been given new life.

     It may seem curious, then, that the name of this pool was Bethesda; for this is a Hebrew name meaning "house of mercy," and we do not ordinarily associate truth with mercy. Do we not usually think of truth as militant, as sharp, as sometimes even harsh and condemnatory of the natural man? How may it be, then, that truth can be signified by the water of a pool, the name of which means "house of mercy"?
     On the merely natural plane we can easily see why this pool was called Bethesda; for it was a merciful provision of the Lord that the blind, the halt and the withered could be physically healed by its waters after they had been stirred by an angel. This but reflects the real mercy, the Divine mercy, contained and sometimes concealed in His truth.
     Truly, it is only by means of truth first of all that any man can be brought to a state of repentance; and, painful though repentance may be and is, yet without it man cannot be saved and therefore cannot be brought to a new birth, and thus to everlasting happiness in the kingdom of heaven.

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This is reflected also in the rough appearance and harsh manner of John the Baptist, who first went out to call men to repentance before the Lord's ministry began.
     This is not to say, of course, that truth is the final end, or that it is unaccompanied by good-that it is truth by itself. The end or purpose of truth is always that man may finally be led to good, to a genuine love, to a will that is in harmony with the Lord's will. That, indeed, is the very good which lies within, and is sometimes concealed by, the truth itself; and that is why the pool which represented truth was called "the house of mercy."

     The greater our understanding of and belief in this merciful function of truth to men is, the less will we be drawn into any depreciation or slighting of truth. That is a very real danger, for at the end of every age truth has fallen into somewhat of disrepute with men. A sad skepticism has resulted from the fierce disputes of men as to what the truth is in every field of religious life; and from this comes a neglect of truth in the interests of mere external peace and harmony. Viewed in one way, this is a very natural reaction; and it is a tempting train of thought which now and then takes possession of men-the thought that human doctrine leads only to conflict, and truth is therefore not as important as unity in social, political and religious life. Truth, the thought continues, is only relative, a matter of widely diverse opinion among men. Therefore, as Pilate asked, "What is truth?"
     It is almost needless to say that this condition arises, not from the nature of truth itself, but from the nature of men. For men ever tend to identify their own opinions with the truth itself, and if each of two conflicting opinions claims to be the truth itself, then the natural reaction is to decide that there is no such thing as truth. Even unconsciously, even when men know better than this, they are somewhat influenced toward that attitude.
     Thus, at the beginning of each new age and new church, men suffer from this neglect of truth without knowing it. That is, they do not know it unless they rationally examine their own attitudes and trends in the light of new truth. While they may admire and theoretically believe the new truths which the Lord brings in His mercy, for the most part they perceive only dimly, coolly and in a detached manner the spiritual necessities and uses pointed to and implied in the truth. Only in a laggard fashion, and tardily, do they perceive the vitality with which the Lord has stirred the waters of truth. Their wills are paralyzed by the age-long deadening human conflict as to truth which has preceded, and of which they know; and so, like the paralytic, they cannot move themselves to enter the waters of truth, even when the Lord stirs the pool of His Word with new revelations of its significance.

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     That is the condition of mind which assails, which afflicts, every man of a new church in history. It largely explains the painful slowness with which each new age spreads at first and the painful struggle that is involved in its spread. For men are benumbed by past human conflicts. They are deadened by the harsh mental beatings received in innumerable doctrinal disputes. Their minds have been coarsened and made sensual by the artificially created conditions of false civilizations.
     So it is that it is only with great difficulty that the man of a new church can lift his thought sufficiently above time and space and matter to contemplate infinite and eternal truths. It is only occasionally and fitfully that he perceives the infinite importance of that new church which the Lord is establishing out of His infinite mercy toward the children of men; and, finally, it is even more rarely that his will is so enlivened by its truths as to be galvanized into significant, regenerating and saving meditation thereon and action therefrom.

     It is indeed true that without truth in some degree and kind men are dead. They have no imagination; and, most important of all, they have no good that can be called good.
     That is why every man must beware lest he unwittingly belittle the power and importance of truth; lest he regard any part of the Lord's mercifully provided truth as being too abstract for practical use or for the reformation of his life; lest he think slightingly of the Lord's Word in supposing any part of it to be beyond the understanding of himself and of others. Let him, then, reflect that all of the Lord's infinite power of expression was applied from His love for men to the giving of that Word for their salvation, and that this inexhaustible store of truth is freely offered for the mere taking. So it is even as He has said in His second coming: Every truth whatsoever may be understood by every man created, if he has the will to understand! For here are not the mere opinions of men. Here are not the faulty, the finite, the limited expressions of merely human minds. Here are the basic truths, the alphabet, of absolute and saving infinite truth. Can we suppose that it would be given by the Lord in such veiled and incomprehensible language that man could not possibly get to heaven thereby? Can we suppose this when yet implicit in every action of the Lord, and supremely so in His giving of truth, is His love for the salvation and eternal happiness of human souls and their formation into an angelic heaven?
     We may notice that the man afflicted with paralysis was not healed by the pool of Siloam. He was healed when the Lord said to him: "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." In this is reflected an historical difference in the action of truth; for the pool, and the troubling of its waters by an angel, represented historically the way in which men were purified and vivified as to their minds by truth before the Lord's coming.

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In the ages following the Most Ancient Church and preceding the Lord's advent, men could be cured, or saved from their evils, simply by the truth being presented to them, and afterwards being so stimulated in their minds by the angel, or spirit of the Lord, that their minds were vivified, and purified from falsity, by the truth; that is, if they so chose by obeying the truth.
     But when the race turned away even from elemental truth such as is contained in the Ten Commandments, and when it descended fully into the state of faith alone, then men came into that paralysis of the will as to all good and truth which is signified by the paralytic. Then indeed, having been misused and despoiled, elemental and sensual truth had no further power to stir, to stimulate or to purify them inwardly. The pool of Siloam became stagnant, and even the Spirit of the Lord stirring the waters was no longer sufficient to effect healing.
     So the Lord then came, not only in spirit but also in truth. In His own Divine Human He announced new truths which could stimulate, vivify and purify men; and with these He brought also a new thing to men which is signified by the words with which He healed the paralytic:
     "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk"; for we are told that by carrying the bed and walking is meant meditating on doctrine.*
     * See AR 137

     This phrase, to meditate in doctrine, can bring some new and surprising thoughts to our minds. We may know formally from the teachings of the Writings that the words, "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk," involve turning away from the paralytic state of faith alone, rising out of the idea that mere belief can save, and beginning to live the truths of doctrine or the Lord's teaching; and indeed the Writings teach that "'walking' signified living, and in relation to the Lord, life itself, as appears in the spiritual world, where all walk in certain ways according to their life."* But we may tend to think of this "living" only in terms of bodily actions and speech, only in terms of the motions of natural life. Yet while physical life and activity are the ultimate, they are not the primary things meant by "living" and by "life"; nor are they the first things to which the Lord directs our attention when He says: "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk." Natural life, physical acts and words-these are not life. They are only representations of life, products and outcomes of the life of the spirit, whatever the quality of that may be with us.
     * AE 97.

     The real life is that of the mind, of the spirit, from whence comes that physical motion which we usually call life.

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So it is that to "rise" is to rise above that merely natural activity in our minds; to "carry our bed" is to use the truths which we have been taught by the Lord instead of merely resting in them passively; and to "walk" is to use those truths to meditate, to reflect upon the Lord's teachings-to reflect upon them in the effort to see how they apply to us, to see our evils and shun them inwardly, thus walking in His ways and turning aside from the paths of evil.
     Reflection-the power to think about spiritual things, to compare the past and the present, to evaluate and weigh-this is that great ability which alone makes a man's mind human and makes possible eternal life. It has been given to man primarily that he may meditate on the stirring, vivifying truths brought to his mind by the Lord's angel; and it is only through such meditation and reflection that a man can be endowed with the power and insight to see his evils, to turn from them and live. Only from that insight can he see any significance, importance or value in his external activities and natural life.

     Lastly, it is only from reflection on truth that the man of a new church can truly grasp the great import and the vital function of a new and specific church of the Lord-the absolute necessity of it for the sake of the salvation of men everywhere and the preservation of a universal church. Therefore it is such reflection and meditation that inwardly make the New Church of the present age; that form the church in man; and that can eventually lead him, and others like him, to strive earnestly and conscientiously for the establishment of that church even in externals.
     Often it is that a man's understanding falters. Few may be the occasions on which, by a violent effort, he wrenches his mind toward that which is above time and space. Puny is the strength, and little the constancy, which he can muster to further the establishment of that church. Much of the time he is tempted to think that abstract truth, and reflection upon it, do not matter so much, provided he acts like the other, normal, well-adjusted men and women around him. Yet that tiny effort and meager strength, that modicum of constancy in uses, that attempt to understand and to rise-these make up that tiny spark, that minute quality, which alone distinguishes him from animals, and which alone causes him to live and walk. Wherever it exists, with whomsoever it is there, in truth, is the New Church, and there only.
     Truth from the Lord's good eventually heals the diseases of man's will, cleanses him of evil. Before this comes about, the truth indeed brings conflict. It brings conflict simply because there is such a thing as falsity and there is such a thing as evil. The conflict is necessary, just as war is sometimes necessary to cure men of certain of their own illusions and delusions. But the conflict is not between opposing human opinions, and it is not between different truths.

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It is a struggle for men's minds, first between truth and falsity and afterwards between good and evil; and it pervades all the levels of man's life-civil, social, moral and spiritual. The effort of the hells is, through falsity and the confusion thence arising, to beat men into passivity, insensitivity, and hence submissiveness to what appears the easy way. The effort of the Lord, through His truth and the clarity and certainty thence produced, is to rouse men into vitality, intelligence, and thence to an active pursuit of what at first appears as the hard way.
     "Rise, take up thy bed, and walk," He calls to all men, "that ye may turn from your evil ways, and live"-that ye may turn from indifference and sloth and the death of all imagination and humanity; that ye may be cleansed by the waters of truth, and warmed into life by the rays of My love and wisdom. "Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of Man shall give unto you." Amen.

LESSONS: Isaiah 55. John 5: 1-16. Apocalypse Explained 97.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 446, 458, 459.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 25, 97.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Divine Human. This term holds the central idea in the theology of the New Church. It is applied to the Lord Jesus Christ as He is after glorification-the Divine love in a human form. Note that the Divine Human is not identical with the Supreme Divine, in which case it would have vanished in the Infinite. It is the body of Divine truth which the Lord took on from the Father, and which He united with the Supreme Divine as a body with a soul, between which two there is an infinitely perfect correspondence. The Divine Human is infinite because it is not a recipient of life, but is the esse of life from which life proceeds; but it is as if finite for the sake of reception. It is the sole object of worship in the heavens and in the church on earth. (See AC 2343, 2628, 5256; AE 26; TCR 109.)
     Doctrine. Even in the New Church this term is sometimes associated with abstract theology. Nothing could be further from the truth! Doctrine is all that in the Word which teaches how the Lord is to be worshiped and how men ought to live that they may be withdrawn from hell and introduced into heaven. Doctrine therefore has a vital relation to life and the good of life does not exist without it. (See AC 3445)

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DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH 1963

DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     (The first in a series of five doctrinal classes)

          1. INTRODUCTION: THE NATURE OF THE WORD

     In response to a request, we propose to devote the next few classes to a consideration of that which is called in the Writings, "the doctrine of genuine truth." This is an expression that is peculiar to the Writings, and one that has a very special meaning which it is important for us to understand. It refers to the way in which the Lord, by means of His Word, reveals to men the spiritual truth that is essential to their regeneration. "Doctrine" means teaching, and especially an organized body of teaching, rather than a single statement of truth. Genuine doctrine is Divine teaching as distinguished from the teachings of men, which are ever prone to error. The "doctrine of genuine truth," therefore, is a body of truth present in the letter of the Word. It is a body of truth that is not the product of human intelligence, but comes to man immediately from the Lord, and with Divine authority.

     Such a doctrine is contained in the letter of the Word, not openly, but in such a way that it may be discovered there by any one who is sincerely searching for the spiritual truth of religion. This is the case because it is the Lord's will that man should not be compelled to believe, but rather should be led to perceive the truth freely, of his own volition, as a result of his own study and reflection. The reason is that only in this way can man receive the truth with delight, and feel it to be his very own. Only in this way can he be blessed with the happiness of heaven, which is the joy of love to the Lord and charity, not imposed from without, but received willingly, gladly and from the heart.
     We can understand what the doctrine of genuine truth is only if we have a true idea of the Word as the Lord Himself speaking through the medium of the prophets and the evangelists. Traditionally, the Bible has been regarded as literally infallible. The Jews believed that it contained the promise of Jehovah that they, as the "chosen people," would be blessed with worldly wealth and power beyond all others. The Christians believed that it contained Divinely revealed truth concerning the creation of the world, concerning a universal flood, and concerning the origin of all races and peoples from the three sons of Noah.

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Also, they believed that it contained prophecies that were to be fulfilled in historic events, and a final day of judgment, as literally described in the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew, and elsewhere. It has been supposed that in the accuracy of these literal statements lay the proof of its Divine origin and authority. Even that which was obviously expressed in symbolic imagery and poetic language was thought to have reference to earthly events.
     When scientific discoveries made such literal interpretations no longer tenable, doubts arose as to the Divine origin and nature of the Word. Increasingly, the leaders of intellectual thought rejected the idea of any reliable Divine revelation and interpreted the Bible as the product of human thinking, reflecting the childish concepts of men who were ignorant of scientific laws. It was thought to reflect the superstitious imaginings of primitive people concerning God, heaven and hell, and the life of religion. In our enlightened day it is believed that these unscientific concepts must be replaced by interpretations in accord with known facts. The Bible can no longer be regarded as a source of dependable truth, but rather as an historic document that bears testimony to the mistaken ideas of those who lived in earlier ages.

      In contrast to this is the idea that the Lord speaks in His Word, not of earthly things, but concerning Himself, concerning heaven and eternal life, and concerning the spiritual life of every man and of the race as a whole. The Lord is infinite and eternal. He speaks from infinite love, and what He says contains infinite wisdom concerning truth, which is eternal, constant and unchanging. If this is the case, it follows that everything the Lord says, however it may be clothed in human language, must contain a depth of wisdom far beyond anything that man's finite mind can possibly comprehend. It must have within every word, every verse, every chapter and book, an internal sense so profound that it escapes even the wisest angels. Yet at the same time it must be couched in terms that even the simplest of men can, at least in some small measure, understand. This must be so because the Word is given for the instruction and the salvation of the whole human race. Unless it contained truth that was available to all, the Lord, by means of it, could not reach all men, to "feed them and lift them up forever." Furthermore, when the Lord speaks, it must be not for time, but for eternity. His Word is not intended solely for those to whom it is specifically addressed. The Old Testament was not given only for the Jews who lived at the time of Moses and the prophets, but must contain truth which they were not yet prepared to understand, but which remained stored up, to be discovered and brought into use progressively by countless future generations.

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Therefore it can never become obsolete. By means of it the Lord must be able to speak to men of every age. It must contain an inexhaustible supply of truth to which men may go perpetually, and never cease to find spiritual treasures needful to their life, world without end.
     Again, the Word must be written not only for men on earth, but for spirits and angels, that they may continue to draw from it the "living water" for the perfection of their lives to all eternity. Indeed, when the Lord speaks, His Word descends from Himself through the heavens, and on the way is adapted to the understanding of those who dwell in all the heavens, from the highest to the lowest. Concerning this, we read as follows:

     "Seeing ... that man lives after death, and this to eternity; and that . . . life awaits him in accordance with his love and faith, it follows that from love toward the human race, the Divine has revealed such things as will lead to that life, and will conduce to man's salvation. That which the Divine has revealed is . . . [to] us the Word.
     "As the Word is a revelation from the Divine, it is Divine in general and in [every] particular, for that which is from the Divine cannot he otherwise.
     "That which is from the Divine descends through the heavens down to man, and therefore in the heavens it has been accommodated to the wisdom of the angels who are there, and on earth it has been accommodated to the apprehension of the men who are there. Therefore in the Word there is an internal sense for the angels which is spiritual, and an external sense for men which is natural. From this it is that there is a conjunction of heaven with man by means of the Word."*
     * AC 10320-10322.

     If we reflect upon this teaching we cannot help but see that unless the Word contained within itself an infinite depth of meaning it could not be the infinite God speaking. If it is the Word of God it must have an internal sense, concealed from our eyes under the outer coverings of human language, and yet, in a measure, available as men advance in spiritual intelligence and wisdom. By means of it the Lord must speak to men in every age, and continue to speak to them in all the heavens forever. Yet at the same time it must contain truths whereby the Lord may speak directly to those whom it is specifically addressed. In the Old Testament there must be truths which the Jews could understand, and by means of which they could be led to heaven. In the New Testament there must be truths which the simple fishermen, who were called to become disciples of the Lord, could grasp, and by means of which the Lord could lead them in the path of eternal life and happiness. This same principle must apply also to the Writings, because it is the necessary characteristic of all Divine revelation. The Lord cannot speak to men or to angels in any other way.

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     That is why we are told that the Word is like a man clothed, but with his hands and face bare.* "All things that concern man's life, and consequently his salvation are bare; but the rest are clothed."** This can only mean that whatever any man needs for the Divine guidance of his own life is available to him, if only he will search it out from a sincere desire to be led by the Lord. Precious truths, however, which the man is not yet prepared to grasp, are concealed from him under external appearances that cover them like a garment; and these hidden treasures will become available to him progressively as he grows in spiritual intelligence and wisdom. So also there must be truths concealed within the letter of the Word that will become available to men progressively as the race grows in its ability to understand. Those truths which a man is prepared to see, and which he can discover if he seeks them with the whole heart-these, taken together, are called the "doctrine of genuine truth."
     * SS 55.
     ** Ibid
It should be clearly understood that the "Man" who appears in the Word clothed, but with hands and face bare, is the Lord Himself. The Word, from beginning to end, treats of the Lord, and reveals His Divinely Human qualities and attributes. For the most part, however, the infinite qualities and attributes of God must, of necessity, be expressed in the Word in dark sayings and parables because men are not yet prepared to understand them. They must be presented under the guise of historic characters, places and events. Within these, concealed from view, there must be spiritual and eternal truths which can be discovered so far as men may be prepared to receive them.

     If this were not the case, these portions of the Word would be of no spiritual value to mankind. They would not be a Divine revelation, not even in potency. It is not sufficient to say that they have been given for the angels only. They are addressed to men on earth, and if not to men living at the time, still to men who, it is Divinely foreseen, will in the future be able to understand them, and who will need them for their regeneration. They can be interpreted by correspondences, and will be so interpreted when men can be taught how to use the doctrine of correspondences. When so interpreted, the hidden spiritual truth within them will come into view. It will be seen as something quite different from the literal sense, and sometimes as something directly opposite to the obvious meaning. The truth thus revealed must be Divine and authoritative; it must be immediately from the Lord and what He has said, rather than the product of human intelligence. Indeed, the internal sense of the Word must be the essential Word, the real meaning of what the Lord has said. That is what it must be possible for man to discover; and the Lord must have provided the means whereby this discovery may be made when man is prepared for it, and when its discovery will be needed.

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     Scattered through the Sacred Scripture, however, if the Word is to be of immediate use and value, there must be passages in which the internal sense, as it is understood by the angels, is openly stated, so that no cryptic interpretation is necessary because the obvious literal sense is the same as the internal sense. Of these passages it is said that the "hands and face" of the Lord are bare. Here the Lord may be seen as He truly is. Here His infinite qualities of love and mercy and providence are unmistakably revealed. Here the Lord is visibly present, that He may be seen, known, loved and worshiped. Here His will becomes plainly manifest, that man may learn His commandments, and keep them with the whole heart. If this were not the case, the Word would not be a medium of Divine instruction and guidance. There are many more such openly stated passages scattered throughout the letter of the Word than we might suppose, because we do not ordinarily reflect upon them. But any one who searches for them from a sincere desire to be taught by the Lord may find them. Taken all together, they give to man a true idea of God, a mental picture of Him as the Lord Jesus Christ, the infinitely Human Creator and Preserver of the world, the Redeemer and Savior of the human race. Now we are told that these scattered passages must be "collected" and brought together in ordered sequence and due mutual relationship, that they may constitute the "doctrine of genuine truth." How this can be done in such a way as to yield a Divinely authoritative doctrine, we shall endeavor to show at our next class.
REGARDING CONTRIBUTIONS 1963

REGARDING CONTRIBUTIONS              1963

     To the Members and Friends of the General Church

     When the membership of the General Church was small, it was possible to acknowledge every contribution by letter. Now, on account of steadily increasing growth, this is no longer feasible.
     Therefore, to express our thanks to those who have contributed to date, we are having this message appear in NEW CHURCH LIFE.
GENERAL CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE 1963

GENERAL CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE              1963

Harold P. McQueen, Chairman
     2610 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois, U. S. A.

     Members of Committee: Raymond Kuhn and Horace Brewer.

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BLESSING OF WORK 1963

BLESSING OF WORK       Rev. DAVID R. SIMONS       1963

     Man is created by a God of infinite mercy and love who wills that he shall find happiness in an eternal heaven. This kingdom, the Writings tell us, is a kingdom of uses, in which each individual angel is absorbed in fulfilling the needs of others: in exercising his God-given talents to the full, and in receiving the inmost blessing of all-a growing, expanding delight in the perfection of uses.
     The order of the eternal heaven is the golden rule amplified: as the individual angel does to others, they do to him, and indefinitely more. He gives of himself, of his growing wisdom and skills; and he receives those of others, from the entire heaven. Even his environment rewards him, for it relates directly to his thought and will. Good loves and true thoughts are reflected in the heavens in forms of beauty and order which directly correspond to the thoughts of the angels, so that their gifts from the Lord are compounded in all directions. Freely they give; freely they receive-"pressed down, and shaken together, and running over."*
     * Luke 6: 38.
     The nature and quality of the heavens toward which the Lord leads every man have been disclosed to Emanuel Swedenborg, who, as the servant of the Lord, was introduced to the wonders of heaven, and who describes in detail the homes and surroundings of the angels. Yet of all these things of indescribable beauty the angels said:

     "They are more pleasing to our minds than to our eyes, because in every one of them we see a correspondence, and through the correspondence, what is Divine. . . . In general, a garden corresponds to the intelligence and wisdom of heaven; and for this reason heaven is called the Garden of God and Paradise; and men call it the heavenly paradise. Trees, according to their species, correspond to the perceptions and knowledges of good and truth which are the source of intelligence and wisdom. . . . Also, food derived from trees, and more especially from grain harvests of the field, corresponds to affections for good and truth, because these affections feed the spiritual life, as the food of the earth does the natural life; and bread from grain, in a general sense, because it is the food that especially sustains life, corresponds to an affection for all good."*
     * HH 186, 111.

     This affection of good is man's "daily bread" from heaven. As it is in heaven so, originally, was it on earth. Man was born into the order of his life and was led through the seven days of spiritual creation to the height of spiritual intelligence and wisdom; and the world of the mind was matched by a physical world of beauty and order, a paradisal Garden of Eden on earth.

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     However, with the passing of time man grew tired of spiritual things. He turned away from the Lord and from heaven. Hearkening to the subtle voice of the serpent-the lowly love of self-he chose to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; that is, to look to external things for the knowledge, delight and pleasure of his life-for his daily bread. Then it was that falsity and evil arose, and, for his own sake, man had to be ejected from his earthly paradise. Thus it is written in the book of creation:

     "And the Lord God said . . . . Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."*
     * Genesis 3: 17-19.

     Man turned his back on his Creator, but the Lord never stopped loving man. His will to lead man from earth to heaven continued, as did the giving of an external environment which matched man's internal states. Yet, since the "wickedness of man was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually,"* the Lord permitted this wickedness-the falsities and evils of the self-centered human will-to be reflected in the external world. For man's sake, for the sake of his eternal welfare, the environment was allowed to become hostile: a world of "thorns and thistles"-of harmful forces, poisonous plants and destructive animals.
     * Genesis 6: 5.
     In reflecting human hate and greed, the material environment, once benevolent and mild and entirely friendly to man, now took on sterner, harsher aspects. Whereas the fruits of the ground were originally offered in abundance, now man was forced to wrest his living from the ground with struggle and hardship, in travail and exhaustion-by the sweat of his brow. Although, before the fall, everything was free, thereafter nothing worthwhile could be received in life without struggle and sacrifice, and as the bread of sorrows.
     A loving and all-wise God placed the natural man in a world hostile to his native inclinations, not as a punishment for disobedience, but so that man might learn to earn his daily bread, and in the learning be led to become a form of heavenly use. For beneath the surface hostility of nature, ever ready to be tapped, lie rich rewards. As man learns to give, as he learns to subordinate self-will in useful work, his daily bread is given to him in increasing abundance.

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     By the fall, man, who had originally acted for the neighbor from the internal compulsion of love to the Lord, became dominated by the love of self, which does nothing for others that it does not have to do. Consequently, had man been permitted to remain in the Garden of Eden, he would have been eternally destroyed by his own self-satisfaction, complacency and do-nothing laziness. In a hostile environment, however, in a world of thorns, thistles and dust, his very life depended upon work. Yet it is in the "misery" of work, in the toil and travail brought about by necessity, that the opportunity for eternal happiness is extended to man by the Lord. For when necessity knocks, the self-centered human will is forced to respond. The necessities of life goad all but the most depraved to forget themselves in work. In this way an external discipline and order are imposed on the life of the natural man which can serve as a foundation for the internal self-compulsion and order which bring the blessings of heaven.

     It has been ordained, then, by a merciful Providence, whose concern is for man's eternal welfare, that the dominant loves of the human heart-the loves of self and the world-shall be able to gain their ends only through sweat and toil and tears: through the giving up of self; through bowing and humbling themselves before the fixed realities of the external world. The love of self in each and every man is required to bow itself down to gain the bread it loves. It has to bend its back to plow the soil; it has to lean down to plant the seed; it has to reach out to gather in the harvest; it has to exert effort to winnow the wheat and grind it into flour; it has to roll up its sleeves to knead the dough; and it has to wait patiently for the baking to be done. Only then, after continued bending, humility and patient self-control, is man able to receive bread that satisfies.
     When we analyze it, the external progress of which modern man is so proud is from this kind of bending. The partial controls he has managed to impose on the hostile forces of nature and which have brought so many benefits to his body are not, as human conceit loves to suppose, due to man's mastery of the elements, but rather from man's mastery over himself. They come from his learning to subordinate his will to the fixed realities which exist outside of him. The Lord has stored up limitless riches in all nature-wealth and power beyond human imagining; yet for man's sake, for the sake of his eternal welfare, for the sake of opening the human mind to the reception of spiritual wealth and power, these natural riches are circumscribed, held back, and given to man only when and in so far as he, in the sweat of his face, works for them in bending his will to the will of the Lord.
     Yet, as each one of us is at times painfully aware, the natural man is averse to work of any kind. Labor goes against the grain.

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There is an inborn friction which makes it difficult for us to move a muscle when there is no direct benefit to self involved. Once we get going, however, once that friction is overcome by self-compulsion, determination or necessity, the activities of the body and the concentration of the mind bring a sense of relief, fulfillment and delight. It is a recognized fact of mental therapy that a distraught mind finds solace and healing in concentration on physical tasks, in making things with the hands, in actual work and accomplishment; and what is true of the disordered mind is powerfully true for all minds. The activity of use, the directing of mind and body to meet specific challenges in life through actual sweat, provides a release for more than the poisons of the body. For in the struggle toward accomplishment, in the effort to meet and overcome the resistance which Providence has intentionally built into the outside world, in the singleness of purpose which concentrated and sustained effort demands, man is carried outside of himself. He is elevated above self-concern. He is mercifully freed from self-consciousness; and in the degree that self is forgotten, something of the worthwhile spheres of heaven, something of use from the Lord, can flow in; and then it is that what seemed to be a curse is transformed into a blessing. As the Lord said to the Jews: "The Lord thy God turned the curse into a blessing unto thee, because the Lord thy God loved thee."*
     * Deuteronomy: 23: 5.
What is recognizably true of the natural man in each one of us, namely, that we are averse to work and that it takes determination and self-compulsion to overcome the friction of self-concern and self-indulgence to gain the delight of accomplishment, is doubly true spiritually. Since the fall, the natural man has had an inborn aversion to the spiritual work of recognizing and shunning evil, which is the means of regeneration. Yet that is the only way in which we can be given the true bread of spiritual affection for good.
     The teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine concerning the man of our age is that he loves to look into, and does look into, the abstract matters of the sciences, and studies them from affection; but "when we treat of spiritual [things] of good and truth, he feels weariness and also aversion."* We read further:
     *AC 4096: 3.

     "Few are solicitous or wish to know what spiritual truth is . . . and they are so far from being solicitous about it as to be scarcely willing to hear the word `spiritual,' for at the bare mention of it gloom assails them, together with sadness, and a loathing is excited, and so [spiritual truth] is rejected. . . . For when a man is immersed in . . . merely natural, earthly, bodily and worldly things . . . [which relate to self] he loathes the things of heaven. . . . It is, for this reason, contrary to the delight of the life of most persons to hear anything more about the life of heaven than they have known from infancy."*
     * AC 5006: 2.

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     These things are said concerning the character of the men of the church at the present day. It is this aversion to spiritual things that is meant in the internal sense of "eating bread in the sweat of the countenance."*
     * AC 276.
     That we may learn to work spiritually, that man may be aroused from lethargy in spiritual things, that each one of us may overcome his hereditary aversion to thinking about and living the life that leads to heaven, the Lord has become present in the rational truths of the Heavenly Doctrine, challenging us to "enter intellectually into the arcana of faith.* If we will but make the effort, if we will but do the work-compelling ourselves, if need be, to read, think and live in the light of the new revelation if we will exercise our minds and discipline our lives, every aspect of life will be changed for us and we will be caught up and elevated by irresistible currents of spiritual purpose and delight. We will come to recognize the truth that work is not a curse but a blessing, and that "just as far as anyone puts his mind into his work and labor from the love of it, he is in it as to affection and thought concerning it; and in proportion as he is in it, he is withheld from thinking and loving vanities and afterwards led . . . to think and love goods,"** which are the bread of heaven.
     * TCR 508.
     ** Char. 168.
From the Heavenly Doctrine the man of the church can come to realize that the promise made by the Lord in the book of Revelation, that in heaven all men "may rest from their labors,"* does not mean what the natural man longs for, that is, eternal rest from active service to others, but quite the contrary. Eternal rest means rest from the aversion to work, rest from being dominated by self-love, rest from the sweat of self- compulsion: the "rest of the soul when it is no longer infested by evils and falsities."** That is the rest of the angels, who are so absorbed in the perfecting of uses, so completely engrossed in the urgency of filling the needs of the neighbor, so carried away by the soul satisfying delights of contributing to others what they have received from the Lord, that all thought of self is removed.
     * Revelation 14: 13.
     ** AR 640.
     Thus, an angel tells us: "Eternal rest is not idleness, for from idleness comes ... drowsiness of the mind and so of the whole body. Eternal rest, therefore, is a rest which dispels [drowsiness] and makes a man live. . . . [It is] that which elevates the mind. . . . [It is] study and work whereby the mind is aroused, vivified and delighted, being thus affected according to the use from which, in which, and for which the work is done. Hence it is that the whole of heaven is regarded by the Lord as a containant of uses, and every angel is an angel according to his use. The delight of use carries him along as a favoring current carries a ship, and causes him to be in eternal peace and in the rest which belongs to peace.*
     * CL 207: 7.

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HEAVEN FROM THE HUMAN RACE 1963

HEAVEN FROM THE HUMAN RACE       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     The New Church man has often heard and read the teaching that the final end and purpose in all creation is a heaven from the human race. Much emphasis has been placed on that teaching, for the knowledge and acknowledgment of it as a central truth of the church are necessary for a real understanding of the entire revelation in which the Lord has made His second coming. As it refers to the final end and purpose of all things, it enters in to qualify and direct every single doctrine of the New Church.
     For this reason it is wise for us to examine the teaching from time to time, especially in regard to our knowledge of and idea concerning the nature of heaven itself; for there can be no real acknowledgment that the purpose of creation is a heaven from the human race unless we have some definite and clear idea about what heaven itself it. Unless we can see why heaven should be the goal and final reward of our struggles and combats, why it should be the eternal home of our spirits, our acknowledgment will not be genuine.

     That the Writings reveal such a purpose in creation as a new concept may sound somewhat absurd to anyone who has thought seriously about God and the things of religion. When we read it, we may ask ourselves: "What other purpose could a loving and merciful God possibly have in creating man? Surely this idea is nothing new?" Yet, if we will but look, we may turn the pages of the doctrines of all the great religions of the world, past and present, and nowhere will we find this purpose so stated. Certainly it is true that nearly all the great religions of the world have some concept of a life after death, however abstract, mystical and vague some of their ideas may be. The fact that they do has not led them, however, to the sight or acknowledgment of the real purpose in creation; and the reason is that there can be no idea of the purpose of creation where there is no knowledge or true idea of the nature of heaven. When heaven is pictured as a place where human beings lose their human qualities-where, for example, the most beautiful love that man ever feels, namely, conjugial love, is lost in the idea of a sexless existence to eternity; when human qualities take on ghostlike or shapeless forms after death, and human uses become abstract wanderings in ethereal mists; in these instances there can be no true idea of the real purpose in creation.

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     The fact is, that the human mind cannot really conceive of anything that does not in some way represent or reflect some human qualities and characteristics, such as it observes man to have in this world. When these qualities and characteristics cannot be thought of as forming the real life of the angels of heaven, then neither can the supreme use and purpose of creation be understood.

     Now this applies to New Church men as much as it does to anyone else. Because we have been taught clearly in the Lord's second coming what the purpose of creation is, and because we have agreed that this is a logical and intelligent purpose, thus confirming it intellectually, it does not follow that our understanding and acknowledgment of it are either true or useful. As with anyone else, we cannot really acknowledge and understand the purpose of creation unless we know something about the nature of heaven, and can see in that nature a living and true picture of the Divinely human qualities that have established and that constantly preserve it.
     Because our minds are essentially unregenerate and lazy, and are influenced largely by the loves of self and the world, we incline to form in our imaginations ideas of heaven which are in keeping with our own particular loves and desires, whether they be good or evil; and if these ideas were to be examined in the light of heaven, they would show anything but a real acknowledgment of the Lord's purpose in creation, or of the true nature of heaven. How many of us are apt to think of heaven as a place where we will someday achieve wealth and prosperity, where we will have all the luxuries and delightful things we have ever wanted? How many of us, not considered as very important in the eyes of the world, long in the imagination of our thought for the time when we will be outstanding and famous, our names whispered in awe? How many of us, feeling the constant pressure of duty or public responsibility, long for a time when we can shake off our cares, and, for a change, lead our own private lives away from the demands of public opinion? How many of us, performing the seeming drudgeries of our occupation or household tasks, look forward to a blissful existence in which no work or task will arise to interrupt the pleasures of the day? All of us look for a state in heaven in which we can do what we please, and not be restrained by the countless ties that bind us here on earth. Nor are all these desires necessarily wrong, when they are modified and subordinated to take their proper place. In themselves, however, they reflect more of the things of hell than of heaven.

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     The Lords merciful foresight and providence are such that He does not permit heaven to be the state which fulfills every imagination of man's heart. We recall how, as is related at the beginning of Conjugial Love, the Lord permits man after the death of his natural body to enter into the heaven of his imagination, if that should be necessary. He allows this temporary state to occur in order that man may be impressed by the fact that heaven does not lie in the things of his own imagination. For after man has lived for a time in his imagined heaven he finds that it does not bring him all the delight and happiness he had supposed, but rather that it begins to enclose and limit him; and this more and more so, until he desires nothing else than to escape from it.*
     * See CL 1-10.
The fact is that man does not know, nor can he foresee, wherein his eternal peace and happiness will lie. Only the Lord can build man's final dwelling place, and this in such a way that man will live there in every possible joy and delight forever. To this end the Lord is constantly leading and guiding him. If only man is willing to be led by the Lord, if only he is willing to allow the Lord to build his heaven, and does not rebel against His leadership by placing the imaginations of his heart-those seeming sources of happiness-above the provisions which the Lord reveals in the truths of His Word, his pathway to heaven will be assured and the Divine purpose in creating him will be fulfilled.

     In His second coming the Lord has revealed fully the nature of heaven-the heaven which is His purpose and end-because without such knowledge man could form no real desire and love for the things of heaven, and would make no effort whatsoever to lead a life according to its principles. The picture of heaven the Lord offers us is not one of a mystical world, a world of miracles and fantastic phenomena! It is not an ethereal world that is pictured; one in which phantom-like forms rest in bliss, devoting all their time to pious thought and meditation. Nor is it a world consisting only of recreation and play, of easy and carefree existence. Heaven, we are told, is a state wherein love finds its delight in use.
     In heaven, as in the world, there is a great range and variety of uses: spiritual uses, civil uses, domestic uses. In outward appearance the angels do all the things pertaining to these uses very much in the same way as they are done by men on earth. The essential difference between the uses of heaven and the uses of this world does not lie, then, in the nature of the uses themselves, but in the way in which the uses are done; for whereas we often grumble and complain about our many labors and responsibilities, thinking mostly of the things that pertain to our own welfare and security, to our own particular state of satisfaction and reward, the angels think about how the Lord created them to perform some particular use in heaven-some use which they can perform that will add to the joy and happiness of everyone else in heaven and of those on earth.

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Because their thought is always concerned with the providing of joy and happiness for others, and because they see how what they do fits into the marvelous pattern of uses, a pattern which the Lord established at the beginning of creation, they find untold delight and happiness in performing every kind of use, whether it be spiritual, civil or domestic, and whether it occurs in work or in recreation. Through this attitude, which fills the entire heaven with a sphere of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor, the Lord is able to provide them with every possible blessing that His bountiful love and wisdom can provide.

     That is the state to which the Lord wills to bring all men. It is the state He intended and provided for in His human creation and in every revelation of His Word to mankind.
     Now we are not angelic beings, for our states of delight alternate between the things of heaven and the things of hell. Our understanding of the Lord's end and purpose in creation is perhaps hampered and limited somewhat because we are inclined to be lazy about approaching the Word for knowledge and direction. Besides this, we live in a world in which perversions and disorders, diseases, wars and catastrophes, evils and falsities make necessary temporary uses, duties and responsibilities in and from which there can be little delight. In the midst of such states, even when there is a knowledge of the things of heaven, that peaceful and happy state which the Lord promises us as the reward of strife and temptation seems somewhat abstract, if not impossible. We are tempted to find delight in the opportunity of the present, giving little thought to the consequences either to ourselves or to others, and scant consideration to our state in the future. The heaven that seems closest, and most real to us, is the heaven of our imagining.
      The Lord knows our nature. He knows how hard it is for man to think of anything as real that cannot be experienced by his senses; and that is why He has done everything in His power to reveal Himself and the nature of His kingdom to us. He has done as much as He can do without destroying man's freedom; but He cannot miraculously place knowledge in man s mind, nor can He instill in man's heart the loves of heaven unless the knowledge thereof is present. Heaven can never become a living reality for us, nor can its loves be felt as our own, unless we first make the effort to see and understand its form and structure as the fulfillment of the Divine purpose in creation.

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     When we endeavor to do this, and then seek to use the information gained to guide and direct the various uses and concerns of our own lives, we not only fulfill the purpose of creation to the best of our ability, but we aid in re-establishing the Lord's kingdom on earth: a kingdom in which He wills that man shall live in order, harmony and peace; a kingdom in which the loves of heaven are not only received with every delight but also inspire men to strive for their even greater realization in heaven itself.
REFLECTIONS 1963

REFLECTIONS       IRIS O. BRISCOE       1963

     Hans Reichenbach, in his Rise of Scientific Philosophy, says: "According to Einstein the universe is not infinite, but a closed Riemannian space of a spherical type."

The true world is a sphere of Love and Wisdom,
From morn to night, from infant years to age,
In flows this awe-inspiring Gift of God
In forms that we, the vessels, may receive.

'Tis not this outer world that makes our life-
Beautiful and alluring though it be.
It is a foothold, a brief resting-place,
Home for a while-yet still a battlefield.

Here we must pass through all the states of man,
And on each plane the evil learn to shun,
Till slowly, painfully, we earn the right
To love the truth, as of ourselves to live it.

A glorious light then floods our inner mind,
A radiant warmth of love then fills our heart,
And filled with humble joy awake our spirits,
As forms of uses in that Heavenly Sphere.

          IRIS O. BRISCOE,
     October 27, 1962

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REPENTANCE AND THE HOLY SUPPER 1963

REPENTANCE AND THE HOLY SUPPER       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1963

     The universal teaching of John the Baptist as he preached in the wilderness of Judea was that the kingdom of heaven follows repentance. That teaching is particularly applicable to the Holy Supper, which is called a sacrament of repentance and is also described as the gate leading into the kingdom of heaven.* It is clear that the relationship between repentance and the kingdom is the same as that between preparation for the Holy Supper and the worthy partaking of that sacrament.
     * See TCR 567c, 721; DP 122.
     Repentance is mentioned in the doctrines of all Christendom. Nor is it unknown in other religions, such as Buddhism and Mohammedanism, although the terminology is different. But prohibitions of evil are hidden away in Buddhism behind the emphasis upon right views, right intention, right speech and action, right mindedness, right concentration, and so on; and in Mohammedanism priority is given to five duties: repeating the creed daily, praying five times a day, giving alms, fasting between dawn and dusk for one month in the year, and making the pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime. The prohibitions are, in the one instance, directed against sensual pleasure and immorality in general, and also against an evil state; and in the other they take the form of precepts forbidding the worship of any other gods than the one God, Allah, stealing, the committing of adultery, killing, slander, and disobedience to the prophet Mohammed.
     Other religions, too, forbid evil. A comparative study of religion, however, shows the Word of the Lord to be unique in teaching that the shunning of evil comes first, and that the doing of genuine good-which is good that springs from a purified internal-comes afterwards. Thus it is that the Word is alone in teaching genuine repentance. Moreover, as is to be expected, there is equal emphasis on the essential point in all three forms of the Word. After all, all these forms were inspired by the same Author! We are referring particularly to the paramount teaching that the shunning of evil is first, and that the doing of such good as is good internally as well as externally is a resultant, and is second. In the Old Testament we find this teaching in the preaching of Isaiah: "Cease to do evil; learn to do well."* The Lord, when on earth, renewed the teaching, with added clarity, when He said: "Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also."**

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In His second advent the law is even more full and explicit: "The first of charity is to look to the Lord and shun evils because they are sins; [and] the second of charity is to do goods because they are uses."***
     * Isaiah 1: 16, 17.
     ** Matthew 23: 26.
     *** Char. I, II.
     Now Christianity possesses the Old and New Testaments. Hence its knowledge and use of the term "repentance." Yet neither textual knowledge of the Scriptures nor oral confession constitutes repentance. As the Writings say: "At this day, instead of repentance of life, there is repentance of the mouth alone that one is a sinner."* In fact, the occasional references to repentance in the churches around us are no more genuine than is their equally occasional profession of one God; for however much the lips may say, "one God," still, prayers, hymns and preaching testify that the mind is filled with tripersonalism. It is these two failures-failure to turn to the Lord God Jesus Christ alone, and failure to do the deeds of actual repentance-that have caused all spiritual life to vanish from the old Christian Church; and so the Writings add: "Unless, therefore, a New Church arise which acknowledges these two essentials and lives according to them no one can be saved."** Moreover, the passage goes on to quote, for confirmation, from the Lord's prophecy concerning His second advent: "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved."***
     * AR 9.
     ** AR 9.
     *** Matthew 24: 22.
     These two things, however, come with some difficulty in the New Church, too. Not that there is any difficulty in speaking and preaching about the Lord in His Human as the one God of heaven and earth, or even in giving a rationally satisfying explanation of this supreme doctrine; but it is not equally easy to turn to Him alone as the final authority in all matters that arise in daily life. Again, it is not difficult to see and confess that evil must be removed in order that good may enter and become established; but spontaneous affirmation is followed by a surprising amount of hesitation when it comes to changing one's habits of thought and action. The reason is that the actual turning to the Lord in all matters, as also the actual deeds of repentance, involves the will; and the will is far more slow and reluctant to give assent than is the understanding. But the words just quoted are addressed both to the understanding and to the will. They speak both of the acknowledgment of the two essentials and of life according to them. Moreover, they were not directed to those who are in the toils of traditional confessions; they were spoken to men and women who have a knowledge of the Writings.

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     The difficulty to which we allude is twofold. One aspect is obvious-the one that stems from heredity. The other is a little less obvious. It is environmental in nature, and is encountered particularly in those regions of the earth where the Reformed or Protestant churches prevail. Let us ask why this is so.
     In the beginning of its development, the New Church finds itself in a spiritual wilderness. This is what is meant by the "woman" in the "desert."* It is essentially a Protestant desert, for it is a fact that it is virtually only in the Protestant or Reformed regions of the former Christian Church that the New Church has been established. That also was foreseen in prophecy. It was the dragon that persecuted the woman, so that she fled into the desert; and by the dragon is meant the doctrine and life of the Reformed. The dragon is the mental attitude that develops when one is satisfied with having knowledges from the Word and from preaching, but does not at all consult these knowledges in the acts of daily life.** Worldly and selfish loves then retain their seat undisturbed in the mind. Such an inner attitude of mind is a spiritual desert. The knowledges, devoid of love and charity, are like dry grains of sand, lying side by side without coherence and unsuited either for building on or for cultivation. The region is good for nothing. As the Writings say, the signification of a desert is "where there are no truths because there is no good."*** In so far as they are taken from the letter of the Word, knowledges are, of course, in themselves truths; but they are not seen as truths, that is, their true implication is not seen, if the man has no heart for what is good. The passage just cited adds: "There are no truths where there is no good, that is, not in essence only but in form."****
     * See Revelation 12: 16.
     ** See AE 714.
     *** AE 730.
     **** AE 730: 2.

     In the midst of that spiritual desert the church is protected while preparation is made for its spread from the few to the many. It is gifted with spiritual intelligence and circumspection, signified by the two wings of the great eagle that were provided for the woman,* lest it be disturbed from without. Obviously, then, the New Church, and the man of the church, are protected from external influences only in so far as spiritual intelligence and circumspection are exercised.
     * AE 759.
     At the same time, there is a call for re-ordering and for fortification internally. It is in the midst of the desert that the voice is heard of one crying: "Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make His paths straight."* This is the call for repentance, for repentance is the preparation for the wider spread of the church. "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."**

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     * Matthew 3: 3. Cf. Isaiah 40: 3.
     ** Matthew 3: 2.
     Repentance comes with special difficulty, however, to those of the Reformed tradition. Are we not influenced by that tradition, internally as well as externally? Is it not part of our heredity as well as our essential environment? Yet this is what the Writings say about that tradition: "It is strange that the Reformed have a certain innate repugnance, abhorrence and aversion to actual repentance, which is so great that they cannot force themselves to explore themselves and see their sins, and confess them before God. It is as if a horror seized them, when they intend it."* Then the passage goes on to point out that they know baptism to be a sacrament of repentance, and the Holy Supper, too, to be a sacrament of repentance; also that they are told before partaking of the Communion that they must by all means do the work of repentance; and that they are taught the Catechism, in which six of the Ten Commandments begin with the words, "Thou shalt not." But the ears are dulled to the sound of all such things, and the heart is not touched.
     * TCR 567: 7.
     Now the new kingdom is first to be established with those who are in the wilderness. That is how, in time, "the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. . . . Waters shall break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes."*
     * Isaiah 35: 1, 6, 7.
     These things come about when, despite reluctance, the call of John is obeyed, and when, after him, the Lord is received. That is to say, they come about through the repentance of the baptism with water and the repentance of the baptism with the Holy Spirit and with fire.*
     * Matthew 3: 11.
     The Holy Supper is to be identified with the latter of these baptisms; for the wine is representative of baptism with the spirit, and the bread is a symbol of baptism with the fire of love.
     There is external repentance, and there is internal repentance. External repentance is done when man, as of himself, takes cognizance of the evils he is able to find in his conscious mind, and removes them by combats against them; internal repentance takes place when, as a result, he implores the Lord to fill his mind with what is spiritually true and good from Him. This latter, too, involves purification, for it is the descending truth and good that purge man internally of the hidden affections that lurk in his proprium. We note the teaching in Doctrine of Life that evil is removed by its opposite good.* This cannot be done, however, unless man does his part by shunning evil in his conscious mind.

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It is only thus that the way is prepared for the Lord, and the path made straight, so that He may flow in with new light and life.
     * Life 71.
     As He flows in, so He sets up His new kingdom in man; for, "behold, the kingdom of God is within you."* It is thus seen that repentance precedes the kingdom.
     * Luke 17: 21.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     The latest addition to our local publications is Nova, a mimeographed magazine edited by the Rev. J. Durban Odhner. Issues so far received contain a calendar of events in the Circle at The Hague; a sermon or article by the editor or translated into Dutch from another language; and a statement from the Swedenborg Scientific Society, an organization being established in Holland to meet the need for a missionary arm to implement the growth of the General Church.
     An event of unusual interest was the appearance recently of the 50th anniversary issue of the Sons of the Academy Bulletin. Well planned and executed, this issue offers an appropriate blend of tribute, review and reminiscence; of analysis, aspiration and a spirit of re-dedication. Fifty years of the Bulletin and its editors are reviewed, and the spirit and purpose of the journal are well captured in quotations from its first editor, the Rev. William Whitehead. However, there are no signs that the Bulletin is approaching its anecdotage! Articles on "Communication" and "Preparation for Responsibility in Society Life" evidence a keen interest in present uses, and there is a "Report of the Sons New Look Committee" that attempts to appraise the future, on the basis of a very thorough analysis of past endeavors.
FAITH THAT ENDURES 1963

FAITH THAT ENDURES              1963

     "Persuasive faith with its truths vanishes after death; for then there remains only that faith which is inwardly in man, that is, which is rooted in good, thus which has become of the life" (Heavenly Doctrine 118e).

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month we find many teachings concerning the state of little children in heaven. In the picture that is presented to us of how they are loved and cared for, of how they are protected and raised by angelic parents, and of how they are educated and prepared for adult life in heaven, we see open evidence of the Lord's most tender and merciful love for His creatures.
     When we first examine such teachings, especially early in adult life, we tend to regard them as beautiful pictures painted by the Lord to help us believe in the reality of the life after death. We accept such descriptions as portraying accurately an aspect of spiritual life; but there is at the same time a feeling that such knowledge has a very limited use. As one young man put it: "It's beautiful, and it's nice to know, but it does not contain much that I can actually apply to my own life right here and now." As some such thought undoubtedly crosses the mind of everyone from time to time, when these or other descriptions of life in the spiritual world are presented, it is important that we keep in mind certain basic truths concerning all such instruction.
     First, we must be careful that we do not limit our idea of applying truth to those truths that we are consciously aware of using-such as obeying one of the Ten Commandments. In the work of regeneration that kind of application is, of course, essential; we must make the conscious effort to hearken to the voice of truth, to obey it, to be directed by it, to try to see its extension and relationship to the various concerns of life. But there is another and very important application of truth upon which we seldom reflect. Every time we learn a truth from the Word-whether about the Lord's Divine Human, discrete degrees, or the state of children in heaven-and receive it with conviction and delight, then, without our being aware of it, that truth begins to exert an influence on everything we think and love. The more fundamental the truth learned is, the more does it permeate and pervade all things of our lives. Thus the truths concerning the Lord in His Divine Human, which seem very abstract and not applicable to life when we first learn them, actually influence and mold our every thought.

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          Every truth is applicable to life, but whether or not we can see its application depends on many things: our age, our knowledge of truth, our effort to regenerate, and so forth. A celestial angel will see hundreds of ways in which a truth applies to life, whereas we may consider the same truth as a piece of abstract knowledge that is somehow part of our overall religious faith, and see no application to life whatsoever.
     If we are to see how some truth relates to some concern of life, whether it be the states of children, justice in civil society, honesty and uprightness in moral life, or the examination of spiritual things, we must not only seek and learn truths; we must provide time for meditation, reflection and discussion. Thus, in learning of the states of children in heaven we not only see a picture of order such as the Lord seeks to provide in a far-off heaven; we may see many things which apply to the care and education of children on earth:
     1) The importance of teaching the knowledges of good and truth from the Word.*
     2) The effect that the angels from different heavens have on little children.**
     3) The use of representatives in teaching children.***
     4) How little children are led to think for themselves, and how they can be helped to resist falsity and evil.****
     5) How differences in the natural disposition of children should regulate the mode of instruction.*****
     6) What attitudes and practices that are harmful to the orderly development of their character should be discouraged in children.******
     * AC 2289, 2292-2293, 2309.
     ** AC 2303.
     *** AC 2299.
     **** AC 2294.
     ***** AC 2300-2301.
     ****** AC 2309.
     The application of truths concerning life in heaven to the various aspects of life on earth does not mean that we can do on earth everything that is done in heaven. However, we would be much mistaken if we were to think because of this that not all truths have an application to our earthly lives and to the development of life on earth toward the order of heaven.
WHY PROVIDENCE WORKS INVISIBLY 1963

WHY PROVIDENCE WORKS INVISIBLY              1963

     The Divine Providence works invisibly and incomprehensibly in order that man may in freedom ascribe an event either to providence or to chance; for if providence acted visibly and comprehensibly, there would be danger of man's believing from what he sees and comprehends that it is of providence, and afterward changing into the contrary (AC 5508: 2).

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REVIEWS 1963

REVIEWS              1963

     IN THE KING'S SERVICE. A Fable by Gertrude Nelson Diem. Illustrated by Ken Hultgren. Vantage Press, Inc., New York, 1962. Cloth, pp. 96. Price, $2.50.

     Here is a delightful collection of ten short, swiftly moving stories that should certainly appeal to children in the five to ten-year old range for whom they are intended, and possibly even to some who are a little older. Each tale describes an adventure experienced by a young boy, Jack, after some happening in his everyday life has led him to step through a mysterious mirror into the King's country, to begin a journey in the service of the King. Every one of these fables is complete in itself, but there is a pattern which weaves them into a unity; for the golden label on the mirror reads, "Know Thyself," and the things Jack does, at home and among his friends, which cause him to step through it involve breaking the commandments against coveting, stealing and bearing false witness lack of love toward the neighbor, fault-finding or tale-bearing. In every instance, usually through his failures, Jack learns the lessons that the King teaches those who would enter His service and which must be mastered if they would become worthy of serving Him.

     Throughout her career the author has written mainly stories for children, and for children she writes well. There is nothing sanctimonious or priggish about her hero to prejudice young readers against him from the start, nor does he lack credibility. He is a normal boy with a normal boy's quick resentments, especially when the normal boy has red hair, and good-heartedness in making amends when he has learned his lesson. Nor does the author tell a tale to point a moral. This is story telling, not preaching. The moral is there, but it is an integral part of the story, and although it is unmistakable it is not obtrusive. Each of the ten stories is satisfyingly complete, yet is told with economy in the use of words and with a simplicity that conceals thoughtful preparation and a rich background.
     Gertrude Nelson Diem is a New Church woman, born in Glenview, Illinois and educated at the Academy of the New Church, from which she was graduated cum laude. New Church parents and children will see in her stories a significance and meaning which may escape others; but they may be read with pleasure, and whether realized or not with profit, by children anywhere, and her book can fill a useful place in book rooms and children's libraries other than our own.

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Many of these stories appeared originally in New Church Sermons, which was published monthly by the General Church until the mid-1930s-as did articles and stories from the Word for children from Mrs. Diem's pen. Brought together in this attractive volume, enhanced by Ken Hultgren's uncluttered and vivid illustrations, they make a delightful book.



COME AND SEE. An Introduction to the Writings of the New Church. By Donald L. Rose. Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa., Revised Edition, 1962. Paper, pp. 46.

     This pamphlet was first published in 1958 and was reviewed shortly thereafter in these pages (NEW CHURCH LIFE, February 1959, pp. 87, 88). Its purpose is to inform the reader about the New Church and to introduce him to the Writings, with the hope that he will investigate them and become satisfied that they are indeed a new revelation of Divine truth; and in this revised edition that purpose would seem to be well served, as it was in the original printing.
     The revisions consist in refinements rather than in radical changes or the insertion of much new material. The already attractive format is here improved by the use of larger and clearer type; and all the features of manner, style and approach which made the original edition so commendable have been retained, while the matter is presented in the same form and order and under the same headings. This is a pamphlet that may be handed with confidence to any inquiring reader who seems likely to appreciate a calm, reasoned approach. Those who are interested in church extension, and who may already have used it, should welcome its re-appearance at this time.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1963

     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh, who had tendered his resignation as an Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, has accepted appointment as full-time Musical Director of the Bryn Athyn Church, effective September 1, 1963. Mr. Stroh will be responsible for the choir, congregational singing and other musical activities associated with worship, and for developing the vocal music program in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School.

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LOVE, CHARITY AND WORKS 1963

LOVE, CHARITY AND WORKS       Editor       1963


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

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

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     The teaching given in the Writings concerning love, charity and works constitutes one of the church's most distinctive doctrines. This doctrine is entirely new. It was made possible only by the revelation of the Lord's Divine Human, and it is by the things whereof it speaks that the New Church is to be distinguished from all other religions. So it is essential that we should understand what is meant by love, charity and works. Especially is it necessary for us to see that these three, while distinct, are so inseparable that one cannot exist by itself.
To love the Lord is not to love Him merely as to His person; it is to love the Divine and spiritual things that are from Him the Word and doctrine from it, and the good of life which the Word and doctrine teach and to which they lead. Charity is an internal affection which consists in a man's desiring from the heart, as the delight of his life, to do good to the neighbor without thought of recompense. The works of charity are those which are done from thus willing well to the neighbor; wisely, with discrimination, and with his spiritual welfare at heart.
     When love, charity and works are thus regarded, we may see that they are indeed inseparable. Man cannot do good that is good to the neighbor unless he wills well to him; and he cannot really will well to the neighbor unless he is interiorly affected with good and truth, which is to love the Lord by loving what is from Him. This is what is new in the teaching of the Writings about these three things; and it must be studied and infilled as a means of entering into it, for it is entirely different from what is meant by modern writers on religious subjects.

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DEMANDS OF ACCOMMODATION 1963

DEMANDS OF ACCOMMODATION       Editor       1963

     It is known that the immediate accommodation in the Word is to the ideas as well as the states and needs of those to whom it was first given. What is not always recognized, however, is that the same principle applies to the Writings. A case in point is natural theology, to which there are five references-three in Spiritual Diary and two in De Verbo. Although the ideas embodied in it are still held and advocated, the term itself may seem to be without current meaning; yet during that part of the eighteenth century during which the Writings were being given, natural theology represented a profound and widespread threat to all forms of faith then existing in Western Europe. So deep was its influence, indeed, that some men retained its ideas after death, and as spirits propounded them vehemently.

     Natural theology was based on two assumptions. It held that God reveals Himself in nature, in history, and in human experience, and that the study of the physical world was the means to a knowledge of true religion. It held also that the knowledge that God exists, that man will be rewarded or punished in a future life for his conduct in this one, and that he has certain fundamental duties both to God and to his neighbor is innate with man in the form of ideas both intuitive and universal. Although it was supposedly hostile only to traditional theology, natural theology was actually opposed both to revealed religion and to the idea of a personal God. Yet it was very attractive to many thinkers of the period as offering a purified and liberated Christianity. So there was urgent need for the Writings to expose the falsity within it, to teach that Divine and spiritual things can be known only from revelation; and to show that true Christianity could be restored, not by man returning to a primitive simplicity of his own determining, but by his acceptance of a new Divine revelation.
     That teaching has not become obsolete; no Divine truth ever does. The ideas embodied in natural theology are still held in the western world and have influenced some of the liberal Protestant churches. The point we are making, however-and natural theology has been used as an example-is that a thoroughly informed knowledge of the eighteenth century, in which the Writings were given, and of its intellectual heritage would give us a new understanding of why the Writings were written in the manner and form in which we have them. Such knowledge and understanding are not requisite for regeneration, but they are an integral part of New Church scholarship; as essential as is sound biblical scholarship for a deeper understanding of the ultimate form of the Scriptures.

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HUMILIATION AND GLORIFICATION 1963

HUMILIATION AND GLORIFICATION       Editor       1963

     The devout Jew who looked for the consolation of Israel had difficulty in reconciling two Messianic conceptions. In accordance with many predictions, Israel expected an ideal King, yet prophecy had spoken also of a suffering servant. So much at variance were these ideas that many could not harmonize them. Some sought escape from the problem in the belief that there were to be two Messiahs: a servant who, by His sufferings, would prepare the way, and a King who would then come in glory; and a few, perhaps, may have seen the former in the Lord, whose sufferings were manifest but whose kingship was hidden from ordinary eyes.
     Christianity inherited the problem and was no more successful in solving it. In the Writings, however, the two ideas are united in the person of the Lord; and it is shown how that which is represented in scripture by the suffering servant was the means through which He became the King of glory. The doctrine which does this is that which is given concerning the Lord's states of humiliation and glorification.

     While the Lord was in the world, the teaching is, and before the Divine and the Human essences had been united in Him, He alternated between the state of humiliation and the state of glorification. He was in the former when He was in the infirm human, and in that state He adored and prayed to the Father as to another, although Jehovah was in Him; He was in the latter when in the Human from the Father, and in that state He spoke of Himself as one with the Father.
     We are not to think of the incarnate Lord as having a double consciousness, but as alternating between consciousness of separation from and union with the Supreme Divine. In the end, the former was to be displaced entirely by the latter, yet it was the means through which the very thing was effected. The infirm human was as a servant, and in the state of that human-the state of humiliation-the Lord was as a suffering servant; for in that state He underwent temptations, even to the passion of the cross. Yet it was in that state that the maternal heredity became quiescent, that the Lord received revelations and perception from His own Divine; and that, through victory in temptations, the infirm human was extirpated and He was united to Jehovah.
     Little could be disclosed in the Gospels about the Lord's state of humiliation, for it would have been misunderstood and belief in His Divinity would thereby have been weakened. In the Writings the doctrine could be fully revealed; for there the full and sole Divinity of the Lord is made known, and it could be disclosed how, through humiliation, the Lord became in His own person the King of glory.

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THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD 1963

THEY HAVE THEIR REWARD       Editor       1963

     On many occasions the Writings warn that those who study the Word from a desire for reputation, honor or gain receive nothing spiritual from it. They do not think from the Lord and heaven, but from themselves and the world, and to them the truths of the Word are simply means to their ends. To some, this teaching might seem to be outmoded. In this materialistic age there is surely little honor and less profit to be gained from being learned in the Word, and a limited field in which to achieve reputation. Yet the frequency with which the warning is given indicates that the danger is still present.
     Selfish loves are far from being outmoded, and the very materialism of the age has made some men so utterly stupid in spiritual things that they regard the Word in an entirely new way. Conceiving of God as being, in effect, in the service of man, rather than thinking of man as created for His service, they actually look upon the Word as a means to worldly prosperity, and some even as a key to personal success. In so far as they seem to achieve their ends through the reading of it, it can be said of them only as was said of the hypocrites: "They have their reward."

     Everyone who searches the scriptures reads the truth, but some fail entirely to see it. If the reader has self or the world as his end, he is blinded by self-love and the conceit of self-intelligence; for he is reading, not under the Lord's guidance, but under his own, and he cannot see the very truth which the Word teaches or be moved by the end to which it leads. But when the Word is read under the Lord's guidance it is entirely different. The love that then sends men to the Word is that of being instructed about truths. They search the scriptures to know what the truth is, not as a matter of mere intellectual interest, but for the sake of truth; because it is the truth, and because it is of service for the uses of their lives and to the neighbor. It is their purpose to become wise, to learn truths from the Word and through them form the church in themselves; and those who go to the Word with this as their end are indeed taught and enlightened by the Lord.
     Moreover, they are also led by the Lord. He gives them the will of truth as well as the understanding of it. When the Word is understood because it is loved, and man lives according to its teachings, the Lord not only grants enlightenment but also introduces man into conjunction with Himself and into consociation with heaven, infilling him with the good of love and the truth of wisdom. In this is the true reward, the reward that is inherent in the delight of performing spiritual uses.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     GENERAL CHURCH

     On February 1, 1963, the following gentlemen, second year students in the Academy of the New Church Theological School, were accepted as Authorized Candidates for the priesthood: Mr. Alfred Acton, Mr. Peter Martin Buss.

     LONDON, ENGLAND

     Due to events outside her control, your reporter has fallen far short of her goal of four reports during the year. It is, therefore, a far cry back to the New Church Club's Annual Dinner and Ladies' Night, which was held on Saturday, April 14. That was a real innovation! Instead of hiring a restaurant, the men of the Club prepared and presented the ladies with a really excellent dinner at Michael Church. With red roses, white wine and a French menu they set themselves a standard which it will be difficult to surpass in the future; but with what appreciation the ladies enjoyed the gesture, the New Church atmosphere, and that indefinable "something" that comes from being together "in oor ain hame," as my fellow countrymen might say! Of hilarity there was plenty, but there was also a most delicate etching of the church as the bride of the Lord given extemporaneously by the Rev. Frank Rose. The speaker of the evening was the Rev. B. S. Willmott, pastor of the Conference church at Snodland, Kent, and his subject was "Providence and Foresight." Unfortunately discussion of his paper was curtailed by he and his wife having to hurry away to catch their train-a circumstance that often prevails in London.
     To provide a suitable occasion to show its affection for young Elisabeth Sandstrom, and to mark her departure for Bryn Athyn, the Society held a social on Saturday evening, May 5. Paul Rinaldo acted as master of ceremonies, and a lively evening was enjoyed by all. Elisabeth was presented with a traveling suitcase, and some of the young people from Colchester who had come to swell our gathering gave her a farewell gift of a necklace.
     On June 24, we celebrated New Church Day. Because our pastor and his wife were in the United States the Rev. Frank S. Rose from Colchester presided. Following our usual custom, lunch was provided by the Women's Guild, and Ann Rinaldo gave us cause for much satisfaction by introducing us to an American meat loaf. Mr. and Mrs. Norman Turner supplied a rich baptismal cake to mark the baptism of their fourth daughter, Caroline Elizabeth, at the morning service. After lunch we settled down to a program thoughtfully prepared by Mr. Geoffrey Dawson. From carefully selected passages in the Writings be traced the rise and fall, or dawn to night states, of the four preceding churches on the earth, and then the formation of a new heaven and the establishment of a new church which is to be the crown of all the churches. After a toast to the church and to the priesthood, Mr. Rose gave an eloquent summing up and reminded us that we can do missionary work for our church only according to our understanding of its doctrine.
     Our 47th British Assembly has already been reported elsewhere; sufficient be it to say, therefore, that all who took part in it appeared to have a thoroughly happy time. There were fewer overseas visitors than in former years, but at all Assemblies it seems that hosts and visitors so quickly become a concerted whole that one temporarily forgets which is which.

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     The 4th British Academy Summer School, held from August 18 to September 1, was enthusiastically voted the best ever. With fourteen pupils (six boys and eight girls), two pastors and one lay teacher, together with various helpers, in attendance, the two weeks seem to have gone with a swing from start to finish according to one pupil, who wrote a vivid and interesting account for the News Letter.
     When our pastor and his wife returned from their American holiday they had not forgotten their friends at home. In order to include us as much as possible in the spirit of the 23rd General Assembly, Mr. Sandstrom brought back with him tape recordings of some of the proceedings. These included the selection of the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton as Bishop of the General Church, his acceptance speech, and the papers given by Mr. Alec Craigie and the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner at the Assembly banquet. The pastor and his wife then very hospitably gave a garden party on September 15 for all who could come. More than twenty-five adults and nearly a dozen children arrived to enjoy the games, the laughter, the lavish hospitality and the tapes. One always leaves these gatherings with the confirmed feeling of being bound together by an over-riding love of the church and its doctrines; of being one with many in the essentials of life.
     The last event to be reported before going to press was the annual Sale of Work on November 24. A buffet tea opened the proceedings and gave everyone an opportunity for a chat, then the sale proper was officially opened by the pastor. In a surprisingly short time the stalls were practically cleared and it was time for the entertainment to begin. This consisted of a puppet show written by Rona Maclurkin, aged 13, and was extremely good. Rona, her younger sister Sheila, and their mother, Mrs. Inga Maclurkin, have recently been baptized into the church. Another item was a comedy sketch, written and performed by Mr. and Mrs. Roy Warwick, which had us all rocking with laughter. It was a happy evening, and it netted approximately L45 -no mean sum, considering the inclement weather which prevented a number of people from attending.
     ISABEL ROBERTSON

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Considerable news has been made in Pittsburgh of late. Pastoral changes have been decided upon. For some time we had a pastor and an assistant, both in the second degree, but that was too good to last! At our annual meeting we passed a resolution to the effect that we would like to continue with the Rev. Louis B. King as our pastor if at all possible, for he and his wife are well loved and admired for the fine work they are doing. Thus we went on record. Then, when a call came to Mr. King from Glenview, he decided that the needs were greater there and accepted. However, he will not take up duty there until September 1. This allows us to enjoy, and in the meantime profit by, having two pastors, as it were. We still cannot believe that it is true, because the change was not our idea.
     After our pastor had resigned, the Bishop of the General Church, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, came here and held a meeting with the Society to determine the procedure to be followed in the selection of a new pastor. It was decided that each of us would have the opportunity of mailing to the Bishop, unsigned, the names of three members of the clergy. The Bishop was guided by the information thus received, and at a later meeting placed one name in nomination. We are very happy and most fortunate to be able to say that the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh was the one chosen. We feel that, in Providence, he has been well trained, and that his heart and his skilled efforts are already in this work. Now it will be our joy to work with him next year as the pastor of the Society. May the Lord send His blessing!
     Last summer a family service was held every Sunday and was well attended.

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Sunday school was held on the first Sunday of each month during the summer as well as throughout the rest of the year. A nursery school was opened for the little ones. Mrs. Carmond Odhner was in charge, and Mrs. A. H. Lindsay assisted the regular teacher with the Sunday school work. The young children love to come to the Sunday school, where the stories of the Word are told by means of pictures placed on the flannel board. Nine children come from a distance, besides the ones who attend our day school.
     The fall saw the start of the Johnny Appleseed Campaign by the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh. This was essentially a campaign to try to get more people in this district to read the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. The promotion was by means of the press, radio, distribution of copies of the Writings to such key places as the libraries, and also by means of brief recorded comments which could be heard by dialing certain telephone numbers. Of all the different methods used, the telephone question and answer system continues to be the most successful, with some forty calls coming in each day.
     The seeds of truth are being planted and the results will show in time. Our pastor and his assistant continue to hold services and classes in Cleveland, Ohio, once a month, and a monthly class is held also in Freeport, Pa. The classes in Freeport are essentially a missionary effort and are most useful. A class for the children is followed by one for the adults, and then comes a buffet supper to which each contributes some food. The group is warm and friendly, and through these classes some success has been achieved in bringing new members into the church.
     Eleven students left here for college in the fall. The new students who left for the Academy schools were Terry Clifford and Meredith Glenn. They were honored at a Theta Alpha shower. Bill Clifford and Al Lindsay were honored by the Sons of the Academy, each being given two copies of the Writings. This was done at a Society picnic, sponsored by the Sons and held at the Lindsay farm. Our elementary school opened its doors for its 77th consecutive year of operation with the largest enrollment in its history-forty students, with two in kindergarten and four in part-time kindergarten.
     Two dances given under the auspices of the social committee were joyous occasions. The Thanksgiving affair, called the Stockade Party, was reminiscent of pioneer days. The decorations were carried out in this motif, and games and dancing to recorded music were enjoyed by all. During the Christmas vacation the real Gala Pink Ball was given, with live orchestra music. The pink theme was carried out in the decorations and even in the special awards given for fancy dances, etc. Every one had a grand time. On the Sunday before Christmas, the Rev. and Mrs. Louis King held a Christmas sing in the auditorium with songs and refreshments. There were 125 people present. The Rev. and Mrs. Kurt Asplundh also made us welcome by inviting the entire Society to an at home party on New Year's Day. It is, however, our Christmas festival -at which tour tableaux were given-that is the center of our Christmas celebration. All our little children are included in this affair; and on that occasion, under the expert care of Mrs. Nancy Mitzen, gifts were given to 110 children.
     There have been three weddings since our last report. Last August William Lindner, a State College student who has recently joined the church, was married to Virginia Rowell, a Pittsburgh girl, by the Rev. Louis King. All their friends came, as well as our own folks, which made an excellent opportunity for the guests to become acquainted with our marriage service. A reception in the auditorium followed. Mr. and Mrs. Russell Stevens had their two lovely daughters married in the fall. In October, Wendy's marriage to Donald Burns was solemnized in a beautiful ceremony which was followed by a reception in the auditorium. In December, the other daughter, Julie, was married to Franz Sammt in a service which was every bit as lovely.

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Julie is our organist, and for the occasion special organ music was played by her teacher from Carnegie Tech. Many guests from that school were present at the wedding and the reception which followed.
     Notes of interest: Theta Alpha made $125 on a rummage sale; the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson preached an inspiring sermon in October; Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr. gave a fine talk to the Sons in November on "The Academy Admissions Office." Four engagements have been announced of late-a good sign for the future! During the past year we have had five infant baptisms, one adult baptism and four confirmations.
     LUCILE S. BLAIR
MEASURE OF A MAN 1963

MEASURE OF A MAN              1963

     "Man is man from his mind, for the mind itself constitutes the man, and such as the mind is, such is the man. By the `mind' is meant man's intellect and will, and consequently his veriest life. Stupid people suppose that man is man from his outward form, in that he has a face like a man's, those less stupid say man is man because he can speak; and those still less stupid, that man is man because he can think. But man is not man from these things, but from the fact that he can think what is true and will what is good, and that when he thinks truth and wills good he can look up to the Divine and perceptibly receive it. It is in this that man is distinguished from brute animals.
     "His seeming like a man, and his ability to speak and to think, do not make him a man; for if he thinks what is false and wills what is evil, this makes him not merely like a brute animal, but worse; for by means of these very faculties he destroys what is human in himself, and makes himself a wild beast" (Arcana Coelestia 5302).
WHEN EVIL HARMS MAN 1963

WHEN EVIL HARMS MAN              1963

     "The evil which enters into the thought does no harm to the man, because evil is continually infused by spirits from hell, and is continually repelled by angels. But when evil enters into the will, then it does harm, for then it also goes forth into act whenever external bonds do not restrain. Evil enters into the will by being kept in the thought by consent, especially by act and consequent delight" (Arcana Coelestia 6204).

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MIAMI CHURCH DEDICATION 1963

MIAMI CHURCH DEDICATION       MORLEY D. RICH       1963




     Announcements


     An Invitation

     The Miami (Florida) Circle cordially invites the members and friends of the General Church to attend the dedication of its new church building. The tentative date set for the dedication weekend is April 13-14, 1963. The dedication service will be on Saturday, April 13, at 5:00 p.m., and it will be followed by a buffet supper and program. The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Bishop of the General Church, will officiate, and will preach the following morning.
     Mrs. Vida Schnarr, 19731 N.E. 12th Court, Miami 62, is in charge of housing arrangements. We will endeavor to place as many guests as possible in our homes; when these accommodations are filled we will be glad to arrange for motel reservations. Please address all requests for accommodation to Mrs. Schnarr.
     MORLEY D. RICH
          Pastor

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SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAS 1963

SIGN OF THE PROPHET JONAS       Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
April 1963
No. 4
NEW CHURCH LIFE
     "No sign shall be given . . . but the sign of the prophet Jonas." (Matthew 12: 39)      In Israel a prophet was a man set apart; for not only was he authorized to speak in the name of the Lord, but he was also gifted with the unique power to foretell the future. Yet, like the priesthood and the royalty, the prophetic function was subject to perversion, and the question arose as to how the people were to distinguish between a true and a false prophet. In answer to this, Moses said: "When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken."* This is what is known as the historical test of prophecy, a test that cannot be applied until the time is fulfilled.
     * Deut. 18: 22.      Thus it was that when the Lord entered upon His public ministry and began to teach as one having authority, it was assumed by many that He was a prophet. But the Scribes and Pharisees, fearing His influence over the people, required of Him a sign which would serve as evidence of His commission. But He, perceiving their craftiness, said unto them: "An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."* There could be no mistaking the meaning of His words. Whereas Jonah had been miraculously delivered from conditions which normally induce death, this Man implied that, having died and been buried in the heart of the earth, He would, of His own power, rise again on the third day. Surely this thing was beyond all belief. Who, therefore, could credit His word?

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     At this later day the same question arises. Who can credit the Word? While many profess a faith in a God and subscribe to the social and moral teachings of Jesus, they discount the doctrine of the resurrection, saying: "How can this be? Are we to believe that Christ actually rose from the tomb with the material body? Not only is this contrary to all natural law, but it has no parallel in human experience." Yet nowhere is it said that the Lord rose from the tomb in the body that He had in this world. This is an assumption derived from the testimony of the disciples, who, in their simplicity, could not have believed otherwise. They saw Him as they had known Him; even Thomas, the doubting disciple, was constrained to faith when He saw in His hands the print of the nails. But what is said is that the Lord rose with the whole body, and this differently from any other man.* By the whole body is not meant the material body, but the Divine substantial which is Divine in ultimates as well as in inmosts. Hence the teaching that "as His body was no longer material, but Divine substantial, He came in to His disciples when the doors were shut."**
     * Lord 35: 9.
     ** Lord 35: 10.
     In rejecting the doctrine of the material resurrection, the Writings do not stand alone. In the history of Christian thought there have been those who have held that the disciples saw the Lord, but that they saw Him in vision. While skeptics may scoff and say that a subjective experience has no claim to reality, there is no evidence to prove that knowledge given subjectively is not nonetheless real. It is true that all that man can know of this world must be presented to the mind by way of the five senses; but it does not follow from this that the physical world is all that there is, nor that the sight of the spirit is restricted to objective phenomena. Indeed, we are told in the Writings that there was a day when men were instructed in spiritual things by means of visions and dreams; but with the fall of man, and the resultant loss of celestial perception, this avenue of communication with the spiritual world was closed, save with those prophets and seers through whom the Word has been given.
     To believe in the Word, therefore, is also to believe in the reality of the spiritual world. To deny its existence is to deny the Word. As the Lord said to the Jews: "Ye believe in God, believe also in Me,"* that is, in the Word which He spake. "In My Father's house are many mansions: If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself: that where I am there ye may be also."** Two things should be noted here: first, the direct teaching concerning the immortality of the human spirit; and second, the assurance that He would come again.

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Yet how many at this day actually believe that man lives as a man after the death of the body, or that the Lord will again manifest Himself before men? We can understand, therefore, why it is stated in the Writings that "the man of the church at this . . . [day] knows scarcely anything . . . about his life after death, although these matters are set forth . . . in the Word; and yet many of those born within the church refuse to believe . . . them, saying in their hearts, 'Who has come from that world . . . [to tell] us?'***
     * John 14: 1.
     ** John 14: 2.
     *** HH 1.
     Like the Scribes and Pharisees, therefore, men require a sign, some objective demonstration of the truth of the Word and the reality of the world of the spirit. But as the Lord said: "No sign shall be given [save] the sign of the prophet Jonas."* But men say: "What is this? Are we to accept the testimony of the disciples as conclusive evidence of the resurrection? While of interest, their evidence is not admissible because it was prejudiced by a preconceived faith." But the truth of the Word is not dependent upon the testimony of the disciples; for as the Lord said to the Jews: "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth, but I receive not testimony from man";** and as the Writings teach, it is the Divine which bears witness concerning the Divine, and not man from himself.*** Yet who is this Divine who is to bear witness concerning the Divine? Is it not He of whom the Lord spake to His disciples, saying: "I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him . . . [and] He shall testify of Me?"****
     * Matthew 12: 39.
     ** John 5: 33, 34.
     *** AE 638: 4.
     **** John 14: 16, 17; 15: 26.
     
     By the Spirit of truth is meant spiritual truth, that is, the Word in its spiritual sense. It is this sense, we are told, that "gives life [or meaning] to the letter,"* and "without such a life, the Word as to its letter is dead."** It is, then, in the elevation of the Divine doctrine out of the letter that the Lord has risen from the dead. This is the sign of the prophet Jonas to this generation; and by this sign it shall be known that the Word is true, for as stated in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, the spiritual sense ". . . can . . . bear witness to the Divinity and holiness of the Word, and can convince even the natural man, if he is willing to be convinced."***
     * SS 4.
     ** AC 3.
     *** SS 4.
     In the celebration of Easter, therefore, the thought of the man of the New Church is not confined to the historical event. Unlike the disciples, who saw and knew Him as a man in the world, we may now see and know Him as He is revealed in the spiritual sense.

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There is a world of difference between these two manifestations of the Lord's Divinity; for whereas in the New Testament the thought of the mind is directed to the Lord as a person, in the Writings the thought is directed to the Divine doctrine. Hence the teaching that the "second coming of the Lord is not a coming in person, but in the Word which is from Him, and is Himself."* For while it is true that God is a person, that is, a Divine being who possesses all human attributes, the Divinity of His Humanity cannot be made visible to the sight of the understanding apart from the spiritual sense of the Word.
     * TCR 776.

     The reason for this is that in God, even as in the man whom He created after His own image and likeness, the person is but the manifestation of a deeper reality whom the Writings refer to as "the essential man." By the "essential man" is meant that which in essence is man; for God is good, and He is truth, even as the man whom He created in His own image and likeness is in essence a form receptive of good and truth. Hence we are taught in the Writings that "to love the Lord is not to love Him as to person, but to love the good which is from Him."* For who cannot see that to love another is to love him for the good that he does, and not on account of his person? Yet he who loves the good that is done by the person also loves the person through whom the good is done.
     *HH 15.

     To love God, therefore, is to love what is good, for all good is from Him. But as good cannot be presented to the sight of the mind except in the form of truth, it is as truth that the Lord is revealed in the Word. To see God, therefore, is to see truth, and to see truth is to see that God is Divine Man. This is the essential teaching of all Divine revelation. That is why we are taught that the Word is the medium of conjunction between God and man, for apart from the Word man could form no idea of God. That this is so is evident from the fact that words are the medium of communication between minds. Thus the Writings observe that "in order to be heard, the Divine must first become human."* By this is meant that if the Divine is to be known among men it must first be accommodated to the sight of men's understanding. This is the function of the Word.
     * AC 6982.
     In ancient times God revealed Himself to man through the human of an angel. This was the Angel of Jehovah, who appeared to the prophets. The churches which existed before the Advent, therefore, are said to have been representative churches because the Divine was re-presented among them through the agency of some angel or spirit who stood in God's place.

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But when, in the course of time, representative worship failed, the Lord took on the human from the mother, and it was in this human that He was seen and known by His disciples when He lived as a man in the world. Thus it was that men came to know Him, not as He was known in ancient times, that is, as one who is represented through the person of another, but as one who through presence is known in His own person. Yet in this the disciples were not unlike children who, although they know their parents as persons and are conscious of their love and affection, have little or no appreciation of them as adults. To know another we must be able to enter into his thoughts and affections with understanding; in other words, we must come to know the man as to his mind. That is why the Lord said to the disciples, on the eve of the crucifixion: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth."*
     * John 16: 12, 13.

     Wherever the word "spirit" is used in the Writings the reference is to the mind. The same is true of the word "human," for man is not man because he possesses a body of flesh and blood, but because he is endowed with a mind that is capable of perceiving what is true and willing what is good. It is in this that man differs from the beast of the field. The animal knows both pleasure and pain; it experiences all those sensations which come to consciousness by way of the senses; it has loves, fears, appetites and delights, but it cannot be affected by truth; neither can it will what is good. Therefore, when it is said that the Lord put on the human from the mother, is it not meant that He put on the mind of man? In no other way could the idea of the Lord as a Divine person have been presented to the sight of man's apprehension. As any other man, therefore, the Lord was born into the world; but unlike every other man He put off the human from the mother and put on the Human from the Father. In other words, the Mary-human was but the means whereby the Lord was revealed as to His person; but having served its purpose, it was put off in order that men might be led into the interior acknowledgment and perception of the Lord in His own Divine Human.
     To understand this we need but think of the child, whose first idea of God is formed through the person of others; that is, through his parents who, in the mind of the child, temporarily stand in God's place. But the time comes when this idea of God as Divine Man is no longer sufficient to faith, and the thought of the child must be directed to the Lord as a man in the world, that is, to the Lord in His own person.

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But the testimony of the New Testament concerns one who is yet to come; namely, the Spirit of truth, who will guide man into all truth; that is, into the perception and acknowledgment that all the truth is from the Lord, and that it is as truth, that is, as the Divine doctrine, that the Lord is revealed in the spiritual sense of His Word. It is, then, through the elevation of the Divine doctrine out of the letter that a new vision of the Lord has been given to men. Here He is seen as Divine Man in Human essence, as good and as truth. Hence the teaching of the Writings that we are to "think of God from His essence, and from this of His person; and not from His person, and from this of His essence";* for to think of God from His person, and from this of His essence, is to think naturally concerning Him; but to think of God from His essence, and from this of His person, is to think spiritually concerning Him.**
     * AR 611.
     ** Ibid.
In the celebration of Easter, therefore, we not only commemorate the Lord's resurrection, but also that high and holy event which it prefigured; for even as the Son of Man was three days and three nights in the heart of the earth, so the Word which has so long been buried in the sense of the letter has at this day been lifted up and stands revealed to the sight of men's understanding. However, like the disciples who walked with Him on the road to Emmaus, we may not at first perceive His Divinity, for it is recorded that "their eyes were holden that they should not know Him."* But when He had "expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself,"** their eyes were opened, and they said to one another: "Did not our hearts burn within us while He opened to us the Scriptures?"*** In this, as in every other event recorded in the New Testament, the spirit of prophecy prevails, for it is through the exposition of the Divine doctrine out of the letter that the Lord is revealed at this day. This is the sign of the prophet Jonas, a sign that testifies to all generations concerning the truth of the Word. Amen.
     * Luke 24: 16.
     ** Luke 24: 27.
     *** Luke 24: 32.

LESSONS: Matthew 12: 22-41. Luke 24: 1-35. AC 2531, 2533.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 548, 556, 557, 551, 552.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 93, 128.
LOVE FROM WHICH HE CONQUERED 1963

LOVE FROM WHICH HE CONQUERED              1963

     "In all His combats of temptations the Lord never fought from the love of self, or for Himself, but for all in the universe, consequently, not that He might become the greatest in heaven, for this is contrary to the Divine love, and scarcely even that He might be the least; but only that all others might become something and be saved" (AC 1812).

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EASTER MESSAGE 1963

EASTER MESSAGE       Rev. KARL R. ALDEN       1963

     A Talk to Children

     The Lord loves each one of you very, very much; and in order that you might know what the Lord is like, He decided that He would come down into this world, and live just as people live: have the Virgin Mary for His mother, live in a home, and grow up from childhood to manhood. Then, when He became a man, He showed us what kind of wonderful things the God that we worship, who is the Lord, can do.
     We see Him giving sight to blind Bartimaeus-poor Bartimaeus, sitting beside the road, begging. The Lord said: "What would you like Me to do for you?" and he said: "Give me my sight!" So the Lord gave him his sight. Then there was a deaf man, who could not hear anything; and the Lord gave him his hearing back again. There was also a poor lame man, hobbling along. He could not walk straight, but the Lord healed him so that he could run and skip and dance. There was, too, a poor woman who had an issue of blood, and who had kept on bleeding for twelve long years; and she said to herself: "If I can but touch the hem of the garment of this prophet," the Lord, "I will be healed." So she pushed her way through the crowd, came up to Him gradually, and touched His garment-and at once she was healed!

     Then the Lord went on a little further, and found a little girl of twelve, and she was lying dead in her bed. Everyone was crying; but the Lord said, "Do not cry, she is just asleep," and He took her by the hand and lifted her up. On another occasion there were five thousand people who were very hungry, and He told His disciples to feed them. They asked Him how they could feed five thousand people. There was a little boy who had five barley loaves and two small fishes-but what were they among so many? The Lord said: "Tell them all to sit down"; and they all sat down. Then the Lord broke the bread, and went on breaking and breaking it, until He had fed the entire five thousand.
     Also there was a man named Lazarus whom the Lord loved very much. He died, and his sisters, Mary and Martha, called the Lord, and He came up; and the Lord said that their brother would rise again. Martha said: "I know that he will rise in the resurrection, but he is dead now!"

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So they took the Lord out to where he had been buried for four days, and the Lord said: "Lazarus, come forth." Lazarus came right out of the sepulchre, and they took off his grave clothes.
     The Lord did all of these things so that you might know how powerful He is, and how He can help us in every possible trouble that we can ever have. Now on Easter morning there were several women who came to the sepulchre. They came early, and they found an empty sepulchre. One of these women was named Mary Magdalene, and out of her the Lord had cast seven devils. She had been very wicked, and the Lord had helped her to become very good; and on the first Easter morning, out of all the people whom the Lord loved and who loved Him, He chose to be seen first by Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils. Now there were three Marys connected with the Lord's life, and you children know them all. There was the Mary of whom you read at Christmas time, who was the mother of the Lord when He was born into the world as a little child. There was Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, who loved to sit and listen to the Lord talk. And, last of all, there was Mary Magdalene.

     Each of these Marys represents a different part of your life. To New Church people, the first Mary means the knowledge that the Writings did not come from Swedenborg's mind, but from the Lord. That is like the Virgin Birth. Joseph was not the father of the Lord; the Lord had no earthly father: and the Writings that make our church had no earthly father, either. They also come from the Lord. The second Mary-who chose the better part, and who loved to sit at the Lord's feet and listen to Him talk-represents our reading the Word and the Writings. These are of no use to us if we do not read them; and that is why He said that this Mary had chosen the better part. The third Mary, Mary Magdalene, represents what every New Church man knows is the way of salvation, that is, to shun your evils as sins against God.
     Do you know that if you are truly sorry and ask the Lord to forgive you when you have done something wrong, like telling a lie or stealing something, He will help you by casting out the evil spirits who made you do it? And that little time of rejoicing that you have got over that evil by shunning it as a sin against the Lord will be a little Easter. So the greatest message that Easter has for any of us is that no matter what we have done, even if, like Mary, we have been infested by seven devils, the Lord has power to cast them out, if we will co-operate with Him and shun our evils as sins against Him. And the Lord is still with us!

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He commanded John in the Isle of Patmos to write in a book, so that all could read it thereafter: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." What door do you think He stands at? The door of your hearts-of all your loves. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock," He says. "If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Amen.

LESSON: John 20: 1-18.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 548, 552, 554.
PRAYER: Liturgy, no. C4.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Doctrine. A general definition was given last month. It is, however, necessary to distinguish between the "doctrine of genuine truth" and what is known to us as "derived doctrine." By the former is meant that which appears plainly in the letter of Divine revelation, and which can be drawn thence and formulated into systematic teaching by a careful comparison of passages and an arrangement of them into a logical order and series. Derived doctrine, on the other hand, is the formulation in which the church expresses its understanding of what the Writings teach. The difference, and it is a vital one, is that the doctrine of genuine truth has Divine authority; derived doctrine does not, since it consists in human conclusions and is finite and fallible. (See SS 25.)

     Domestic Good. By this is meant the good which man derives hereditarily from his parents, and into which he is therefore born, but which is not saving since interiorly it is evil. It is also called "natural good"; and to make a distinction between it and the spiritual good received from the Lord by regeneration, that good is called the "good of the natural." Domestic good is also called connate good. The mistaking of natural good for the good of the natural has undoubtedly been a major factor in the development of the fallacy that man is born good. (See AC 3518.)

     End, Cause and Effect. These philosophical terms occur frequently in the Writings. End is the love, the purpose or intention of the will; cause is the means in the understanding through which the will achieves its purpose; and effect is the ultimate of speech, action, sensation or production in which the purpose is achieved through those means. (See AC 5608.)

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DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH 1963

DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     (The second in a series of five doctrinal classes.)

     2. HOW THE DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH IS ACQUIRED

     To all who read, it is evident that the letter of the Word cannot be understood without doctrine. The reason is that it must contain eternal truths which men are not prepared to understand, but into the understanding of which they may enter progressively as they advance in spiritual intelligence and wisdom. For the most part, these eternal truths must be clothed, or covered over, and thus protected from those who would pervert and profane them. Such are the cryptic utterances of the prophets, which convey no understandable meaning unless they are interpreted according to the science of correspondences. Such also are passages which are written according to the appearances of the senses, which are adapted to the comprehension of children and the simple. Such appearances are frequently altogether contrary to the truth. These appearances are that the sun moves around the earth; that the earth is flat; that God is angry, and that He repents; that the iniquity of the fathers is visited upon the sons; that only the poor can enter heaven. The real truth is just the opposite of these, and in some cases that opposite is clearly stated in the Word, producing apparent contradictions; but there are other passages in which the eternal truth is openly and unmistakably stated. Thus it is said openly that there is one God, that He is Jehovah, or the Lord, and that He alone is to be worshiped; that all good and truth are from Him; that salvation and eternal life are from Him; that there is a heaven and a hell; and that those come into heaven who have lived well, and those come into hell who have lived ill; also that love to God and love toward the neighbor are the commandments on which the rest hang, etc.*
     * SS 51; AC 8773, 10638
     These passages in which the internal sense of the Word openly appears are scattered through the Word, and they must be collected and brought into harmonious order to form a doctrine by means of which all else is to be judged and interpreted. These latter passages are compared to the hands and face of a man, which are bare, while the rest are clothed.

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They need no interpretation because their literal meaning is the same as the internal sense. Indeed, the internal sense could not be more plainly stated. They are said to be "primary" or "general" truths, "in which and from which are the rest."* They are openly stated in the letter of the Word, not once, but many times, in different connections. The human mind is created to see and recognize these truths when they are presented. The ability to recognize such truths is imparted to every one by means of the remains of infancy and childhood. These remains are heavenly affections, insinuated by celestial angels, which affections give light to the mind and dispose it to acknowledge spiritual truths spontaneously. It is therefore a matter of common experience that little children respond affirmatively to such truths when they are presented, and accept them gladly and without question. Because such truths are stated openly in the Word, because they need no interpretation, because they are accepted as what the Lord Himself says, they come to man with Divine authority. Many of them are carried over without change from one revelation to the next, and thus constitute a bond which unites all revelations, brings them into harmony, and causes them to be seen as one Word, the pronouncements of one God.
     * AC 8773.

     Because of this it may be apparent to all that each succeeding revelation is based upon those that preceded, and has arisen out of them. Because of them it is clear that when a new revelation is given, those that have gone before are not abrogated or rendered obsolete. This the Lord openly teaches, saying: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."*
     * Matthew 5: 17, 18.
     Nevertheless, every revelation openly reveals new truths-truths which could not be revealed before. These are truths which are necessary for the establishment of the church anew by the Lord when a former dispensation has come to its end. For this reason the primary truths of one dispensation are not identical with those of the next. Thus we find new truths openly revealed to the Christian Church which could not be given to the Jewish Church; and, similarly, new truths manifested to the New Church which had to be concealed from the Christian Church.
     The Jewish Church was established by the appearance of Jehovah on Mount Sinai, and by the giving of the Ten Commandments as Divine laws of life. The tables of the law were the beginning of the Old Testament. All the rest was written later. They were the primary or general truths upon which depended all the statutes and judgments that were given later.

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By means of them a covenant was established between Jehovah and the sons of Israel-a new covenant which set them apart and distinguished them from all other nations in the world. But because the Jews were such that a spiritual church could not be established among them, but only the representative of such a church, they were required to keep the Ten Commandments only in their literal sense, and to carry out the more detailed requirements of the law only in external form. The Lord required of them no more than they were capable of doing; namely, to acknowledge Him as the only God, and to obey Him in keeping ritualistic observances and in representative acts which they did not in the least understand, but by means of which they could picture forth a true church, and thus provide an ultimate for influx from the heavens. This was necessary because all other nations had fallen into idolatry, and had set up forms of worship and mode of life which were contrary to the Divine order, and into which there could be no heavenly influx. But as far as the sons of Israel obeyed the literal statutes of the Mosaic Law, the connection of heaven and earth could be preserved, the way could be prepared for the advent of the Lord in the flesh, and those who sincerely kept the law could be taught in the other world and thus be prepared for heaven.

     When the Lord came, He expounded to His disciples many things concerning Himself which had been hidden from the Jews. He plainly stated new primary truths, and by means of these established a new covenant between Himself and His church. The distinguishing truths which set the Christian Church apart from all others were: that Jesus Christ was the Son of God; that He was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament; that henceforth He was to be the sole object of worship. Also, that there was a deeper meaning within the Ten Commandments, and that the life of religion was not merely a matter of ritual observance but was rather a life of charity and mutual love. The Lord spoke in parables, indeed, but now in such a way as to make the inner meaning of the parable in some degree apparent. He corrected the literal interpretations of the Jews, saying: "Ye have heard that it hath been said of old time, but I say unto you." By His sermon on the mount, and by many other teachings and discourses, He laid open the inner meaning of the Ten Commandments. He clearly taught that He had not come to establish an earthly kingdom, but instead, a spiritual kingdom in the hearts of men. He taught that He had come, not only to save the Jews, but to extend salvation to all men. All these were new primary truths, to be characteristic of the faith of the Christian Church, truths which could not be revealed to the Jews.

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All these new truths were plainly stated directly from the Lord, and came to the disciples with the power of Divine authority.
     So also, when the Lord made His second coming, He set forth openly new truths in great abundance which the Christian Church had not been prepared to receive. He described the mode of His incarnation the process of His glorification, and how He had become fully united with the Infinite Father after His resurrection. He revealed the true nature of Divine redemption, the relation between the spiritual and the natural worlds, the laws of the Divine Providence, and many other truths that had been concealed previously. By these new truths He established a new covenant with His church, and inaugurated a new dispensation that set the New Church apart from all churches that had previously existed. That is what is meant when it is said that the Writings reveal the doctrine of genuine truth, a Divine doctrine, immediately from the mouth of the Lord, for the instruction of men and angels.
     Now we are taught that the primary truths which are plainly stated in the letter of each revelation are the truths which are necessary to the spiritual life and the salvation of those who belong to that church. They are available to all those of that church who search them out from a sincere desire to be led by the Lord, and who make them a matter of conscience and live according to them. By means of them the Lord "comes"; that is, He makes Himself visible to men, that they may know Him and worship Him. This He does to all who approach His Word in humility, seeking Divine instruction, eager to learn the Lord's will, that they may keep it. As far as any one does this, the Lord will lead him, protect him, and redeem him from the power of evil. We are warned, however, that only those who are in enlightenment from the Lord can discover these scattered truths in the letter of the Word, and derive from them the doctrine of genuine truth. As we have already pointed out, to be enlightened is to be affected by heavenly loves insinuated by remains. Love is spiritual flame, and from it radiates spiritual light. When man reads the Word from this love he discovers therein the primary truths appropriate to his state. He sees them, not from his own intelligence but immediately from the Lord, and they come to him with Divine authority. He may accept the appearances of truth within which genuine truths are concealed; but he will not confirm these appearances in such a way as to deny or negate the genuine truths which are plainly stated.
     Referring to these primary truths, the Writings state:

     "With those who believe these things, and love it to be so, all evil and falsity are removed while they are reading the Word, because the Lord enlightens them and leads them. And then they do not think from themselves . . . but from the Lord; consequently no evil and falsity of evil enter, because the Lord removes these. These are they who understand the Word, and are affected by the truths from it, and also love to live according to them.

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But those who do not acknowledge these chief precepts, which are of . . . eternal truth, are not enlightened when they read the Word, thus do not from the Lord see the truths therein; but what they see they see from self, and to see from self is to see falsities instead of truths. And if they see truths, they nevertheless falsify them by means of principles adopted by themselves; or else by means of their own loves, to which they turn the truths, and to which they thus apply them, whence come . . . [evils and falsities]."*
     * AC 10638.

     From this teaching it is clear that those who approach the Word from the love of truth for its own sake, that is, for the sake of learning and doing the Lord's will, can draw from the letter of the Word the doctrine of genuine truth; that is, the truth which is essential to their regeneration and salvation. When so drawn, accepting the truths as stated because the Lord has so spoken, the doctrine will not be man made; it will not be the product of man's intellect, but will come to him directly from the Lord, with Divine authority.
     But here a clear distinction must be made between what the Lord has said, and what man understands. Divine authority is to be ascribed to what the Lord says, but never to man's understanding. A plain statement of spiritual truth can be understood very simply, as a child understands, but very imperfectly. The understanding of a child, of an adult with a childlike mind, or by an adult with deeper perception based on experience, knowledge, and regeneration, are all possible in regard to a plain statement of the Word; but even the wisest man, or indeed the wisest angel, can progress into a deeper and a truer understanding to all eternity. One who recognizes this will never ascribe Divine authority to his own understanding, but will constantly return to the Word for further instruction to correct the imperfections of his thought and perception. Nevertheless, if a man thinks from the love of truth he thinks from the light of heaven, that is, from the Lord who is the Light of heaven; and what he then understands, although it is limited and imperfect, is still in harmony with the Divine truth. It is open even to the Lord, and by means of it the Lord can lead him, and teach him, and perfect his understanding without limit. It is because of this that the doctrine of genuine truth, drawn from the plain statements of the Word, and confirmed thereby, is called Divine. It is what the Lord says that is Divine, that contains infinite depths of truth. As long as man acknowledges this and submits his mind to it without reserve, and with constant awareness of the limitations of his own understanding, the Lord can open his mind progressively to see and understand ever more truly what the Lord says.
     In our next class we will consider how it is that in process of time the doctrine of genuine truth becomes lost, and how it must be restored by a new advent of the Lord.

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CROSS OF JESUS 1963

CROSS OF JESUS       Rev. KENNETH O. STROH       1963

     Throughout the course of this world's history, the cross has been used by mankind as a symbol. Its use probably dates back to pre-historic ages; for evidence, discovered on the stones on the coast of France, seems to suggest that the mark of the cross was employed by paleolithic man. The significations of the cross among different peoples and at different times have included the sun, or the god of the sky, the four parts of the world and the cardinal points of the compass. It has represented the four main winds that bring rain, as well as the four elements: earth, air, fire and water. In various forms it has been used in battle insignia or as a national emblem-witness the recent and infamous swastika. It has taken form in badges or medals of honor, such as the Distinguished Service Cross of the United States of America. It can be seen as the mark made in lieu of a signature by a person who cannot write his name. Its uses have been, and are, manifold. But, pre-eminently, it is the ensign of Christianity; for in this age the cross is, above all, the Christian sign.

     This Christian sign stems from the cross on which Jesus was crucified. The mental picture of Jesus nailed to the wooden cross on Calvary was burned into the hearts of the early Christians. Therefore Paul, one of the first and most successful preachers of the gospel, said that "the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God."* Again, he noted that "the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified."**
     * I Corinthians 1: 18.
     ** I Corinthians: 22, 23.
     However, the use of this sign in external imagery was somewhat limited in the early church by a natural repugnance for the reminder of the particulars of that horrible fate which many of the first Christians could expect to share with the Master; but after the punishment of crucifixion was abolished in the fourth century A.D., images of the cross came into general use in the church. Since that time, the crucifix and the cross have played a central part in Christian symbolism and ritual. Numberless crucifixes and crosses have been fashioned, with much variety of shape and purpose. Some are made in somber hues, with or without the image of Jesus, to recall the meaning of His passion; some are shining white, to recall the joy of His resurrection.

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Some are starkly simple, others are more ornate; and in more than one branch of the church it is the privilege of the higher clerical orders to carry crucifixes more ornate than is permitted to the lower orders. Churches are adorned with, and sometimes built in the shape of, a cross; and the sign of the cross is an essential part of many church rituals, for the cross is the Christian sign which derives its fullest significance and power from the meaning of Easter.
     What, then, is to be the New Church attitude to the cross? The church signified by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse is eminently Christian; the religion of the New Church is the true Christian religion. How, then, are the men and women of that church to regard and use the Christian sign? What meaning does it hold for the church? How are we to regard it?

     Let us first ask ourselves: How do we react when we hear or read that it is to be discussed? No doubt we are mindful of the injunction of the Heavenly Doctrine that we must indeed receive the Lord, but not as He hung on the cross.* Perhaps we reflect-and possibly with a faint air of superiority-that we worship the risen Lord. We may remind ourselves that in heaven the angels cannot even think of the Lord's passion; and that when man thinks of the passion, the angels perceive His glorification, and then only His resurrection.** Thus we may come to the conclusion that it is proper for us to ignore the cross altogether.
     * See TCR 728.
     ** See AR 379: 5; AE 476e.
     If we do so, however, are we not ignoring that which is an integral part of the Word? The account of the Lord's crucifixion is contained, in great detail, in each of the four Gospels. These accounts describe the culmination and fulfillment of the Lord's work on earth-the work without which no mortal could have been saved. The Lord himself, during the walk to Emmaus after His resurrection, said: "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?"* Later-after He had come to the eleven, and had eaten a piece of a broiled fish and of a honeycomb with them-He opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them: "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day."** The events of Easter are the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that the serpent should bruise the heel of the seed of the woman,*** and they are foreshadowed throughout the whole of the Old Testament. The Christian sign arising from that fulfillment is used in the New Church in the sacrament of Baptism. What, then, is the true meaning of the cross?
     * Luke 24: 26.
     ** Luke 24: 46.
     *** Genesis 3: 15.
     Perhaps its meaning may best be seen when it is contrasted with the belief that is common in the world.

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In the Christian churches it is thought that the passion of the cross was redemption itself. It is thought that, because of the fall of mankind, God the Father became angry with the human race, turned away His face, and consigned man to universal damnation. But, it is believed, the Father, being gracious, persuaded or inspired His son to descend and take this damnation upon Himself in order that the wrath of the Father might be appeased. This was done, it is believed further, when the Son suffered Himself to be scourged, spat upon, mocked, and finally crucified; and it is taught that, after the crucifixion and the resurrection, the Father was propitiated, and from love for His Son cancelled the damnation-but for those only on whose behalf the Son might intercede. By this atonement, it is taught, the Son became the perpetual Mediator, standing before the Father and interceding on behalf of all who come to Him with faith.*
     * See TCR 132.
     This false and cruel belief identifies the passion of the cross with redemption itself. Many sincere Christians receive this idea in simplicity and innocence; but, interiorly considered, it implies a God who is vengeful and merciless, utterly lacking in love or compassion. It divides the Godhead into two or three persons, thus destroying the idea of the unity of God. It removes also the need for charity among men, for it seems to say that those who thus believe may be justified and saved-even in the last hour of their life, and no matter how they had lived-if only they think that the Lord suffered for them. This is a horrible belief, repulsive to the New Church because it renders both God and man inhuman; yet this false belief of the former Christian Church in no way invalidates the accounts of the four Gospels. Indeed it heightens the need for a true understanding of the Lord's passion.*
     * See TCR 95.

     Now the Heavenly Doctrine does not take away the idea that the Lord suffered for mankind. After all, was it not written by the prophet: "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed"?* So it is not altogether false that men are saved solely by the Lord's having suffered, and that it was for this that He was sent into the world. Yet the Writings add: "but let this view of it be for the simple, who cannot comprehend interior arcana";** and the interior secret or truth concerning the Lord's passion is that it was the final and most grievous temptation by means of which He fully united His Human to His Divine, and His Divine to His Human, and thus glorified Himself.***
     * Isaiah 53: 5.
     ** AC 4735: 9.
     *** AC 2776: 2.
     Thus redemption and the passion of the cross are not synonymous, but were two distinct things.

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As far as the salvation of mankind is concerned they indeed make one, for neither one of them could have been accomplished without the other; but if they are to be understood, they must be seen as distinct. The Lord's acts of redemption were the execution of a last judgment in the spiritual world; the separation of the evil from the good, or of the goats from the sheep; the casting down of those wicked spirits who had ascended into the lower regions of the heavens; the formation of a new heaven from the good, and of a new hell from the wicked; the restoration of order throughout the whole spiritual world; and, finally, the establishment of the Christian Church upon the earth. These were the acts of redemption whereby salvation was assured to mankind. The passion of the cross was the final temptation whereby the Lord glorified His Human-made it Divine, and so took to Himself the power to keep hell in order forever.*
     *See TCR 94.
     The word "passion" carries with it the ideas of suffering and the courageous endurance of suffering, while the word "cross" and other Latin words derived from it have come to symbolize the idea of the extremes of torment and torture; and surely temptation is a time of internal suffering and torment, wherefore, in the Word, a cross signifies temptation. The purpose of man's temptations is that he may be strengthened spiritually, that the power of hell may be removed from him by the Lord, and that he may be given a new and heavenly will, so that he may be regenerated and saved. But the Lord's temptations had the twofold purpose that all of hell might be put down and brought into order and subjection, and that His Human might be glorified; and neither of these two objectives could have been attained without temptations.

     That is why the Lord came into the world and took on a human nature from the mother; for the Divine itself could not be tempted, because it could not be approached by the hells, and if it had been, all of hell would have been destroyed. But the human nature from the mother could be attacked; wherefore the Lord admitted temptations into that human, while from the power of the Divine within Him He continually conquered and subdued the attackers. In this manner He could put down the hells and hold them in subjection; and by this means also He successively put off the infirm heredity acquired from Mary, so that, by orderly stages, His Human was made Divine, or was glorified. For this purpose temptations were endured by the Lord from His earliest infancy; and something of their nature is revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine, though, because they were hidden from earthly view, they could not be observed or understood by the disciples and the writers of the Gospels.

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Thus the Gospels recount relatively few of the Lord's temptations, such as the temptations in the wilderness after His baptism by John and His agony in the garden of Gethsemane.
     The last and most frightful temptation was the passion of the cross; for by this the Lord completed His victory over all of the hells, subjugating even the worst of them; and by it also He fully united His Human to His Divine, and His Divine to His Human, so that He took to Himself the power to hold hell in order to eternity. The Lord had come into the world as the Divine truth, the Word made flesh. This Divine truth was His Human, the Son of Man; but by glorification He made this Human the Divine good, the Son of God. From henceforth the Holy Spirit-the Comforter, the Divine truth-proceeds from the Lord Himself, from His Divine Human, going forth into all creation and making possible the salvation of all mankind; and this final victory, together with the glorification of His Human, was effected by the last temptation, the passion of the cross.*
     * See AE 806.
     Thus the cross signifies temptation, and the Lord adjured the people and His disciples: "Whosoever shall come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up His cross, and follow Me."* Then He added: "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for My sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it."** To "take up the cross" is to be willing to undergo temptations. This implies a willingness to learn the Lord's will, to follow His leading, to renounce the loves of self and the world for their own sakes, to give up the lusts of the body, and thus to lose the life of the flesh, which profiteth nothing. This cannot be done without temptations, even to the point of despair when man has nearly given up all hope of salvation; for in no other way can he be led to turn away from the life of the proprium, to place his full and inmost trust in the leading of his Heavenly Father.
     * Mark 8: 34.
     ** Mark 8: 35.
     Now the regeneration of mankind finds its pattern in the glorification of the Lord, whence the temptations of the faithful are patterned after His temptations. But there is this difference, that with the Lord there was never any possibility of failure, as there is with man, and that the Lord's temptations were plenary and thus of a nature and degree incomprehensible to man. This is not to suggest that the Lord suffered as to His Divine, or His soul; that would be unthinkable! Even when man suffers in body and external mind, his internal mind and soul do not suffer, but only grieve. The Lord suffered only as to the Human; and it was by this means that an inmost and complete union of the Divine and the Human was effected.

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With the Lord, as with man, this could not be done unless His Human were brought to the point of despair; wherefore on the cross He wrestled with a final doubt of His own power to endure and save, uttering the tortured lamentation of the twenty-second Psalm: "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?"* But victory and comfort were swift. For very soon afterwards He said, "It is finished"; and, "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit"; and then He bowed His head and gave up the spirit.**
     * Matthew 27: 46.
     ** See Luke 23: 46; John 19: 30.
     Thus was completed a span of life wherein the Lord bore the iniquities of mankind. This does not mean that the Lord took away sins, as is commonly supposed. Rather does it mean that He underwent the most grievous temptations, and allowed the Jews to treat Him as they had treated the Word, for He was the Word. The prophets had been treated in a similar way because they represented the Lord in respect to the Word and represented also the church where the Lord is known through the Word. So the prophets were often commanded to act in such a way that they might represent the state of the church. Isaiah was commanded to walk naked and barefoot three years, for a sign and a wonder. Hosea was commanded to marry a harlot, who bore him three sons. Ezekiel lay on his left side three hundred and ninety days, and afterwards on his right side for forty days; and many of the prophets suffered terrible indignities, by mean of which they represented the depraved state of the church and thus bore the iniquities of Judah and Israel.

     But the Lord was the Prophet, the Word made flesh; and in their treatment of Him the Jews were acting out their hatred against the Divine truth itself. Therefore every event in the passion story bears a signification. That He was crucified in Jerusalem at the behest of the chief priests and scribes signified that in the church everything good and true had been perverted by the evils and falsities which the Jews loved. That He was delivered to the Roman gentiles signified that the Divine good and truth were consigned to hell and destruction; for the "gentiles" here signify the evils and falsities from hell that destroy the goods and truths of the church. That He was mocked, spat upon, scourged, crowned with thorns mistreated in almost every possible vile way, and finally crucified signified the blasphemy, the falsification of truth, the rejection of every spiritual good, and the complete rejection of all things holy by the Jewish Church. His own refusal of the proffered vinegar mixed with gall pictured His rejection of all those falsities springing from evil lusts which characterized the Jewish Church, while His later acceptance of a sponge filled with vinegar and put upon a reed indicated that the falsities of gentile states are acceptable if accompanied by innocence; and the rending of the veil of the temple as He gave up the spirit denoted the removal of the last of the coverings between the Divine soul and the Human which was the temple of His body.

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For thus was the Human fully glorified as it was united and became one with the Divine.*
     * See TCR 130; AE 627: 15.
     It is not necessary to dwell on the particulars of that day which was both infamous and glorious. Suffice it to note that each event had its own signification. For the real message of Easter is that the Lord rose on the third day, thus marking His complete victory over the hells and the glorification of His Human. That happy event, bearing the message of salvation as being possible to all people to eternity, is the true gospel of Easter; and so, in the New Church, we worship the risen Lord in His glorified Divine Human.
     But we should not ignore or forget the events of that last day, or the cross which made possible His victory and glorification. Let us not forget, either, that those who harbor evil in their hearts, and who mock, despise or reject the truth of the Word, would, if given the chance, treat the Lord in exactly the same manner as did the Jews. Those who hate would murder; and so the events of Easter week contain a close personal warning for each one of us.*
     *See AR 311, 527.

     Let us, then, realize that we must have some understanding of the crucifixion if we would truly appreciate the glorification and the resurrection. For we must know the meaning of temptation if we are to realize the life of regeneration. We need not dwell unnecessarily upon the Lord's suffering. But let us not be afraid of the "cross of Jesus";* for the cross is the sign of the true Christianity, and of the life of reformation and regeneration which holds heaven as its promised reward.
     * John 19: 25.
     Those who know the meaning of the cross-the Lord's victory over the hells and the glorification of His Human-can more fully acknowledge the Lord in His glorified Human, as He is revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine; and by means of that understanding and acknowledgment, and a life according thereto, the Lord will be able to lead the men and women of His New Church toward the spiritual goals He has set for them. He will direct their minds heavenward, as He did for the eleven disciples so many years ago. For it is written that, after His resurrection, "He led them out as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while He blessed them, He was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped Him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God."*

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     * Luke 24: 50-53.
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month reference is made to the "book of life," and to the fact that man is to be judged from the contents of that book.* It may be remembered that the "book of life" is mentioned a number of times in the Scriptures, especially in the book of Revelation. For example, we find the following: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."**
     * AC 2474.
     ** Revelation 20: 12.
     It is made clear in our readings that the "book of life" is not a written record of the events of every man's life, kept either by the angels or by God Himself. This is a common belief among many, not only in the Christian world but throughout other religions as well. The idea is that man's every deed, whether good or bad, is written down, so that there is a permanent record from which he can be judged. This judgment takes place after he dies, or on the day of the great final judgment, at which time the number and quality of his good deeds are weighed against the number and quality of his bad deeds; and according to the history preserved in this book of his life he is sent to heaven, hell, purgatory or some other place-we are not concerned here with all the various places and states that have been conjured up by the religiosities of the world.
     Now the Writings tell us that man is not judged according to his deeds alone, for the deeds of an evil man may be the same as those of a good man. Rather, he is judged according to his real intentions, his motives and his loves, that are within his deeds. These are not recorded in a book, so that man may be judged either by the angels or by God. Neither the Lord nor the angels really judge anyone. Man judges himself by the loves he has formed. Nevertheless, there is a record of man's deeds, and of his loves and intentions.
     The record of man's deeds, indeed of every detail of his life's history, is his exterior memory.

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That memory is a complete record of all those things which have entered man's mind through the media of the five senses: the sight of movement, of various colors, of objects and living creatures; the various harmonies and discords of sound; and the innumerable distinctions of smell, taste and touch.* Fixed in this memory are all abstract ideas, all rational and intellectual concepts, that are in the form of mere knowledges. Even the knowledges of spiritual, moral and civil truths are impressed on the external memory. But that memory is not what is meant by man's "book of life."**
     * AC 2471.
     ** AC 2487, 2491.
     Man's "book of life" is his interior memory, that memory which is to serve as an active and eternal basis for his conscious life in the spiritual world. The interior memory is called man's "life" because all of his intentions and loves, and all the ideas and thoughts associated with them, are recorded therein. There may be read the character and quality of man's life.
     Unlike the exterior memory-which is filled with everything that ever passes through man's senses, whether or not it is in harmony with his loves and affections-the interior memory records only those deeds, actions, thoughts and affections whereby man has been affected;* and then it does not record the material and objective impressions of form, but the thoughts and conclusions that have come through such forms.
     * AC 2474.
     All the vital things that have gone into the formation of a man's character are forever inscribed on his interior memory. This includes what is evil and false as well as what is good and true. As heaven or hell comes to have more and more dominion, so does the interior memory become ordered by the ruling love. If heaven rules, the impressions of evil and falsity subside and recede to the circumference, while the impressions of good and truth from heaven form the center. Because the interior memory is the record or book of man's life, it is also the picture of his love, whether its dominant quality is good or evil. When it is said, therefore, that man is judged according to this interior memory, the meaning is that he is judged according to his love.*
     * AC 2489.
KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER 1963

KNOWLEDGE IS NOT POWER              1963

     "All the power in the spiritual world is from good through truth. Without good, truth has no power whatever, for truth is like a body, and good is like the soul of this body, and in order that the soul may do anything, it must be by means of the body. Hence it is plain that truth without good has no power whatever, just as the body without the soul has no power; for the body is then a carcass, and so also is truth without good" (Arcana Coelestia 6344).

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1963

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1963

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem were held in the Council Chamber of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral-Church, January 29-February 1, 1963, with the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     In addition to the Bishop there were present one member of the episcopal degree, twenty-two members of the pastoral degree, and two members of the ministerial degree, a total of twenty-six: namely, the Right Rev. George de Charms; the Rev. Messrs. Elmo C. Acton, Karl R. Alden, Kurt H. Asplundh, Geoffrey S. Childs, Harold C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Henry Heinrichs, W. Cairns Henderson (secretary), B. David Holm, Louis B. King, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Ormond Odhner, Dandridge Pendleton, Martin Pryke, Norman H. Reuter, Morley D. Rich, Norbert H. Rogers, Frederick L. Schnarr, David R. Simons, Kenneth O. Stroh, Douglas McL. Taylor, William Whitehead; Raymond G. Cranch and Geoffrey H. Howard. Candidates Robert H. P. Cole, Kurt P. Nemitz and Lorentz R. Soneson were present by invitation.

     A meeting of the Bishop's Consistory was held on Monday evening, January 28, and was preceded in the afternoon by meetings of the Bishop with the pastors and headmasters. There were, as usual, six regular sessions of the Council, four in the morning and two in the afternoon, and one joint session with the Board of Directors of the General Church. The Church Extension Committee met on Thursday afternoon, January 31, and the General Church Publication Committee held its annual meeting on Friday, February 1.
     Bishop Pendleton, in opening the first session, extended a welcome and said that he had no matters of urgency or serious import to introduce. After the order of business had been determined, and necessary arrangements made, Council could proceed to the docket.
     Reports of standing committees to be heard during the week were those of the Liturgy, Church Extension and Translations committees.

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The last mentioned committee had no report to make, and there was insufficient time for the report of the Church Extension Committee to be heard; but Bishop De Charms (chairman) presented the report of the Liturgy Committee, reviewing the present status of the revision, and announcing tentatively that the committee hopes for publication of the new Liturgy within two years. The report of the General Church Religion Lessons Committee was heard, and the Secretary of the General Church and others whose reports are made to the Joint Council were given the opportunity to speak briefly on points of particular relevance to the clergy.
     Five addresses were given at the regular sessions. Two of these were presented by the program committee, under the chairmanship of the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, and were on the general subject, "The Growth of the Church." The Rev. Karl R. Alden spoke on the development of the church through missionary work; and the second paper, "Doctrinal Studies," was contributed by Dr. Odhner. Two morning sessions were set aside for the reading and discussion of these papers. At other sessions the Rev. Ormond Odhner spoke on "The Difference between Swedenborg's Association with Spirits and Angels and that of the Most Ancients"; the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton presented a study, "The Doctrine of Permissions"; and the Rev. B. David Holm offered a paper on "Baptism and Attendance at New Church Schools." The Rev. Martin Pryke introduced for discussion "The Exposition of those Parts of the Word not Expounded in the Writings"; and the Rev. Morley D. Rich raised the question of our policy in regard to the type of memorial services held for those who have taken their own lives.

     Messages of greeting from several absent members and from the clergy of the South African Mission assembled in their annual meetings were received with appreciation. A memorial resolution for the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, to be presented to the Joint Council, was initiated; it was resolved that the yearly appointment of a program committee should be automatic; and the secretary was instructed to send a letter of thanks to the ladies who furnished refreshments during the morning recesses. As usual, arrangements were made for letters to be written to absent members.
     During the week there were, as always, several organized social functions, as well as many private ones to which various members of the clergy were invited. A luncheon on Tuesday with the male members of the Academy faculty provided an excellent opportunity for exchange of views and information on matters of common interest. On Wednesday evening the members of the Council and the theological students dined and enjoyed social intercourse at the home of Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton, and on Thursday Bishop and Mrs. De Charms entertained at a luncheon.

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Mr. Raymond Pitcairn was host at luncheons on Friday and Saturday to members of the Joint Council, faculty men and others; and on Friday evening, after a meeting of the Bryn Athyn Church which was addressed by the Rev. Geoffrey Childs, members of the Council and their wives were the guests of the Civic and Social Club at an Open House in the Club House, which allowed many the opportunity to meet socially for the first time in a busy week. These social occasions are welcomed as pleasant interludes in the business of the meetings; and it is, as always, a pleasure to refer to them in this report as a means of expressing thanks and appreciation on behalf of the Council for the hospitality so generously offered during the week of the meetings.
     Respectfully submitted,
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON
Secretary, The Council of the Clergy
JOINT COUNCIL 1963

JOINT COUNCIL       HUGO Lj. ODHNER       1963

     FEBRUARY 2, 1963

     1. The 69th regular joint meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Directors of the Corporations of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was opened by the executive Bishop, the Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton, at 10 a.m. on February 2, 1963, in the Council Chamber of the Bryn Athyn Church, by a reading from the 119th Psalm and prayer in which all joined.

     2. Attendance:
OF THE CLERGY: Rt. Rev. W. D. Pendleton, presiding; Rt. Rev. G. de Charms; Rev. Messrs. E. C. Acton, K. H. Asplundh, H. C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Henry Heinrichs, W. C. Henderson, B. D. Holm, H. L. Odhner (Secretary), O. de C. Odhner, D.     Pendleton, Martin Pryke, N. H. Reuter, M. D. Rich, N. H. Rogers, F. L. Schnarr, D. R. Simons, K. O. Stroh, D. M. Taylor, R. G. Cranch, G. H. Howard; and by invitation, Candidates R. H. P. Cole, K. P. Nemitz, and L. R. Soneson. (25)

     OF THE LAITY: Messrs. D. E. Acton, K. C. Acton, Esq., E. T. Asplundh, Lester Asplundh, R. G. Barnitz, G. B. Blackman, R. W. Childs, Esq., B. H. Davis, Esq., G.     C. Doering, Esq., M. E. Hill, John Howard, B. H. Kitzelman, R. F. Leeper, A. H. Lindsay, Esq., H. K. Morley, P. C. Pendleton, Esq., Raymond Pitcairn, Esq., G. M. Smith, D. H. Stebbing, and Arthur Synnestvedt, Esq. (20)

     3. The Rt. Rev. George de Charms read a Memorial Resolution already adopted by the Council of the Clergy on the passing of the REVEREND DOCTOR GUSTAV BAECKSTROM. This resolution was adopted by the Joint Council with a rising vote and a tribute of silence:

     Inasmuch as the Lord in His Providence has called our brother GUSTAF BAECKSTROM into the spiritual world, we would record our deep affection for him as a man, and our grateful appreciation of his devoted services to the General Church over a period of nearly forty years as Pastor of the Stockholm Society, and as Visiting Pastor to circles in Jonkoping, Sweden, in Oslo, Norway, in Copenhagen, Denmark, and to groups and isolated families of the General Church in other places throughout Scandinavia.

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     Dr. Baeckstrom did a great deal to spread the knowledge of the Writings by means of missionary lectures, and also by means of the press. As President of "Nova Ecclesia," a New Church Publishing Society, he edited a monthly magazine, and contributed many articles to its pages. He translated Heaven and Hell, and Brief Exposition into modern Swedish, and published them together with such other books of the Writings as The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, The Divine Love, The Divine Wisdom, and The Doctrine of Charity. He wrote a number of missionary tracts which were widely distributed, among them a brief biography of Swedenborg.
     Dr. Baeckstrom sought, in all that he did, to lead people to an acknowledgment of the Writings as the Word of the Lord in His Second Coming, that the church with them might be founded upon the rock of a truly spiritual faith. For this above all else he was loved by those to whom he ministered; and in addition be earned their gratitude because of his selfless dedication to his priestly use, and his unfailing devotion to the personal welfare of all his people.
     We would move that this expression of our high esteem for him as a friend and brother in the priesthood of the General Church be recorded upon the minutes of this Council, and that a copy of it be sent to his wife, together with our deep sympathy for her in her natural loss, and our joy in the assurance that the use he performed so well on earth, will be continued and immeasurably increased in the eternal kingdom of the Lord to which he has now been called.

     4. The following Memorial Resolution was read by Mr. George Doering and adopted by silent vote, all rising:

     On Sunday, January 27, 1963, the Lord in his Divine mercy called into the spiritual world our friend ROBERT HILLDALE of Washington, D. C.

     Robert, born in 1890 and by profession a lawyer, was a life-long member of the General Church and for a number of years a member of the Board of Directors. He took a prominent part in the founding and development of the present Washington Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation, and gave the best of his considerable talents and experience to the advancement of the uses of that Society. In this work Robert is affectionately remembered and respected as a man of steadfast character and integrity, regular in attendance and support, and efficient in his handling of the attendant legal and practical matters. Robert's calm judgment and reasoned advice will be sorely missed. Many of the children of the Washington Society have indicated that they also hold in their hearts a particular affection and esteem for Mr. Hilldale.
     Now, therefore, be it resolved by the Joint Council of the Clergy and the Board of Directors that the foregoing minute be unanimously adopted in evidence of our appreciation and regard for Robert Hilldale and that a copy hereof be sent to his surviving partner, Elsa Muller Hilldale.

     5. The Minutes of the 68th regular meeting of the Joint Council were approved as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, April 1962, pages 168-179, with the addition of the name of R. F. Leeper to the list of attendants.

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     6. Bishop Pendleton: At a meeting of the Council of the Clergy the other day I expressed my confidence and faith that the General Church was on the verge of a period of expansion and growth. One of the reasons for this faith is that today we have in our General Church societies and schools an increase of children almost twice as large numerically as that of twenty years ago. It is only a matter of years before an increased number of children will be asking for education in the Academy, and for the last six years the Academy has been trying to prepare itself for an increased student enrollment. Beyond the Academy lies the General Church, and it is for a life in the General Church that our children are being educated. An increase in the membership of the General Church from our own numbers will begin to be felt in another ten years. If the trend of the last decade persists, it is inevitable that many of these children will take up their life's work in many different areas and localities throughout the world.
     Ten years ago we did not have a pastor resident west of the Mississippi River; now we have four. Today we have in the General Church ten resident pastors in areas where twenty years ago we had none. This trend will continue. We are gradually becoming, as far as the priesthood is concerned, a traveling church. And we have adopted the policy-under Bishop de Charms-of trying with every effort to reach our people wherever they are.

     I would express our heartfelt appreciation to those pastors who so unselfishly have assumed the burden of this work. Traveling is perhaps the most difficult kind of work a man can do, for obvious reasons. As an illustration: Mr. Roy Franson, who has so successfully gathered together in Dawson Creek a group of earnest New Church people, has also, four times a year, traveled a circuit of some five thousand miles to eleven different points within a period of three weeks, moving every other day from one locality to another. This requires dedication and strength. Now I believe we are going to be faced continually with new demands on our priesthood in widely scattered areas. And speaking of those areas where we already have resident pastors, nine out of ten are supported in part or fully by the General Church, for the obvious reason that the area is not yet able to support its full uses. This means increasing financial obligations for the General Church. So far we have been able to sustain this increase-but there are certain problems inherent in the situation. For example: On what basis do we determine when the time has come to place a resident pastor in a certain area? Should there be an established policy in that regard? If there is growth in a society and the number of children increases, should we encourage that society to establish a school? We are committed to internal evangelization. It has been our strength. Ideally we would wish for a school in every society of the General Church. But the question is when do we encourage the establishment of such a school. In other words, what practice is conducive to the success of such a school.
     In the past, the establishment of a school has been regarded as a strictly local matter. And such a school would thus be dependent entirely on the ability of that society to support it. That has been our history-with one exception. Some years ago the Detroit Society applied to the General Church for financial help for the establishment of a school for that society. At that time the Board of Directors went on record that they were willing to give partial assistance to that development. We established something of a precedent. That school, for various reasons, did not materialize, but they are still very much interested in the founding of a school. So the question arises whether the General Church is prepared to give support to such schools-and on what basis.

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     One pastor recently said to me that in his opinion the time is past when any new school can be established in any society, unless it is done with the support of the General Church. A third question also occurs. In recognizing a theological student as a candidate or in ordaining a priest, should the Bishop be influenced in his decision by the possibility of the employment and support of that priest by the General Church?
     Another difficult problem arises when a priest has been placed in a society or circle and this fails to expand. Should that pastor be withdrawn? If so, on what basis should such a judgment be made? There is no easy formula to be followed, but it is indicated that we must give serious consideration to our policy relative to growth and expansion. We need a common understanding on the part of the clergy and the Board and the office of the Bishop, so that we mutually understand where we are going. In the final analysis each situation must be judged by itself. But increasingly we feel the need of at least the outline of a policy; without which we would find ourselves in a situation of being willing to do for one area or group what we must refuse to do for another, which might seem inconsistent.
     Yesterday at the Board meeting I requested consideration of the appointment of some kind of committee-an executive committee of the Board or a policy committee-to meet with the Bishop and Treasurer, and from time to time with the Consistory, with a view to formulate a policy of growth and expansion, and also to establish priorities of need. It may also keep the Board advised of the primary pressing problems of the church.
     I know not what the future holds. But I know this, that the responsibilities of the General Church are increasing and that the next ten years will be important because of the obvious trend of increase and scattering of our membership. We cannot be sure to what extent the establishment of communities and church schools would draw new members to such centers. But we know that our young people will follow the indications of their uses and spread more and more. And our problem is how to provide for the education of our children and the ministering to our scattered constituents.

     7. The discussion of the Bishop's address was opened by the Rev. Morley Rich who confirmed the need of such a committee. Individual pastors cannot make the judgment of priorities, and the Bishop needs channels of information on the many factors involved.

     Mr. John Howard spoke to clarify some details of the Detroit situation. The majority opinion there was that we should strive for the ideal of having a school. But this would call for about four or five thousand dollars immediately, and this aid might be required for five or ten or more years-it was impossible to tell. "We cannot now see," he said, "how in the future we can start to assume part of the responsibilities of that amount. If the school increases so that we would need two teachers, the amount would go up perhaps to seven thousand. We may of course guess that if we had a school it would attract new members. . . . We have at present about thirty contributing units, which is sufficient to completely support the pastor. Our problem is, Have we the right to ask the Board of Directors for assistance? Have we the right to urge for a school under these circumstances?"

     Rev. N. H. Reuter stressed the importance of the proposed committee, and also its conjunction with the Consistory, so as to include a view of the church as a whole. Not only Detroit, but no other new society, can say that they are in a position to take over the full support of a school. A pastor will instill in his people the desire for and the need of a New Church education for their own group of children.

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Perhaps there is a natural "storge" involved as well. But it is difficult to labor for the education of children of a future generation when their own children are not involved. If a school started this fall, it could have 13 children; and there are thirty-five committed people who would send their children when of the right age. We believe in internal evangelization. If no school is established in Detroit now, there may be a decrease, due to parents who wish to move to a society which has a New Church school.

     Rev. D. M. Taylor felt that the committee should be more than a policy-making body but should have executive power. For emergencies may arise when a minister, for instance, needs some immediate help and finds that the Board of Directors does not meet until months inter.

     Rev. H. C. Cranch especially liked the Bishop's suggestion because we would then face our problems on the basis of a common policy. He anticipated that these problems would increase with time. He had been interested in many forms of church extension or missionary work. The saying that our ideal is internal evangelization might assume that other bodies, such as the Convention, are doing external evangelization; but such is not the case, for the goal to which their efforts lead is weak and indeterminate, unsuitable for the New Church. In obeying the Lord's command, our first emphasis must lie on caring for our own and on the spiritual development of our children and the instruction of new members who will come into the General Church and lend their moral and spiritual strength to our work. Our educational efforts have given a pattern to whatsoever we do, in developing the real life of our New Church societies. A policy making committee could make recommendations of what we can do in both external and internal evangelization, and the order in which we should do it.
     The missionary committee which was established within the Council of the Clergy has been concerned with developing long-range goals and tools for church extension. Among the tools are the Reader's Guide, the Sunday School Manual, etc. We must provide New Church education also on the level that newcomers can receive. Our long-range goal was presented in a report to the Bishop. We are seeking an answer that will provide a steady flow of new members to our circles and societies and allow our pastors to remain in areas which show promise of steady growth. The problem was how to take care of our wandering membership, to keep them in the life of the church, and to care for our children and prepare them for an Academy training. He felt that the step of establishing a school was a part of the church extension program and considered money spent for this as spent for the over-all progress of the church. But it is wise first to evaluate the fields before us and on this basis begin a development program.

     Mr. Arthur Synnestvedt said that this question came before the Board yesterday and it authorized the formation of a canvassing committee to put into effect the suggestions now being discussed, as far as this lay within the work of the Board. He noted that some of us have lived within the center of the church for many years and have had the benefit of generous support given to the church from those with means to support it. Without that financial support we could never have arrived at what we now have in Bryn Athyn. It seems now impossible to develop the church in the circumferences without some initial help from the central body-under the aegis of the Board and of the suggested policy committee.

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     Rev. F. L. Schnarr agreed with the ideas regarding this committee, but did not feel that it would answer the present need unless there was an increase of communication as between the visiting ministers and the Bishop and the Board. This committee should have an intimate acquaintance with each area involved, including a knowledge of the financial situation.
     New groups need help. But we do not wish to lose the healthy spirit of making real sacrifices, even to the cutting of salaries. He doubted the claim that no new society could henceforth establish a school without outside assistance. This was true in some cases but not in all.

     Rev. D. R. Simons commended the formation of a committee to evaluate the growth opportunities of the General Church. As regards the establishment of a school, this requires four years to make plans, for a shortage of teachers seems likely in the immediate future. There are young ladies and also older teachers who are leaving our ranks. The Academy is practicing a teacher-recruitment program beginning with the senior girls, who are invited to visit the school as observers. In the second year college both men and women are offered training which gives them an understanding of what New Church elementary education means to them as future parents and to evaluate their own ability in education. We hope this may provide for more teachers to cope with the larger enrolment which the Bishop anticipates.

     Mr. R. W. Childs gave support to the formation of a policy committee, especially to cope with the problem of the priority of uses. He thought it was always the feeling of this body that when the General Church supplies money to aid in starting a society, after a certain time it was expected that it would become self supporting, like a good investment. But the work of the General Church does not always pay off in dividends.
     As to Mr. John Howard's question: Certainly the Detroit Society has a right to ask where they come in this priority. We must not become departmentalized. Ours is an episcopal form of government. Ours is a general church. What affects one part affects us all. The question of priority is thus important. There may be sections where the opportunity is small, where there might be a good school but where this might have to be supported for an indefinite period. But our work must be viewed in the light of eternity.

     8. A recess was taken for refreshments provided by the ladies of the Bryn Athyn Women's Guild.

     9. Resuming the discussion, the Rev. E. C. Acton said he regarded the proposed committee as valuable when considered as ancillary to the office of the Bishop and as an extension of the principle of counsel.

     Rev. M. Pryke expressed appreciation of the Bishops presentation of the needs of the church at this time. We all recognize three important uses which lie before us-the establishment of new centers where they are needed, the founding of new schools where they are needed, and the development of the use of evangelization. Behind it all lies the fact that we have about twenty men in the pastoral field, and only five centers which are self supporting. This means that these five centers must help carry those other uses. And when we analyse it, it pretty well boils down to Bryn Athyn. We must be mindful of that.

     Mr. Arthur Synnestvedt emphasised Mr. Schnarr's statement regarding the need of better communications.

168


He explained that when he spoke of the advantages in Bryn Athyn he did not mean to underestimate local responsibility. We have something in Bryn Athyn besides the financial backing which was offered in the beginning and has continued ever since. But we also have in Bryn Athyn the problem that some do not recognize their share of the responsibilities simply because they have had so much provided. This is why we must-in our subsidized centers-work for the taking up of local responsibility as soon as possible. He noted that Mr. Schnarr was of the belief that this can be done.

     Mr. Alex. H. Lindsay appreciated the suggestions made but pointed out that this was basically a financial problem. He regretted that inroads were now being made in the proposed tax reduction programs which would make church contributions more difficult. We face also an attack in Pennsylvania on the private school system. Powerful political lobbies seek to concentrate educational facilities under the state. Catholics admit that if they did not have the free services of their nuns, their schools would go out of business tomorrow. We have to look on the situation frankly.

     Rev. B. D. Holm saw in the proposed committee a partial solution. As to the need of greater communications he felt that several opinions are essential on the potentialities of each area. A pastor of some isolated group may often not have a great deal of information on all sides of the question. There may be some help forthcoming from the office of the full-time General Church Secretary when he takes over in September.

     Mr. P. C. Pendleton also stressed the importance of good communications which should lead to a real knowledge of each area. The ministerial salary plan originally meant about $8000 yearly from the General Church. The direct support of ministers in the field has now grown, in about fifteen years, to around $60,000-nearly half the budget. A tremendous expense attends the formation of a group or circle or society. But the first responsibility of a society is to support its pastor; in many cases this responsibility is not being met. The members may proceed to build a church before they are able to support their pastor.

     Mr. John Howard was convinced that there was nothing wrong with the General Church. But he urged that the chairman of the General Church Contributions Committee should be present at the sessions of the suggested policy committee.

     Bishop Pendleton regarded this committee only as a first step. We had a long way to go. Only 33 or 35 per cent of our potential contributors were contributing, except in special years when some tremendous effort was made. Otherwise it falls back to the percentage of 1952. Under Mr. James Junge, the GCCC had caused an increase in contributions up to the 49 or 50 per cent mark; but he could no longer devote the time and a new committee is now taking over. It was incredible to him that there is no more of a sense of responsibility on the part of members throughout the church.
     But we have a great deal to be thankful for. Our people are becoming more "General Church minded." In 1897 this church consisted of some five major societies and a few scattered members. Later several societies joined. Now it consists of practically the same major societies and a large percentage of members who are scattered over a wide area. He agreed with Bishop de Charms who directed our thoughts to the General Church as the primary body. it is important that we feel that we are first of all members of the General Church.

169



     In some respects the Academy may have overshadowed the General Church. This is, however, temporary. The Academy more and more recognizes that it is performing its uses-critical uses-for the General Church. He was inspired by a recent incident. One of the pastors had been told by a layman, "We want a school and it is up to you to be pushing for it." The pastor answered, "First of all I am a pastor of the General Church." This answer shows the vision and spirit of our priests and of an increasing number of laymen. We are perhaps suffering from a provincialism that fails to inspire a sense of responsibility for the over-all uses of the General Church. But we are coming out of it, and hope to meet these problems before they become critical. He thanked the meeting for their counsel.

     10. Rev. F. L. Schnarr asked if it is still impracticable for the General Church to have a Treasurer of its own. The Bishop replied that this had been very carefully considered some years ago, and that he looked for the day when this could be done. But at present it was hardly possible; for it would mean the employment of a suitable man who would need a substantial salary and an office of his own.

     Mr. Keith Morley and Mr. J. Howard discussed the contributions question, Mr. Howard asking whether the 320 who had dropped their contributions last year were from societies or from "the hinterland." The Bishop answered that bishops are not supposed to know such things.

     Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal noted that the suggested splitting up of the work of the treasury was not so simple a matter. At present the two bodies jointly had one treasurer, one assistant to the treasurer, and one secretary. He described some of their duties-from running the "snackbar" to the handling of investments. The next possible step, and it was urgent, would be to employ another young man as bookkeeper or accountant for one of the bodies.

     11. Rev. H. C. Cranch blamed "financial semantics" for the difficulty of correctly showing the contributions from societies to the General Church. He admitted that the primary financial use of a society is the support of its pastor, but noted that building projects had often been subsidized from outside the society.

     12. The Bishop asked whether a society should, while supported by the General Church, undertake the purchase or erection of a building without the knowledge or permission of the General Church administration. Rev. M. Rich said that in the Miami Circle his own reluctance was overcome by the zeal of his parishioners.

     13. The Rev. W. C. Henderson gave a condensed version of his Report as SECRETARY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. (See pages 176-178.)

     14. The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner summarized his Report as SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. (See pages 172-176.) This included a Report from the SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     15. The Rev. W. C. Henderson gave his Report as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. (See page 188.)

170




     16. The Secretary of the CORPORATION OF THE GENERAL CHURCH, Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, read essential parts of his Report. (See page 181.)

     17. A question relative to the finances of the Kent Manor farm project and the Mission was answered by the Treasurer, who reported a profit for this year and reasonable prospects for success if the quota on sugar cane production is not cut.

     18. The Report of the GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATION COMMITTEE was read by the retired chairman, the Rev. H. L. Odhner. (See page 188.)

     19. The Rev. W. C. Henderson submitted his Report as chairman of the SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE. (See page 190.) He added that the year's work had been unspectacular. The work, although it has always received generous support, had never yet captured the imagination of the church as, for instance, the "Religion Lessons." But it must be duly recognized that in the fourteen or fifteen years of its operation a great deal of work had been accomplished by surprisingly many volunteers, long after the excitement of "something new" had died down. He commended these dedicated men and women to the Council.
     Bishop Pendleton stated that in travelling to our smaller groups he had heard the highest praise expressed for this work. The sound-recordings mark the greatest single development in the communications of the General Church. An impressive number of "tapes" are going out to isolated members. And if Mr. Henderson wants a response, let him just cut off the supply of recordings for two months!

     20. The Report of the TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH was not ready for reading. (See page 184.) Nor was any Report offered by the Contributions Committee. Mr. Gyllenhaal noted however that we were not operating under a deficit.
     Rev. H. L. Odhner expressed gratitude that our journal did not have to be filled with pathetic monthly appeals for money and with "thermometers" to measure contributions. We were blessed in so far as finances were not the main focus of our thought. While money was important, our church from its start has had the faith that the Lord will provide if only we persist in the spiritual uses we are dedicated to do.

     21. The Secretary read the Report of the Rev. Karl R. Alden, the Director of the GENERAL CHURCH RELIGION LESSONS. (See page 189.)

     22. Bishop de Charms was called upon to speak of the progress of the LITURGY COMMITTEE'S work. He told that suggestions had been received from all major English-speaking societies as to what musical selections, etc., to include, alter, or delete from the Liturgy now under preparation, the publication of which was at least two years off.

171


Among the varying suggestions, often conflicting and colored by local needs, some one has to make decisions. Mimeographed copies of proposed new music had been sent to the societies for criticism. Twenty-five to thirty new pieces of music had been considered. There was in them no pretense to great art, but they were the result of affectionate response to our needs and had their origin in the spirit and life of the New Church.
     The section on Doctrine had been revised and references had been added. In the Law and Prophets the items were rearranged and numbered. Some revisions had been made in the Offices, including the addition of a second Creed which was in the words found in two passages of the Writings.
     We have to face the fact that the cost of a Liturgy had quadrupled since the 1939 edition. Music is now being printed by new methods, and the old plates are of little help; indeed it is questionable whether they could be used for another emergency reprint. We are going on the assumption that the church wants a thorough revision. All the words of the hymns will be printed between the staves of the music.

     Bishop Pendleton voiced our appreciation to Bishop De Charms who had during the last two years accepted responsibility for the Liturgy work and devoted a great deal of time to it.

     23. The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m.
          Respectfully submitted,
               HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
                    Secretary

     [NOTE: The thanks of the Secretary goes out to the Rev. W. C. Henderson and his committee for supplying a recording of the meeting.]
LORD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS 1963

LORD'S RIGHTEOUSNESS              1963

     "That the Lord alone became righteousness for the whole human race may be seen from the fact that He alone fought from Divine love, namely, from love toward the whole human race, whose salvation was what in His combats He solely desired and burned for. In regard to His Human Essence the Lord was not born righteousness, but became righteousness through combats of temptation and victories, and this from His own power. As often as He fought and overcame, this was imputed to Him for righteousness, that is, was added to the righteousness which He was becoming as a continual increase, until He became pure righteousness." (AC 1813).

172


ANNUAL REPORTS 1963

ANNUAL REPORTS       Various       1963

     SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     During the year 1962, ninety-one members were received into the General Church. Two resigned and three were dropped from the roll. Thirty-five deaths were reported. On January 1, 1963, the roll contained 3030 names.

     Membership, Jan. 1, 1962                    2979
          (U.S.A.-1882, Other countries-1097)
     New members (Cert. 4953-5043)               91
          (U.S.A.-66, Others-25)
     Deaths reported                         35
          (U.S.A.-17, Others-18)
     Resignations (U.S.A.-2)                    2
     Dropped (U.S.A.-2, Others-1)               3
     Losses (U.S.A.-21, Others-19)               40
Net gain during 1962                    51
                                             
     Membership, Jan. 1,1963                    3030
          (U.S.A.-1947, Others-1103)

     NEW MEMBERS

     January 1, 1962 to December 31, 1962

THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

     Arizona:     Phoenix
Mr. Reid Wendel Barnett
Mrs. Reid W. (Doris Marie Adams) Barnett
Mr. Arthur Edward Dalis
Mrs. Arthur E. (Arvella Marie Williams) Dalis

     California:     San Diego
Mr. Bradford Kent Williams

     Colorado:     Denver
Mrs. Robert Bruce (Ellen Louise Sanderson) Ellis

     Connecticut:     Greenwich
Miss Arleen Ann Peterson

     Delaware:     Seaford
Mrs. Ben Allen Peterson

     Florida:     Miami
Mr. Michael Rich

173




     Illinois:     Chicago
Mr. Robert Bruce Clipper
Mr. Roger Emil Echols

     Illinois:     Glencoe
Mr. Alvin Adams Nelson
Mrs. Alvin A. (Betty Gardner) Nelson

     Illinois:     Glenview
Mr. Thomas Gladish
Mr. William Charles Grant
Miss Corlett Alice Elizabeth Longstaff
Mrs. Richard Kent (Pearl Elaine Jensen) Richter

     Kentucky:     Fort Campbell
Mrs. Robert Comly Wilson, Jr.
Mrs. Robert C. (Judith Ann Lindsay) Wilson, Jr.

     Massachusetts:     Foxboro
Mrs. Lois Jane Dyson Elwell Furry

     Michigan:     Birmingham
Miss Carol Anne Gurney

     Ohio: Cleveland
Mr. Fernando Caracena, Jr.

     Ohio:     Shaker Heights
Mr. David Bruce Powell

     Pennsylvania:     Freeport
Mr. William Barnes Heilman
Mrs. William B. (Dorothy Kynett Moses) Heilman

     Pennsylvania:     Glenside
Mr. Verus Monroe Weaver
Mrs. Verus M. (Esther Jane Stewart) Weaver

     Pennsylvania:     Lititz
Mr. Charles Roderick Heinrichs

     Pennsylvania:     Somerton
Mrs. Jane Garwood McKenna

     Pennsylvania:     Bryn Athyn district
Mr. Ferris Mason Adams, Jr.
Mrs. F. Mason (Margaret Edith Laing) Adams, Jr.
Miss Joan Alden
Mr. James Loudon Cronlund
Miss Renee Adams Cronlund
Miss Brenda Lee Genzlinger
Miss Alison Glenn
Miss Barbara Tryn Grubb
Miss Rachel Halterman
Miss Christine Ingrid Henderson
Mr. Edward Duane Hyatt
Mrs. Edward D. (Laura Lynn Dean) Hyatt
Mr. John Theodore Klein
Mr. Kurt Alden Simons
Miss Charlene Smith
Mr. Gale Windram Smith
Mr. Ralph Conrad Smith
Mr. Justin Synnestvedt
Miss Yvonne Gay Wille

     Pennsylvania:     Philadelphia
Mr. Lawrence Himmelstein
Mrs. Lawrence (Dorothy Nina Stones) Himmelstein
Mr. Harvey Haldis Klein
Mrs. Harvey H. (Helen Grace Meisel) Klein

     Pennsylvania:     Pittsburgh
Mr. Charles Dandridge Ebert
Miss Barbara Beth Glenn
Mr. William John Linder
Miss Julie Snowden Stevens
Miss Wendy Morse Stevens

     Virginia:     Glen Allen
Mr. Richard Levi Johnson
Mrs. Richard L. (Frances Irene Weirbach) Johnson
Mrs. Robert Graves (Mary Lucille Johnson) Rycraft

     Washington:     Redmond
Mr. Robert Leroy Bedford
Mrs. Robert L. (Christa Kenner) Bedford

     Washington, D. C. Mr. Robert Alan Newkirk
Dr. George Ernest Thomas Stebbing
Mrs. George E. T. (Mary Rodriguez Dunn) Stebbing

     Wisconsin: Sun Prairie
Miss Marcia Carolyn Mergen

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     BRAZIL

     Rio de Janeiro
Miss Adaia Correa de Padua

     CANADA

     British Columbia: Dawson Creek
Mr. Hans Goran Franson

     Ontario:     Toronto district
Mrs. Gordon Goeffrey (Katherine Florence Bainbridge) Anderson
Miss Doris Margaret Zorn

     Ontario:     Waterloo
Mrs. Murray Emanuel (Ruth Catherine Effie Eby) Hill

     AFRICA

     Natal:     Durban
Mr. Brian Michael Lester
Mrs. Brian M. (Caroline Royale Herschell) Lester
Mr. Paul Clifford Percy Mayer
Miss Clara Beryl Mongredien
Mr. Charles Frank Perry
Mrs. Charles F. (Audrey Enid Bull) Perry
Miss Janelle Yvette Schuurman
Miss Vanessa van Rij
Mr. Gerald Gilbert Waters
Mrs. Edmund (Cecilia Francina Buss) Young

     Transvaal:     Irene
Miss Jocelyn Laura Ball

     AUSTRALIA

     New South Wales: Penshurst
Mrs. Brian Keith (Bronwen Lorraine King) Heldon

     NEW ZEALAND

     Auckland
Mr. James Augustus Hobcroft

     EUROPE

     Great Britain: Glasgow
Mr. James Archibald Clarkson

     Great Britain: London
Mrs. Ronald Brander W. W. (Inga Britta Stahl) Maclurkin
Miss Elisabeth Sandstrom
Mr. Robert Burns Wilson

     Holland:     Heemstede
Mrs. Anna Catharina de Siso-Dijkstra
Miss Jantje Jantina Dijkstra

     Holland:     The Hague
Mrs. Johanna Bulthuis-Gerritse

     DEATHS

     Reported during 1962

Ahren, Mrs. Hugo (Agnes Henriksen), Nov. 5,1961, Stockholm, Sweden. (79)
Allsopp, Miss Martha, Sep. 22, 1962, Prestwich, Lancs., England. (78)
Appleton, Mrs. William Sanfrid (Winifred Annie Potter), Jan. 28, 1962, Colchester, England. (69)
Arrington, Mr. Alfred, Sep. 28, 1962, Johnsville, Pa. (86)
Ashley, Mrs. Mabel Celeste (Almony), Feb. 8,1959, Palo Alto, Calif. (86)
Baeckstrom, Rev. Dr. Gustaf, July 14, 1962, Stockholm, Sweden. (84)
Balls, Mr. Frederick Daniel, Nov. 4,1962, Wivenhoe, England. (89)
Behlert, Mr. Leonard Karl, Mar. 21, 1962, Abington, Pa. (71)
Bellinger, Mr. George Reuben, Mar. 28, 1962, Windsor, Ont. (68)
Cooper, Mrs. William Ryle (Gertrude Winifred Alden Simons), Nov. 13, 1962, Bryn Athyn, Pa. (80)
Cranch, Mr. Eliot Gifford, Mar. 13, 1962, Rochester, N. Y. (74)

175



Cronlund, Mrs. Jane (Synnestvedt), Nov. 10, 1962, Warrington, Pa. (49)
Day, Mrs. Horace Goodwin (Beatrice Kuhl), Jan. 12, 1962, Kitchener, Ont. (63)
De Maine, Mr. Henry Marvin, July 9, 1962, Fairfax County, Va. (84)
Faulkner, Mr. Walter H., Dec. 11, 1961, Elizabethtown, Pa. (84)
French, Mrs. Harold Malcolm (Anna Catherine Steen Peppler), Dec. 12, 1962, Walled Lake, Mich. (84)
Gill, Miss Muriel, Sep. 5, 1962 Colchester, England. (71)
Gladish, Mrs. Thomas (Marcia Trimble), Mar. 31, 1962, Evanston, Ill. (31)
Grenman, Mrs. Bertel (Ella Sofia Farlander), July 13, 1962, Chicago, Ill. (79)
Gyllenhaal, Miss Vida Louise, Jan. 23, 1962, Glenview, Ill. (77)
Keeling, Mrs. Thomas B. (Ida Scott McKague), Oct. 24, 1961, reported from Kitchener, Ont. (90)
Klippenstein, Mrs. Abram (Gertrude Blatz), May 31, 1962, Long Beach, Cal. (88)
Lewin, Mr. Samuel Robert, May 15, 1962, Bath, England. (90)
Lindrooth, Mrs. Alvin Edmund (Selma Josephine Marelius), Jan. 11, 1962, Glenview, Ill. (85)
Lloyd, Mr. Henry James, Jan. 5,1962, London, England. (80)
Lupker, Mrs. Daniel (Jeanne Henriette Stok), Oct. 19, 1962, The Hague, Holland. (51)
MacDonald, Mrs. Allan (Violet Cole), Mar. 30, 1962, Goderich, Ont. (82)
Parker, Mrs. Edward John Upton (Lois Edith Motum), Nov. 2, 1962, Toronto, Ont. (59)
Potts, Mr. Rudolph Tafel, Dec. 29, 1962, Kitchener, Ont. (88)
Roschman, Mr. Eugene W. Louis, Mar. 22, 1962, Kitchener, Ont. (73)
Schnarr, Mr. George, Feb. 22, 1962, Waterloo, Ont. (87)
Scott, Mrs. Dale Dana (Helen Van Zant), Mar. 1, 1962, Columbus, 0. (62)
Smith, Mrs. Benjamin Glenn (Isabel Vaughan), Mar. 4, 1962, Tucson, Ariz. (77)
Smith, Mr. Winfred Allen, Nov. 27, 1962, Bryn Athyn, Pa. (67)
Stewart, Mr. Walter Evelyn Ford, Oct. 20, 1962, Waterloo, Ont. (52)
Westacott, Mr. William Walter, Nov. 25, 1961, Salem, Ore. (80)

     RESIGNATIONS

De Salinas, Mrs. Norah Price, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
Macauley, Miss June, Royal Oak, Mich.

     DROPPED FROM THE ROLL

Johnson, Mrs. Stanley Smith, Gorand Forks, North Dakota.
Parker, Mr. Ernest Farrington, Philadelphia, Pa.
Pereira, Mr. Charles, Durban, Natal.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION

     An authentic list of the members of the Mission, as of Jan. 1, 1963, has been received. The Superintendent, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, notes that there is difficulty in procuring statistics, since the native ministers are not interested in exact records and the natives move about a great deal. In country societies the breadwinner of a family may often have to go elsewhere to find work. In the Transvaal many families are being moved. From Alexandra a number of our families have been moved compulsorily to Western Townships to alleviate very crowded conditions.

176


The effort was made to move to a common center at Mofolo where there is promise of a growing society. Some 600,000 Africans are now in these townships, where a great deal is being done by the government for their welfare. They have all small but respectable homes, each with a plot of ground of its own.

     SOCIETIES
                    Adults      Young people      Children
Alexandra               50               13               51
Brakpan               10               3               4
Clermont               31               3               19
Enkumba               28               6               47
Greylingstad          32               20               35
Hambrook               28               10               22
Kent Manor               99               26               79
Mofolo               26               3               26
New Farm               23               4               29
Queenstown               15               4               11
Quthing               22               1               10
Kwa Mashu               23               3               14

                    387               96               347

     ISOLATED

                    Adults      Young people      Children
Alexandra               12               0               4
Brakpan               -               -               -
Clermont               9               0               13
Enkumba               5               0               0
Greylingstad          6               6               10
Hambrook               
Kent Manor               19               2               5
Mofolo               -               -               -
New Farm               15               2               14
Queenstown               3               1               0
Quthing               5               1               0
Kwa Mashu               -_________________-_________________-__________
                    74               11               47
     
The total adult membership is 461. The total, including minors, is 962.
     Respectfully submitted,
          Hugo Lj. ODHNER,
               Secretary


     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     January 1, 1962 to January 1, 1963

     MEMBERSHIP

     With no inaugurations into the priesthood during the year and one death, that of the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, the membership of the Council decreased by one to thirty-eight. Two members of the ministerial degree were ordained into the pastoral degree. The total membership thus includes two priests of the episcopal degree, thirty-two of the pastoral degree, and four of the ministerial degree. Six of the thirty-eight members of the Council are retired or in secular work; some of them, however, give assistance to the pastoral office.
     Eleven active members of the Council are outside of the United States. Twelve of the twenty-one within the United States are serving other societies, circles and groups; nine are resident in Bryn Athyn. It should be noted, however, that only four of these priests form the pastoral staff of the Bryn Athyn Church; and that seven of them are employed, wholly or in part, by the General Church and/or the Academy, and are thus serving the entire membership of the church.
     There are three Authorized Candidates in the Academy of the New Church Theological School and one in Brazil. The British Guiana Mission has one priest of the pastoral degree, and in the South African Mission there are seven priests of the pastoral degree and two of the ministerial degree, the same as last year.

177


A list of the clergy of the General Church and its Missions appears in NEW CHURCH LIFE, December, 1962, pp. 590-593.

     STATISTICS

     Statistics concerning the Sacraments and Rites of the Church administered in 1962, compiled from 36 reports received by the end of February, 1962, together with the final though still incomplete figures for 1961, are as follows:

                                        1962          1961

Baptisms (Children 133; Adults 33)               166          167     (-1)
     Holy Supper: Administrations               166          182     (-16)
               Communicants                    5172          4957     (+215)
     Confessions of Faith                    38          27     (+11)
     Betrothals                         30          16     (+14)
     Marriages                         38          36     (+2)
     Funerals or Memorial Services               39          33     (+6)
     Ordinations                         2          2     
     Dedications: Homes                    6          13     (-7)
               Churches                         1          0     (+1)
     
     The above figures do not include administration of Sacraments and Rites in the South African Mission. There were two blessings on civil marriages which are not included in the total. The proportion of adult to child baptisms, approximately 20% of the total, is slightly larger than last year. Confessions of Faith again increased sharply-last year there was a decrease of 18 as compared with 1960. It is interesting to note that while there was only a slight increase in the number of marriages, there was a substantial increase in the number of betrothals.

     REPORTS OF MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY

     The Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton reports that he served as Acting Bishop until June 16, 1962, when he was elected Bishop of the General Church. He continued to serve as President of the Academy of the New Church throughout the year, and served also, first as Acting Pastor, and then as Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church.

     BISHOP OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     At the General Assembly held in June, 1962, he was elected to the office of Bishop of the General Church. Following the election he presided over the Assembly.

     ORDINATIONS: On June 19, 1962, he ordained the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh and the Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor into the second degree of the priesthood.

     CONSISTORY:     Immediately following the Assembly he formed a new Consistory. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, December, 1962, page 580.)

     EPISCOPAL VISITS:     In September he visited Glendale, Ohio, where he presided over a local assembly of the South Ohio Circle; and in November he dedicated the new church building which was erected by the members of the Carmel Church in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. This notable occasion was attended by many visitors from other societies. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, February, 1962, pp. 54-64.)

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     PASTORAL CHANGES:     During this period he was also involved in providing for pastoral changes. In order to effect these changes he presided at the annual meeting of the Bryn Athyn Church, where he addressed the Society on the subject of the episcopal form of government and the office of Dean. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, November, 1962, pp. 522-524.) He also presided at a special meeting of the Immanuel Church in Glenview and of the Pittsburgh Society which led to the selection of a new Pastor in both societies. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, November, 1962, p. 560; December, 1962, p. 582; January, 1963, p. 35.)

     PASTOR OF THE BRYN ATHYN CHURCH

     As the Bishop of the General Church he also became ex-officio the Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. In that capacity he would take this opportunity to express his deep appreciation of the support of the Rt. Rev. George de Charms who, during the year that he served as Acting Pastor and for the past six months, has so ably served as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. Bishop De Charms' understanding and co-operation had made it possible for him to devote the necessary time to other duties of the episcopal office. He would also express his gratitude to the Rev. David R. Simons and the Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh who, as Assistant Pastors, supported the Dean in the work of his office.

     PRESIDENT OF THE ACADEMY

     He continued to serve as President of the Academy of the New Church. It has become increasingly apparent, however, Bishop Pendleton notes, that in this office, which he assumed in 1959, further administrative assistance will be needed.

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms was engaged as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church and as a Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church.

     DEAN OF THE BRYN ATHYN CHURCH

     As Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church he had charge of worship and instruction in the Society. He shared with Bishop Pendleton the conducting of services in the Cathedral. He preached five times and addressed the children at their Thanksgiving service. During February and March he gave a series of doctrinal lectures on "The Doctrine of the Proprium," and in the fall gave a series on "The Doctrine of Genuine Truth."

     OTHER ACTIVITIES

     By episcopal appointment he served as Chairman of the Committee on Revision of the Liturgy. In response to an invitation he visited the Olivet Church of Toronto, on April 13, where be addressed the Forward-Sons (Ladies Night). On the following day he visited the Carmel Church in Kitchener, delivering an address to the Society in the evening and preaching on Sunday, April 15. He was invited also to attend the activities connected with the dedication of the new church building in Kitchener, November 24-25, and to give a talk to the children at their dedication service.

     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH

     He continued as a Professor of Theology, teaching the theological students a course on the New Testament during the Spring Semester and a course on the Priesthood in the Fall Semester.

179


In addition, he taught a course on "The Growth of the Mind" in the Senior College.
     He also served as head of the Religion Department and presided over the committee appointed to formulate the report of that Department to the accrediting agency of the Middle Atlantic States Association.



     The Rev. A. Wynne Acton continued to serve as Pastor of the Durban Society and as Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa.
     
     The Rev. Elmo C. Acton was engaged as Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, and as Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois.

     Rev. Karl R. Alden, Director of General Church Religion Lessons and Editor of NEW CHURCH EDUCATION, preached nine times in various societies, exercised general supervision over the Epsilon Society, and attended all the meetings of the Board of the Swedenborg Foundation.

     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh, in addition to his duties as Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and part-time teacher in the Pittsburgh New Church School, paid seven visits to the North Ohio Circle to conduct services and give doctrinal instruction.

     The Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen continued to serve as Pastor of the Stockholm Society; as Visiting Pastor to the Circles in Copenhagen, Oslo and Jonkoping; and as Editor of NOVA ECCLESIA.

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

     The Rev. Roy Franson was engaged as Pastor of the Dawson Creek (British Columbia) Group, and as Visiting Pastor to the groups in Fort St. John, Vancouver, British Columbia; Oyen and Crooked Creek, Alberta; Spokane and Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon.

     The Rev. Alan Gill served as Pastor of the Colchester Society until his retirement on September 2, 1962. Since his retirement he has continued as Chairman of the British Finance Committee and of the British Liturgy Subcommittee, and has assisted the Acting Pastor of the Colchester Society by preaching occasionally, giving weekly classes to junior young people, and doing some teaching in the school.

     The Rev. Victor J. Gladish, in secular work, assisted in maintaining services in Sharon Church, Chicago, where he preached 21 times. He also conducted one service and assisted at another in Glenview, Illinois.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs was engaged as Assistant Pastor of the Durban Society and as Assistant to the Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa.

     The Rev. Henry Heinrichs was engaged as a part-time Assistant to the Pastor of the Kitchener Society. During the year he ministered in six places, preaching 28 times and giving 3 doctrinal classes.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, Visiting Pastor to New England, Chairman of The General Church Sound Recording Committee, and a Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church, preached on 20 Sundays in various places and gave three doctrinal lectures in Bryn Athyn.

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In the Academy he taught three courses in the Theological School and two courses in the College.

     The Rev. B. David Holm was engaged as Pastor of the South Ohio Circle, resident in Glendale, and as Visiting Pastor to the Erie, Pennsylvania, Circle.

     The Rev. Robert S. Junge continued to serve as Visiting Pastor to the Central-Western District: Colorado, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Texas and Louisiana.

     The Rev. Louis B. King, in addition to his duties as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and Headmaster of the Pittsburgh New Church School, served as Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle.

     The Rev. Joao de Mendonca Lima was engaged as Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society, Brazil.

     The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Secretary of the General Church, a Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church and Dean of the Theological School, preached three times and gave two addresses and two private doctrinal classes.

     The Rev. Dandridge Pendleton was engaged as an Instructor in Religion in the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Martin Pryke continued to serve as Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada, and as Visiting Pastor of the Montreal Circle.

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter again served as Pastor of the Detroit Society.

     The Rev. Morley D. Rich, in addition to his duties as Pastor of the Miami Circle and Visiting Pastor to the East-central Florida and Atlanta, Georgia, groups and to the states of Florida, Georgia and Alabama, preached three times in Bryn Athyn in an exchange with the Rev. David R. Simons. He also acted as president of the Miami Circle's Board of Trustees in obtaining property and a building for church uses in Miami.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers, Pastor of the Advent Church, Philadelphia, and Visiting Pastor to the Northern New Jersey Circle, notes that the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the present Advent Church chapel was celebrated during the year.

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose served as Assistant to the Pastor of the Colchester Society until September 1, 1962, when he became Acting Pastor. Throughout the year he continued to serve as Visiting Pastor to Holland, Belgium and France. Since September 1, 1962, he has ministered to some of the isolated in Great Britain, but not to all the groups. In addition to his regular duties he preached in London and Bryn Athyn, gave an address to the British Assembly, and acted as Headmaster of the British Academy Summer School.

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom, in addition to his duties as Pastor of Michael Church, London, continued to serve as Chairman of the British Academy, as President of the New Church Club, as a member of the Advisory and Revision Board of the Swedenborg Society and as Chairman of the Society's Arcana Coelestia Editorial Committee. He addressed the General Assembly and the British Assembly, preached and lectured in various places, taught at the British Academy Summer School, and, since September 1, 1962, has taken some of the responsibility for visiting isolated members in Great Britain.

181




     The Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr continued to serve as Pastor of the Washington, D. C., Society and as Visiting Pastor to North and South Carolina and the South Virginia area.

     The Rev. David R. Simons was engaged as an Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church and as Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School.

     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh was engaged as an Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church and as Director of Music for the Bryn Athyn Church.

     The Rev. Douglas McL.Taylor served as Resident Minister/Pastor of the Tucson Circle and as Visiting Minister/Pastor to the San Diego (California) Circle, the group in Phoenix, and the isolated in Douglas and Prescott, Arizona. He reports that in San Diego regular services are now held in a public room, and that an increase in numbers in Phoenix has led to the organizing of services in a public hall every Sunday.

     The Rev. William Whitehead was engaged as a special teacher in the Academy of the New Church until the end of the 1961-1962 academic year. He preached and gave an address in Detroit and is now putting the finishing touches on the Annals of the New Church: 1850-1963.

     The Rev. Gudmund U. Boolsen was engaged as Assistant to the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen in the Copenhagen Circle.

     The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard served as Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, and as Visiting Minister to the Madison and St. Paul-Minneapolis Circles and the Rockford and St. Louis groups. He also served as an Instructor in Religion and Hebrew in the Immanuel Church School, and delivered five devotional messages on WGN-TV in September, 1962.

     The Rev. Donald L. Rose continued to serve as Minister of the Hurstville (Australia) Society and as corresponding Minister for the group in New Zealand. He made one visit to Sorrento, Victoria, during the year.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Secretary



GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
(A Pennsylvania Corporation)

and

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
     (An Illinois Corporation)

182




REPORT OF THE SECRETARY FOR THE YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1962


MEMBERSHIP

     During the year 1962, the number of persons comprising the membership of both Corporations increased by 11 from 280 to 291 in accordance with the following tabulation:
                    Date of          Net          Date of
Members of:               12/31/1961     Change          12/31/1962

Illinois Corporation only          7          None          7          
Both Corporations          273          Add 11          284

Total Persons               280          Add 11          291               
                    ___          ______          ___
               
Total Members of

Illinois Corporation          280          Add 11          291
Pennsylvania Corporation          273          Add 11          284

The several Net Changes consisted of:

12 New Members of both Corporations:
Asplundh, Edward K.
Boatman, James Stuart
Bradfield, Thomas M.
Childs, Randolph Damon
David, Raymond B.
Day, Cyril L.
Fitzpatrick, Donald C., Jr.
Gyllenhaal, Malcolm D.
Parker, S. R.
Pendleton, Philip Coleman
Potts, John W.
Taylor, Douglas

     1 Death of member of both Corporations:
          Schnarr, George

     DIRECTORS

     The By-Laws of both Corporations are identical in making provisions for election of thirty Directors, ten of whom are elected each year for terms of three years. The members of both Boards are the same, and presently consist of thirty Directors. At the 1962 Annual Meeting ten Directors were elected for terms expiring in 1965.

1964 Acton, Daric E.
1965 Acton, Kesniel C.
1963 Anderson, Reginald S.
1963 Asplundh, Carl Hj.
1964 Asplundh, Edwin T.
1964 Asplundh, Lester
1963 Barnitz, Robert G.
1965 Blackman, Geoffrey E.
1964 Childs, Randolph W.
1964 Howard, John
1965 Junge, James F.
1963 Kitzelman, Edward
1963 Leeper, Robert
1964 Lindsay, Alexander H.
1963 Morley, H. Keith
1964 Pendleton, Philip C.
1965 Pendleton, Willard D.
1965 Pitcairn, Raymond

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1965 Cockerell, Gordon D.
1963 Coulter, Robert I.
1965 Davis, Edward H.
1965 De Charms, George
1963 Doering, George C.
1964 Hill, Murray. E.
1965 Pryke, F. G. Colley
1963 Smith, Gilbert M.
1964 Stebbing, David H.
1964 Stevens, Marvin V.
1963 Synnestvedt, Arthur
1965 Walker, Marvin J.

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

     OFFICERS

     The two Corporations each also have the same four Officers, each of whom is elected yearly for a term of one year. Those elected at the Board Meetings of June 16, 1962, were:

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

     CORPORATION MEETINGS

     The 1962 Annual Corporation Meetings were held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on June 16, these being the only Corporation Meetings held during the year. The President, Bishop Pendleton, presided, and the attendance numbered 117 persons, each a member of both Corporations. Reports were received from the President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, and from the Committees on: Audit of Securities, Nomination of Directors, and Salaries.

     BOARD MEETINGS

     The Board of Directors held four meetings during 1962, the President presiding at each of them. The average attendance of Directors was 18 with a maximum of 25 and a minimum of 9.
     The business of the Board of Directors transacted during the first half of the year was covered in a report submitted to the Annual Corporation Meeting held in June 1962.
     Since that time the organization meeting and one regular meeting have been held. At the organization meeting Officers of the Corporations were elected, reports were received from the standing Committees, members were appointed to the various Committees, and the standard banking resolutions were passed.
     During the October meeting funds were authorized for ministers traveling expense in Canada and for travel expense to the Council Meetings in January. Ministerial salary increases and adjustments recommended by the Salary Committee were approved by the Board. The need for a yearly review of salaries of all ministers, particularly those in foreign countries, was discussed. It was suggested that Salary Committees established in other countries would be helpful to the General Church Salary Committee in recommending salaries and the means of their administration.
     A special committee appointed by the President recommended that the procedure for evaluating the Group Investment Fund be modernized for economy and efficiency, and the Board approved the new procedure submitted by the committee.
     A report from the Kent Manor Farm was read outlining the progress for the past year, the second profitable year for the farm.

184



     The President recommended changes in the membership of the Investment Committee and the Contributions Committee, which were approved by the Board.
     A request by the Washington Society for temporary emergency financial aid was approved, and other normal matters of business were discussed.
     Respectfully submitted,
          STEPHEN PITCAIRN,
               Secretary

     TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     REPORT FOR 1962

     During the 1950's the General Church experienced wide fluctuations in its financial operations, ranging from a $25,000 surplus to a $6,000 deficit. As we get into the decade of the sixties, however, we are better prepared to meet our growing commitments.
     Over the past ten years total assets and operating income have more than doubled; there has been an improvement in pastoral support on the local level; the unpredictable burden of moving expense has been stretched out by reserve funding; and, most important, contributions have substantially improved.
     During 1962, however, we experienced a slight decline in operating income. After the previous year's vigorous campaign, it is not surprising that contributions decreased slightly. Nevertheless, the total remained at the high level of recent years. Investment income also dropped, but this was due entirely to a change in accounting methods.
     Expenditures, on the other hand, continued to mount, reaching a record $132,000. Sixty-six per cent of this amount went to salary costs.
     The adequacy of salaries for ministers and teachers remains a perennial problem facing the whole church.
     This problem, however, has received a great deal of attention by the General Church. In 1948 steps were taken to remedy the situation by adopting a Ministers' Minimum Salary Plan, followed later by a Teachers' Minimum Salary Plan.
     Over the fourteen-year period that the Ministers' Plan has been in effect, there has been substantial improvement, the most recent being the amendment effective September 1, 1962. From a starting level of $2,500 for a married minister, the minimum has increased to $4,500, and with twenty years of service, the minimum has more than doubled. We have come a long way since 1948, but there is still more to be done, particularly in the area of teachers' salaries.
     In view of this and other problems, a careful study was made last year of anticipated expenditures for the next five years. As a result, it is apparent that the budget will grow more rapidly in the period just ahead. This makes it imperative that some consideration be given to our methods of operation if we are to continue on a sound financial basis.
     A policy should be established with respect to accumulation of special funds and reserves in areas receiving substantial General Church support. A uniform policy is needed for traveling expenses of pastors. Methods of budget approval need review. A policy with regard to loans and support for local schools is essential. And a formalized policy for operating the pension program is needed.
     Already a special committee has been appointed to consider these and other matters. As a result, we can look for improved guide lines for the challenging period ahead.

185



     In the following pages comparative statements are presented giving the financial condition of the General Church and its sources and disposition of operating income.
     Respectfully submitted,
          LEONARD E. GYLLENHAAL,
               Treasurer

     OPERATING INCOME

. . . Where it came from

                                        December 31
Contributions                              1962               1961          

Individual Gifts                         $ 44,599               $ 47,995
Special Endowment Income               26,656.               26,656
South African Mission Gifts               1,608.               1,745
                                   _______               _______

TOTAL                         $ 72,863               $ 76, 396

Investment Income

From General Fund                     39,246               42,062                         
From Endowment Funds                    30,287               32,927
New Church Life Sales                         4,430               5,421
Sundry Sources                              1,170               611
                                   ________          ________

TOTAL INCOME                    $147,996          $157,417

. . . What it was spent on                         
     
Administration

Episcopal Office                         $12,824               $11,977
Financial & Corporate Affairs               12,720               9,934
New Church Life                         14,222               13,099
Religion Lessons                         3,446               3,396
Committees & Councils                    1,872               1,166
                                   ________          ________

          TOTAL                         $45,084               $39,572
Pastoral Extension Work                         47,606               46,675
Support of Salary Plans                         21,453               18,639
South African Mission                         14,817               13,703
Other                                   3.026               3,476
                                   ________          ________

Special Appropriation for

Liturgy Reserve                         1,000               1,000
Moving Expense Reserve                    5,000               10,000
Reserve for 1962 Assembly Travel               1,426               8,000
                                   ________          ________

Balance to Net Worth                    $ 8,584               $16,352



186




     COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

     ASSETS

December 31
GENERAL FUND                         1962               1961

     Cash                              $13,898               $40,377
     Accounts Receivable                    20,551               3,331
     Loans Outstanding                    43,500               _
     Investments
U. S. A. Bonds                    1,000               1,000
     Group Holdings                    408,415               399,044
     Other Securities                    22,696               22,696
     Real Estate                         37,635               37,635
     Prepaid Expense                         3,727               5,063
     Inventories Publications                    2,414               _
     Due from Other Funds                    5,031               3,020
                                   ________          ________

          TOTAL                         $558,867          $512,166

LOAN FUNDS
     Cash                              $ (-124)               $ (-138)
     Investments-Group Holdings               12,423               12,423
                                   ________          ________     

     TOTAL                         $12,299               $12,285

ENDOWMENT & TRUST FUNDS

     Cash                              $120,054          $83,857
     Investments
U.S.A. Bonds                    60,525               47,976
Group Fund                    1,277,427          1,174,284
     Other Securities                    1,419,511          1,341,753
Real Estate                         11,000               11,000
     Assets in South Africa                    47,932               45,602
                                   _________          _________

          TOTAL                         $2,936,449          $2,704,472
                                   _________          _________

          TOTAL ASSETS                    $3,507,615          $3,228,923
                                   _________          _________
          


187



                         
     ACCOUNTABILITY

GENERAL FUND

Accounts Payable                         $ 20,630               5,349
Special Contributions for Future Expenditure     43,047               35,581
Due to Other Funds                    _               604
Reserve for Liturgy                    7,085               6,224
Reserve for Moving Expense               35,298               30,298
Reserve for Publication                    (-408)               (-457)
Reserve for 1962 Assembly Travel               _               3,882
Net Worth Balance                    453,215               430,685
                                   ________          ________

          TOTAL                         $558,867          $512,166

LOAN FUNDS

Building Revolving Fund                    $12,299               $12,285
                                   ________          ________

          TOTAL                         $12,299               $12,285

ENDOWMENT & TRUST FUNDS
     General Endowment                    $260,392          $210,478
     Specific Endowment                    
Income Restricted               515,710               487,461
Income Unrestricted               356,795               288,063
Special Endowment                    1,665,971          1,597,364
Trust Funds                         137,581               121,106
                                   _________          _________

     TOTAL                         $2,936,449          $2,704,472
                                   _________          _________

TOTAL FUNDS                    $3,507,615          $3,228,912
                                   _________          _________

188





     EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE"

     The usual total of 576 pages was exceeded in 1962 by 24 pages. That is not excessive for an Assembly year. In order of space used, the total was made up as follows:

                    Pages

Articles                    325
Sermons                    68               
Reports                    62
Church News               44
Announcements               27
Editorials               27
Miscellaneous               15
Talks to Children               9
Directories               8
Reviews                    8
Communications               7
                         ___
                         600

     With one exception these figures represent a normal distribution. An unusually long report of the Joint Council Session and Assembly Journal, considered necessary because of the nature of the business transacted, plus two reports in some instances, made Reports the third largest item. Excluding editorials, news notes and reports, the contents of NEW CHURCH LIFE in 1962 came from 42 contributors-23 ministerial and 19 lay, the latter including four ladies. The thanks of the church are due to them and to our faithful correspondents in the societies, circles and groups. Every effort was made editorially to keep the church advised and informed of what was involved in the selection of a Bishop and the beginning of a new episcopate.

     CIRCULATION

     Figures as of December 31, 1962, supplied by the Business Manager show that paid subscriptions increased by 44 from 1018 to 1062. Total circulation is shown in the following tabulation:

                                             1962     1961

Paid Subscriptions                                   1,062     1.018
Free to our Clergy, Public Libraries, New Church Book Rooms,
Exchanges                              164     164
                                             _____     ____
                                             1,226     1,182
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Editor


     GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     The Committee has held six meetings (one with full attendance) during 1962. Various submitted manuscripts were studied and some are under revision.
     Two "pastoral pamphlets," on "New Church Baptism" and on "Joining the Church," are in process of preparation.

189



Three items were published under the Committee's imprint in 1962: The Doctrine of the Proprium, by Bishop De Charms, The New Church Reader's Guide, compiled by the Rev. R. S. Junge; and In the King's Service, a fable by Mrs. Gertrude Nelson Diem.
     The last named was published by special arrangements with the Vantage Press. We are indebted to Mr. Ken Hultgren for a copious number of charming illustrations for this children's book.
     The recognition of Mr. Sydney Lee's book room at Glenview as a "General Church Book Center" caused some confusion as to our Committee's functions in respect to financing, pricing and handling of stock, and the distribution of review and sample copies-matters which formerly were in the hands of the Academy Book Room. These problems the retiring chairman of the Committee hopefully leaves in the able hands of the Rev. R. S. Junge whom the Bishop has appointed to head the Committee.
     Respectfully submitted,
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Retired chairman

     REPORT OF THE PENSION COMMITTEE

     The Pension Committee granted three pensions during the year 1962. They were calculated on the formula established by the General Church Pension Plan as amended on October 18, 1962.
     The amendment to the Plan provided that in no case shall the deductions on account of Social Security reduce the net monthly payment to less than $60.00 per month.
     Respectfully submitted,
          EDWARD H. DAVIS,
               Chairman

     RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE

     The General Church Religion Lessons Committee now ministers to 187 families. Our enrollment, from the Cradle Roll through tenth grade, is 447 children. There are 15 counselors and 67 teachers in the organization.
     The Director has held three meetings with the Bryn Athyn counselors and teachers, and one meeting each with the groups who are helping in the work in Pittsburgh, Glenview, Toronto and Kitchener. Last year we were unable to visit Detroit.
     The Committee publishes ten issues of New Church Education, September through June. At the present time we have a paid circulation of 526 copies.
     In addition to publishing and circulating the religion lessons our office also publishes the following: the Academian, the Commoner, the Advent News, the Civic and Social Club's News and Monthly Calendar, the elementary school Science Manual, and the papers submitted to the Council of the Clergy. Miss Jennie Gaskill's Teaching First Grade, the Rev. Karl R. Alden's sermons on The Prophets Elijah, Elisha and Daniel, the Rev. Robert S. Junge's Sunday school notes on Exodus through Deuteronomy, and the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh's Missionary News Letter and Johnny Appleseed and other Stories have also been published.
     In order to accomplish this large amount of work we have received 750 hours of free labor from dedicated helpers.
     Respectfully submitted,
          KARL R. ALDEN,
               Director

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     SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE

     At the end of the financial year, September 30, 1962, committee net worth was $15,594.74. The net worth of equipment-$11,037.80 less depreciation reserve of $5,294.82-was $5,742.98. Total income, $5,459.53, was exceeded by total expenditures of $6,079.22, which left a deficit for the year of $619.69. This deficit was not considered to be serious.
     The supplement which was issued in July, and which added 259 new titles, brought to 2,084 the total number of titles listed in the catalog. It is interesting to note that the first catalog, issued December 1,1949, contained only 58 titles. As an indication of the extension of the committee's recording activities over the years, it is interesting to note that of the 259 recordings made during the year, 139 were from Bryn Athyn and 120 from other centers. Chicago, Detroit, Glenview, Kitchener, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Tucson, and Washington, D. C., all contributed in varying degree to make this a representative offering. It is intended to issue an entirely new and revised catalog in 1963.
     Total circulation in the year under review was 888. This represents a further slight decrease; but what was said in last year's report may be repeated here, namely, that with so many factors entering into circulation, only a major drop would be cause for serious concern.
     The year has been quiet and unspectacular, but not, as the figures show, inactive. It has seemed to the officers of the committee that the times call for self-appraisal, while continuing with the usual work, rather than for embarking on new projects. The chairman notes with regret, but with warm appreciation of his keen interest and years of faithful service, the retirement of Mr. Edward Cranch from the committee. Also, he would express again, and with no less sincerity for its being repeated, appreciation of the many hours of devoted service given voluntarily by committee members and associates, and indebtedness once again to Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh for his work as executive officer of the committee.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
                    Chairman

     VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

     RECEIPTS

Cash on hand, January 1, 1962                              $198,08
Rental on slides, etc.                         $13,80
Two sets of Tabernacle slides sold     30,00
Donation                              5.00
                                   ______          48.80
                                             _______

                                             246,88
     EXPENDITURE

Postage                                             5,00
                                             _______

Balance on hand, December 31, 1962                         $241,88
                                             _______

     This is the quietest year we have had so far.
          Respectfully submitted,
               WILLIAM R. COOPER
                    DIRECTOR

191


ALL MEN UNTO ME 1963

ALL MEN UNTO ME       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable In advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     The approach of Easter invites us to Consider anew the glorification of the Lord's Human. How the Lord made the Human in Himself Divine, and the Divine Human, is indeed the supreme doctrine; and we shall fail in appreciation and understanding of it unless we realize that the glorification was not an end in itself. That is the testimony of Scripture, and it is also the teaching of the Writings.
     By glorification is meant union; and the Lord, when speaking of His union with the Father, spoke immediately and without a break of His conjunction with the human race, because this was the cause of the union. In the union of Himself with the Father, of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence, the Lord had in view the conjunction of Himself with the human race. This was His end, the Writings say, and this He had at heart because it was His love; which was such that the salvation of the human race, as beheld in His union with the Father, was His inmost joy.
     It is of doctrine that the conjunction of the Supreme Divine with the human race was effected through the Lord's Human made Divine, and that this conjunction was the cause of the Lord's coming into the world. Thus the Lord did not come only to make the Human in Himself Divine. When the human race had been separated from the Divine, so that there was disjunction, and even the faith of love in the Lord who was to come had perished, so that there was no longer any medium of conjunction, the Lord came into the world, and glorified the Human which He assumed therein, in order that conjunction might be restored and salvation be renewed. This was the end of the glorification.

191


WHY A SECOND REDEMPTION? 1963

WHY A SECOND REDEMPTION?       Editor       1963

     It is known that by His incarnation and glorification the Lord redeemed angels, spirits and men, and that He did so by purging the world of spirits, subjugating the hells, and then forming and establishing a new, spiritual heaven and church. Yet it is known also that the Lord again effected a general redemption at His second coming, and some New Church men have wondered why. If the hells were subjugated by the First Advent, they ask, why did they have to be subjugated again?
     We would note first that the imaginary heavens which were dispersed and the hells which were subjugated by the Lord's victories in temptation remained dispersed and subjugated. The imaginary heavens dispersed by the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word, and the hells similarly subjugated, were those which had grown up since the establishment of the Christian Church. It was the existence of these later imaginary heavens that gave the hells a dominating extension into the world of spirits; and the possibility of their coming into being lay in the fact that the Christian Church, too, was founded on the letter of the Word, which, being written according to the appearances of the senses, can be perverted to favor the loves of self and the world.

     For example, the Lord's sayings to Peter concerning the rock whereon He would build His church, and concerning the keys of the kingdom, as falsified from the love of dominion, became the basis of countless imaginary heavens in which spirits interiorly evil sought to rule over the souls of others. However, these and other imaginary heavens could not have been formed and perpetuated unless the Divine Providence had permitted it; for by His glorification the Lord had put on all power over evil. They were tolerated because certain uses were performed through them which, in the disordered state then obtaining, could not be done in any other way. There were simple good spirits who could not see the evils and falsities in the interpretations of the Word on which those heavens were based until they had been exposed to them and thus learned their true character; and there were evil spirits who freely confirmed themselves in their evils by the part they took in maintaining the imaginary heavens. But when those uses had been performed, the imaginary heavens were dispersed and the hells deprived of their extension.
     Hypocritical spirits still try to form imaginary heavens in the world of spirits; but in the light of the true meaning of the Word, the light of the spiritual sense, they are quickly dispersed. Thus there will be no more general redemptions. The second one was necessary only because the Word could not be opened fully for the Christian Church.

193


AND FOLLOW ME 1963

AND FOLLOW ME       Editor       1963

     Christians have always recognized the Divine imperative in the injunction to take up the cross and follow the Lord; but as the path He trod was hidden, how He was to be followed could not be understood. Thomas spoke more truly than he knew when he said: "Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?" Believing that the Lord's life was a progress toward the substitutionary sacrifice on Calvary, Christians could know only in a very general and often mistaken way what it is to follow the Lord.
     It has now been revealed that the path trodden by the Lord was one of combat and victory-a path that led through temptation to the glorification of His Human and the union of that Human with the supreme Divine. Truly to follow the Lord, therefore, is to be conjoined with Him, even as He as to the Human was united with Jehovah; and the conjunction of man with the Lord is effected by means of temptations and by the implantation of faith in love.

     What is meant by conjunction with the Lord? It is neither a mystical idea nor yet an ecstatic experience but a state that can be rationally understood. A common love, a common faith, uses in common-these are what consociate men; and so it is with man and the Lord. When man loves finitely what the Lord loves infinitely, the salvation of souls; when he thinks finitely what the Lord thinks infinitely, the truth of the Word; and when he does finitely what the Lord does infinitely, uses looking to the spiritual welfare of others; then he is conjoined with the Lord, and the Lord with him. The Lord is in man as the source of his love, thought and uses, and man is in the Lord because his uses set him in the Gorand Man in which the Lord is as the soul is in the body. Love is the medium of conjunction; and when man loves and does the Divine and spiritual things that are from the Lord, the Lord conjoins man with Himself. At the same time, He conjoins Himself with the man in his uses, for it is uses that the Lord loves.
     That he may thus enter into conjunction with the Lord is the end for which man is created. The Lord assumed and glorified the Human to make that conjunction possible, and to effect it is the inmost purpose of all true religion. In seeking conjunction with the Lord through regenerative temptations, therefore, we truly follow the path that He has trodden. For Him the path led to union with the supreme Divine; for man it leads to conjunction with that Divine in and through the Divine human. Conjunction is not absorption. Man does not lose his personality, but lives on as a distinct individual, yet as one reborn of the Lord.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     GENERAL CHURCH

     Authorized Candidates in the Theological School of the Academy will assist and gain experience of pastoral work in the following societies during the summer: Mr. Alfred Acton in Pittsburgh and Glenview, and Mr. Peter M. Buss in Durban, Natal, South Africa. Their assignments will start late in June or early in July.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND

     The activities of the General Church community in the Netherlands increased considerably during the year 1962. A meeting presided over by the Rev. Frank S. Rose was held in April. On that occasion Mr. Herman G. Engeltjes, who had been leader of the circle for a great many years, informed those in attendance that he had decided to resign from that office, and also from the post of secretary-treasurer which he had held as well for many years. Although the members regretted Mr. Engeltjes' decision, they could easily understand his wish to retire because of advancing years. However, they readily accepted his offer to act as an advisor to the board.
     During the same meeting Mr. Rose informed the members that according to the order of the General Church a visiting pastor is authorized to make arrangements for the conducting of services in his absence. He then asked those present whether they would agree to his appointing the Rev. John D. Odhner to assist him with the work in Holland-a proposal which was accepted. A new board was chosen with Mr. Rose as president, Mr. Odhner as acting president, Mr. D. Lupker as secretary-treasurer, and Mr. Weimer as a member. Mr. Engeltjes was appointed as advisor, and Miss Hetty Engeltjes as corresponding secretary.
     During 1962 eight services were held, all at Mr. Lupker's house. Three of these were conducted by Mr. Rose, the others by Mr. Odhner. Starting in September, lectures were given on Thursday nights by Mr. Odhner. Services and lectures were attended by anything from twelve to twenty-four people.
     During the year three new members joined our circle: Mrs. de Siso-Dijkstra and Miss Dijkstra from Heemstede, and Mrs. Bulthuis from The Hague. The infant son of Capt. and Mrs. Stephen Heilman was baptized by the Rev. Frank Rose in April, and in October he baptized Kay John, the son of the Rev. and Mrs. John D. Odhner.
     In October Mrs. Jeane H. Lupker was called away from us to continue her useful work in the spiritual world. We will miss her very much, but we are convinced that she will always remain of use in our small circle.
     HETTY ENGELTJES

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     It is a pleasure to report that the Hurstville Society has had several visitors, newcomers interested in the Writings. All have learned of the New Church through advertisements in the newspapers. These were Mr. and Mrs. Rennick of Barmedman, a country town, who came to church one Sunday. Also at church one day was a Miss Halstead, a most recent contact. A visitor for the Rev. Donald Rose was Mr. Mahood of Bringelly, N.S.W., who came with his daughter-in-law and niece. Mr. Don Old, of Sydney, has attended some doctrinal classes, and with Mrs. Old came to the Sons' banquet in November.
     The Sons' banquet was notable for the interest shown in Professor Gladish's tape-recorded Assembly address, "The Most Fruitful Field of Evangelization."

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It was the clearest tape we have heard, and one of the most convincing arguments in favor of New Church education.
     There have been two baptisms, that of Bronwen, wife of Brian Heldon, and a few weeks later of Scott Willard, their infant son.
     There are quite large grounds behind the church and undergrowth needs clearing away every now and again. To celebrate a big clearance recently two sports afternoons were held, followed by barbecue teas and dancing in the evening.
     Notable in our Christmas activities was an evening of carol singing and showing of slides. The beautiful series of slides, of the Advent story, was purchased in Sydney, and a tape-recording was prepared by Mr. Rose-a continuous commentary synchronized with the slides.
     It is January, and Mr. Rose has just returned from New Zealand, where he had a short but very busy and happy stay. He held four services and numerous classes, some at the home of Mrs. D. Flood. With Mr. Lloyd Bartle he visited Waiheke Island, where Mr. and Mrs. C. Andrew live. There was also a visit to the Mills' home, where the United States was defeated by New Zealand at table tennis. There was the pleasure of renewing acquaintance with old friends and of meeting two newcomers, Mr. Brasell and Mr. Hobcroft.
     Eight tableaux were presented at the church on Sunday, January 27, to honor the name of Emanuel Swedenborg, servant of the Lord. The tableaux, depicting some of the most important happenings in his life, were shown in chronological order and the story was read by Mr. Rose. Some ladies had gone to much trouble to provide suitable costumes; in particular, some wigs made by Mrs. Taylor took many hours of patient work. The evening was rounded off with a smorgasbord supper.
     There was a wedding at the church on Saturday, February 9. Mr. John Hall married Miss Rhonda Stephenson. Some said that the church had never been more beautifully decorated, with glorious gladioli predominating and sweet frangipani and other flowers lending their assistance. Certainly no lovelier bride has ever gracefully walked its aisle. On the chancel steps in frangipani blossoms were arranged the words: "May there be a blessing."
     NORMAN HELDON

     TORONTO, CANADA

     A report from the Olivet Church should be a song of gratitude, so much do we have for which to be grateful. The weekly opportunity to worship in peaceful surroundings, and to hear the truths of the church expounded with thoughtful care and knowledge, stands first. This season the instruction has been given by four ministers. We have heard from the Rev. Messrs. Henry Heinrichs, Roy Franson and Kurt Asplundh as well as from our pastor, the Rev. Martin Pryke, and each has given us much food for thought and plenty of scope from which to act during the week. Compared with the experience of our isolated friends, this is luxury indeed!
     Again, there have been Wednesday classes from which to add to our knowledge of the doctrine of the Lord and the inspiration of the Word. These have been extremely interesting and have brought forth comments and questions from the listeners. It is sometimes a pity that more discussion does not obtain, as a question or two brings out points in the class which are all well worth consideration.
     According to report, the men's group has plenty of discussion on its papers, which are given once a month after a substantial dinner. These papers are usually written by one of the men, and the meal is provided by a couple of members, though not always without a certain amount of feminine aid. On one of these occasions a debate was held on: "Resolved: that the State should increase its control over the morals of its citizens"; while at other times the group considered the correspondence of animals and the subject of patriotism.
     The day school has a larger enrollment this year. It commenced with twenty-three pupils, including those in kindergarten, and next year shows hope of a considerable increase in numbers. The pupils and teachers appear to be happy and well satisfied with life as it rolls along.

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Extra curricular activities have included educational excursions to various points of interest in Toronto and parties on special occasions.
     The Ladies' Circle has met monthly and is energetically carrying on its many vital uses under the presidency of Mrs. Thomas Fountain. Theta Alpha under its president, Zara Pryke, has been taking turns in reading papers which have appealed to the reader who presents them.
     Christmas was, of course, a notable time, the tableaux commencing the season in the proper mood. With the larger stage, these are becoming more elaborate than was possible in our old building, and they are worthy of an even larger audience-if only we could gather in more people from the highways and byways. The evening commenced with a delightful service in the chapel, from which the congregation walked downstairs to view a living and most colorful presentation of the Christmas story as given in Luke; a presentation in which the characters moved, while the voices of others recited. The Christmas morning service always has a special charm. Flowers, greens and candles decorated the chancel; the good old Christmas hymns were sung with wholehearted spirit; and our pastor preached on the Christmas theme.
     The social aspect of our lives has been receiving particular attention, and to this end a special committee was formed to canvass the membership with a questionnaire, and to consider what recreation should mean and how the desired end could best he accomplished. Was it the result of this, or was it the extreme efficiency of the social committee that made the New Year party such a success? We mention the New Year event because it has become a special conundrum in Toronto how to entertain all the various age groups and keep them together for the opening of the new year with enjoyment for all. Mr. and Mrs. John Wyncoll and Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Scott plunged in and gathered a large committee of efficient workers, and four houses were opened for a "Dinner at Nine" which was prepared, not by the hostesses, but by the committee. This put everyone in a festive mood, and by the time we all met in the assembly hall-around eleven o'clock-the party was in full swing. Between dinner and gathering in the assembly hall each group had concocted an "act" for later on, and competition ran high. None of the acts were Theater Guild productions, but all were merry. We have not heard from any talent scouts as yet!
     There are happy events to report, such as the arrival of four new babies: Carolyn Anne Scott, Colin Duncan Starkey, Shellah Meredith Craigie, and Mark Harold Wyncoll. Also, there have been two engagements-that of Mieke de Heus to Frank Jeanmarie, and of Ann Kirby to Donald Barber; and we can report six students attending the Academy schools in Bryn Athyn: Mary Parker, Beth Orr, Jennifer Scott, Larry Webb, Frank Raymond and Stanford Lehne.
     However, it is causing us considerable effort to realize that our friend, Mrs. E. John Parker, is no longer with us. She was such a wholehearted participator in the activities of the Society, always giving unstintingly of her time and effort and with a real love of the church and all that it means. With her love of use there is no doubt that she is performing an even greater one in the other world.
     There is much more that could be said about the Olivet Society and its uses, but here are some interesting statistics:
                         1934          1962

Average attendance at worship          65          113
Holy Supper communicants          56          73
Baptisms                    8          7
Confirmations                    3          3
Marriages                    2          6
Deaths                         2          1

     We acknowledge with gratitude the pages of Chatter-Box, without which the writing of these notes would be difficult indeed.
     VERA CRAIGIE

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     Enough is enough, and after eighteen months of procrastination your reporter again takes pen in hand to comment on the state of the Washington Society.

197


However, we would deny that our lack of communication is in any way indicative of a lack of progress on the part of the Society. It is not so. After what seemed for a time to be a steady decline in membership-something felt sharply in a society of our size-we are once again on the increase, due to the influx of a number of new and enthusiastic persons.
     Among those who have come to Washington in recent months are Mr. Jerome Sellner and his bride, the former Elizabeth Hasen of Kitchener; Miss Raquel Seliner, Jerome's sister; Capt. and Mrs. Dean Smith and their three sons; Mr. Robert Newkirk and his wife, the former Beatrice Trimble, who were married in Bryn Athyn last November; Mr. Philip Coffin of Spartanburg, South Carolina; Mr. Michael Rich of Miami, Florida; Miss Margaret Gladish of Glenview, Illinois; Miss Cheryl Ebert of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to attend the University of Maryland; and Miss Mary Mahler of Ashville, North Carolina, who was baptized into the New Church on January 13, 1963. Mrs. Gertrude Diem, Gerald Nelson's sister, came from Glenview to live with the Nelsons in Baltimore, and Miss Judy Boatman and Mr. John Allen returned to Washington from school in Bryn Athyn. Each and every one of these newcomers has already contributed in many ways to the uses of the Society, and their presence is a delight to all of us. During 1962, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Williams left Washington for Boston, Mass., and Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lindrooth moved to Bryn Athyn, as did Mr. And Mrs. Fred Grant. Dr. and Mrs. William Radcliffe left for Connecticut, where he is taking his residency; and Mr. And Mrs. Rowland Trimble, who for so many years had been a much loved part of our Society, moved to Glenview to live with their son-in-law, Thomas Gladish. Each of these couples made a unique contribution to the Society, and we have not yet realized fully the void created by their departure. Nevertheless we wish them happiness in their new surroundings.
     During the past year we have had three weddings in the Society. On February 10, 1962, Mr. James Boatman married Miss Cecy Mendonca Lima. Miss Linda Allen, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Allen, was married to Mr. Glen Klippenstein on November 10, 1962, and Miss Barbara Allen, Linda's sister, married Lt. Fred Fiedler on February 23, 1963. Linda and Barbara have left the Society to establish homes in Bryn Athyn and Phoenix, Arizona, respectively.
     Recently two members of our Society, friends to all who had the pleasure of knowing them, passed into the spiritual world. On September 28, 1962, Mr. Alfred Arrington, known affectionately as Uncle Al, died in Pennsylvania, and on January 27, 1963, Robert Hilldale, Esq., passed into the other world. Our pastor, the Rev. Fred Schnarr, conducted a most moving memorial service for Mr. Hilldale, reminding us that death, after all, is the means by which man leaves the natural world and enters into the spiritual world. We cannot but feel grief on being parted for a time from these two men who, during their lives on earth, participated so fully in the uses of the church; but we can feel joy in the knowledge that they are now free to enter even more fully into these uses in the Lord's kingdom.
     This year, as in the past, we have been fortunate in having the benefit of a number of visiting preachers and speakers at various functions. In December, 1961, the Rev. and Mrs. Karl R. Alden came to Washington during one of the pastor's southern trips. Mr. Alden's class was an inspiring explanation of the Lord's Prayer, and his sermon was on the Prodigal Son. With the advent of the new year, the Rev. and Mrs. Elmo Acton came from Glenview and visited our Society in mid-January. Mr. Acton was the speaker at our Swedenborg's birthday celebration, which was held jointly with the Convention Society. His address dealt with Swedenborg's development as a philosopher and the part that his philosophical training played in his later work as a revelator. In March, Miss Elaine Cooper of Bryn Athyn accepted the invitation of the Women's Guild to address one of its meetings, to which all members of the Society were invited.

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Miss Cooper gave a fascinating and instructive talk on precious gems, complete with slides of her trip to Africa in search of such stones.
     April found Washington the scene of the Sons' international executive meetings. The highlight of these meetings was a banquet, followed by a program of speeches by Mr. Gareth Acton of Pittsburgh, and Mr. Malcolm Gyllenhaal and the Rev. Fred Schnarr of Washington.
     Two third-year theological students visited us during the past year. Mr. Lorentz Soneson conducted a service during the latter part of February; and later in the year he and his wife and family took up residence in the pastor's home while the Schnarrs were on vacation, Mr. Soneson filling the pulpit during the pastor's absence. In May, we had the privilege of a visit from Mr. Kurt Nemitz, who preached a sermon on the subject of self-compulsion. We may consider ourselves fortunate to have had the pleasure of coming to know these two men who have chosen to make the ministry their life's work.
     In June, the Rev. and Mrs. Erik Sandstrom came to Washington from England to visit their daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. George Cooper. Their visit coincided with our banquet on June 2, in celebration of New Church Day, and we were privileged to have Mr. Sandstrom address the Society on why the twelve apostles were sent throughout the spiritual world on the day following the completion of True Christian Religion.
     Once again we were happy to welcome the Rev. and Mrs. W. Cairns Henderson, who came from Bryn Athyn in September while our pastor was traveling in the South. Mr. Henderson preached an inspiring sermon on the subject of doubt, using as his text the story of Thomas, who said that he would not believe in the Lord's resurrection unless he could touch His wounds.
     Because of the limited amount of space in NEW CHURCH LIFE for such news notes, the above is only a sketchy outline of the many activities that have taken place in the Washington Society during the past year and a half. However, there is more to come. We are presently laying plans for a district assembly during the spring; and even now a committee is at work investigating the possibility of a new church building and! or location to serve our needs better as we continue to expand and improve in the uses we have undertaken. We hope that another report will be forthcoming in the not too distant future.
     GAEL PENDLETON
MIAMI CHURCH DEDICATION 1963

MIAMI CHURCH DEDICATION       MORLEY D. RICH       1963

     An Invitation

     The Miami (Florida) Circle cordially invites the members and friends of the General Church to attend the dedication of its new church building on Saturday, April 13, at 5:00 p.m. The Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Bishop of the General Church, will officiate at the dedication service, which will be followed by a buffet supper and program, and will preach the following morning. Please address all requests for accommodation to Mrs. Vida Schnarr, 1973 1 N.E. 12th Court, Miami 62, who is in charge of housing arrangements.
     MORLEY D. RICH.

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GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS 1963

GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS       STEPHEN PITCAIRN       1963




     Announcements
     The 1963 Annual Corporation Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in the Benade Hall Auditorium, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon, June 15, at 3:30 p.m., D.S.T. Notices will be mailed.
     STEPHEN PITCAIRN,
          Secretary
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1963

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1963

     SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1963-1964

     Eighty-seventh School Year

Sept.     5 Thur.          Faculty Meeting
6 Fri.          Dormitories open
7 Sat.          8:00 a.m. Student workers report to supervisors
3:00 p.m. Opening Exercises
3:30 p.m. Lawn Party
8:00 p.m. President's Reception
     9 Mon.          Registration: Secondary Schools and College
     10 Tues.          Chapel and classes begin in Secondary Schools
College registration
11 Wed.          Chapel and classes begin in College
Oct.     11 Fri.          Charter Day
12 Sat.          Annual Meeting of Corporation
Nov.     27 Wed.          Thanksgiving Recess begins at 12:30 p.m.
Dec.     2     Mon.     School exercises resumed
20 Fri.          Christmas Recess starts at 12:30 p.m.
     
1964

Jan.     6 Mon.          School exercises resumed
20-24          College Semester examinations
27-31          Secondary Schools Semester examinations
               College interim week
Feb.     3 Mon.          Second Semester begins
Mar.     26 Thur.          Spring Recess starts at 12:30 p.m.
Apr.      6 Mon.          School exercises resumed
May      15 Fri.          Joint Meeting of Faculty and Corporation
June     11 Thur.          8:30 p.m. President's Reception
12 Fri.          10:30 a.m. Commencement Exercises

201


MOTHER IN ISRAEL 1963

MOTHER IN ISRAEL       Rev. MARTIN PRYKE       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
May 1963
No. 5
NEW CHURCH LIFE
     "I Deborah arose, a mother in Israel." (Judges 5: 7)

     Joshua had led the sons of Israel across the Jordan, and had led their armies as they conquered the promised land. At last the early prophecies were being fulfilled and the land was divided among the twelve tribes. Yet the conquest had not been complete, and the people continued to be harried by the Canaanites, Hittites, Jebusites, Philistines and others whom they had failed to drive out.
     With the death of Joshua there ceased to be any continuity of rulers over them, and they passed through the unsettled period of the judges when, because of their acts of disobedience to the Lord, they suffered prolonged periods of servitude under the nations left in the land, and under those in surrounding areas. As they suffered these successive punishments, the Lord, when they had learned their lesson and turned to Him again, raised up deliverers, or judges, to set them free from their bondage. The rule, then, was not continuous, but spasmodic; nor did it always affect the whole of the nation, but sometimes only a section of it.

     Among these judges or deliverers were such diverse men as Gideon, Jephthah and Samson, but perhaps the most remarkable of all was the woman judge, Deborah. The sons of Israel had come under servitude to Jabin, king of Canaan, who dwelt in the far north of the land. For twenty years he oppressed them and held them under control by his powerful army, which included nine hundred chariots of iron. In their distress the Israelites turned to a prophetess, Deborah, who dwelt in Mount Ephraim. She called upon one Barak to gather an army out of the northern tribes and to go out and fight against the chariots of Jabin which were under Sisera his captain.

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This Barak would do only if Deborah agreed to accompany them, and so, he felt, assure the blessing of Jehovah upon their venture and thus make certain their victory. Deborah concurred, but with the warning that such a plan would bring no honor upon Barak, for Sisera would fall to a woman. Such was indeed the case; for as Sisera was put to flight by the victorious hosts of Jehovah, he took refuge in the tent of Jael, the wife of a Kenite, who slew him as he slept. With their captain dead, the Canaanites were lost, and the Israelites were set free from their bondage.
     It was in her song of thanksgiving for this victory that Deborah, after describing the fallen and miserable lot of Israel under the Canaanites, said: "I Deborah arose, I arose a mother in Israel." She arose, an instrument of the Lord, to deliver Israel from its desolation. We are taught that this story of deliverance represents the "resuscitation of a spiritual church,"* and, more specifically, the restitution of the truth of the church after its perversion.** Thus the song of Deborah and Barak "treats of the combat of truth against falsity, and of its victory."***
     * AC 3391: 3.
     ** AC 8753; AE 652: 6.
     *** AE 355: 33; cf. 422: 18.
     Deborah arose, a "mother in Israel." What an arresting story this is, and what a proud title-a "mother in Israel"! It opens up a host of thoughts in our minds concerning the vital part played by the wife and mother, by the whole of womankind, in the perfecting of the church.

     How remarkable it is that, in the providence of the Lord, this story of women who performed such unwomanly deeds may yet bring to our attention the essential feminine uses of women in the establishment of the church! Deborah, a prophetess and judge or deliverer; Jael, a slayer of men! Deborah a "mother in Israel"; Deborah and Jael deliverers of the church. Thus did the crude and often disorderly incidents of Israelitish history serve to clothe spiritual truth. Certainly for us, womankind is to be regarded as the "mother in Israel" and not as the deliverer and slayer, except it be the deliverer from, and slayer of, the spiritual enemies of the church.
     Perhaps one of the most valuable and powerful areas of instruction given in the Writings is that concerned with the nature of the sexes, the distinctions between them and their proper functions. This is seen by us against the superficial and even sordid background of today's theorizing and self-conscious posing on the subject. The waters of truth are indeed both cleansing and refreshing!
     The male love is a love of growing wise; so a man is characterized by a rational wisdom which "consists in perceiving from the understanding."* These things appear in his manner, for, above all things, a man wishes to appear to be logical and rational and to be unmoved by mere sentiment.

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He applies himself to those areas of human activity which involve the intellect or reason, both in business and in public affairs, where logic is of more importance than sentiment and facts hold supreme sway. The aggressiveness and harshness of such a spiritual form is evident even in his physical appearance. The danger for a man is that his love of growing wise may deteriorate into a love of wisdom itself and so into a selfish love of his own intelligence. A protection against this danger is providentially given man, for this love of his wisdom has been given to woman, who longs to conjoin herself with the wisdom of man and devote herself to applying that wisdom to use. Thus the man who loves his wife and offers to her his wisdom, not from pride or conceit, but from a desire to see that wisdom used, is spared from falling into the love of self-intelligence. By his love of his wife and her uses he is purged of his self-love and led to look, with her, to the love of the neighbor and the Lord.
     * CL 168.
     A woman, then, is passive in nature, receptive and reciprocal. This does not denote weakness or ineffectiveness, but it is far removed from the aggressiveness of the male. Her love is to receive from the male, so that she may put to use for God and man those things in him which she loves and admires. She takes the wisdom which he has acquired and applies it to her vital uses in the home as she establishes the sphere of that home, as she raises her children, and as she makes her contribution to the work of the church. She performs these deeds of application in the same way that she does so physically when she receives the seed of the father to clothe it and bring it to fruition, or as she does so materially when she takes and uses the just rewards of her husband's labor to clothe and feed and protect the material life of all in the home. Her delight is in these things: to turn what may at first appear to be crude and cold and dormant into something vital and beautiful and full of glory which comes with a dedication to use.
     The effect of all this upon the man is beyond description. He is not only saved from the lot of the miser who gloats upon his possessions-be they knowledges or worldly wealth-but he is inspired with love as he sees the proper application of these things which the Lord has given him. His self-pride crumbles as he watches those dead things which he had regarded as being of importance in themselves transformed into living uses, and thus sees man served and God glorified.
     The Writings tell us that the woman's wisdom "consists in perceiving from love," as compared to the man's, which consists in "perceiving from wisdom."* This we know well from our own experience of women's intuition, which, because it is from love, is often more perceptive, more understanding and quicker than that of men.

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Woman looks from use, and not merely from cold logic. In this way she modifies the didactic, uncompromising approach of man; even as the man, from his wisdom, gives proper direction to the woman's affection. This becomes evident in many fields: in the handling of children, in the problems of human relationship, in the daily life of the church. Where is man not softened and his knowledge not made more fruitful by the influence of woman?
     * CL 168.
     Is not the feminine form reflected also in woman's manners and physical appearance? She is gentle and moderating in her influence; she is the peacemaker; and so she is the possessor of physical beauty, and she delights the eye of man as her tenderness warms his heart.

     In the light of such teaching do not the present day theories and disputes concerning the nature of the sexes and the uses proper to each look like what they are-clumsy fumblings for solutions which are based upon mere appearances and poor human reasoning rather than upon the clear truths of Divine revelation? An understanding of the real nature of the distinctive spiritual qualities of both sexes, of the difference between the male and the female mind, cannot leave us in any doubt concerning there being a similar distinction between the uses, functions and duties proper to each sex, for the form of the mind inevitably dictates the form of use that can be performed. The Writings set this forth plainly: "There are duties proper to the man, and duties proper to the wife, and the wife cannot enter into the duties proper to the man, nor the man into the duties proper to the wife, and perform them rightly."* Later we read: "In the duties proper to men, the understanding, thought and wisdom play the leading part; whereas in the duties proper to wives the will, affection and love play the leading part . . . wherefore their duties are diverse from their very nature."**
     * CL 174.
     ** CL 175.
     It has been believed that, if trained from early childhood, a woman could enter fully into the uses of a man, but we are taught that this is not really so. She could learn to carry out these uses, but she would never acquire the masculine judgment that should accompany them. For that she is dependent upon men; she will turn to the counsels of men, and select from them according to her own love.* Equally, men cannot enter into the illustration of feminine uses.
     * CL 175.
     Thus we are warned against an exchange of uses between the sexes, against a confusion between their natures and functions, and so against blurring the line which distinguishes them; for without such distinctions there cannot be marriage and conjugial love, and without these the very purposes of God are frustrated.

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This was meant by the ancient statute of the Israelites: "The woman shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are abomination unto the Lord thy God."*
     * Deuteronomy 22: 5. Cf. CL 175; AE 555: 1113.
     There is, of course, a proper conjoining of the distinct uses of the sexes, and so there is a sense in which women enter into men's uses and men into women's uses. The woman enters into the uses of man as she supports them, as she gives him her affectionate interest and confidence. How many men have freely admitted the great part that their wives have played in the proper performance of their masculine uses! This includes the gentle tempering of his judgment and the loving enthusiasm which prompts him to undertake new uses and to persist patiently in those already begun.

     Thus the old-fashioned and much discredited adage that a woman's place is in the home does indeed embody the essential truth. It is in the home that womanly duties properly lie; and the fact that our highly complex society denies this to so many women-especially to those unmarried-does not deny the real fact. The day will come, we know, when a perception of these truths on the part of a large section of society will bring about a radical change in our sense of values and in our practices; and then our womanhood will be spared the inappropriate drudgery of a masculine world, and will be restored to proper uses in the home, where woman may freely express her innate nature in receiving and using the gifts which reach her from the Lord through man.
     There are, of course, certain extensions of the uses of the home which remain proper fields for the exercise of womanly gifts and womanly perception. We think especially of the education of children and the care of the sick; for these are uses which begin in the home, but which, as they become more advanced and specialized, must go outside of it to draw upon the skills of those who have devoted their lives to these vital fields and thus are gifted with illustration in them. Women are invaluable here. The education of young children and of girls, for example, is properly the function of the mother in the home, as the Writings teach, and so of women in our schools. It is also to be noted that the sharing of the educational use with women is of inestimable value to men, as their masculine attitude is well moderated by the influence of women who are also active in the work.
     * CL 176.
     Our thoughts at this time, however, are directed especially to the "mother in Israel"-to the function of women in the church.

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The home, of course, is the essential unit of the church, as it is of society; so every feminine use performed rightly in the home will support and upbuild the church. The task of preserving the church in the home will always fall principally upon the mother, for it is she who becomes its center and establishes its sphere. It is her loving regard for the truths of the church, for the application of them in the life of the home and in the individual lives of the parents and of each child, which will make that home a church in least form. The extensions of the home in the church organization or the school cannot fulfill their functions beyond the degree of preparation that the home achieves, and so the church is indeed dependent upon its homes and the mothers in them.
     The women of the church will extend their uses to it beyond these immediate borders. Thus we find that they assume responsibility for the domestic uses of the church itself; they contribute to the vital use of worship in those areas which are properly feminine; they support and encourage all the activities of the church; and, perhaps above all, they support and encourage the men of the church in their search for truth. And it is to be noted that these uses are by no means confined to those who are wives. Those as yet unmarried prepare for eventual marriage in heaven by entering into feminine uses on earth; thus preserving and developing their true femininity, which is their most precious possession.
     What is there left for men to do but to acknowledge with full and grateful hearts the blessings received through womankind, and to determine to do their part in providing for them those things which they need for these uses?-searching the Scriptures that they may find the truths of life, and pass them on to those whose nature and delight it is to apply such truths for the building of the Lord's kingdom. Thus will the church be delivered from its spiritual enemies, and be renewed and resuscitated, even as when Deborah arose, "a mother in Israel." Amen.

LESSONS:     Judges 4:1-24. Mark 10: 2-16. Conjugial Love, 32, 33.
MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 484, 510, 571.
PRAYER:     Liturgy, no. 50.
MERCY AND PUNISHMENT 1963

MERCY AND PUNISHMENT              1963

     "All the punishments of the evil arise from the mercy of the Lord toward the good, lest these should be harmed by the evil; yet the Lord does not impose the punishments on them, but they do so upon themselves, for in the other life evils and punishments are conjoined" (AC 6997: 5).

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DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH 1963

DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

3. HOW THE DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH MAY BE LOST, AND MUST THEN BE RESTORED BY A NEW DIVINE REVELATION

     Since the Word cannot be understood without doctrine, every church must make doctrine for itself, in the light of which it reads and understands the Word. Churches, therefore, are distinguished from one another by their doctrines, and by the rituals and modes of life to which their doctrines give rise. "By means of doctrine," we read, "the Word is understood, and is like a lampstand with a lighted lamp. The man then sees more things than he had seen before, and also understands those things which before he had not understood. Dark and contradictory things he either does not see and passes over, or sees and interprets them so that they agree with the doctrine. The experience of the Christian world attests that the Word is seen from doctrine, and is also interpreted according to it. All the Reformed see and interpret the Word from and according to their own doctrine; so do the Papists, from and according to theirs; and even the Jews do so, from and according to theirs. Thus from a false doctrine all see falsities, and from a true doctrine truths."*
     * SS 54
     In the beginning of every church, because men are in the love of truth for the sake of life, and therefore think from the light of that love, which is the light of heaven, they are gifted with illustration by the Lord, and the doctrine they draw from the Word is genuine. They are in charity and mutual love, in innocence, or willingness to be led and taught by the Lord. For this reason they can be led, as it were spontaneously, to recognize the truth of those parts of the Word in which the real meaning, the internal sense, is plainly and openly stated. From these passages they derive genuine doctrine.
     This state is what is meant in the Apocalypse by the "first love."* It is a state compared to that of early morning, when the earth is refreshed by dew. It is also compared to the honeymoon, or the first state of marriage. It is, however, a state that does not last, and one to which there must be a constant endeavor to return.

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Wherefore the Lord says: "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent."** By this is meant that illustration, without which genuine doctrine cannot be discovered, will be withdrawn lest the Word be profaned. This "first love" is a borrowed state. It is a state of love which is insinuated by the Lord by means of remains. Man has not yet made it his own; nor can it be made man's own without conflict and temptation because of the tendencies to evil into which every one is born. Man feels with delight the loves of self and of the world, and these are directly contrary to charity and mutual love. Man must choose between these two opposites, and his real character will be determined by his choice. The "first love," therefore, is as yet only an ideal, seen in the imagination but not yet made actual. It is vague, general and impractical, because of lack of knowledge as to how it may be applied to actual conditions of man's life. Those who are in it are like children who leap at once to a desired end without perceiving the obstacles that stand in the way of actual achievement. Consequently, they are doomed to disappointment unless they learn how to apply the truth to the actual conditions that confront them.
     * Revelation 2: 4.
     ** Revelation 2: 5.

     As the church advances, the primal innocence of its "first love" recedes, even as it does with little children as they grow older. The simple and affectional acceptance of what the Lord says is found to be inadequate in the light of increasing knowledge and experience. If the first state of charity and mutual love could be retained as the source of spiritual light from which to think, the mind could be held in the perception of genuine doctrine. The church would then grow progressively in spiritual intelligence and wisdom. But as the proprium becomes more active, innocence recedes, and men are less willing to be led by the Lord. They insist upon thinking from themselves, from their own intelligence. They begin to invent solutions to the problems that bother them, and so fall into error. They begin to produce man-made doctrines, according to which they interpret the Word.
     This recession from the "first love" is the natural tendency of every church; and we of the New Church are by no means exempt from it. In the Jewish Church, in the process of time, the scribes and doctors of the law produced human doctrines, by which the Old Testament was to be interpreted. They set forth minute instructions as to how the statutes and the judgments of the Mosaic code were to be applied. They set forth in detail how the Sabbath was to be kept, how prescribed cleansings were to be observed, how a wife might be put away; in fact, they imposed upon the people a host of ritualistic requirements not specifically mentioned in the Word.

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Because of this they were said, by the Lord, to "bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders."* These man-made doctrines so obscured the plain teachings of the Old Testament that the Lord said of those who had invented them: "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition."** During His life in the world, the Lord sought to lead His disciples away from these misinterpretations, and back to the doctrine of genuine truth. By doing this He incurred the wrath of the scribes and Pharisees, who accused Him of violating the law of Moses.
     * Matthew 23: 4.
     ** Matthew 15: 6.

     It is well known that a similar thing came to pass in the Christian Church. In process of time, the first childlike faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God was brought into question because no one really understood how this could be so. The heresy of Arius arose, and threatened to divide the church. He openly attacked and denied the Divinity of Jesus Christ, proclaiming Him to have been the son of Joseph, in direct contradiction to the plain teaching of the Gospels. The Council of Nice was called to combat this heresy, and there, in order to defend the Divine origin and nature of Jesus Christ, the doctrine of three persons in God was invented and confirmed by appearances in the letter of the Word. Other heresies followed, and had to be met: and from the tripersonal doctrine, as from a hook, a long chain of doctrines was hung, including the doctrine of atonement by the blood of the cross; the doctrine that the Pope is the vicar of Christ, and holds the keys of heaven and of hell; the doctrine proclaiming that the tradition of the church is of equal Divine authority with the Word; and the doctrine that by prayer one may secure the intercession of Mary and of the saints to bring about one's release from purgatory, and many others. Some of these doctrines were rejected by the Protestant churches when they separated from the Catholics. Some, however, were retained, and other distinguishing doctrines were added. Thus arose the doctrine of salvation by faith alone, and the classification of certain external acts as sins, such as the drinking of alcoholic beverages, dancing, card playing, attending theatres, etc. These prohibitions were made matters of conscience, and were emphasized as the essentials of a religious life. The emphasis upon the external acts tended to obscure the plain teaching of the Word as to the spirit behind the acts, which could render them either harmless or evil. It tended to obscure the fact that these requirements could be observed externally without cleansing the heart of pride, or self-merit, or contempt of others, which are the real evils condemned in the Word.

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     As such made-made doctrines were multiplied, and stressed as essential, they tended more and more to detract from the importance of those parts of the Word which are bare. The tendency was to direct attention away from these, and to obscure their importance. They were either passed over without reflections or were explained in accord with the accepted doctrine. Every sect placed great stress upon its own doctrines, and tended to regard these as the only Divine teaching that could lead to salvation. So many diverse, and often contradictory doctrines, all claiming to be Divine and all based on literal appearances in the Sacred Scripture, tended to raise doubts as to the reliability of any doctrine. They tended to undermine confidence in the teaching of the Word, and to call into question the very existence of any Divine doctrine.

     That is why, in more recent times, there has been noted a widespread reaction against the idea that doctrine is essential to the life of religion. The emphasis has been more and more on a good moral life, without reference to theology, because many have come to deplore the spirit of antagonism, of mutual condemnation, and the utter lack of charity to which the stress upon sectarian doctrines has led. There has been a growing effort to reverse the process whereby Christianity has been split into innumerable warring sects. Men have pleaded for harmony and co-operation in the achievement of common objectives. They have sought to emphasize the things which differing sects hold in common, while ignoring or making little of the things that divide them. In response to this desire for unity, church bodies long divided have been merged into larger units, forgetting their differences and agreeing to work together. The movement for such co-operation has steadily grown until quite recently many have proclaimed as their ultimate goal one universal Christian Church, a single religious brotherhood of all who confess their belief in Jesus Christ.
     All must surely agree that the elimination of religious bigotry, and the spirit of hatred, antagonism and ill-will to which it gives rise, and the cultivation instead of a spirit of charity, toleration and mutual respect, is indeed a consummation devoutly to be wished. But we would ask, How can men actually achieve the goal of true charity and mutual love which is so ardently desired? Can it be done by decrying not only human dogmas, the confusing and mutually contradictory teachings of men, but at the same time by ignoring the teaching of the Word and rejecting what the Lord says? Surely, if there is a God, if He can communicate His will to men, if there is such a thing as Divine revelation which man is given the ability to understand, then surely that Divine teaching is the most precious gift of God to men, and the most vital need of man's spiritual life.

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     The direct and open teaching of the Word, which is the doctrine of genuine truth, is nothing but the way ordained of God whereby men may learn how to love God truly, how to love one another truly, and how to work together in mutual charity, in good will, and in genuine peace. This doctrine of genuine truth is revealed by the Lord because it cannot be discovered by any man. Only the Lord is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it." Only the Lord can establish His kingdom in the hearts of men, and to that end He has given His Word. That is why the answer to the crying problem of religion, in our time, is not to be found in a social gospel that looks only to external harmony and co-operation without inquiring of the Lord, without searching the Word for the doctrine of genuine truth. Because that doctrine has been lost, covered over, and buried under the debris of centuries of human error and misinterpretation, it has been necessary for the Lord to reveal that doctrine anew as the only basis and foundation on which a new church may be established.
     At our next class we shall endeavor to show how, in spite of the loss of the doctrine of genuine truth, and in spite of the mistaken doctrines which are deeply impressed upon the conscience of each generation from earliest childhood, the Lord, in His mercy, has provided that all men in every religion may be saved who retain a simple faith and a spirit of innocence which make them willing to be taught and led by the Lord. And we shall devote our final class to the question of how the doctrine of genuine truth may be drawn from the Writings, and how, in increasing measure, it may be uncovered also in the Old and New Testaments when these are read in the light of the Heavenly Doctrine.
BRITISH SUMMER SCHOOL 1963

BRITISH SUMMER SCHOOL              1963

     The Fifth British Academy Summer School will be held in the Shirley House School, Langley Road, Watford, Herts., England, from Sunday, July 28, to Saturday, August 10, 1963. Young people, fourteen years of age and older are invited to attend. As in previous years, there will be lectures in the morning, and sports, recreation, discussion, etc. in the afternoon and evening.
     The school is twenty miles north of London. Charge for full board and tuition: under eighteen, $18.00 for the two weeks; eighteen and over, $21.00 for the two weeks.
     Write to the Rev. F. S. Rose, Headmaster, 185 Maldon Road, Colchester, Essex, England.

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RESIST NOT EVIL 1963

RESIST NOT EVIL       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1963

     The saying in the Sermon on the Mount that we should resist not evil, that we should turn the other cheek and give our cloak to him who takes our coat, is noted as one of the distinctive features of Christian teaching. When the Lord gave this teaching it must have astonished His hearers. It was calling them to a way of life utterly different from the life that was natural to them.
     We are not to make a literal application of this teaching. "Who is bound by Christian love to turn the left cheek to him who smites the right, or to give the cloak to him who would take away the coat? In a word, who is there to whom it is not allowable to resist evil? But as all things that the Lord said were in themselves Divine-celestial, it can be seen that these words contain a heavenly sense."*
     * AE 556: 8.

     We shall not linger on what this saying does not mean, but rather consider what it does mean, for it contains a vital principle that can be applied to daily life. The Lord is indeed calling us to a distinctive principle of life.
     In explaining the internal sense of these words, the Writings show that as long as we are in good we are entirely protected as to our spiritual life from the evil. "The reason evil ought not to be resisted is that evil does no harm to those who are in truth and good, for they are protected by the Lord."* A good man may be in evil company, and he may be persecuted; but as far as his spiritual life is concerned, he cannot be harmed as long as he is in good. He is in no danger of losing anything, or of being harmed, unless he permits a spirit of retaliation to burst forth. The spirit of vengeance is the kind of resistance that we are not to allow in ourselves.
     When a crime is committed we are not to respond in a spirit of vengeance, and this applies to us even if our occupation is to bring a man to answer to the law. This can be done with perfect efficiency with nothing of a feeling of revenge, or it can be done from the fire of hatred and a delight in retaliation. Perhaps a better example is to be found in the case of our own children. If they do wrong it is often our responsibility to punish them, but we are to restrain anything of the heat of anger that may be evoked.

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     * AE 556: 8.
     The remarkable thing is this: when we are wronged we are really harmed only to the degree that we react in hatred and anger. If we do not so react we are not harmed. "The evil can take away nothing of good and truth from the angels, but they can from those who on that account burn with enmity, hatred and revenge, for these avert and repel protection by the Lord."*
     * AE 556: 9.
     Suppose that you are aware of evil in one of your associates. Suppose that you are wronged. If the reaction of your heart is one of charity and forgiveness, that evil will do you no harm. "Internal men, as the angels of heaven are, do not wish the retaliation of evil for evil, for from heavenly charity they forgive freely; for they know that the Lord protects according to the good with them, and that He would not protect if on account of the evil done to them they should burn with enmity, hatred and revenge, for these drive away protection."*
     * AC 9049: 6.
     How often are we irritated by things in others! We allow ourselves to become exasperated and upset. We often say that a certain person infuriates us, or that certain things done arouse our anger. We should stop to consider in these situations that the way in which we react is a real responsibility. We cannot change another person. The person may do things that we do not like. We cannot begin to judge what are the internal motives behind his evil actions, but we can be aware that we put ourselves in danger by reacting in a heated way and driving away heavenly protection.

     Perhaps the simplest way to illustrate this point is to ask you to think of another person calling you names or saying abusive things to you. The abuse cannot hurt you in the least, but if you allow yourself to become angry you may indeed be harmed. In a word, evil from others can in no way harm you unless you allow something of evil to be evoked in yourself.
     It is well, then, for us to reflect that when we become upset, or when we are terribly irritated, it is not to be simply attributed to the actions of others. We do not have to get upset or irritated. We do have responsibility in this regard.
     The principle embodied in the Lord's injunction to resist not evil is especially useful to us in understanding our task in the life of regeneration. We know that the essential thing of our religion is to shun evil, but what phrase could be more vague in our minds? When shall we shun evil? On what occasion is this phrase to become a practical reality with us? As a simple example on the external plane let us consider the evil of stealing. Under what circumstances would a person be shunning this evil actively?

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The answer is that the active shunning would take place when the opportunity to steal presented itself and the desire to steal welled up in his heart. On those occasions where there is no opportunity, and when no desire is felt, then there is no active shunning of evil.
     If we would like to shun evils, then we will be intensely interested in knowing just what this involves. What will be the situation in which we shall shun evil? In what circumstances in our daily lives will we shun evil, and what form will the shunning take?
     An answer to this which, as we shall see, is remarkably inclusive, is that the occasion for us to shun evil is when someone else does something wrong. When someone else does something wrong, then we have a situation for shunning evil. For it is then that a spirit of contempt will well up within us. It is then that we will be tempted to judge against the Lord's command. It is then that we will be tempted to entertain feelings of revenge which the Lord has forbidden. It is then that we will find ourselves speaking against others. We all know that it is wrong to speak ill of others; we know that we should not do it. If we are going to try to shun it, as we know we should, the occasion for such shunning will come whenever someone else does something wrong.

     See if the following description does not fit yourself. You honestly do not feel any ill-will towards others. Your intentions are to do right in all things. You feel free from any motives of hatred and from any vengeful intentions. You are aware that the Writings say that all of us have evils. You acknowledge this as true in a way, but you are not aware of any evils in yourself. The Writings actually say that every one of us by heredity has within us hatred of the neighbor,* and that hatred is called a kind of burning. You would not presume to contradict what the Writings say, but you sincerely do not feel any burning of hatred or anything of enmity. You have your own life, and you do not burn against others.
     * AE 106: 2.
     But if someone does something that shocks you or offends you is the situation not changed? Do you not then experience some very strong feelings? Is your mind not full of what the other person has said or done, and do you not find that a flood of words comes to your tongue? Are not old enmities fanned into a flame which robs you of peace of mind?
     If this ever does happen to you it can be a time of decision. You have certain choices. You can let the floodgates of feeling go unchecked. You can fix your attention only on the evil that another person has done, and pay no attention to the emotions and thoughts evoked in yourself; or you can recognize this as the time to shun evil. This is the opportunity, for something usually quiescent in you has come forth, and we know that evils are permitted to come forth so that we may shun them.*

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     * DP 251.
     Now notice this. There are certain times when evil spirits are given the opportunity to do evil. There are occasions when they are allowed to harm others.* These occasions are when someone has done wrong, and they are allowed to punish. We know that when evil is committed, punishments must come for the sake of restraint. In the other life these punishments never come from the Lord, or from the angels, but from evil spirits.** The function to which those in hell are turned is that of punishing, and we are told that they take the greatest delight in punishing and tormenting. "It is their highest gratification."*** Of course, evil spirits communicate this infernal delight to us whenever we are provoked to vengeance, whenever we try to pay another person back by deed or by saying something about him.
     * AC 82232: 2.
     ** AC 245.
     *** AC 391.

     A key point to notice here is that there are occasions when the evil spirits are allowed to punish. It is permitted; and from our own nature in certain situations we consider the spirit of punishment and retaliation quite justifiable. We know better than to go around speaking against others all the time; but when another person has done us wrong, we think to ourselves: Who can blame us for speaking against them? Also, if someone does something evil, this would seem to us to be a situation in which we may hold him in contempt.
     This is natural. This is the way of the world. The Lord's words to His church, however, are: "I say unto you, that ye resist not evil." It is a distinctive concept. We may even try to argue against it. We think back on the times when we have retaliated against others, and we say that it was a good thing we did. Our retaliation, and even our vengeful feelings, were turned to good purpose-but so are those of the evil spirits in hell! To insist on our right to pay back evil for evil and to punish is really to insist on a place in hell. Those in hell do strike and punish, but those in heaven have recognized the spirit of retaliation as wrong and have shunned it. It is this heavenly life that becomes our goal as we hear the Lord's Word, and as we forgive those who trespass against us.
     This principle of living covers situations which we face constantly. It is not only the occasion of another person doing some wrong action that is involved; it applies also to the evils, the faults and shortcomings of others. We are living with people, and none of them are perfect. Those closest to us have shortcomings and evils. We are subject to the tendency to brood on those faults and shortcomings, to smolder inside against them, to react against them. But the Lord says: "Resist not evil." Bless them that curse you. Do good to those who persecute you.

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     This is certainly not an easy thing that is asked of us. It is a hard thing to take on, because it is something that applies today and next week and throughout our lives. It is not one of those religious phrases which have no bearing on our lives and efforts.
     Let us be careful of wishfully thinking of what a good Christian life we could live, if only we were living with different people! In our imagination we sometimes tend to think that we could live a full Christian life, if only we were living with people who never irritated us or ruffled us or offended us. Yet this is not so. Such an imagined environment might indeed allow us to have an easy life and one of little effort, but the Christian life is a life of shunning evil. Is not the shunning of evils as sins the Christian religion itself? The Lord has put us into this world for a purpose. Could we fulfill that purpose if we never had occasion to resist evil in ourselves? What benefit or reward would there be in such a life? "If ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others?" "If ye love them which love you, what reward have ye?"
     The Lord wills for us eternal happiness, and that is why He calls us to a truly Christian life. Finally, let us note that in the distinctive life to which the Lord calls us there is real protection and safety. If we follow the Lord there is no threat that can harm us, and there is nothing good that can be taken away from us. The Lord leads us even through the valley of shadow. He prepares a table for us, even in the presence of our enemies. We need fear no evil; and we may choose the path of goodness and mercy, and dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1963

     The Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner will retire as Dean of the Academy of the New Church Theological School on June 15, 1963.
     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson has been appointed to succeed Dr. Odhner as Dean of the Theological School, effective June 15, 1963. He will continue to serve the General Church as Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom has accepted an invitation to join the Faculty of the Academy of the New Church as a Professor of Theology and Religion, effective September 1,1963.
     The Rev. Frank S. Rose, Acting Pastor of the Colchester Society, was chosen as Pastor of that Society at a meeting on February 25, 1963.
     The Rev. Donald L. Rose, Minister of the Hurstville Society, Australia, has accepted a call to the pastorate of Michael Church, London, England, effective September 1, 1963.

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THOMAS, WHICH IS CALLED DIDYMUS 1963

THOMAS, WHICH IS CALLED DIDYMUS       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1963

     A STUDY

     History has been less than kind to Thomas. Unlike some of his fellow disciples, who are referred to only where the twelve are listed, he is mentioned four times in the gospel. Yet he is remembered mainly, if not entirely, for the one incident which has given his name to all skeptics and doubters.
     This is neither fair nor of help in seeking to understand his representation. If we were to concentrate solely on the figure of doubting Thomas, we might simply conclude that he represents the sensual man who denies the existence of all that he cannot see and touch bodily, and there the matter would rest. But Thomas was one of the twelve disciples, called to be an apostle! As such, he represents some essential of the church, a specific truth from the Lord of that faith which exists with those only who are in love and charity. In a concrete sense he represents a certain class of people who are being led and taught by the Lord, and not by themselves; men and women who worship the Lord and live according to His Word, and therefore are in some spiritual things of the church.* If we are to be able to see what it is that Thomas really represents, then, it is evident that we must view the entire record, such as it is.
     * See AC 6756: 3, 9942: 12, 10490: 7, AR 779e, 325: 3.

     What kind of man was Thomas? Normally we are not interested in the personalities of the Word, but in the Divine and spiritual things represented by them. In this instance, however, the question is legitimate, for we are taught that the Lord chose as His disciples men who should resemble the things which they were to represent.* It was indeed Thomas who declared that he would not believe in the Lord's resurrection unless he could see and touch the wounds inflicted on His body.** Yet, on an earlier occasion, when the Lord had announced His intention of going to Lazarus in Judea, where the Jewish authorities had determined upon His death, it was Thomas who said to the other disciples: "Let us also go, that we may die with Him."*** In the upper room, during the discourse after the supper, it was Thomas who interrupted to protest: "Lord, we know not whither Thou goest; and how can we know the way?"**** And when, after appearing in Jerusalem, the Lord showed Himself to seven of His disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, Thomas was of that company.*****
     * SD 1217.
     ** John 2O: 25.
     *** John 11: 16.
     **** John 14: 5.
     ***** John 21: 1, 2.

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     That is the entire record, and in the absence of any direct teaching in the Writings as to the representation of Thomas, we may ask: To what does it lead? Without allowing the imagination to draw a complete character from four incidents, we may yet note what seems to be clearly evidenced in those incidents themselves. Thomas was apparently one of those who loved the Lord; and if pessimism led him to expect the worst, he yet expressed loyalty and a courage that made him steadfast in danger. If, in the upper room, he revealed spiritual limitations, he yet showed a certain dogged honesty-an unwillingness to pass over in silence what he did not know or to pretend to an understanding he did not possess; and his inspired question evoked from the Lord the immortal answer: "I am the way, the truth, and the life."* The conditions on which alone he would accept the Lord's resurrection did not imply an unwillingness to believe, but rather the opposite; and they imply also, what is easily overlooked, insistence upon seeing the truth for himself rather than accepting it on the testimony of his colleagues and friends, even though he did require external evidence. Furthermore, it is not recorded that Thomas did touch the wounds. The invitation to do so was sufficient, and wrung from him the most comprehensive acknowledgment of the Lord recorded in the Gospels: "My Lord and my God."** Finally, the incident at the Sea of Tiberias shows Thomas, despite his earlier difficulties, still of the company of the apostles.
     * John 20: 28.
     ** John 20: 28.

     To what essential of the church may we see resemblances here? It is significant that the four incidents in which Thomas is mentioned are all recorded in the Gospel of John, and in that gospel only; for John is the celestial gospel, the gospel of love. It is significant also that the events with which they are connected have to do, in the internal sense, with the raising up of a new church, the union of the Divine Human with the Divine itself, and the appearing of the Divine Human after the resurrection. And although the representation of Thomas is not given directly, his name yields an important indication. For Thomas is the Hebrew, as Didymus is the Greek, for a twin, and a twin, as half of a double childbirth, represents an acknowledgment of the Lord and of good and truth, but one that is incomplete.* This is sensual faith, a faith in the Lord, indeed, but separated from an internal acknowledgment of truth and therefore not yet spiritual; and it is the faith, we believe, which is represented by "Thomas, which is called Didymus."
     * AC 3299, 4918.

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     This representation must be clearly distinguished. Thomas does not simply represent the sensual man; for the sensual man denies the existence, even the possibility of the existence, of what he cannot see and touch, weigh and measure, analyze and express in an equation. Religious faith is beyond him, for he does not want to understand that there is anything more interior than nature; and any willingness he may have to believe revealed truth if it is confirmed by sensual and scientific things is nullified by the fact that these do not confirm until revealed truth has been acknowledged as such. What is represented by Thomas, it is suggested, is sensual faith; and although this is neither spiritual nor saving, it is one of the means used by the Lord in preparing man to receive the faith of love, and thus have the church established in him.*
     * HD 45, AE 544: 4.
     The sensual is not evil in itself. It is the Lord's creation, and He provides that faith in Him shall first be established on the evidence of the senses. There is no other way in which faith can begin; for man is such that what he sees and apprehends by his senses he believes, and what he does not so see and apprehend he does not believe. Rational truth is acquired through the knowledges that are insinuated through external and internal things. But if the church is to be established in the mind, the sensual must be called, taught and led by the Lord through the laws of order, so that the man may be raised out of the sensual into a rational faith that is spiritual-into an internal acknowledgment of truth that is based on an internal sight of truth. When this happens, then even sensual faith has been a state of the faith of the church; for with all its imperfections-its doubts, obscurities and difficulties-it has been faith in the Lord as seen, and in no one else, and in the Word as understood, and in nothing else.*
     * AC 5128, 5165.

     Some men remain longer in sensual faith than others, and to some it presents more difficulties than to others. Because this can be more readily understood in the concrete than in the abstract we approach it in that way. Within the sphere of the church there are indubitably those who are troubled by doubts about the Divinity and the authority of the Writings. They believe in the new revelation as it is seen and understood objectively by them; they love the new doctrine of the Lord which they find in it, and to that doctrine they give a steadfast loyalty; they love the sphere and life of the church. But they are not yet able to perceive the Divinity of the Writings. They do not as yet have a subjective vision of the interior truth within the Writings. They do not perceive the Divine Human in the Writings, and they do not really understand how it is that the Lord establishes the church. These men and women are, we believe, in the state that is represented by Thomas.

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     It should be emphasized, however, that this is a state of discipleship-the state of those who are called to be apostles. Those who are in it can be brought to the perception of the Divinity of the Writings by external arguments and reasons, and although this is done in part through men, it is really the work of the Lord. That it can be done at all is because of the nature of the state itself. Although doubt is indicative of limitation and obscurity, it is not necessarily a sign of evil. If there are those who doubt before they deny, there are also those who doubt before they affirm, and there is a world of difference between them. The former put all truth in doubtfulness and find keenness of intellect in a sophisticated skepticism. Their interest is not in truth, but in arguing whether truth exists. The latter want to affirm. They believe in heart in the Lord, and believe in the Word as true because it is from Him, and have doubts only as to how those things are true that they desire to affirm and acknowledge. None can escape such doubts entirely, and some are troubled by them more than others; for the fallacies of the senses must be removed, and much ignorance must be dissipated before doubts can be entirely dispelled. Yet affirmative doubt can be a means by which truth is firmly established and is given wider extension; for the thought, reflection and reasoning to which such doubt gives rise have that effect.*
     * AC 2588, 2718, 23175: 2, 7298: 2, HD 27e.

     For those who are represented by Thomas doubt is inevitable, but it is the kind of doubt that will be followed by affirmation and acknowledgment. They do love the Lord and the church. They have both the willingness and the courage to follow the truth whithersoever it may lead and into whatsoever seeming danger. It is of their state that they do not conceal or minimize their intellectual difficulties, but question the Lord in the Word, never passing over what they do not understand. It is of their state also that they wish to see the truth for themselves, and are not content with acceptance on the testimony of others; even though the tests they propose are still external and objective. It is through persistence in these things that they will eventually be given to see the Lord in the Writings, to see Him willing in His Divinely-human love to accommodate Himself to them; and, so seeing, they will acknowledge Him without reserve as their God and Lord.
     In that acknowledgment there is, potentially, a deep love of truth, of the Lord who is the truth itself, and of the church which is His kingdom of truth on earth. However, it does not and cannot represent their final state. The Lord said to Thomas: "Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."*

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It was only when Thomas, which is called Didymus, came to believe in the Lord interiorly that he received a saving faith; and it is only when those who are represented by him believe because they perceive the Divine Human within the Writings that they receive from the Lord the true blessings of eternal life and happiness.
     * John 20: 29.
     For it is to be noted that in addressing Thomas as He did the Lord was not commending blind faith-a faith entirely separated from truth, and without any internal recognition of it. In Christian practice faith was to become, in effect, belief in the incomprehensible and in the seemingly impossible: a blind acceptance of what is beyond explanation and must not, indeed, be questioned by the intellect, which must be kept under rigid subjection. Whatever can be explained and understood is not deemed worthy of faith, for surely no faith is required to accept that which can be seen? Men have been known to say: "This we can understand; we do not need faith to believe it." Others, when an attempt is made to explain its mysteries, have raised a shocked and indignant cry: "You are taking away our faith!" For if there are no mysteries, how may men believe?
     Evidently it is not this kind of faith in things unseen that makes men blessed, for true blessedness is, as has been mentioned, reception of eternal life and happiness in heaven. The Writings define faith as an internal acknowledgment of truth, that is, an acknowledgment of truth which is based upon interior sight of truth*-upon a rational understanding of its inner meaning and of its application to life which brings a tacit conviction that it is true. So the distinction made in the Lord's words is not between a faith which is based upon spiritual sight of truth and one that is not. It is the distinction between a faith that is founded upon the evidence of the bodily senses and one which has been formed by man's seeing spiritually in the light of truth.
     * F 1-4.

     This distinction becomes clearer when we note that although Thomas confessed Him, the Lord did not say that he was blessed. Instead, the Lord tacitly warned him that his faith was not yet such as would bring him into heaven, and that he must receive a deeper faith before he could enter into the kingdom. Thomas believed because he had seen; and the fact that he saw the Lord with the eyes of the spirit does not change the basic truth that he was convinced by being offered external proof, for spiritual sight is both internal and external. Those whose faith does not rest upon objective sight of the Lord, but upon an interior vision of Him in the Word, are in heaven as to their spirits, for the light in which they see that vision is the light of heaven; and it is in this sense, and in this sense only, that they are blessed "who have not seen, and yet have believed."

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     While this must be said to prevent any possibility of misunderstanding, we would not lose sight of Thomas in all the aspects of character which he shows, or focus attention on him as "doubting Thomas," to the detriment of his other qualities. He was eventually received into heaven with the other apostles, and he was the first of their company to acknowledge the Lord as God after His resurrection. That was then the truth, for the Human which Thomas saw had been united with the Divine; and the very essence of true faith is the acknowledgment that the Lord in His Divine Human is the one God of heaven and earth. Yet while this acknowledgment is the first of faith, it is not enough that it be based, as it is in the beginning, upon a merely objective sight of the Lord in the Word. It is not enough for salvation that it be based merely upon seeing it taught in the Writings that the Lord is the one only God. However, that will serve to initiate into a deeper and more interior acknowledgment, and for those who are represented by Thomas it is a necessary step. They must yet receive a deeper faith than that which rests upon external knowledge. Yet they are capable of receiving it; for that is implicit in the representation of Thomas, which is called Didymus: Thomas, called to be a disciple and an apostle of the Lord.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Enlightenment. When a man who loves truth for its own sake reads the Word for the purpose of understanding truth and doing good, spiritual light inflows from the Lord through heaven into his understanding; casting new light upon the knowledges therein, and enabling him to see truths he did not see before and to acknowledge them from internal conviction. This process is what is meant by enlightenment. Note that enlightenment is not internal revelation. It does not impart new knowledge, but puts the knowledge man has already acquired in a new light and in that way leads him into new truth. (See AC 9424; F. 5; SS 57.)

     Equilibrium. If two forces exert opposite and equal pressures upon a third thing, each cancels the other; and the third, if endowed with the power of action, is free to yield to one or the other as it chooses. Therefore it is said to be in equilibrium. As used in the Writings, the term refers to man's state as being so placed between heaven and hell, and also to the equal balance between heaven and hell which has its plane in the world of spirits. Angels and evil spirits are in the equilibrium they have made their own on earth. (See HH 537, 589, 591.)

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POWER OF PRAYER 1963

POWER OF PRAYER       SYDNEY B. CHILDS       1963

     The entire free world is faced with a crisis so grave that from the viewpoint of human prudence we might despair of all hope for the future. Christian civilization could be wholly destroyed in the span of a few days at the command of one man. Wars have been won by the West, only for the peace to be lost. Like a deadly poison, even prior to the cease-fire that has preceded victory or stalemate, the ingredients of a future holocaust have been laid down. For reasons perhaps discerned only through the revelation made at the Lord's second coming, mankind in this century-as is sadly true of all preceding centuries since the beginning of recorded history-has been subject to the savage cruelty of war.

     In the Heavenly Doctrine we are given the answers to questions relating to all phases of life, including those posed by the hatred of the hells and their seeming power to destroy all men who aspire to good. Only in the New Church can there be given the wisdom to see something of the real meaning of events, and, on occasion, to glimpse the dawn of a new day when, through revealed truth, mankind will receive God. Man will then devoutly acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the only source of life, under whose guidance all men can, if they are willing, be led to eternal happiness in this world and in the life to come. We recall the Lord's words to the disciples after His resurrection: "All power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you all the days, even until the consummation of the age. Amen."*
     * Matthew 28: 18-20.
     Among the gifts of the Lord so bountifully bestowed upon the New Church is included some perception of future events or future probabilities in the affairs of men and nations. In the Writings there is the direct prophecy that the New Church is, and is to be, the crown of all the churches. Thus we may conclude that the world in which the Lord chose to be born, and where exist the Old Testament, the New Testament, and, through the Writings, the internal sense of both Testaments, will not be allowed by the Lord to come to an untimely end.

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     It is well to bear in mind that in the Christian Church and among the gentiles there can be a remnant of truth leading to good of life sufficient to save untold millions of those who look to God and follow His precepts, even where there may be obscure clouds of falsity and, in the case of the gentiles, no direct knowledge of the Lord. Also, in our revelation it is indicated that with the gentiles, in spite of little or no knowledge of the Word, there can be a leading of conscience toward the way of salvation more readily than in the Christian world.

     To return to the present moment and the crisis we now face-almost instant destruction through the deadly peril of a nuclear war. It is obvious that courage, bravery, and, most of all, supplication to the Lord in prayer, are vital. The Lord alone knows the future, and only the Lord can save mankind in this hour of danger. Yet we know that in order to be answered prayer must arise, not from fear, but from a humble approach to the Lord with the petition that He will guard our nation and its allies so that freedom may be preserved on earth.
     It is well to remember that the atrocities which marked the Communist Revolution in Russia have continued behind an ever-extending "iron curtain." The avowed intention of the Kremlin to conquer the world has already been partially and tragically fulfilled in the enslavement of many nations. The men and women of the New Church can pray to the Lord for guidance and Divine protection. Judged on the basis of world population, Soviet Russia and Red China now actually dominate the world. Time is running short! Without the Divine intervention of a merciful God the inhabitants of our world will be totally destroyed. Yet through the instrumentality of men, both good and evil, the Lord can find a way to intervene. His intervention will be through the operations of His Divine Providence.
     To those who have been privileged to know of and believe in the Lord's second coming as the Word of God, there may be extended a unique protection since the future of the Lord's kingdom on earth and in the heavens is at stake. Our prayer is for protection against the ever-darkening shadows of an atheistic tyranny, and for the preservation of some islands of liberty in a world where the godless have already enslaved nation after nation. The conquered satellites have little hope of regaining their liberty, and can gain little of comfort when spoken of by their masters as the "freedom loving people" of whichever country is mentioned by the Kremlin at the time.
     As believers in the Writings as the Word of God, the members of the General Church acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the Creator, Redeemer and Savior of all men born on earth who shun evils as sins against Him and strive to perform uses to the neighbor to the utmost of their ability.

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The Word in the Old and New Testaments has now been illumined by the gift of the Lord in His second coming-the revelation of the internal sense of the Scriptures. This "one Word" is full of prayer from beginning to end for all whose spiritual eyes are open. They are given courage and faith that the prayer of every man who is endeavoring to lead a good life will be answered by the Lord. This is the power of prayer. The Lord taught His disciples to ask anything in His name and assured them that it would be granted. He told them that their faith in His name could move mountains. The mountains the Lord had in mind were the loves of self and the world. These self-same mountains confront every regenerating man today, and they must be moved unless he is to perish eternally.

     Yet we in the New Church must remember that we have no monopoly on the good of life. No good of life is genuine unless it leads a man to heaven after death. It is true that we have untold spiritual riches available to us in the Writings, but Divine truths must be applied to life if man is to regenerate and attain to wisdom. None can be assured of salvation merely because he conforms with the rituals of his church. It is well to realize that salvation is of the Lord, and that it is given to untold millions who each year die in the Christian and gentile worlds. We of the New Church are not alone in the world! The good throughout the world can pray for Divine aid, and they will in some way be answered by the Lord.
     We may hearken to those words of the Lord in which a sublime rule of life was, and is, given to all who believe in Him. "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these."* When we reflect on these words, there need be no fear in our hearts of any calamity in time of peace or in time of war. The Lord, the God of all the universe, will hearken to our prayers and we shall be delivered from our enemies. The New Church will be defended. The power of prayer was taught by our Savior while He was on earth, and, believing, we shall find salvation.
     * Mark 12: 29-31.
     It is clearly stated in the Writings that at this day even the earlier states of regeneration can rarely be attained by man without misfortune, temptation and trial.

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Nearly all men who attempt to enter more deeply into a progression toward eternal life will, as time goes on, meet with one or another burden of trial, after accompanied by physical and mental suffering. It is of wisdom to know that the aim of Providence-nearly always hidden from human observation, at least until after the event-is first, last and always concerned with eternal salvation. To attain salvation the individual must, during his brief sojourn in mortal life, turn to the Lord for help and guidance. The man must pray for Divine aid; and by shunning evil as sin against the Lord he will open the door, so that the Lord can enter into his heart and mind. Regeneration, once begun, is a lifelong journey; and because of the human frailties with which all men are burdened, the man may appear at times to lose ground. Yet in the Lord's sight the man's despair and the apparent calamities in the life of one seeking spiritual rebirth are as nothing. All who look to the Lord and will to be saved are as the children of God and are under His continual protection. They are the handiwork of the Almighty.
     Let such a man only be faithful unto death and a true crown of life, together with eternal happiness, will await him in a heavenly mansion. He will then taste of the waters of the true fountain of youth-a gift of the Lord, the source of all blessing in this world and the next.

     The power of prayer is not a matter for argument for those who have perceived its merciful benediction. Such power is manifest in every instance in which the help of the Lord is sought with humility. The Lord's answer may seemingly be withheld, as the rays of the sun are dimmed or wholly obscured during a storm; but inevitably a Divine answer will come with the beauty and wonder of the rainbow, to obliterate sorrow and despair, sometimes in a few moments of time.
     There is a famous quotation from Shakespeare's Tempest: "Whereof, what's past is prologue; what to come, is your's, and my discharge."* We know that all the past is prologue; the present a breath of life given by God; the unknown future in God's hands, and replete with blessings to all who are leading a good life. When the man who has lived on earth passes away, all his past will be a prologue in the sight of the Lord. May we hope that in the case of every man living on earth today, his prologue on this earth will be after death a book of life leading to heaven and not to hell. Actually we all live in the past, the present and the future. Of life on this earth in contrast with that of heaven there is that beautiful chapter in I Corinthians which concludes: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."**
     * The Tempest. Act II, Scene I.
     ** I Corinthians 13: 12, 13.

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     While we are rightly concerned and anxious when faced with the continual threat of annihilation through nuclear war, we can attain inner serenity of mind through our belief and trust in the all-wise, merciful God. We can always pray to the Lord. An answer will be given. After His resurrection, and just prior to His ascension, the Lord assured His disciples: "Lo, I am with you all the days, even until the consummation of the age."*
     * Matthew 28: 20.
     In seeking to understand the power of prayer, we should give primary thought to the Lord's Prayer. The sublime implications of that prayer are portrayed in the Scriptures both before and after the Lord's advent. In the Writings the interior meaning of the Lord's Prayer is revealed, which serves to illuminate and glorify the Divine compassion of the Lord in His supreme love for the salvation of human souls.
     The following is quoted from the Arcana Coelestia under the subject of "influx."

     "Whenever I have been reading the Lord's Prayer, I have plainly perceived an elevation toward the Lord which was like an attraction, and at the same time my ideas were open, and from this there was effected a communication with some societies in heaven; and I noticed that there was an influx from the Lord into every detail of the prayer, thus into every idea of my thought that was from the meaning of the things in the prayer. The influx was effected with inexpressible variety, that is, not the same at one time and another; hence also it was made evident how infinite are the things contained in the prayer, and that the Lord is present in every one of them."

     One may ask: "What of the New Church?" "What of the General Church of the New Jerusalem?" Our reply is directed to the second of these questions. Any keen observer of world history will readily agree that we face many direful uncertainties, now and in the future. The General Church, so relatively few in numbers, has faced and will continue to face unusually difficult problems of survival. We live very largely in a hostile world, in that we are confronted by the persuasions of large and established churches of the Christian denominations which are steeped in falsifications of truth. We are menaced also by a veritable flood of agnosticism and atheism. Yet we have manifestly a crucial responsibility toward mankind because of our knowledge and acceptance of the Lord in His second coming.
     The General Church, comprised of some 3,000 adult members, is the only organized church on earth which, as a church, acknowledges the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg as a Divine revelation of the internal sense of the Word. Thus we acknowledge the Writings as the Word of God. It is our belief that this church, although pitifully few in numbers, is under a special protection by the Lord.

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It is also our belief that this church, if its members remain loyal to the teachings of the Heavenly Doctrine, will endure forever. Although it is almost wholly unknown to the world, it is now and will continue to be the hope of the world; yea, even of the universe and of the heavens in which men who truly worship the Lord will dwell to eternity in ever-increasing happiness.
Thus, when we are confronted with the threat of calamity-and such threats appear to be a normal expectation in this day and age-we can seek to increase our service to the church in which all of our hopes are centered. We are reminded of a wonderful passage in Ecclesiastes; "There was a little city, and few men within it; and there came a great king against it, and beseiged it, and built great bulwarks against it. Now there was found in it a poor wise man, and he by his wisdom delivered the city; yet no man remembered that same poor man. Then said I, wisdom is better then strength: Nevertheless the poor man's wisdom is despised, and his words are not heard."*
     * Ecclesiastes 9: 14-16.
     The General Church of the New Jerusalem is that "poor wise man" who "by his wisdom delivered the city." May the Lord God Jesus Christ protect our church, now and to eternity!
NEW BOOK 1963

NEW BOOK              1963

     The latest publication issued by the General Church Religion Lessons is a splendid book by the Rev. Robert Schill Junge entitled The Worship, Rituals and Minor Laws of Israel. It is a series of talks for family worship on portions of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. No family that is taking the General Church Religion Lessons should be without it. It makes an excellent companion volume to the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton's book on Genesis, thus completing the study of the first five books of the Word. The cost of the book is $1.00, and it may be purchased from the General Church Book Center, 55 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois, or from your local book room.

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BRYN ATHYN EPSLON SOCIETY 1963

BRYN ATHYN EPSLON SOCIETY       ROBERT H. P. COLE       1963

     Procedures and Recent Activities

     Origin and Purpose

     The Epsilon Society was founded in Bryn Athyn in 1951 by the Rev. Karl R. Alden and a group of theological and college students who wanted to form an organization for spreading the Writings. The group included Robert S. Junge and Frank S. Rose.*
     * See article by Douglas Taylor, NEW CHURCH LIFE, November 1959, pp. 539-547.

     The four original aims of the Society were:
     1) To make the truth known to people and to leave them free to accept or reject it.
     2) To make the General Church known as an organization open to all those who accept the Lord in His second coming.
     3) To gain education and experience in missionary work.
     4) To inspire enthusiasm for missionary work in the people of the church who live in or near Bryn Athyn, and to supply them with copies of the Writings for distribution to interested friends.

     From the time he was first elected to the Board of the Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., in 1951, Mr. Alden has directed much of its publication and colporteur work. He is now chairman of the Colporteur Committee, and an unofficial co-ordinator of all twenty-two Epsilon Societies.*
     * This figure includes all colporteurs licensed by the Foundation.

     Guiding Principles

     The value of careful judgment in our procedures for spreading the Writings cannot be over estimated. In nine years of association with the Epsilon Society I have found that there are three main things which appear to be dominant at Epsilon Society meetings, which are held monthly or bi-monthly. The first is our advertising methods; the second is our approach to various types of minds; the third is regard for human freedom. This last is, in my opinion, the most important of all, and from a fairly recent article in NEW CHURCH LIFE,* it would seem that this is the prevailing opinion also in some of the other Epsilon Societies.*
     * "Freedom and Religion." July 1960, pp. 334-338

     We know that the development of the love which is man's life can take place only in freedom and according to reason.

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Man's real purpose is the performance of use. Therefore the spreading of the Writings should not interfere with use to society. For example, we would not expect a New Church man to jeopardize his usefulness in his occupation in order to spread the Writings, if the decision came to that. Nor would we want to tread heavily on human feelings or on ties with the Old Church, which are often deep and involved.
     On the basis of these views, low pressure but extensive advertising of the Writings, plus careful but thorough follow-up work, seems to be the best policy. The facts appear to show that people actually come into the General Church of their own free will. We have heard it said that most people come in through a friend or through marriage. This is probably true; but we have also heard it said that these people were looking for something, and we believe that there is more to it than this.

     Findings

     The summer before last we made one hundred visits* to some old church friends and to people who had written for copies of the Writings as well as to neighbors and people who might be referred to as street-corner contacts. These last were those of whom we asked directions or the time of day-Mr. Otho W. Heilman has found this procedure quite effective. Some of the conclusions we reached were these. First, when people move to a new neighborhood they nearly always make a break with their old environment and with the external government of the family or local religion. This happens for a short time at least. These people are indeed looking for new truth. Second, not only are their minds in a state of flux, their station in life also is in process of change.
     * One hundred visits a year used to be required of all colporteurs who received $25.00 per month from the Foundation. Visits are still made frequently by Epsilon Society members, but most visits today are made by the Welcome Wagon group. Fifteen hundred cathedral pamphlets have been distributed in the Bryn Athyn area.

     One striking example of this is the fact that we receive many requests for the Writings from the various Levittowns-mass housing projects in the eastern United States and located in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. Picking one second request out of the file, we went in search of the writer. We found the family we were looking for, living in a small trailer on the edge of Levittown, Pennsylvania. Many of our requests come from elderly ladies who have recently lost a husband or other loved ones; yet, according to our study, the only ones who join the church appear to be those who are settled in their jobs but unsettled in religion. Many of these are dissatisfied with what might be called "social-center religion," which in many cases they may seem to get in their churches.

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The strongest pre-requisite to joining the church eventually, as far as Epsilon Society contacts and other individuals are concerned, has been attendance at a New Church service. The only people in this category that we know of who have joined the church in our immediate area did so because they had read the Writings for at least a year, attended more than one service, and visited a doctrinal class or special classes for newcomers.
     Another fruitful area for interesting people in the Writings is that of business associations. This includes women's activities as well as men's. In this area, insurance company associates, educational associates, military friends, fellow nurses or secretaries, and, we would add, civilian government employees, are often quite receptive of New Church doctrines. Before I became a theological student I was for a time a Pennsylvania state employee in Harrisburg. I passed out hundreds of pamphlets and dozens of copies of the Writings to my fellow employees. Many of these people were eager readers, notwithstanding the fact that most of them were Roman Catholics or Lutherans.

     Advertising the Writings

     Finally, we might analyze some of the advertising methods that have been employed. The best results seem to come from the widest impersonal yet direct coverage. We have found in Bryn Athyn that a $70.00 or $80.00* advertisement for Heaven and Hell, written in good taste and carefully placed in the Philadelphia morning Inquirer or evening Bulletin, results in over fifty responses. (Mr. Johan C. Synnestvedt, our treasurer, has been placing our recent advertisements.) However, a philosophical or seasonal advertisement, such as one about human existence or the Christmas story, yields almost no results, especially if the publication has a small or a select circulation. Our policy of maintaining a high regard for human freedom and feelings, and carefully avoiding actions that might seem to encroach on them, was one of the strongest guiding principles of Bishop N. D. Pendleton. It is, we feel, the best possible attitude to have when preparing material for the public about the New Church or about the Writings. Not that we should hide our lamp under a bushel-far from it! However, it would seem that we ought to decide when and in what manner to let our light shine before men. One committee that helped to carry out part of our program was the library committee under the direction of Mr. John M. Pafford. We endeavored to stock as many libraries in this area as we could with the Writings; and we recommend that New Church people borrow these books, so that they will remain on accessible shelves and not gather dust in the stacks.
     * The Swedenborg Foundation has been supplying the funds for advertisements, but a charge is placed on books requested in response to such advertisements. The current rate is $50 per book.

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     Lecture Methods

     One of the best ways available for spreading the Writings is the lecture method-a conviction which we believe that we share with the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh and the Rev. David R. Simons, according to the Missionary Newsletter for June 1962. Quite a few ministers and members of the Epsilon Society have been invited to speak to old church groups and schools, and some to old church people in their own churches. There is, perhaps, no better way to win friends for the church, and to influence people who may later join the church through marriage, than to speak to such groups located near our own churches.
     On one such recent occasion, forty-two pieces of New Church literature were distributed during a lecture at a Friends' school, these including more than a dozen copies of the Writings, Helen Keller's My Religion, and Janet Heilman Doering's The New Church. Besides this, the school library was interested in obtaining a set of the Writings. We began the lecture by praising William Penn. We have found that our efforts were well received where, when speaking to a Luther League, we praised Luther's good qualities as Swedenborg might have, and as, of course, he does in places in the Writings. At the same time, beginning at the Council of Nicea, we carefully laid aside certain fundamental falsities, such as the ideas of three Divine persons and salvation by faith alone, and then built up straight New Church doctrine while we spoke. We were somewhat surprised at the genuine interest of our adult hosts and the young people present, and at their apparent willingness to have old church false doctrine refuted.
     This is a very wonderful sign; but perhaps the key to the whole task of the Epsilon Society lies in this very familiar statement from the Writings:

     "The man of the church at this date knows scarcely anything about heaven and hell or about his life after death, although all these mysteries are set forth and described in the Word; and yet many of those born within the church refuse to believe in them, saying in their hearts, `Who has come from that world and told us?' Lest, therefore, such a spirit of denial, which especially prevails with those who have much worldly wisdom, should also infect and corrupt the simple in heart and the simple in faith, it has been granted me to associate with angels and to talk with them as man with man."*
     * HH 1e.

     Radio and Television
     
One recent experiment that some of the Epsilon societies have tried is the seeking of free radio and television time. The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard has spoken on television in Chicago, as has the Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor in Tucson, and the Rev. Harold C. Cranch has spoken over the air in Los Angeles.

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The Rev. Karl R. Alden appeared on Philadelphia station WRCV-TV and has been invited back. This method places New Church doctrine before the public quite effectively, we believe. However, because of the nature of such broadcasts and telecasts-"Thought for Today," and so on-we find it difficult to advertise or even mention the Writings in a direct manner on a public service program.

     Conclusion

     Although the Bryn Athyn Epsilon Society is nearly thirteen years old, we feel that our work, as well as that of the newer Epsilon societies, is just beginning. Some New Church men may disagree with some of our aims and procedures. We welcome suggestions and are always ready to improve our approach and increase our effectiveness.
     In conclusion, we would state that the Epsilon Society was not founded specifically for the purpose of bringing people into the church, although some of our work has been in that direction. The main function of the Epsilon Society is to spread the Writings. To this use the members have applied themselves over the years. Although the first members of the Epsilon Society were men, the women are now in the majority in the Bryn Athyn group and they manage most of the work that we do. Last year's secretary, Miss Laura Gladish, was succeeded by Miss Joan Timmins. The recording secretary's function is to distribute the minutes, which she takes, to all the other Epsilon societies, and to receive their minutes in return. Miss Ladice David, the distributing secretary, is responsible for sending out copies of the Writings to all who request them.
     Since its inception the Bryn Athyn Epsilon Society has distributed nearly 1500 copies of the Writings and other New Church literature. Last year we distributed 256 copies, and this year's count has already reached 150 at this writing. We have also undertaken, under the direction of Mr. Theodore Klein and Miss Paula Roschman, to write to all of the ex-students of the Academy in eastern colleges, offering them literature for distribution among friends, as the Glenview Epsilon Society is doing in the mid-west.
     We feel that the future external growth of the church may be largely influenced by the work of the Epsilon societies, and various members of the clergy and newcomers' and welcoming committees in the societies and circles of the General Church all co-operating.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     Our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month emphasize two vital teachings: the importance of thinking from first principles, and the difference between an affirmative and a negative attitude in approaching the Word to receive instruction. While we realize that many are well acquainted with these teachings, their importance is such that we would again bring them to the reader's attention.
     We learn from our readings that if a man desires to be truly wise and intelligent, he must learn to think like the angels of the celestial and spiritual heavens, that is, he must learn to think from primary or fundamental truths. These are the first principles of all thought and love from the Lord; they give man the ability to think from end, purpose and cause.* The teaching that the principles of life which a man assumes direct, order and interpret everything of his love and thought is given many times in the Writings. Thus we read: "The essence and quality of the beginning is derived and passes over into the things that follow."** "The first principle is like a soul from which all other things have life."*** "Everyone may know that a man is governed by the principles he assumes, be they ever so false, and that all his knowledge and reasoning favor his principles."****
     * AC 2572.
     ** AC 3939.
     *** AC 4736.
     **** AC 129.

     Whether a man's principles be true or false, they form the purpose and meaning of his existence, and in time the nature and quality of his thoughts, his loves and his actions. Thus a man who concludes and believes that there is no wise, loving, Divinely-Human God makes his own life in the world the be-all and end-all of his existence. He sees no underlying purpose in creation; he sees nothing that is enduring and eternal in human relationships; he neither sees nor acknowledges any body of truth or law, except, perhaps, that which society enacts for its own temporal protection and social wellbeing. In every single act which such a man performs, in every idea which he brings forth, in every value which he establishes, the product has been formed, is governed, and is used by and from the philosophy of life which proceeds from his first principles or beliefs.

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     On the other hand, a man who acknowledges a wise, loving and Divinely-Human God sees that life in this world is a preparation for life in another world. He sees the intelligent and wise purpose that the Lord had in creation, and from the Word knows what is enduring and eternal in human relationships. He sees that truth is not merely relative, changing with the whims and attitudes of human society, but is absolute because it comes forth from the infinite God who does not change. In every act which such a man performs, in every idea he brings forth, and in every value he learns to cherish, the product has been formed, is governed and is used by and from the philosophy of life which proceeds from his first principles or beliefs.

     Now it is important to note that the attitudes of mind man has in acquiring his first principles are themselves called principles-the negative principle and the affirmative principle. The negative principle is to approach the Word with doubt and in a spirit of denial, being unwilling to accept anything as true that cannot be perceived or apprehended by the senses. It is a placing of human intelligence and reason above the doctrinal things of faith and charity. This principle can result only, we are taught, in man believing nothing; it can lead him only into falsities of every kind, into folly and insanity, and into utter denial of the Divine.
     The affirmative principle is to approach the Word in a spirit of affirmation, a willingness to think and believe that its teachings are true because the Lord has given them. It places the doctrinal things of faith and charity above human experience and observation, above human reasoning and self-intelligence. This does not mean a blind acceptance of the things of doctrine, but only the attitude of believing that they are true because they have been given from the mouth of the Lord. Such an attitude does not lead man, when he cannot understand a doctrine or teaching of the Word, to deny it to be true, but rather to say: "It is true, and I will understand it when I have become more wise." This affirmative attitude to the truths and doctrines of the Word is what leads man to all intelligence and wisdom. It leads him to confirm the teachings of the Word through every possible field of knowledge. It leads him to find the true first principles of life-a life that is from the Lord, not from self.*
     * AC 2568, 2588.

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REVIEW 1963

REVIEW       DONALD L. ROSE       1963

GEMS FROM THE WRITINGS. By Basil Lazer. Published by the Author. Canberra, Australia, 1963. Paper, pp. 40.
     
     Gems from the Writings is a booklet carefully designed to meet a need that often comes up in conversation. The author first decided to produce it when he was present one evening at a Sons of the Academy meeting. The topic of discussion was "Modern Translations of the Writings," and speakers recounted the advantages and disadvantages of "easy" translations. The idea emerged that there might some day be a beginner's edition of the Writings-perhaps even a children's edition! Second thoughts came quickly.
     No translator can make the arcana of the Writings "as easy as ABC." However, since there are passages in the Writings which can be grasped with ease and delight by the young, the idea swung to selections from the Writings for beginners.
     Frequently we find a young person fired with the ambition to start reading the Writings for himself. If he picks up a book at random he usually finds it too hard. If he goes to parent or minister, where will he be told to begin? Passages could be selected that would reward rather than discourage him.
     Some may feel that it is not right to make selections from the Lord's Word, but we must do so all the time. We select simple stories for the young child. These have been provided in order that the Word may be read with delight by children and by the simple.* In our religion courses we select portions of the Word for study and for memorization. The Life of the Lord is a book built around selected passages from the Gospels.
     * See AC 3982.

     Mr. Lazer's booklet will be useful for young people, but it is intended primarily for missionary work. Experience has shown that Heaven and Hell is often the best book for a person to begin with, but it can be just the wrong book for some beginners. A popular second choice is Divine Providence, but we know that many new readers give up on this book somewhere in those first few dozen pages, before they reach the most appealing passages.
     Mr. Lazer's booklet of selected passages is designed to kindle affection and interest, and to help the beginner to become a full-fledged reader of the Writings.

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Gems from the Writings is not a compendium or a series of brief readings on given subjects. Nor is it a random collection of golden thoughts. Mr. Lazer has concentrated on two works, Heaven and Hell and Divine Providence, and has assembled highlights from each book in turn. In his introduction he states: "The `gems' which follow are but a foretaste of what can be found in the two great books we have been discussing; but inspiring as they are, they cannot give the reader the same degree of enlightenment and satisfaction as a thorough study of the books themselves. It is, therefore, hoped that these 'gems' may convey some of the quality of the truths these books contain, thus creating an interest, not only in them, but also in the other books of `The Writings.'"
     Nine-tenths of this booklet is taken directly from the Writings, and its main value comes from the compiler's knack of selection and his knowledge of the state of the beginner from fairly recent experience. More than a mere collection of passages, however, the booklet is a finished production. One example of effective touches is on page 30. After a Divine Providence passage dealing with Adam and Eve, a parenthetical note is given which calls the reader's attention to what is to be found in Arcana Coelestia.
     A statement of faith taken from Apocalypse Revealed, a list of the Writings, and a frank and affectionate introduction all help to make this a valuable piece of missionary literature.
     So you have found someone willing to do a bit of reading? Try giving him this booklet, and you may find him more than willing to read further.
     DONALD L. ROSE
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1963

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION              1963

     Organized for the preservation, translation, publication, and distribution of Swedenborg's scientific and philosophical works; the promotion of the principles taught in them; and their relation to the science and philosophy of the present day. Annual fee for membership, including the NEW PHILOSOPHY, published quarterly, is: United States, $3.00; Canada, $3.00 Canadian; Great Britain and Australia, 12/-. Address: Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, Bryn Athyn, Pa., U.S.A.

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UNPARDONABLE SIN 1963

UNPARDONABLE SIN       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     We are taught in the Gospels that a word spoken against the Son of Man may be forgiven, but that the word spoken against the Holy Spirit is unpardonable. Many conjectures have been made as to the nature of the unpardonable sin-some penetrating, some merely fanciful; but only in the Writings is the mystery explained.
     By the Son of Man is meant the Word in the letter, and to speak against it is to speak against truths which have not yet been inscribed on the life; to interpret the letter differently according to appearances; or to deny that this or that in the church is truth from the Word. These are all offenses that can be forgiven. A man may yet come to love and live by truths that he first denied or doubted. These who love the Word but misinterpret it, being led astray by appearances in the letter, will eventually be glad to correct their errors; and a man convinced that there are Divine truths in the Word may yet deny that this or that doctrine of the church is true-and be forgiven, if he is wrong.
     To speak against the Holy Spirit, however, is to deny that there is any Divine truth in the Word at all, to deny its holiness, and to deny also the Divinity of the Lord; and those who confirm themselves in this threefold denial to the end of life can never be forgiven. Theirs is the unpardonable sin. Yet it is such, not because the Lord has so decreed, but because they have put themselves beyond the possibility of forgiveness. In denying the Lord's Divinity, they tacitly deny all things of heaven and the church; and in so doing they place themselves outside the reach of His mercy and His power to save.

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TWO KINGDOMS, THREE HEAVENS 1963

TWO KINGDOMS, THREE HEAVENS       Editor       1963

     It is a familiar teaching that heaven is distinguished into two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual. It is also a familiar teaching that there are three heavens. How these ideas are to be integrated has puzzled some readers; and their difficulty is not diminished by the fact that most of the passages identify the celestial kingdom with the inmost or third heaven, and the spiritual kingdom with the middle or second heaven, apparently passing over the ultimate or first heaven.
     However, there are two teachings which at once shed light on the problem and show that the omission is only apparent. The first is that each of the two kingdoms is both internal and external, and that it is the externals of the inmost and middle heavens that are called the first or ultimate heaven. The second teaching is that those in the ultimate heaven are either spiritual-natural or celestial-natural; that the former belong to the spiritual kingdom and communicate with the spiritual heaven; and that the latter belong to the celestial kingdom and communicate with the celestial heaven.

     When these teachings are considered we may see that the celestial heaven and the celestial-natural heaven constitute the celestial kingdom as the internal and external thereof, and that, similarly, the spiritual heaven and the spiritual-natural heaven constitute, respectively, the internal and external of the spiritual kingdom. Thus do the ideas of two kingdoms and three heavens come together; and we may see also that when the two kingdoms are related with the celestial and spiritual heavens the natural heaven is not overlooked, if we know that it is included as the external of these two heavens. It is in this way also that we understand the further teaching that the higher heavens constitute the celestial kingdom and the lower heavens the spiritual kingdom; for the good of mutual love which is the external of the celestial kingdom, being from the rational, is more interior than the good of charity, which is from the natural and is the internal of the spiritual kingdom.
     There are three references to the natural kingdom, but by this is meant, not the natural heaven, but the kingdom in which men are, and upon which the celestial and spiritual kingdoms are founded. Yet there is a passage which identifies the three kingdoms with the three heavens, respectively. However, the only other place in which that is done suggests that this is another series; for the natural kingdom is spoken of as the natural heaven in which are those angels who are in the Lord's Divine natural. In other words, the reference seems to be to the heavens in their dispensational series, not their structural series.

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WHO IS WORTHY? 1963

WHO IS WORTHY?       Editor       1963

     In treating of the Holy Supper the Writings teach that the Lord is present and opens heaven to those who approach the Communion worthily, and that He is present also with those who approach it unworthily but does not open heaven to them. The teaching continues that those approach the Holy Supper worthily who have faith in the Lord and are in charity toward the neighbor, thus those who are regenerate; and as no man can know whether he is regenerate or not, the question arises as to just who is worthy. In some parts of the New Church it is not unknown for relatively few members of a congregation to take the Holy Supper, and these usually older ones; and others have been heard to explain their abstention by saying that they are not yet worthy. This, however, is a wrong turn of thought, and one that could be extremely dangerous.

     It might be said that what fits us to approach the Holy Supper is a humble sense of need-of need which we acknowledge that the Lord alone can fill. When the Lord instituted the Holy Supper with His disciples, He did not do so with regenerated men. Peter was to deny Him that same night; all except John were to forsake Him the next day; and we know from the Writings that only after a long preparation in the spiritual world were they ready for permanent places in heaven. If we feel that we earnestly desire what is signified by the bread and wine, and believe that only the Lord can give it to us, then no matter how unworthy we may think ourselves to receive these gifts, we are not unworthy to approach the Lord's table. Humility is the essential condition for receiving the Holy Supper; and although there will always be at any administration a few who will abstain for good reasons, the Holy Supper is offered to all who sincerely feel a sense of need.
     What we should do is to learn from the Writings the uses for which the Holy Supper was instituted, and then consider how far we stand in need of those uses and to what extent we desire that they shall be performed in and for us. However, a word of warning might be spoken. Some of our young people, after receiving the Holy Supper for the first time, have had a secret feeling of disappointment which they have later admitted Whether consciously or not, without knowing what it would be, they have been expecting some wonderful experience-and apparently nothing has happened at all! However, this should not lead to the conclusion that nothing has happened, or that there are necessarily something wrong with the communicant; for while the Communion can bring feelings of holiness, it is essentially a spiritual appropriation, of which man is not aware, and it is not intended to be an ecstatic experience.

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DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH 1963

DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH       FRED FRAZEE       1963

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I have just read the introduction to "The Doctrine of Genuine Truth" by Bishop George de Charms, and have gained from it additional impressions on the subject. But it seems to me that the doctrine of genuine truth is completely given only in the Writings.
     My concept is that while the said doctrine could be partially understood from the Old Testament, and still further from the New Testament, the complete doctrine was reserved until at the Lord's second advent it was given in the Writings. I am impressed with the idea that the Lord did not give His Word in fullness until then. This idea comes from the significance of the number, three.
     But a further concept as to what is meant by the teaching in the first dozen paragraphs of the posthumous work, The Word of the Lord from Experience, that there is no ratio between the natural, the spiritual and the celestial except by means of correspondence. It is there made plain that this correspondence is not comprehensible to man. Yet the correspondence given in the Writings portrays a type of correspondences, by means of the doctrine of genuine truth, which are comprehensible to man; therefore there is a ratio between the natural, the spiritual and the celestial in these. I therefore take it that the Writings are an extension of the Word for man, and thereby constitute the completed Word.
     This seems to me to imply that the partial genuine doctrine, in the Old Testament, has a correspondence in each heaven incomprehensible to men; that in the greater degree of the genuine doctrine, in the New Testament, there is a correspondence in each heaven incomprehensible to man; and that the complete doctrine of genuine truth in the Writings has a correspondence in each heaven also incomprehensible to men.
     This is not the case only as to man. In The Word of the Lord from Experience, no. 9, we read: "Hence it is that the natural comprehends nothing of spiritual writing, nor the spiritual of natural writing; neither does the spiritual comprehend anything of celestial writing, nor the celestial of spiritual writing, unless he is with the spiritual."
     FRED FRAZEE
1118 Yates Avenue
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS 1963

GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS       STEPHEN PITCAIRN       1963




     Announcements
     The 1963 Annual Corporation Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in the Benade Hall Auditorium, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon, June 15, at 3:30 p.m., D.S.T. Notices will be mailed.
     STEPHEN PITCAIRN
          Secretary
BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1963

BRITISH ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963

     The Forty-eighth British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Colchester, England, July 19-21, 1963, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     For accommodation please write to Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Cooper, 33 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1963

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION       MORNA HYATT       1963

     The Sixty-sixth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, in the Auditorium of Benade Hall, at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 15, 1963.
     There will be reports and election of president and members of the Board of Directors, after which there will be an address (topic to be announced).
     All interested persons are welcome.
          MORNA HYATT,
               Secretary
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1963

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1963

     SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1963-1964

     Eighty-seventh School Year

     1963

Sept. 5     Thur.               Faculty Meetings
     6     Fri.               Dormitories open
     7     Sat.     8:00 a.m.      Student workers report to supervisors
               3:00 p.m.      Opening Exercises
               3:30 p.m.      Lawn Party
               8:00 p.m.      President's Reception
     9     Mon.               Registration: Secondary Schools and College
     10     Tues.               Chapel and classes begin in Secondary Schools
                         College registration
     11     Wed.               Chapel and classes begin in College

Oct.      11      Fri.                Charter Day
     12      Sat.               Annual Meeting of Corporation

Nov.      27     Wed.                Thanksgiving Recess begins at 12:30 p.m.

Dec.      2      Mon.                School exercises resumed
     20      Fri.               Christmas Recess starts at 12:30 p.m.

     1964

Jan.     6     Mon.               School exercises resumed
     20-24                    College Semester examinations
     27-31                    Secondary Schools Semester examinations
                         College interim week

Feb.     3     Mon.               Second Semester begins

March     26     Thur.               Spring Recess starts at 12:30 p.m.

April     6     Mon.               School exercises resumed

May     15     Fri.               Joint Meeting of Faculty and Corporation

June     11     Thur.      8:30 p.m.     President's Reception
     12     Fri.     10:30 a.m.      Commencement Exercises

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CHOSEN AND ORDAINED 1963

CHOSEN AND ORDAINED       Rev. HUGO Lj. ODHNER       1963


New Church Life
Vol. LXXXIII
June 1963
No 6.
     "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." (John 15: 16)

     It is related in the Gospels that the Lord chose twelve disciples and sent them forth to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand and to heal the sick, having given them power over unclean spirits to cast them out. After the Lord had risen from the dead, eleven of these disciples and one more, Matthias, chosen by lot to take the place of Judas Iscariot, became the leaders through whom the new gospel was spread abroad. In effect, they became the nucleus of the Christian priesthood.

     The institution of a new church must begin with a priesthood-a clergy not confirmed in the falsities of a consummated church but instructed by the Lord in the truths of a new revelation.* Yet it is a notable fact that the apostles were not chosen from the gentiles but from the Jews, who had the Word of the Old Testament and could see the new teachings of the Lord as foreshadowed and prophetically involved in their Hebrew Scriptures. As a church and an organized movement, Christianity was entirely distinct from the Jewish Church; but there was a continuity in Divine instruction, so that Christian truth was to be seen as a fulfillment of the internal promises of Moses and all the prophets.
     * TCR 784; Docu. 234.
     A similar continuity was preserved in the establishment, by the Lord in His second coming, of the New Church which, by its very name, the New Jerusalem, indicates that its heavenly doctrine is founded upon the Word of the Old and New Testaments.

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For this reason the Writings record that when the Last Judgment had taken place in the spiritual world at the end of the Christian age in 1757, the twelve apostles were further introduced interiorly into the understanding of the Lord's words, being at times present with Swedenborg while the Writings were being written.* And when the first draft of the True Christian Religion, which was entitled "The Universal Theology of the New Heaven and the New Church," had been completed, the Lord called together His twelve apostles, and on June 19, 1770, sent them out into the different provinces of the spiritual world to preach the gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ in His glorified Human was the one God of heaven and earth.**
     * See SD 1321-1332; TCR 339e
     ** See TCR 791, 108, 4.
     This work of evangelization began when the formation of the New Heaven was nearly completed. For the New Church is to descend from the New Heaven; and as in heaven, so upon the earth. The distinct establishment of the New Church began with the ordination of a New Church priesthood and the administration of Baptism and the Holy Supper to some former adherents of the Christian Church. The apostolic mission, the priestly function, is that of evangelization or instruction, and of worship or leading to the good of life. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations," the Lord had said, "baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you."* "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you."
     * Matthew 28: 19, 20.

     The Lord would want all men to become His priests and apostles. He wished that Israel should become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.* Moses had exclaimed: "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His spirit upon them!"** A priest, in the spiritual sense, signifies the good of love, the spiritual charity which is the governing conscience of the regenerating man. For the good of love means the new will, the selfless motive which, like a priest, offers the sacrifices of a humble and contrite heart and, within the household of the mind, teaches the truths of faith and refutes the falsities of evil.
     * Exodus 19: 6.
     ** Numbers 11: 28.
     In the Most Ancient Church there was no need for a separate priesthood. The will of God was felt as the dictate of the heart. But in our present race, the use implied by the good of love, or by conscience, needs to be represented in society as an organized office and function administered by men trained, set apart and responsible before God and their fellows.

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This, we are told, is for the protection and progress of the church, in order that "what is Divine" may be among men.* And those who minister in this important office must do so of their own choice and volition.
     * Char. 130-135
     What is meant, then, by the Lord's words to His disciples: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you"? And what did He mean when He said also: "Many are called, but few are chosen"?
     Let us never forget or minimize the revealed truth that man's freedom to choose between good and evil is the essential human itself which cannot be taken away from him. Without this choice and free agency man could not be held responsible for his eternal fate, or for any of his acts or purposes. He would indeed be predestined either to heaven or hell-and God alone would be responsible.
     But the mercy of the Lord is now clearly revealed in His new doctrine. The Lord predestines and intends all men for heaven. This is to be understood when it is said, "Many are called"; "I will draw all unto Me." Of those who then freely respond to the Divine call it may be said that they are the "elect," the chosen; for they have suffered themselves to be prepared and fitted as volunteers for some service in the Lord's kingdom. What that service will be is the Lord's decision and choice. The Lord does not interfere in men's choice between good and evil, does not compel their inner will to do good or think what is true. But to provide the means of their salvation He leads them toward a use-a place in the kingdom prepared for them "from the foundation of the world."*
     * Matthew 25: 34.

     It was with reference to this use and this place that the Lord said to His apostles: "Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you." The word, ordained, is indeed translated in the Writings by the more exact equivalent, "placed"; and to indicate that the word, chosen, has to do with a use rather than with any predetermination of man's character, the Lord once said to His apostles: "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil?"*
     * John 6: 70.
     The world, the church and the angelic heaven are all parts of the Lord's kingdom of uses. The Heavenly Doctrine speaks of these uses as composing-in the Lord's view-the form of a grand man, which is an image of the Lord's infinite Human form and contains within it a potential place for every conceivable variety of usefulness that may enhance the perfection of human life, here and hereafter. Only the Lord sees these uses in their complete pattern and infinite complexity. Only He can govern the whole from omniscience. Only He can be present within as an ordering, life-giving soul.

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Only He can foresee the needs of each angel, spirit and man. It is impossible to think that the great synthesis of human uses, the grand society of souls to which the whole of creation looks as its final end and objective, could ever be the result of human choice or the haphazard product of men's fickle inclinations and fallible reasonings. No! It is the Lord who invites and leads men to the places that He foresees they can fill in the kingdom of uses, whatever the superficial appearance! "Ye have not chosen Me," saith the Lord, "but I have chosen you, and placed you."
     As we look back, each one into his own life, this becomes clear. Behind our own decisions we may see the governing hand of the Divine Providence and the inevitable workings of its laws-which operate silently and secretly, but are made known to us through doctrine.

     When we select a use-decide upon the field in which to find our life-work, our special function and employment-there are three indications which we must necessarily take into account. The most obvious has to do with our own feelings-the loves or inclinations with which we are born, the form of our mind, the interests which are aroused in us, the native ability dormant in us, and the skills which we may have attained. But the second indication comes from without and concerns the actual needs of society. Frequently our own dreams and ambitions must be postponed or revised because of other urgent needs which we are obviously called to fill from a sense of necessity, duty and obligation, even if they do not call for our particular talents or satisfy our inclinations. And indeed the indications of the Divine Providence come to us from the needs of others rather than from the promptings of our own hearts; for the Lord knows that to follow our own will without regard for others is likely to lead to disaster rather than to happiness.
     For this reason we must wait for a third indication, namely, the opportunities which Providence opens up before us, the encouragement and help which others give us to pursue our proposed work. The rational man weighs all these indications in the balance of judgment. He recognizes the hand of the Lord in the endowments, genius and loves which he has by inheritance, but also sees a providence in the urgencies of times and seasons and in the assistance which he is relied upon to give others, as well as the obstacles and criticisms which make him pause in carrying out his cherished plans. If he views these indications as part of the leading of Divine Providence, he will not be discouraged or embittered by life's adversities, nor will his true aspirations falter; but he will find his most effective place in this life, along with that contentment and that peace in which the Lord can truly lead him and equip him more perfectly for his eternal use and happiness.

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The Lord has chosen him for a use and placed him. This is true of every man and every use, and without this Divine leading man's choice between good and evil could not be maintained, but he would be quickly overwhelmed by the consequences of his own unrestricted ambitions.
     But whenever a man chooses evil he begins to corrupt his use and defile his office by his love of self. To preserve man's free agency in spiritual things, the Lord permits men to perform uses from the love of self in order that evil may not lie concealed, but may become visible in all its hideousness so that it can be viewed with aversion. Even the most sacred office may be subject to abuse, as was the case in the time of the Lord's first coming, when scribes and Pharisees, priests and elders, had reduced their church to an instrument of gain and honor. That was why the Lord chose His apostles and thereby instituted a new priesthood and a new church. And when the Christian Church at length became corrupted in life and faith, so that it could no longer carry on its spiritual functions, the Lord came again to "make all things new" and to make clear the uses of the church, and especially the function of the priests who are to represent His work of salvation.
     The church of the New Jerusalem is organized to facilitate the passing of the Holy Spirit. This is the inmost function of the church, which is to promote the conjunction of the Lord with man; and it is effected, not by men, but by the Lord Himself through the Word in which He is present in His Divine Human. Yet the Word is not merely a book translated into and printed in many tongues. It is not even that library of volumes in which its doctrine is elucidated. For the Word is a living sphere of truth proceeding from the Lord and pervading the heavens-a sphere perceptible to angels and men in their thoughts and affections. But as the human mind is disordered and confused by evil, this Divine sphere cannot be received except by a Divine ordering. This ordering is done on earth by the Word, the Word of Scripture and Doctrine.

     Scripture and doctrine are the two means by which the Lord impresses His own Divine order and form upon the minds of men, so that there may be "what is Divine" or something of "His own" with them: something by which His Holy Spirit may be conveyed to operate in the three degrees of the natural mind which men consciously use while in the world; so that they may be saved from evils, both inherited and actual, and from the deception of the falsities which evil favors. Scripture, or what the Writings call "the sense of the letter of the Word," impresses the Divine ultimates upon the memory and the imagination by sensual appearances and natural symbols or "correspondences." Doctrine-a "natural sense from the spiritual"-is couched in rational appearances; for it trains the rational mind to think and reason in attunement with angelic thought, to perceive the presence of the Lord and the laws of His leading.

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     It is by the Sacred Scripture and the Heavenly Doctrine that the Holy Spirit descends into the church. This was promised to the apostles when the Lord said that the time would come when He would send the Holy Spirit, which would bring all things to their remembrance that He had told them.* The Holy Spirit does not teach men by some private revelation, but inflows to enlighten when what the Lord has said in the Word is read or recalled. The Lord Himself teaches man immediately by enlightenment from the Word; and His teaching is no less immediately from Himself when His Word is taught by means of parents and teachers and preachers, for these can only present the Word before the understanding, while the Lord alone can introduce it into the heart.**
     * John 14: 26.
     ** See DP 172e.

     In the passing of the Holy Spirit the Lord employs human means. Yet the Holy Spirit does not pass from man to man; it passes from the Lord, through the angels of heaven to men, and then through men to men. Man or angel contributes nothing in the transfer. Nonetheless the church is ordered for its passing, lest men interfere with what is their own. Where there is order, the Holy Spirit passes first or "chiefly" through the clergy to the laity "by preaching according to the reception of the doctrine of genuine truth," and "by the sacrament of the Holy Supper, according to repentance before it." "And the clergyman is therefore to be inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit and by a representation of its transfer."*
     * Can. HS iv.
     The Holy Spirit does not inhere in any man. It inflows, but it never remains with any man except in so far as there is belief in the Lord and a life according to the Divine doctrine. With the clergyman, it is "received according to the faith of his life." With all men the Holy Spirit effects instruction, reformation and regeneration; but with the clergy in particular the Holy Spirit causes enlightenment and instruction.
     It is generally recognized that adequate preparation for a use and devotion to it carry along with them a certain illustration-a professional illustration. Practice makes for perfection. But the interior reason for this is not usually known. Enlightenment and clarity come to a man's mind by the association of his spirit with societies in the spiritual world-with spirits who induce affection and delight in some specific use.
     Spiritual enlightenment in the understanding of doctrine and the use of the church is from the introduction of man's spirit as to affections and thoughts into association with angels who are in such illustration and are the media through whom the Holy Spirit may pass to man.*

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This is aided and represented by the laying on of hands in the inauguration of priests and by the orderly recognition in the church that they are introduced into this office.
     * See DLW 150.
     On the part of every priest, his reception of the Spirit of truth that leadeth unto all truth is shown in his acknowledgment of Divine revelation as the only source of doctrine and salvation. But perception varies with every priest according to his state of mind formed by doctrinals and obscured by fallacies; and the instruction which he gives will differ widely according to the affections and delights which dispose his mind and affect his zeal.
     It is therefore said of the apostles that "the Lord filled them all with His Spirit, but that each took of it a portion according to the quality of his perception" and carried it out according to his specific ability, each speaking after his own manner and intelligence. "It is similar with every minister of the church whether he is in truths or in falsities."* And priests are warned to be cautious of the persuasion that the zeal from which they preach is the operation of the Holy Spirit, for enthusiasts and heretics may feel the same.
     * TCR 154.

     True enlightenment, whether of priests or laymen, can be distinguished, therefore, only by this, that it comes from the Word and not from man. The Holy Spirit which affects man is the spiritual sense within the Word, and this is now revealed for the enlightenment of all who from a love of truth receive the Heavenly Doctrine. "The time is coming," the Writings say, "when there will be enlightenment."* This will be the sign of the New Church,** and is one reason why that church will be the crown of all preceding churches and "will never undergo consummation" but will endure to eternity.***
     * AC 4402.
     ** Docu. 232.
     *** Coro. 24c, lii.

     Of all the uses to which the Lord leads us, the greatest is our use as members of His New Church. We have not chosen Him, but He has chosen us-chosen us, not for our righteousness, but to extend to us the means of salvation without which we could not endure against our spiritual enemies. He has chosen us and placed us as unworthy guardians of His new revelation: chosen us, and ordained us all as His servants, that we should go and bring forth fruit, and that our fruit should remain. Amen.

LESSONS: Matthew 10: 1-20. Apocalypse Explained 757: 2, 3.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 482, 473, 479.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 78, 99.

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DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH 1963

DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     (The fourth in a series of five doctrinal classes)

     4. HOW THE LORD PROTECTS THE INNOCENT WHEN THE DOCTRINE HAS BEEN LOST

     We have seen how, in process of time, as a church declines, the doctrine of genuine truth becomes obscured. Man-made doctrines are multiplied, and they are confirmed by the external appearances in the letter of the Word. Because they are apparently based on the teaching of the Sacred Scripture, Divine authority is ascribed to them. Attention is focused upon them as the essentials of a religious life, and they are deeply impressed upon the conscience of each succeeding generation. The parts of the Word which are bare, or in which the genuine truth is openly expressed, are either ignored or are interpreted in accord with the accepted doctrine. All this comes to pass because the intellectual leaders of the church attempt to solve the difficult questions of theology by their own intelligence. They invent solutions without regard to what the Lord plainly says. They seize upon the external appearances in the Word to establish their own preconceived ideas.

     It is important to realize, however, that many of those who accept the doctrines of their church do so, not because they understand the subtleties of theological reasoning on which they are based, but simply because they have confidence in those who teach them. They accept the established doctrines without deep reflection, supposing them to be the truth. Because these doctrines are apparently based on the teaching of the Word, they regard them as having Divine authority. Nevertheless, many of those who belong to the church read the Word for themselves, and accept in simple faith what the Word plainly teaches. Although they cannot reconcile those passages in which the genuine internal sense of the Word is openly stated with the accepted doctrines, they nevertheless believe them. Thus, in remaining loyal to what the leaders of the church have taught them, they do not deny in their hearts what the Word plainly says.

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However, because their minds are confused by apparent contradictions which they cannot reconcile, they are not able to formulate the doctrine of genuine truths from the scattered passages of the Word in which the internal sense is bare. Because of this they take refuge in the belief that there are mysteries of religion into which human minds are not intended to enter, and they leave important questions unresolved.
     Now the most remarkable indication of how the Lord, with infinite patience, protects the innocent wherever they may be, lies in the fact that religions based on man-made doctrines are preserved from generation to generation, even for many centuries. The reason given in the Writings is that a conscience established in early childhood is the sole means whereby the Lord can enter into man to lead him from within, and to impart to him spiritual life. Such a conscience must therefore be preserved at all cost, even though it contains much that is not true. If it is violated, all man's faith is shattered, all influx from heaven is cut off, and all conjunction with the Lord is dissipated.

     Conscience, in its essence, is the belief that there is a God, that there are Divine commandments that must be obeyed because one's very life and every hope of salvation and eternal happiness depend upon it. It matters not how crude or how inadequate the idea of God may be; it matters not how mistaken may be the concept of the Lord's will, or of what He requires of man. The fact that one is willing to do what he believes is the will of God keeps his mind open to Divine teaching and leading. It preserves a state of innocence, by means of which, in the spiritual world if not in the life of the body, a man may be instructed and thus led in freedom to acknowledge the truth, and so be withdrawn gradually from his allegiance to the fallacies and errors of his religious faith. In this way the Lord provides that millions of sincere people in every religion may at last be prepared for entrance into heaven.
     But this calls for infinite gentleness and unlimited patience on the part of the Lord, lest man's conscience be violated and the only possible bond of connection with the Lord be destroyed. That is what is meant when it is said in Isaiah: "A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth."* "A bruised reed shall He not break" means that the Lord will not violently destroy the appearances of truth in the letter of the Word as they are understood by children and the simple. "Smoking flax shall He not quench" means that the Lord will not destroy those first glimpses of Divine truth which children and the simple have in states of innocence, when they are inspired by the inflowing loves of heaven. "Flax" here signifies truth, and its "smoking" signifies that it is made alive by a little heavenly love.

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That the Lord will "bring forth judgment unto truth" means that He will instruct children and the simple, and will lead them at last into spiritual intelligence and wisdom.**
     * 42: 3.
     ** See AE 627: 7.
     The Lord does not hold any one responsible for mistaken beliefs innocently held. Appearances of truth in the letter of the Word-even if they are, as is often the case, directly contrary to the real truth-are acceptable to the Lord, if they are believed simply because they are in the Word, and because the Lord has said them. Such mistaken beliefs do not condemn any one as long as they are not used to establish and confirm what is false. This is true of all childish appearances; and for this reason there is no harm, for instance, in one speaking and thinking according to the appearance that the sun rises and sets, as long as this is not used to deny the truth that the sun remains fixed in its place while the earth turns on its own axis. So also there is no harm in a man thinking, according to the appearance in the Word, that the Lord is angry, that He punishes the wicked, that He repents and grieves-although the Lord does none of these things-as long as such appearances are not used to confirm the idea that God is vengeful, cruel, and devoid of mercy; or that He is fickle and arbitrary, and acts apart from any fixed law of Divine order.

     In this connection we are taught that when mention is made in the Word of the Lord's blood, which is said to be "poured out for many, for the remission of sins,"* and when because of these words it is believed in simplicity that the Lord suffered the passion of the cross on account of our sins, and that through His sufferings and His blood He has redeemed us from the power of hell-since this is an apparent truth which can be stated and believed because it is so said in the Word-to believe this does not condemn the simple in faith and in heart. But to establish from these words a principle that God the Father was reconciled to man by the blood of the Son shed upon the cross, and that those who believe in Jesus Christ are justified and saved by faith alone without the goods of charity which are good works-this is to confirm one's self in a falsity that is contrary to the plain teaching of the Word. If one clings to this false idea and rejects any Divine instruction that would lead him out of it, then indeed he may close the gates of heaven against himself. So to pervert the true meaning of the Word is possible because the Word must be written according to such appearances. It must be written in accommodation to man's understanding, even to that of children and the simple, for otherwise they could not be introduced at an early age into a love of the Word, and so induced to read and study it in adult age.

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Thus we read:

     "The Divine truths in the sense of the letter of the Word are for the most part appearances of truth . . . [because] the simple in faith and heart cannot he raised above . . . [such appearances. Yet to believe them is not accounted as a] sin or blasphemy . . . provided principles are not formed from . . . [such] appearances, and so confirmed as to destroy Divine truth in its genuine sense."**
     * Matthew 26: 28.
     ** AE 778.

     Now the remarkable thing is that every human being, no matter into what faith he may be born and educated, is so created by the Lord that he may be touched or moved by loves inflowing from heaven. The delight of love to the Lord and of charity toward the neighbor is insinuated into every one by celestial angels during infancy and childhood. This delight gives rise to a sense of pity or of mercy toward the weak, the needy, or the suffering. It instills a regard for justice and fair play, for what is honest and honorable, and for many other moral virtues. None of these affections come from man's hereditary nature, which, on the contrary, prompts him to love only himself and those who favor him and promote his ambitions. It prompts him to envy the goods of others, and to feel contempt, and even hatred, for those who do not agree with him.
     All good affections inflow from heaven in states of innocence such as exist with all infants and little children. These heavenly affections make a deep impression upon the mind. They are long remembered and may be recalled in later life, for which reason they are spoken of in the Writings as "remains." These heavenly loves give light to the mind. When one is moved by them, and when he thinks from them, every man is enabled to recognize truth when it is presented to him. This ability to recognize truth spontaneously is what is called "common sense," and on this all rationality, indeed all sanity, is based. It is this light derived from remains that enables any one who reads the Word under its influence to recognize the truth of those passages in which the internal sense of the Word is bare. By this means the Lord Himself can teach directly all those who approach His Word in simple faith, and this in spite of any mistaken beliefs which may have been impressed upon their minds by parents or teachers.
     It may rightly be said, therefore, that there is a remnant of genuine truth in every religion, and that those who remain faithful to this truth will surely be saved. But this is a very different thing from saying, as many do in our day, that it makes no difference what one believes because all religions are but various and equally valid ways of approach to heaven. The effect of this modern view is to breed indifference to all religious faith, to make men impatient with any doctrinal teaching, and to discourage any search for the real truth of what the Lord says in His Word.

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On the contrary, men are admonished, in the name of charity, to avoid all discussion of doctrine lest one give the impression that what happens to be the preferred doctrine of one's own church is truer or more authoritative than that of any other religious body.
     It should be noted that this would be quite correct if the reference were only to man-made doctrines; but if it is meant to include what the Lord Himself plainly teaches in His Word, then it becomes a very serious error: this because it implies that what the Lord teaches is no truer than what men invent. In this case the apparent concern for the feelings of others conceals within itself the secret denial of any Divine revelation; that is, of any truth directly from the Lord which is equally binding upon all men regardless of any human opinions to the contrary. As long as this denial prevails there can be no establishment anew of the Lord's church on earth, or of His kingdom in the hearts of men. There comes a time, therefore, when the doctrine of genuine truth must be revealed anew, and men must be willing to search for it in the Word. They must be willing to submit their minds to Divine instruction that they may learn from the Lord Himself the way of life.

     The knowledge that this is true gives us an attitude toward all religions that is different from that which is prevalent in our modern Christian world. Although we believe that we must have deep concern for the simple in heart wherever they may be; while we must respect their religious conscience, lest we do them irreparable injury; and while we must be inspired by a genuine spirit of charity toward them devoid of all condescension, knowing that we also are ignorant and mistaken in regard to many things on account of which the Lord does not condemn us; nevertheless we dare not betray the trust which the Lord has imposed upon us in giving us the knowledge that He has come again, teaching the doctrine of genuine truth. We dare not compromise this doctrine by pretending that it has no more validity than do the man-made doctrines of other churches. We have no right to hide its light under a bushel by refusing to tell people that the Lord has indeed come again in a new Divine revelation. In proclaiming the advent of the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrine we are not setting up our religion or our understanding of religious truth as superior to that of others. We are merely pointing to the Lord, even as John the Baptist did when he said, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world," and urged people to go to Him for instruction and guidance.
     The New Church, to which we invite all who are prepared to receive it, is not our religion; it is not our church. It is the Lord's religion and the Lord's church, founded on what He plainly teaches, and not upon doctrines invented by any man or imposed upon the church by any ecclesiastical council.

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This being the case, where does real charity lie? Does it lie in refusing to teach what the Lord has revealed because it is unpopular, or because some of those who hear it will be offended? Surely if we do this we will not be following the example of the Lord Himself who, while He was in the world, taught openly contrary to the traditions of the elders; and in so doing roused the enmity of the Scribes and Pharisees, causing them to inflame the mobs against Him, even to the point of demanding His crucifixion. Not only did He teach the truth in the face of widespread opposition during His ministry on earth, but the fact that He comes today teaching that same truth is clear evidence that it is needed, and that without it the time is at hand when skepticism will have so engulfed all men that it will no longer be possible to protect the simple in faith. Surely, therefore, the Lord commands us today, even as He commanded His disciples so long ago, saying: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you . . . [always], even unto the ... [consummation of the age]. Amen."*
     * Matthew 28: 19, 20.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1963

     The Rev. Douglas McLeod Taylor has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Hurstville Society, New South Wales, Australia, effective September 1, 1963.
     The Rev. Geoffrey Horace Howard has been appointed resident Pastor of the Tucson (Arizona) Circle and visiting Pastor of the group in Phoenix, Arizona, and the San Diego (California) Circle, effective September 1, 1963.
     Candidate Robert Hudson Pendleton Cole has been appointed, effective after his ordination in June, visiting Minister to the Central Western District, resident in Denver, Colorado. He will take up his duties on September 1, 1963.
     Candidate Lorentz Ray Soneson has been appointed, effective after his ordination in June, assistant to the Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church and assistant to the Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. His appointment also will commence on September 1, 1963.

258


RUSSIA AND AEHEISM 1963

RUSSIA AND AEHEISM       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1963

     A STUDY

     (The first installment of this two-part article appeared in the February issue pp. 75-84)

     The spread of naturalism and atheism "like mortification in the flesh" makes a Divine revelation necessary.* The more we understand atheism, the more do we realize how deadly it is; how it threatens to infect and corrupt the simple in faith; and how it threatens to invade all of Christendom.** Once when Swedenborg was meditating in appalled amazement at the number of men who ascribe creation to nature an angel said to him: "All hell consists of such men."*** In so far as we see the denial of God as hell itself and as the origin of evil, we know how grievous is the threat of atheism that exists at this day.
     * See TCR 771
     ** See HH 1; TCR 628
     *** CL 380

     One of the most ominous signs of today's moral danger is the attitude of many people who are not atheists. They are indifferent in the matter of atheism for several reasons, the basic one being that they think from fallacious appearances and not from truths. Unless a man is armed with Divinely revealed truths, atheism can seem harmless to him; indeed it can seem to be allied with good causes which are for the benefit of mankind.
     The outspoken atheist, the man who would like to see religion abolished, does not seem at the same time to advocate evil. On the contrary, he is often intent on bringing out the good which he believes is inherent in men. He has confidence in this good when it has been delivered from the shackles of religious superstition and prejudice and from what he might call the economic causes of evil. Many of his words are soothing. He speaks of friendship, of industriousness, of the advancement of science and education, of the dignity and destiny of mankind. His ideas about marriage might offend the ears of the angels-"Friend, you talk as if you were without religion";* but such things are matters of indifference to many in the world.
     * CL 79.
     Apathy towards atheism is confirmed by a variety of reasonings which center in the question: What difference does it make? The New Church man can fall prey to these arguments if he does not learn to think from revealed truth. Moreover, the cause of the atheist is favored by inclinations of the heart, even as the argument of the serpent found favor with Eve.

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Men question the assertion that without religion they will surely die.
     Imagine a race of men who had not even heard of religion or of God. Would they not have a culture, a civilization, a moral code? The Writings reveal the state of such men, for there have been cases on remote islands.* They did have rationality in civil matters, an industrious way of life, a friendly manner. Viewed inwardly, however, their state was lamentable. They were like statues or automata, devoid of real life and destitute of genuine rationality. They appeared like apes, their life being "very similar to that of apes." This was because they had no thought at all about God, thus no religion. Although Swedenborg almost despaired of them, they were salvable. At least they did not hold false principles against religion, and their ignorance was not their fault.
     * See 116; LJ post. 130, 131, 193.

     Our study, however, is not concerned with those who are ignorant of God nor with those who are indifferent to religion. It is concerned with those who deny God and who suppress religion. These are atheists, redoubtable in their energy and their dedication to their cause. These are atheists whose dialectics must impress the world if only by virtue of their absolute conviction. "Who speaks with fuller persuasion of the certitude of his delusion than the atheistic naturalist?"* Specifically we are concerned with atheists as the force they have become in Soviet Russia.
     * TCR 759.

     Atheism in Russia

     Atheism seems to draw upon an abundant source of energy. The atheist does not keep his persuasion to himself, nor is he content to let others continue in their belief. He exports atheism, and his industry in the winning of converts seems to know no bounds. Those who are in hell are so ambitious in the cause of atheism that they long to convince the angels themselves that there is no God. "O that we might be permitted to talk with the angels of heaven! We would completely and fully demonstrate that what they call God, the origin of all things, is nature." If the opportunity is given them, they seize upon it with an eagerness amounting to fury. "Are you the angels of heaven whom we are permitted to meet in argument about God and nature? You are called wise because you acknowledge God; but how stupid you are! Who has ever seen God? . . . And they continue with proof upon proof in confirmation of atheism."*
     * TCR 77; CL 415.
     In Russia we have seen the formidable example of militant atheists, resourceful and talented, persuasive in argument, tireless and dedicated.

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Such an example was the Kremlin leader, Grigori Euseevich Zinoviev, once co-editor of Pravda, once president of the Communist International, and a famed advocate of pure Leninism. Zinoviev expressed an ambition for mankind. "We will chase God out of His high heaven; and wherever He takes refuge, we will drive Him out until we have destroyed Him, and finally wiped out all idea of God from the minds of men."

     The organized persecution of religion in Russia is not now found in some of the crude forms of a few decades ago. The Soviets have learned how ineffective certain measures are. Today, freedom of worship is ostensibly guaranteed for all Russian citizens as well as freedom of anti-religious propaganda. The provision of freedom of worship by a militantly atheistic government is not strange when one appreciates a psychological fact noted in the Writings. From a latent cause "everyone strives after what is forbidden."* The more effective anti-religious measures have been retained. In 1922 a special publishing house called Bezbozhnik (The Godless) was set up for the printing and dissemination of anti-religious material. It is interesting to note that just a few years ago a new Russian magazine appeared called Science and Religion which uses the most recent scientific data in the cause of extinguishing the persistent flickers of religious belief.
     * HD 271; AC 1947.
     One of the favorite tools of atheists has been ridicule; they have almost made a science of blasphemy. In 1923, the celebration of Easter and Christmas in Russia was marked by mock processions and services designed to hold religion up to ridicule. Far more recently, Moscow Radio chose Christmas Day to broadcast the following message to the world: "Our rocket has bypassed the moon. It is nearing the sun, and we have not discovered God. We have turned lights out in heaven that no man will be able to put on again. We are breaking the yoke of the Gospel, the opium of the masses. Let us go forth, and Christ shall be relegated to mythology."
     Freedom of worship in Russia becomes less meaningful when one considers the government control of the education of children and the government's means for gaining the ear of Russian youth. Besides using a series of calculated incentives-you must be an atheist if you want to get ahead-government propagandists have appealed to what might be called a youthful idealism. In 1925 the League of Militant Atheists was founded. In June, 1957, Komsomolshaya Pravda declared: "Young communists must not only be convinced atheists and opposed to all superstition, but must actively combat the spread of superstitions and prejudices among youth."

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In July, 1954, the editor of Pravda, making cunning use of the word, prejudice, urged an "unrelenting and persistent struggle against religious prejudices."
     Communists have learned effective means of religious suppression subtle enough not to offend the sensitivities of foreign observers. The present writer had the opportunity of interviewing at length a man who deeply loves his native Hungary but who fled the country, largely because of religious persecution under the communist regime. Here is a paraphrase of one of his descriptions. In Hungary you may choose whether or not your child will receive religious instruction at school. But if you say that you would like the religious instruction, they tell you they will notify you when there is an opening in one of the crowded schools. You will find that the opening never comes, unless you change your mind about religious instruction.
     Communism, as it is championed in Soviet Russia, involves a false concept of what man is, of what good is and of what evil is. The inadequacy of these concepts is sometimes obvious. In one decade Russian communists confidently predicted that they would remove the need for capital punishment in their country. In another decade they found themselves almost frantically resorting to capital punishment for relatively minor offenses. The materialistic theorist thinks that he can remove the evils that plague society. To him the evil of stealing is an economic problem which can be solved by economic means. But it is found that stealing and dishonesty persist even when the stomach is filled with bread and there seems to be no material lack.
     A materialistic solution to the problems of society is hopeless, because it is impossible to combat the evils mentioned in the second table of the Decalogue while at the same time breaking the first of the commandments.* We do not oppose atheistic communism because it is inadequate to the problems of the world. We oppose it because an atheistic theory is itself evil and is always productive of evil. Indeed the very notion that man can fight against evil by himself is infernal. If man desires to make himself righteous by his own powers he is in evil. Interiorly he is a thief, for he takes away from the Lord what is His. He puts himself in place of the Lord "and thereby puts that which is infernal in himself."** We shall discuss presently the hard reality that when an atheist shuns an evil, he only confirms the origin of evil.
     * See Life 108.
     ** AC 1813.

     Hard Sayings on Atheism

     The statements of the Writings on atheism and atheists are surprisingly severe. It is said in the Writings categorically that all atheists are evil.

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It is stated that the man who does not acknowledge a God is under the dominion of infernal spirits; that every man who denies the Divine acts in unity with hell; that he who does not believe in God never really fights against evil, but rather for it; that he who denies God is even now among the damned; and that those who have made themselves atheists are not excusable.*
     * TCR 382; AC 1308; HH 531: 2; Char. 203; TCR 14e; DLW 350.
     These sayings are hard for people who imagine "that those who do not acknowledge God can be saved just as well as those who do acknowledge Him, provided they lead a moral life."* These sayings are hard for those who do not see the contradiction in the proposition "that he is saved who lives well but does not believe."** The severity of the sayings may seem surprising in view of the fact that the Writings excuse the ignorant; excuse those who have been prevented from giving much thought to truths; excuse those who have been doctrinally misled; and speak so emphatically about the salvability of the gentiles.*** "That these also are saved this alone makes certain, that the mercy of the Lord is universal, that is, extends to every individual."****
     * DP 326
     ** TCR 393; DP 326: 8.
     *** F 30; LJ post. 112; F 72 et al.
     **** HH 318.
     But the famous chapter in Heaven and Hell concerning "the heathen, or peoples outside of the church," is one of the most emphatic sources of the teaching that as a means to salvation "there must be acknowledgment that there is a God."* From this chapter is may be clearly seen that an atheist cannot be called a gentile and that communism cannot be called a religion.
     * DP 329.
     "A religion that does not acknowledge the Divine is no religion."* Some in the world define communism as a religion, noting that men seem to devote themselves "religiously" to it, but the New Church man cannot subscribe to this. "To acknowledge God and to refrain from doing evil because it is against God are the two things that make a religion to be a religion; and if one of these is lacking it cannot be called a religion."**
     * HH 318.
     ** DP 326: 9; Cf. DP 322: 4.

     Even if it is granted that communism is not a religion, it is felt by many that religion is relatively unimportant and that communism is a means for solving the real problems of a troubled world. We read of those to whom "religion was not a matter of very much concern, thus those who thought about civil and worldly matters and but little about religion save that it exists-not even that it ought to exist. Their perception of it was also deadened, as if it were not a matter of very much moment."* They did not see the great difference between the civil life that is from religion and a civil life that is not from religion.

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The Writings show that the essential means for solving the problems of humanity is religion, and that religion is as the seed which produces true desires and judgments in moral and civil affairs.**
     * SD 5396.
     ** See Coro. 40.
     The materialist who aspires to solve the problems of humanity looks with contempt on those inferior beings who depend on religion. The Marxist calls religion the opium of the masses. "To us, who are more learned than the masses, religion is nothing but a bewitchment of the common people,"* said a satan from hell. "What is religion but an invention to captivate and bind the common people?"** The Writings depict the learned atheist as an utter fool. An insanity that appears like wisdom so elates him that he looks down upon all who acknowledge the creation of the universe by God as ants who creep upon the ground.*** Like a lunatic who believes wisdom to be foolishness, and foolishness to be wisdom, he laughs "with the fullest assurance at the Divine things of God, the heavenly things of heaven, and the spiritual things of the church."**** "He thinks of the church as an assembly of simple, credulous and weakminded people who see what they see not."*****
     * TCR 80.
     ** CL 521.
     *** TCR 35.
     **** TCR 759.
     ***** TCR 14.
     Unfortunately the atheist is not a harmless fool. He is often persuasive and extremely talented. Worst of all, by virtue of his atheism he becomes in a special way the tool of cunning and deceptive forces of hell. When a man denies God, conjunction with hell takes place.* "He enters into communion with the satans of hell and thinks as they do."** He is then led by hell, and acts in unity with it.*** "They who deny God are in hell, because there is disjunction. The first and primary thing, therefore, is to know and acknowledge, believe in and love, God; all other things depend on this."****
     * DLW 162.
     ** TCR 14.
     *** DP 326: 5; HH 531: 2.
     **** Ath. 147.

     What Is The Difference?

     It is often said that there are many good people who do not profess to believe in God, and are there not wicked people who say that they do believe? Many conclude from their life's experience that religion does not really make any difference. Consequently idealistic people look outside of religion for means to remove evils from the world and to promote human happiness. In effect, many of them look for the establishment of a heaven without a God. Christian leaders, unable to answer them, sometimes seem ready to follow them.
     It is true that the man who does not acknowledge God can live a life entirely similar to that of the man who does. He can do good works, and he can abstain from evils of life.

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He may also be gifted with traits of natural good. If there is no difference, then religion is meaningless; and if religion is to continue on earth, the difference must be revealed. The difference between real gold and imitation gold can be determined by science, but the difference between real good and imitation good cannot be so determined. It must be revealed.*
     * Life 10, 11.
     To all appearance a natural-moral man is exactly like a spiritual-moral man, but the revealed truth is that they are entirely different.* As we look upon the affairs of the world, spiritual, moral and political, we do not see the inward quality of the man who has religion and the man who does not. We do not see that the one is an instrument of good and that the other is a tool of evil. In the Coronis, no. 40, these things are revealed in a vivid way. The difference between the man who has religion and the man who has not is shown in political things, in judicial matters, and in other civil affairs. In each instance the man without religion is depicted as a source of death, such as a poisonous herb or a coiled serpent.
     * Life 109.
     The communist does not have religion, but might he not refrain from evils for the sake of the state and the common good? If he does this, is he not a source of good? The question is answered in the following passage:

     "There are moral men who keep the commandments of the second table of the Decalogue, not committing fraud, blasphemy, revenge or adultery; and such of them as confirm themselves in the belief that such things are evil because they are injurious to the public weal, and are therefore contrary to the laws of humane conduct, practice charity, sincerity, justice and chastity. But if they do these goods and shun those evils merely because they are evils, and not at the same time because they are sins, they are still merely natural men; and with the merely natural man the root of evil remains imbedded and is not dislodged, for which reason the goods they do are not goods, because they are from themselves."*
     * Life 108.

     To thousands in the world communism stands as the hope of removing the evils that plague civilization. Citizens of western nations see signs of decadence and corruption around them, and many believe that communism can remove these. Not a few have actually believed that the grass is already green on the other side of the iron curtain, that evils have been removed and that the godless heaven exists. But how are evils removed? How can mere man rid the world of murder, even as murder is understood naturally? Spiritually understood, murder is "turning men away from God, religion and Divine worship by insinuating scandalous thoughts against these."* This is but one example of the absurdity of an atheistic solution to the problem of evil.

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If man thinks to rid the world of corruption by his own intelligence, he is like one who smears a detergent over a part that is "infected with inward corruption."** He sees outward signs, but he does not see the relationship between "corruption" and turning away from the Divine."***
     * TCR 310.
     ** Life 112.
     *** See AC 10,420.

     The Origin of Evil

     He who does not know how evil came into being cannot think wisely about deliverance from evil. Without an understanding of the origin of evil men cannot assess the dangers of a godless system, nor can they really understand what evil is involved in the spread of communism at this day, But the arcanum concerning the origin of evil cannot be opened "unless it be known that none is good save God alone, and that there is no good which in itself is good save from God."*
     * CL 444.
     Those who speak of "good" atheists and who say that religion makes no difference are deluded. It is a monstrous error to believe that man in his state of integrity could do good from himself, for this very belief is the origin of evil.* Evil came into being as a consequence of man's assertion that he could do good of himself. The argument of the serpent seems to be an argument for good; but it is a turning from God to self, and this leads to all evil and corruption.** As one passage concerning the source of sin puts it: "Every evil is conceived of the devil as a father, and is born of atheistical faith as a mother."***
     * See TCR 48: 18, 19; DLW 117.
     ** See CL 444.
     *** Coro. 35: 3.
     The atheist presents the ideal of the good man unshackled from religious superstition. But the good of the atheist is spiritually evil, "however good it may seem naturally."* If man shuns evil without looking to God, he actually "confirms the origin of evil," which was that he turned himself back, away from the Lord, and turned to himself.** No man who denies God can fight against evil. He really serves the cause of evil. "He who does not believe in God does not regard evil as sin, and so does not fight against it, but rather for it."***
     * TCR 382.
     ** Char. 204.
     *** See Char. 203.
     Although acknowledgment may seem to be "mere thought" the Writings show what it accomplishes and what denial accomplishes.* He who acknowledges God can be led by Him, but he who denies God cuts himself off. "Thus he is excommunicated, not by God, but by himself."** When conjunction with heaven is broken, conjunction with hell takes place.*** "Separation or breaking was effected and is effected by the denial of God."****
     * DP 326.
     ** TCR 14.
     *** DLW 162.
     **** Idea

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     Judging Atheists in the World

     A distinction must be made between the man who is evil in practice and the man who is evil by virtue of his conscious denial. In discussing atheists we are discussing those who are "evil in theory."* In a letter, Swedenborg once distinguished between the madmen in the other world who theoretically denied God and those who denied Him practically.** The distinction is that between devils and satans: "the satans being those who have confirmed themselves in favor of nature and so have denied God, and the devils those who lived wickedly and so have rejected from their hearts all acknowledgment of God."***
     * TCR 382.
     ** Letter to Beyer, Nov. 14, 1769.
     *** CL 380.
     Theoretical atheists may not be outwardly evildoers, but, being without religion, they do not have communication with heaven.* "Although in the world they have not done evil, yet, after their departure from the world, they do evil from delight."**
     * LJ post. 147.
     ** LJ post. 160. Cf. Life 110.
     Since every atheist is inwardly evil, it would seem that to call a man an atheist would be a spiritual judgment. Who can say whether a professed atheist is an atheist at heart? When a young student grandly announces his atheism, do we not doubt that he knows what he is talking about? Would we dare to identify any man as the atheist who is "not excusable" and who is already in hell? Note that the man who "thinks against God" may be changed while he is yet in the natural world."*
     * DP 249.
     We must make judgments for the sake of human society, even while we acknowledge that we cannot judge final states. It is true that atheism is of the heart, and that the Lord alone knows the heart. But the same is true of every evil. Murder, false witness and adultery are of the heart. In view of what is said in the Sermon on the Mount,* who would dare presume to say who is an adulterer and who is not? No court of law can judge who is inwardly a murderer, nor can any man who is inwardly a blasphemer. Nevertheless the judgments must be made, and these judgments may be just and right for human society, even if they differ from the judgments that are made after death.** We may take cognizance of who is a murderer and who is an atheist.
     * Matthew 5: 28.
     ** See CL 485.
     A nation that has religion is thereby led by the Lord. Each nation is neighbor according to the good of its religion.* These teachings call for judgments on the footholds of atheism in the world. We judge it to be evil for a nation to foster what is openly called "atheistic education." Such policies are far worse than immoral racial practices. The Writings warn us to beware of what confirmations of atheism can do to the mind.**

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We would class atheistic education as "a means of becoming insane."*** The child's mind craves the fish and the egg of true education, and we count it a crime when it is instead exposed to the serpent and the scorpion.****
     * DP 254: 2, 322: 4; Char. 87.     
     ** TCR 12e; DLW 357.
     *** See SD 4727.
     **** Matthew 7: 9, 10.

     We judge as evil the ideal of Soviet Man. He is depicted as a lover of nature and of learning, a hero, devoid of evil, a source of good, a confirmed atheist. We see man as a recipient of life, capable of bearing fruit only as he abides in the vine, happy when he acknowledges the Lord as the source of all good.

     Which Is Better, False Belief Or None?

     Since falsities are negations of truth, confirmation of them is tantamount to denial. But religion can survive among falsities of doctrine, though it does not survive when God is denied. A false idea of the resurrection is still useful to men and is better than no belief in it. A native's superstitions are better than an absence of religious ideas. All who do good from religion, pagans and Christians, are accepted after death, but not those who do good that is not from religion.*
     * See Inv. 16; AC 2590e; F. 72; DP 258e; BE 108; AC 10,758: 2; AE 195; TCR 536, 537.

     The falsities of Christian theology are most grievous. The doctrine of salvation by faith alone is actually the negation of religion, and the dogma concerning three Divine persons constitutes a denial of God. In view of the falsities of Christendom, it is no wonder that some people visualize a struggle between Roman Catholicism and communism and are doubtful as to which is on the side of the angels!
     The professing Christian is capable of a deeper profanation than the unbeliever,* but it is important to realize that the churches of Christendom are still means of communication between men on earth and heavenly societies. By virtue of his being a Roman Catholic a sincere man may be in consociation with good societies in the other world.** There are no good societies of atheists. The man in a false religion can at least be guided through a spurious conscience, but the atheist has no inward bond of conscience. A kind of spurious charity can be joined to the faith of today's Christendom;*** "but the charity of those who believe that there is no God . . . is no charity at all, because it is not joined to any faith."****
     * DP 229.
     ** DP 257: 4; TCR 818, 821; AE 1062.
     *** TCR 451.
     **** TCR 453.
     Christian parents and teachers give their children the Ten Commandments and introduce them to the two essentials of religion; and the Lord provides that children and the common people in Christendom may be taught the essentials of religion in spite of the doctrine of salvation by faith alone.*

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Aside from the New Church, however, there is no religion on earth that is inwardly strong. Belief in a life after death is weak. Unbelief threatens to infect even the simple. The "worshiper of himself and of nature" finds numerous confirmations against the Divine Providence and thus against God. Some leaders look upon Christianity as a brotherhood, a way of life, involving virtually nothing of religious belief. The naturalism found in today's universities grows stronger than the Sunday school faith of youth. The gentile religions of the world grow weaker in the face of modern science and modern education. Without truths there is no real defense against atheism. The mere acknowledgment of a Supreme Being, with no distinct idea of God, is but a step away from naturalism.**
     * DP 258: 4, 6; AE 233: 3; Inv. 16.
     ** See AC 4733.
     These things help us to see the vital need for the Lord's new revelation of Himself in His Divine Human. "The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God." The lamentable consequences of this are described in the 53rd Psalm; but the final verse speaks of joy, and this is because of the eventual establishment of a new church. This makes possible the reception among men of genuine good, entirely different from the apparent good that has the essence of evil in it.* This genuine good from the Lord is described as almost an Eden paradise. It has heaven in it. It is living, formed by truths. It puts away self and evil in every breath. It is like a flower in the sun. "It is lovely, it is innocent, it is grateful, heavenly."**
     * Char. 207.
     ** Ibid.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Esse, Existere, Essence. Here we have another series of philosophical terms. Esse is the being of a thing; existere is the manifestation or forthstanding of the esse; and essence is that in which the real character of a thing consists-the attributes which make it to be what it is. These attributes are spoken of individually as essentials.
     Thus the Divine esse is the Divine love, the Divine existere is the Divine wisdom, and the Divine essence is the Divine love and wisdom together and related as esse and existere. The Divine love and wisdom may also be spoken of separately as essentials of the Divine. Note that esse is more universal than essence, and that existere should not be rendered as "existence," which refers to the things by which the essence comes forth. (See AC 4985; TCR 36; AC 1096, 1807.)

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NEW PHILOSOPHY 1963

NEW PHILOSOPHY       GEOFFREY P. DAWSON       1963

     (Delivered at the 400th meeting of the New Church Club, London. England)

     The value of a philosophy lies in its capacity to resolve the conflicts which arise between doctrines of faith, between experiences, and between both, so that a man's thought and life may be intellectually and emotionally united. Philosophy tends to be structural, assembled out of otherwise unrelated bits and pieces. It is not immediately a product of Divine inspiration. It results from a human, proprial desire to understand its own nature, its ever changing environment; to deduce reasons for these, and to produce a rational plan for making the best of the situation. This building can be said to be of evil, for it tacitly acknowledges a primary disorder in the state of the human mind, and responds with an anxiety to set things right from its own rational. If men had a genuine affection for good they would not waste time building philosophies. The affection would appropriate its own good, and see it illustrated by truth in its own understanding. We, however, must bear with philosophy and seek some kind of order which, although conceived in evil, is nevertheless the only way of regulating the perversity of the natural mind.

     Because it seeks some kind of order, the first need of a philosophy is to establish some kind of datum, thus an absolute line of reference from which to determine the positions and relationships of all the parts to be included. Consequently philosophy talks about truth. In fact, none of the natural expressions of philosophy are truths in themselves, for intellectual datum lines are notoriously subject to the rules of intellectual fashion. What is clearly true today is qualified tomorrow by some new interpretation which blurs the image. The "truth" of any expression depends upon the purpose to which it is applied; and since these descriptions of truth are conceived in evil, it is not surprising to find that veracity wavers in harmony with the vagaries of the imagination. Absolutes are thus always decaying, only to be rebuilt hopefully in new forms, so that we might be tempted to join the cynics and declare that there is nothing absolute whatsoever. But this remark logically annihilates itself, for it affirms that which it denies.

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The words used to describe this idea do not necessarily represent it, that is, the idea of an absolute which every man conceives, since in every man's mind there is some idea of God; for the words may be so much claptrap spoken for the sake of appearance or from habit. But in the center of the mind there sits an idea of the absolute as it is felt, from which every other thing in the mind assumes its own appropriate place. This is the, order of the mind of which philosophy is only an external description; and when it is converted into words it is often so far removed from the uses of life that all the carefully constructed distinctions, the precisely phrased theories, seem to collapse into heaps of dust in comparison with the happiness of a simple man, content with his lot and at peace with his neighbors.
     To introduce another "new philosophy" might seem to be scarcely justifiable. Be not alarmed! Your essayist is not seeking to extend the provinces of Babel. He has from time to time asked himself certain questions prompted by doctrine, for which the common answers gave him no satisfaction. This essay is merely an outline of the kind of answers that can be supplied if some basic adjustments are made in the common habits of thought. Acceptance of the thesis is not demanded, though good-humored patience is earnestly requested.

     The greatest obstacle impeding human thought is the habit of believing that what is known through the agency of the physical senses is absolutely real. The fundamentals of this reality have always been the subject of speculation, never finally resolved. Once upon a time the elements were earth, air, fire and water. At present they are called protons and neutrons and other similar names which defeat the imagination unless represented in models like solar systems. Anyone may know that in the strictly scientific sense his body offers hardly more obstruction to the gales of energy which sweep through the atmosphere than if he were a disembodied spirit. Natural reality is a relative thing of appearances depending upon the powers of reception in the sensing instrument. Consider this reality if the human eye sensed a different range of frequency, or if the hand had six digits instead of five, or if the Most Ancient Church had arisen in Australia instead of Canaan. None of the apparent things of natural life are basic absolutes for the determination of reality. From first to last, all human judgment is restricted to appearances, and with these, more appearances. Never does it reach into the absolutely essential truth. Finite things only appear to be real.
     Yet we, who speak of God, are no less accustomed to speak and think of nature as being real, and thus making God and things spiritual, supranatural, by comparison unreal and imaginative.

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There follows an inability of the rational mind to step outside rules for reality founded in space and time, from which come questions logical to that plane, such as: Where was God before He made the universe, and what was He doing? If no man can think anything from himself, how could he ever think evil before evil was made, since God made everything and He can make only what is good? If men cannot live except there are spirits both good and evil associated with them, how could the very first man have had life?
     There is nothing in the time and distance scale of nature to assist the rational mind to resolve these difficulties. According to natural appearances, the scale of time is determined solely by the rate at which natural things become more and more chaotic as a consequence of their natural combustion. Should natural things appear to become more organized, the thread of time would be reeling in until it vanished into order itself. This may or may not help to demonstrate that God must have started it off, but it does not help to explain why the thing that God made can become increasingly disorganized the further it proceeds.

     Now the Writings often appeal to us to have a spiritual idea of the works of the Lord. What does this mean if time and space are real? Are we asked to have an unreal idea? Your essayist does not think so but if time and space are the criteria of reality, the spiritual world cannot but appear relatively unreal: an irrational place of magic, a fairy tale in which delightful or terrible things occur at whim or pleasure, where nothing is secure from day to day, but all can be suddenly swallowed up, an imaginary heaven giving place to a stinking morass. The difference of thought in the New Church about the nature of the spiritual world may be due, perhaps, to the unease found when time and space are thought of as being real. But time and space are not real, they are only apparent; and the spiritual world is known to us only by means of what is apparent from what is real.
     The Lord alone is real. He alone has being in Himself, from Himself. The Lord alone has proprium. This proprium is the Divine love, which manifests itself by means of the Divine wisdom. The Divine love is altogether the love of blessing and making happy others, as it were, outside of itself. Divine wisdom is the judgment and justice by which the Divine love attains its end, discriminating exactly according to uses the proper modes of application. The Lord, in whom Divine love and Divine wisdom are distinctly one, is infinite, eternal, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He has made all things from Himself. He sustains all things as long as His providence deems it good, thus proper for them to be. But of all that which we can say the Lord is, one thing has no place in Him, namely, the love of self. The Lord is absolutely selfless in His purposes. He who is good in Himself has no concern to attain that which He is already.

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He is altogether concerned for the good of others who are as it were outside of Him. In this manner is the Absolute Being absolutely good and absolutely true. He alone is real.
     Now if the Lord is the only real-the infinite, the omnipotent-how can anything which is not the Lord Himself come forth? Obviously it is quite impossible to have another being outside the only Being. Fortunately we are not required to divide the Infinite to form the finite. The important qualification is the comparison, "as if it were outside of Him." It is a matter of appearance. If finition is only apparent, though there is no ratio between the infinite and the finite, we can say that the finite is brought forth by the entire withdrawal of the infinite from the appearance. We cannot be trapped here, for the finite is not what we call real; it is but an appearance. The withdrawal of the infinite is according to the appearance, not according to the reality. This is not a trick of words. When stone is chiseled, or wood carved, it is not the Lord who is so used but an appearance. Yet the Lord sustains the stone and the wood, and imparts the power to carve, in reality, and this does not appear. In reality the appearance is dead, having no life from itself; and if the Lord entered upon the appearance with His own life, the appearance would be consumed in an instant. So we have the teaching: "The Divine fills all the spaces of the universe apart from space, and all time apart from time."*
     * DLW 69-76.

     Let us call this principle something of a spiritual idea of the finite with respect to the Infinite. The separation which divides them is complete; but it rests entirely with the appearance of finition, not with the Lord. He sustains all appearances, wherefore there is a communion across the gulf which functions by means of correspondences. When appearances are arranged in a correct order, they are said to correspond with truth and serve as receptacles for good. When they are confused, they are called falsities and serve as receptacles for evil. Being dead in themselves, appearances are incapable of getting out of order once they are set in order; therefore falsity and evil do not belong to them from their appearance, but according to their application. Good and truth are in them also by the same principle; but of themselves they are inert, knowing nothing of that which sustains them in order, or which displaces order. Good and truth can be known only by that which is able to rise above the subjection of the life according to mere appearances. Good and truth are of the Lord. To know them is to know the Lord, and He is not of the realm of appearances. But that which is not the Lord, being finite, cannot know the Lord without the means supplied by appearances.

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This is accomplished through correspondences by means of representations of good and truth in the order of appearances.
     Consider now, if that which is not the Lord is to know the Lord, when it ascends to that knowledge, must it not also be able to see below, that which is not the Lord? Surely it must understand the difference between Him who is Being in Himself and the mere appearance of having being in itself? And if it understands this distinction, from its knowledge of the Lord, will it not call the appearance of having being a fallacy, as contrasted with the Being in Himself whom it calls truth? If it feels a delight in perceiving the representations of truth and calls this delight, good, what will it call the delight which it feels in the pleasure of appearing to have life in itself? Such a delight cannot be nameless, and to call it innocence only describes its condition, not its character. Clearly, if the delight in what is real is called good, the delight in what is unreal is the opposite and can only be called evil; and unless this is done, nothing of good is seen at all.

     To the finite mind rationality is impossible except by illustration provided in the contrasts supplied by appearances, and liberty of the will does not exist unless the distinctions seen in the understanding can be selected by desire according to preference. Good and evil, truth and falsity, heat and cold, light and shade, smooth and rough, and so forth; these are the commodities of the finite human understanding and its will, which signify more than the mere affections of the body, representing also the states of the mind with respect to the knowledge of the Lord.
     The argument must be strictly logical. Appearances from which the Lord's life is apparently withdrawn are the basic permissions and provisions whereby the "as if of itself" can come forth; otherwise there cannot be an "as if it were outside of the Lord." But there cannot be a vacuum, natural or spiritual; and as the Lord's life apparently recedes the opposite of His love apparently inflows. If the life of the Lord is regardless of self, the love which succeeds with appearance is the love of self; and if the Lord's love has in it all peace and blessing, the love of self has inscribed in it all wrath and misery. For what is the love of self in its ends but the desire to possess all things as though they were really its own; thus to be real in itself, when it is only an appearance and hence a frustrated love from beginning to end. But the Lord did not bring man forth for the sake of this love of self. There is that in man which is capable of ascending, and also that into which it may ascend, to know the Lord and to receive peace and blessings from Him. However, that which is formed in order to ascend is not yet ascended in the beginning.

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Consider what is really the work of the Lord's creation:

     "In beginning God made the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void. . . This beginning also involves the most ancient time when man is being regenerated, for he then is born anew, and receives life. To create, to form, and to make, almost everywhere in the prophetic Word signify to regenerate. . . . That heaven signifies the internal man, and earth the external, may be seen in what follows."*
     * AC 16.

     When we speak of creation in the theological sense, or even in the philosophical sense which aspires to understand truth, we must be careful that we refer to that which the Lord forms with man for the sake of his eternal life. The natural universe and the physical body are not creation in this sense; for in these there is nothing of life, and in them all life is ultimately destroyed. At first, with respect to the external man:

     "The earth was voidness and emptiness, and thick darkness was upon the face of the abyss. Man before regeneration is called earth, void and empty; it is said to be void where there is nothing of good, and empty where there is nothing of truth. Hence there is thick darkness and ignorance of all things which are of faith in the Lord, consequently which are of spiritual and celestial life. The faces of the abyss denote the lusts of the unregenerate man, and the falsities thence, of which he consists, and in which he is altogether. In this state, because he has no light, he is like something obscure and confused. . . . The same expressions in general involve the vastation of man, frequently spoken of in the prophets, which precedes regeneration; for before the man can know what is truth, and be affected by good, such things as hinder and resist must be removed. Thus the old man must die before the new man can be conceived.*
     * AC 17, 18.

     The account continues:

     "By the 'spirit of God' is meant the Lord's mercy, which is said to brood, as a hen broods over her eggs. The things over which it broods are such as the Lord has treasured up in man . . . called remains. They are the cognitions of good and truth which never come to light, or day, until external things have been vastated. These cognitions are here called the faces of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. The first state is when man begins to know that there are good and truth of a somewhat-higher kind. Men who are altogether external do not even know what good and truth are; for they fancy all things to be good which belong to the love of self and the love of the world, and all things to be true which favor these loves, not being aware that those goods are evils and those truths falsities. But when man is conceived anew, he begins for the first time to know that his goods are not goods; particularly when he comes to the light that the Lord is . . . good itself and truth itself.*
     * AC 19, 20.

     Space does not allow the whole of the first chapter of the Arcana to be quoted. Suffice it to say that it is an account of the universal process of regeneration, wherein the spiritual is created by the Lord in man, but even at the sixth day evil is not laid aside.

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     Concerning the state of the spiritual man with respect to his natural man we rend as follows:

     "The reason that vegetables and the green herb only are described as food for man is this. While man is being regenerated and made spiritual, he is continually engaged in warfare, on which account the church of the Lord is called militant, for before regeneration lusts have the dominion, because the whole man is composed of unmixed lusts and falsities therefrom. During regeneration his lusts and falsities cannot be instantaneously removed, for that would destroy the whole man, since he has acquired no other life to himself; wherefore evil spirits are suffered to continue with him for a time, that they may excite his lusts, and that by innumerable modes these may be weakened, and indeed to such an extent that they may be bent by the Lord to good, and thus the man may be reformed. In the time of combat the evil spirits, who bear the utmost hatred towards everything that is good and true, that is, against whatever is of love and faith towards the Lord, which solely are good and true because they have eternal life in them, leave man nothing else for food but what is compared to vegetables and the green herb; but the Lord gives him food also which is compared to the herb yielding seed, and to the tree in which is fruit, that is, the food of tranquillity and peace with their joys and delights.*
     * AC 59.

     Only on the seventh day are evil and falsity set at nought.

     "Jehovah God formed man out of the dust of the ground, denotes to form his external man, which before was not man. . . . Hitherto the external man had been unwilling to obey and serve the internal, but had continually fought against him, wherefore the external was not then man. Now, being made celestial, the external begins to obey and serve the internal, and also becomes man, and indeed by means of the life of faith and the life of love. The life of faith prepares him, but the life of love causes him to be man.*
     * AC 95.
     "The celestial man is not in combat, and if he is assaulted by evils and falsities he makes light of them, and is therefore also called a conqueror. He has no restraints by which he is influenced, but is free: his restraints, which do not appear, are the perceptions of good and truth. . . . From the Lord they had perceptions continuously, which perceptions were such that . . . when they thought about those things which were treasured up in the memory, they instantly perceived whether they were true and good, insomuch that when anything false presented itself they not only avoided it, but even regarded it with horror.*
     * AC 81, 125

     What might be called the mechanics of these things are set out in Divine Love and Wisdom:

     "Because the natural is the covering and containant of the higher degrees of the mind it is reactive; and if the higher degrees are not opened, it reacts against them, but if they are opened, it acts with them. . . . By virtue of the reaction which is in him from birth, the natural man, when he loves himself and the world above all things, acts against those things which are of the spiritual mind or man. Then he feels delight in evils of every kind . . . [and] also acknowledges nature as the creator of the universe. But the state of the natural mind is altogether different when the spiritual mind is opened. In this case the natural mind is disposed for submission to the spiritual mind and is subordinated.

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For the spiritual mind acts from above or from within upon the natural mind, and removes those things which react, and adapts to itself those things which act in like manner with itself; hence the overbearing reaction is gradually taken away. . . . It is to be noted that in the universe in greatest and least things, whether living or dead, there is action and reaction; hence the equilibrium of all things. This is lost when action overcomes reaction, and vice versa. . . . The natural mind by birth is in opposition to those things which belong to the spiritual mind, which opposition is derived from parents by heredity. The state of the natural mind before reformation may be compared to a spiral twisting downwards, after reformation-to a spiral twisting upwards; wherefore a man before regeneration looks downwards to hell, but after regeneration looks upwards to heaven.*
     * DLW 260-263.

     Now, essential to this thesis is the assertion that in the beginning, at all times, the state of the natural with man is a twisting downwards towards hell, without exception. What, then, becomes of the teaching that "if man were born into the love into which he was created he would not be in evil, yea, neither would he know what evil is; if he were told that this or that is evil, he would not believe that such a thing could be possible. This state of innocence is that in which were Adam and his wife Eve; the nakedness of which they were not ashamed signified that state"?* Conjugial Love 444 has a similar reference concerning a pair of angels from the heaven of innocence.
     * DP 275.
     The state concerned is comparative. A man is not born into the state in which he was created at any time, if by creation we mean the regenerative work of the Lord. It should be noted also that it is not Adam who is offered as an example, but Adam and Eve. Concerning Eve we read:

     "The rib is said to be built into a woman, but it is not said that the woman was created, or formed, or made, as it was said before when treating of regeneration. The reason of its being said, to be built, is because to build signifies to raise up that which is fallen; in the Word likewise, where to build is predicated of evil, to raise up of falsities; and to renew of both. . . . Nothing evil or false can possibly exist which is not of proprium and from proprium, for the proprium of man is evil itself; thence man is nothing but evil and falsity. . . . When, however, propria have been vivified by the Lord . . . they appear fair.*
     * AC 143, 154.

     It was Adam's discontent at dwelling alone with the Lord which required the building of Eve, out of mercy toward the wayward man of the Most Ancient Church.

     "To dwell alone . . . those were said to dwell alone who were led by the Lord as celestial men, because they were no longer infested by evils and falsities. This posterity was not willing to dwell alone, that is, to be celestial men . . . and as they desired this, it is said, it is not good that man should dwell alone, for he who desires it is already in evil, and his desire is granted to him."*
     *AC 139.

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     "The state of the celestial man is such that the internal is distinct from the external . . . so distinct that he perceives what belongs to the internal and what to the external, and how the external is governed by means of the internal by the Lord. But the state of this posterity, in consequence of their desiring proprium, which is of the external man, became changed to such a degree that they no longer perceived the internal to be distinct from the external, but imagined the internal to be one with the external, for such perception takes place when proprium is desired."*
     * AC 159.
     "This posterity of the Most Ancient Church was not evil, but still good, and. because they desired to live in the external man, or in proprium, this was granted to them by the Lord; but what was spiritual-celestial was, however, insinuated out of mercy."*
     * AC 161.
     "Man's proprium, as before stated, is nothing but evil, and when exhibited to view is most ugly; but when charity and innocence from the Lord are insinuated into proprium it appears good and beautiful."*
     * AC 164.
     "That the nakedness of which they were not ashamed signifies innocence appears manifestly from what follows; for when the integrity and innocence departed, they were then ashamed of their nakedness, and it appeared to them a disgrace and they hid themselves."*
     *AC 165.
     From these things it should be evident that Adam and Eve were not good from proprium, but from the celestial inheritance which they had from Adam, and out of mercy from the Lord. They were like the children of wealthy parents who do not add to their inheritance by self-restraint and denial, but who yet do not waste it in violence, having been educated to behave in a civilized and charitable manner, while yet delighting to call their inheritance their own. They thus confound the internal with the external, and do not see the evil in their delight; and if they were told of the evil, they would not believe it. But with Adam himself it is different.
     "In the Most Ancient Church these general principles were celestial and eternal truths; for instance, that the Lord rules the universe, that all good and truth are from the Lord, that all life is from the Lord, that man's proprium is nothing but evil, and that in itself it is dead, besides other such truths."* Indeed these principles are universal and, eternal; for "the proprium of everyone, whether angel, spirit or man, is nothing but evil, and therefore no angels or spirits are the least able to resist evils which continually exhale from hell, because from their proprium all tend towards hell."**
     * AC 597
     ** HH 592.

     Even at the best, Adam never quite escaped the heredity from his parent nature. Spiritual Diary 463 5-6 begins: "If man were without hereditary evil," in the same manner as Divine Providence 275, and continues: "The sons of the Most Ancient Church were born almost in this condition, namely, into the affections of good and the affections of truth." But almost is never absolute, and even an infant Adam is relatively heir to a reactive natural which he senses in all the finite appearances by which he is separated from his infinite Creator.

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Regeneration is a universal necessity with all who would attain the celestial degree, whether it be with the sons of celestial men or the sons of Cain and Ham. Unless a man sees natural evil, he will never see the highest celestial good. For what is celestial order?

     "Evils with which goods are mixed, and falsities with which truths are mixed, are arranged in order by the Lord in a wonderful manner; for they are not conjoined, still less are they united, but they are adjoined and applied, and indeed in such a manner that goods with truths are in the midst as in a center, and by degrees towards the circuits or circumferences there are such evils and falsities. Hence it is that the latter are enlightened by the former, and are variegated like white and black by light from the center. This is heavenly order."*
     * AC 3993: 13.

     It will be observed that throughout these questions there is reference to evil, falsity and the lusts of the natural man, to evil spirits and their influx, when yet that disaster called the Fall has not yet occurred in the historical series and therefore, according to general consent, there could be no hell from which these things could originate. One theory to account for the phenomena is that the series in which they occur applies only to the state of man since the Fall. But the context and reference are clear enough, for literally they apply not only to all men since the Fall but also to Adam and those who preceded him. How, then, can these things be rationalized?
     Let us first consider how heaven and hell are made in man. Man is born free, being in equilibrium. There is the reaction of the interior degrees of his mind on the one hand, and that of his external mind on the other. He is brought forth to choose, and choose he will, for it cannot be evaded. The choice is in the act of appropriation. On the one side, he can appropriate a life of good by applying his knowledges of the truth of faith to his life; on the other, he can appropriate the life of the appearances of the proprium by applying his falsity to his life for the sake of its evil, which he then prefers to call good. Either of these he does according to the appearances of his own prudence. In the natural world, where appearances are so dead and inert that they change only under their impact one on another, it is impossible to judge more than approximately what choice is being made. But when the life of the body is put off, those who have appropriated a life and love according to the way of the Lord enter into the appearances of heaven, which correspond to what is real. From the internal which has been opened with them they put off the natural proprium to the extremities, receiving a new proprium from the Lord in which they enjoy peace and contentment. On the other hand, those who have appropriated the life of their natural proprium, living in the fantasies which agree with its evils, enter into the appearances of hell.

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But even there the mercy of the Lord is with them to mitigate their unhappy lot which, being a life of overbearing reaction against good, is one of hatred and revenge. The essential communion of the Lord with His creatures in heaven, hell or the natural world is not, however, in any of these appearances.

     "Man's internal is that by virtue of which man is man, and by which he is distinguished from brute animals . . . lives as a man after death, and to eternity . . . . [and] is capable of being raised up by the Lord among the angels. It is the very first form by virtue of which he becomes and is a man. Through this internal the Lord is united to man. The very heaven nearest the Lord consists of these human internals. This, however, is above the inmost angelic heaven; wherefore these internals belong to the Lord Himself. The whole human race is thus most immediately present under the Lord's eyes. In the sublunary world there appears distance; but there is none in heaven, much less above the heavens. These internals of man have not life in themselves, but are forms recipient of the Lord's life. In proportion, then, as man is in evil, whether actual or hereditary, he is as it were separated from this internal which belongs to the Lord and is with the Lord, consequently in the same proportion he is separated from the Lord; for although this internal is adjoined to man, and inseparable from him, still in proportion as man recedes from the Lord, he as it were separates himself from it. This separation, however, is not a plucking asunder from it, for man would then no longer be capable of living after death; but it consists in a dissent and disagreement of those faculties of man which are beneath, that is, of his rational and external man, with it. In proportion to this dissention and disagreement there is disjunction; but in proportion as there is no dissention and disagreement man is conjoined through the internal to the Lord; and this is effected in proportion as he is in love and charity, for love and charity conjoin."*
     * AC 1999.

     The heaven of human internals is not in any of the appearances of space and time, either spiritual or natural. The natural time at which a human soul assumes a natural body and becomes an apparent being is therefore not determined by the formation of a human internal in time. Human internals are all with the Lord eternally. They have no number, nor are they spatially or temporarily distinguished. All men, from eternity to eternity, are before the Lord at once, not in succession, and He dwells in them all immediately.
     From His immediate presence universally, the Lord knows all the innumerable states into which the human soul may fall, as to appearances. He has provided all those which are heavenly, and for the sake of the end has permitted all those which are in opposition, that souls should appear as beings as it were outside of Him. Man is not compelled into either heaven or hell. The former is already provided and the latter already permitted, not in space and time, but as to state.

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The word, potential, should be avoided, for hell does not have potency; it only destroys, whereas the Lord always saves where man is willing. By willing, each man enters into the qualities of the one or the other, and they then assume appearances which represent them in temporal and spatial terms. Heaven is because the Lord is; hell appears because man delights in believing that he has life from himself.

     The spiritual world is above and within, not of space and time. We need not suppose that the only influx possible into the natural is through the agency of spirits who have preceded a given date by their natural lives. In general, before the Lord, all good and all evil operate into every man in the physical world. The communication is one of affection, not of thought. Thus temporal images do not become confused. But human affections remain essentially the same regardless of time and space. Yet there is, as it were, spiritual nearness and farness, as to the appearances of state in which the particulars of association are seen. But the Lord, being immediately present with all, governs all appearances, maintaining them in an order which is exactly related to the liberty and rationality of everyone. The angels gladly accept this Divine government, knowing and feeling the peace and delight of their lives to depend upon it. Only the evil wish to overthrow it in hatred, seeking always to live in the free lusts of the body and to enjoy dominion through them. Evil spirits can and do attempt to flow into man's thoughts for this purpose. Where it occurs, very strange psychological consequences emerge. Such things are permitted only within the needs of human equilibrium, and those who infest are afterwards punished. But we know that there are those who seek to unfold the future and to recreate the past.
     Time and space, being appearances, contain no absolute datum in themselves, and we cannot determine an absolute quantity of either; only an apparent one which is fraught with illusions. Natural, social, political and ecclesiastical history are built out of these appearances. But in his wisest natural state man did not record history at all, and when he ceased from being really wise he had to invent history as a means of describing his apparent wisdom. The appearances of time and space are not the fabric of the Lord's church or of His heaven, and they are an impediment to these if they are regarded as factors determining the states of the human mind, rather than as illustrations of its states in relatively fixed and objective appearances. In the spiritual world man's natural memory is laid aside; reawakened only to convince him about some unpalatable fact respecting his will and understanding. If we dismiss time and space to their proper and lowly place as the last ultimate states of finition, we can deal with our awkward questions with much greater ease.

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     There never is a state in which the Lord's love is before creation, because He is not of space and time; and the object of His love, His creation, is with Him eternally, without beginning or end.
     Since the life of spirits is above and not of space and time, they can be associated from affection universally regardless of the apparent historical series.
     All angels and evil spirits are present with all men in the natural world regardless of historical successions and appearances, the particulars of association being governed only from considerations of rationality and liberty.
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1963

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL              1963

     The 1963 Meetings of the Educational Council of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., from Friday, August 16, to Friday, August 23, inclusive. In addition to the regular meetings of the Council, Miss Mae Carden will lecture on her language program, August 14-16, and there will be time for special group meetings. The Rev. David R. Simons is chairman of the program committee. Members of the Council will receive the complete program through the mail.
EDUCATIONAL CLASSES 1963

EDUCATIONAL CLASSES              1963

     Teachers in the General Church, whether or not they teach in society schools, are invited to attend the summer classes to be given in connection with the Educational Council Meetings this August. A series of eight classes on "The Use of Swedenborg's Philosophic Works in New Church Education" will be given by Bishop De Charms, and there will be a series on "The Fine Arts" organized by Dean Klein and Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt. Please notify the Rev. David R. Simons if you plan to attend.
Title Unspecified 1963

Title Unspecified              1963

     Philosophy is true philosophy when it is in concord with the things contained in the Divine Word, like things that are external with those that are internal, or like nature, considered in herself, with heaven; for nature was made to be in complete concord with heaven (Word Explained 914).

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our current Scripture readings we have moved from the Old Testament to the New Testament. We witness a great change in the style of revelation: a change all the more meaningful and wonderful when we are aware of the cause.
     If we reflect upon the history of written Divine revelation, we will note unmistakable changes in the form and style employed. We will see a gradual progression from seemingly simple, childlike stories to open spiritual-rational doctrines and truths. Going back to the beginning of written revelation, we have the correspondential, fable-like stories of the Ancient Word, of which only the first eleven chapters of Genesis are given for our use. In these non-historical writings the spiritual knowledges of heaven are deeply, deeply hidden in the ancient style of correspondential language. So covered has been the spiritual knowledge within these writings that few have even imagined that they contain anything other than factual stories of early times.

     Following the stories from the Ancient Word the style changes abruptly in the historic account of the birth, growth and life of the Israelitish nation. From the call of Abram, in Genesis, chapter twelve, through the five books of Moses; through Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings; the Word reads much like a historical journal. The spiritual sense within the history is again buried deeply, but not as deeply as in the stories of the Ancient Word. For in the history of the sons of Israel we find various laws and commands which make clear certain fundamental spiritual truths, such as that Jehovah God is one Lord. But such instances of open spiritual knowledge are few and widely scattered. Nothing shows a spiritual sense lying consistently within. No one has ever guessed that every jot and tittle contains the truths of heaven.
     With the Psalms the style of the Word again changes and becomes now mainly prophetical. When we read the four great prophets-Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel-and the twelve minor prophets concluding with Malachi, we are made fully aware that what we are reading has some meaning, some signification. Many of the prophecies are dark and mysterious, while many others are beautiful, poetic and clear.

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The spiritual content within is still deeply hidden; but there is a certain knowledge that something is within-even though its message is not apparent.
     When we come to the New Testament we see that the style of writing changes again; only this is a greater change, for the entire spirit of the expression is different. It is true that in some manner we see all three styles of the Old Testament again employed. In place of the correspondential fable-like stories we find the Lord's parables. In place of the history of the Israelitish nation we find the historical movements and the dramatic story of the Lord and His disciples. In place of the prophecies of scattered and seemingly unrelated events we find the consistent prophecies of the Last Judgment and the birth of the New Jerusalem.

     Where we see the really changing form of Divine revelation, however, is not so much in the changing style but in the subject-matter and the manner of expression employed in the New Testament. We see the spiritual truths hidden deeply in the letter of the Old Testament coming more and more into the foreground in the letter of the New Testament. In the Old Testament we find that the emphasis of the letter is upon law-both Divine and civil law; and in the letter that law appears rather harsh, abstract, cold, demanding, and sometimes unmerciful. In the New Testament we find that the emphasis of the letter is upon law also: but now it is the law of love, mercy, charity, understanding and forgiveness, and the concern of a loving, Divinely-human God for His children. From the civil law of the Old Testament, the Word moves to reveal the moral law.
     Finally, in the Writings, the Lord reveals the spiritual law. All the coverings have been removed from spiritual truth, and the fullness of the Divine love and wisdom stands forth before man's rational mind. The truths hidden deeply in the Ancient Word are the same truths that now stand forth in the Writings in clear light. As man has been able to receive, so has the Lord gradually removed the veils with which He had covered spiritual truths, so that new truths would be the spiritual food of new states with man.
     When from the Writings we can see something of the Lord's hand in preparing and ordering the changing form of Divine revelation, from the Ancient Word to the Writings themselves, we can more fully appreciate the nature of the Divine intelligence. Also, we can more closely treasure and effectively use that wonderful presence of the Lord with us.

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CONTINUING EDUCATION 1963

CONTINUING EDUCATION       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     As another year draws to a close in the schools of the Academy and the General Church, we will do well to realize that New Church education is not a process that comes to an end. Nor, indeed, does it ever reach fulfillment, or even full flowering. The true New Church man not only reads, studies and discusses the Writings; he reads and talks about other books. He considers, evaluates and responds to ideas; knowing that listening, learning and reflection are lifelong processes.
     The true New Church man sees life so differently from day to day that he will feel it imperative to seek knowledge and understanding, intelligence and wisdom from one day to the next. This will send him not only to the Word in the Sacred Scripture and the Heavenly Doctrine, and, at the other end of the scale, to the technical writing in his field; it will send him also to the humanities and to the literature of other disciplines. For he seeks knowledge even when life does not demand it of him, since he knows that in the acquisition of moral wisdom and rational as well as spiritual truth he increases his capacity for use.
     While we welcome the progress of our children through the ranks, and recognize the achievement of those who have completed a program of formal instruction, we may never regard them as having finished entirely with New Church education. Rather should we try to inspire them to go on. This will be done most effectively if we can welcome them as fellow students in a continuing education: one pursued in part under the clergy, but also sought and engaged in privately by all who seek the acquisition of truth for the sake of the uses of life.

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FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH 1963

FOUNDATION OF THE CHURCH       Editor       1963

     In the internal sense of Scripture, as in the doctrinal parts of the Writings, we are taught that the church is from the Lord by means of the Word. We are instructed also that the celestial and spiritual things of the church are founded upon scientifics and cognitions, upon the knowledges of good and truth that are given in the Word; and we are told that it is established upon those doctrinals which are the truths of faith, and the intelligence formed when they are rationally understood.
     Divine doctrine, then, is the foundation of the church, and there is no other foundation on which the church may be built. In itself the church is a living, spiritual structure which is established in the minds of individual men and women. It consists in a new kind of love, a new mode of thought, a new way of life, all received from the Lord. Therefore man cannot arrive at these intuitively or by any process of human reasoning. Nor does the Lord insinuate them into his mind by secretly permeating him with them or cause them to infiltrate his mind from the unrealized environment of a new age. The love, thought and life which are the essentials of the church must be learned. They can be learned only from Divinely revealed doctrine; and they are entered into only as the doctrine is learned and understood, loved and lived.
     The Divine revelation that we call the Heavenly Doctrine is, therefore, the foundation of the New Church on earth, and of the New Heaven as well, and there is no other foundation on which that church can be built in this world. What we have in the Writings is much more than a library. We have in them that which can become in our minds the foundation upon which the Lord will build His church: a body of sacred knowledges to be studied, learned and assimilated, patiently, conscientiously and without hurry. As this is done, as these knowledges are understood, loved and applied to life, the Lord Himself forms them into a foundation upon which His church can stand.
PURPOSE OF THE SECOND ADVENT 1963

PURPOSE OF THE SECOND ADVENT       Editor       1963

     When the Lord made His second advent it was not, as every New Church man knows, to destroy the created universe but to effect a judgment. He had promised that He would be with the apostles "even unto the consummation of the age"; and the Christian age had been fully worked out by the middle of the eighteenth century. The Reformation had delayed the reckoning until the fullness of time was reached, but could not avert it.

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     We note, however, that the judgment the Lord came to effect was not upon Christianity itself, but upon the church which called itself Christian and upon the way in which it had adulterated and perverted what was truly Christianity in the beginning. Christianity was not brought to judgment, for Christianity was the Lord's teaching in the Gospels applied to life, and His teaching was and is the truth itself. The condemnation was of the age, or of the church of the age, and the judgment was upon that church.
     Of necessity the judgment took place, not upon earth, but in the world of spirits where all are together, where all have made their final choice of good or evil, and where the inmost affections of the mind can be revealed. This last judgment-so called because it was the final general judgment to be performed-took place, as is well known among us, early in the year 1757. After the simple good had been separated from the evil, the latter judged themselves to hell in a series of cataclysmic events which are fully described in the Writings. The good who had been detained in the lower earth were liberated, brought forth and instructed; a new heaven, the New Christian Heaven, was formed; the New Church began to be organized in the world of spirits on the Nineteenth of June, 1770, when the apostles were sent forth to preach the new gospel; and a few years later the New Church on earth was established in London, England. Because the Last Judgment took place in the spiritual world it was not felt on earth and its effects were not perceived. We know of it only from the Writings. That knowledge, however, and the knowledge of what was effected as a result of the judgment, enter into our celebration this month of New Church Day.
AMEN 1963

AMEN              1963

     Truth and faith are one, and in Hebrew both are expressed by the same word-Amuna, Amen. This word was carried over into the New Testament, and both of its meanings are preserved in the English versions. When used by the Lord at the beginning of a teaching it is rendered "Verily"; and when used at the end, or at the close of a prayer, it is given as "Amen." In the first instance, what is signified is Divine truth and confirmation thereof from the Lord, who is the truth itself; in the second, confirmation and the consent of all that it is so, which confirmation comes from the Lord when anyone speaks Divine truth from the heart. As used by the church in worship, therefore, "Amen" expresses faith in the Divine truth and also submission to the Lord.

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GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS 1963

GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS       STEPHEN PITCAIRN       1963




     Announcements
     The 1963 Annual Corporation Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in the Benade Hall Auditorium, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Friday, June 14, 1963, at 8:00 p.m., D.S.T. Notices have been mailed.
     STEPHEN PITCAIRN,
          Secretary
BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1963

BRITISH ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963

     The Forty-eighth British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will he held in Colchester, England, July 19-21, 1963, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     For accommodation please write to Mr. and Mrs. J. F. Cooper, 33 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.
     WIlLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
SONS OF THE ACADEMY 1963

SONS OF THE ACADEMY       EDWARD ASPLUNDH       1963

     The 55th Annual Meetings of the Sons of the Academy will be held in Glenview, Illinois, June 21-23, 1963. All male members of the General Church and students are invited to attend. There will also be a program for the ladies.

     THE PROGRAM

Friday, June 21
     3:00     p.m. Workshop Conferences
     6:00     p.m. Buffet Supper
     8:00     p.m. Address by Academy Representative

Saturday, June 22
     9:00     a.m. Annual Business Meeting and election of Officers
     1:00     a.m. Men's Luncheon
     7:30     p.m. Banquet-ladies invited

Sunday, June 23
     11:00     a.m. Divine Worship
          EDWARD ASPLUNDH,
               Secretary
ETERNITY 1963

ETERNITY       Rev. KENNETH O. STROH       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
July 1963
No. 7

[The Miami Church     Frontispiece]
     "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the almighty." (Revelation 1: 8)

     It is important that finite man should have a correct idea of eternity; otherwise he cannot properly know and love his Heavenly Father, who alone is truly eternal. No mortal man can really comprehend the Divine or perceive the infinite God as He is in Himself. But in His Word the Lord has described His infinity and eternity in terms which may be grasped by angels and men; for He says that He is, and was, and is to come.

     But what is eternity? Often it is thought of in reference to the life after death, which is to continue without end; and in this connection some look forward to it with hope, some dread it with the fear of the uncertain in their hearts, while many do not think about it at all. It is commonly defined as that which is without beginning or end and is thus timeless. Yet the thought of the world on the subject is confused; for this everlasting existence or duration is frequently described as an infinity of time, that is, as time without beginning or end. This idea involves a basic contradiction in terms. Along with it there came into the former Christian Church the falsity that the Lord is the Son of God, born from eternity; whereas no one, not even God Himself, can be born into the world except in time. Thus thought concerning the matter is not clear.
     Yet if man has no clear ideas on the subject he cannot know the Lord very well, because he has no adequate idea of the nature of the Master's infinite love and wisdom. At the same time, there are many things he cannot understand about the Divine order in the creation of the universe and about the laws of the Divine Providence whereby creation is protected and sustained.

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He cannot comprehend the eternal values that make the life of heaven on the one hand, and the life of hell on the other; and he cannot fully appreciate one of the essential elements of the heavenly marriage of husband and wife. Therefore it is important to man's spiritual welfare that he should have a right idea of eternity.

     The difficulty is that earthbound humans think from ideas that are limited by the times and spaces which are proper to the natural world. They instinctively think of eternity no otherwise than as an eternity of time, and this results in a confusion of ideas. Therefore, in order to have understanding we must turn to Divine revelation, which alone can penetrate the clouds of obscurity, and in the Heavenly Doctrine we find that a true understanding may be learned from what we are taught about the angels. They do not live in a world of time and space, for these belong to the natural world, not to the spiritual. Time is measured by the revolution of the earth on its axis, which produces days and nights, and by its course around the sun, whereby men know a regular procession of seasons and of years. But in heaven the spiritual sun does not appear to move; it remains in a fixed position, at a middle height in the sky. Thus the angels always have light. They have no darkness at night and they have no seasons other than a beautiful, perpetual spring. Thus they have no idea of time such as does man in the world.
     Nevertheless there is an appearance of time with the angels, for they have their morning, noon, afternoon and evening periods. But these periods are not brought on by any fixed progression outside of the angels. Rather are they produced in the angels themselves by their various and progressing states of love and wisdom. They have states when their loves and affections are warm, or relatively not so warm; they have states when their thoughts are clear, or relatively obscure; they have states of morning and evening. So instead of times they have states. Men in the world also have varying states, and natural time, though fixed, can often appear according to the state. When a man delights in what he is doing, the time seems to pass very quickly-all too quickly; but when he is bored, the time seems endless. Time can appear according to the state of mind, and with the angels it is ever so. Time is unknown to them, for instead of it they have states. Thus they cannot conceive of an eternity of time. Rather, to the angels, eternity means infinite state.*
     * HH 167.
     We are told that the angels learn the true idea of the Divine eternity by reflecting on the fact that thousands of years do not appear to them as time, but almost as if they had lived only a minute.

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Furthermore, in their present they have past and future things together. "Hence they have no solicitude about future things; nor have they ever any idea of death, but only the idea of life; so that in all their present there is the Lord's eternity and infinity."* Often we hear it said that the angels live in the present, and this is what is meant-that they have no concern for the future because their present contains all things of the past and foreshadows all things of the future; not future time, but successive states of increasing love and wisdom.
     * AC 1382.
     Therefore the angels care not for those temporary things which seem so vital to men in the world-things belonging to time and space, which are of the natural world and are left behind on the death of the body. They are not solicitous about dignities, honors and reputation, about riches and physical possessions, about bodily health and appearance, or even about food, clothing and their homes. For all these natural things have been left behind in the natural world, and they have been given similar things freely, each angel in accordance with his need and usefulness.* Therefore the angels have no regard for what is temporary, but only for what is of eternal value.
     * DP 220.

     Men in the world also, if they would learn to become angels, must learn to look to the eternal rather than the temporal. This they cannot do unless they try to remove their thoughts from the things of time and space, learning to think from heavenly rather than from worldly purposes. If they do this, the interiors of their minds will be associated with the angels of heaven; and from the Divine Word they will be able to gain a true understanding of the nature of the Lord, of His creation, of His Divine Providence, of the life of heaven, and of the eternal marriage of good and truth there.
     For example, only when time and space have been removed from the thought can it be fully understood what the Lord meant when He said that He is, and was, and is to come. He spoke in the appearance of time and space: He spoke of the present, the past and the future; and these are expressions comprehensible to men, but corresponding to heavenly ideas and to the Divine itself. The angelic idea of the Lord's immensity and of His eternity contains nothing of space and time. Therefore the Heavenly Doctrine reveals that "to the angels in heaven the immensity of God means His Divinity in respect to His esse, and His eternity His Divinity in respect to His existere."* His esse might be called His being-the Lord God Jehovah as He is in Himself; while His existere is sometimes called His coming or standing forth-the Divine proceeding to create and sustain the universe.**

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But perhaps the idea becomes more clear if for esse we say the Divine love, and for existere the Divine wisdom. For the Heavenly Father is love itself, and He does all things by means of His wisdom. So also, to the angels, the Lord's immensity means His Divinity in respect to love, while His eternity means His Divinity in respect to wisdom.***
     * TCR 31: 2.
     ** Cf. AC 3937: 3.
     *** Cf. TCR 31: 2.

     The correspondence of the Divine wisdom with eternity and, on a lower plane, with time may be illustrated from man's daily experience; for when the understanding, the receptacle of wisdom, is completely at rest, as when man is asleep, then the passage of time is not noticed, for times relate to wisdom or to truth. So when the Lord came, a Light into the world, He came as the Divine truth, the Word made flesh, to teach and lead men back to the way of wisdom and spiritual life. That He is eternal He taught when He said: "Before Abraham was, I am."* But He was not the Son of God born from eternity, as the Christian churches have taught. Rather His birth, while its necessity was foreseen from eternity, was nevertheless provided in time, and His physical appearance in the world lasted for approximately thirty-three years. But the Lord's Divine Human itself is above and apart from time, though in all times; for it is one with the Divine love and wisdom, and Divine wisdom is eternity itself.
     * John 8: 56.
     From eternity the Lord's love has gone forth by means of His wisdom, seeking to create others outside of Himself to whom He can give happiness. Man can easily conceive of this creation as going on forever. To begin with, his innate conceit will not allow him to feel that he himself will ever cease to exist, and it is not difficult to think of an endless succession of years; that is, in terms of time it is not difficult to think of "to eternity." But to think of "from eternity" is another matter. Man then instinctively thinks of a first beginning. Yet beginning has exclusive reference to time; and the man who thinks of the origin of creation as being from a beginning of time eventually must think of its origin as being natural, for time is a property of nature. He who so thinks becomes a naturalist and at length denies God whereas the truth is that the universe has been created from eternity-not an eternity of time, but eternity not of time-and that times have been introduced by the Lord with creation.*
     * Cf. DLW 156, 157.
     So it is vain to think of eternity before time, or of the Lord's thoughts and actions before creation. Anyone who persists in such thoughts may easily become spiritually insane, and may be led to the denial of God.

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Swedenborg notes that once he was thinking about what God was from eternity, what He did before the world was created, whether He thought about creation and decided on the order to be followed. Then he adds: "But lest I should be driven to madness by such speculations I was raised up by the Lord into the sphere and light in which the interior angels dwell; and when the idea of space and time in which my thought was dwelling had been somewhat removed, it was given me to comprehend that the eternity of God is not an eternity of time; and as there was no time before the world was created, it is utterly vain to think about God in any such way."*
     * TCR 31: 3.

     When this is accepted it can more easily be understood how the Divine Providence protects and sustains all created things. For in all that it does the Divine Providence looks to eternal things, and to temporal things only as far as they agree with eternal things. That is, the Lord wishes to lead men to heaven to the extent that they are willing to be led; and He grants or withholds dignities, honors, possessions and health and the like in such a manner as can best serve man's spiritual welfare. The Lord can do this because He knows man's quality from and to eternity; He knows what the man can and will be, and so is able to provide for his every spiritual need. But the Lord could not do this unless He were infinite and unlimited by time and space. To man, this knowledge of the Lord's appears as foresight, and is properly so called; but with the Lord it is not foresight, but His Divine wisdom. For He knows all things, and to Him all things are present.*
     * Cf. DP 214; AC 1048. 5309.
     It is from this that the angels are said to live in the present, for they are close to the Lord. Indeed it is said that they are in the Lord and that the Lord is in them. Still, they are human, finite, and thus limited. But they are above the realm of time and space, and the appearance of time with them is according to their different states of love and wisdom. Those in hell are also in such appearances according to their states of the love of evil and belief in what is false. But, unlike the angels, they have not given up a longing for temporal things. They long for dignities, honors and possessions, and burn with hatred against those who keep them from their desires; and because the laws which restrain them are Divine, for the Lord rules the hells also, their greatest hatred is therefore for the Lord Himself.
     Thus life is more heavenly as it is far from the things of time and space.* So is it also with men and women upon the earth. To the extent that they regard worldly things as important in themselves, to the extent that they desire these things for selfish reasons, to that extent are they far removed from the sphere of heaven.

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But as they come to regard the eternal things of the spirit as being of the first importance, and look on temporal things merely as means to spiritual ends, so do they come near to heaven, for then heaven is within them.
     * AC 2654: 6.

     This truth may be illustrated by the love of husband and wife in marriage. If the married partners both hope and believe that their union is of the Divine Providence, and that it is to endure to eternity, they will progress more deeply into interior states of heavenly joy and peace, no matter what the external vicissitudes of life may bring. But if the idea of the eternal is taken away, then they must regard their marriage as being only an external conjunction which will be dissolved by death. Then it is as if they had been cast down from heaven; for the true love in marriage, called conjugial love, has eternity in it from the fact that this love, together with its wisdom, increases with the married partners to eternity.* This increase is not to an eternity of time, but rather to one of state. For those in conjugial love know ever more interior states of wisdom, and of the love of that wisdom. This they have from the Lord, who is wisdom itself; and because the Divine wisdom is eternity itself, therefore conjugial love has in it the eternal.
     * Cf. CL 216.
     So is it in all things of man's life. In his thoughts and affections, his words and deeds, he can choose to give primary emphasis to the temporary things of the world or to the eternal things of Divine wisdom; and those who choose the way of wisdom will search the Divine Word for the truths of wisdom, will examine the inner nature of their lives, will shun their evils as sins against God, and so will enter the life of regeneration.
     Certainly man is surrounded by time and space while he is in the world, and his external thoughts are limited by these fixed boundaries. This is of the Divine mercy, so that man will have the opportunity to make a free choice between the things of the world and of self on the one hand, and the things of God and of the spirit on the other; wherefore all in the world must live, think and talk according to times and spaces. But their spirits do not need to be governed by these things; for the Divine Word has been given to teach men the true values of spiritual life and all need regular periods when their thoughts can be removed from the compelling nature of temporal problems, when they can read or listen to the Lord's Word and reflect on its meaning, join in public Divine worship, and open their minds to the Lord's leading.
     All who follow the Lord in the life of regeneration will be led in the way of wisdom and eternal life.

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After death they will be numbered among the sheep, the righteous, who, the Lord said, should go into life eternal; and in heaven they will grow continually in their knowledge and love of the eternal God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Amen.

LESSONS: Matthew 25: 31-46. Heaven and Hell 162, 167, 169.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 497, 498, 458.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 21, 87.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     The spring issue of the THETA ALPHA JOURNAL contains a rich variety of offerings. Bernice Stroh Sandstrom contributes some thoughtful reflections on the mystery of sleep for which she has gone to the preparatory works as well as to the Writings; Flora Waelchli Odhner relates charmingly her recollections of the Carmel Church, Kitchener, circa 1900-1914, of which her father was then pastor; and Bella Campbell Glebe concludes her reminiscences of Bryn Athyn, September 1909 to June 1910. Christine Brock Taylor writes of approaches in evangelism, and Helene Howard on retarded children, while Susan Arrington Allen offers a response to Anne Morrow Lindbergh's Gift from the Sea. We understand that this issue was sent to all the women of the General Church. Here is material which will surely arouse interest in the uses to which Theta Alpha is dedicated, and kindle a warm affection for the past in which that dedication is in part rooted.
     The appearance in the January-March issue of the NEW PHILOSOPHY of an article, "Art-a Mirror of Man," by Eyvind Boyesen-a student in the Academy of the New Church College when the paper was written-is a timely reminder of the breadth of philosophy and of the fact that art, too, has its philosophic principles. Attention is drawn to this in "A Note on the Substance of Art" by Prof. E. Bruce Glenn, who concludes: "If the substance of art is the affectional half of the mind, then the nature and methods of art are eminently worthy of attention in a journal dedicated to a philosophic investigation and understanding of the Divine creation and of man's reciprocal culture."
     In the March issue of UMCHAZI, English edition, there are reprints of articles by American writers and papers given by African ministers at the annual ministers' meetings. The superintendent of the South African Mission discusses in his notes these meetings, the work of the priesthood, and the importance of family worship. Mr. Acton also contributes a sermon on "Children in Heaven."

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DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH 1963

DOCTRINE OF GENUINE TRUTH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     (The last of a series of five doctrinal classes.)

     5. THE DOCTRINE FULLY REVEALED IN THE WRITINGS

     We have pointed out that the doctrine of genuine truth is Divine. It is not man-made. It is not the understanding nor the interpretation of any man or of any council. It consists of what the Lord Himself plainly says in His Word. It consists of those passages in the letter of the Word wherein the internal sense is bare and clearly visible. When these passages are gathered together and brought into relation to one another they constitute true doctrine, or what the Lord Himself teaches. This doctrine, in all its fullness, is now revealed in the Writings of the Lord's second advent. In these Writings the Lord fulfills the promise He gave to His disciples when He was in the world-the promise that when He came again He would speak plainly of the Father.

     That the primary truths taught in the Writings are the same as those which were openly expressed in the former Scriptures cannot fail to be evident to any one who reads the Writings with an open mind. Every statement of fundamental religious truth is firmly established upon quotations from the Old and New Testaments. This is especially true of such works as The Doctrine of the Lord, The Doctrine of the Word and The True Christian Religion. In all of these we find copious references to the former Scriptures, in confirmation of the doctrine given. To cite but a single example, the teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ is Jehovah, God from eternity, and that it was God Himself who was born into the world, is confirmed by what is said in the first chapter of John: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. . . . And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us."*

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In the same way, passages are quoted to confirm such doctrinal statements as these: that the Lord from eternity, or Jehovah, assumed the Human to save men, thus that Jesus Christ was not a person separate from the Father; that the Lord came into the world to subjugate the hells, and to glorify His Human, thus He sustained continual temptations throughout His life; that the passion of the cross was the final combat by which His Human was fully glorified, thus that it was not the whole of redemption, but only the climax of a lifelong struggle; that by means of His glorification, the Divine was united to the Human, and the Human to the Divine, thus that the "Son" became one with the Father; that the risen Lord Jesus Christ is God Himself, from whom, and concerning whom is the Word, thus that He is not a second person in the Godhead; so also with every other primary teaching of the Writings.
     * John 1, 1,14.

     These teachings are directly contrary to the traditional doctrines of the Christian Church, yet they are unmistakably taught in the letter of the Word. We cannot here cite all the passages that prove the complete harmony between the Writings and the Old and New Testaments, but would refer you to the works themselves to establish the truth of what we say. In other works, such as The Divine Love and Wisdom, The Divine Providence and Heaven and Hell, the teaching of the Writings does indeed go far beyond anything that is openly taught in the Old and New Testaments, yet all the principles there enunciated are in complete accord with the doctrine of genuine truth.
     The Divine Love and Wisdom treats of God the Creator. It shows that Jehovah, or the Lord from eternity is love itself and life itself, while men and angels are but vessels that receive all their life from God. It shows that God is Very Man, the infinitely perfect Man. It shows that this Divinely-Human God created all things, and therefore that all things in the universe display a certain image of Him; and it describes the process of creation by means of discrete degrees, from the sun of heaven, even to the substances and matters at the surface of the earth. Thus it gives a rational explanation of how God is related to the created universe, preserving it in existence and perpetuating its living organisms, moment by moment. The Divine Providence treats of the Lord as the Redeemer, and how He provides, with infinite love and wisdom, that there may be a constantly growing and perfecting heaven from the human race. It sets forth the laws of the Divine providence. It explains why evil is permitted, and how, in spite of this, the Divine end and purpose in creation is accomplished; and finally, it shows how, in all things, the Lord acts according to fixed and unalterable laws of Divine order. Heaven and Hell describes the nature of the spiritual world, how man enters that world by the death of the body, and how he progresses in the world of spirits until he is prepared to enter his eternal place, either in heaven or in hell. All this is shown to be in harmony with what is said in the letter of the Word, especially in the Gospels, where reference is made to the life after death.

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     On the other hand, The Arcana Coelestia explains, verse by verse, the continuous internal sense of the books of Genesis and Exodus. It unveils the spiritual meaning of those parts of the Word which are clothed, and thus in which the doctrine of genuine truth does not openly appear. It shows how, concealed within the dark sayings, the parables, the reference to historic persons, places and incidents, there lies Divine teaching concerning the Lord's glorification and concerning man's regeneration. It demonstrates the truth that the entire Word, without exception, treats of the Lord and of man's spiritual life; thus how it deals with what is eternal, unchanging, and applicable to all men in every age; and it lays down the mode by which this internal sense may be discovered in other parts of the Word which are not specifically explained in the Writings-by means of the science of correspondences, together with the doctrine of genuine truth. The same is true with reference to the book of Revelation, as that book is explained, verse by verse, in The Apocalypse Revealed and The Apocalypse Explained.

     In short, the Writings from beginning to end are nothing but an extension and an amplification of the doctrine of genuine truth, showing how this doctrine embraces all things, how it contains the truth concerning God, concerning the created universe, concerning man in his relation to God, in his relation to the world in which he lives, and concerning his relation to his fellow men. Nevertheless it is important to realize that the Writings-like the Old and New Testaments, and, indeed, as is the case with all Divine revelation-must be so written as to preserve man's freedom either to accept their teaching or to reject it. They must be written in such a way as to provide opportunity for man to discover in them the truth as if by his own effort. Not otherwise can he be given a sense of accomplishment and the joy of conquest; not otherwise can the Lord impart to him the truth in such a way that he may feel it as his own. Furthermore, the Writings must be similar to all Divine revelation in this: that they are written, not for time, but for eternity. Although in them the Lord speaks plainly in rational terms, as never before in the history of the human race, still they must contain truth designed for use by countless generations of the future. This means that the Writings must contain much for which the men of our day are not yet prepared. There must be within them hidden depths of meaning that can be unfolded only little by little, as the church progresses into greater knowledge, intelligence and wisdom.
     Although for the most part the Writings are the doctrine of genuine truth set forth openly, they also contain passages that are clothed. Such are the Memorable Relations, the description of appearances and representations seen by Swedenborg in the spiritual world.

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Such also are all references to historic individuals, to geographic places and to incidents, such as are found in the Spiritual Diary and elsewhere. These passages may be interpreted according to the science of correspondences, just as is done with similar passages in the letter of the former Scriptures. But the interpretation must be made in accord with the doctrine of genuine truth; and when it is made, it will not reveal any new doctrine, but will merely confirm what has been plainly stated elsewhere, illustrating how the doctrine applies to specific human states and circumstances.

     Furthermore, there are many doctrinal statements in the Writings which to us are obscure, puzzling, and which need to be interpreted. But this is not because of any lack of clarity in the Writings, but solely because of our ignorance and lack of insight. Such passages are not to be interpreted by correspondence into a different form of language, as is the case with the sense appearances of the letter of the Word. However our present understanding of them may be modified in the future; however, as the church grows in wisdom, they may be perceived more deeply and more truly; this interior understanding will require no least change in the mode of expression in which they now appear. For this reason we do not speak of an "internal sense" to be discovered, but rather of a more interior understanding, a deeper insight, and a more perfect perception of their meaning.
     Finally, there are in the Writings apparent contradictions which can be reconciled only by deep study, by a careful comparison of passages, and by further enlightenment from the Lord. It is inevitable that such seeming contradictions should exist because Divine truth is infinite. It has unlimited extension, and has application to every conceivable situation. Because we grasp it only in reference to our own horizon of experience, and thus see it very partially, its application beyond that horizon appears to us as a contradiction. As our minds grow to embrace a wider view, the appearance of contradiction is dissipated; but because our minds are finite, and can never embrace the whole extent of truth, even the wisest angels have questions which they are ever striving to answer, and thus seeming contradictions which they cannot fathom. The teaching is that even the angels, to eternity, are in appearances of truth; and however wise they may become, they will never attain to an infinite understanding of truth.
     From all this it follows that heresies can arise in the New Church, just as they have arisen in previous dispensations. Indeed, they have arisen in every generation from the very beginning of our church, as history plainly testifies.

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It is just as possible now as it was in former times for men to invent human doctrines, to confirm preconceived ideas that are contrary to the doctrine of genuine truth, to ascribe Divine authority to such doctrines, and thus to lead the church into error. It is possible for men to ignore or to explain away the plain teachings of the Writings and substitute for them human interpretations. From time to time this has led to schism and separations greatly to be deplored. Now it is inevitable that errors of doctrine should arise because our ability to understand is so limited, and because our best understanding at any time is by no means identical with the Divine truth itself. Nevertheless we must try to understand, for in the struggle to do so lies the only path of progress. In doing so we must develop theories and adopt temporary hypotheses. This is the same as saying that we must derive doctrine from the Word, and must live according to it, for after all it is the only guide we have.

     The Writings tell us that it is not the Word that makes the church, but the understanding of the Word. We can live only according to that which we understand; and it is equally true that since each one has an individual form of mind, an individual background of knowledge and experience, and thus an individual point of view from which to think, there will be unavoidable differences of opinion among us. In this matter, however, the same law applies to the Writings as to the former Scriptures; namely, that there is no harm in one harboring mistaken ideas based on partial evidence and on superficial appearances-if only these ideas are not so confirmed as to lead one to deny what the Lord plainly says, and thus falsify the doctrine of genuine truth. If only the members of the church approach the teaching of Divine revelation humbly, acknowledging their proneness to error, and constantly seeking further Divine instruction, no derived doctrine will be accorded the weight of Divine authority, nor will it be imposed upon the conscience of the church. In this case there can be complete freedom of thought and great divergence of view without danger to the church, because these will be combined with unreserved loyalty to what the Lord plainly teaches, and with mutual confidence in and respect for the opinions of others. Then differences of opinion will not divide the church. They will not lead it into heretical beliefs. They will all contribute to the perfection of doctrinal understanding, and will bring men ever closer to the truth itself as the church grows in spiritual wisdom. Errors will gradually be eliminated, and this because the church will be taught and led by the Lord Himself, as He speaks directly and openly in His Word. The doctrine of genuine truth will prevail, and the church will progress, from generation to generation, in spiritual insight and in the uniting bonds of charity and mutual love.

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MIAMI CHURCH DEDICATION 1963

MIAMI CHURCH DEDICATION       MORLEY D. RICH       1963

     Almost since its inception with a resident pastor some eight years ago, the members of the Miami Circle have looked and striven for a building of their own, envisioning uses and functions which were either difficult or impossible to perform in rented halls and their own homes. Finally, last. November, sufficient funds, a suitable property and favorable zoning coincided to make this possible.
     At a very reasonable cost a modern, large, cement-block house on a property of nearly two acres was obtained. The house itself consists of one very large (60 by 16 1/2 feet) room for worship which is capable of seating eighty persons comfortably; a large kitchen (20 by 20 feet) completely furnished; another large room which serves as a combined office and reading room; still another large room as a living room and for doctrinal classes; two medium sized rooms for the instruction of children; a large screened patio (40 by 40 feet), and a three-car garage. As many have remarked: "We could not have planned and built a church more suitable for all our purposes."

     With a big effort by all hands the building was repainted inside and was furnished sufficiently for us to hold our Christmas service in it. After the service all enjoyed a buffet supper, followed by tableaux of the Advent Story.
     We continued to hold services, classes and committee meetings in the building throughout the following months, and our main effort was to prepare everything fully for the dedication. The chapel room was furnished completely: a platform and rail for the chancel; beautiful dark blue carpeting; a striking mural, professionally painted, on the back wall of the chancel (see photograph); suitable, natural oak furniture-lectern, pulpit, altar, holy supper table and chairs; a fine Baldwin electronic organ; and fine altar and other cloths in correspondential colors. In addition, handsome soft-grey outline drapes were made by the ladies; a dark-blue center aisle runner rug was laid; and blue silk kneeling pads were purchased. The total effect of permanence, order, dignity and peace when the chapel was finished was quite surprising.
     In addition, the large patio was completely paved and then screened with aluminum. This gives us a delightful area for luncheons and other social occasions as well as a pleasant place to gather and talk after church.

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     The chancel mural is perhaps the most outstanding feature of all, and because the picture is not quite adequate to convey the whole effect, a more detailed description might give pleasure to the reader. First of all, the entire wall was painted the palest possible shade of Delft blue. Then three arches-a triptych-were outlined, the central one behind the altar, the effect being that of rough white stone. The windows of the side arches were done in such fashion as to appear to be of stained glass, with the various figures and symbols done in several shades of blue and green.
     The middle arch was given the effect of clear glass, so that one seems to be looking out into a blue, vaulted sky with a few white clouds in it-the "Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven." In addition, a happy and unexpected result of this is that the Word on the altar appears to be in the sky, descending from heaven. A concealed light placed behind the altar shines upward on the middle window, coming up around and behind the Word and giving the effect of a sunrise: this in remembrance of the truth that this is now the "dawn of the true Christianity."* On the arc of the middle arch, also, are inscribed in chiseled-stone letters the words, Adventus Domini.
     * TCR 700.
     As will be seen in the photograph, the side arches contain as their central feature the cherubim with their wings pointing upward and inward toward the Word on the altar. In addition, the left arch-which would be at the right hand of the Son of Man, if His figure were in the central arch-contains olives, olive branches and leaves, and a lamp, to represent in general the good of love to the Lord and the celestial kingdom. The right arch, which would be at His left hand, contains a grapevine, leaves and grapes, together with the crown of twelve stars at the top, to represent the truth of good, love toward the neighbor, the spiritual kingdom, and the New Church as the "crown of the ages," respectively. Lastly, the two candlesticks on the altar to serve as "lights" may be observed. These represent the "two witnesses" corresponding to the goods and truths of the New Church.
     All things being now prepared, we welcomed Bishop and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton, and on Saturday, April 13, at 5:00 p.m., in solemn and dedicated mood, participated in the dedication service.

     The Dedication Service

     Entering during the processional hymn, Bishop Pendleton and the pastor, the latter carrying a new copy of the Word for the occasion, advanced up the center aisle to the chancel. The hymn having ended, the pastor placed the Word in the hands of the Bishop, who then placed it upon the altar, opened it, and began the service.

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     After the lessons from the Word had been read, an address was delivered by the Rev. Morley D. Rich, the following excerpt from which contains the essential message.
     "We are, now and here, sensing one of the means by which the Lord endeavors to lead us to an eternal state; and, modest though it may be, it is nevertheless one of His special means to that end. It is special because, beyond the shadow of a doubt, it has been specially provided by Him for the use of worship, for the further establishment of His New Church, and for the increased manifestation of Himself to those who will avail themselves of these means. For there is no doubt, either, that the Lord particularly provides those experiences which will lead men and women to the establishment of His specific church. There is no doubt that He directly raises men up for that purpose; and so we may see His special providence in all the efforts which have been and will be made by men as instruments toward that establishment.

     "In the Divine Providence of the Lord, certain men and women have been led to this particular small part of the work of the New Church. They have been led through varying degrees and types of love toward the neighbor, for the church and toward the Lord. As in all such endeavors, they have been led also through their efforts to understand and to love the things of the church in a way and in a measure that otherwise would not have been possible. The Lord alone imparts such states; and so it is that we may see that it really is the Lord alone who has accomplished this work, who builds every house in which He may be seen, worshiped and adored.
     "In reality, then, the means by which the Lord truly dedicates, consecrates and makes holy the furnishings and rituals of a place of worship are the affections and thoughts, the heaven-sent inspirations, of the people themselves.
     "The printed Word is not holy in itself; neither are the altar, the chancel or the other furnishings thereof. They are invested with fulness, with holiness and power, only by the goods and truths, the love and wisdom, which are received by and pass through the will and understanding of the Lord's children.
     "The formal rite of dedication is, therefore, but the right and proper Divine sign and seal of that which has been prepared, of the states of holiness which have been and will be given by the Lord for the uses of His kingdom. Such a consecration is the religious recognition of that present state. Finally, the quality of that holiness will be formed and determined by the present and future states of those who worship here.
     "There is heaven and hell in each man and woman.

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Every action, word and sensation arouses something of the one or the other, and they must learn to welcome the one and spurn the other.
     "We are here in the atmosphere of the New Church. In that atmosphere we are seeing and hearing and participating in the worship of the New Church. It is not amiss for us to have, at such a time, a deep and sharp awareness of the presence of heaven, indeed of the heaven of the New Church; for through these special sensations the angels of that heaven are attracted and are being inspired with wisdom and delight.
     "Comparatively small and obscure though it may be, therefore, the delight which we feel in this occasion is from them; for the highest delight of these particular angels-who have all been men and women in the natural world, as they are now in the spiritual world-is from the sensation that the Lord is being received in His second coming through the establishment of the New Church. Let us, then, welcome with open hearts the company of our angelic guardians and protectors in this rite of the church-those guardians who are sometimes called 'cherubim' in the Word. Let us, no matter how obscurely and in how limited a fashion, cordially receive these hidden souls sent by the Lord, who wish us only good of the highest kind and who exercise the most exquisitely tender care for our spirits. Let us, as did Abraham with the three 'strangers' who were the Lord, gratefully entertain their inflowing strength and sanity and comfort and inspiration.
     "For they are also guardians and protectors of the Word and of the church we love. They are shields in the hand of the Lord by which He protects His church and provides for its establishment. In truth, the Lord God Himself is a sun and shield, and no good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly.*
     * Psalm 84: 11.
     "With hope, with pleasure and with thanksgiving let us mediate upon the meaning of these words in the Psalm: 'I was glad when they said unto me, Let us now go into the house of the Lord. . . . For my brethren and companions' sake, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy good."* Psalm 122: 1, 3, 9.

     After the address had been delivered, the Bishop, receiving a key from Mr. Edward E. Collins, accepted and dedicated the building, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the uses of New Church worship, instruction and social life.

     When the service had been concluded, all gathered in the patio for a short interlude of visiting.

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Here a huge gardenia bush in full bloom, together with a pair of beautiful palms, lent a fine decorative effect. We then proceeded to a nearby restaurant for our banquet.

     Banquet

     Here a delicious meal was served to us in a private room. Then the toastmaster, Mr. Carl Hj. Asplundh, read the several messages of congratulation that had been received and introduced the subject of the evening, "The Church." Three speakers, whose remarks were interspersed with toasts and songs, treated this subject stimulatingly and well.

     First of all, Mr. James Howard, with many original and effective sidelights and illustrations, outlined the nature of and the distinctions between, the universal church and the specific church. The universal church, as he brought forward, consists of all those, regardless of their particular faith, who are in something of good and charity; so the universal church of the Lord consists of the countless millions throughout the universe who are of such a character. The specific church of the Lord, however, consists of those only with whom the specific Word exists whereby the Lord is fully known.

     Mr. Jean Daly of Atlanta, Georgia, then spoke in greater detail of the specific church, showing that this is now the New Church being brought into existence by the Lord in His second coming. He referred to how much we who have been brought to it need the New Church because of our heredity and environment. On the other hand, he brought forth the surprising truth that the New Church does not really need us as particular persons, since it will be established by the Lord with whomsoever is receptive of it in his mind and heart-and there will always be such men and women, whether we are of them or not.

     The third and final speaker of the evening, Mr. Jordan Johnson of Palm Beach, though he spoke of his subject, which was "The General Church"-pointing to how we need it, and how it does need us-topped his remarks by giving a most moving and simple declaration of his own faith in the Word, the Writings, and the eventual establishment of the New Church.

     For each of these three speakers this was his first speech at a New Church banquet and to a New Church audience. Each one did an outstanding job, and all three are to be congratulated thereon.
     Called upon by the toastmaster, the pastor simply and sincerely voiced his personal gratitude to and appreciation of all those who had stood by so staunchly through the difficulties and problems which always accompany such building projects.

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     The toastmaster then called on Bishop Pendleton for some closing remarks, and the Bishop gave a most inspiring talk on the subject of "One Lord, One Word, One Church." We then concluded a most pleasant evening with the singing of "Our Glorious Church."

     The Easter Service

     The next day being Easter Sunday, the service included a lovely sermon by Bishop Pendleton on the representation of Mary of Magdala in the Lord's resurrection. The service and the entire weekend were then brought to a most fitting close with the administration of the Holy Supper.
     MORLEY D. RICH
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Evil. We tend to think of evil in terms of certain words and actions, especially those forbidden in the second table of the Decalogue, or of the lusts from which they come. But these are only the ultimate forms in which evil expresses itself. Evil, regarded in itself, is disjunction from good and disunion from God, and opposition to the Lord and to heaven. It is to desire to be led by self and not by the Lord, and to deny and will to destroy all that the Lord seeks to build. Note that evil is the opposite of truly human good, not of the Divine good; wherefore the Lord has power over evil, although man has none of himself. Note also that evil is not just the absence of good, as cold is the absence of heat; the teaching is that while evil is nothing in comparison with good, it is not nothing in itself. (See AC 4997, 6874; DP 279; CL 444.)
     Exinanition. This term refers to the Lord on earth and to His state of humiliation before the Father when in a state of truth and seemingly separated from the Divine. Thus it was a state of His human consciousness. (See Lord 35; Can. Rd. vi.)
     Faculty. This is a term used of certain things with which man is endowed by the Lord. Thus we read of the faculties of liberty and rationality, of loving and becoming wise. In every instance what is meant is a potential that may or may not be developed, or may be developed in part. Faculties do not become man's own, but are adjoined by the Lord continually, and it is in their right exercise that the Lord dwells with man. (See DLW 30, 240.)

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MERCIFUL CHERUBIM 1963

MERCIFUL CHERUBIM       Rev. MORLEY D. RICH       1963

     (A pre-dedication sermon preached in the Miami church.)

     "So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the Garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way of the tree of life." (Genesis 3: 24)

     There are many wonderful meanings in the several places in the Word where cherubim are mentioned, and in each instance their significance is a double one: one having to do with their representation in regard to the Lord, the other having regard to man and his states. In all instances, however, they have regard to the protection and progress of man-protection by truth, and protection by good or love. Thus the cherubim mentioned in the Word have a close connection with and the representation of the guardian angels who protect and help every person in the natural world.

     Our text describes how, after Adam and Eve had been driven from the Garden of Eden, the Lord placed cherubim before the entrance, and a flaming sword which turned in every direction, "to guard the way of the tree of life." Internally, this describes how, after the human race had fallen into evil, it removed itself from that state of heaven meant by the Garden of Eden, and was prevented from entering into interior states of love and wisdom by its burning love of self-signified by the "flaming sword." The appearance is that the Lord placed cherubim as guards, together with the flaming sword, in order that men might not from evil desecrate spiritual truth and good, or heaven; but the truth is that Divine good and truth can never be damaged or desecrated by man-except for himself. The cherubim were placed there by the Lord, therefore, out of infinite mercy, in order that man might not prematurely and improperly enter into spiritual things and thus profane them for himself, when his last state would be worse than the first and he would enter into the spiritual death which is profanation. In this instance, then, the cherubim represent the providence of the Lord preventing such a man from entering into the things of faith.*

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This is the special representation of the cherubim when they are connected with a sword, as in this instance in the Word, and also as in the temple of the New Jerusalem which the Seer saw in heaven, in which there was a sanctuary with a golden cherub who stood with a sword turning hither and thither in his hand.**
     * AC 306.
     ** TCR 508.
     The cherubim themselves, however, without the sword, have a more positive and constructive representation than that of mere protection and the position of defense and guardianship. This is especially the case in their representation as placed on the two ends of the mercy-seat over the ark; as made by Solomon to stand in the holy of holies behind the veil in the temple which he built; and also as they were placed on the doors of the new temple which the Jews built as a restoration of the original many hundreds of years later.
     In the first of these instances, it will be recalled that the Lord commanded Moses and the sons of Israel to make an ark, which was a wooden box covered with gold in which were placed the tables of stone on which were carved the Ten Commandments. The ark was carried by them from one place to the next in the course of their wanderings through the wilderness on the way to Canaan; and after many years in that land, when Solomon at last built the temple, it was carried in and placed in the holy of holies, in the most sacred place behind the veil. Now on each end of this ark were placed, by the Lord's instructions, two golden cherubim on the mercy-seat, which was the slab covering the ark. These cherubim were strong masculine figures of angels in representation of the present spiritual state of the race-to signify that man now enters the state of heavenly love only through truth, the truth of faith. The cherubim had wings which pointed both upward and toward each other over the mercy-seat; and it was from between these two sets of wings that the Lord spoke to the high-priest of Israel, and through him to the people.

     Let us first notice the significance of the mercy-seat. This was a golden plate or slab which fitted exactly over the ark, and which acted not only as a cover for the tables of stone but also as a base or foundation for the cherubim which were placed at each end of it, facing each other and with their wings uplifted. It was called a mercy-seat because of its meaningful functions; for it covered the Ten Commandments, by which is represented the merciful way in which the Lord covers or conceals the essential rules of life from the eyes of men who are not prepared to live according to them as yet, and would then profane them. This is similar to the way in which a man does not see the basic import and necessity of these rules of life, as to both their literal and their spiritual senses, nor the absolute interdependence of these two senses in their fullness. He does not see these things until he has signified his willingness by an earnest effort to obey their literal or outward sense.

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This is of the mercy of the Lord, and hence is signified by the mercy-seat. The other function of the mercy-seat was to serve as a base for the cherubim; and in this is represented the truth that it is of the mercy of the Lord that man cannot enter into the truths of faith except from a preliminary state of affection borrowed from Him which is implanted in childhood and youth. Nor-a step further-can he enter into the good of love except through the truths of faith; and neither can he enter into the full state of heavenly love except as that first good and love are elevated by the truths of faith. All of these things are represented by the cherubim.

     Let us now examine these steps and levels of representation or correspondence with illustrations, and one by one. First of all, we are told that the cherubim as a whole represent the good of love and, more particularly, the good of love from the Lord to the Lord. Now what is the good of love from the Lord to the Lord? In general it may be defined as the state of good will: a will to good, a desire for the good of the Lord, His kingdom and the neighbor on all levels; and also a desire for good for its own sake-not for the sake of any reward, reputation or glory. This, primarily, is the good of love to the Lord; and we must notice carefully that this love is not in man, that it does not come from him in any sense but from the Lord alone, and that it is given to man by the Lord by distinct stages and degrees; for this is what is involved in the details of the figures of the cherubim.
     While this is the general representation of the cherubim, there are two parts which have a special significance in regard to these steps. First of all, it is written that their bodies represent the first good of love to the Lord from the Lord; and this is the first state of good will in man's heart at the beginning of his regeneration or rebirth. By themselves the bodies of the cherubim therefore represent those affections of truth and good lent by the Lord which are implanted in childhood and youth. They are innocent yearnings for true knowledge, primitive feelings of pity and compassion for others, even youthfully fierce desires to fight for and defend one's country which can be the basis later for a love of the Lord's kingdom. They are unknowing feelings of reverence and awe, and even fear, of the holy things of the Word and of worship, and many more affections than can be named. All of these constitute that preliminary good will, or good of love to the Lord from the Lord, which is represented by the bodies of the cherubim.
     Yet this preliminary good will, these first, borrowed affections which are called remains, in themselves are not man's own. Nor are they spiritual in the full sense, for they are entangled with and held down by much that is merely natural and corporeal.

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They are attached to material things, and in this stage the mind of man tends to identify the material things which represent with the spiritual things represented, and so to confuse the two. Thus worship, in the mind of a youth, is identified and associated only with the external furnishings and actions of the church in which he has grown up. He tends to think that these only are worship itself. Nor has he yet had his mind elevated by such truths as that even the faithful performance of use is a kind of worship, or that worship is essentially a state of mind and heart. Also he thinks of love of country as taking only the physical form of fighting for it, and his feelings of pity and compassion for others are mostly on account of their physical misfortunes and handicaps; for not yet does he know what spiritual tragedy is, and not yet has he experienced the spiritual temptations of the rational mind.

     So we can see from this that this first, primitive love to the Lord not only comes from the Lord but also must be raised or elevated. It is, and can be, raised and elevated only by the truths of faith; and this raising by truth is represented exactly by the wings of the cherubim, raised upward, without which their bodies could never fly.*
     * AC 9514.
     This raising of the first, primitive good of love to its true level by means of the truths of faith is a most beautiful and holy thing; and this emerges as we penetrate to a view of its inner workings and processes. For we can see not only the protection furnished by the Lord's mercy and from His infinite love toward the children of men-protection lest they enter that holy land prematurely, and thus ruin themselves; we can also gain some concept of how that first good will consisting of compassion, desire for truth, love of country, desire for the externals of worship and so on, can be and is chastened, corrected and uplifted to the level of rational love and understanding; and this by means of spiritual truth, illustrated and confirmed by the experiences and temptations of life.
     Let us examine this process in relation to just one of the parts or affections which compose the first good of love in man, starting with the very beginning of his regeneration; which beginning may take place either in first adulthood or in later life. The good or good will which he has at this beginning is the product of his first, borrowed love to the Lord and toward the neighbor. Let us begin, then, with one part of his love of the neighbor. In youth, of course, he thinks of love of the neighbor as consisting in good will toward his immediate physical neighbors-his family, friends, and so on; but as time goes on he learns that the neighbor is also his country, the church, the Lord's kingdom, and good and truth themselves.

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     As our particular illustration, let us say that he loves the church as his neighbor. In the beginning this love is blind and is attached only to the externals and the organization of a particular earthly church body. He identifies the church solely with the external organization to which his parents have been attached and in which he has been raised. On that account, when inevitably his eyes are opened by experience to the realities of that church, it is likely to go hardly with him. He sees that the organization which he thinks of as the church-though it has the highest purpose, though it may be firmly based upon the Word, and though it may be ever so excellent in its teaching of the Word-is yet full of flaws and imperfections and even evils of life. He sees that it is composed of people, and that these people, like himself, are in varying stages of development and regeneration; and sometimes he will wonder whether at least a few of them are really regenerating at all. He will see that these people, like himself, are plagued by evil spirits at times; plagued by their hereditary natures, by merely natural emotions of resentment, jealousy, pride, striving, and perhaps even of lust and hatred; and he will see that, on account of these things, the real and spiritual work of the church suffers, is impeded, and encounters many difficulties and hard times.

     Now if this is all that he sees, and all that he does, he will be in danger of turning away from all religion in condemnatory disgust; seeing nothing but the difficulties and the evils, and having his eyes closed to the innumerable states of good will and of sacrifices and of regeneration that the members of the church exhibit also at other times. He will fail to see how, in the Lord's providence, the essential work and processes of the New Church do go on steadily, despite sporadic, temporary setbacks and detours; and he will be deprived of the many states of inspiration and exaltation which come through the church from the Lord in His Word, and which are nothing but sheer glory and joy. In other words, he will not be able to take the wings of the cherubim and soar with his mind into the sanctuary and habitation of the Lord.
     But this is not of the Lord's will. He wills that all may enter into His holy habitation, and that all may hear His voice from over the mercy-seat and from between the wings of the cherubim.

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So He gives to the man whose regeneration is beginning something which, if he chooses, he may grasp and follow: something by means of which he will be led to the spiritual truths of the Word-which alone can steady his mind and heart, and which can raise his will and understanding to the rational level-so that he can see what the church really is, and can come to love its purpose and work even in the ultimate works of an earthly organization; and in that view he will be able also to make a more accurate evaluation of his fellows in that church, so that he will himself continue in it.
     For the Lord will bring to his mind the truths or knowledges which he has already garnered from the Scriptures and the Writings-truths concerning the New Church itself, the nature and states of human minds, the everlasting use and functions of the Lord's New Church, and many more besides; the Lord will bring these to his mind, together with warm affections of these truths and remains associated with them. If the man accepts this truth and this warmth, if he strives to put away from his mind the disillusionment and skepticism of his first state, then indeed will these truths become the elements of a true and living faith, and thereby he will be borne up to genuine and permanent good will, to the state of heaven, by these wings of the cherubim. Then also the flesh and blood of his first, primitive love to the Lord and the neighbor begin to glow and radiate with the fire and light of spiritual and celestial love and wisdom.
     We can see that this growth, this process, must needs involve something of temptation, even of spiritual temptation. For a man must struggle in order to choose! He has to strive for full understanding and love, even though it is the Lord alone who finally gives these. Man's choice is essentially between life and death, between affirmation and negation, between love and hate, and between the full truth and its opposite falsity. He must seek to quell the flaming sword of his self-love, even if his life's affections seem to be dulled and quenched in the process.

     The cherubim in front of the Garden of Eden represent, as was seen, the Lord's providence preventing man from entering into the genuine good of love until he is ready for it, lest he profane it and his last state be worse than the first; and it may sometimes appear to the man of the Lord's specific New Church that he has perhaps committed profanation. He seems to know so much, so many truths, that at first he cannot live up to, and according to which he sees that he is not living. If he has examined himself honestly he knows his own heart well. He knows his shortcomings and his many backslidings. He knows how often his hereditary evils return to plague his mind and heart; and this brings with it, at times, a great fear of profanation, of going against the truths he knows.
     This fear of profanation is a good and useful emotion for a man to have. Indeed it is an essential of that complex of affections which we call the good of love to the Lord from the Lord.
     Yet the Lord also gives us consolation and relief from that fear lest it become too dominant, and thus destroy our as-of-self efforts to live according to His law.

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For it becomes clear that actual profanation, which is spiritual death, is a very rare thing, and that its last and final degree is possible only when a man has actually entered into the regenerating state of the good of love through the truths of faith, and then turns back to evil; and this is such an advanced state that few enter into it fully in this life, and fewer still actually recede from it. Merely knowing truth and then not living it, or going against it, is not profanation, for then it is only a thing of the memory, which is on the lowest level of the understanding and has nothing to do with the real rational will or inmost love of man. This is why the cherubim-the protection of the Lord's providence-are able to defend man from profanation, to prevent him from entering prematurely into the secrets of faith and the goods of love to the Lord.

     But when man is at Last brought into the good of Love to the Lord from the Lord-borne up thither by the wings of the cherubim, the truths of faith-then, as the Lord said as a last thing to Moses concerning the ark and the cherubim: "There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy-sea, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the sons of Israel." For man will enter into communion and conjunction with the Lord. Through His mercy, and by means of His truth, man will enter into His Word, there to commune with his God and Lord. For man talks with the Lord through His Word; and when he enters into the state of heaven he is continually in communion with the Lord, even while actively performing his spiritual uses. For man has then returned to the Garden of Eden. The flaming sword is gone from the entrance; and he walks with full confidence and joy through the entrance between the cherubim and into the heavenly garden, there to partake of the tree of everlasting life. Amen.

LESSONS: Genesis 3. Exodus 25: 1-22. True Christian Religion 208.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 461, 440, 464.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 17, 125.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1963

     The Rev. Kurt Paul Nemitz has been appointed, effective September 1, 1963, as assistant to the pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, and as visiting minister to the Madison and St. Paul-Minneapolis Circles and the Rockford and St. Louis groups.

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MORALITY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1963

MORALITY IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS       WILLIAM R. KININER       1963

     (Adapted from a speech given by Dr. Kintner at a Collegium, George Washington University, May 14, 1963, under arrangements made by the Swedenborg Foundation.)

     Men of good will intuitively recognize that the same order which should regulate conduct between individuals should influence conduct between nations. In his 1963 encyclical, Pope John XXIII stated that "peace on earth, which men of every era have most eagerly yearned for, can be firmly established only if the order laid down by God be dutifully observed." However, the manner in which God's infinite wisdom influences the political order among men is but dimly perceived by those who accept His mandates in their individual lives; it is altogether denied by those who reject the idea of God's universal authority.

     If the moral order in international affairs is studied from the perspective of the Writings a few basic principles are important, among them the concept that the human mind operates at three distinct and subordinated levels. From this view the problems of domestic or international politics are of concern only to the most ultimate plane of the mind. "Theological matters arise . . . into the highest region," wrote Swedenborg, "moral subjects . . . have their place in the second region beneath these because they communicate with things spiritual. Beneath these in a first region political subjects have their place." In short, spiritual life, which has its origin from love of God, and moral life, which relates to actions between men, occupy a different and superior realm to political matters, which relate to the mundane, external operations of society.
     Political matters thus form the lowest common denominator of human relations, and are the foundation from which moral relations can flourish and spiritual development take place. The political is the most external plane of human concern. It is an arena of contesting interests between those who hold a variety of views concerning man's spiritual destiny as well as the adherents of materialism and atheism. It is an arena of conflict. It is the arena to which the Lord brought "not peace, but a sword." It is the crucible in which nations rise and fall, in which ideologies are born and die. It can be the colosseum in which individual men and women suffer martyrdom which leads to spiritual life, or abase themselves and pursue the selfish desires which lead to spiritual degradation.

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The ideal order, although it may be conceived rationally and has been variously designed by utopian philosophies, cannot be created by mere manipulation of political systems. The most perfect system cannot force goodness into the individuals who live under it. Salvation is a personal, not an organizational matter.

     From the Swedenborgian point of view, the fact that political matters are subordinate to spiritual and moral questions does not make them unimportant-quite the contrary. A political order which protects and nourishes man's freedom in moral and spiritual affairs contributes directly to the Divine end of creation, a heaven from the human race. But even when the political order is chaotic and often oppressive, as is ours today, it cannot deny man his spiritual birthright. Thus individuals can serve higher moral principles with devotion-they can develop spiritually-even though the nations in which they live may be ruled by political leaders who seek nihilistic or aggressive goals. In this sense, a Swedenborgian might agree with Henri Bergson that "the universe is a machine for making gods." The political plane of this machine in which men live and have their being can be improved, but the purpose of creation cannot be altogether frustrated or perverted by man's imperfect political arrangements. The political order, however, can inhibit man's fullest spiritual growth by denying freedom to study spiritual things.
     The global political community is now composed of some one hundred and ten nations-large and small-in various stages of social and economic development, and pursuing a wide range of ideological goals. Swedenborg conceived of all human societies, including nations, as "greater men." Accordingly, what is right or wrong for an individual is also right or wrong for an organized body of individuals; and just as men have long recognized the necessity for moral conduct toward one another, the necessity for greater morality in international relations has long been advocated. Modern communications and modern weaponry have revolutionized the contemporary political world; hence the pressing need for guiding moral principles is greater than ever before.
     In many minds the establishment of a unitary world has now become a crucial necessity. Pope John, in his recent encyclical, speaks to and for modern man. "Individual world leaders no longer are able to solve the problems of peace. The moral order itself, therefore, demands that a form of public authority be established."
     While man need not be the servant of his material creations, the changes induced by man's physical environment are reinforcing the requirements for international comity.

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As Franklin D. Roosevelt expressed it: "There is solidarity and interdependence about the modern world, both technically and morally, which makes it impossible for any nation completely to isolate itself from economic and political upheavals in the rest of the world, especially when such upheavals appear to be spreading and not declining."

     We must observe that no moral, let alone political, consensus exists on which such a global political structure could be erected-despite the hazards of nuclear arms. In fact, there is, perhaps, deeper moral and political division in the world today than ever before. By any past historical standards the world is experiencing a major crisis. A systematic revolution has already transformed the international system of 1914 beyond recognition. We are living in the midst of a process that we dimly understand, and we cannot foresee even the general outlines of the global order which will emerge from our present travail. The political chaos which confronts us everywhere reflects the spiritual and moral disorder so prevalent on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Scientific materialism everywhere rules supreme. Modern humanism, divorced from the theology which gave it birth, seeks to retain some ethical standards while rejecting altogether their source. In this spiritual and moral jungle it is difficult to establish even the most primitive standards of legitimate international conduct.
     A new order will not be raised over night. Before the foundation is laid, we must ask on what moral consensus will the new edifice be erected? Contemporary schools of thought seek to shape contemporary thinking on international morality and the associated political order. One of the most influential is the so-called realist school. The realist view was set forth by Thomas Hobbes, who defined law as a command. Law is thus divorced altogether from ethics. It may be oppressive or otherwise immoral. Law is the weapon of the stronger. The realists are practitioners of power politics. George Kennan, a notable Christian realist, speaks as follows:

     "Whoever engages in the practice of contemporary international politics will be well advised to study the power position of major states and the factors of their respective compositions, and to refrain from ascribing magic powers to legal compacts and normative characters."

In fact, Kennan can cite good biblical authority for his point of view:

     "Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an embassage, and desireth conditions of peace."

     What this parable seems to imply is that men must be prudent in their external relations.

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It does not suggest that prudence rather than ethical standards is to the sole guide to relations between states. A more cold-blooded view than Kennan's was advocated by Georg Hegel, who contended that states were complete and morally self-sufficient entities between which there exist no mutual obligations. Certain tenets of the realist school cannot be easily rejected. In fact, they are a welcome antidote to much utopian thinking about international problems. On the other hand, the human heart should always moderate the human mind. Otherwise realism can spawn amoral extremism.
     Thus the extreme school of political realism which Hegel unconsciously sired has found expression in the philosophy of communism. Communism has a twisted moral end, but denied any morality to those who oppose it. As Lenin expressed it: "Everything that hinders it is immoral." In applying this dictum to international affairs Stalin asserted that "truthful diplomacy is no more possible than dry water or iron wood." Recently, Mr. Khrushchev's son-in-law proclaimed that communism does not require the keeping of pledges, and that pledges made by communist leaders may be violated at any time. This statement is quite consistent with Lenin's assertion: "We have to use any ruse, dodges, tricks, cunning, unlawful method, concealment, and veiling of the truth." At the very least it is difficult to establish an international order based on some kind of accepted morality when one-third of the human race is dominated by leaders who reject altogether what they call "hypocritical, bourgeois morality."
     The frequent acceptance of, or acquiescence in, many communist international actions is abetted by the school of moral relativism, which has won influential adherents throughout the West. Relativism asserts that human values are not absolute, but are determined by the practices of a variety of cultures. Moral judgments, in short, reflect subjective individual attitudes and prejudices. Relativism is opposed to any religious concepts and seeks to replace religion with a kind of scientific humanism. It is pernicious because human values, when not measured against some transcendental standards, can lead to moral debasement-for example, the Hitler period in Germany-and the blocking of that vision without which "the people perish." In the debates of the western world over international and political actions relativism asserts itself in many forms, of which "why fight for Danzig or for Berlin or to Liberate Cuba?" are typical expressions. Obviously, if there are no supreme values, if there is nothing worth risking one's life for, then there is no evil to which man should not accommodate himself.
     The moral school of international relations has a long and distinguished ancestry. Recognition of men's moral obligations toward each other gave birth to the idea of similar obligations between nations, since the same Divine law applies to both.

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A corollary is that a state which does not conform to certain standards of behavior would be branded as immoral and uncivilized. Even those nihilists who flaunt all morality seek to mask their actions with moral pretense. Hitler proclaimed that it was the genius of the British to cover their aggressions with the cloak of morality. He even declined a pact with Lithuania because, he said: "We cannot enter into political treaties with a state which disregards the most primitive laws of society." And it was Machiavelli who argued that the Prince should tell the truth most of the time in order that, when he must lie for reasons of state, he may be believed.
     President Wilson was a foremost proponent of the moral school. "We are at the beginning of an age," said Woodrow Wilson in his address to Congress on the declaration of war in 1917, "in which it will be insisted that the same standards of conduct and of responsibility for wrong shall be observed among nations and their governments that are observed among the individual citizens of civilized states." The Wilson-inspired first draft of a League of Nations covenant, Article I, ran as follows: "The same standards of honor and ethics shall prevail internationally and in the affairs of nations as in other matters. The agreement or promise of a power shall be inviolate."
     Among members of the moral school there is some question whether moral law applies as fully to nations as it does to individual human conduct. Some contend that the group person-whether it be a nation, a corporation or an association-can be more legitimately self-interested and less concerned about the external consequences of group actions than can the individual. On the other hand, the British utopian, John Bright, was certain that "the moral law was not written for men alone in their individual character . . . it was written for the nation as well."
     It would appear that none of these schools by themselves provide a satisfactory and equitable yardstick by which to measure international moral behavior. The government of any nation is a collective instrument operated by individual human beings. What is, in fact, at issue-the collective morality of states, or the morality of the individuals who make the decisions? The paradox we face here is that evil men for evil personal purposes may make morally right decisions in behalf of the nation they serve. In the words of the Writings:

     "The impious or wicked can perform uses equally with the pious or good, and even with greater zeal, for they have regard to themselves in the uses, and to honors as the uses; therefore to whatever height the love of self climbs, the lust of performing uses for the sake of its own glory burns in it. . . . Thus the Lord governs the impious in heart who are in places of dignity by the glory of their name, and incites them to the performance of uses. . . .

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Suppose an infernal kingdom in the world (although there is none such), where none but the loves of self rule; would not everyone perform uses from the fire of self-love, and for the splendor of his own glory, to a greater extent than in any other kingdom? There the public good would be in every mouth, but his own good in every heart."

     How the evil inclinations of men can be exploited with calculating design for evil purposes was revealed by Mao-Tse-Tung:

     "We can play on the ambitions of thousands of politicians of all sizes . . . . Men who are unable to reach high positions. . . . If we, the Communists, offer our support to these politicians, they will come to our camp-not as registered members of our party, which would not suit them or us either, but as servants. . . . The greatest talent in this work, comrade, is never to be associated with failure. Never to defend the weak, even when he is right. Never to attack the pillager of the treasury, if he is the owner of a great fortune. He might crush you and there is no use in being a martyr. . . . Touch on the practical aspect, leaving morals aside. In life there are no ethical victories, morals are just so much dessert. When the animal is full he begins to worry about right and wrong, as if it were an accompaniment to digestion."

     Despite such cynical and blatant amorality, evil men can also be led unwittingly by providence to good ends. Contrariwise, righteous men may be forced to serve national purposes that are anything but moral in character. It is often difficult, therefore, to determine whether the morality at issue in international relations is that of the individual or that of the state.
     To correlate personal and political freedom with the process whereby the actual business between nations is conducted is far less easy than to say that the rule of law and the underlying morality on which law is based should influence individuals responsible for national behavior. Yet rulers and those whom they rule cannot be treated separately. An idea which permeates the Writings is that each nation has a moral and spiritual character. According to this, the nations described in the Word, whether the Assyrians, the Philistines, the Hebrews or the Babylonians, had a distinctive character which corresponded to different spiritual attributes.
     In describing the nations of his own time, Swedenborg characterized the French as the "noble French nation"; the British as having interior intellectual light because of their freedom of thinking; and admired the Dutch because their skill at trade and commerce were largely devoted to the common good of their country. He particularly extolled the British and the Dutch because more than other nations at that time they permitted a free press.
     In contrast, the Writings say that the Germans-because they lived, in the 18th century, under despotic governments-did not enjoy freedom of speech and writing. Where this freedom is restrained, freedom of thought, or of taking the widest view of things, is restrained also.

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One of the many results of this was that the Germans kept the spiritual things of the church in the memory and seldom elevated them into the higher understanding.
     The question of national character has been intensively studied in modern times. There is some general agreement that after a people have been formed and have shared experiences over the years they exhibit certain common attributes. Cartoon symbols such as John Bull or Uncle Sam illustrate national characterizations. Except in extreme cases such as Hitler's Germany, most contemporary scholars are unwilling to assign any particular moral attributes to an individual nation. We are told with respect to individuals: "Judge not, that ye be not judged." This admonition does not refer, however, to the overt acts of men but to their inner motivations. Moral as well as civil judgments are allowable and necessary; but not, of course, spiritual judgments, or even judgments as to the motive within moral actions-since these would be spiritual. In fact, moral and civil judgments have to be made concerning the overt actions of people and should also be made with respect to the external behavior of nations.
     The Writings rarely if ever speak about the nature of the international order, although they frequently discuss man's relation to the individual nation in which he lives. One quotation will suffice to show their teaching about internal order:

     "Order cannot be maintained in the world without governors, who are to observe all things which are done according to order, and which 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. . . . If this be not effected, the human race must perish."

     Implied in the foregoing quotation is the view that man must live in external political order if individuals are to have the opportunity for spiritual development. This order is viewed as consisting in a series of concentric circles. The individual's initial responsibilities are toward those closest to him-his family, his local community and his country. What happens beyond his national frontiers is of lesser importance to his spiritual welfare because few individuals can actually affect events much beyond their immediate circle of responsibility. Genuine charity should concentrate on questions which one's personal actions can affect. One can help individual men, but few can help mankind as a whole. Swedenborg would perhaps have joined those who criticize Marx for loving "men" but rarely discussing the individual man. The Writings also state that love of one's country is the highest love of which man is capable, except for the love of the church which inspires the love of God. This point of view is quite contrary to that of certain cosmopolitans who believe that one country is as good as another and that to love one's own country above others is therefore absurd.

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     We are frequently concerned with trying to solve conflicting problems within our own country. Between nations which do not defer to a common conception of right the task is even greater. No person can divorce himself from his own commitments and experiences. At this stage of human development it is difficult to see how genuine concern for international wellbeing can be divorced from patriotism. Internationalism which ignores man's basic obligations and duties to his own country becomes a kind of utopian cosmopolitanism. A glossing over of one's duties to the society in which one lives creates a spurious conscience that is most sensitively concerned with neighbors who are farthest away.
     To those who believe in Providence, the fact that so many nations have come into being implies some worthwhile end. This does not mean that a system better suited to political and economic relations between nations could not or should not be designed. A key principle for its design is that the most effective co-operation between nations does not arise from an indiscriminate love of all mankind, but from insights that begin with the patriotic love and affection for uses and purposes which one's own country serves. In such a context the moral standards of one nation may be higher or lower than those of another. Some nations in the past have pursued evil purposes; others may do so now or in the future. With individuals, the freedom to do evil and to defend themselves against it, and the complications arising from this freedom, provide a basis for spiritual development.
     We have already alluded to the identification of certain nations in the past with certain spiritual purposes. When a nation through its government maintains high ideals, and inspires the natural virtues of its citizens by promoting such principles as "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," it provides an environment in which its citizens can develop spiritually and at the same time contributes to a better national order.
     But how is the transformation to a better world order to be achieved? The Writings assert that "before things are reduced to order very commonly they are first reduced to a kind of confusion-for in this way things that were in a harmful manner are dissociated."
     Can a world order be achieved peacefully, or will it be imposed by force? Certainly there is no warrant to be derived from the Writings for the belief that a free society can be imposed by force. Resort to war can be justified only if it is waged for the protection of one's own country. Even so, "when declaring war," Swedenborg argued as a member of the Swedish Diet, "one should have in view, not a single year, or the advantages which one thinks he can derive from a conjunction of circumstances, but ten to twenty years, that is, all the consequences." This view of war is quite the opposite from the doctrine of so-called "just wars" espoused by the communists, who contend that any war waged to advance communist interests is just, and any effort to oppose communist aggression is, by definition, unjust.

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In the rending conflicts which now divide humanity, morality is most likely to be found on the side of those nations which are willing to defend themselves, but unwilling to impose their views on others by force of arms or other pressures backed by force.
     According to the Writings, the roots of war and international disturbance lie concealed within the spiritual evils which man so perversely finds attractive. Wars and pestilence and famine and other forces which afflict mankind are permitted by God, and may be useful spiritually until the mass of individual human beings are capable of living according to the moral mandates they espouse. From this perspective, morality in international relations can be no higher than the morality typified in individual behavior, and in practice often turns out to be lower. Until moral force becomes the dominant force in individual behavior it is difficult to see how the moral jungle of the international community can be transformed into a modern global garden of Eden. As Justice Holmes once stated: "Our morality seems to be only a check on the ultimate domination of force, just as our politeness is a check on the impulse of every pig to put his nose in the trough."
     If this description accords with man's contemporary moral state, the achievement of genuinely moral relations between nations remains a desirable but distant goal. Meanwhile, the world's statesmen, operating prudently on the plane of political intercourse, may find it increasingly to their national advantage to restrain their personal ambition and avarice, particularly in the face of nuclear threat.
     The implication of this conclusion is neither utopian nor altogether pessimistic. "The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." And one day, when the laws of God are written indelibly on the hearts of men, the global chaos of today will give way to a more tranquil world community. The road to genuine international morality will parallel the path of individual regeneration, and not precede it.
GIFTS OF PEACE 1963

GIFTS OF PEACE              1963

     "Peace has in it confidence in the Lord, that He directs all things, and provides all things, and that He leads to a good end. When a man is in this faith he is in peace, for he then fears nothing" (AC 8455).

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ORDINATION 1963

ORDINATION       GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1963

     Declaration of Faith and Purpose

     I believe that there is one God who is infinite and uncreate, and that in Him all things are one distinctly. I believe that He has revealed Himself to angels and men as a trinity of essentials called Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or Divine love, Divine wisdom and Divine proceeding. I believe that the Divine love is the inmost of God and that it operates through the Divine wisdom, and that together these proceed from Him as an infinite Divine sphere.
     I believe that the essence of Divine love is to love others outside of itself, to desire to be one with them, and to render them blessed from itself. From the Divine love, and by means of the Divine wisdom, I believe that God created the spiritual and natural worlds, and that He created man to live in both of these worlds. I believe that the will of God is that man should learn of Him and live the life which He teaches, that after the death of the body he may enter into the fullness of spiritual life in heaven.

     The means whereby the Lord discloses His purpose to man is through His Divine truth, which is the Word. I believe that the Lord has accommodated this Divine truth to the progressive states of the human race as they have existed in the five dispensational churches. I believe all Divine truth given during that time to be the Word of God, culminating in the Writings of the Lord's second advent, given through His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg. From the basis of the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings I believe that the Lord enlightens and leads man from His Holy Spirit.
     Inmostly the Word reveals to us the nature of God: how He became incarnate; how He subjugated the hells, and united the Divine essence to the Human essence, thereby glorifying His Human. Upon these truths all of theology stands, and from this all of religion and all of life.
     Man's regeneration is an analogue of the Lord's glorification, and I believe that it is the will of God that all should choose, as of themselves, to become conjoined with Him through a life of charity and love, according to the precepts of faith. I believe that for the sake of this end the Lord has ordained that there should be overseers over ecclesiastical things, and that these should be priests, among whom there is to be subordination for the sake of order.

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I believe that the Lord leads man immediately from His Word, and mediately through preaching and teaching from His Word. It is, therefore, the duty of the priesthood to fulfill this mediate use by diligent study of the Word. From humility of heart priests must pray that the Lord will enlighten them from His Holy Spirit, that through their ministrations the truth may be accommodated to the varying needs of men.
     In this belief I now present myself for ordination into the second degree of the priesthood of the New Church. I reaffirm my desire to serve the Lord as a priest, and I am now willing to enter into this work more fully. I humbly beseech the Lord to make me worthy of this sacred office. May He continually guide me to discharge my duties with fidelity. And I pray that I may serve the Lord from a love for the salvation of souls, and that through my humble presentation of His truth the Lord may operate into that which is His own with man. And finally, I pray that such truths as the Lord may enlighten me to see may serve Him in the establishment of His church, the New Jerusalem, for this alone can become the true seminary of the angelic heavens.
     GEOFFREY H. HOWARD
June 2,1963
SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION 1963

SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION              1963

     Price Changes. On account of increased costs, the following prices are now in effect:

Standard Edition of the Writings (dark green cloth), now to be called the "Student's Edition" . . . per volume, $3.00
Standard Edition (new binding-blue cloth, red banding, gold titling), now to be called the "Trade Edition"* . . . per volume, $4.75
Paperbacks-Heaven and Hell, Divine Providence, Divine Love and Wisdom, Four Doctrines, Swedenborg's Life and Teaching (Trobridge) . . . per volume, $1.00
Swedenborg's Life and Teaching (cloth) . . . $1.50
The Spiritual Life and the Word of God (cloth) . . . $0.75
My Religion, Helen Keller (rose cloth) . . . $2.50
     (paper)     $0.35

True Christian Religion (2 vols.) and Arcana Coelestia, vol. 1, are now available in this edition.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     There is in the Writings no continuous exposition of the four Gospels. If we would find the spiritual sense of some story or parable we must have access to all the volumes of the Writings, for the exposition of the gospel story is scattered throughout the Heavenly Doctrine. This does not mean that there is not a continuous internal sense in the Gospels; there is, but it is presented in a different manner and for a different purpose than the detailed, serial exposition of the internal sense of certain books in the Old Testament.
     In the New Testament we are presented with pictures of different series of the internal sense, which we can see as a whole. These series, given in synopsis form, are the same as those contained in the internal sense of Genesis and Exodus; but in the Arcana these series are expounded in such detail, and are so complex, that it is practically impossible to have an overall view of them. For example, in the Old Testament the Lord's states of humiliation and glorification are contained in the inmost sense of every "jot and tittle." In the Gospels we are given a general view of these states which brings to our attention the most essential truths relating to them.

     As a clear example of a general view of a series, let us look at the part that Peter plays in the gospel story. By Peter's name, words and actions is represented on the one hand the formation of a true faith, and on the other a false faith, and his story tells of the states of faith both with a church and with an individual. Let us consider the story as it relates to man's regeneration.
     Peter is introduced to the Lord by Andrew, who represents obedience to truth; so here we have the beginning of a true faith-through obedience to the truths of the Word. That a true faith provides man with the means of recognizing evil in himself, and of making himself accountable for it, is meant by Peter's saying to the Lord, after the miraculous catching of many fish: "Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord." But the Lord told Peter to "fear not"; meaning that man should not be afraid of recognizing evil in himself if he looks to the Lord.

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That the formation of a true faith will involve doubts concerning the Lord's power to save is told in the story of Peter walking on the water to meet the Lord, sinking into the waves in fear, and finally being rescued by the Lord. That a true faith comes to know and acknowledge the real nature and quality of the Lord is meant by Peter's declaration: "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." The Lord replied: "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church: and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." Here we see that the essential of true faith is the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord; and that on such faith as a foundation the Lord can prepare His permanent presence with man, so that the hells can never hinder or destroy.

     How a true faith gradually comes to see the fullness of the Lord's love and wisdom in His glorified Human is told in the story of Peter seeing the Lord transfigured before him. That a true faith is led by the Lord to see spiritual things in all natural things is taught by Peter being directed to take a silver coin out of the mouth of a fish. That such a faith is cleansed from falsity by the Lord is represented by the Lord's washing Peter's feet. Only his feet were washed at that time, for the spiritual of faith has already been formed and now only the natural needs to be ordered and purified.
     A spiritual faith, born of regeneration, is eager to seek the Lord and to be led by Him constantly and fully. That faith is represented by the Peter who runs to the sepulchre to see if the Lord is still there. It is the faith conjoined with charity which can answer, fully and sincerely, the Lord's question, "Simon, son of Jonas, Lovest thou Me?" with "Yea, Lord, Thou knowest that I love Thee."
     The story of the formation of a false faith may be seen also in Peter's story in the Gospels. It may be seen where he is rebuked by the Lord, called "Satan," and warned that finally he would deny the Lord three times.
     If, when reading the New Testament, we are aware of such short series as this, we will find that not only do we enter into the letter with greater interest and understanding, but we come to appreciate more fully the intimate relationship and connection between the Old and New Testaments. We come to see, more and more, how marvelous has been the Lord's wisdom in their formation.

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OUR FIRST RESPONSIBILITY 1963

OUR FIRST RESPONSIBILITY       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     The General Church sees as its first responsibility the maintenance, preservation and development of the distinctive uses of the church-which includes the education of its children and young people and the evangelization of those who may be led into the church from the Christian world. In so doing it does not isolate itself from the rest of humanity. The Writings teach plainly that the men and women of the church, as individuals, have responsibilities to their community, their country and the human race as a whole; but we believe that these are not responsibilities of the church as a church, and that the church makes its most vital contribution to the good of the neighbor in every degree by concentrating first on its specific uses, even as a man makes his most effective contribution to society through the faithful performance of his own use, rather than by spreading himself so thin over so many activities that he makes an effective contribution to none.
     We believe that through the church's concentration on these uses the Lord can impart the highest blessings on mankind. However, this concept of the church's use is likely to become increasingly one that will be misunderstood, criticized and opposed, both by the liberals within the New Church and by those outside of it who are committed more and more to social action if not to the social gospel. It may seem to them that we are selfish, exclusive, callously indifferent to the needs of society; and there will be need for clear thinking, rational understanding and firm conviction to maintain a state in which the purposes of the Last Judgment can be worked out and the church can be firmly established.

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OFFERING FOR DEDICATION 1963

OFFERING FOR DEDICATION       Editor       1963

     It is recorded in the Word that when Moses had set up the tabernacle and sanctified it, the princes of Israel each made an offering for the dedication of the altar. As man can offer to the Lord only that which He has given, their action represented two things: the acknowledgment that all spiritual truth and affection, all genuine faith and charity, all heavenly love and innocence come from the Lord; and the true worship of the Lord which results when, from that acknowledgment, these things are consecrated to His service.
     When a New Church building is dedicated to the uses of worship, instruction and social life, it is this spiritual offering, made by those who meet in it, that makes possible the performance of the uses for which it is thus set apart. Worship, instruction and New Church social life are uses of the Lord with men through men. Unless the Lord is in them they are without life, although the outward forms may be there; and the presence of the Lord with men is always in that which is from Himself. But when men worship the Lord in the faith of love, desiring to be led by Him alone through the truth of doctrine to the good of life, there the Lord is present, and His life is in their uses.
     In extending to our friends in Miami the congratulations of the entire church on their new building, we feel confident that they will have these things firmly in mind. Free-will offerings of money, time and talent are all needed to prepare a house for the Lord-and in this instance, as in others, have been given generously. But it is the spiritual offering for the dedication of which we have spoken, made without ceasing by those who worship there, that makes the house what it is set apart to be; a temple in which the Lord dwells with His people as their God, and in whose presence the earth is silent before Him.
SOURCE OF FORGIVENESS 1963

SOURCE OF FORGIVENESS              1963

     According to the determinists, man is not responsible for his actions. When the source of his disorder has been revealed to him, therefore, he will cure himself by forgiving himself. This inevitably leads to the destructive absurdity that evil is its own absolution! The Writings teach that when the source of the disorder has been uncovered, man must indeed be given the hope of forgiveness. But they teach also that this hope can be realized only through actual repentance in which man looks to the Lord as the source of forgiveness.

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SON OF MAN 1963

SON OF MAN       THEODORE PITCAIRN       1963

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In the May issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1963, page 238, there is an editorial based on the Canons of the New Church, from the chapter on the Holy Spirit, number V: 8, 9. This number reads: "To him 'who speaks a word against the Holy Spirit it is not remitted' because he denies the Divinity of the Lord and the holiness of the Word; for he has no religion. . . . To him who speaks a word against the Son of Man it is remitted, because he denies this or that to be Divine truth from the Word in the church, provided he believes that in the Word and from the Word are Divine truths. The `Son of Man' is the Divine truth from the Word in the church, and this cannot be seen by all."
     In the editorial the phrase, "he denies this and that to be Divine truth from the Word in the church," is paraphrased in the words, "to deny this or that in the church is truth from the Word," thus omitting the word, "Divine."

     Nor does the editorial mention the phrase, "the Son of Man is the Divine truth from the Word in the church, and this cannot be seen by all," but instead says: "Man may yet deny that this or that doctrine of the church is true." That "the 'Son of Man' is the Divine truth in the church" is obviously an important part of the number, and does not the omission of this fundamentally change the meaning of the number as a whole?
     The editorial says: "By the Son of Man is meant the Word in the letter, and to speak against it is to speak against truths not yet inscribed on the life, to interpret the letter differently according to appearances; while the number treated of says only: "To him who speaks a word against the Son of Man it is remitted, because he denies this or that to be Divine truth from the Word in the church." In the Apocalypse Explained, number 778, it indeed says that "to say a word against the `Son of Man' means to interpret the natural sense of the Word, which is the sense of the letter, according to appearances"; but this is obviously a different series which should not be confused with the series in which the Son of Man represents "Divine truth in the church from the Word."
     THEODORE PITCAIRN
     Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania

     [Our correspondent is mistaken in his assumption that the editorial was based on the Canons number and was a paraphrase. Editor.]

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     LONDON, ENGLAND

     Because your reporter had to go to Scotland last December, she was unable to take part in the Christmas celebrations at Michael Church. She cannot do better, however, than to quote from Miss Edith Elphick's chronicle of the events in the News Letter.
     "The Christmas celebration, Sunday December 23rd, took place according to custom with a lunch following the service. Although many of the large congregation could not stay for the afternoon, seventy-two people, including children, sat down to a very festive table. The catering rota had worked magnificently providing turkey and trimmings, and Mrs. Sandstrom had baked delectable cakes from money donated as a farewell gift by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Rinaldo. We thought this a very lovely gesture and said 'thank you' in chorus to this very friendly family as we ate.
     "Before the program commenced the Rev. Erik Sandstrom introduced the two new members who had that morning signed the roll: Mrs. Inga Maclurkin and Mr. Robert B. Wilson. Two of our people, Rona Maclurkin and Julie Law, read passages from the Old and New Testaments prophesying the Lord's nativity, and parallel passages pointing to the Lord as Savior and Redeemer and to His unity with the Divine. Mr. Sandstrom's talk concerned the Wise Men, the star, and some comments on Joseph as the betrothed of Mary and his representation of the celestial heavens. The readings were linked with Christmas music and singing, interspersed with selections from Milton and G. M. Hopkins read with distinction by Mr. Don Ridgway. Altogether quite a day- and, as usual, a very happy one. The lovely Christmas Day service was attended by a largish congregation, considering distance."
The children's New Year party, which has now become an institution, was held on January 12. In spite of bitter weather, more than thirty children with parents turned up and the whole affair went with a swing. Mr. Sandstrom opened the party with a short service and the showing of Nativity slides; after that the children trooped downstairs to the schoolroom, where tables beautifully decorated and heavily laden with 'goodies' awaited them. The centerpiece was a huge gingerbread house, made Swedish fashion by Mrs. Inga Maclurkin, complete with windows and chimneys over which drifted icing snow. After tea, one boy and one girl were chosen to compete in breaking the house down with spoons, and the pieces were handed round to be eaten. Games followed, organized and otherwise; balloons were burst; prizes were presented; and a hilarious afternoon came to a reluctant close at 7:00 p.m.
     It is interesting to note the change in the pattern of our doctrinal classes over the past year; not, I hasten to add, in substance, for this has always been of the highest order under the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, but in their grouping. Because of changes in the functions and responsibilities of the former pastor of the Open Road Society, the Rev. Frank S. Rose, Mr. Sandstrom has been called upon to make many more long-distance journeys, which has necessitated cutting down somewhat on local activities. Our North and South London Reading Groups, held every six weeks, respectively, and our monthly Sunday doctrinal classes have had to be discontinued, leaving only the twice monthly classes at Swedenborg House and the Chadwell Health and young people's class.

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     After a partly provided lunch for some fifty people, including children, the January celebration was very successfully prepared and presented by Mr. Tom Sharp with the assistance of Mr. Harald Sandstrom, Miss Edith Elphick and Mr. Leonard Lewin. They had been asked to give papers dealing respectively with Swedenborg as a teacher of natural sciences in the natural world, of spiritual sciences in the natural world, and of spiritual sciences in the spiritual world. The result of this threefold approach was interesting and stimulating.
     The Women's Guild held its 22nd annual general meeting on February 21 at Swedenborg House. The members warmly thanked the retiring president, Bernice Sandstrom, for all the hard work she had put in during her year of office and for the interest she had stimulated through the speakers she had presented, many of whom had been drawn from the members themselves. Mrs. Helen Colebrook, secretary and treasurer for many years, had intimated her desire to retire from office, and the Guild accepted her resignation with reluctance, while unanimously expressing gratitude for her faithful and untiring services over a long period. Miss Edith Elphick was elected president, and Miss Isabel Robertson secretary, for the ensuing year.
     The annual general meeting of the Society was scheduled for March 31, and its announcement was prefaced by a bombshell!-no less than the intimation by the pastor, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, that he had accepted an invitation from the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton to become a Professor of Theology and Religion in the Academy schools, as from September 1, 1963. The Society has grown to love the Sandstrom family, and it is no belittling of our future pastor to say that there has been real anguish in our acceptance of the inevitability of their departure for the U.S.A. in a few month's time. A special meeting was called for April 7 to discuss the Bishop's nomination of Mr. Sandstrom's successor, the Rev. Donald L. Rose, pastor of the Hurstville Society in Australia. Mr. Rose is known personally to very few of us, but his reputation speaks for him and Mr. Sandstrom was able to cable that the nomination had been accepted unanimously by the Society.
     ISABEL ROBERTSON

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION

     The 66th Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held on May 15, 1963, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, with an attendance of 54 members and 58 guests.
     After having served as president for seventeen years, Professor Edward F. Allen declined re-nomination, and Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., was elected unanimously to that office. Professor Allen was elected to the Board of Directors, and the following members of the Board were re-elected: Messrs. Lennart O. Alfelt, Charles S. Cole, W. Cairns Henderson, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Joel Pitcairn, Kenneth Rose, and Miss Morna Hyatt. At a meeting of the Board later in the evening the following officers were re-elected: vice president, Mr. Charles S. Cole; editor, Mr. Edward F. Allen; editorial board, Messrs. W. Cairns Henderson, Kenneth Rose and Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr.; treasurer, Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh; secretary, Miss Morna Hyatt.
     The treasurer reported a balance of $8,312.00, which, because of generous contributions, compares favorably with last year's balance of $8,314.00, despite greater expenditures. Sales of the entire stock of 500 bound copies of Rational Psychology has led to the binding of the remaining 900 copies. Seventeen new members, a net gain of 2, and 6 new subscribers, a net gain of 4, give a total of 285 members and 34 subscribers.
     Professor Allen, in his report as editor and retiring president, refrained from reminiscing about his 25 years on the Board since he would not be retiring from its uses. He had felt for a long time that the Association should have a change of presidents and that more of his energies should be given to encouraging the kind of scholarship that produces articles for the NEW PHILOSOPHY.

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While it is possible to appeal to the loyalty of New Church men and women for support, the only real growth of the Association will come as a result of the scholarship of its members. At the present time the philosophy of science offers a challenge. He had hoped, and still hopes, that the Philosophical Notes, which have been appearing in the NEW PHILOSOPHY during the last ten years, may stimulate some response.
     Mr. Alfelt, speaking for the Committee on Translations, said that Mr. N. Bruce Rogers would continue this summer the work begun last year in translating The Brain. This has required considerable study of background material and has led to the drawing up by the committee of a set of rules and principles to be followed in translating Swedenborg's pre-theological works. Mr. Alfelt had recently undertaken to revise and complete the translation into English of Daedalus Hyperboreas, the first technological journal published in Swedish, and indeed in the vernacular anywhere in the world. For this work he has secured the assistance of experts on the technological language and on the development of science in Swedenborg's day.
     Mr. Allen then gave an address on "Chance in Modern Science and its Relation to New Church Philosophy." This was in some respects a companion to his address last year on "Cause." In it he distinguished between a belief in what he called chance-in-principle and chance-in-appearance. The former is a belief that applications of statistics and the theory of probability to occurrences in nature have succeeded because nature acts according to the laws of chance-a belief that the laws of chance and the laws of nature are one and the same. This philosophical conclusion was not held by those who first applied statistics to physics in the 19th century. These and later scientists have found statistics very useful when the number of systems is large, and detailed knowledge concerning the systems is insufficient or too complex to allow for the application of individual cause-and-effect relations. They use the laws of chance as a substitute for exact knowledge, some of them recognizing that causes are hidden in the deeper realms of nature. For these, the laws of chance are a stratagem to get around ignorance or through complexity, and to settle for the best answer available in the circumstance. The two views are epitomized in a letter from Einstein to Max Born: "You believe in a dice-playing god, and I in the perfect rule of law."
     It was the speaker's belief that the chance-in-principle conclusion has been arrived at critically by only a few, but that it has been adopted by many without analysis, and that it is affecting the education of almost all who study science today either on an elementary or an advanced level, whether they realize it or not. The paper gave a sketch of the development of the theory of probability and the philosophical thought that has accompanied this development among biologists and physicists. It touched on the questions of determinancy, teleology, and the second law of thermodynamics, dealt at some length with evolution, and concluded with some implications for New Church men. Mr. Allen saw in these arguments strong evidence of the existence of discrete degrees. Instead of returning to the mechanistic determinism of the 19th century, we must look for causal explanations on a deeper plane. The Writings warn against viewing things in creation as happening according to chance; yet nature appears to operate according to chance in order to preserve man's freedom (AC 5508). The success of probability over deterministic laws has seriously weakened mechanistic materialism.
     In the discussion period Mr. Fitzpatrick pointed out that the paper showed the danger of adopting as principles of thought ideas developed as assumptions. It was evident that anyone who deals with science of any kind must make philosophical judgments, or else follow the philosophical judgments of others. Dr. Odhner quoted Divine Providence 212, and said that he believed that the natural world must appear to act according to the laws of chance. The substance of nature has no purpose in itself, but the Lord has purpose.

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Mr. Cole summed up the two view-points as a question of whether chance governs nature or merely describes it. Mr. Kurt Nemitz asked how the second law of thermodynamics is consistent with chance in principle; and how, if science exists in order to predict future events on the basis of current knowledge, cause as a matter of time relationship can be avoided. Mr. Allen replied that there are those who think that the second law is not consistent. The second question was answered implicitly throughout the paper, but a direct answer would be quite technical and would assume a background in wave mechanics.
     A complete account of the meeting, the reports, paper and discussion will be published in the July issue of the NEW PHILOSOPHY. Those interested in subscribing to this journal or in becoming members of this association are invited to communicate with Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
     MORNA HYATT.
          Secretary

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention.-The 1963 session of the General Convention is being held at Miami Beach, Florida, July 4-7. This year's theme is "Freedom-Responsibility-Commitment." Included in the proceedings will be the dedication of the recently completed Miami church.
     A recent issue of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER reports that the New Church Theological School will most likely be relocated at Berkeley, California, in close proximity to the Pacific School of Religion. Plans call, not for merger or affiliation, but for a co-operative inter-seminary program; and it is proposed to increase the school's separate resources in faculty, library and finances.

     General Conference.-It has been announced with regret in the NEW CHURCH HERALD that the Rev. Hugh Bain has decided to resign from the ministry of the New Church. Mr. Bain stated that after careful study he had come to the personal conviction that "the general trend of Swedenborg's teaching does not warrant the continued existence of a New-Church organization worshipping separately from the historical Christian communions." He added that certain findings of modern biblical research led him to question Swedenborg's view of the method and level of inspiration in Holy Scripture and indicate that his view is historically and theologically inadequate for uncritical use at the present day.
     It was announced also that the Rev. Paul V. Vickers would address the Conference at its annual session in Brightlingsea on the doctrinal issues involved.

     Australia.-A recent report states that work is progressing on the new church building being erected by the Melbourne Society. The Rev. E. Leslie Bennett and the Rev. Richard H. Teed have both come out of retirement to serve as part-time ministers.
PRAYER FROM THE DIVINE 1963

PRAYER FROM THE DIVINE              1963

     "In prayer from the Divine it is always thought and believed that the Lord alone knows whether it is profitable or not; and therefore the suppliant submits the hearing to the Lord, and immediately after prays that the will of the Lord, and not his own, may be done, according to the Lord's words in His own most grievous temptation at Gethsemane" (Arcana Coelestia 8179e).

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NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963





     Announcements
     The Sixth Northwest United States District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Spokane, Washington, August 17-18, 1963, the Rev. Roy Franson presiding by episcopal appointment.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
ORDINATION 1963

ORDINATION       Editor       1963

     Howard.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 2, 1963, the Rev. Geoffrey Horace Howard into the second degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.
General Church of the New Jerusalem 1963

General Church of the New Jerusalem              1963

     FORTY-EIGHTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY

     PRESIDENT:     THE RIGHT REV. WILLARD D. PENDLETON

     Members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend the Forty-eighth British Assembly, which will be held in Colchester, July 19-21, 1963.

     Program

Friday, July 19
     6:30 p.m. Tea
     8:00 p.m. First Session

Saturday, July 20     
     10:30 a.m. Second Session. Presidential Address
     1:00 p.m. Luncheon
     3:00 p.m. Third Session
     4:30 p.m. Tea
     8:00 p.m. Social. Toastmaster: Mr. Roy H. Griffith

Sunday, July 21
     11:00 am. Divine Worship
     1:00 p.m. Luncheon
     2:30 p.m. Holy Supper Service

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UNITY 1963

UNITY       Rev. A. WYNNE ACTON       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
August 1963
No. 8
     "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" (Psalm 133: 1)

     Both unity and variety come forth from the one only God. From the Lord are derived all the infinite things of creation, but in Him all these things of such a tremendous variety are in a perfect oneness. It is only as these infinite things are ultimated in creation that differences arise; and even on the plane of nature, although there is such diversity that not even two grains of sand are exactly the same, created things join together in perfect harmony as far as they are in their order. This harmony is not from their external form, but from the use which each contributes to the whole. Everything made by God has a specific use; each use contributing to a higher use in ascending degrees, from the lowest planes of the mineral kingdom through the vegetable and animal kingdoms to man, and thence to the supreme end of creation-that there shall be a heaven from the human race. It is the use that each thing performs that causes the universe to be a one.

     The quality of oneness cannot be equated with that of sameness. When we speak of things being the same, or similar, we refer to their external form; but when we speak of unity, we refer to their use and the inner force which unites them. Since, in the final analysis, all uses come forth from the Lord and are a result of the intrinsic form impressed upon them from creation, we may see that it is the Divine proceeding from the Lord which alone is the unifying force in both the world of spirit and that of nature.
     Consider the human body. It is composed of millions of diverse cells, yet each one is perfectly formed to carry out its particular use at the behest of the soul.

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In the various parts there are untold differences, but out of these different forms the inflowing life of the soul creates a perfect unity. That unity is perfected, not by the various parts becoming more similar to one another, but by each part fulfilling the use for which it was created; and the unity or wholeness of the body can be impaired only by the failure or inability of one part to fulfill its own particular function.

     The spirit is the same. The affection and desires, the thoughts and ideas, of the spirit are unlimited in number and very different. The unifying force which can form one spirit from this great variety is devotion to one's use. In the first place, it is a person's devotion to his use in the world; and it should be noted that this includes not only his daily occupation but also his responsibilities to his church, his country, his family and his fellow citizens. In preparation for our use we must learn much particularized knowledge and acquire various arts and skills; and we add to this a great deal of varied information and experience which may seem to have little bearing on our particular use. But when we enter upon that use, and bring to our performance of it all our knowledge and abilities, the diversified qualities of the mind are unified in and by that use, and from being a medley of variant thoughts and desires the mind becomes a one by being directed to one purpose. Furthermore, the more varied our mental equipment is, the more ably can we perform our use, whether it be our daily work or our function as citizens of the state or as loyal and intelligent members of the church. Again it is the external-the knowledges, thoughts and desires-which causes variety, and it is the internal-the love of use and purpose-which brings them into unity. For this reason we are taught that unless a man from affection occupies himself with a use he is not of sound mind, for there is no unifying force in his life.*
     * Love XV.
     This making of a man whole through the love of his natural uses, however, can be achieved fully only by a unifying force of a higher nature, namely, by an approach to that wholeness itself which is the Lord. We are brought into a natural harmony by our love of natural uses, but our life can be one of spiritual harmony only as we enter into a spiritual love of uses. This is the same as regeneration. We commence our adult life as a house divided against itself, the foes of our spiritual household being the selfish purposes and perverse ambitions which animate us. At times we are controlled by worldly ambitions and evil loves and at other times we are striving to live according to principles of Divine truth. If our selfishness is in the course of time subordinated to spiritual truth, that is, if we make an earnest and sustained effort to live in humble obedience to the teaching of Divine revelation, looking towards the highest interests of our fellow man, we come nearer to the Lord and may receive an image of His Divine oneness.

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We then become a one in Him, not by discarding our diverse thoughts and knowledges and our varied desires and purposes, but by purging them of evil that they may all be turned to the one central purpose of love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor. This is meant by the Lord's prayer in John 17, that we be not taken out of the world, but kept from its evils, that we may be made one in Him.
     This is the "good and pleasant" thing of our text as applied to the individual, when all things of his spiritual life adhere together like brothers in their one purpose of serving the Lord and the neighbor. When man attains this state by shunning all evil desire and false imaginations, then the more varied and extensive his knowledges and experiences are, the fuller will be the integrity and wholeness of his life.

     We have applied this teaching to the unity and wholeness which are attained in the regeneration of a single individual. The same principle-that diversity exists in externals, and unity comes by influx from within from the Lord-applies to the relationships of people, and especially to the holy marriage of one man and one woman. So close has the Lord's providence ordained this unition to be that He said of it: "Wherefore they are no more two, but one flesh."* Of course they remain as two individuals, and indeed as the marriage develops the man becomes more a man, and the woman more a woman; but as "they are delivered from the loves of self and the world, and become established in supreme love to the Lord and in mutual love to each other, this love conjoins them more and more, in affection and thought, and in every word and work." When the external things of life become predominant, differences and separation arise, but when the two strive to enter into love truly conjugial by following the Divine law, they may be led into a union of thought and will, of truth and good, so that "they love to think and will each as the other, and thus to become as one man; the image and likeness of one is in the mind of the other, and they dwell together in all things of life even to the inmost." This unity is so interior and lasting that, the number concludes: "They who so dwell together on earth dwell together as angels after death."
     * Matthew 19: 5.
     A less intimate application of our text can be made to a church society. The variety is certainly there in the various individuals who compose the society, but the unity should equally strongly be there in the efforts of those individuals to receive the spiritual things of the church, which alone can unite. In our individual efforts to receive the essential things of the church and to develop and perfect its uses in our own lives we are brought into an internal unity-a unity which has its origin, not in man, but in the Lord.

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Where such a spiritual unity prevails it entirely overshadows all external varieties and differences of personality and causes a sphere of mutual confidence and harmony to be dominant. It will lead us to seek to overcome our external pride and exclusiveness that we may be a spiritual brotherhood from inmosts to the most external things.
     Let us, then, as a society, strive to think together in the light of revealed truth. This will lead us to common affections in our mutual efforts to serve the Divine ends of creation. Then may we truly act together, so that from the great variety of individual gifts there may result perfect unity in effort and intention, in thought and deed. In such a spirit of brotherhood, descending from within, we may contribute to the growth of the Lord's church, play our part in advancing the welfare of all mankind, and ourselves receive the blessing-even life for evermore. Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 133. John 17: 5-26. Heaven and Hell 56.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 449, 457, 473.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 71, 98.
UNIVERSAL AND SPECIAL MERCY 1963

UNIVERSAL AND SPECIAL MERCY              1963

     "The mercy of the Lord is perpetual with every man, for the Lord wills to save all men, whoever they are; but this mercy cannot flow in until evils have been removed, for evils and the derivative falsities stand opposed, and prevent it. But as soon as evils are removed, mercy flows in, that is, good from mercy from the Lord, which good is charity and faith. From this it can be seen that the mercy of the Lord is universal, that is, toward all, and that it is also special toward those who abstain from evils. Man can abstain from evils from himself; but he cannot receive good from himself. That man can abstain from evils from himself is because the Lord continually inflows into the will of man with the endeavor, and thereby puts it in his freedom to desist from evils, as also to apply himself to good. The Lord also gives him the faculty of understanding truth, but that he does not understand is because he does not wish to understand, and this on account of the evil that is of the life; for falsity defends evil, and truth condemns it. Hence it is that man cannot be presented with spiritual good by the Lord, thus cannot be led through mercy, unless he desists from evil" (Arcana Coelestia 8307).

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DESCENT FROM GILGAL TO JORDAN 1963

DESCENT FROM GILGAL TO JORDAN       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     The days of Elijah were fast drawing to a close. All the sons of the prophets had a strange foreboding that he was about to be taken from them. How or why this should come to pass they did not know, nor did they dare to ask him; but they watched his movements with anxious fear. Elisha, the young disciple on whose shoulders the mantle of Elijah was to fall, clung to his master with desperate longing and refused to be parted from him. They were sojourning together at Gilgal, a village high in the mountains of Ephraim, when Elijah said to him: "Tarry here, I pray thee; for the Lord hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel." Here also Elijah asked the young man to stay, while he himself went down to Jericho. But Elisha refused and they descended together. Again Elijah wished him to remain in Jericho, but Elisha insisted upon accompanying his master to the Jordan river. There Elijah smote the waters with his mantle, and they were divided for the two travelers to pass over on dry ground. "And it came to pass as they still went on and talked, that behold there appeared a chariot of fire and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven."

     What is here described is the merciful providence of the Lord in His coming to redeem mankind. Elijah the prophet represents the Lord as to the Word. The descent from Gilgal to Jordan represents the spiritual decline of the race from the celestial wisdom of the Most Ancient Church to the scientific materialism of our modern age. Every step of this decline the Lord has followed. Whenever the Word has lost its saving power because its true meaning has been falsified, the Lord has revealed Himself anew. He has come down to the plane of man's life, teaching in terms adapted to man's altered state. At the end of every church He has preserved a remnant of innocence-a few who were willing to be led and taught-that with these genuine faith and true worship might be restored. But each time this has happened the meeting-place between the Lord and man has been on a lower level.

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There was descent from celestial perception, represented by Gilgal, to spiritual intelligence, represented by Bethel; thence to knowledge devoid of spiritual understanding, represented by Jericho; and finally to complete ignorance of spiritual truth and complete reliance upon self-intelligence based on sensual proof, represented by the Jordan valley.
     Elijah at Bethel represents the Ancient Word. At Jericho he represents the Old Testament; and in the Jordan valley he represents the Lord on earth, the Word made flesh. His ascension is obviously prophetic of the Lord's resurrection, and the chariot of fire and horses of fire that carried him up to heaven prefigured the Heavenly Doctrine wherein the Lord was to appear in His glorified Divine Human. Elisha, as the young man who refused to leave his master, represents those in all ages who have clung to a simple faith in the Word, and with whom, therefore, a new church could be established by the Lord, because they were receptive of the new Revelation.

     There are two points of special interest in connection with this interpretation of the story. The first is that Elijah descended, not because of any human necessity, but in response to a Divine command, for on each occasion he said to Elisha: "The Lord hath sent me." And the second point is that the prophet did not wish Elisha to follow him, saying: "Tarry here, I pray thee." But Elisha remained with his master at his own insistence, for he said: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee." Both these points are of profound significance.
     Because the Lord came into the world to redeem a fallen race, it is commonly supposed that had there been no fall His advent would have been unnecessary. Yet it was not the Divine purpose that mankind should remain forever in the innocence of natural ignorance that characterized the Most Ancient Church. We are taught that the inhabitants of our earth are more external than are those of other planets. It is our special genius to delight in the discovery of natural truth, and with this in view to explore the secrets of nature. In this lies our distinctive use and function to the Gorand Man of Heaven. It is said therefore that we belong to the province of the skin,* through which sensation is transmitted to the brain. Not that those who come from our earth into the other life cannot ascend even to the highest heaven, but that even in that ascent they bring with them scientific knowledges derived from the life of the body for the instruction and enlightenment of those from other planets who have not such knowledges.
     * AC 5554.
     Because this our use was foreseen and provided by the Lord from the beginning, it was of order, and of Divine intent, that the inhabitants of our earth should be prepared through centuries of racial growth to enter upon this function.

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That this should come to pass was as much a part of the Lord's will and purpose as it is that every infant should grow to adult age, and in the process should be prepared for his individual use, both on earth and in the life to come. Nor was it at all necessary that this development of the race from its infancy to its maturity should bring with it evil loves and sinful deeds. Man in this progression need not have receded from love to the Lord and charity. He need not have yielded to selfishness and greed. He need not have plunged into the struggle for personal dominion and for worldly wealth-the struggle that has been the cause of all injustice, the motive in every age for man's cruelty to man, with all the train of human suffering that has ensued therefrom. These things have come only as a result of man's insistence, and by Divine permission, in order to preserve his spiritual freedom. It was the Divine purpose in the creation of our earth that the people who should dwell upon it should cultivate the natural sciences, and the development of scientific knowledge here has been brought about, not because of the fall of man, but in spite of it.

     Preparation for that external use for which mankind on our earth was destined did involve, therefore, a descent such as that represented by Elijah's journey from Gilgal to the Jordan valley. The race at its birth was, of necessity, like every infant, in total ignorance. The first gift of God to the race, as to the individual, is not knowledge but affection-love, the delight of innocence, in which is the thirst for knowledge, the urge to learn. This is in order that man may attain to intelligence and wisdom as if by his own effort, and thus may feel it and enjoy it as his own. The men of most ancient times had no more realization of the need for scientific knowledge than has a new-born infant. They dwelt in an earthly paradise, under the immediate and obvious protection of the Lord. They looked to Him for all things, responding joyfully to His leading; even as an infant, in utter helplessness, finds his heaven in the protection of the mother's arms. But just as a child, in order to attain the competence, the intelligence, the judgment and responsibility of his individual use in adult age, must recede progressively from his dependence upon his parents, so it was of order that the race should recede from its dependence upon the outward and obvious guidance of the Lord, that through the acquisition of knowledge and skill it might enjoy a greater freedom, might assume a larger measure of responsibility, might perform a more individual use and know the joy thereof.
      To this end man was gifted with curiosity, the desire to understand the meaning of life. From the very first he felt an innate urge to understand those heavenly affections that imparted such delight to all his bodily experiences.

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For the perfection of that understanding he came to realize the need to amass spiritual knowledges, and that these might be intelligently applied, he wakened to the necessity of gathering natural knowledges also. This was inevitable because the love of natural truth was implanted in him from his first creation. In this lay his special delight-the delight of his peculiar use, in the performance of which alone he could find his eternal happiness. It was the Lord's will that he should enter upon that use and should receive the blessings thereof. All the leading of Divine Providence looked to that end, through every age of racial growth. And this is the reason that Elijah, at every stage of his descent from Gilgal to Jordan, said: "The Lord hath sent me."

     That this entire process could have been accomplished without man's falling into evil, and that the Lord willed it to be so accomplished, is represented in the Scripture by the fact that Elijah, at each stage of the descent, asked Elisha to remain behind. The appearance is that had the young man agreed to this request he would have been separated from his master, would not have beheld the ascension of Elijah, and could not therefore have received the mantle whereby the powers of the older prophet were transferred to him. This indeed is the truth, but only because man insisted upon using his increase of knowledge and intelligence for the attainment of selfish and worldly ends. Because of this the truth of the Word was perverted, falsified, turned from its intended purpose and made to serve man's personal ambition for power and for wealth. The simple in heart, who clung to their faith, were confused by false teaching. Their minds were darkened by clouds of fallacies that shut out the light of spiritual understanding. Deeply as they longed to do so, they could not find their way through the maze of false teachings built up by those who, pursuant to their selfish ends, had "made the Word of God of none effect by their tradition." No one but the Lord Himself could disperse these clouds. No one but He could point the way out of the man-made labyrinth of falsity in the midst of which those who sincerely loved the truth had become enmeshed.
     But always, ere the flickering lamp of God went out in the temple of His holiness, the Lord came down to open anew the inner meaning of His Word, giving the answers that men themselves could never have discovered, teaching men in such a way that all who were willing to learn might understand. Those who refused to yield their faith hearkened to this new revelation of Divine truth. For them a new day dawned. With them, at every stage, the Lord established a new church wherein true worship and genuine charity were for a time restored.

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The eager anxiety of these simple in heart not to be cut off from the guidance of the Word, their willingness to be taught new truth by the Lord at His coming, this is what is represented by Elisha's saying to Elijah: "As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."

     Yet the prophet had each time asked him to remain behind, saying: "Tarry here, I pray thee." It was the Lord's will that the men of our earth should progress in the knowledge, the understanding and the application of scientific truth. This was in accord with their genius from creation. It was necessary to the fulfillment of their appointed use. Therefore it was of order that in the development of the race the focus of interest and attention should descend by degrees, from the celestial perceptions of the Most Ancient Church to the science of correspondences that flourished in the Ancient Church, thence to the ritual representations of the Jewish Church, again to the philosophic speculations of the pre-Christian and early Christian era, and finally to the age of scientific exploration that paved the way for the revelation of rational Divine truth given by the Lord at His second coming.
     It was not, however, of Divine intent or purpose, that man should use these gifts of knowledge for selfish and worldly ends. It was not intended that man should claim them as his own, as the product of his own intelligence, as an excuse for pride in human power to direct the destiny of the race according to his own will; forsaking the worship of God, denying the truth of the Word, and setting himself in the place of Providence. This was man's own doing through the abuse of that free choice in spiritual things which, if rightly used, could have raised him to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. There was nothing to prevent man, as the race developed, from seeking knowledges both spiritual and natural, for the glory of God, for the eternal welfare of the neighbor, and for the perfection of the use for which he was created.
     Had he done so, there would have been no fall. The Most Ancient Church would have remained in its integrity. Its celestial perceptions would not have been clouded over and obscured, but would have illuminated the thought of the mind as it descended to explore the lower planes of Divine creation. The charity of mutual love, and the supreme adoration of the Lord, would have permeated every stage of intellectual progress, would have directed the understanding and governed the use of all man's knowledge. Elisha would have remained behind, yet he would not have been separated from Elijah, for each step of the descent to Jordan would have produced a more ultimate vision of the Lord's presence and operation in the universe, and a more perfect conjunction with Him in heart and faith. Every successive church could have remained in its integrity. To do so would by no means have halted the progression of the race toward its appointed destiny.

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Despite every appearance to the contrary, it would have hastened the day when the special use of the heavens from our earth might have been brought to maturity. Toward this all the operation of the Divine Providence was directed; and this is why, at every stage of his descent from Gilgal to Jordan, Elijah said to Elisha: "Tarry here, I pray thee."

     That the fall was unnecessary the Lord Himself demonstrated when He came on earth. Together with the maternal human, He assumed the full burden of man's hereditary evil, and joined in mortal combat against all the hells. Wherefore it is said of Him: "He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. . . . He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities . . . all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."* From the total ignorance of infancy, bearing this burden, the Lord advanced along the path of all human progress, even to Divine intelligence and wisdom. He, too, descended from Gilgal to Jordan-from the celestial state of infancy, with its helplessness, to the maturity of physical strength, and of sensual knowledge and experience, that prepared Him for entrance upon His public ministry. His journey led through continual temptations-temptations that no mortal man could possibly sustain. Yet at every step of the way He fulfilled the will of the Father, and turned back every assault of hell. Wherefore He said to the Pharisees, who sought to kill Him: "Which of you convinceth Me of sin?"
     * Isaiah 53: 4 -6.
     The wonder of the Divine Providence is that in spite of man's departure from the way of truth, in spite of his rejection of the Word, and his insistence upon self-will and self-leading, the Lord has been preparing the race, through all the ages, for its appointed use, and has provided for the eventual achievement of that goal, foreseen from the beginning-the goal of scientific knowledge, intelligence and skill, conjoined with love to the Lord and heavenly charity-whereby heaven may in very truth descend to earth, and the rational understanding of nature in the light of Divine revelation may enrich the wisdom of all the heavens. This is the final purpose of the Lord's second coming to establish His everlasting kingdom in the hearts of men.

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HOLY SPIRIT 1963

HOLY SPIRIT       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1963

     (The first in a series of three doctrinal classes)

     1. THE GENERAL DOCTRINE

     The most important thing that leads to a true theology and a true religion is a true concept of the nature of God. The idea of God constitutes the inmost of thought with all who have religion, for all things of worship and all things of religion look to Him. God is in all things of religion, in universals and in particulars. Without a proper idea of God, no communication of man with the angels of heaven is possible. Every nation in the spiritual world is allotted its place in accordance with its idea of God as a man. Similarly, the place of the individual man in the spiritual world is dependent upon his own idea of God. From these few considerations it may easily be seen how important it is for us to have a true idea of God.

     The New Church believes in one God, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. All things in God are distinctly one.* That is the general teaching which pervades the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings. There is no statement to be found anywhere in the Word which contradicts this genuine truth. Yet God is described in finite language in a variety of ways. He is referred to by many different names, and each name, we are told, is representative of some Divine quality. He is called God, Lord, the Almighty, the Prince of Peace, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Bread of Heaven, Immanuel, to mention but a few. There are many more, and each name tells us something new and different about His nature. This is done because God is infinite, and the infinite cannot be comprehended by the finite, such as angel or man. Yet in order for man to have an idea of God the Infinite must be described in finite terms. Thus God is presented to us in Divine revelation from many different aspects; yet, inmostly, each of these aspects reveals the same subject, which is the one and only God.
     * DLW 17.
     If God were not presented to us from these different aspects, it would be impossible for any finite being to apprehend anything about the quality of God. God is infinitely one, and as such no angel or man can possibly understand Him.

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The finite mind requires that several objects be presented to it if it is to form a rational concept. There must be contrast and comparison so that a conclusion can be reached. God is therefore presented from different aspects. Each has its own limitations, yet one aspect of God alone will not give us a true idea of His essential nature. One aspect must be seen in relation to another, so that the mind is presented with an indefinite variety of attributes, all pertaining to the one God, who is infinite and uncreate. This is the only mode whereby the Infinite can be presented to finite apprehension.

     Since God in His infinite unity cannot be comprehended as such, His essential qualities must be set forth for the sake of man's comprehension, and they are set forth basically as a trine. These essentials of God are the Divine good, the Divine truth and the Divine proceeding; or, to use the language of the New Testament, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It was because of the inability of the Christian Church to ponder the mysteries of this Divine Trinity that it fell into all kinds of dreadful heresies. The unity of God could not be adequately reconciled with the trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; and the Christian interpretation, as stated in the Athanasian Creed, teaches that "there are three Divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and yet there are not three Gods, but there is one God." It is upon this creed that the Catholic faith is built, and the Catholic Church was, in effect, the parent church of all Christianity.
     This early heresy, in which the three Divine attributes of God were made into three persons, marked the beginning of decline for the entire Christian Church. The faith of Christianity began to separate itself from the doctrine of genuine truth when the Father, Son and Holy Spirit were each made into a person separate from the other two, and yet it was asserted that there were not three Gods, but one God. This statement is nothing more than a mere play on words. No unified concept can be formed from it because it is impossible to picture three separate persons as one God. The result was that the idea of God became so dreadfully falsified in the Christian Church that the whole of theology, and the whole of the Christian religion, began to topple, and that numerous heresies were hatched in an effort to dispel the confusion.
     This merely demonstrates what terrible things can happen when the true idea of God is falsified, for eventually everything of spiritual truth in the church perishes. This grievous breach between the Lord and the church on earth could be healed only by the descent of the Lord as to His Divine truth in His second coming. In the Writings the fragments of truth are gathered together, and the rational relationship of one truth to another is clearly demonstrated.

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The most universal principle of faith, as stated in the Writings, reads that "God is one in essence and in person, in whom is a Divine trinity" of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which are like the soul, the mind and operation in man.* The nature of God is further compared to the sun, in that it is composed of heat and light and these two proceed to the objects of the natural world in a united sphere.**
     * TCR 2, 139.
     ** DLW 99.

     We do not propose to discuss in this series of classes the subject of the Trinity as such. Rather is it our endeavor to consider one of those attributes of the Trinity-to discuss the subject of the Holy Spirit. There are many false notions concerning the nature and operation of the Holy Spirit in Christendom. In the fourth century it was established by the Nicene Council that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit were separate persons, and it was known that the Holy Spirit was the operation of the Divine among men. Yet the question naturally arose as to whether the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father, by the Son, or by both. This and other abominations split Christianity. The failure to understand the relationship between the Father and the Son, and their effect as to the sending of the Holy Spirit, led to the separation of the Roman Catholic and the Eastern churches.
     The general teaching in Christendom assigns to the person of the Holy Spirit the function of bestowing gifts of righteousness, as so many tokens of salvation, to the justified. It is held further that at the instant the Holy Spirit is received by the elect their sins are dispersed, and hardness of heart is replaced by an infantile compliance with the dictates of the Holy Spirit within. The Son indeed suffered for the sins of the human race, but now that He is risen the function of giving or withholding grace is the office of the Holy Spirit. It was such unjust and cruel teachings, or rather the spirit which gave them birth, that led eventually to the spiritual death of the Christian Church; when the spiritual sun was darkened and the moon could not cast even a glimmer of light among those of the church on earth.*
     * Matthew 24: 29.
     In contrast to this, let us examine some of the teachings of the Writings in regard to the Holy Spirit. To understand what is meant by this Divine attribute, let us begin by tracing its origin in the Scriptures. It is interesting to note that the Holy Spirit is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament, although there are three places where, in the King James Version, the term, the Spirit of holiness, is rendered, Holy Spirit. But these are incorrect translations. The first use of the term, Holy Spirit, occurs in the New Testament, when the angel Gabriel tells Zacharias that his son John will be "filled with the Holy Spirit even from his mother's womb."*

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It is next used in connection with the Lord's Divine conception. The angel Gabriel, when announcing that conception to Mary, tells her that "the Holy Spirit shall come upon [her]" to effect the virgin conception. In Matthew, it is revealed to Joseph that that which had been conceived by Mary was of the Holy Spirit.
     * Luke 1: 15.
     The first mention of the Holy Spirit, then, occurs in connection with the Lord's advent into the world. The Holy Spirit was first present in the world potentially at the time of the Lord's conception, for it is expressly stated that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. This was the Holy Spirit proceeding from the formative Divine Human; but the Holy Spirit was not fully operative in its ability to enlighten men until after the completion of the glorification.

     Let us now examine what the Writings teach about the Holy Spirit. Obviously it is a Divine attribute. Yet if God is unchanging, how is it that the Holy Spirit, which is said to be the third essential attribute of God, was first introduced at a point in time, when the Holy Spirit overshadowed the Virgin Mary? What about that essential quality of the Divine prior to the Advent?
     In order to answer this question let us examine a few general truths, and in their light let us try to see the order of the particulars of truth. To do this we will seek out some of the teachings concerning the eternal nature of God, how He was before the creation of the world, how He was prior to His advent, and how He was after the advent.
     Concerning the nature of God the Writings tell us that He is "infinite and eternal."* Nothing of change can be predicated of what is infinite and eternal.** That is to say, the essential nature of God was the same before creation as after it. However, to describe the nature of God before creation is impossible, because there would have been nothing finite whereby the infinite could be set forth. Therefore, although we can think of God as infinite and unchanging, it follows that His infinite attributes were the same before creation as after it. After creation the Word was given, in which the nature of God was disclosed. When God commissioned Moses to lead the sons of Israel out of Egypt, Moses asked Him to reveal His identity that the Israelites might believe and follow. The answer which God gave to Moses was: "I AM WHO I AM." In these words the inmost nature of God is described. I AM signifies the very esse of God, and it is repeated because on the second occasion it signifies His existere. Esse and existere are philosophical terms used to designate the Divine attributes of God as to His inmost and most universal nature.

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In less universal terms we may describe the nature of God as Divine love and Divine wisdom, and in the universe these proceed from God as a one to create and sustain all things in the heavens and on earth.
     * DP 48.
     ** DLW 77.
     We may say in general that this has been true from eternity. The nature of God Himself has not changed; but in contrast to God is finite creation, which is a theater of change. In the minds of angels and men there exist state and change of state; man is in a constantly varied state from the time when he is born until the time of his death, and this change of state continues in the spiritual world after death to all eternity. The same thing may be said of the human race, for it, as a whole, is also in a constantly varying state. At the time of the Most Ancient Church the human race was in its early infancy; the era of the Ancient Church was representative of a later period of infancy; the childhood of the race was represented by the Jewish Church; its youth by the Christian Church; and its early maturity by the New Church. All of these states were fed and nurtured by the ever-present sphere proceeding from the Lord.

     Let us now turn to the nature of the Divine sphere which proceeded from the Lord in the era prior to the Advent, that is, the era of the Israelitish Church. By examining the state of that church in regard to its relationship to the Lord, and contrasting this with the state of men in the Christian Church, we can finally come to see what is meant by the Holy Spirit. The Old Testament Word was the Word of the Israelitish Church, and nowhere in it is mention made of the Holy Spirit. What, then, was the nature of the Divine proceeding in the Jewish Church, and why is the Divine proceeding after the Advent called the Holy Spirit? The Divine proceeding, or the sphere of Divine good and Divine truth which proceeds from the Lord, is referred to in the Old Testament as the "Spirit of holiness" and as the "Spirit of God." "Nowhere in the Word of the Old Testament is it said that the prophets spoke from the Holy Spirit, but from Jehovah; for everywhere we read, 'Jehovah spake unto me,' 'The Word of Jehovah came unto me,' 'Jehovah said,' 'Thus saith Jehovah.'*     The reason for this was that the Lord could manifest Himself only as far as His truth could be received and not profaned. The Israelitish Church was altogether in externals and had no belief in anything internal, still less in anything spiritual.** Its members could see and understand the things of this world only. The church with them consisted in performing reverently the rites and rituals commanded through Moses. Through their observance of these laws, heaven could rest and subsist upon the state of external holiness created in the Jewish mind by this ritualistic worship.

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Yet it is important to note that the perception of the presence of angelic spheres was completely non-existent as far as the Jews were concerned. Unlike men today, they could not receive enlightenment and perception, which now gives us the ability to recognize truth as it were intuitively. Enlightenment and perception could not exist with them because they were wholly external men, and the internal, which is the plane of enlightenment and perception, was completely closed. As this was the case in the Israelitish Church it follows that the Divine sphere of love proceeding through wisdom could not be sensibly perceived by man on earth because his interiors were then completely closed. There was indeed the immediate influx of the Lord's life into the souls of men, for this created and sustained the human race physically; but it is not this immediate influx with which we are concerned. We are interested in that mediate influx which flows from the Lord through the spiritual world, and is there present in angels and spirits and is subsequently conveyed to man in the form of enlightenment and perception.
     * TCR 158.
     ** AC 6692.
     But it was necessary for the Divine to manifest itself to men on earth in some form, so that the Law and the Prophets could be given for the Jewish Church and in preparation for the Lord's advent. Therefore Jehovah presented Himself before the spiritual eyes of the prophets in the form of an angel. Therefore we read that "before the Lord's coming into the world the Divine Human was Jehovah Himself flowing in through heaven when He spake the Word; for Jehovah was above the heavens, but that which passed from Him through the heavens was at that time the Divine Human; for by the influx of Jehovah into heaven He set forth a man, and the very Divine thence derived was a Divine Man. This, then, is the Divine Human from eternity."*
     * AC 6280.

     Thus, as we have said before, there was no change in the Divine itself at any time, and therefore the Lord was Divinely Human from eternity. However, as far as men on earth were concerned, that Divine Human existed potentially and not in actuality until the Lord had descended into the world and assumed a human from Mary. From that time onward men on earth could see the Lord in His Divine Human because He made Himself visible. Jesus Christ was the Son of God. His soul was Divine, and since the soul forms the body, it follows that He was Divine Man in human form. The Divine proceeding from His soul became the Word of the New Testament. No longer was it necessary for the Lord to manifest Himself through the Angel of Jehovah; He has manifested Himself through His own Divine Human, and this in the natural world before the very sight of men.

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     From the time of the Advent it was no longer necessary to worship the Lord through a representative Human, that is, through the Word given by the Angel of Jehovah to Moses and the prophets. Before the Advent it was the prophets alone whose spiritual eyes had been opened, enabling them to see this representative Human in the form of an angel; but after the Advent it was possible for all men to approach and see the Divine Human, for the Word of the New Testament essentially tells of nothing else but the Lord and His Divinely-Human truth. The Old and New Testament Words are really inseparable, and from the New Testament we can see the Divine Humanity of the Lord presented in the Old Testament, but in a veiled form. When the Word is read from an affection for truth, and with the knowledge of the Divine Human in mind, then those knowledges which have been derived from the Word are knowledges of truth; and these knowledges, received within the mind, induce upon it a certain form and a certain order. Since they are derived from the Word of both Testaments, that form is, then, an image of the Divine Human of the Lord. Whenever there is something of genuine truth present in the mind, then something of the Lord's Divine Human is also present.

     When the mind is affected with the delight which truth brings, it is solely because all truth contains in its inmost the Lord's Divine Human. When this form is present in the ultimate degree of the mind, then angels are drawn to it and are associated with man as to his interiors, and this interior presence is perceived as delight. The seeing of a certain truth to be truth is granted to man because the angels shed their light upon it, and it is seen by man with his mind's eye. When that truth is practised in life it is also perceived to be good because the angels communicate the sphere of good to the man's interiors. No perception from good, and no enlightenment from truth, were possible in the Jewish Church because the interiors of the Jewish mind were closed and the Lord's Divine Human was not manifested visibly in ultimates. But after He came into the world and lived His life there, then the New Testament was given, and every word and phrase therein was in the Divinely-Human form.
     It will be readily seen from what has been said that the Lord could be present with man in a more proximate way after the Advent than before it.     The Divine Human was visible, in ultimates, in the written Word of the New Testament. When this was read reverently by man, then the Lord could inflow, not only into the minds of the angels of heaven, but through them down to the mind of man living in the world of ultimates. Thus the Divine could proceed to each individual man through the medium of angels, and in a personal way lead him to see his own particular duty in life.

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This Divine sphere proceeding to man since the Advent is what is meant by the Holy Spirit. It is the sphere of the Lord proceeding from His Divine Human. It is a personal sphere, and it is received by all who go to the Word from an affection for truth.

     That is why there could be no mention of the Holy Spirit in the Word until the time of the Lord's conception. The Lord was conceived of the Holy Spirit, which really is identical with the Lord in His inmost, as He is above the heavens. When the seed of the formative Divine Human was in the world, then a sphere from it went forth and filled Elisabeth with the Holy Spirit, causing the babe to leap in her womb. It went forth also to Zacharias when he named his son John, and prophesied. The same was true of Simeon. When the Holy Spirit came upon these people, their ultimate actions were inspired by the Holy Spirit which was the sphere of the Lord, flowing forth from His formative Divine Human through angelic societies to the ultimate expressions of men on earth.
     Thus we are taught that "the Holy Spirit is the Divine which proceeds from the one infinite, omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God, through His Human assumed in the world."* We read also:

     "The Holy Spirit is identical with the Lord, and it is the very truth from which man has enlightenment. . . . Enlightenment, which is attributed to the Holy Spirit, is indeed in man from the Lord, but nevertheless it is brought about by the mediation of spirits and angels. . . . Angels and spirits cannot by any means enlighten or illustrate a man from themselves, because they, in like manner as man, are enlightened by the Lord: and as they are enlightened in like manner, it follows that all enlightenment is from the Lord alone. It takes place by the mediation of angels or spirits, because the man who is in enlightenment is then placed in the midst of such angels as receive from the Lord more enlightenment than others."*
     * Canons HS 1.
     ** DLW 150.

     In this brief survey of an infinitely vast subject we hope to have established a few basic facts concerning the Holy Spirit. The whole doctrine has been so perverted in the Christian world that men no longer really know what the Holy Spirit is. There have been many claims of reception of the Holy Spirit, both in the present and the past, but all of these are the result of abominable heresies which must be eradicated and which cannot exist in the New Church. Our next class will be devoted to consideration of what is meant by reception of the Holy Spirit among men.

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SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM 1963

SHORT INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM       MARGIT K. BOYESEN       1963

     The purpose of creation is a heaven from the human race, and those organs which are the ultimate basis for this supreme use are wonderfully created as vehicles for fulfilling the most important of all uses and for expressing the deepest and purest of all human emotions.
     Marriage, or the conjunction of one man and one woman in spirit and in body, is the most sacred of all human relationships. Through conjugial love the Lord bestows on mankind the deepest of all happiness. In its fullness it is above the comprehension of man while on earth, although we can attain, even on this earth, as much as we are ready to receive. The limitations lie with us. The Lord constantly endeavors to lead us to the acceptance of His gifts, which are infinite. Our willingness to be led by Him is the measure of the fullness of our happiness. On our willingness to prepare ourselves in mind and body depends our reception of true conjugial love.
     In all human endeavor, the ultimate success depends on the urgency with which we apply ourselves to the preparations necessary for the attainment of our goal. Shortcuts and cheating impair the result, or at least cause painful delay in reaching the goal, and sometimes may even result in shattered dreams or a loss of vision.

     In no human endeavor is it more important and more rewarding to keep our goal steadfastly before us in every word and deed, every thought and affection, than in the preparation for conjugial love. All our senses can serve this love, but particularly the sense of touch. A person in love is deeply aware of the infinite opportunities to express love through the slightest touch, as well as all the innumerable variations up to the most intimate of all expressions of love.
     Sharing any one of these expressions with the loved one changes the whole of life, and gives the deepest and warmest happiness and a true sense of belonging and oneness and peace.

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These states depend for their very existence on exclusiveness, on mutual discovery of the means of expression: expressions not shared with anyone else, expressions which set one man and one woman apart and create a bond between them alone-a bond that is unique with them.
     All the expressions of tenderness are precious, even the seemingly most insignificant. They are too precious to be spent on trivial pleasures. If we want a thing very much, we are willing to protect and save all the means which will procure the thing sought after. This should hold eminently true of the most beautiful thing in human life-conjugial love.
     This is not easy in our day, however, when mankind has lost sight of the true wonders of creation and can see only the most external forms of human relationships. The external forms have become an end in themselves, and the content is ignored or even unknown. Mankind does not recognize that man is a vessel receptive of life, and that he receives life from the Lord in accordance with the form of the vessel that he is. This life is, in its origin, love. The purer the form of the vessel, the more perfect is the love received; and, conversely, the more perverted the vessel, the more perverted the love, until it loses all true life, that is, everything that is good, warm, pure, innocent, living.

     We are all born with hereditary evil, with a will contaminated by the loves of self and the world; but the Lord has, in His infinite wisdom, provided a means of regaining innocence, and with it, true love from Him, by giving us rationality and freedom. We can learn from His Word what is good, and we can by the exercise of freedom compel ourselves to follow His teachings; and then He can inflow with His love and create a new will within us-a love of Him, a love of the life that is from Him, unperverted by the old will. This is a long and arduous process, but the reward is wonderful beyond our comprehension.
     We may stumble many a time on the way, but if we keep the goal before us and steadfastly try to overcome in temptations, we will succeed in gaining a true desire for a pure and beautiful relationship. In the meantime let us keep in mind that the fewer our mistakes, the more states of innocence and the more unique experiences will we be able to share with the one man with whom we want to grow together in love to eternity; the less regrets will we have, and the less unwanted memories.

     [EDITORIAL NOTE. Miss Margit Boyesen is Dean of College Women and an Instructor in Biological and Social Studies in the Academy of the New Church. This "Introduction" is from Science 4 (The Human Body), a required course for seniors in the Girls School.]

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ORDINATIONS 1963

ORDINATIONS       Various       1963

     Declarations of Faith and Purpose

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth. In Him are the three essentials of life: Divine love, Divine wisdom and the Divine of use. These are the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
     I believe that the Lord is the Word itself, and that a heavenly mind is opened up and developed in the man who applies the teachings of the Word to his own life.
     I believe that the Lord made His second coming by using the mind of Emanuel Swedenborg as an instrument through which the Word for the New Church could be and was revealed to the men of this day, whereby the Lord Himself can lead all who will follow Him to the heaven wherein they can be of the most use.
     Besides the direct leading of the Lord, men are also guided by Him through angels and spirits to the heaven or hell of their choice and decision. All men may know from doctrine that these eternal beings are with them constantly, and that the only way in which men can be associated with the good and led to one of the heavens is by turning away from evil and desisting from it because it is contrary to Divine order. Only then can they do good which is genuine and which is of service to the Lord and benefits the neighbor.
     I believe that the Lord has ordained that the work of the church is to be conducted primarily by priests who are called by Him to teach the truths of doctrine and thereby to lead men to the good of life, and finally to their use and happiness in heaven.

     In presenting myself for inauguration into the priesthood of the New Church, I wholeheartedly express the conviction that the Lord has chosen me to be of service in the priestly office. It is my prayer that I may, by the dedicated fulfillment of whatever work may be placed before me, be an instrument of the Lord in the saving of souls and in the upbuilding and strengthening of the New Church. Yet, in all this, I fully realize that it is the will of the Lord alone which is to be done.
     ROBERT HUDSON PENDLETON COLE

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     I believe that the one God of heaven and earth is the Lord Jesus Christ, who is love and good itself, wisdom and truth itself, and use itself.
     The end of the Divine love is a heaven from the human race. Therefore the Lord created man, and gave him liberty and rationality, in order that he might receive the gift of life and eternal happiness.
     The Lord provides the means for the salvation of men through His Divine wisdom, which goes forth among them as the Word. The Word became flesh when the Lord assumed the Human in ultimates, in order that mankind might be saved from total damnation.
     I further believe that the Lord has made His second coming, in the Writings of His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg. These Writings and the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments are the Word.
     The Lord can bring those men to heaven who, from Him, have repented of their sins and lived a life of charity, which is a life in accordance with the precepts of the Divine truth of His Word.

     I present myself for inauguration into the priesthood of His New Church because it is my conviction that the Lord has called me to serve Him in His work of saving men.
     I wish to aid in this use in the way that He has appointed, by teaching men the truth of the Word and leading them thereby to the good of life; and I pray the Lord for the teaching and leading of His Holy Spirit in the performance of this Divine use, that I may be an instrument through which His will is done.
     KURT PAUL NEMITZ



     I believe that there is one Supreme Being, and that He, the Lord God Jesus Christ, is the maker of heaven and earth, the Redeemer and Savior of men.
     I believe that He has revealed Himself and the purpose of His creation by His Word; first in prophecy, then in person, and finally as to His Divine Human in the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.
     I believe that the Divine purpose in creation is a heaven from the human race, and that men can prepare themselves for eternal happiness by shunning evils as sins against Him. Life eternal is the Lord's promised gift to men who are willing to read the Word, discover the source of life, apply the truths now revealed to them, and humbly beseech the Lord to build His temple within them and dwell therein.

     I believe that the priesthood is one of the Divinely ordained means whereby the Lord presents His truth to men, and that providentially men are called by Him to perform the uses of this office.

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It is my hope and prayer to become a laborer in His vineyard, and to serve as an instrument for the establishment of His church among men.
     LORENTZ RAY SONESON
June 16, 1963
PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT 1963

PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT              1963

     "The clergyman, because he is to teach doctrine from the Word concerning the Lord, and concerning redemption and salvation from Him, is to be inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit, and by the representation of its transfer; but it is received by the clergyman according to the faith of his life.
     "The Divine which is meant 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, and by the sacrament of the Holy Supper, according to repentance before it" (Canons HS IV: 7-9).
PRIESTHOOD 1963

PRIESTHOOD              1963

     "The General Church recognizes the priesthood as sanctioned by the Writings, and therefore as the Lord's office by Divine appointment in the church, given for the administration of the Divine law and worship with a view to the salvation of souls.
     "The ministry of instruction is provided for in the first degree of the priesthood. By means of ordination into this degree the priest is authorized to preach the Word of God according to the doctrine of the New Church, to administer the sacrament of Baptism, and to hear and receive confessions of faith. The sign of this degree is a white stole. The priest, while ministering in this degree, may serve as an assistant to a pastor, or he may be appointed to take temporary charge of a society under the supervision of the Bishop.
     "A priest in the first degree of the priesthood may be appointed by the Bishop as assistant to the pastor of a society. He has, however, no part in the government of the society unless by nomination of the Bishop and acceptance by the society he becomes assistant pastor. This is in recognition of the principle that all government should be by the consent of the governed." (Order and Organization of the General Church, pp. 3, 4.)

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MR. JAMES THOMAS CLENNELL 1963

MR. JAMES THOMAS CLENNELL       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1963

     A Memorial Address

     (Delivered at Michael Church, London, England, April 4,1963)

     Human affections are like bouquets of many mixed flowers. We sense only one general, overruling emotion, but if we analyze this emotion we find some of the many different flowers in it. A bride leaving her parents' home in order to establish, together with her bridegroom, a home of her own, has a heart full of affections. The inmost of these, if she is a good person, are warmed by her love and gratitude to the Lord. Others-and they, too, make the central colors of her bouquet-relate to her love of her bridegroom; others again reach out to her parents and family; yet others to her new relatives; and so with many other persons who, by friendship or acquaintance, are more or less close to her heart. Again, some colors are added to the total by memories of childhood and youthful days, and there are some timid flowers with delicate colors that bend outward towards the future.
     All these and countless more affections govern her heart. Yet she is aware only of one bouquet-one great universal emotion. It spells joy to her. The touch of sadness that is present in her on account of parting with the happy and secure sphere in her parents' home is observed only faintly, like the green in a bouquet made up of many colorful flowers.
     There is a similar blend of affections when someone dear to us is called to the spiritual world. Oddly enough, we sense, or may and should sense, both joy and sadness. Sadness is clutched to the heart; but there is a gentle, soft cover around it which transmits the rays of the sun of heaven, and which is tinted with both gold and silver. There is joy around the sadness. Moreover, after a short while this becomes, or may become, the predominant affection.
     The reason for joy is obvious. For the one who has been called enters into the true and real world of human destiny, the world where not matter but spirit governs; and how can a person who loves another fail to rejoice with him when the deepest longing of his heart is beginning to come into its own fulfillment?

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     Yet this element of joy is the stronger, and the more triumphant, the more confident we are that the person whom the Lord has called is ready to receive the life of heaven within him. Is it not written: "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth . . . and their works do follow them"? This is the reason that we submit to the temporary parting from James Clennell with so much joy mixed with our sadness. We know that this is also the case with those who were the nearest of all to him.
     In his whole manner of living our friend has testified to his deep love of Divine and heavenly things, to the sincerity of all his beliefs, to the penetration of his searching understanding into the glorious sphere of truth, and to his unswerving faithfulness in all his work. Though not prepared from his young days in much book learning, he yet seemed to have attained to a remarkable height of wisdom. Many of his apt observations will remain long in our memories. But we could not remember him as a wise man if it were not for the fact that we are able so unreservedly to think of him also as a good man. He was a man who had a good influence on others-a man who left uses in his trail as he walked on in life.

     We may ask, perhaps ask painfully, why such a man should be submitted to so much suffering. Why was it necessary; why should he need it? . . . we stammer. Yet here we may see a glimpse of the Divine Providence. He benefited, too, for his soul was strengthened by his battle. But what befalls a servant of the Lord is not for his sake only. And do we not see that battle and victory matter more than the onslaught of physical pain and disorder? Is not the fact that faith triumphs in the midst of pain, and that love to and trust in the Lord, nay, gratitude to the Lord, refuse to be silenced by the suffering of the flesh: is it not this fact that stands like a lone victor on the battlefield when the power of the enemy has been broken? It is thus that suffering may be turned to serve great things; for through it there is testimony to the superiority of spirit over matter, of the love and faith of the heart over the things of the body.
     We have seen his example. He did not know how he helped us when we observed that his spirit was not conquered by his body, even at the height of the battle. We saw it, and we thank him. True, he only did his duty; but not all are tested so severely in their dutifulness. The rest of us must be strengthened to do likewise if need be.
     It is thus with utter trust that we commit our friend into the hands of the Lord. His spirit is now released. He is, as never before, a free man. The kingdom that he knew and loved so well already in this life now lies open before him.

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He served in it here. He will serve still better in it now. For the true works of a man do follow him; and in this there is peace from the Lord and joy among neighbors. Amen.

     Biographical Sketch

     Mr. James T. Clennell, who passed into the spiritual world on March 29, 1963, after a long and extremely painful illness, was one of the most active members of Michael Church. After he had come to an understanding of and belief in the doctrines of the New Church he joined a Conference society to which he was introduced by his employer, Mr. Godfrey from Colchester, whose shoemaking business he was eventually to take over. That association lasted until Mr. Clennell, having learned of the General Church, desired to enter into membership in that body because of his belief in the doctrines as held by it.
     The General Church provided a sound basis for belief, to which Mr. Clennell felt himself drawn and in which he remained constant for the rest of his life. Over the years he developed a firm belief in the doctrines of the New Church, which he was always interested in studying and striving to understand better. His association with the church encouraged him to develop a desire to spread the knowledge of the doctrines among his friends. This led to the formation of the Chadwell Heath Group under the then pastor of Michael Church, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton. In this and in many other ways he contributed to the life and progress of Michael Church and to the General Church in Great Britain. Mr. Clennell is survived by his wife, his daughter Muriel and her husband Reg. Law, son Gordon and his wife Gladys, and by his grandchildren. Together with their warm sympathy, members of Michael Church expressed to them gratitude for a man who was able to show love, humility, and thankfulness to the Lord coupled with unswerving courage in the midst of severe pain, as well as for his many uses to the church.
     [EDITORIAL NOTES: This sketch is based on one supplied by Mr. Percy Dawson, a close friend.]
ACADEMY ACCREDITATION 1963

ACADEMY ACCREDITATION       Jr. DONALD C. FITZPATRICK       1963

     An Announcement

     On July 2, 1963, the Academy of the New Church was notified by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools that the accreditation of the Junior College, the Senior College and the Theological School has been renewed for another ten-year period. The report of action taken on the accreditation of the Boys and Girls Schools by the Commission on Secondary Schools is not expected until sometime in the fall.
     DONALD C. FITZPATRICK, JR.
     Assistant to the President

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OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Faith. Here we have a term to which the Writings give a radically different meaning from that which it has in Christian theology. Faith, they teach, is neither an intellectual, historical acceptance of the passion and merits of Christ nor a blind assent to that which transcends the understanding, and it differs in quality from the commitment (fiducia) which Luther himself preferred to mere assent. Faith is an internal acknowledgment and affection: an internal acknowledgment of truth from sight and understanding of it, and an internal affection of truth from willing the truth because it is true; and it consists in desiring from the heart to know what is good and true for the sake of life. It is therefore inseparable from life and is one with the good of charity. Indeed we are taught the understanding of good is what is principally called the truth of faith, and that faith is the operation of the Lord alone through the charity in a man. There are various compounds that should be briefly noted. Thus historical faith is that which rests upon human authorities; persuasive faith is belief for the sake of selfish or worldly ends; and spurious faith is that in which falsities are mixed with truths. (See F 1; HD 112; AC 36, 4605, 8034; Life 36; AR 655; AC 2954, 1162).

     Falsity. This term occurs frequently in the Writings, and several distinctions are involved in the different ways it is used. Falsity is everything that is contrary to the truth; and falsities, which are the principles and persuasions of what is false, are scientifics which resemble what is rational and intellectual. In general, there are two kinds of falsity-falsity from evil, and falsity producing evil. By the former is meant all that man thinks while he is in evil, all that favors his evil: by the latter is meant any principle grounded in a man's religion which he wrongly believes to be true and which will lead to evil when applied. Falsities of concupiscence are those which confirm the things of the world and its pleasures. Falsities of ignorance exist with those who are in good as to life but through no fault of their own are without truths. What is contrary to truth is falsity, but truth applied to justify and confirm evil is what has been falsified. Fallacies are falsities with which evils conjoin themselves. (See AC 790, 2243, 9331, 9144; DP 220; AC 6400.)

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month we come upon an unusual teaching concerning the use of oaths. We say, unusual, because the teaching is such that it has a clear and immediate application for us in daily thought and speech. Moreover, it is at variance with much that is current in Christian custom and habit.
     We read that "internal men, that is, those who have conscience, have no need to confirm anything by an oath, and that they do not thus confirm. To them oaths are a cause of shame. They can indeed say with some asseveration that a thing is so, and can also confirm the truth by reasons; but to swear that it is so they cannot."* "They have an internal bond by which they are bound," the passage continues, "namely, that of conscience. To superadd to this an external bond, which is an oath, is like imputing to them that they are not upright in heart. The internal man is also of such a character that he loves to speak and act from freedom, but not from compulsion; for with him the internal compels the external, and not the reverse." This teaching concerning the use of oaths is repeated and extended elsewhere, as in Arcana Coelestia 9166 and Apocalypse Explained 608. In the latter it is shown that men who are merely natural want to have the truth confirmed and witnessed by means of oaths, but that internal men are averse to this. Indeed it is said that internal men are averse to and even shudder at, the use of oaths-particularly oaths in which appeal is made to God and to the holy things of heaven and the church.
     * AC 2842: 9.
     What are we to think from this teaching? Its message seems clear and definite, and it would appear to prohibit the use of all oaths, from those employed in common swearing and in slang to those taken in entering into professional responsibilities and into the highest offices in the country.
     In the letter of the Word we find oaths used in reference to the Lord Himself, as, for example, in our reading: "By Myself have I sworn, saith Jehovah."* In another instance we read: "I will establish the oath which I sware to Abraham thy father."** There are many such examples in the Word from which one might justify the use of oaths.

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But then, too, there are passages which warn: "Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne: nor by the earth; for it is His footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil."***
     * Genesis 22: 16. Cf. AC 2842.
     ** Genesis 26: 3.
     *** Matthew 5: 34-37.
     Now the Writings tell us that the Lord never swears or uses an oath. Nor do the angels. Oaths by the Lord and by angels were permitted to appear in the letter of the Word because of the utterly natural state of men during ancient times. We are taught that when the Lord willed to have anything confirmed before men, then that confirmation fell into the form of an oath in its descent into the natural sphere-an oath such as was used in the world. Such an appearance was allowed because in man's natural state there could yet be a representation and signification of higher things.*
     * AE 608.
     But it is to be noted that when the Lord revealed spiritual truths in His first advent the use of oaths was abrogated because they had been purely representative.* Nowhere have we found in the Writings a teaching that encourages the use of oaths as an orderly procedure. In True Christian Religion it is said that to swear by God at coronations, inaugurations into the priesthood, and induction into offices of trust, is not to take the name of the Lord in vain unless he who takes the oath afterwards discards his promises as vain.** It is not stated, however, that such a use of oaths is either useful or orderly.
     * AC 2842: 10; AR 474e.
     ** TCR 297.
     While it is best that we do not come to a premature conclusion concerning all use of oaths, and while reasons might be found for their use under certain specific conditions, it is the part of wisdom to heed well the primary teaching of the Writings concerning them. The increased desire to use oaths is a sign of a decadent society.
Title Unspecified 1963

Title Unspecified              1963

     "The commandments of the Decalogue are rules of life both for those who are in the world and for those who are in heaven-the sense of the letter or the external sense for those who are in the world, and the spiritual or internal sense for those who are in heaven-and consequently both senses, external as well as internal, are for those who while they are in the world are also in heaven, that is, for those who are in the good of life according to the truths of doctrine" (AC 8899).

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REVIEWS 1963

REVIEWS              1963

The VISIBLE GOD. By Erik Sandstrom. Published by the Author, London, England. Paper, mimeographed, pp. 43.

     Review of this pamphlet has been too long delayed, but as its subject is eternal, the treatment here offered is ever timely. According to a foreword, the pamphlet is intended as an introduction to the study of the doctrine concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the one God of heaven and earth, as given in True Christian Religion, chapters I-III, especially the second and third chapters, on the Lord the Redeemer and the Holy Spirit, respectively, which treat of the Lord after His incarnation and of the continuation of His work after His resurrection. Originally presented in the form of two lectures, the material has been supplemented by the addition of a short treatment of the "as-of-self."

     The writer early establishes that the burden of the opening chapters in True Christian Religion is the revealing of the visible God. Number 108 is quoted from-"The principal object of this work is to show that the Divine Trinity is united in the Lord"-to emphasize that the Trinity is in the Lord as He stands forth to view in the world; although the phrase, the visible God, does not appear until the closing chapter of the work. Every chapter, it is stated, should be read with this doctrine in view, for it is the supreme doctrine that unites all the others into a universal theology; and the omnipresence of the doctrine concerning the visible God in True Christian Religion is demonstrated in a brief analysis of the chapters into which the work is divided in terms of Divine action and human reaction.
     In pursuance of the subject, attention is centered mainly on the chapters dealing with the Lord as Redeemer and as the Holy Spirit-the Lord as revealed in the world. Yet these chapters cannot be properly understood unless it is known who it was that came into the world; so the writer begins with a brief but clear presentation of the concept of the Divine itself which is developed in the first chapter of the work. To form a true concept of the Divine Human, he says, we must have an idea of the Divine of the Lord's Human as well as of the Human assumed by that Divine and the operation of that Human from the Divine within it. In this he sees that which unifies these three chapters.

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     Throughout the text stress is laid on the facts that the teachings of the Writings concerning the Lord are not without immediate relation to life, that the Lord's work of redemption took place visibly, that the acts of glorification and redemption were the same, and that the continuation of the Lord's work in the operation of the Holy Spirit must be visible also since it is done by means of the teachings of the Word. It is emphasized also that the operation of the Holy Spirit results from the co-operation of the Lord and man; that power is attributed to the Lord as the Holy Spirit; and that the Lord operates of Himself from the Father, not the reverse. This leads naturally to a consideration of the "as-of-self" with man.
     The opening chapters of True Christian Religion contain vital but abstract theology. Those who wish to study them may be grateful that it was thought useful to make this introduction available outside of the lecture room and in more permanent form.



RESPONSIBILITIES AND RIGHTS. Report of the Social Service Committee of the General Conference of the New Church, England, 1962. Paper, mimeographed, pp. 16 plus i-xi.

     Under the conviction that responsibilities take precedence over rights, this report embodies an attempt to see from the Writings what responsibilities we have and what rights we need if our lives are to be the Lord's. In this context the responsibilities and rights of adults in the family, the community, the church, and in relation to the Lord are examined. Immature and disorderly states are considered in separate sections. The Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948 and a selection of relevant passages from the Writings are printed as appendixes.
     It is scarcely to be expected that so wide ranging a consideration of current social problems, even in the light of the Writings, will meet with unqualified acceptance, and indeed there is nothing ex cathedra in the manner or style of the report. But the attempt can only be applauded; and if some readers question certain applications, no New Church man will have any doubt about the principles expressed. As the report is obviously based upon the teachings of the Writings, and is clearly an attempt to think from them, the relevant passages might more appropriately have been prefixed rather than appended to it. However, that is a matter of judgment, and the report might usefully be read and discussed in men's meetings, study groups, and other gatherings.

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TRUTH FOR ITS OWN SAKE 1963

TRUTH FOR ITS OWN SAKE       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     Some in the church have questioned or objected to the phrase "truth for its own sake." Their reaction seems to stem from their understanding of what it means, or at least from the fact that they consider it susceptible to misinterpretation. Apparently it conveys to their minds the idea of the search for truth as a terminal process, of doctrinal study as an end in itself, and of supreme value being attached to mere knowledge of the truth. It is to this that they object, and no one in the church would be likely to take exception to that.
     However, the phrase is taken from the Writings, and an examination of the passages in which it occurs shows that, as used by them, it has a high meaning. To love truth for its own sake, we are taught, is to love it for itself, as distinct from loving it for the sake of advantage to the loves of self and the world. This is a spiritual affection. It is kindled, not by the proprium, but by the truth itself, and thus by the Lord from whom the truth proceeds. As truth is the form of good, to love it for its own sake is to love to learn truths, not for the sake of doctrine as an end, but for the sake of willing and doing them-for the sake of life and of good, and thus for the sake of the Lord.
     So the meaning of the phrase is entirely different from what some have supposed. This may suggest the importance, when we find ourselves questioning a usage, of going back to the Writings, lest our objection be only to what we think something means. In any technical vocabulary there are terms the meaning of which must be learned from the vocabulary itself, not assumed. The language of the Writings is no exception.

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LORD OF THE SABBATH 1963

LORD OF THE SABBATH       Editor       1963

     At the time of the Lord's ministry, the sabbath rest was one of the subjects that attracted the doctors' chief attention, and upon it they had built up a staggering mass of casuistry. Thirty-nine kinds of forbidden activity were enumerated in direct rulings, and there was a whole corpus of advice and prohibitions as well, many of which went over the edge of reason. Yet the rabbis demanded for their scrupulous legislation the same obedience that was due to the Divine law. The sabbath had been given for man, to provide for a weekly confrontation with Jehovah; but its observance had become so rigorous an obligation that man had been given to the sabbath. It was the rabbis who were masters of the sabbath, and they extended their dominion to God's throne by claiming that He, too, observed the sabbath rest as defined by them.

     It was against this background that the Lord uttered His oft-quoted but frequently misused teaching: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath." It is indeed true that man is not committed to the sabbath-as the Christian churches were to insist, and some still do; the sabbath is committed to man. But to stop there is to falsify the truth by deleting the very conclusion that the Lord drew from it, that therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath.
     By the Son of Man is meant the Lord as to the Word; and by His being Lord of the sabbath which was made for man is meant that His teaching in the Word should take precedence over everything else on the sabbath, which was given to man for that purpose. According to the Heavenly Doctrine, the sabbath is now to be a day of instruction out of the Word in the doctrine of faith and of love, and thus a day of rest from labor, and also a day of meditation on such things as pertain to salvation and eternal life as well as one for the exercise of charity toward the neighbor. When it is so employed the Son of Man is indeed Lord of the sabbath, and the sabbath is used for the Lord's purpose in providing it for His children.
     As might be expected, the Writings are no more specific than this in their directions. How these principles are to be applied is left to the enlightened rationality of the church and the conscience of its individual members. The church neither seeks nor desires to impose any discipline. One simple test might, however, be suggested. Do we think of and use Sunday as the Lord's day or as our day-as the one day in the week to be used entirely as we please, without consideration of Him or concern for others? If so, He is not the Lord of our sabbath.

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EVIL AND SIN 1963

EVIL AND SIN       Editor       1963

     We have been asked whether any distinction is made in the Writings between evil and sin. The question arises in connection with imputation. Are evil and sin always one and the same, or can there be evils which are not sins, that is, things evil in themselves which are yet not imputed to man as sins under certain conditions?
     At first glance it might seem that there is no distinction whatsoever. Evil and sin, regarded in themselves, are both defined as disjunction from good and disunion from God, and each is said to have its source in the loves of self and the world. Some of the passages which speak of man's hereditary nature say that he is born into sin, is nothing but sin, and remains wholly in sins unless he is regenerated; others make the same statements, but use the term, evil, instead of sin. However, while evil and sin, regarded in themselves, are identical, there are teachings which show that there is a vital distinction between them as far as imputation is concerned.

The most significant of these are the teachings that to sin is to become guilty of evil, and that to sin is to do and think what is evil and false intentionally and from the will. What is so done repels the influx of heavenly love from the Lord and thus brings about disjunction and disunion, and so destroys spiritual life. The distinction implied here is that there are certain acts, enumerated in the Decalogue, which in themselves bring about disjunction and disunion, but which do not have that effect in man if they are not done intentionally and thus from the will-from the love of self or the love of the world. Thus evils which are done unwittingly, from ignorance, or under the stimulus of an overpowering cupidity, are not imputed to man as sins because he does not make himself guilty of them. They do not originate in self-love, and are therefore not disjunctive and disuniting in him.
     When this distinction is seen and understood, much confusion may be avoided. We need and should not feel any reluctance to name as evil those things which are contrary to Divine order, to the Word and to religion, that is, to love and charity; either lest we make the spiritual judgment of imputing sin to the neighbor, or because we would give him the benefit of the doubt. These things are evil. They bear within them the seeds of disjunction and disunion; but whether those seeds are implanted and come to fruition in a man's mind, whether he sins by making himself guilty of the evil, is known only to the Lord. When this is known, good will can be coupled with doctrinal responsibility; and fidelity to the truth of Divine revelation can be preserved, not sacrificed in the name of what is felt to be the demand of charity.

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     This distinction applies also to our children. They can do things which are contrary to Divine order, to the Word and to religion, and the disorder must be corrected, which can be done only in the person of the child; for it is not useful to attribute the evils of childhood to evil spirits in such a way as to make the child think that they, and not he, should be punished! Yet to call a child evil or wicked is not only cruel, it is also untrue and therefore doctrinally indefensible.
Under the same distinction, however, we may see that man can have no conjunction with heaven unless and until he desists from evils because they are sins, and that regeneration begins when he first does so. There are many motives from which evils can be shunned in act, and even in imagination; but it is the shunning of them because they will result in disjunction from good and disunion from the Lord that introduces man into conjunction with good and with the Lord.
TRADITIONAL USAGE QUESTIONED 1963

TRADITIONAL USAGE QUESTIONED       E. BRUCE GLENN       1963

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     New Church men use a number of terms, in communicating with each other about the church and its doctrines, which thence take on new meanings. Some of these have Divine authority for their context; others have grown up in the church as a matter of usage and tradition. The latter deserve re-examination from time to time, to evaluate their truth and usefulness as New Church terms.
     One of these, perhaps the most frequently employed, is "the Writings," to signify the Theological Works by which the Lord has revealed to men His Divine mind through the agency of Swedenborg. I do not know the historical origin of the term, "the Writings," except as a shortened form of the descriptive phrase, "the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg." Whatever its origin, as a humanly derived term it bears our re-examination; and I, for one, find it wanting.
     "The Writings" is a general, impersonal designation, especially awkward as a plural form. We say, "The Writings teach that . . ." as if we were referring to the report of a committee. The term denies the unity of this new revelation from God and, by implication, the unity of its Author. Now of course no one in the church takes this view of the Heavenly Doctrine; but if words, as the ultimate forms of ideas, have any power, then this term lacks the force to direct our minds to the Lord in His single Divine Humanity.
     Certainly the vision of the Lord in the Writings is a deeper, more abstract and therefore more fundamental understanding than is afforded by either the Old or the New Testament.

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Nonetheless, in the direct commands of Jehovah through Moses and the prophets, and differently in the Lord's words to the disciples, His presence is directly sensed as Author and Savior. Should that Divine presence be sensed less strongly in the revelation through which He speaks as Savior to the rational mind? His presence is clothed in appearances there as elsewhere; but the use of the plural, impersonal term, "the Writings," may readily suggest a false appearance, of God removed some degrees from His new Word.
     There appear to be three ways in which this prevalent usage may be viewed in the church:
     1) As a mere label it conveniently designates a body of Divine doctrine; and the deficiencies of the label have no real effect on our understanding of, and response to, that doctrine.
     2) Habitual use of the term can have an effect on the mind that speaks or hears it, in fostering an inadequate view of that for which it stands.
     3) The use of the term reflects an intellectual rather than an affectional approach to the Heavenly Doctrine as the Lord speaking to us, a development symptomatic of a church's decline. Thus we are warned in the Writings (note the weak passive statement frequently employed to avoid the plural form, "The Writings warn us").

     Which of the three interpretations may one accept as closest to the truth of this usage? The third is untenable without deeper analysis of the state of the church on the part of the clergy; such a conclusion could never be drawn from the mere prevalence of a term. As a student of language and its relation to thought, I cannot accept the first as the simple truth. I believe that to use the term, "the Writings," as our regular designation of the Lord's Word to the New Church is unfortunate in its possible effect on the mind, imperceptible though that effect may be.
     As to what term might be more suitable in its place, assuming that habit and tradition would permit its replacement, no ready suggestion comes to mind; nor is it the part of a layman to offer such a suggestion. This letter is written in the belief that something else would perhaps be a stronger, truer means of noting the nature of the Lord's new presence among us.
     E. BRUCE GLENN

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     The ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH

     Commencement

     The Academy's eighty-sixth Commencement was held on June 14 in the Asplundh Field House. Instead of the usual blistering heat, the day was rainy, precluding the customary procession from Benade Hall. Aside from this, the service was conducted in time-honored fashion, with worship, the traditional singing in the three sacred languages as well as in English, and the awarding of degrees and diplomas to graduates of all five of the Academy schools (see below).
     The Commencement speaker was Mr. Donald F. Rose, a fitting choice for many reasons. He had four grandchildren and a son-in-law among the graduates. A speaker and writer of wide renown, he has recently retired from his regular "Stuff and Nonsense" column which has appeared for many years in Philadelphia newspapers and won "Don" Rose a justly earned reputation for quiet wit and warm humanity. Mr. Rose was before us also as a former teacher in the Academy and as a graduate of the class of 1914.
     From his years of experience as a public figure and a man of the church, Mr. Rose chose the theme of memory as his topic. Speaking simply and slowly, he wove a unique fabric before the graduates' minds, reminding them, as the Heavenly Doctrine assures us, that the interior memory remains throughout life and to eternity as the man himself. We are constantly building that memory out of our daily experience, taking into it those things that we love and that we will love to recall. But, he noted, the memory is a storehouse that needs ordering according to the dictates of spiritual principle; and a periodic "removal of the ashes" from under the altar of the mind is not to be neglected. Mr. Rose closed his address-impossible to capture and transmit on paper in the affectional shading of its tones-by offering the graduating students the beautiful promise that wherever they may go from the Academy, their memories of what has been given them here may always bring them back to say, "This, too, is my country." The audience responded with a rising ovation.
     Valedictorians were: for the Theological School, Robert Hudson Pendleton Cole; for the Senior College, Denis Major Kuhl; for the Junior College, Carl Johan Rosenquist; for the Girls School, Nancy Coffin; and for the Boys School, Gary Karl Glenn. Their expressions of thanks showed gratitude for and appreciation of the education offered in their schools. President Willard D. Pendleton responded suitably to the valedictories, speaking of true gratitude as a beautiful thing.
     E. BRUCE GLENN

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS

     Awards, 1963

     At the Commencement Exercises on June 14, the graduates received their diplomas and the honors were announced as follows:

     Theological School

     BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY: Robert Hudson Pendleton Cole, Kurt Paul Nemitz, Lorentz Ray Soneson.

Senior College

     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Barbara Jean Charles, Jeryl Glenn, John Theodore Klein, Denis Major Kuhl, Richard Charles Linquist, Vanessa van Rij, Cora Lee Woodworth.

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     Junior College

     DIPLOMA: David Frederick Archer, Barbara Ann Childs, Altys Elaine Crockett, Lawson Kendig Cronlund, Noel Frederick Griffin, Susan Gyllenhaal, Victor Dynamiel Odhner, Gerald David Ripley, Edward Lewis Rogers, Carl Johan Rosenquist, Erik Emanuel Sandstrom, Brian Leigh Schnarr, Frido van Kesteren, Merrilyn Wilson.

     Boys School

     ACADEMIC DIPLOMA: With Honors: Robert Barry Genzlinger.

     ACADEMIC DIPLOMA: John Alan Abele, James Stuart Andrews, Jeffrey London Carr, Edward Chaun Lein Chen, John Alan Grubb, Leonard Anders Gyllenhaal, Kenneth Franklin Renn, Charles William Schiffer, David Richard Simons, Carl Sven Soneson, Kenneth Lindsay York.

     GENERAL DIPLOMA: Ernest Eldred Coffin, Thomas Dudley Davis, Bruce Willis Gladish, Dale Eugene Glenn, Gary Karl Glenn, Robert Morrison Kendig, Jr., Stanford Jared Lehne, Willard Burton McCardell, Peter Raymond Miehm, Anthony Odhner, Peter Searle Rhodes.

     Girls School

     DIPLOMA: With Honors: Lauren Brown, Constance Field, Alaine Lee Fuller, Danna Junge, Khary King.

     DIPLOMA: Virginia Leigh Brown, Christine Alice Coffin, Nancy Coffin, Nora Jeanne Cranch, Mary Elizabeth Cronlund, Karen Virginia Day, Susan Ebert, Emily Ruth Finkeldey, Martha Duane Hyatt, Elizabeth Ann Kitzelman, Doreen Anne Redmile, Sherryn Rose, Carol Jane Schnarr, Ingrid Caroline Shuman.

     CERTIFICATE OF GRADUATION: Alice Coffin, Lena Elizabeth Franson, Martha Joy Gladish, Gladys Joy Holmes, Barbara Lynne Johnson, Joyce Marie Schoenberger, Jeanne LaRue Schull.
RECREATIONS OF CHARITY 1963

RECREATIONS OF CHARITY              1963

     "If the affection of charity is in them, then all the abovementioned diversions are for its recreation-spectacles and plays, musical harmonies and songs, all the beauties of fields and gardens, and social intercourse in general. The affection of use remains interiorly within them, which, while it is thus resting, is gradually renewed. A longing for one's work breaks or ends them. For the Lord flows into them from heaven and renews; and He also gives an interior sense of pleasure in them which they who are not in the affection of charity know nothing of. He breathes into them a fragrance or, as it were, a sweetness perceptible only to one's self. A fragrance, it is said, by which is meant a spiritual pleasantness; and sweetness, by which is meant spiritual delight. Pleasantness is predicated of wisdom, and of the perception of the understanding therefrom; and delight is predicated of love, and of the affection therefrom of the will. They who are not in the affection of charity do not have these, because the spiritual mind is closed; and in the degree that they depart from charity the spiritual mind, as to the voluntary, is as if all stuffed up with something glutinous" (Doctrine of Charity 193).

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NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963





     Announcements
     The Sixth Northwest United States District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Spokane, Washington, August 17-18, 1963, the Rev. Roy Franson presiding by episcopal appointment.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
ORDINATIONS 1963

ORDINATIONS       Editor       1963

     Cole.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1963, Candidate Robert Hudson Pendleton Cole into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.

     Nemitz.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1963, Candidate Kurt Paul Nemitz into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.

     Rose.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 23, 1963, the Rev. Donald Leslie Rose into the second degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms officiating.

     Soneson.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 16, 1963, Candidate Lorentz Ray Soneson into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton officiating.
MAN AS THE NEIGHBOR 1963

MAN AS THE NEIGHBOR              1963

     "Since in the spiritual idea good is the neighbor, and man is the subject of good, and also the object of him who does good, it follows that in the natural idea man is the neighbor.
     "Nor is one man more the neighbor than another as to his person, but as to the good by virtue of which he is such or such a man; for there are as many differences of neighbor as there are of good, and the differences of good are infinite.
     "It is believed that a brother, kinsman or relation is more a neighbor than a stranger; and that he who is born in one's country is more a neighbor than one born out of the country. But everyone is neighbor according to his good, be he Greek or gentile" (Char. 73-75).

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KEEPING THE SABBATH 1963

KEEPING THE SABBATH       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
September 1963
No. 9
     "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy beast, nor thy sojourner that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." (Exodus 20: 8-11)

     When the Lord gave this commandment to the sons of Israel from Mount Sinai He was not instituting an utterly foreign or new practice. They already knew that the seventh day was to be a day of holiness, a day of ceasing all normal labors and works to pay respect to the Lord. From the very story of creation it was written that the Lord rested on the seventh day, and that He blessed it and made it holy.* However, while the sons of Israel observed the seventh day as a day honoring the Lord, they did so from tradition and custom, from the feeling that it was a good and proper thing to do; they did not do it under the compulsion of a Divine command. Not until the Lord gave the commandment concerning the keeping of the sabbath from Mount Sinai with His own voice did it become clear that sabbath observance was decreed by Divine law, and not by man-made civil or moral law. It was no longer to be thought merely a right and proper thing to keep the sabbath, but a necessity from Divine command.
     * Genesis 2: 2, 3.
     Because the sons of Israel were so utterly external and sensual they could see nothing of the internal sense within the command to keep the sabbath.

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Thinking of Jehovah as an unusually powerful God-wrathful and vindictive-who yet had somehow selected them as a chosen people, they could reason only that He desired to be honored and respected in return for the things He did for them. He commanded them to keep the sabbath, they thought, not for any particular benefit to themselves, but so that He would not be forgotten. They obeyed Him, and kept the sabbath, because they feared Jehovah; but as they were so external, and saw nothing of the internal sense within the third commandment, their keeping of the sabbath was purely a matter of external ritual.

     Why, we might ask, did the Lord give this command to keep the sabbath to the sons of Israel, knowing how they would receive it, and how men would abuse the laws concerning it for many generations to come? The answer to this question lies in the reason for there being a church upon the earth at all times-a church where the Word of the Lord is known and preserved. We are taught in the Writings that man on earth receives all good delights and loves from heaven, but that such heavenly delights and loves can be communicated to man only through knowledges from the Word. Thus the Lord always preserves a church on earth where the Word is known in order that the human race may have communication with heaven. A true church exists on earth when the truths of the Word are known, received, understood and loved. But when man becomes so external and sensual that he cannot see or understand anything from the letter of the Word, then the Lord preserves communication with heaven through representatives, such as rituals of worship, as was the case with the Israelites.
     That is why the Lord gave such specific and detailed commands to the sons of Israel concerning the keeping of the sabbath. The Jewish Church was only the representative of a church, yet the communication of heaven and earth could be preserved through it. The sons of Israel did not in the least understand that the things they were doing were representative; much less did they understand what any of the representatives meant; but the angels of heaven understood, and could communicate some delight by virtue of their understanding.*
     * AC 7893.
     We are able to understand this more clearly when we see what some of the representative laws pertaining to the keeping of the sabbath really meant. For example, the sons of Israel were not to do any work: they were not to light fires, they were not to cut wood, they were not to prepare food. The angels understood the meaning of these representations. They knew that work on the sabbath signified man's being led by his own selfish loves, and not by the Lord. They knew that kindling a fire on the sabbath signified the activity of the love of self; cutting wood on the sabbath, man's endeavoring to do good from himself; and preparing food on the sabbath, man's leading himself from his own intelligence.*

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The Israelites were commanded not to do these things on the sabbath, which represented that man cannot approach and worship the Lord in a state of self-love and self-intelligence.     
     * AC 10,367, 10,732.

     When we understand why it was necessary for the Lord to provide such representative laws for the keeping of the sabbath, we are able to understand also why He did not follow the traditions which became attached to them when He came upon earth, and why they no longer pertain to the keeping of the sabbath today. The Writings tell us that "when the Lord was in the world, and united His Human to the Divine itself, He abrogated the sabbath in respect to representative worship, or in respect to its worship such as was with the Israelitish people, and made the sabbath day a day of instruction in the doctrine of faith and love."* The Lord abrogated representative worship at His coming, because man was no longer to learn of the Lord through representatives but from the Divine truth incarnate-the Divine Human plainly revealed before man's sight. The knowledge of the Lord in His Divine Human, and the love of that knowledge, made possible a new church on earth and a new communication of heaven and earth. No longer would any use be served by merely representative worship, for now man was to worship the Lord from love.
     * AC 10,360. Cf. TCR 301; AE 54, 965: 2-4.
     The Lord tried to show the Pharisees that the real observance of the sabbath was not merely a matter of laws and rituals but an expression of love to the Lord and toward the neighbor. It was a time to approach the Lord, to seek instruction from His Word, to meditate upon it, and to do works of love to the neighbor. That is why the Lord taught on the sabbath, and on it healed the lame and the sick, and this in utter defiance of the Jewish traditional laws of the sabbath. When the Pharisees asked Him why He allowed His disciples to break the sabbath, the Lord replied: "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: therefore the Son of Man is Lord also of the sabbath."* The Jews thought that man was made for the sabbath, that is, that Jehovah demanded regular periods of worship from man for His own Divine benefit and satisfaction; not for the use that such worship would serve to form man's spiritual life: the Lord made it clear that the sabbath was commanded for man's sake, because it was necessary for the formation of heavenly loves within man.
     * Mark 2: 27, 28.
     Man's responsibility on the sabbath was to approach the Lord in the Divine truths of His Word, to humble his self-love and self-intelligence before the Word, and to seek instruction from it as to how to live his life.

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In telling the Jews that the Son of Man was Lord also of the sabbath, the Lord was showing them that the Divine truth now incarnate in His Divine Human was the truth that man was to approach on the sabbath. The importance of the sabbath lay not in physical things but in spiritual things. One did not keep the sabbath merely by being as idle as possible, doing no work, and making his idleness the essential of the sabbath. "Which of you," the Lord asked, "shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day?"* Herein He refuted the Pharisees' idea of idleness as being the essential of the sabbath, and again expressed the real use of the sabbath-to lead man out of evil and falsity by means of instruction from the Word. A "pit" signifies the evils and falsities of the life of hell, while an "ass" and "ox" signify the truth and good of the natural man. This good and truth can be drawn forth from evil and falsity only on the sabbath, that is, by man's approaching the Lord in His Word.**
     * Luke 14: 5.
     ** AE 537: 6.

     In the history of the Christian Church the keeping of the sabbath has involved many different forms and customs. The strictness of the Jewish observance was strangely mixed with the seemingly liberal attitudes concerning the sabbath shown by the Lord at His first coming. As with the Jews, some Christian sects have formed elaborate rules for the keeping of the sabbath, until the distinction between what is of Divine authority and what of human origin has been lost and the real meaning of the sabbath has again been buried in externalism. Other Christian groups, and individuals, have interpreted the Lord's teachings concerning the sabbath so freely as to deny that there are any specific things which must be done on it. Today, as the Divine authority of the Word is ever increasingly called into question or denied, and as emphasis is placed more and more on the development of science and the provision of security and comfort, the uses of keeping the sabbath have again been perverted or have fallen into decay or oblivion.
     In such conditions the Lord has again come among mankind and revealed in plain rational language the means whereby man may tread the path to heaven. He has presented heavenly doctrines to men, so that they may have the means of establishing a proper sense of values, of seeing intelligently the relative uses of spiritual and natural things, and of judging and acting accordingly. He has opened the internal sense of the Scriptures so that we may see the Word as one Divinely organized body of truth; that we may see the Ten Commandments, not just as the natural laws of God given to keep man in natural order, but as the spiritual laws of good which provide the means for man's salvation.

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     When we review the third commandment from the internal sense of the Word, we are presented with a new and profound idea of keeping the sabbath, an idea which is to rule over any other ideas of the sabbath that we may have formed. It is the heavenly concept of the sabbath which is to form an essential part of the life of the New Church and of the life of everyone who would be of that church.

     "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God." The Writings tell us that, inmostly, what was represented prophetically in this commandment was the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord. In the supreme sense the sabbath represents that union; and that is why it was commanded that the sabbath should be remembered and kept holy, for man can know the Lord and love Him only in the Divine Human. The six days of labor signify the Lord's labors and combats in fighting against and overcoming the hells when He was in temptations. The seventh day signifies the end of the Lord's combats, when He had completely conquered the hells. It is called the sabbath because as the Lord conquered the hells, rejecting evils and falsities, He put off the maternal human and in its place took on a Divine Human, which He united to the Divine itself. That union is represented by the sabbath. In the Hebrew language "sabbath" means rest, or peace. That the Lord came into a state of rest, or of peace, after He had conquered the hells and glorified His Human is what is meant by its being said that He "rested the seventh day" and that He "blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it." It was blessed and hallowed because, through the Lord's glorification, the means were provided for the human race to be saved. That no person or beast was to do any work on the sabbath day signified that the union of the Divine and the Human was complete, and that the Lord would never again suffer temptations. Through labors and combats in temptations the Lord made heaven, the earth and the sea; that is, He made His Divine Human such that He could approach man through it on all planes, spiritual, natural and even sensual.*
     * AC 8884-8895, 10,356, 10,360, 8504.
      Besides this supreme representation of the third commandment, the sabbath also represents man's regeneration, the conjunction of good and truth in him, for man's regeneration is an image of the Lord's glorification. In this sense, the six days of labor represent the process of regeneration: the process in which man is led by truth to do good, in which he endures temptations and has to use the power of truth to fight the evil loves and desires of his selfish heredity.

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The seventh day, or the sabbath, is the final state of regeneration, in which truth and good have been conjoined and man is led by the loves of heaven. When he enters this state after death, temptations cease and he comes into the rest and peace of heavenly life. That he is then no longer tempted is what is meant by his doing no work on the sabbath. Such a state of supreme love to the Lord and toward the neighbor-the sabbath of man's life-the Lord can bless with untold gifts of delight and happiness.

     In His second coming the Lord has made it perfectly clear that man is to observe the sabbath by attending church regularly, by humbling himself before the Lord in periods of worship, and by diligently listening to instruction from the Word. This is to be a matter of conscience with us, and we must be careful to judge sincerely and wisely in placing anything else above it. The Writings do not lay down definite laws for the observance of the sabbath, except that we are to provide time for worship, instruction and meditation. What else we may do in regard to work or play is left to our own judgment.
     While we are on earth, while our loves and thoughts alternate between the things of heaven and the things of hell, we need ultimate forms and practices as means of urging us to turn our thoughts away from the love of self toward the love of the Lord and the neighbor. The worship of the Lord on the sabbath is the foremost ultimate that serves this purpose, and for this reason we should endeavor to keep the sabbath-even if it means that we must compel ourselves.*
     * TCR 301, Char. 173-183.
     The third precept of the Decalogue is to be obeyed in the New Church as it has never been obeyed before, with understanding that it is a Divine means to lead man in the way of regeneration, and with love that we may cherish the things of heavenly life that it seeks to bring. When we approach the Lord on the sabbath through the ultimate forms of worship, we are really acknowledging that which the sabbath itself represents, that which is the cornerstone of the faith of the New Church-the Divine Human of the Lord. More than this, we are acknowledging that the life of regeneration rests in the truths which the Lord reveals to us through His Divine Human; rests in the learning, understanding, loving and using of those truths and the goods of life which they bring forth.
     If we endeavor to keep the sabbath in this way, both spiritually and naturally, we will fulfill the words of the Lord's command: "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy." And then will the Lord bless us as He promised in the prophecy of Isaiah: "If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.* Amen.
     * Isaiah 58: 13-14

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LESSONS: Exodus 20: 1-17. Mark 2: 23-28, 3: 1-6.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 446, 449, 444.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 8, 99.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Finite. This term is applied without exception to created things. It should be noted, therefore, that the spiritual, though non-material, is finite. The characteristics of the finite are that there is nothing of the Divine in its esse, that it is limited by space and time or their spiritual analogues, that quality and quantity can be predicated of it, and that it is bounded both within and without. Also, the finite has a beginning and an end. Man indeed lives to eternity, but he does so by constant renewal from the Lord. (See DLW 44; DP 52; TCR 27, 29, 33; AE 629.)
     Foresight. This term is applied in the Writings to a particular operation or mode of the Divine Providence. Only that which is good is provided by the Lord; yet He knows all evil before it comes to pass, and provides for it. This pre-knowledge of evils is what is meant by the Divine foresight. It is to the Lord what prudence is to the human race, with the notable difference that it is infinite, infallible, and not cumulative but simultaneous. Divine foresight does not interfere with or qualify human freedom. The Lord does not foresee what will happen because He has predetermined what shall happen; He foresees what man will do in his freedom. The term itself is an accommodation to the finite mind. Because all things are present to Him, and there is no past or future, He does not "look ahead." (See AC 3854.)
     Form.     Here we have another philosophical term which occurs frequently. It refers to an organic receptacle in which an essence is so formed as to appear; and it does not relate to shape, but to the order, disposition, arrangement and relation of the parts which make a thing competent to its use. Thus form is said to be the same as function or use. (See TCR 52; AC 4223, 4926; LJ 12: 4; DLW 200, 209.)

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HOLY SPIRIT 1963

HOLY SPIRIT       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1963

     (The second in a series of three doctrinal classes.)

     2. THE OPERATION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

     The subject of the Holy Spirit was introduced in our last class. It was shown that "Holy Spirit" is strictly a New Testament term; it does not occur anywhere in the Old Testament. The reason for this was shown to be that the Holy Spirit is the Divine truth proceeding from the Lord's glorified Human, from which angels and men receive enlightenment and perception. Until the Lord descended to earth and assumed a human from Mary, His Divine Humanity had not been manifested to anyone in the Jewish Church except the prophets. Occasionally, when in a state of vision, they saw the Angel of Jehovah, who was the Lord appearing in His representative Human for the sake of giving the Word or providing Divine truth to lead His people. The Jewish mind was able to see and understand only natural phenomena, and this through sensory experience; the interior, spiritual mind was completely closed, and enlightenment and perception of spiritual things were entirely unknown.

     The Lord was indeed present with all obedient Jews who kept His covenant and His testimonies, and this presence was effected by means of angels and spirits. However, the Jews were not aware of this angelic presence in the least degree. Enlightenment was unknown to them. Had those experiences been granted to them which are given when the interiors of the Word are manifested before the sight of the spirit, they would, we are told, have utterly profaned the Word. Therefore when the time was, Jehovah descended and assumed a human by means of which He could disclose the interiors of truth which previously had been hidden within the Old Testament. Through His life in the world He revealed the mystery of His Divine Human, so that all could approach Him in that Human. The Word of the New Testament is a testimony which sets forth the Divinely-Human truth of the Lord; for it tells of the Lord-how He assumed a Human, and how, through temptations and the conquest of the hells, He united the Divine essence of His soul to the Human essence which He put on in the world. Thus the Divinely Human form of truth was lived and its record preserved in the Word of the New Testament; and when its truths are now assimilated by the mind, and are attended with affection, the Holy Spirit can shed its light upon them and enable man to see with his mind's eye, and also to perceive their delight when they are lived.

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     In this class we wish to consider the subject of the reception of the Holy Spirit among men. Since the decline of the Christian churches and their failure to understand that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three attributes of the one only God, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit has been most grievously abused. There have been, and continue to be, numerous claims to a mystical reception. It has been felt by some, even from the early days of the Christian Church, that the Holy Spirit speaks to man and inspires him, causing him to speak its dictates. Yet the Writings show that the Holy Spirit no longer operates upon man in this way.
     These claims to have received the Holy Spirit are not, however, mere pretenses, nor are they vain imaginations. They are indeed actual experiences, but they are not caused by the action of the Holy Spirit. Thus we read:

     "Many believe that man can be taught by the Lord by means of spirits speaking with him; but those who believe this and are willing to believe it do not know that it is attended with danger to their souls. . . . As soon as spirits begin to speak with man they come out of their spiritual state into man's natural state, and they then know that they are with man and conjoin themselves with the thoughts of his affection and speak with him from those thoughts. . . . None but like spirits speak with man, or manifestly operate into him, for manifest operation coincides with speech. Consequently only enthusiastic spirits speak with enthusiasts; only Quaker spirits operate upon Quakers, and only Moravian spirits upon Moravians. The same is true of Arians, Socinians and other heretics. All spirits that speak with man were once men in the world, and were then of like character; and, what is absurd, when a man believes that the Holy Spirit is speaking with him, the spirit also believes himself to be the Holy Spirit. This is common with enthusiastic spirits. All this shows the danger in which a man is who speaks with spirits, or who manifestly perceives their operation."*
     * AE 1182: 4, 5.

     Thus there are evil spirits, known as enthusiastic spirits, who desire to operate upon men and to communicate their thoughts and affections to them manifestly. These spirits can do this only if the man desires it, and only if he is in the same affection as they are. Enthusiastic spirits feign themselves to be the Holy Spirit, for when they were in the world they had believed that God was three separate persons and that the Holy Spirit was a person of the Godhead. They themselves had sought to communicate with the Holy Spirit, and became so convinced that the Holy Spirit was in them that they cannot be shown otherwise, and they eventually believe that they are the Holy Spirit.

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     In the light of this, how sad it is that these widespread claims to have received the Holy Spirit are nothing but deceptions!-deceptions brought about by the false teachings of the Christian churches. In many of the Protestant churches men are offered the formula whereby they may achieve salvation by faith alone. They have to yearn for the presence of the Holy Spirit, and they are said to be saved when they are moved by an interior experience which is supposedly the working of the Holy Spirit washing them clean from sin. What a terrible thing this is in the light of New Church teaching! What a corrupt idea this is of the nature of the true Holy Spirit of God!
     Roman Catholicism claims that the Holy Spirit operates within the church through the Pope as the vicar of Christ, and also through the priesthood. Thus when the Pope is speaking ex cathedra-officially, and from the pontiff's throne-the Holy Spirit shines into his heart, and whatever he speaks at that time is of Divine authority and cannot be questioned or denied. To the priesthood is granted the power to remit sins. Thus the church has taken unto itself the authority which should properly be vested in the Lord and in the Scriptures. This all came about ultimately because of the belief in a trinity of persons in the Godhead.
     There are many other ideas concerning the reception of the Holy Spirit, but they are too numerous to consider at this time. The important thing to realize is that open communication with spirits is forbidden in the Writings, for such communication is never with angels, who have no desire for it. It is with evil spirits, called enthusiastic spirits, who are often so thoroughly self-convinced by the power of their own deception that they believe themselves to be the Holy Spirit.

     In opposition to all these irrational claims to reception of the Holy Spirit stands the clear rational truth of the Writings, and this alone can reconcile the rational convictions of man with the teachings of the Word. As was stated last time, the Holy Spirit is the Divine proceeding from the Lord's glorified Human. That is to say, the Holy Spirit was not fully operative in its ability to enlighten men until the Lord had finished living His life on earth whereby He revealed the truth of the new covenant. He united His Human to the Divine of His soul, and they were united through the subjugation of the hells which operated upon the evil heredity which He assumed from Mary. Through numerous combats, in temptations of the most severe nature, the Lord always emerged victorious as ruler over hell. In this way falsities were dispersed, and in place of them the Lord by His words and actions clearly disclosed the truth.

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After the glorification, men who read the Word from an affection for truth were given to see the genuine truths revealed by the Lord in the New Testament. The Lord could approach all who read that truth from affection, not from the mere letter of Scripture alone, but also from within, by illuminating the knowledges of truth in the mind from the light of His Divine proceeding, or, what is the same, the Holy Spirit.

     What, then, do we learn as to the true nature of the reception of the Holy Spirit among men? After the Lord had suffered the torments of His final temptation on the cross, He yielded up the spirit. After that time He was no longer seen by men as to His physical body. However, the disciples did see Him on several occasions, but they saw Him with their spiritual eyes. On one such occasion the Lord made Himself known, and then greeted them with the familiar "Peace be unto you." Then He delivered the text of His message. "As My Father hath sent Me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Spirit."*
     * John 20: 21. 22.
     These disciples had been intimately associated with the Lord's work during His final years upon earth. His Divine example was the Divine truth in human form. Their proximity to the Lord must have familiarized them with this Divinely-Human truth. Therefore these chosen eleven were sent out and commanded to convey that truth, of which they were eye-witnesses, to all nations; and this they were empowered to do, not from mere command alone, but because the Holy Spirit now shone upon those truths which they had previously heard and seen, and inspired them with the zeal to preach. Thus they received the Holy Spirit, and went forth to preach the gospel.
     Until the four Gospels were actually written, some thirty to sixty years after the Lord's resurrection, the Divine truth of the New Testament was contained in the memories of the apostles and of others associated with them. Yet, in the Divine Providence, these things were not forgotten; for the Lord had instructed His disciples concerning the future inspiration of the New Testament when He said: "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you."*
     * John 14: 25, 26.
     Thus in writing the Word of the New Testament the evangelists were inspired by the Holy Spirit. This occurred some time after the Lord's resurrection because the Holy Spirit could be given fully only when the Lord's glorification had been completed.

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Earlier, that is, before the glorification had been completed, we read in the Gospel of John that "the Holy Spirit was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." The Holy Spirit could not be fully operative upon the minds of men until there was in their minds that Divinely-Human form of truth upon which it could cast its light. If the light from the Holy Spirit was to be reflected and seen, there first had to be objects to reflect that light, and these objects were the facts of truth which the Lord's life on earth disclosed. When the whole of that truth had been given, the Lord's Humanity had been fully revealed. Knowledges concerning His life were knowledges of truth, and upon these the Divine proceeding as the Holy Spirit could shine.

     The inspiration of the four evangelists was from the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit brought to their remembrance all things necessary to reveal the Divine Human. This reception by them of the Holy Spirit was for the purpose of giving the New Testament Word. The things that were brought to their attention through Divine inspiration were all authoritative truths. When the Apocalypse, or book of Revelation, had been written, then inspiration from the Holy Spirit ceased, for the Lord's glorified Human had been revealed. Therefore at the end of that book this severe warning has been given: "If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."*
     * John 7: 39.
     The failure of the Roman Church to heed this warning caused it eventually to set the Word in a place inferior to that of tradition. The authority for many of its customs, and indeed its doctrines, is not in the Word but in tradition. The power of the Pope in his pronouncement of authoritarian dogmas, from what is supposedly the Holy Spirit, carries more weight than the teaching of the Lord in His Word. So we learn-through bitter experience, and the clear teaching of the Writings-that the reception of the Holy Spirit which inspired the evangelists to write the Word is quite different from the alleged reception of the Holy Spirit by men in later times.
     In order to see what is meant by the reception of the Holy Spirit by the individual man of the church, let us turn to one of the last commands given by the Lord to His disciples: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you all the days, even until the consummation of the age."*

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They were commanded to baptize others who believed in the Lord's teachings, and they were commanded to do so in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. In other words, they were to baptize in the name of the one God. Now we are taught that baptism itself confers salvation on no man; yet it was instituted as a memorial that man must be regenerated if he is to be saved. The only way in which man can learn about regeneration and consequent salvation is by learning the truths of the Word. He must be instructed in these, and he must also instruct himself. The waters of baptism signify truths, and man's sins can be washed away only through the application of those truths which he has learned for the sake of amendment of life. But baptism, as a commanded sacrament of the church, stands as a sacred sign that man is to receive the truths of the church; and baptism is given in the name of the Holy Spirit, so that, if the terms of baptism are fulfilled, the Holy Spirit will be received, to enlighten and lead man through the illumination of the Lord's inflowing truth.
     * Matthew 28: 19, 20.
     Salvation is granted to man only through reception of the Holy Spirit. The Lord came on earth for the sake of man's salvation. He lived the life of truth so that man could know the truth, and He left man in freedom to accept or reject it. Nevertheless a way was provided whereby man could, if he so desired, know the truth and also be enlightened by the influx of the Holy Spirit into that truth. Salvation is effected through the Holy Spirit. That is to say, the "Divine energy and operation" of the Lord are present in the Holy Spirit.* In general the Divine energy and operation effect reformation and regeneration. Therefore, since the Lord's coming, all who are saved are saved through the reception of the Holy Spirit. We read:

     "There are two states that man must enter upon and pass through when, from being natural, he is becoming spiritual. The first state is called reformation, and the second is called regeneration. In the first, man looks from his natural to the spiritual state and longs for that state; in the second state he becomes spiritual-natural. The first state is formed by means of truths, which must be truths of faith, and through these he looks to charity; the second state is formed by means of the good of charity, and by these he enters into the truths of faith; or, what is the same, the first is a state of thought from the understanding, and the second a state of love from the will."**
     * TCR 142.
     ** TCR 571.

     As we have already noted, the Holy Spirit is that which proceeds "from the Lord's] Divine good through His Divine truth," and this passes from Him as the Sun of heaven. Subsequently it passes through angels and. spirits to receptive states with men on earth. The Lord's Divine good and truth proceed from Him as a united sphere, yet they are received separately by man at first.

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Essentially the Holy Spirit is predicated of the Divine truth, because it is only in and through truth that man can come to see the Lord's Divine Human. However, as far as the Lord is concerned, the Divine good and truth proceed from Him as one. The mind of man is a finite vessel which is created to see truth and to receive good from the Lord. This occurs as his mind is fashioned by the truth which he sees, when truth becomes the pattern according to which his actions take form. To enable this to happen the mind has been created with two faculties, the understanding and the will. If man is to receive the Holy Spirit, and salvation through it, then his understanding must be reformed by the acquisition of truth from the Word, and his will must be regenerated through his application of that truth to life. The will is the seat of man's intentions, and these become actual only when they are ultimated. Then, and then only, does the will receive good from the Lord. But the important thing is that the way must first be shown through enlightenment from the Holy Spirit, which shines upon the knowledges of truth which have been acquired from the Word.

     Furthermore, it must be emphasized that not all men receive the Holy Spirit when they read the Word. Not all men receive enlightenment from the Word. Yet it is possible for all men to be enlightened by the Holy Spirit when reading the Word. For this to happen, however, one further and very important thing must be present in man's attitude. He must be in the affection of truth! He must go to the Word from a willing spirit, desiring to be shown the path of truth. Many will say that to go to the Word requires effort-and we seldom understand what we read. But this is merely an excuse offered because we do not really have the desire to see truth. How can the affection or desire for truth be cultivated? The answer is, through habit. It is seldom easy for anyone to go to the Word at first, for the rewards are hidden delights; but these become more and more manifest as we persist in this effort. It is not sufficient to have a general knowledge of the truths of the Word; we need a particular knowledge also, and this can be acquired only through our constant and diligent approach to the Lord in His Word. Then will the light of the Holy Spirit shine before the mind's eye, giving us the confidence to make just judgments in the decisions of life.

     Finally, our consideration of the reception of the Holy Spirit would not be complete unless a few words are said about reception by the clergy. It is stated that "the Divine energy, meant by the operation of the Holy Spirit, with the clergy especially is enlightenment and instruction.*

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"The clergyman," we read, "because he is to teach doctrine from Word concerning the Lord, and concerning redemption and salvation from Him, is to be inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit and by the representation of its transfer; but it is received by the clergyman according to the faith of his life."** It is said that the Holy Spirit enlightens the clergy especially because enlightenment in spiritual things can be received only from the Lord through the Word. Since the principal function of the clergy is drawing doctrine from the Word and presenting it to the laity, it follows that in so far as a priest is faithful to his calling he will receive enlightenment from the Holy Spirit. This will then give him the illustration necessary for presenting truth in a form applicable to life. Thus it is said that a priest "is to be inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit, and by the representation of its transfer." Note that it says, "the promise of the Holy Spirit." This is done deliberately, because reception of enlightenment from the Holy Spirit with the priest is conditional upon his zeal for studying the truths of the Word for the sake of the salvation of souls. A priest who does not so study from the Word cannot be enlightened by the Holy Spirit, for that is "according to the faith of his life."
     * TCR 155.
     ** Can. HS IV: 7.
     But in no way should this teaching be understood to mean that enlightenment can be transferred from the clergy to the laity. The clergy are not the source of enlightenment in the church. Enlightenment is from the Lord alone. It is from the Holy Spirit proceeding from the Lord's glorified Human. But the clergy are presenting truths from the Word in teaching the truths of faith in a form accommodated to the understanding of men, and truths from the Word form the basis for enlightenment. When these are held within the mind, then the Holy Spirit can shed its light upon them, enabling man to see things which he may have had difficulty in seeing before. Thus it is said further that "the Divine which is meant by the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Lord through the clergy to the laity by preaching, according to the reception of the doctrine of genuine truth thence."*
     * Can. HS IV: 8.
     Thus we can see that reception of the Holy Spirit can be achieved only as far as man receives truth from the Word in his mind. This can be communicated to him either by his own reading of the Word or through doctrine and preaching from the Word. Furthermore, this must be attended by a love of receiving truth. Under these conditions the gift of the Holy Spirit may be granted. Through this the Lord leads each man to heaven; and through this alone may His true church be established on earth, as it is in heaven.
     The final class in this series will be devoted to the subject of "The Sin against the Holy Spirit."

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TASTE AND SEE 1963

TASTE AND SEE       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1963

     (Delivered at the New Church Club's Annual Dinner and Ladies' Night, London, April 6, 1963)

     One might suspect, perhaps, that the title of my address has been chosen in anticipation of a delicious meal in the delightful company of ladies who are most pleasant to our sight! Yet I want, in fact, to speak about spiritual food and the vision of spiritual forms of wisdom.
     We go to the Word for the full title of the present study: "O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in Him."* It is easy for us to form a first concept of what is meant by "seeing" that the Lord is good. We see in our understanding. We learn truths concerning Him and all His works, and we see that He is good. But what about "tasting," too, that He is good? Taste is a more intimate experience than sight. We see from a far distance, but what we taste is most near. In fact, if we analyze the five senses, we note that taste brings us to the closest proximity to matter of all the senses. That does not make it more perfect than the other senses; sight and hearing are the most perfect of all. But it makes it the most ultimate, the sense that might almost be said to merge with matter.
     * Psalm 34: 8.

     Touch and smell are similar. In fact, both smell and taste are like specialized forms of touch. All three of these senses-touch, smell and taste-require direct contact with matter. Touch makes us aware of matter in the solid form; taste brings matter to us in the liquid form; and smell gives us information about it as it is in gaseous form. Both taste and smell are like entrance gates into the body. But smell communicates only with the lungs, and enters the economy of the body by means of the blood passing through the lungs. By this a refined form of nourishment is provided, but it is less ultimate, less complete. Taste communicates with the stomach directly, and thus with the entire digestive system. It is a guard lest anything that is harmful be introduced intimately into the economy of the body. We go away from an obnoxious smell. But once a substance is inside the body, in the stomach region, it is there for the purpose of becoming part of the man. Poisonous elements have to be removed by a more elaborate mode than merely going away from them.

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Taste is intimate. It is ultimate. Therefore it represents the perception and affection of knowing and being wise by means of ultimate or natural things.*
     * See AC 10,199; AE 990.
     In his Rational Psychology Swedenborg, the philosopher, describes taste as "truly corporeal,"* and adds many observations from which we cull the following:

     "Taste is a superior sense of touch, and discerns figured parts or angular forms, which are more simple and which float in some liquid. . . . Touch cannot be so far perfected as to be able to perceive effluvia swimming in liquids, and their sharp little points, still less the relation and contrast of angular parts as among themselves and as commingled with rounded surfaces. For there are degrees of angular parts or form, that is to say, they are more or less compound or more or less simple. Those that are compounded are also the inferior, posterior, and more imperfect particles of that class, being those that the touch perceives. But taste perceives those that are simpler, superior, prior and more perfect. In general, however, it must be observed that the three senses, touch, taste and smell, take in only the figures of angular parts or forms, that is to say, of things inert and heavy; but not their forms or essential determinations, as do hearing and sight."**
     * No. 40.
     ** R. Psych. 39.

     Going back a few pages in his argument we find a more basic observation relating to the figure or shape of the elements that are sensed by taste and smell.

     "The more perfect the forms, the more agreeable and delightful they are to the senses, and the reverse. In taste and smell, all angular forms are disagreeable and displeasing, unless the angles are so arranged as to represent some more perfect form, and to arouse a sensation which the mind judges to be suitable for restoring the state of its body, and to be conformable therewith. This is the reason why saline and bitter things are frequently pleasant, while sweet and fragrant things are [frequently] unpleasant. But more perfect forms, such as the circular and spherical-these being the next superior to the angular and consequently more perfect-are naturally pleasant because they are soothing, as, for instance, things sweet and sugary."*
     * Ibid. 34.

     Bearing in mind, then, the intimate contact with matter that is afforded through taste, we should be generally aware of the spiritual significance of "tasting" that the Lord is good. It is the perception and affection for knowledge and wisdom in ultimate things, that is to say, in the field of doctrine applied to good works.
     The food in this context is the Word; just as the truths of the Word are also the objects of sight-spiritual sight. A man is invited both to see and to taste the Word. Was not John invited to take the little book that was in the angel's hand, that is, the Word, and to eat it up?*

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The book was sweet as honey in his mouth, but in his belly it was bitter. This is said of those whose spiritual taste has been perverted. They have misconstrued the Word, for they have read into it their own sweet dreams and prejudices; therefore when its interiors are opened up, as happens with food in the process of digestion, they sense no delight. John, as a prophet, represented this state; and as a prophet he recorded it, in order that it might be known what the Word is when it is received in a state of evil and falsity, and also what it is in itself. What it is in itself, or what it is truly, is perceived by those only who walk in the way of regeneration. These are formed in agreement with the Word. Their whole mind, down to the ultimate natural which is concerned with speech and action, is a creation of the Lord by means of His Word: for "without [the Word] was not anything made that was made."**
     * Revelation 10: 9, 10.
     ** John 1: 3.

     With these the Word is sweet in the belly as well as on the tongue. They taste "that the Lord is good." As David says in the Psalm, all of whose 176 verses deal with the Word: "How sweet are Thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way."* Here the "mouth" is the symbol of the whole digestive system, being the beginning of and the entrance to it. There is no reversal of perception when the words of the Lord enter into such a man, to become assimilated, as it were, by him. They are sweet to the whole man.
     * Psalm 119: 103, 104.
     This happens, as has already been suggested, when regeneration is on its way. If there is severe disorder in the digestive system of the body food cannot be absorbed; also, food is repulsive to the man. It is the same when the mind is in disorder. The Word is then repulsive to it; that is, it is repulsive as soon as it is analyzed for what it really is. The Word does not agree with the unregenerate state of man; to that it is "bitter."
     Now to look is to observe, but to eat is to absorb. To look is easy; it does not necessarily commit the man. But to eat is more laborious, especially if we consider that eating continues beyond the mouth throughout the whole digestive tract. In eating, man is fully committed.
     Yet looking is prior. We first look at nature and pick our food from it. Then we eat nature. Of course, looking is not only for the purpose of eating. Nor is everything in nature designed for food. In the same way, there are things in the Word that delight the understanding by their mere beauty. A description of a paradise in heaven: it is beautiful to behold, but not designed for food. It presents a picture of the goal of man's journey, and it is for the journey itself that strength and nourishment are required.

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Applied doctrines relate to the way, or the means; other doctrines show the goal itself, the end. We see the goal, far ahead; but we eat the means as we labor and walk.
     So we must both see and eat. Seeing is prior in time, but eating is first in purpose, for absorption is more than observation. We can see a thing, yet never get there; but when we eat and gain power, and walk, we get there. And since assimilation is the result for the sake of which the Divine influx operates, and which is foreseen in all that the Lord does with man, taste is therefore mentioned first. "Taste and see!" Taste is more intimate. It is more complete. It suggests the whole man. Let the whole man, down to his ultimate works, know that the Lord alone is good!
     In the same view it becomes apparent that seeing relates to the understanding, but tasting to the will. The will, too, must know that the Lord is good. If the understanding alone knows, then the man himself does not know. He has observed outside himself, but he has not experienced what he has seen. The thing is not within him, as it were part of him. He has not been engaged in a Divine process; he has only looked. He has, as it were, gazed with awe at a beautiful goal, but he has not walked in order to get there.

     These things might easily be overlooked in a rational church. We stand in an age which breaks with the dark centuries when the understanding was kept in blind obedience under faith. It is now permitted to "enter intellectually into the arcana of faith."* So the understanding is liberated. We rejoice, and reflect on the great privilege that this involves. But are we forgetting that understanding a thing is only the beginning in time?-that it is not the final end, but only the assembling of the means? It is the will that must become a new church of the Lord, and through it the understanding also. The will is interior to the understanding, and unless it has an opportunity of operating into and in the understanding it is left out. Nor is the man affected if the understanding alone is engaged. We can look at ever so beautiful things with eyes that see without seeing; but we are warmed with delight when the will sees through the eyes, and still more when we take into our possession what we see and make use of it. Seeing with the understanding alone is faith alone; but seeing with the will through the understanding is living and saving faith.
     * SS 76.
     Now nothing of this is contradicted by the well-known teaching in the Writings that the church "is such as its understanding of the Word is."* Only we must know what the Writings mean by "understanding the Word.

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" Take the following: "It is said that it is man's understanding which receives truths and is formed by means of truths, because in the proper sense nothing can be called understanding but that which is from the truths which are from good. . . . Man's understanding is never opened except when a man perceives and loves truths; and the perception and love of truth are from good. Consequently it is truths from good that are the source of the understanding."*
     * AC 10,675: 3. [Italics added.]

     Or consider the Writings' definition of truth: "In itself truth is good, because from good; and truth is the form of good, that is to say, when good is formed so as to be perceived intellectually it is then called truth."*
     *AC 3049. [Italics added.]
     This, then, is why the Writings everywhere insist that faith without charity is nothing, that knowledge without works is nothing, that understanding without will is nothing. Have we not noticed the countless teachings concerning "truth from good"? Have we not wondered, perchance fleetingly, why we so often meet with statements that this or that thing cannot be understood except by a man "who is in good"? Let us select and view some of these teachings.

     "No one can be wise and intelligent in regard to truth unless he is in good, that is, in charity, because all truth is from good, and looks to good; so that they who are without good cannot understand truth, and are not even willing to know it."*
     * AC 3412: 3. [Italics added.]
     "The intellectual cannot be enlightened unless it is believed that love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor are the principal and essential things of the church. He who proceeds from the acknowledgment of these, provided he himself is in them, sees innumerable things; nay, he sees very many secrets disclosed to him, and this from interior acknowledgment, according to the degree of the enlightenment from the Lord."*
     * AC 7233e. [Italics added.]
     "It is from good that the Word is uncovered in respect to its interiors. They who are in the love of good can see that which is of this love, consequently the truths which are in the Word, and this in accordance with the quality of their love of good; for in this case light or intelligence from heaven flows in, that is, through heaven from the Lord. For this reason it is that, as before said, no one can see and acknowledge the interiors of the Word unless he is in good as to life."*
     * AC 3798. [Italics added.]
     "The sensuous, like the rational, is born again by means of faith, but by the faith into which charity flows. Unless charity flows into faith and gives it life, faith cannot reign universally; for what man loves reigns, and not what he merely knows and holds in his memory."*
     * AC 5130e. [Italics added.]

     The work Divine Love and Wisdom elaborates in great fullness on this theme, especially in Part V, where the principle is that the heart corresponds to the will and the lungs correspond to the understanding. We are shown how it is possible to know many things relating to the interrelation of the will and the understanding by knowing the mutual give and take between heart and lungs.

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In that context we read:

     "The love or will is the very life of man. The love or will is constantly striving towards the human form and towards all the things which are of the human form. The love or will is not able to do anything through its human form apart from marriage with the wisdom or understanding. The love or will prepares a house or bridal bed for the future wife which is the wisdom or understanding. The love or will also prepares all things in its human form, to enable it to act conjointly with the wisdom or understanding."*
     * DLW 398.

     This having been said, the argument goes on to show that after these preparations there are born with man, first, an affection of knowing, then an affection of understanding, and finally a true and genuine thought, that is, a thought that has substance within it as well as an external framework or form. Let us listen again:

     "When the nuptials are accomplished, the first conjunction is through the affection of knowing, from which there is the affection of truth. The second conjunction is through the affection of understanding, from which there is the perception of truth. The third conjunction is through the affection of seeing this, from which there is thought. The love or will through these three conjunctions is in its sensitive and in its active life."*
     * Ibid. [Italics added.]
     Note that this whole process is governed by the will. The will, being the receptacle of the inflowing Divine love, desires to bring forth human things. It therefore takes to itself a wife, the understanding, and jointly with it procreates knowledges, a true perception of realities, and a thought whereby it may ultimately act and speak, and so communicate with other human beings. Note further that the knowledge referred to is a knowledge of the will as well as of the understanding; that the perception which is gained is of the will as well as of the understanding; and that the resulting thought springs from the will, although it is shaped in the understanding.
     To take up one of the above points, namely, that the love or will also prepares all things in its human form to enable it to act conjointly with the wisdom or understanding, the chapter in which these things are developed adds the following summary observation:

     "The will and the understanding are here specified, but it is to be well known that the will is the whole man. . . . The will is the whole man as to the very form, both the general form and the particular form of all things; and the understanding is its partner, as the lungs are the partners of the heart."*
     * DLW 403. [Italics added.]

     Therefore, repeating and stressing a point, it is added:

     "When love enters the understanding, which happens when the conjunction is accomplished, it then first produces the affection of truth, next the affection of understanding that which it knows, and finally the affection of seeing in the thought of the body that which it understands."*
     * DLW 404e. [Italics added.]

398




     To "see in the thought of the body" is to see the application through the acts and speech of the body.
     The affections that are produced are Divine gifts from within. They are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."* Life from the Lord flows in through remains stored in the internals of the natural mind, where Angels are used in order to accommodate this life; and there, in the internals of the natural, affections are awakened into the knowledges drawn from the Word, take these knowledges to themselves and assimilate them, and begin as it were to eat them. It is the affections that do this. They are being instructed or infilled; they form their own perceptions; and they do the thinking by means of their perceptions so that they may know what to do or say.
     * John 1: 13.
     It is, of course, possible for the man to take in knowledges from the Word in quite a different way. It is possible for his conscience to be excluded from the process. His proprium is interested in knowledges, too! It, too, has an appetite for the means whereby it may speak and act in the world. It has self-glorious dreams. Catching on to the thought that knowledge is power, it can show such eagerness for learning that it outstrips the humble spiritual man who is more concerned with digestion than with the gulping down of food.
     In fact, in the beginning of regeneration the affection of knowing and understanding is a mixed product. It has in it elements both from the proprium and from conscience. If it were not so, the man could not be brought to a knowledge of teachings that are essential for his salvation. The Lord gradually bends him toward good in that way. Man looks at the knowledges he has acquired with self-pride; and he sees his future, including his life in the other world, as a bright prospect. He likes the whole idea of the goal. But he is not allowed to know only about the goal; he is shown that he must walk there. Then there comes the time when he has to weigh the matter and decide whether the goal is worth the long and troublesome, he would even say perilous, walk. It is then that he is beginning to be bent to good. It is then that his conscience is beginning to take the upper hand. It is then that the affections from heaven and from the Lord begin their eating; for they desire to be nourished by the bread of heaven that is to be found only in Divine revelation, and being nourished they go from strength to strength.

     The Apocalypse Explained enlarges on this point:

     "The Lord continually flows in with all men with light that enlightens, and together with the affection of knowing and understanding truths, also of willing and doing them.

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Therefore, as that light and that affection continually flow in from the Lord, it follows that as far as man receives from that light he becomes rational, also that as far as he receives from that affection he becomes wise and is led by the Lord. That affection, together with that light, draws those truths to itself which man has learned since his infancy from the Word, from doctrine out of the Word, and from preaching, and conjoins them to itself; for every affection desires to be nourished by the knowledges that are in agreement with it."*
     * AE 701.

     Thus the affection from heaven "tastes" as well as "sees."

     It is indeed true that the New Church is to be a rational church. The revelation given to it is from the Divine rational. But it must not be forgotten that the essence of the rational-the true rational-is good, just as the essence of Divine rational revelation is Divine celestial good. With reference to man the teaching is as follows:

     "A truly rational man is no other than he who is called a celestial man, and who has perception of good, and from good perception of truth; whereas he who has not this perception, but only the knowledge that a thing is true because he is so instructed, and from this has conscience, is not truly a rational man, but is an interior natural man. Such are they who are of the Lord's spiritual church. . . . Many in the world suppose that a rational man is one who can reason acutely about many things, and so join his reasonings together that his conclusions may appear like truth; but this is found in the very worst of men. . . . The rational consists in inwardly seeing and perceiving that good is good, and from this that truth is truth; for the sight and perception of such men are from heaven. That they who are of the Lord's spiritual church are interiorly natural is because they acknowledge as truth only that which they have received from their parents and masters, and afterwards have confirmed in themselves. It is otherwise with the celestial; and it is from this that the latter are rational, but the former interiorly natural. The internal celestial which is represented by Joseph is in the rational; whereas the spiritual good which is represented by Israel is in the interior natural."*
     *AC 6240. [Italics added.]

     The celestial in all this, however, is not as the celestial in the Most Ancient Church. It is not the celestial of the Garden of Eden that is referred to, but the new celestial-that of the Golden City. This differs from the former celestial in that it can be built only into the intellectual part of the mind. Yet, as it is built therein, it, and not the intellectual as to form, becomes the essence. It becomes the ruling sovereign of the mind-ex Deo gratia.
     Therefore we must not wonder when the Writings teach that the true doctrine of the church is of a celestial origin, and that it is not from the rational seen as a form of truth. A man who truly believes in the doctrines given for his guidance believes, not because he is able to confirm them logically, but because he perceives with his whole being that they are good and that therefore they are true. He can confirm them, too, but that is not the source of his conviction.

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Is it not written: "It is the part of a wise man, and it is rational, first to see that a thing is true, and then to confirm it"?*
     * AC 4741e.
     Let us keep terms distinct in our minds. Terms take on different connotations according to the context. If, therefore, we know from full teachings that the essence of the true rational is celestial, then we need not be confused when in another context the Writings contrast the celestial and the rational. For the rational is sometimes spoken of from the aspect of its form. The matter is made perfectly clear by giving attention to the teachings themselves. So, holding in mind what the real essence of the rational is, we may see with equal clarity that the living doctrine of the church does not consist just of the bits and pieces from which the form or outer structure of the rational is built, but that, in the words of Divine revelation, it is "spiritual from a celestial origin, and not from a rational origin."*
     * AC 2496, 2510-2511, 2516. Et al.
     The Writings themselves guard lest there be any confusion because of terms, for the process whereby the rational is formed is described with precision, as witness the following:

     "In regard to the good and truth of the rational, the procuring of this takes place in such a way that its good is from Divine good, whereas its truth is not from Divine truth; for the truth of the rational is procured by means of scientifics and cognitions, which are insinuated through the external and internal senses, thus by an external way. Hence it is that there adhere to its truths many fallacies from the senses, which cause the truths not to be truths. Nevertheless, when Divine good flows into them, and conceives them, they then appear as truths, and are acknowledged as truths, although they are nothing but appearances of truth. . . . [Thus it is] that the rational itself dictated that celestial good should be adjoined to it."*
     * AC 2524: 2.

     It is for the rational as to form to see, but for the rational as to essence to taste. Yet we cannot have just the one or the other. We cannot just see without tasting, too, for true sight is from the will in the understanding. It is written that "the will must see in the understanding" and that "faith is the eye of love."* Hence, if the will is not there in the understanding to see, then the man himself does not see-does not see anything at all. The will must have an appetite for truths, a taste for them. Therefore, in the hidden processes of internal life, taste comes first and sight comes as a consequence. "O taste and see that the Lord is good."
     * DP 259L 2, AC 3863: 12.
Title Unspecified 1963

Title Unspecified              1963

     "Heaven is not in any certain and determinate place, thus not, according to the common opinion, on high; but heaven is where the Divine is, thus with everyone and in everyone who is in charity and faith; for charity and faith are heaven, because they are from the Divine, and there also the angels dwell." (Arcana Coelestia 8391: 2)

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WILLIAM FREDERIC PENDLETON 1963

WILLIAM FREDERIC PENDLETON       THEODORE KLEIN       1963

     A Biographical Sketch

     "That the General Church as an organization will survive very largely because of the spiritual leadership and wisdom, and tempered, foreseeing tolerance, of its first Bishop, W. F. Pendleton, will be for history to point out."*
     * Hugo Lj. Odhner, "Address at a Memorial Service in the Olivet Church, Toronto," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1928, p. 18.

     Introduction. It is right for each new generation to look ahead and build on its own. But although new generations should never blindly follow tradition, they should not forget the past or hesitate to build on it. They should never think of themselves as pioneers without looking into the history of the church to see if others have not already made a beginning.
     Today we are wrapped up in the many needs and problems of the present and the future. But we should never lose sight of the opportunity to learn from the life and ideas of a man like William Frederic Pendleton. In them we can find much of lasting value which may serve the church in many of its present and future efforts.

     Philip Coleman Pendleton. W. F. Pendleton's attitudes and character were profoundly influenced by his father, Philip Coleman Pendleton. Even before he came in contact with the Writings he was a deeply religious man and had sought to instill worthy principles in his children.

     ". . . . I think that the secret of making oneself happy is learned the moment we learn to make others so. . . . We must be deeply imbued with the spirit of the Christian religion. Without it there is not true and lasting happiness."*
     * Philip Coleman Pendleton to Miss Catherine Tebeau (later Catherine Tebeau Pendleton), Oct. 21, 1841. Confederate Memoirs, Early Life and Family History, William Frederic Pendleton, Mary Lawson Young Pendleton. Ed. by Constance Pendleton, Supplement by Amena Pendleton Haines, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1958, p. 13. Hereinafter cited as Confederate Memoirs.

     These quotations, taken from a letter to the woman who was to become his wife, show clearly fundamental beliefs of a true religion.

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Certainly the operations of Providence are evident in his personal preparation to receive the teachings of the Writings, and in his influence on his children.

     Confederate Soldier. In 1925, W. F. Pendleton received the Southern Cross of Honor from the United Daughters of the Confederacy. During the Civil War, which he had entered at the age of seventeen, he fought in many important battles-including Second Bull Run, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Cold Harbor and Petersburg-and was wounded in the Battle of Cedar Creek.* He became a captain eventually, and was highly respected by his fellow soldiers. His superior, Colonel Franklin Kearse, wrote to his father after the Battle of Chancellorsville: "Your son Willie has been promoted, a noble boy and a good officer and soldier."**
     * Confederate Diary of Captain W. F. Pendleton, January to April, 1865. Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1957, p. 5. (Bound with Confederate Memoirs.) Hereinafter cited as Pendleton, Confederate Diary.
     ** Quoted from a letter from Colonel Franklin Kearse to Major Phillp Coleman Pendleton, May 22, 1863, in Confederate Memoirs, p. 33.

     He revealed a great deal of his character in the Confederate Diary, kept from January to April of 1865. There is a remarkable seriousness of tone and a remarkable sincerity of expression. We can see clearly his concern for his family, love of country, and religious feeling.

     "Oh! what a cruel calamity is war; we take leave of our loved ones and have no idea when we will see them again, if we ever will."*
     * Pendleton, Confederate Diary, entry for Sunday, March 26, p. 13.

     "No matter where I am thrown I will try to do my duty. I know our cause is just and I am determined to hold out to the last."*
     * Ibid., entry for Wednesday, January 11, p. 7.

     "The Soldiers are in the lowest spirits I have ever seen them. Nothing will revive them so much as the defeat of Sherman in Carolina. May the Great Ruler of the Universe grant that he may be defeated. 'In God we trust.' If He be for us who can be against us."*
     * Ibid., entry for Sunday, January 15, p. 7. Confederate Memoirs, p. 83.

     As a Confederate soldier, W. F. Pendleton showed qualities of character which were vitally important in his uses as a leader of the Academy and the General Church. Through the Civil War, he developed leadership ability, courage, and a deepening knowledge of human states.

     Receiver of the New Church. Soon after receiving the Writings in 1863, Philip Coleman Pendleton gave up attending his local Methodist Church. Later he told his family that the Writings were the Word of God, and all of them followed him in this belief.* Although W. F. Pendleton had graduated from medical school and practiced medicine for a year, he decided in 1870 to enter the New Church ministry.

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In a letter he stated that it was "the only course that will bring me happiness, and I would not change for the world."*
     * W. F. Pendleton to his uncle, Dr. Edmund Monroe Pendleton, April 14, 1870. Confederate Memoirs, p. 109.

     The wholeheartedness of his acceptance and grasp of the fundamental truths of the Writings are illustrated in the following extracts from his letters written in 1870.

     "We have in our possession the leaves of the tree that are for the healing of the nations, we have the medicine that can cure all spiritual diseases. Let us cure ourselves and others."*
     * W. F. Pendleton to his mother, Catherine Tebeau Pendleton, June 7, 1870. Confederate Memoirs, p. 119.
     "Let us look to the glorious future ahead of us. Let us realize we will never die."*
     * W. F. Pendleton to his mother, Catherine Tebeau Pendleton, September 17, 1870. Confederate Memoirs, p. 132.
     "There is one great central truth to remember in living the life that leads to heaven, namely, that we cannot subdue our evils by our own power. We must struggle as if everything depended on us, but behind all this there must be an acknowledgment that it is the Lord doing it."
     * W. F. Pendleton to his brother, Charles R. Pendleton, September 22, 1870. Confederate Memoirs, p. 136.

     Pastor. W. F. Pendleton's work in Wilmington and Philadelphia in the middle 1870's should not be overlooked, but his work in Chicago is especially interesting. Here is an outline of the "Friday Class" program he organized while serving there.

4:00 p.m. Rev. E. C. Bostock on natural philosophy in the light of the Church.
5:00 p.m. Reading from the Word and prayer, conducted by W. F. Pendleton, followed by instruction in anatomy by the Rev. E. C. Bostock.
6:00-6:30 p.m. Luncheon.
6:30 p.m. Reading from Herodotus by W. F. Pendleton.
7:15 p.m. Instruction from W. F. Pendleton on three alternating subjects: 1) The Natural Sense of the Ten Commandments; 2) Laws of Social Life or Etiquette; 3) Conjugial Love. This instruction was followed by a half-hour intermission for amusement and games, and these were followed by study and practise of church music.*
     * "The Ministry of the Rev. William Frederic Pendleton," in Seymour G. Nelson's The Immanuel Church of the New Jerusalem, Glenview, Illinois, 1927, pp. 31, 32.
     W. F. Pendleton's work in Chicago was greatly appreciated. In 1884, he regretfully submitted his resignation because he was needed at the Academy, then in Philadelphia.

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After visiting Chicago, Bishop Benade is said to have remarked: "I have seen the perfect pastor." He set a high standard for pastoral work, and as the outline of the "Friday Class" indicates, he was greatly concerned for the intellectual and spiritual welfare of those he served.

     Academy Leader. Shortly after W. F. Pendleton came to the Academy in 1884, Benade wrote:

     "Mr. Pendleton is here & in harness. I am glad to have him with us, particularly glad because he enters so fully into the spirit of our order and work. You know him, & you know what a comfort he can be, & what a help."*
     * William Henry Benade to Walter Childs, April 18, 1884. Academy of the New Church Library Archives, X1520.

     Despite differences, of personality, the two men had deep respect and affection for one another. The talents of each complemented those of the other, and Providence made use of the personality of each man for distinct uses. Benade was especially gifted in studying doctrine and drawing out important principles. As a debater he was unexcelled, and his view of the basic principles underlying the Academy was sure and comprehensive. These gifts were especially useful in organizing the Academy movement and leading the break with the General Convention.
     However, Benade sometimes found it difficult to accommodate himself. This was one of Pendleton's greatest gifts, for he was very tolerant and adept in applying principles to human states. Benade led the Academy movement through its formative period; Pendleton led in the reorganization of the Academy and the establishment of the General Church. The principles of organization he outlined are still in effect generally.

     "It was Father Benade who brought forth the principles of doctrine upon which our Church is founded, but it was Father Pendleton who firmly established these principles on earth, in the order of heaven."*
     * Elmo C. Acton, "In Memoriam," The South African New Church Open Letter, No. 53, December 1927. Included in Resolutions Letters and Messages Received at the Time of the Death of the Rt. Rev. William Frederic Pendleton, Nov. 5, 1927. Pendle House, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Bishop and President. As Bishop of the General Church and President of the Academy during the critical years after reorganization, W. F. Pendleton set a high standard. Worthy of careful reflection are the following principles which underlay his work as an administrator.

     "Law, obedience, and organization are inseparably connected, and neither one of them can be fully understood without considering them, each in its relation to the other two. Law is Divine in its origin, but without obedience it is not operative, has no being with men. But if there he obedience, the law not only has being, but it also has existence; and the product, the fruit of the two, is organization."*
     * W. F. Pendleton, "Law, Obedience, and Organization," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1914, p. 65.

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     Society is dependent upon these three things. Law is from God and is the inmost, obedience is the ultimate or instrumentality, and organization is the intermediate, made permanent from law operating through obedience. Obedience is the foundation of organization, and the more perfect the order from obedience to law, the more perfect the organization will be.*
     * Ibid., pp. 67-69
     The Order and Organization of the General Church and the Principles of the Academy reflect the relationship between law, obedience and organization which Bishop Pendleton considered so carefully. They also reflect the dependence of law, obedience and organization upon uses.

     "A law is a use taking form, and uses are indicated by needs. Legislation is the giving of a proper form to present needs and uses; legislation other than this is unnecessary and hurtful."*
     * W. F. Pendleton, The Principles of the Academy. Bryn Athyn, Pa. Academy Book Room, 1909, p. 5.

     Bishop Pendleton believed that the success of the General Church and the Academy will be dependent upon the wholehearted performance of duty. Without the faithful performance of natural, legal and moral duties, at least by some, there could be no society, no state, and thus no natural freedom or happiness of life. Society would fall apart, and mankind would relapse into barbarism.*
     * W. F. Pendleton, "Duties of Members of the Church," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1904, pp. 113, 114.
     There are spiritual duties for members of the church, upon which the church depends. These are related to the mission of preparation for heaven.* The internal duties of the church are one with the duties of regeneration, and unless they are done by at least a few, the church has no internal. The supreme need of the church is an increase in the numbers of those who do their whole duty.**
     * Ibid., pp. 114.
     ** Ibid., pp. 117-119.
     Bishop Pendleton sought the realization and application of these principles. In his policies he sought unity, but never at the expense of freedom. He believed that differences of opinion were acceptable and valuable, if there was agreement on fundamentals and these differences did not interfere with the freedom and usefulness of others. He believed that charity based on the truths of the Word is the greatest unifying force in the church.

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     "Where charity is, there is variety; but where charity is not, there is diversity, the opposite of variety, the variety of hell."*
     * Interview with Frances M. Buell, Bryn Athyn, Pa., May 31, 1962.

     His greatest gift as an administrator was his appreciation of the abilities of others.* This indicates an unusual sensitivity towards the uses of others, and a deep concern for what positions would best enable them to fulfill their potential. It also indicates a keen regard for the freedom of others.
     * W. F. Pendleton, Unity in the New Church. Bryn Athyn, Pa., The Academy of the New Church, 1910, p. 9.

     "Charity in a large definition of it is the love of the freedom of the neighbor, carrying with it a hope for his amendment where amendment is needed. A true man of the church will not only love his own freedom, but that of his neighbor; and we may go so far as to say that there is no genuine love of the neighbor without a love of his freedom."*
     * Ibid., p 21.
     "An Eminent Theologian." The phrase, "an eminent theologian," was used by Bishop Alfred Acton to describe Bishop Pendleton. His work as a theologian represents a remarkable combination of profundity and simplicity, a deep insight into doctrine and a remarkably clear and unsophisticated expression of the truth as he saw it. He believed in the need for doctrine. All salvation is through means, and these means are the truths of the Word, in which the Lord's mercy is operating. No man can enter into heaven without the truths of the Word.*
     * W. F. Pendleton, "Going in and Going Out," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1914, pp. 137, 138, 141
     The Word is the appearance of the Lord in ultimates. Truth descends through many steps before it reaches man. In the Writings the truth is presented immediately to man's rational mind, and not mediately as before. The Word for the New Church no longer veils itself, but clothes itself in understandable human language. The Word has now appeared in its fulness.*
     * W. F. Pendleton, "The Writings as the Word," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1900, pp. 114-116.

     "The Second Coming of the Lord is not a revelation of the Divine Person to men, as was the First, but it is a revelation of the Divine character to men. The First Coming was a revelation of the Lord as He appears, the Second Coming is a revelation of the Lord as He is."*
     * W. F. Pendleton, The Worship of the True God. Bryn Athyn, Pa. Academy Book Room, 1921, p. 12.

     Bishop Pendleton believed that men can come to see the Divine Providence in ultimates and seek to act according to it.

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     "The perception of this living, eternal truth, that man lives from God, and lives only when he is conjoined with God by love, is the human itself with man; and having this, he has every spiritual quality and virtue that is possible to men or angels."*
     * W. F. Pendleton, The Stream of Providence, A Sermon on the Influx of the Divine into Forms of Life, and its Manifestation and Reaction in Ultimates; Involving a Spiritual Explanation of Evolution and Kindred Laws. Phila. (Wallace Street). Academy Book Room, n.d., p. 1.

     Providence forms and direct man's environment. It reveals itself to man in ultimates, particularly those outside of him, thus beyond his control. This leaves man free to accept or reject it. If he wishes to see Providence around him and follow its guiding, he must go to the truths of the Word.*
     * Ibid., pp. 7-9.
     Man must, however, shun evils as sins before he can see truth and do it.

     " . . . . good is good to man just in the degree that evil is evil to him. This is the reason why our first attention is to be directed to shunning evil as sin against God, namely, that we may gradually come to see evil as evil; for then and only then shall we see good as good, truth as truth, heaven as heaven, and the Lord as the Lord."*
     * W. F. Pendleton, Sermon on Psalm 34: 14. Bryn Athyn, Pa. Glencairn, n.d., p. 7.

     Bishop Pendleton's larger works present a wealth of material for the New Church man to consider. Of The Science of Exposition Bishop Alfred Acton wrote:

     "And indeed we cannot imagine that there is any intelligent Newchurchman who will not profit by the reading of this work-profit, in that it will more fully open his eyes to the wisdom and beauty of the Divine Word, and prepare his mind to receive more fully and with a sense of greater delight, the instruction given in Divine Worship."*
     * Alfred Acton, "The Science of Exposition" (Review), NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1916, p. 360.

     Bishop Pendleton studied ritual for many years and was deeply concerned with the ultimates of worship. The first Liturgy for the General Church was largely his work. The music was selected and arranged by Mr. George Blackman and the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, and some ideas were adopted from the "Academy Liturgy," but the bulk of the work was done by the Bishop. Some revisions have been made, but the current Liturgy follows the same basic pattern and uses much of the same material.
     When the Liturgy was first published, in 1908, it was widely acclaimed.

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Its distinctiveness, poetic feeling and sense of genuine reverence were noted. It was highly praised in the following words by a minister of the General Conference:

     " . . . considering its magnitude, one can hardly believe it the product of one mind without collaboration."*
     * Arthur E. Beilby, "A Twentieth Century Missal," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1909, p. 104.     (Reprinted from NEW CHURCH MAGAZINE, June 1909.)
     "What, then, is its distinctive merit? Well, to my mind, a simplicity and directness of diction that hardly ever fail-that mainly and in the first place."*
     * Ibid., p. 105.

     Two other larger works of his are worthy of special recognition. The Notes and Papers on Ritual illustrates the power of ultimates in worship. Topics from the Writings brings together teachings of the Writings on a wide variety of subjects.
     Bishop Pendleton's many sermons and addresses are also highly significant, both for their ideas and their clarity of expression. They illustrate tellingly the depth and scope of his views.

     A Great Educator.     Bishop Pendleton exemplified many of the qualities which guided and sustained the early Academy movement. He had a remarkable perception of the universal ideas in the fields to which he turned. Calmly and impartially he weighed affirmative and negative elements, and then presented his conclusions patiently and fearlessly.* He was a very clear teacher, and was patient in his explanations. His lectures had a definite order and were interesting and well adapted to his students.** Many people speak fondly of his children's services, and his ideas on education show a deep perception of the states of childhood and adolescence.
     * William Whitehead, "New Church Educators. 1. Bishop William Frederic Pendleton," The Bulletin of the Sons of the Academy, Vol. V, no. 2,1916, p. 39.
     ** Interview with Frances M. Buell, Bryn Athyn, Pa., May 31, 1962.
     Bishop Pendleton believed that New Church educators should follow the Lord's example in working with children. The Lord first insinuates sensuous truth into the mind of the child. From then on, the child grows continually stronger, not from himself but from the Lord. This growth takes place according to the affections insinuated into the child.*
     * W. F. Pendleton, "The Bruised Reed," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1902, pp. 247, 248.

     "Power increases according to the growth of affection; there is no power in truth, or knowledge of truth, without the affection of truth."*
     * Ibid., p. 249.

     The Lord never extinguishes lusts by sudden violence. Similarly, He never breaks but bends the fallacies of childhood.* Through the child's imagination He leads him to see what is absent to the senses, and eventually to see something of the quality of objects.**
     * Ibid., pp.250, 251.
     ** W. F. Pendleton, "Imagination," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1907, p. 201.

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     The soul of all New Church education is religion. Yet the moral plane must be formed with the young before they can be properly introduced to the spiritual things of the Word. The laws of moral life are taught by history, moral precept and religion.*
     * W. F. Pendleton, "Moral Truth and its Use," NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1909, pp. 281, 283.
     Children are interested in people, and tend to take the side of the right in history. Thus history is a means of moral instruction. Sources of direct moral teaching are the letter of the Word, the Writings and the teachings of men. The letter of the Word contains spiritual-moral truth, and the Ten Commandments are a summary of that truth. In the Writings spiritual and moral truth are joined. We should present the teachings of the Writings as moral truth in our missionary work and to the young.*
     *Ibid., pp. 284-286.
     These vital principles are worth pondering by all generations. Society may change greatly, but the basic needs of children and adolescents remain the same. Bishop Pendleton was a pioneer in New Church education and drew many fundamental principles from the Writings which have direct bearing on education. He met the greatest challenge of New Church education-to reach the states of those to be educated without weakening or distorting the truth in so doing. He combined an unflinching loyalty to the truths of doctrine with great skill in accommodating them to human states and needs.

     Gentleman.     Possibly the fiery leadership of Benade was necessary for the establishment of the Academy as an independent organization; but a different kind of leadership was needed in re-organizing that body once it had won its independence. Benade was possibly the greatest pioneer in the history of the New Church to date; but it was Pendleton, with his tolerance and flexible but wise leadership, who led in the establishment of the order, most of which is with us today. He had a strong judgment, and could be decisive when the occasion called for it. Yet he was very patient and always upheld the dignity of his office.*
     * Interview with Frances M. Buell, Bryn Athyn, Pa., May 31, 1962.
     His marriage was an ideal one. His wife remained a devoted companion throughout his long and sometimes difficult life. People always seem to have felt welcome in their home, and noted the unity and mutual devotion of his family.
     Bishop Pendleton's "Rules of Conduct" indicate high ideals of personal conduct and also an understanding toleration. Judging from the testimony of others, he lived these rules to a remarkable degree.

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     "The Principle of Charity is a silent vein running through all acts of politeness; it is a recognition of the rights of others and a charitable allowance for their failings. The whole of politeness is contained in the Golden Rule."*
     * From W. F. Pendleton, "Some Rules of Conduct."

     Conclusion.     The Writings give us a true picture of greatness. The truly great man devotes himself to the service of the Lord and the neighbor. Bishop Pendleton seemed to be such a man. The great leader is not just the profound thinker, but the man who sees clearly the fundamental truths which we all too often overlook, and who can apply them to human situations. Bishop Pendleton was such a leader.
     There is a great deal that we can learn from him, especially from what he has written. Much of it will not be outmoded by time but will continue to be of value as the New Church grows and develops.

     [EDITORIAL NOTE: When this biographical sketch was written, Mr. Theodore Klein was a student in the Academy of the New Church Senior College. He received the Bachelor of Science degree at the Commencement exercises last June.]
GOOD AND TRUTH OF FAITH 1963

GOOD AND TRUTH OF FAITH              1963

     "Everything of the church is called the `good of faith' that has to do with life and use from what the doctrine of faith of the church teaches; in a word, everything that has to do with willing and doing it from obedience; for the truths of faith of the church become goods by willing and doing them. But everything is called the `truth of faith' which as yet has not any use as its end, or which as yet is not for the sake of life, consequently which is merely known and kept in the memory, and from this is laid hold of by the understanding, and is taught from it. For as long as the truths of the church go no further they are merely knowledges, and relatively to goods are outside the man himself; for man's memory and understanding are like entries, and his will is like an inner chamber, because the will is the man himself. This shows what the truth of faith is, and what the good of faith. But the good which a man does in his first state during his regeneration is called the 'good of faith' whereas the good which he does in the second state, namely, after he has been regenerated, is called the `good of charity'" (Arcana Coelestia 9230: 2).

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IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     In his address to Conference, reported in NEW CHURCH HERALD, the Rev. Arthur Clapham, retiring president, made a strong plea for a distinctive New Church. We should rejoice in our unorthodoxy, he asserted, and proudly declare that the New Church is entirely different, distinctive, new; with an entirely new kind of faith to offer and a new understanding of the Lord and His Word and of everything of faith and religion. Mr. Clapham rejected the idea that it is uncharitable to criticize orthodox beliefs and dogmas; if they are false to the Lord and harmful to the faith of man, it would be uncharitable not to say so. He challenged the desire to seem very much like any other church, and urged an uncompromising declaration of the faith that the Lord has made possible in His second advent. To some, no doubt, this will seem merely a flogging of dead horses. Like everything else, however, the flogging of dead horses can be done well or it can be done badly. In our opinion Mr. Clapham does it extremely well, and there is need that it be done. The horse may be dead, but there are some who are trying to ride it into a Protestant ecumenicity which the New Church will furnish merely with a growing edge or a perspective.

     A recent issue of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER was devoted to the proposed relocation of the Theological School in association with the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. There seems to be merit in the criticism of a later correspondent that the issue was slanted in favor of the proposed move. Articles, a question and answer page, and the views of recent graduates all argued in favor of developing the interseminary plan more fully in close relationship with one outstanding seminary, and of the Pacific School of Religion as offering the best prospects. Only one article, by F. Gardner Perry, questions the need to move from Cambridge and the thinking behind it. In a later issue the Rev. William H. Beales makes a plea for the importance of the theological student being under carefully selected New Church influences and in a New Church atmosphere throughout his training. This contrasts with the view of one minister that "the uninviting alternative to an interseminary program would be the hermit-like existence of a handful of New Church theological students in a secluded atmosphere removed from the realities of a world they will later be called upon to serve."

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ORDINATION 1963

ORDINATION       DONALD LESLIE ROSE       1963

     Declaration of Faith and Purpose

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is our Creator and Savior, the source of love and the source of life.
     I believe that human life from infancy to old age is nothing but a progression from earth to heaven, and that man should be continually prepared for the life of heaven, both before and after the transition called death.
     I believe that heaven is a kingdom of uses made by the Divine of the Lord, and constituted of those who have become as little children who know that without the Lord they can do nothing.
     I believe that the Lord regenerates or creates men anew as they look to Him in their lives and shun evils as sins. I believe that the Lord is ever present and is urgent to be received, that the workings of His Divine Providence are wonderful and beyond numbering. I believe that He is establishing a New Church, the crown of churches. I believe that the hope of the world lies in the establishment of the New Church in the hearts of men that the Lord's will may be done on earth as it is done in heaven.
     I believe that the revelation granted for the New Church is what is meant by the second coming of the Lord, and that the truths contained in it are so many mirrors of the Lord.

     In presenting myself for ordination into the second degree of the priesthood I acknowledge that the sanctity of this office belongs to no man, but only to the Lord, and that all the efficacy of ministerial work is from Him alone.
     It is my purpose to perform faithfully the work that I am given to do and to seek enlightenment for it in diligent study of the Word.
     I pray that the Lord will guard and guide me in this work and that I may rightly serve Him.
     DONALD LESLIE ROSE
June 23, 1963

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     Our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month define for us the nature of freedom. They also distinguish clearly between the freedom of heaven and the freedom of hell.
     The most general definition of freedom that we have found in the Writings states that "it is to think and will from affection."* What man loves, what he delights in, is that in which he feels free. Probably few would quarrel with this general definition, even though it is not to be found so stated in the dictionary. What many would reject is the more explicit definition which distinguishes freedom into two categories-heavenly freedom and infernal freedom, or true freedom and false freedom.
     * AC 2874.

     The Writings make it very clear that freedom is not something that man invents by his own ingenuity. Freedom is a state and quality that comes from the Lord. The faculties of liberty and rationality are gifts from the Lord to each man whereby he may feel himself to be a free and responsible individual. But what the Writings present as a new Divine truth is that these faculties by themselves, even when acknowledged to be from the Lord, are not sufficient for man to know true freedom. He must know how to exercise the faculties of liberty and rationality. He must know their Divinely intended order and function, their purpose and use; and this he can know only from the knowledges of the truths of Divine revelation. So the new truth is that there can be no true freedom, either natural or spiritual, with man on earth until there is some access to Divine truth which is known, acknowledged and used.
     Our whole concept of freedom changes when we think of it as coming from some source outside of ourselves. This is the truth that establishes freedom as being a state which man receives from the Divine love and wisdom-a state which he, as a finite receptacle, must be prepared to receive by Divine instruction and guidance. To come into a true and heavenly freedom, therefore, requires the acknowledgment of the Lord as the source of that freedom, and, in time, the acknowledgment of this not only with the intellect but also with the heart.
     We live in an age when discussions on civil, political or national freedom form much of the food of our daily lives.

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Often we tend to think of such freedoms as being, somehow, the product of man's experience-the best that has so far evolved from a confused and chaotic world, but still posing many problems and having many shortcomings. We become immersed in the details relating to the various aspects of such freedoms-organizations, personalities, work programs, and so on; and these all tend to fill up our thought, and sometimes to choke off considerations that are really essential and should indeed be primary and foremost.
     So inclined are we to drift away from the direction of revealed truth to the theories of human experience that it is like coming to an utterly new truth when we suddenly remember or re-learn a universal spiritual truth from the Writings. In the midst of our reasonings about the nature and problems of natural freedom, how clear and definite it is to recall that there are only two freedoms, one from the Lord and one from hell. There are only the freedom of heaven and the slavery of hell. There are no other sources of freedom. This means that whatever forms of freedom we have here on earth, if they are anything, must partake of one freedom or the other-or perhaps be a mixture of elements from both.

     This does not mean, of course, that through spiritual knowledge of the essentials of true freedom the various natural freedoms will suddenly be ordered in the form of heavenly freedom. Nor does it mean that the problems relating to the birth, preservation and operation of these natural freedoms will miraculously vanish. But of this we can be certain: there will never be a true natural freedom unless it springs from a true spiritual freedom. There will never be even the knowledge with which to begin to establish natural freedom unless there is knowledge from the Lord as to what of justice and judgment, what of honor and decency, that freedom is to protect and support.
     The knowledges of spiritual truth concerning human freedom may seem at times far removed from the immediate problems and concerns of natural freedom; indeed there are times when it appears that all we can bear is to protect and nourish the lowest forms of natural freedom. But let us beware of that appearance! Natural knowledge and experience must be guided by spiritual truth if man is ever to be led by the Lord in the way of Divine order. This is to approach and enter into freedom from the Lord. Let us remember well-there is only one other freedom!

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CONTINUITY 1963

CONTINUITY       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     When our societies and circles resume full-scale activities this month, as most of them do in September, an unusually large number of pastoral changes will have become effective. Such changes may and will be regarded in several ways and with understandably mixed feelings; but perhaps one of the things that may most usefully be emphasized in connection with them is the continuity of the pastoral use, which, although performed by men, is adjoined to them by the Lord.
     There is a sense in which no pastor ever takes another's place. A priest who has labored sincerely, justly and faithfully in a society to teach the spiritual truth of the Word and thereby lead to the good of life has been given a place in the hearts of his people which no colleague could or would desire to take. Rather is it the hope that through his faithful labors he will make his own unique place, without which there cannot be effective leadership, and which will take nothing away from the affection and esteem in which his predecessor is held.
     Yet the pastorate is filled. The pastoral use continues, usually without a break, and those who love that use continue to support it in the person of the new incumbent. No outgoing pastor would wish that any personal loyalties should stand in the way of his successor; nor will they, if these things are understood and accepted. Without loss of affection for the character one man has brought to the pastoral use, we can love and support it as it is ably performed by another: and this with gratitude to the Lord who has provided for continuity, and recognition of a new contribution to it which takes nothing away from the past.

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PASTORAL USE 1963

PASTORAL USE       Editor       1963

     The sustained interest among our membership in the dissemination of the Writings and in church extension deserves only praise, encouragement and support. Yet strong interests sometimes result in the building up of emphases not intended by those most active in fostering them, and it would be unfortunate if this one should ever lead to a pastor's usefulness being judged by the measure of his success or otherwise in "bringing people into the church."
     Implicit in the very title, pastor, is a primary responsibility to and for the flock, and the pastoral use itself is to feed the inner life of the flock with the spiritual truth of the Word in accommodation to its states and needs. Every priest who loves the salvation of souls is zealous for the increase of the flock-for the spread of the Heavenly Doctrine and the extension both natural and spiritual of the church; but this is not his main and still less his only care. His concern for the other sheep who must be brought cannot jeopardize the feeding and protection of the flock committed to his pastoral ministrations: the nurture of young and old, the care of those who are spiritually, mentally and physically sick, the concern for the lost, the protection of all.
     This is a matter of emphasis. Men and women are led to the church by the Lord, in response to evangelization, as they are prepared by Him; and a pastor might labor diligently with little or no increase of the flock from without. But if the flock itself has been nurtured and tended, guarded and conserved, then the pastoral use has been performed; for essentially it is to lead to green pastures beside still waters.
RELIGION IN EDUCATION 1963

RELIGION IN EDUCATION       Editor       1963

     If the object of education is the whole man, there can surely be no question as to whether religion has a place in it. Without religion, in fact, the total educational process-considered as the joint enterprise of home and church and school-must remain incomplete. For man is essentially a spiritual being; and while he consists of spirit, mind and body, and this trine makes him one, it is the spirit that is the man himself. Furthermore, man is created by the Lord to perform a use, to society in this world and to the Lord's kingdom in the life to come.
     An entirely secular education, and again we use the term in the widest sense, cannot aid in the formation of a truly human mind. It can and will develop the skills demanded by a technological society; but a technician is not necessarily performing a use. If men are to learn to render services that are also spiritual uses, and to desire to do so, they need religious instruction and training; for only the truths of the Word can teach them this, and only the affection of those truths can inspire the love of uses.

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     In this belief, among others, the Academy schools were founded. In this belief those schools continue, the schools of the General Church are operated, and the General Church through its religion lessons program reaches out to those children whose religious education must be received entirely in the home, and thus seeks to aid the efforts of their parents. For of this we are convinced as a church: not only is religion an integral part of education, it is that which gives quality, form and substance to the whole of education.
MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH 1963

MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH       Editor       1963

     Some modern readers may miss the significance of the fact that the Apostles' Creed begins by affirming belief in "God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth." Yet by this affirmation the church repudiated an idea that threatened its very existence-the idea that the world as created is evil and the work of an evil god. It condemned dualism as heretical, and solidified the orthodox position.
     In asserting that the world was created by the God of the Old Testament, however, the church faced a dilemma. There were two other ideas it wished to avoid just as earnestly-pantheism and that of the pre-existence of matter. If God created the world, there were only three ways in which He could have done so: from Himself, out of pre-existent matter, or out of nothing. The first possibility seemed to lead inevitably to pantheism, and posed the problem of accounting for evil without making God responsible for it; the second would require that matter be co-eternal with God, and would imply denial of the fundamental position that God alone was without beginning. Therefore the church concluded that God created the world out of nothing.
     The universe was indeed created out of nothing finite; but as the Writings observe, "out of nothing, nothing comes." They insist that the universe was created, that it was created by God, and that He created it from His own Divine substance. In so doing, however, they free the concept of any idea of pantheism by teaching that God created by finiting His infinity, wherefore the created universe is discontinuous with God. The essence of created things is finite, not Divine, they teach; and the conjunction of created things with God is by contiguity, not by continuity. Thus the Writings cut the Gordian knot of philosophy, which had not been able to see how the universe could be created out of Divine substance and not be Divine-an idea which is abhorrent to reason.

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GOVERNOR AMONG THE NATIONS 1963

GOVERNOR AMONG THE NATIONS       Editor       1963

     There are many who seem to be convinced that the future of the race-if it has a future-depends entirely upon the decisions that will be made in the capitals of the major powers. In this atmosphere, New Church men and women may draw strength and comfort from the faith of love in the truth that the Lord is indeed, as He is named in the Psalms, "Governor among the nations" and that as King of kings and Lord of lords His will must eventually prevail. The fate of mankind will not be determined either by the Communist bloc or the Western powers, although their decisions may affect the lives of many; it is in the hands of the Divine Providence, which is universal because it is particular.

     To say this is neither to advocate the cult of reassurance nor to invite complacency. If the Lord's final purpose is not the overthrow of communism neither is it the establishment of political democracy throughout the world. His ultimate end is the formation of a heaven from the human race, and to that end the development of His church in the hearts and minds of men and women on earth; and to accomplish this the Divine Providence is working secretly through world events in ways that we know not of because they are beyond our understanding. Yet we have no assurance that some of the evils the Lord will permit for the sake of the end, and which He will bend secretly to an end of good, may not affect our temporal lives profoundly; and we know beyond a doubt that the church can flourish only where religious freedom and political liberty exist as realities, not as mere forms to which men pay lip-service, and where it is not opposed by militant atheism armed with full authority.
     The road ahead may be hard, and as individuals we have responsibilities to meet. But in the face of confusion caused in part by more news than most people know what to do with, it is useful to remind ourselves of the reality; for if there are always some who cannot see the wood for the trees, it is equally certain that there are others who cannot see the trees for the undergrowth. The reality is that the Lord is indeed Governor among the nations; and although the evil that men do may cause much suffering, His rule cannot be gainsaid, His will cannot be denied, His purpose cannot be nullified.

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Communications 1963

Communications       ALEXANDER MCQUEEN       1963

     A TRADITIONAL USAGE DEFENDED

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     Mr. E. Bruce Glenn, seeking a new name to designate the "Lord's Word to the New Church," feels the need of something more adequate than the time-honored term "the Writings." In his letter in your August issue he suggests the use of some term that recognizes "the Heavenly Doctrine as the Lord speaking to us."
     This is a worth-while ideal, but possibly the simple term "Writings" is not as inadequate as it might seem. I refer to it as time-honored because, within the New Church, it is about two centuries old; and, counting Swedenborg as a New Church man, it is still older, for as early as 1748 he referred to the theological works as writings, scripta in Spiritual Diary 2955.
     Among Jews the Old Testament is called "The Holy Scriptures," and one-third of its thirty-nine books are grouped together under the heading of Ketubim, or "Writings." When the Lord spoke about searching the Scriptures, the Greek word used in John 5: 39 could just as well have been translated "Writings"; and if He spoke in Aramaic, the word for Scriptures in that language is simply another form of the Hebrew Ketubim.

     In the beginning, a relationship was ordained between writing and revelation. The main purpose of writing, and of its multiplication through printing, was that the Word "might be written on our earth, and when written, could be published for all posterity; and that thus it might be made manifest even to all in the other life that God had become a man." (AC 9351)
     Reaction to words depends on the individual. Mr. Glenn, who has a keen sense of word values, has explained his reaction to "the Writings"; and taking the words at their face value, we have to agree that they are not notably inspiring or distinctive. Because we want a worthy finite name for something that is infinite, the problem may not be solved for a long time.

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Meanwhile I (a layman, not as modest as Mr. Glenn) would offer this suggestion:

     Remembering that Writing is Scripture, and that Scripture for 2,000 years has been a synonym for Holy Writ, let us keep on saying "the Writings," mentally warming the familiar words with love of the truth they stand for, and thanks to the Lord who gave it. If we do this, the present name will gain in adequacy and distinction, and Bruce Glenn's letter will not have been written in vain.
     ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
5222 N. Lakewood Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
MINISTERIAL CHANGES REVIEWED 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES REVIEWED              1963

     Because the number of ministerial changes that became effective this month is so large, those changes are here reviewed.
     Rev. Elmo C. Acton from the pastorate of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, to the Deanship of the Bryn Athyn Church, succeeding the Rt. Rev. George de Charms, retired.
     Rev. Louis B. King from the pastorate of the Pittsburgh Society to that of the Immanuel Church.
     Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh, assistant to the pastor in Pittsburgh, to the pastorate of the Pittsburgh Society.
     Rev. Robert S. Junge from Denver, Colorado, to Bryn Athyn as secretary of the General Church.
     Rev. Robert H. P. Cole to Denver, Colorado.
     Rev. Erik Sandstrom from the pastorate of Michael Church, London, to the Academy of the New Church as a Professor of Theology and Religion.
     Rev. Donald L. Rose from the pastorate of the Hurstville Society, Australia, to that of Michael Church.
     Rev. Douglas Taylor from Tucson, Arizona, to the pastorate of the Hurstville Society.
     Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard, assistant to the pastor in Glenview, to Tucson, Arizona.
     Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz to Glenview as assistant to the pastor.
     Rev. Frank S. Rose from acting pastor to pastor in Colchester.
     Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson as assistant to the Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church and to the principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School, the Rev. David R. Simons, who has resigned as an assistant pastor. The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh has also resigned to become fulltime director of music. Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Dean of the Theological School, succeeding the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, retired.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     STATE COLLEGE, PA.
     
     An important milestone in the history of the State College group was reached this year. Our existence was recognized and we were included in the cover-pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     For the first time our group met regularly throughout the summer months to listen to taped services. In September, the Rev. Kurt Asplundh came from Pittsburgh and conducted a service for twenty-eight people. Guests included the J. Murray Carrs, the John J. Schoenbergers, the Nemitz family, the Gilbert Smiths and the Raymond Lockharts. After the service we drove to Stone Valley, where the Smiths served us a delicious picnic lunch.
     On October 14, we were visited by Pat McCardell of Royal Oak, Michigan, and Wendy Rogers of Philadelphia. Open house was held at Malcolm Cronlund's apartment after the service.
     To aid in the conducting of business, officers were nominated and elected. Malcolm Cronlund was chosen as leader, Michael Tyler as treasurer, Judy Nemitz as chancel girl, and Kurt Simons as corresponding secretary.
     Early in November we were visited by the Homillers from Bryn Athyn. Then, immediately after the Christmas recess, Bishop Willard D. Pendleton conducted a service in the Eisenhower Chapel. Sixty people attended. There were so many visitors on that occasion that we will not attempt to list them. Our thanks to the Samuel Crofts for donating several used Liturgies. We were delighted to have Mrs. Philip Pendleton play the organ for us. It was a special treat.
     We were happy to have Louise Doering, Jeryl Glenn, Barbara Charles and Patsy Lewis visit us in February.
     In March, Kurt Simons made arrangements for the Rev. Kurt Asplundh to visit the campus and conduct a special missionary class aimed at the inquiring student mind. So successful were Mr. Simons' posters and newspaper ads that twenty-eight people turned up to put Mr. Asplundh on the spot with their questions. He did quite well with the verbal fencing, however, and after the meeting the guests walked off with all of his free literature. Our hats are off to Mr. Asplundh! There are few of us who would care to place ourselves in such a position.
     Earlier the same day, Mr. Asplundh conducted a service for seventeen of us. Guests included the Gilbert Smiths, Mrs. Bert Nemitz, and Miss Phyllis Hutton.
     Judy Nemitz, who graduated last spring, deserves a special word of thanks for her contribution to the group. As chancel girl she obtained a copy of the Word, an altar cloth and candlesticks. She frequently provided flowers, and from time to time brought a room-mate or friend. Her duties have been taken over by Cora Schoenberger.
     Our treasurer, Michael Tyler, has been busy buying new furnishings to replace the ones lent by graduating students: candlesticks, a collection bowl, and new Liturgies. Many thanks to Mrs. Ted Tyler for the gift of a very attractive, satin-lined altar cloth.
     The State College group met thirty-eight times during the year-ten more times than in the previous year. Our average attendance, however, slipped from 14.4 to 12.1.
     ROBERT F. KLEIN

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The time is fast ending for our beloved pastor, the Rev. Louis King, as he is packing and shipping his things to Glenview, where he will take his sweet wife and lovely family to take up new duties as pastor of the Immanuel Church.

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With the ending of one state another begins, and we are most thankful to Providence for giving us a new pastor, the Rev. Kurt Asplundh, whom we already know, trust and love.
     There will also be changes in our school. Mr. Dirk van Zyverden will join the staff and will teach the upper grades, while Miss Viola Friesen will be teaching the middle grades. Mr. van Zyverden is bringing his family to live in the pastor's apartment above the schoolrooms, Mr. Asplundh having purchased a lovely new home nearby for his family.
     The farewell party given in May in honor of our pastor and his wife was advertised as a society social and smorgasbord supper. This simple announcement was the means employed by the heads of the social committee, Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Ebert, to make the affair a complete surprise for Louis and Freya. Little did they realize what was going on. In fact, Freya was not going to attend because she was so busy packing. She was soon talked out of that! First, the Kings found the auditorium decorated to represent a French restaurant, with our teenagers as waiters and waitresses; the waiters with white shirts and red ties, the waitresses with red bows and aprons. Not until the master of ceremonies introduced them to "This is Your Life" in pictures on the screen, with Gilbert Smith telling the story, did they realize that this was their party! Next came an original operetta, written and sung by a most gifted cast, the music being borrowed from Gilbert and Sullivan. Each song and dance was a take off in fun on the lives of the Kings. We were convulsed with laughter, particularly the Kings themselves. Next they were presented with a picture album of the Pittsburgh Society which had been assembled by Mrs. L. P. Smith.
     Mr. Edmund Blair, one of the older members, was then asked to speak. It was his duty to say farewell on behalf of the Society and to present a gift. First he spoke of the many pastors we have had here since the formation of the General Church in 1897, all of them outstanding-an illustrious list to which Mr. King's name would soon be added. He mentioned that it was here in Pittsburgh that the Academy was founded: the Academy which proclaimed the Divine authority of the Writings and which advocated New Church education. It is here also that we have the oldest New Church elementary school, as far as continuous operation is concerned-since 1885. He spoke of how Mr. King had endeared himself to the hearts of all of us with his kindly way, his sympathetic understanding, and his ability to make clear to us the doctrines of the church. The gift presented was a hi-fi set, to put music in their new home in Glenview; and with words of deep appreciation and thanks by Mr. King our party ended.
     The farewell party for our popular head teacher, Miss Trudy Hasen, took another form. It was a surprise, too, and was given by the school children at a picnic on May 30 on the church grounds. The children had songs and fun for her, and the pastor then gave her a typewriter as a gift from the Society. She is going to Glenview to teach.
     At the school closing in June Mr. John Alden gave a fine talk. There were three graduates: Glenn Alden, Alan King and Margit Schoenberger. At the New Church Day celebration one saw what a fine big school we have, for the children put on a beautiful pageant under the direction of our two ministers and the teachers. Our pastor also invited a group from the Convention Church on the North Side to attend. We would mention here that during the year the Rev. Kurt Asplundh had been invited to speak in their church and also to attend a church supper. Members of our Society were invited, too, and a group of us accompanied him and were warmly welcomed. They remember the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt with deep affection, for it was he who encouraged us to make friends over there, especially for the big occasions that we have in common, such as the Nineteenth of June and Swedenborg's birthday. The North Side group was especially invited to our New Church Day celebration and about fifteen came, including the pastor and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. Leon Le Van.
     The celebration began with a service at 3:30 p.m.

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The school children marched in singing. There were forty-five of them, and they nearly filled one half of one side of the church. The children marched out before the sermon and quietly got dressed for the pageant, which immediately followed the service. The pageant, held on the lawn, told how the Word was given to all the different churches. In the center was an altar completely covered with a cloth of many colors, representing all the truths of the Word, and on each side of the altar there were beautiful flowers. The Most Ancient Church was represented by the innocent little children, who were instructed directly by two beautiful angels. The Ancient Word that was given through Enoch was placed at the foot of the altar, and so was each following revelation as it was given. While the pageant was in progress, the pastor, dressed in his white robes, read direct quotations from the Scriptures and the Writings telling about each scene. Nothing could have been more true and effective than this was. The children were well trained and they gave the pageant with so much reverence and sincerity. Games and a picnic lunch followed. Mr. Le Van asked afterwards: "Were all those your own children, or were they partly neighborhood children ?" We were happy to say they were all ours.
     There have been three weddings since our last report. The marriage of Marc Klippenstein and Rachel Carr was solemnized by the Rev. Louis King on March 30 and was followed by a reception in the auditorium, where we toasted the bride and groom with many good wishes and sent them on their way to live in Bryn Athyn. Kenneth Blair and Zarah Brown were united in marriage by the Rev. Kurt Asplundh. Our services are so beautiful with our chancel decorated and the music of our lovely organ. At the reception which followed, toasts to the church and to Kenneth and Zarah were proposed by the Rev. Kenneth Stroh and the Rev. Kurt Asplundh. The third wedding took place the following week, when Barry B. Smith and Lynn Winans were married by the Rev. Kurt Asplundh. This was a private ceremony.
     Last spring we had the honor of hearing the Rev. Elmo Acton preach and give a class. The Rev. Geoffrey Howard preached here in May, and the Rev. Kenneth Stroh in June. Our own Kurt Nemitz, recently ordained, also preached in June, and Candidate Alfred Acton preached two sermons in July.
     The Pittsburgh Society sent flowers with deep affection to the husbands of three of our former members who passed into the spiritual world recently. They were Mrs. Martha Heilman, Mrs. Nellie Ebert and Mrs. Marion Asplundh. If it is true that those who love the church strengthen it on the other side when they die, then indeed will their spirit inspire us to carry on the work of helping to build the Lord's New Church.
     LUCILE S. BLAIR

     SOUTHWEST DISTRICT

     Report of the Visiting Pastor

     Three years ago the Western District, formerly served entirely by the Rev. Harold Cranch, was divided into the Southwest District and the Western District itself. The new area included Arizona and San Diego, California. This left Los Angeles and San Francisco for the pastor of the Western District.
     When this change was made, beginning on September 1, 1960, the only Circle in the Southwest was at Tucson, Arizona, so it was only to be expected that the undersigned, on taking up the responsibility for the new district, should be located in that growing city. There he found the following members: Mr. and Mrs. Robert Carson (Barbara Gyllenhaal), Mrs. John Gyllenhaal, Mrs. Walter Hartter (Marion Gyllenhaal), Mrs. Glenn Smith (since deceased), Mr. and Mrs. Rembert Smith, Mrs. Edward Spicer (Rosamund Brown), Dr. and Mrs. E. P. Waddell, Mr. and Mrs. Dan Wilson and Mr. Bruce Wilson. These families, whose children totaled 17, had, with their own hands, transformed a plumber's shop into a very attractive, quaint little Spanish-mission style church building, in which were three small Sunday school classrooms. This building was dedicated by Bishop De Charms in the summer of 1957. Sunday school was faithfully held each week.

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Regular services were maintained by means of tapes from the Sound Recording Committee. Visits by the Rev. Harold Cranch, when there were "live" services and doctrinal classes, were eagerly awaited.
     The arrival of a resident minister brought some changes. The first of these was the gradual establishment of Friday suppers and classes every other week. To this program were later added introductory classes and a young people's class, on the campus of the University of Arizona.
     Monthly visits to San Diego, California (over 400 miles away) and to Phoenix, Arizona (124 miles northwest of Tucson) began in October, 1960. On the first of these, the people in San Diego-the Eugene Betzes, the Boothroyds, the Robert Browns, the Robert Pollocks, the Marvin Walkers, the William Walkers, Mrs. William Walker, the Gus Welanders and the Brad Williams-began to realize that, with their 15 children, they had approximately as many people as Tucson, and therefore should be able to have regular Sunday services. This was soon accomplished, and once more the Sound Recording Committee helped to bring it about. For more than a year these services were held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Walker. Later a room was rented in the downtown YWCA, and this has proved to be quite adequate. The San Diego group was recognized as a Circle by Bishop Pendleton in October, 1961.
     Meanwhile, in Phoenix, there were also some pleasing developments. The Hubert Rydstroms and the James Barrys, formerly of Glenview, who had held a worship service in their respective homes each Sunday, were delighted to welcome three new families during 1962. First, the William Heilman family moved out from Pittsburgh. Then the Arthur Dalis family (three children) were baptized, Mr. Dalis having found the Writings in the Phoenix Public Library. Two months later the Reid Barnett family (six children) were baptized. They had been among the isolated associated with Convention in Iowa, had examined the General Church, liked it, and asked to be aligned with it.
     There were now five couples and 22 children or young people. Later, Lt. and Mrs. Frederick Fiedler were stationed near Phoenix and joined the group. Such an increase in numbers necessitated a change in our procedures. It was decided in September, 1962, to initiate taped services every Sunday morning. These soon gave way to lay services, which have continued very satisfactorily to the present time. The group was indeed fortunate to be given the use, rent free, of a nursery school building owned by a friend of one of the new members.
     Noting the steady enthusiasm in Phoenix, the visiting pastor began to make his monthly visits according to the following plan. He would arrive in Phoenix on a Thursday evening and conduct a doctrinal class for the adults in one of the homes. Friday would be reserved for visiting or following up missionary contacts. Friday evening was set aside for a slide lecture for the children and young people-parents attending also seemed to look forward to their monthly lesson in the biblical stories! The slides used were provided by the Visual Education Committee, of which Mr. William R. Cooper, Bryn Athyn, is the very efficient Director.
     On Saturday afternoon, according to this latest schedule, the visiting pastor flew to San Diego, California, where the first activity, after a "Friday" supper, was a doctrinal class for the adults A class for children and young people was given on Sunday morning before the church services. After this there was always a rush to catch the one early afternoon plane back to Phoenix which arrived in time for an evening service. There was then nothing else for the pastor to do but have supper in one of the homes and drive back to Tucson in the cool of the evening.
     Such have been the arrangements up to the present. Now another great change is about to take place. There is to be a new pastor for the Southwest-the Rev. Geoffrey Howard, formerly of Glenview, Illinois. He is assured of a very sincere welcome from the ardent New Church men and women of this promising area. "Go southwest, young New Church man! Go southwest."
     DOUGLAS TAYLOR

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     SWEDENBORG SOCIETY INC.

     153rd Annual Meeting

     The 153rd Annual Meeting was held at Swedenborg Hall, London, on Tuesday, May 21, when 65 members and friends were present. The president, Mr. E. O. Acton, took the chair and the meeting opened with the repeating of the Lord's Prayer.
     After the notice convening the meeting was read, greetings from Dr. Ferrari of the Italian Swedenborg Society and apologies for absence from Mr. R. H. Griffith, Mr. and Mrs. A. D. Atherton, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Hunter, and Mr. P. R. Lane were received.
     The Minutes of the 152nd Annual Meeting were read, confirmed, and signed by the chairman, and the joint honorary secretaries then presented the Council's report. Mrs. Griffith referred to the satisfactory sales of volume 1 of the Spiritual Diary, which was issued just over a year ago, and mentioned some items of special interest acquired by the Library. The sales of books showed a pleasing increase, being the second highest since the end of the war. She said that the Advisory and Revision Board and particularly the Latin Arcana Coelestia Editorial Committee would greatly miss the help of the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, who is going to the U.S.A. to become a Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church. Mention was made of the revision of the Articles of Association which have now been approved by the Board of Trade; the Council intended to call a special meeting of members in the autumn to consider and adopt the new Articles.
     Mr. Drummond spoke of the advertising carried on during the year, with special reference to The Listener. He said that the most effective advertisements seemed to be those which began with a striking quotation from the Writings. In The Listener, we had only once had to complain of the position we were given, and one draft advertisement had been refused-presumably because it was too "unorthodox."
     The Accounts and Balance Sheet were presented by the honorary treasurer, Mr. R. V. Stebbing-Allen. He explained the details of the income and expenditure account, emphasizing the main items of the Society's expenditures (printing, binding, and the building) and the main sources of its income (investment income, subscriptions and donations, rents). He referred to the saving occasioned by the appointment of Mr. A. D. Atherton as auditor, a small amount for expenses being the only charge to the Society.
     The adoption of the Reports and Accounts was moved by the chairman of the Council, Mr. K. F. Chadwick. He referred to Mr. Sandstrom's resignation from the Board and said what a great loss would be felt by both the Board and the Society as a whole. He felt that members would like to know that the Council had recently appointed Miss M. G. Waters, who had been working for the Society for ten years, to be assistant secretary.
     The motion for the adoption of the Report and Accounts was seconded by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, who said that his association with and work for the Society during his eight years in London had given him a great deal of pleasure.
     Before inviting the meeting to discuss the Report and Accounts the president announced that the Council had recently conferred Honorary Life Membership on the Rev. Clifford Harley in recognition of his services to the Society, particularly in lecturing both to the Society and at centers up and down the country. The announcement was greeted with applause.
     The Rev. Hugh Bain congratulated the Council on its work but suggested that he would like to see more booklets of extracts from the Writings, as he felt these could serve a great use among people who would not read whole volumes of the Writings. The honorary secretary replied that there was quite a number of booklets of quotations in existence and more were planned by the Advisory and Revision Board.
     Sir Thomas Chadwick spoke of his gratitude to the Council and officers for their work and referred particularly to the years of service by Mrs. Griffith as honorary secretary. He said that the honor conferred on the Rev. Clifford Harley would give great pleasure to the members of the Society and throughout the church.

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The Rev. D. Duckworth and Mr. T. Eades also contributed to the discussion, the former supporting what Sir Thomas had said about the Rev. Clifford Harley.
     The retiring president, Mr. E. O. Acton, then moved the Council's nomination of Mr. Alan A. Drummond, M.Sc., as president for the coming year. Mr. Acton spoke of Mr. Drummond's long service on the Council, saying that he had been president on a previous occasion as well as joint honorary secretary for over eight years. Mrs. Griffith claimed the privilege of seconding the nomination, saying that Mr. Drummond knew the work of the Society more intimately than any previous president and paying tribute to the way in which he had co-operated in the joint secretaryship. The election of Mr. Drummond was carried with acclamation.
     Mr. Kenneth Chadwick moved the election of Mr. E. O. Acton as vice president in accordance with the Society's Articles of Association. This was carried unanimously.
     Mr. Owen Pryke moved the Council's nomination of Mr. R. V. Stebbing-Allen as honorary treasurer, saying how efficiently he looks after the Society's finances. This was carried unanimously.
     The scrutineers' report was now read, the twelve retiring members of Council being declared re-elected. A vote of thanks to the scrutineers, Mrs. T. Ford and Mrs. A. S. Wainscot, was carried with applause.
     The president then gave his address on "Uses."
     Mr. T. Eades proposed a vote of thanks to the president, chairman, treasurer and secretaries, saying that the officers of the Society had a special responsibility since the Society's purpose is the publication of the Heavenly Doctrine of the Lord's New Church. Members warmly supported Mr. Eades tribute.
     The meeting closed with the pronouncing of the Benediction.
          FREDA G. GRIFFITH
WAY TO ETERNAL HAPPINESS 1963

WAY TO ETERNAL HAPPINESS              1963

     "Let him who wishes to be eternally happy know and believe that he will live after death. Let him think of this and keep it in mind, for it is the truth. Let him also know and believe that the Word is the only doctrine which teaches how a man must live in the world in order to be happy to eternity" (Arcana Coelestia 8939e).
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1963

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1963

     People coming to Bryn Athyn for the Academy's opening exercises, Charter Day or any other occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation will please communicate with the Hostess Committee. Please address letters to: The Hostess Committee, c/o Mrs. Roy H. Rose, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963




     Announcements
     The Chicago District Assembly will be held in Glenview, Illinois, Friday, October 18, to Sunday, October 20, inclusive, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
EASTERN CANADA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

EASTERN CANADA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963

     The Eastern Canada District Assembly will be held at Blair, Ontario, Friday, November 8, to Sunday, November 10, inclusive, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
CHARTER DAY 1963

              1963

     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 47th Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 11 and 12, 1963. The program:
Friday, 11 am-Cathedral Service, with an address by the Rev. Robert S. Junge
Friday Afternoon-Football Game
     Friday Evening-Dance
Saturday, 7 p.m.-Banquet. Toastmaster: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
SOME GENERAL CHURCH USES 1963

SOME GENERAL CHURCH USES              1963

     GENERAL CHURCH RELIGION LESSONS. Graded lessons and other material from preschool through Grade 12. Address inquiries to: Pastor-in charge, Rev. Karl R. Alden, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     GENERAL CHURCH SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE. Tape-recordings of services, children's services, doctrinal classes, etc. Address: General Church Sound Recording Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     GENERAL CHURCH VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE. Biblical and other slides. Address: Mr. William R. Cooper, Director, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     NEW CHURCH EDUCATION. Published monthly, September through June, by Religion Lessons Committee. Subscription, $1.50 per year. Editor: Rev. Karl R. Alden.

429


FROM SPIRITUAL YOUTH TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY 1963

FROM SPIRITUAL YOUTH TO SPIRITUAL MATURITY       Rev. DANDRIDGE PENDLETON       1963


VOL. LXXXIII
OCTOBER, 1963
No. 10
     "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." (Psalm 37: 25)

     David, the warrior-king of Israel, was gifted with the soul of a poet. His psalms, written under Divine inspiration, stand to this day as timeless models of style and metre. For sheer beauty of expression they are unsurpassed. Theologians and essayists the world over have marveled that their power is scarcely diminished even in translation.
     This should not come as a matter of surprise to New Church men. For we know the inner content of the Psalms-their Divine origin and their high representation, wherein the various stages of the Lord's glorification were set forth in sublime forecast before the heavens. David wrote as if from himself, and as though concerning himself, when, in truth, his words symbolized the interior states of temptation and victory with the Divine Savior who was to be born. What wonder, then, that this representation of the Divine life on earth should have risen to the very pinnacle of literary expression? For therein is portrayed the very conjunction of the Divine with the Human in the Lord.
     Now all of this may be of intellectual interest; indeed it may be of positive worth, in so far as our acknowledgment of the ancient Scripture is thereby strengthened and our awareness of the Divine presence in creation is rendered more acute. But must there not be more than this? There is enough to illumine every possible state of human life from birth to the immeasurable limits of eternity; for that which sets forth the Divine life of our Lord also mirrors, and thus reveals as in an image, the states whereby man journeys toward his spiritual fulfillment.
     It must be evident that our text refers to something deeper and more far reaching than David's actual life-experiences as a man.

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"I have been young, and now am old," he sang; "yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." Yet David could not help but observe, on every side, disease, misery, human failure; and what greater crime could have been successfully perpetrated than David's adultery with Bathsheba and subsequent murder of Bathsheba's righteous husband? "Yet," he declared, "have I not seen the righteous forsaken."
     The truth of the matter is that the Psalms, both in general and as to their singular parts, were not of human but of Divine composition. In appearance they originated in and from David's mind, whereas, in fact, his mind and hand served only as agents through which Divine influx might come to ultimate rest and expression. Here, then, David does not speak of himself; the Lord speaks, revealing His Divine attributes to men. He refers to Himself, and, by analogy, to the man of the church.
     The spirit of man is ageless. To be "young," and thence to become "old," is to make the transition from beginning to later states of spiritual enlightenment. Specifically, it is to advance from the affection of truth that comes from understanding to the perception of good from love.* This advance is brought about, we are told, as the order of man's thought is reversed-a reversal which he senses as spiritual temptation.** Thought from truth, by which the regenerative process is begun, is from externals to internals, whereas thought from the perception of good is from internals in externals. Under the first state, use is seen in outer form only, and is often both misinterpreted and misapplied; in the latter state, use is perceived in its essence, with increasing accuracy and power. It is as the difference between the first meeting of man with man and their later relationship, ripened by common principles and experience and by respect. It is as the difference between the untried friendship of a man and a woman before marriage and that friendship when it has become truly conjugial as a result of marriage. It is as the difference between a tree in blossom and the same tree laden with rich fruit at the time of harvest.
     * See AC 3081: 5, 8568, 3183, 9404.
     ** DP 147
     The latter state cannot come into being without the former; yet if what is begun stops short of becoming the final product, what use is served? To retain the ways of one's youth is to recede from the obligations and the rewards of adult behavior. To remain spiritually "young" is to be lacking in penetration. It is to acknowledge use only in outward appearance to skirt its edges without ever touching the central realization of its life-substance. It is to live in the borrowed perception of others; never to receive as one's own, never to contribute.

431


To grow "old," on the other hand, that is, to mature, spiritually is to enter into a vital new state of life wherein what is merely human is put off and what is heavenly is assumed in its place.* The wisdom of maturity is infilled with the innocent remains of childhood. The last state returns to the first, and unites itself therewith.** There is a joining of the effect with its end and of the end in its effect. The body of man's spirit arises into its own life. He passes "from the things of time to those [things] that are of a life without time."*** And the man himself, then a "wise infant," is introduced into the true knowledge and delight of heavenly life.****
     * See AC 3254, 2203, 3016
     ** AC 3183.
     *** AC 3254.
     **** AC 3183. Cf. AC 5608e.

     The man who has made himself so far receptive of the Divine life is given to see wonderful things of providential leading when he reflects upon his own life. In a sphere of perceptive illustration, he is enabled to discern with clarity many things that have befallen him, both for good and for ill-many states and conditions which his previous understanding had analyzed in their outward form, but had failed to penetrate as to their inward or spiritual purpose. External opportunities which had seemed wasted, or useless, are revealed as having constituted so many integral parts of the spiritual continuity in his own life. Apparent injustices at the hands of men emerge as components of a deeper mercy in the hand of God. Hardship is forgotten in the rewards of peace. These things become the portion of him whose spiritual life has matured from the understanding to the will, from intellectual faith to the wisdom of love; and it is to this that the words of our text refer: "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
     As to essentials, even in externals the righteous are indeed not forsaken by the Lord. Whatever may befall a man in natural life, even if it should appear most contrary to mercy, is inmostly under the direction of Divine Providence and occurs in precise accord with his spiritual needs. Upon this as a rational tenet of faith the practical acknowledgment of the New Church stands or falls. Who can know his inward faults? Who can recognize the subtle forces of those hereditary inclinations which must be ordered? Who is capable of acknowledging a thousandth part of those subtle evils which are interwoven into the fabric of his life? Who, then, can presume to dictate the ways and means of Divine guidance with himself? and if not with himself, how much less with others, and still less with the race as a whole!
     The ways of Divine justice are never forsaken; and His justice is tempered by His mercy-mercy of such a high quality, and so interior in its effect, that it goes unrecognized and is often condemned by men in their natural obscurity.

432


Only as man rises gradually above the merely human in himself, and enters into that sublimation of the mind called the heavenly human, is he able to perceive the truth of things as they really are. Then, and then only, can his thought respond in full affirmation of that truth. For in outward appearance the good man is often forsaken of God. Woe and hardship may befall him in apparent contradiction of the Divine mercy. Yet it is not this, man's outward life, to which our text refers, but to his internal life, the life of his spirit, the life of his inmost thoughts and loves. Every effort of his thought toward truth, every inclination of his will toward use, is protected from the derisive influence of the hells; and sooner or later, in a manner oftentimes unrealized by the man himself, this protective sphere engenders a new desire toward good, new interests based upon truth, and thereby finds ultimation in the subsequent uses of life. Thus do the goods of man's rational-the "righteous" things of his spiritual life-beget progeny for themselves in his natural-the "seed" of the righteous; nor are these new births of spiritual thought and affection denied their opportunity for sustenance, for the works of charity are available to everyone-the "bread" which shall not be lacking to the seed of the just.

     Within ourselves, then, within our personal re-creation, we are permitted to observe the marvel of life in its circle-the Divine proceeding and its return kingdom; and in our reflections the door stands open to true insight, as realization is imbued with perceptive illustration and rises to clothe the life of the spirit. This cannot occur by virtue of understanding alone; there must be more. There must be the deepening conviction of love-a profound delight in the truth of God that surpasses mere intellectual comprehension. Such delight cannot be given to the states of youth; its product can come only out of later years. Time is needed to bring about a sufficient accumulation of knowledge; time is needed to fashion the human character into the form of truth; and time is needed to temper that form, giving strength and permanence to its existence. Thus does the development of spiritual maturity come about; and with this maturity there comes an increasing facility in interpreting things of merely human derivation in the subtler perspectives of heaven. Thus does the man, spiritually a youth, become a man of years as the light of perception breaks with verdant warmth over the new world of his affirmations. The ways of Providence are revealed to him, bringing the clear acknowledgment that righteousness is not forsaken, and that her children have no need to beg the bread of life.
     Yet if we are not on our guard, the increase of natural years may well bring with it the bitterness of discontent and disillusionment.

433


This indeed will inevitably be the outcome unless higher aspirations, deeper values, of spiritual worth have been upheld and nurtured; if these things are lacking, then nothing will be visible in later years but the frustrations of an unsatisfied ego. To become a man of spiritual years one must give consent, in thought, will and life, to the underlying truths of creation. The image of God-the impress of His love and wisdom-is revealed in all things living to those who would see. This image of the Divine in creation is untouched by any force of evil. The hells are powerless to destroy use. They can destroy only the individual's relation to use; and this only at that individual's bidding, and with his full co-operation.
     "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." These words, then, are a song of deliverance, a joyful declaration of freedom from the power of evil. They indicate a progressively developing spiritual acknowledgment with the man of the church. Their teaching can serve as a guide and inspiration to those of us who have not yet gained that high plane of interior life. For while we may not perceive the inner workings-the spiritual ends-of the Divine Providence in our own states, still we may know that there are such ends: ends toward which the Lord, with unfailing love, with unfailing wisdom, is leading our steps at each moment, with final success in proportion as we are willing to be led.

     Not one of life's moments need be regarded as either wasted or useless. The apparent stillbirth of many an affection, conceived in all good faith, is only an appearance; for while its ultimate form may not be what we had expected, what we had planned, still its life remains and grows. The seed of its use will come to the birth, perhaps at a time when we least suspect it and under a figure that we can scarcely recognize as that of a son of our spiritual household. In our blindness, we will temporarily banish these our spiritual offspring, refusing them recognition; only to recall them in later states in belated realization of their status as legal descendants of our interior strivings. It may be long before we can be granted recognition of these inner states wherein we have been led and guarded from harm, often against our liking at the time; but given the necessary preparation, we can at length perceive that such has been the case-that good and truth are unfailingly preserved by the Lord, and that we had but lacked the depth of spirit to acknowledge that this is so.
     By such progressions of the spirit does our insufficiency approach spiritual maturity-the very innocence of wisdom so much spoken of in the Writings and so little understood by any of us. Yet the promise of it is given for all who will find it. If we will seek, if we will truly seek, we will not be denied our goal.

434


It is this to which the Lord was referring when He said to His disciples: "All things whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." Amen.

LESSONS: Psalm 37: 1-27. Arcana Coelestia 3182, 3183.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 437, 499, 434, 425.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 49, 46.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     In the presidential address delivered at the annual meeting of the New Church College and published in the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE, the Rev. Rupert Stanley notes the dichotomy between the scientific achievements of our age and its apathy where religious beliefs and ideals are concerned. The reason he finds in the suggestion that this is the age of science, as distinct from the age of faith and the age of reason. Neither religion nor philosophy count. Science, with its attitude of accepting no other road to truth than the study of the external world, is the master. It is no wonder, then, he says, that a new system of theology, based on revelation, such as the New Church has to present, is suspect. The very note of certainty with which we present our case is out of tune with modern philosophical and theological thought, which is permeated with the cautious, critical and inductive method of modern science.
     Thus our assertion that we have revealed truth from heaven is dismissed as a recrudescence of the dogmatism which characterized a by-gone age. The term, revelation, has lost its meaning, for it signifies simply man's inspired insights in matters of faith. Our doctrine concerning the spiritual sense of the Word, which to us appears as new and wonderful, is dismissed as being merely a resuscitation of the long discredited methods of the allegorists of the Middle Ages, and of Origen, who first introduced this method in the third century, and whose treatment was regarded with suspicion even then.
     "Such, then," Mr. Stanley continues, "is the irony of our situation. Claiming to present something new we are classed as something antiquated, outgrown. Dogmatism and allegorism (as any departure from the literal sense is dubbed) are the betes noires of modern thought. And yet how else can we present our teaching but in dogmatic form, using that term in its best sense? For what we are presenting is not human speculation but Divine truth from heaven. We are not reasoning from a critical study of the Scriptures, or from natural observation and philosophy, as is the case with the main stream of modern thought. On the contrary, we are presenting in simplicity a body of doctrine which has been sent down from heaven . . . we resort to Scripture for confirmation . . . not in order to arrive at our position."

435


HOLY SPIRIT 1963

HOLY SPIRIT       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1963

     The Last in a series of three doctrinal classes.

     3. THE SIN AGAINST THE HOLY SPIRIT

     So far we have presented in these classes the subject of the Holy Spirit. We have shown that the Holy Spirit is the Divine of the Lord which proceeds from His glorified Human. The term is especially predicated of the Divine wisdom proceeding to give enlightenment to the minds of men in whom there is a genuine affection of truth. Enlightenment from the Holy Spirit can be given only where the Lord's Divine Human is acknowledged; that is, it can be given only when the truth is known that God is very Man and, pre-eminently, the supreme Human. This the New Testament and the Writings universally declare. The New Testament openly teaches that God assumed the Human and manifested His Divine Humanity before the eyes of men. All that He spoke and did was a manifestation of His Divine Human. When that truth is now read with affection, the mind receives knowledges of the truth which the Lord spoke and lived; and when these knowledges are attended with reverence and affection, the mind is then disposed to receive enlightenment from the Holy Spirit.
     In this way does the Lord lead man to see the truth for himself. In this way man receives what is like a personal revelation from the Lord. In Old Testament times the Holy Spirit was not, because then the Lord had not manifested His Divine Human visibly in ultimates; and since the ultimate form of the Divinely Human truth had not been revealed, there was nothing into which the Divine proceeding could inflow to enlighten the minds of men. At that time the Lord manifested Himself before the eyes of the prophets in a representative Human as the Angel of Jehovah, but from that representative human He could not enlighten man perceptibly. For this reason the Holy Spirit is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament. The term is confined strictly to the New Testament and the Writings. The Holy Spirit was fully operative upon man to enlighten and lead him only after the Lord was glorified, only after He had completed the work which He came on earth to do.

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Therefore we read in the New Testament that "the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified."*
     * John 7: 39.
     We wish to devote this final class to the consideration of a very practical aspect of the subject, namely, what is meant by the sin against the Holy Spirit. That sin is mentioned four times in the Gospels, and on each occasion it is said to be a sin which cannot be forgiven. A quotation from Luke adequately summarizes the grievous nature of this sin. "Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven."* In the Gospel of Matthew it is added that the sin against the Holy Spirit shall be forgiven, "neither in this world, neither in the world to come"; and in Mark it is said that he who is guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is "in danger of eternal damnation."
     * Luke 12: 10. Cf. Matthew 12: 32. Mark 3: 29.

     Let us, then, examine the nature of this grievous sin which cannot be forgiven, "neither in this world, neither in the world to come." At first, perhaps, it seems inconsistent with the mercy of the Lord to say that there is such a thing as a sin which cannot he forgiven. We hope to be able to show, however, that the sin against the Holy Spirit is nothing else than man's voluntary condemnation of himself. It is committed deliberately, for it is a conscious attempt to prevent the Lord from saving him. But more will be said about this later.
     Let us first examine the context in which Luke warns of the grievousness of this sin. The teaching begins: "Whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him"; then continues: "but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Spirit it shall not be forgiven." We are, then, presented with two things: first, the sin against the Son of Man which can be forgiven, if there is repentance and a turning away from that sin; second, the sin against the Holy Spirit which can never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
     The first sin, which is said to be speaking "a word against the Son of Man," is something that is said against the Word "by wrongly interpreting its meaning; for the 'Son of Man' is the Lord in respect to the Word."* This is done by those who "are in falsities from ignorance, yet who have not suffered themselves to be led astray by evils."** "That which enters only into the thought and into the understanding does not condemn, but that which enters into the will condemns; for this enters into the life and remains. For nothing can enter into the will but that which is of the love, and the love is the life of man."***

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Therefore we learn that "blasphemies are of two kinds; there are those which come forth from the understanding and not at the same time from the will, and there are those which come forth from the will through the understanding. It is these latter blasphemies which are so horrible, but not the former. Those which come forth from the will through the understanding are from evil of life; but those which come forth from the understanding only, and not at the same time from the will, are from falsity of doctrine, or from the fallacies of the external senses, which deceive a man who is held fast in ignorance."****
     * Lord 50e.     
     ** SS 15: 2.
     *** AR 634.
     **** AC 9222: 4.
     To speak a word against the Son of Man, therefore, is to bring into the understanding a false interpretation of a teaching from the Word. Provided this is not imbued by the life of the will, and does not arouse delight, it can be forgiven. Things enter into the understanding before they ever become part of the will. It is the understanding that deliberates upon all things which are brought to the attention of the mind; but before the will can act, the understanding must lend its consent. The understanding is like a court which deliberates upon information of all kinds. To it is assigned the office of judgment, for it can discern between truth and falsity. It can recognize the truth, for as soon as knowledges of truth are presented to it, and provided there is an affection of seeing truth, then the Holy Spirit sends its light and illuminates that object or idea, so that there is a harmonious acclamation of the fact that truth is in reality truth.
     Before anything passes from the province of the understanding to that of the will, therefore, there must be consent. We can see an example of this if we consider the terrible heresy that there are three separate persons in the Divine Trinity. This heresy condemned those only who had appropriated it and its consequent fallacies in their lives. The lot of certain Roman pontiffs who from this falsity loved dominion and corruption is described in the Spiritual Diary. They were seen by Swedenborg in some of the lower hells. There were, on the other hand, spirits from the Christian church who had been in something of ignorance as to the true nature of God, but who had not become imbued with the delights of evil. When, at the time of the Last Judgment, the truth was plainly shown to them, they saw the path that led to heaven and were willing to follow it. From this we can see how falsities in the understanding do not in themselves condemn man. This is what is meant by speaking "a word against the Son of Man"-a sin which can be forgiven.

     Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit involves more than this. First of all, it involves the reception and acknowledgment of falsity in the understanding. But more than this, it involves the committing of that falsity to life and thereby the forming of evil in the will.

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The love of man is his very life, and the love resides in the will. If the will is a will of evil, it naturally repels the influx of good; therefore it also repels the influx of the Lord's redeeming power. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit involves many things, but essentially it involves the denial in thought and will "of the Lord's Divine in His Human, and the adulteration of the Word, which is profanation."* When the Divine and the Human of the Lord are denied, then the truth whereby the Holy Spirit is received is held in derision, so that there remains nothing of truth upon which the Holy Spirit may cast its light.
     * AR 723.
     For a man in such a state there is no way out since he has voluntarily denied the means of his salvation. Man can be saved only through the operation of the Holy Spirit; and if the Spirit is to be effective in his salvation he must first believe that salvation is a living possibility. He must also have faith in the teaching of the Word, for that is the means whereby his salvation is effected. Furthermore, that faith must be strong enough to introduce him into the practice of the goods of charity, for only when man does this, as of himself, may the Divine energy and operation of the Holy Spirit save him. Clearly, then, if the Lord, the Word, and the importance of the life which is called charity are denied, then the operation of the Holy Spirit is closed off and man has committed the unpardonable sin. He has utterly rejected the means which the Lord has provided for his salvation.

     But it might be wondered how a man comes into such a state as to commit the sin against the Holy Spirit. We learn from the Writings that two of the Ten Commandments have a very definite bearing upon this sin; yet it is not directly mentioned in them as the sin against the Holy Spirit because in Old Testament times the Holy Spirit was not operative as such, and indeed was not fully operative until after the Lord had glorified His Human. Nevertheless there is reference to this sin in the interior senses of the second and eighth commandments. In the second commandment we read: "Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain; for Jehovah will not hold him innocent that taketh His name in vain." In the explanation of the spiritual sense of this commandment we read that "the name of God means everything which the church teaches from the Word, and by which the Lord is invoked and worshiped. All such things in the complex are the name of God. To take the name of God in vain, therefore, means to introduce any of these things into frivolous conversation, into false speaking, lying, imprecations, juggleries, incantations; for this, too, is reviling and blaspheming God, thus His name."*

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     * TCR 298.
     It is from such actions that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is begun. All of the above-mentioned acts involve the denial of the Lord, the denial of His Words the denial of His Divinity, the denial of His holiness, and consequently the denial of all things of heaven and the church. These acts prevent the Lord from sending the Holy Spirit to enlighten man, to redeem him and to save him. So the sin against the Holy Spirit is committed whenever these acts are done from a spirit of malice originating in the will or love of man. Since such actions are expressions which interiorly reject the Lord, therefore it is added at the end of the second commandment that "Jehovah will not hold him innocent who taketh His name in vain"; which means that this sin cannot be forgiven.
     Again, in the spiritual sense of the eighth commandment, we see further means by which we can commit the sin against the Holy Spirit. "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor." In the spiritual sense of this commandment we read that bearing false witness "means to persuade that falsity of belief is true belief and evil of life is good of life, and the reverse, doing this from purpose, not from ignorance; that is, doing this after one has learned what it true and good, not before; for the Lord says: 'If ye were blind, ye would have no sin; but now ye say, we see; therefore your sin remaineth.' In the Word this kind of falsehood is called a 'lie' and the intent is called `deceit,' as in the following: `The inhabitants speak a lie, their tongue is deceitful in their mouth.' 'They have taught their tongue to speak a lie; their habitation is in the midst of deceit.'" Further, concerning the celestial sense of this commandment, we are taught that "bearing false witness means blaspheming the Lord and the Word, thus banishing truth itself from the church; for the Lord is the truth itself, and likewise the Word."*
     * TCR 322, 323.

     By this we are very clearly warned that the sin against the Holy Spirit is not one that is committed from ignorance; a sin that is so committed is not against the Holy Spirit but against the Son of Man. Therefore no one can be guilty of this sin unless he purposes to do it. If from his will he submits to those evils which are forbidden by the second and the eighth commandments, then he can expect consequent damnation. If those evils are not done from his will, but are the result of habit or custom, then he would do well to pause for a while and consider the extreme danger which threatens his spiritual well-being.
     The sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be committed from ignorance. Before it can be committed, there must exist something of the acknowledgement of the truth of the spiritual sense of the Word, together with a love for that truth. This banishes ignorance; man then knows the truth, and he is free to follow it, reject it or profane it.

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If he follows it he will be led to heaven through the operation of the Holy Spirit. If he rejects it he will condemn himself to hell. If he profanes it he will be mixing holy things with profane things so that he will love both, and he will be suited only to the fearful hell of the profane.

     There are several manifest evils that pertain to the sin against the Holy Spirit, but the two which are most grievous are profanation and deceit. We will consider these briefly and show how they are related to that sin. Profanation and deceit are really inseparable evils. They are merely different aspects of the same evil. But first let us consider profanation. This occurs when truth has been implanted or inscribed in the life of man, and, having thus acknowledged it as truth, man later sets his will against it and rejects it. Through this evil the holy things of truth are mixed with the profane delights of evil, and they dwell together in the mind. The profaner therefore acknowledges the truths of faith, yet at the same time acknowledges evils and falsities. The mind therefore gives allegiance to both good and evil, and loves them both equally well. After death, before man can enter heaven he must voluntarily relinquish such evil as remains with him. In the case of profaners, however, this separation of evil from good cannot be effected without destroying the whole person. For this reason in the other life such are not called "he" or "she" but "it."* "This profanation is of such a nature that it utterly destroys the interiors of man; and from this it is said that this sin cannot be forgiven."*
     * DP 226.     
     ** AC 9818: 27.
     In order that profanation may take place, something of deceit must also be present. Before it is possible to sin against the Holy Spirit something of the truth must be known and acknowledged. When the truth is seen clearly enough to be known and acknowledged it is not easy to turn aside from it and escape its consequences. When truth is seen within the mind, it is seen because the light of the Holy Spirit illuminates it before the mind's eye, and conscience then urges man to follow it. The only way in which a man can turn away from his obligation to the truth which is shown to him is through deceit. In order to commit the sin against the Holy Spirit we must first silence conscience and deceive ourselves. We must replace our faith and trust in the truth with faith and trust in the delight which flows in from hell. This constantly taunts man to believe, not in the Lord, but in the devil and consequently in self. To do this he has to deceive himself. He has to deceive himself by departing from the reality which truth alone can bring to the mind. Every evil in which deceit is involved slowly removes man from the Lord.

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The Lord alone gives man the strength to face life, and man can receive that strength only in the degree that he abides by the truth. The evil of deceit amounts to a rejection of the Lord from set purpose.
     "Those who have been interiorly infected with spiritual deceit," we read, "that is, with hypocrisy, are they who are meant by those who speak against the Holy Spirit . . . for thus falsity lies inwardly hidden in the truths which they speak; and evil, which is hidden poison, is in the goods which they do; consequently they are called a 'generation of vipers.' . . . . The reason there is no forgiveness for them is that hypocrisy or deceit in connection with holy Divine things infects the interiors of man and destroys everything of spiritual life in him . . . insomuch that at last there is nothing sound in any part of him. The forgiveness of sins involves the separation of evil from good, and the rejection of evil to the sides, and this cannot be done with him in whom all good has been destroyed. Therefore it is said: 'It shall not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in the age to come.'"* The reason the sin against the Holy Spirit, or the sin of profanation and deceit, cannot be forgiven is that it destroys remains. These are "closed up by evils of life and by persuasions of falsity, so as no longer to appear; and by the denial of truth which had previously been acknowledged (both of these acts being from affection) they are consumed, for this is the commingling of truth and falsity which is called profanation."**
     * AC 9013: 8.
     ** AC 5897: 8.
     All delights pertaining to truth and good are received by man through remains. These are a memory of delights which is aroused by the sight of truth, producing an affection for the truth. The innocence of remains becomes more and more apparent as man introduces truth into his life. Through that action the Lord introduces man interiorly into the truths of faith and the goods of charity, and when this has taken place, the love of good and truth grows in intensity. The sin against the Holy Spirit is committed when man deliberately rejects this love of good and truth which the Lord has opened to his perception. The Lord in His Divine Providence guards most carefully against the committing of this sin. In fact, one of the provisions of His providence is that He admits man "interiorly into the truths of faith and into the goods of charity only as far as he can be kept in them to the end of his life."*
     * DP 221.
     From this statement some have wondered whether the sin against the Holy Spirit can be committed at all; but it seems clear that while the Lord admits the regenerating man interiorly into the truths of faith and the goods of charity, He does not then take away man's freedom of choice. Even the most regenerate man still retains this, and as long as there is freedom of choice there is the opportunity for man to turn against the love with which the Lord has gifted him and, by deceiving himself, deliberately choose evil.

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It is true that to choose evil, once the delights of good have been known, would seem like choosing an inferior delight, which could even seem repulsive; nevertheless it cannot be denied that this possibility always exists as long as man has his freedom to choose.

     With all the warning that is given concerning the sin against the Holy Spirit, we must learn to establish the habit of guarding the holy things pertaining to the Lord, the Word and the church. If we truly love the Lord, and are cognizant of the numerous warnings He has given us about the unforgivable sin, then as soon as we are tempted to deceive or to profane we will be reminded of the terrible danger that is involved. If our conscience is formed from the truth of the Word, then we will come to despise deceit and profanation in ourselves and will refrain from committing acts which interiorly contain these evils.
     But our responsibility is not limited to ourselves alone. Our deeds and actions have a great influence upon others. If we indulge in evils of any kind, we are to some extent encouraging others to follow our example. We owe it not only to ourselves but also to others to be firm in upholding the Lord's commands. This is especially true in regard to children. In their eyes, adults in general are respected, whether they are worthy or not, and we should ever be mindful of this. Our actions should always be worthy of respect. We must uphold the moral virtues before their eyes-especially the complex of them all, which is honesty. There is nothing which builds character more than honesty; just as there is nothing more devastating to man's spiritual welfare than its opposite, deceit. To be honest is not easy, it is a virtue which requires cultivation and encouragement, and to assist in this endeavor calls for the greatest of wisdom on the part of parents. For the sake of themselves and their children they must go to the Lord in His Word continually, and pray that He will enlighten them by His Holy Spirit.
     The Lord came on earth to reveal the truth about His Divine Human. This is now a well-known teaching in the New Church. Through the Divinely-Human truth contained in the Word, the Lord is now able to lead and enlighten each man individually through the operation of the Holy Spirit. If we go to the Word, the Holy Spirit will show us our duty. If we follow that duty, the Divine energy and operation of the Holy Spirit will lead us into heaven. For this provision all should be extremely thankful. It is a privilege indeed. But along with every privilege there is responsibility, and that responsibility is to guard our thoughts and actions most carefully, lest we fall captive to the spirit of denial and reject the Lord and His Word and thus commit the sin which can never be forgiven, neither in this world nor in the world to come.

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PERFECTION OF HUMAN STATES 1963

PERFECTION OF HUMAN STATES       Rev. DAVID R. SIMONS       1963

     Human states progress through pre-ordained patterns of perfection. We are born into infancy and must progress through childhood and youth to adult age. We become old and then pass on to the world for which we were formed. This series of states is no accident. It is not nature thwarting Providence-robbing man of youth and vigor, or taking away the gifts that the Lord has given him; it is the very order of Providence itself, the means of our perfection. Life's seasons provide a framework for full development, for the sharpening and refinement of human states.

     These changes of state, this basic rhythm of life, can be described in terms of locality in the world of spirits and of association with those who are there. Thus the over-all picture of man's life can be seen in journeys in the world of spirits and also in terms of the spiritual associations into which he enters there. "Every man from infancy to old age changes his place or situation in the world of spirits. When an infant, he is kept in the eastern quarter, towards the north there; when a boy, as he learns the rudiments of religion, he gradually recedes from the north to the south; and when a young man, as he begins to think from his own mind, he is borne towards the south. Later, when he comes to judge for himself and becomes his own master, as he increases in such things as interiorly relate to God and to love towards the neighbor, he progresses still southward but towards the east. If, however, he inclines to evil, and becomes engrossed in it, he moves towards the west. . . . As his spirit changes its state, by drawing near to good or evil, it is transferred to a place or situation in one or other of the quarters, and enters the company of those who dwell there. It should be known, however, that the Lord does not transfer the man to this place or that, but that the man himself effects the change. If he chooses good, then he, together with the Lord, or rather the Lord together with him, transfers his spirit towards the east; but if he chooses evil, then he, together with the devil, or rather the devil together with him, transfers his spirit towards the west."* Life is a journey. It is a free journey on which the human spirit can turn this way or that as it progresses away from or towards the spiritual east.

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All human states relate directly to the east, or to the Lord who is there; for all "changes of state in the other life are nothing else than approaches to the Divine and removals from the Divine."**
     * TCR 476
     ** AC 4111: 3.
     The states of life through which all must pass are described also in terms of spiritual associations, for every locality in the world of spirits has its inhabitants, who become our companions while we are there. Consequently this same journey through life can be described as changes of spiritual companionship. "There are some spirits that are with [man] in early childhood, others in boyhood, others in youth and manhood, and others in old age. In early childhood those spirits are present who are in innocence and who thus communicate with the heaven of innocence, which is the inmost or third heaven; in boyhood those spirits are present who are in affection for knowing, and who thus communicate with the outmost or first heaven; in youth and manhood spirits are present who are in affection for what is true and good, and in consequent intelligence, and who thus communicate with the second or middle heaven; while in old age spirits are present who are in wisdom and innocence, and who thus communicate with the inmost or third heaven. But the Lord maintains this association with such as can be reformed and regenerated. It is otherwise with such as cannot be reformed or regenerated. While with these also good spirits are associated, that they may be thereby withheld from evil as much as possible, they are directly conjoined with evil spirits who communicate with hell, whereby they have such spirits with them as are like themselves. If they are lovers of self or lovers of gain, or lovers of revenge or lovers of adultery, like spirits are present, and as it were dwell in their evil affections. . . . Thus it is that a bad man is conjoined with hell and a good man is conjoined with heaven."*
     * HH 295.

     These descriptions of human states in the spiritual world, and of the spirits who are attracted and associated with man in them, provide us with a framework in which all human perfection, or the lack of it, takes place. The order is that man shall progress from the innocence of ignorance, that is, from the spiritual northeast, to the innocence of wisdom, that is, to the spiritual southeast.
     This perfecting begins when, as a child, he receives his first instruction from the Word, his first lessons in religion. With these is initiated his progress towards the southwest, toward wisdom. As his grasp of the religious core of life increases, as his idea of God and consequent love of Him develop, and as his idea of the neighbor and his responsibilities to the neighbor grow, he progresses in the protective company of spirits who are innocent and affirmative and have an affection for what is good and true.

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Ideally, this progression should continue towards the southeastern quarter, towards the innocence of wisdom; for, we are taught, "the innocence which [man has in infancy] is only external, and not internal; for true innocence dwells in wisdom. By external innocence the Lord reduces into order what enters through the senses; and without an influx of innocence from the Lord in that first age there would never be any foundation upon which the intellectual or rational faculty which is proper to man could be built. . . . With those, however, who suffer themselves to be regenerated . . . the rational is open in them, and to this the interior natural is made subordinate, and to this the exterior natural. This takes place especially in youth up to adult age, and progressively to the last years of their life, and afterwards in heaven to eternity."* For "man is so created that when he grows old, and becomes like a little child, the innocence of wisdom conjoins itself with the innocence of ignorance which he had in infancy, and so he passes into the other life as a true infant."**
     * AC 5126: 3, 4. Cf. AC 5608: 9.
     ** AC 5608: 9.     

     The choice of evil, however, stops all progress in the world of spirits. It takes man away from good spirits and brings him into the company of evil spirits, who lead him towards the west and hell. The longer these states are allowed to persist, the further he wanders away, and the more he strays, the more difficult is it to return; although, in the eyes of the Lord, it is not the distance away from heaven but the direction in which man chooses to face that is significant.
     All perfection comes from the Lord as we turn away from the hereditary proprium which lures us in a westerly direction and face the spiritual east. When we do this, the Lord can perfect our lives, as is said in a passage in True Christian Religion. "The Lord together with man"* brings about this transfer to a better state. By this is meant that He considers man's freedom. The Lord is always working for man's perfection. His love is constant. It is pictured as the current of a mighty stream which seeks to carry all men to the highest possible happiness. To protect their freedom, the Lord "leads men as silently as a hidden current or favoring tide bears a vessel."** For the Lord "draws all men to Himself; but as angels and men are finite, they can follow the current of the attraction only according to their measure, although the force of attraction persists to infinity."*** The Lord perfects human states just as far as man allows. To do otherwise would be to violate our freedom. The way in which the Lord perfects these states is by associating with man good spirits who inspire him to follow the truth and hence to come into heavenly affections and delights. In this way all progress is provided for by the Lord and is implemented through angels and spirits.
     * TCR 476.
     ** DP 186.
     *** TCR 350. Cf. TCR 652: 3.

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     But if man chooses evil he is said to associate himself with evil spirits who match his state. "Man's state is altogether according to the societies of spirits and angels in the midst of which he is; such is his will and such his thought. But his changes of state are quite different when he adjoins the societies to himself . . . from what they are when the societies are adjoined to him by the Lord."* The Lord permits man to invite evil spirits into his life, and this for the sake of freedom; but He wills that man shall be liberated from their influence, set free, and ultimately saved, and He continually works in secret ways to effect this. For "in every present moment the Lord foresees evil, and provides good; and this He does from the first thread of life to all eternity."**
     * AC 4073: 2.
     ** AC 9296: 2.

     Just how the Lord has planned for man's perfection, how He provides against the day when man wanders away from the spiritual east, being attracted by hereditary evil, is clear from the teaching of the Writings concerning "remains." To offset this eventuality, that is, man's entering into states of falsity and evil, to lay a foundation for all spiritual perfection to eternity, the Lord has mercifully provided that all the good and affirmative states man gains in life through association with good spirits shall be protected and stored up for later use. We are given a vivid memory of those inmost delights of innocence that were inspired by celestial angels, and it is this memory of former delights that acts to call us back to the eastern paradise which we had experienced in infancy and childhood and in all affirmative states.

     These inner memories of delights are called remains. Through them order is brought into our lives. Through them we are given to be affirmative to the truth and to be innocent in responding to the Lord's leading. When we are regenerated, these states are said to be the first of the process. They are so ordered that they become a medium through which the Lord operates to perfect our lives. "No man can ever live . . . if he has not something living in him, that is, something of innocence, of charity and of mercy. . . . This . . . man receives from the Lord during infancy and childhood. . . . The things that are preserved are called in the Word 'remains,' and are of the lord alone with the man. . . . Man does not learn these [states], but receives them as a gift from the Lord. . . . In proportion as man in adult age extinguishes these states, he becomes dead. When a man is being regenerated, these states are the beginning of regeneration, and he is led into them; for the Lord works through them."*

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"Remains . . . are all the states of the affection of good and truth with which a man is gifted by the Lord from earliest infancy even to the end of life; which states are stored up for him for the use of his life after death. . . . By these remains, which are those of truth, born of the influx of spiritual things from the Lord, man has the ability to think, and also to understand what the good and truth of civic and moral life are, and also to receive spiritual truth or faith; but he cannot do this except by the remains of good which he had received in infancy."**
     * AC 1050: 2.     
     ** AC 1906: 1, 4.
     Once we have had good spirits with us they can be recalled. In the perfecting of human states, remains are of primary importance; for it is the recollection of them that inspires and initiates all the affirmative states of life which dispose man to innocence so that he may follow the leading of truth. "The first means [of joining the natural man with the spiritual in regeneration] is one that affirms, or that is affirmative of internal truth that it is so. When this affirmative comes, man is in the beginning of regeneration. Good is being worked by the internal and cause the affirmation. . . . The affirmative, therefore, is the first medium and as it were habitation of good flowing in."*
     * AC 3913: 5.

     The perfection of human states is two-directional; that is, it involves approaching interior truth, which rekindles the delight of remains, and at the same time descending into ultimates, ordering the external into correspondence with that truth. Spiritual progress comes from entering into internal states and at the same time providing ultimate vessels into which they may flow. Concerning this perfection we are taught that new states "proceed in both directions, namely, toward what is more interior, and also toward what is exterior; toward . . . love to the Lord . . . and further toward natural truths, and also toward sensuous truths, which are then successively reduced to correspondence with the goods of charity and of love in the rational, and thus into heavenly order."* The perfection of all states needs these two elements: on the one hand, it depends upon a more interior sight and grasp of truth; on the other, it involves the provision of orderly ultimates in which that truth can find expression. To progress only in our understanding of truth, or to look only to the practical applications in life, either of these extremes thwarts genuine progress. The familiar teaching that "all religion is of life, and the life of religion is to do good"** provides the balanced road to perfection; that is, we are to approach religious truth, but for the sake of life. The pursuit of interior truth is vital and necessary, but its purpose must ever be a life in harmony with that truth.
     * AC 5122: 2.
     ** Life 1.
     When we examine the workings of love in the human mind we find that it seeks perfection in the same two directions. Love wills to look upward to what is higher, more ideal and perfect; but it desires also to descend into ultimates.

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No love is content with things as they are. All love works in the mind to find for itself and perfect objectives, goals and ends. Good loves are elevated by means of truths. The contemplation of truth enables love to form ideal pictures of life, visions of greater service and usefulness, ideals of higher perfection which reach toward heaven itself. By contrast, evil loves look downward for their life. They are stimulated by falsity and fantasy, by imaginative pictures of different and more satisfying ways of ultimating themselves. In the work Conjugial Love we read: "If [man] views these knowledges [of good and truth] rationally, and lives according to them, then the love of his will is elevated at the same time, and in the same degree what is human is perfected, and the man becomes more and more a man. It is otherwise if he does not live according to the knowledges of good and truth . . . if, therefore the lusts of the flesh belong to [his] love, it lets itself down to these from its height, and in conjunction with them derives delight to itself from their delights . . . [although] for the sake of acquiring a reputation, that it may be believed wise, it lifts itself up on high."*
     * CL 495: 2.
     But love is not content with dreams. In the same moment that it reaches an insight into its objective it seeks to descend into ultimates-to express itself in external acts, to do something to achieve and realize its desires. Love is never content to stand still, but works to find suitable ultimates in which it can express itself.

     This dual aspect of love, by which all human states are perfected, is described in detail as it relates to that highest of human loves, conjugial love. "On truly conjugial love is inscribed this order: it ascends and descends. It ascends from its first heat progressively upwards towards the souls, with an effort to effect conjunction there, and this by continually more interior openings of the minds; and there is no love which strives more intensely to effect these openings, or which is more powerful or skillful in opening the interiors of minds, than conjugial love; for the soul of each one intends it. But at the same moments in which that love ascends towards the souls, it also descends toward the body, and thereby clothes itself. It must be known, however, that conjugial love in its descent is such as it is in the height to which it ascends. If it ascends on high, it descends chaste; but if it does not ascend on high, it descends unchaste. The reason is that the lower parts of the mind are unchaste, but its higher parts are chaste; for the lower parts of the mind cleave to the body, but the higher parts separate themselves from them."*
     * CL 302.

     This process whereby the states of conjugial love are perfected is to be found in all good loves.

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This, indeed, is why religion is so important in our lives; for by means of spiritual truth our minds are elevated above the natural, and may then descend purified into the natural, to order it and thus bring it into harmony with the truth. But the process takes work! It is the labor of life from which rest can come only after six days of work. The entire process of perfection is outlined in the Arcana. "The external man communicates with the world, the internal man with heaven. The Divine order is that heaven should rule the world in man, and not the world rule heaven in him; for when heaven rules man, then the Lord rules him. Man is born into loving the world and himself more than heaven and the Lord; and because this is opposite to Divine order, there must be an inversion by means of regeneration, which inversion is effected when the things of heaven and the Lord are loved more than those of the world and of self. This is why the man who has been regenerated, as also he who is in heaven, is alternately in external and internal things; for external things are thereby disposed so as to agree with internal things, and finally to be subject to them. When a man is in external things he is in labor and combat, for he is then in a life which savors of the world, into which the hells flow from all sides, continually endeavoring to infest and even to subjugate in the man the things of heaven; but the Lord continually protects and sets him free. From this arise the labor and combat which are signified by the 'six days of the week in which works are to be done.' But when the man is in internal things, then, because he is in heaven with the Lord, the labor and combat cease, and he is then in the tranquillity of peace, in which tranquillity also conjunction is effected. These are the things which are signified by the 'seventh day.'*
     * AC 9278: 1-3.
     The processes whereby human states are perfected never cease. One might think that in a lifetime we could arrive at a full state of perfection. But the teaching is that "there is no definite period of time within which man's regeneration is completed, so that he can say, 'I am now perfect'; for there are illimitable states of evil and falsity with every man, not only simple states but also states in many ways compounded, which must be so far shaken off as no longer to appear, as said above. In some states the man may be said to be more perfect, but in very many others not so."*
     * AC 894.
     Nor does this truth about life change after death. The joy and delight of improvement are eternal. The perfecting of human states has no end. The Lord never ceases to elevate and perfect the human spirit. "Those who have been regenerated in the life of the body," we read, "and have lived in faith in the Lord and in charity toward the neighbor, are continually being perfected in the other life."*

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"Moreover the angels are continually being perfected by the Lord, and yet can never to eternity be so far perfected that their wisdom and intelligence can be compared to the Divine wisdom and intelligence of the Lord; for they are finite, and the Lord is infinite."**
     * Ibid.     
     ** AC 4295: 3.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Freedom. Because of the difference between heavenly and infernal freedom, some have had difficulty in framing a comprehensive definition of this term. The Writings overcome this difficulty, however, and supply one which covers every kind of freedom by saying that freedom is to think and will from affection, and to act from liberty according to what seems to be reason. If these are heavenly, the freedom is heavenly, real, and what is called freedom itself; if they are infernal, it is infernal freedom, only apparent, and actually non-freedom. The difference is that in the former man is led gently by the Lord according to his affections; in the latter he is driven roughly by infernal spirits according to their affections. Note that the freedom which is essential for regeneration is spiritual-freedom to will and think; freedom to do evil and speak falsity is rightly limited. Note also that freedom goes hand in hand with rationality, for which reason it cannot exist until man is of the age at which rationality begins. (See TCR 489; AC 4130, 5786).

     Generals, Particulars and Singulars. The use of these terms in the Writings is indicated by the teaching that the body, external sense and action are generals, the natural mind and the things that belong to it are particulars, while the rational mind and all that pertains to it are singulars. It is according to Divine order that there should be generals and particulars, and that both should be together in every single thing; otherwise particulars cannot exist. In the case of man, particulars must be surrounded by generals to subsist. (See AC 4345; TCR 775.)

451


USE 1963

USE       ELDIN O. ACTON       1963

     (Presidential address delivered at the 153rd Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Society, Inc., London, May 21, 1963.)

     When one examines the almost unlimited applications to which the word use is put, one is left with a feeling of bewilderment that a word of so few letters should be the vehicle of so many ideas. In the highest sense, the word use in the Writings describes the purpose of Divine will-the Divine love by means of Divine wisdom producing Divine use.
     Thought from ancient times to the present day is readily able to grasp the simple idea that all activity proceeds from the end through means to produce effect, and that end in itself is nothing until by such means the effect is produced. It is in this logical form that the subject is presented in Divine Love and Wisdom.

     "As the Lord is love itself and wisdom itself, He also is use itself. For love has use as its end and produces use by means of wisdom. . . . Love and wisdom have no boundary or end, that is, no home of their own, consequently they cannot be said to have being and existence unless there be use in which they may exist. These three constitute the degrees of height in subjects of life . . . like first end, middle end, which is called cause, and last end, which is called effect."*
     * DLW 230
     "Now since these three, love, wisdom and use, are in the Lord and are the Lord; and since the Lord is everywhere, for the Lord is omnipresent; and since the Lord cannot present Himself as He is in Himself . . . He presents Himself in such things as can be received, that is, as to love by heat, as to wisdom by light, and as to use by the atmosphere . . . because the atmosphere is the containant of heat and light, as use is the containant of love and wisdom. For heat and light going forth from the Divine sun cannot go forth into nothing, that is, in a vacuum, but must go forth into a containant which is a subject. Such a containant we call the atmosphere which encompasses the spiritual sun in its bosom, bearing it to the heaven where the angels are, and then to the world where men are, thus making the Lord's presence everywhere manifest."*
     * DLW 299.

     Such is the universal principle from which we may consider the work of the Lord in the creation and preservation of the universe. If we examine further, we may know that by the series of discrete degrees progressing successively from the Lord as the sun of the spiritual world, the natural world and its atmospheres were created to provide a plane into which man could be born.

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     " . . . . these ends are called uses. In their whole extent they include all things of the vegetable kingdom, all things of the animal kingdom, and finally the human race and the angelic heaven which is from it. They are called uses because they are recipients of Divine love and Divine wisdom, also because they have regard to God the Creator from whom they are, and thereby conjoin Him to His great work . . . and have unceasing existence from Him."*
     * DLW 307.
     "All things created from the Lord are uses. They are uses in the order, degree and respect in which they have relation to man, and through man to the Lord from whom [they are]."*
     * DLW 327.
"Evil uses were not created by the Lord but originated together with hell . . . since all good things are from the Lord and all evil things from hell, it follows that none but good uses were created by the Lord and that evil uses arose out of hell. By uses specially treated here are meant all things which are, to be seen on earth, such as animals of every kind and plants of every kind . . . those of use to man are from the Lord . . . those harmful from hell. By uses from the Lord are meant all things that perfect the rational of man and cause him to receive the spiritual from the Lord; by evil uses are meant all things that destroy the rational and make man unable to become spiritual . . . things harmful to man are called uses because . . . of use to the evil in doing evil, and also serviceable in absorbing malignities, and thus act as remedies . . . for everything that love does, either good or evil, it calls use."*
     * DLW 336.

     Such is a brief outline of the uses which provide for human life on earth. They are mediate uses which present in representative form all the good and evil affections that may enter into the spirit of man; they are, as it were, living presentations of good and evil, and indeed are recognized as such by spirits and angels in the spiritual world when such things appear among societies in that world.
     Among men on earth three classifications of uses which relate to their life on earth are described. The first has regard to food, clothing and habitation, including recreation, enjoyment and preservation. In this connection it is mentioned that

"there are many things which are not used by man; but what is superfluous does not do away with use, but insures its continuance. Misuse of use is also possible; but misuse does not do away with use, even as falsification of truth does not do away with truth except with those who falsify it."*
     * DLW 331e.

     Secondly, there are uses for perfecting the rational.

     "Such are all things that give instruction about the subjects above-mentioned and are called sciences and branches of study pertaining to natural, economical, civil and moral affairs which are learned with the aid of parents and teachers, or from books, or from intercourse with others, or by reflection on these subjects by one's self. These things perfect the rational as far as they are uses in a higher degree, and they are permanent as far as they are applied to life."*
     * DLW 332.

     Thirdly, there are uses for receiving the spiritual.

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     "Uses for receiving the spiritual from the Lord are all things that belong to religion and to worship therefrom; thus all things that teach the acknowledgment and knowledge of God and the knowledge and acknowledgement of good and truth, and thus eternal life, which are acquired . . . from parents, teachers, discourses and books, and especially by applying to life what is learned; and in the Christian world doctrines and discourses from the Word and through the Word from the Lord. These uses in their whole extent may be classified under the same heads as uses of the body are, as nourishment, clothing, habitation, recreation and enjoyment, protection and preservation of state, if only these are applied to the soul; nutrition to goods of love, clothing to truths of wisdom, habitation to heaven, recreation to enjoyment, to felicity of life and heavenly joy; protection to safety from infesting evils, and preservation of state to eternal life. All these are given by the Lord according to the acknowledgment that all bodily things are also from the Lord, and that a man is only as a servant or house steward appointed over the goods of his Lord."*
     * DLW 333.
     "The Lord's kingdom is a kingdom of ends which are uses, or what is the same thing, a kingdom of uses which are ends. On this account the universe has been so created and formed by the Divine that uses may be everywhere clothed in such a way as to be presented in act or in effect, first in heaven and afterwards in the world, thus by degrees and successively down to the ultimates of nature."*
     * HH 112.

     Such, in brief, are a few of the things presented in the Writings on the subject of uses, from which we may see something of the Divine order in providing the natural world as a mediate end into which man could be born as a vessel receptive of life, with the capacity of becoming, by uses, a part of the Lord's heavenly kingdom. Or to express the idea in another way: a man while living in the world must perform uses in the world, and in use is included the whole extent of human activities-occupational, social, domestic and recreational; for these are the means by which man's spirit can be molded and established in the pattern of its heart's desire, be it either of heaven or of hell.
SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE 1963

SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE              1963

     The General Church Sound Recording Committee has just issued its sixth complete catalogue. This new edition, the seventeenth published listing in fourteen years, contains a total of 1560 titles. Included in this total are 417 complete services, 438 lessons and sermon only, 44 joint services, 99 children's services. Persons interested in obtaining copies of the new catalogue, which replaces all previous listings, should write to: The General Church Sound Recording Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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SIXTH NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

SIXTH NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       MELVA HARTHILL       1963

     REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS

     On August 17 and 18, 1963, members and friends met at the Frances Lester Inn, Spokane, Washington, for the Sixth Biennial Assembly of the Pacific Northwest District of the General Church of the New Jerusalem. On Saturday they came from far and wide-Dawson Creek and North Vancouver, B. C., Canada; Enterprise and Portland, Oregon; Bellevue, Port Angeles, Rosalia, Seattle and Walla Walla, Washington; Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, etc. As we gathered at the Inn, we were met by Mr. Everett Sorenson, who gave us a warm welcome and a sticker for dress or suit which said: "Hi! I am . . . (name and where from)." This helped a lot in recalling names and people, and soon everyone was happily renewing old friendships and meeting new friends to be.

     Business Meeting. At 3:00 p.m. people gathered on the second floor for the business meeting, which was called to order by the Rev. Roy Franson. After the minutes of the last meeting-in Bellevue, Washington, in 1961-had been read by the secretary-treasurer, Mr. Carith Hansen, and the treasurer's report had been given, Mr. Franson announced that it was time for the nomination of a new secretary-treasurer for the insuing two years. It was suggested, however, that we should first decide where the next Assembly was to be held, as it was preferable to have that officer from the same locality since that makes the work of preparation easier and more efficient. When this had been resolved on, it was suggested by Miss Viola hers of Cresswell, Oregon, that the 1965 Assembly be held at Portland, Oregon, tentatively at the home of Mrs. Andrews' mother. However, the group from North Vancouver, Mr. Gerald Penner and the Eldin Fairburns, also wished to entertain the Assembly. They told of a group of interested people who have been attending discussions, and thought that it would be useful for these people to be able to attend and to meet other New Church people. It was decided to have the next Assembly at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Eldin Fairburn. Mr. Fairburn was unanimously elected secretary-treasurer, and Mrs. Clifford N. Harthill, assistant secretary-treasurer; and as there was some desire for a change of date, it was decided to hold that Assembly as close to June 19 as possible, or the week prior to July 1.
     There was also a suggestion that our name be changed from "The Northwest United States District" to "The Pacific Northwest District," since our minister, the Rev. Roy Franson, and several members and friends come from Dawson Creek.

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A motion to adopt this new name, which includes us all, was carried; and unless there should be some objection that we do not know of now, that will be our name from this time on. After all these arrangements had been made the meeting was adjourned, and people disperse I quickly, going to their motels or homes to prepare for the banquet and the evening ahead.
     Banquet. The people gathered once more in the lovely Frances Lester Inn at 6:30 p.m. for a happy evening. There was everywhere a very cordial sphere of happy and friendly conversation, with people joining in conversations about the church, religion and many other subjects. Mr. W. E. Hansen was host toastmaster at a cocktail hour which preceded the banquet itself. When the call to dinner came, all repaired to the dining room, where a sumptuous banquet was served in fine style to all the hungry guests.
     The banquet room, like the rest of the Inn, was built around the turn of the century and is one of the most beautiful in this part of the country. The windows boast of scarlet draperies imprinted with designs in gold, and above them are painted colorful pictures and decorations. At each window are gleaming corinthian columns topped with gold; the walls and most of the columns and casings are of a soft creamy white, which sets off the decorations like jewels; in the halls and ceilings there is much carving in beautiful hardwoods; and many oil paintings, set off by gold and hardwood frames which are themselves works of art, adorn the walls. This lovely inn is indeed a work of art itself, and puts one in a frame of mind and spirit that will readily drink in the music and the words of truth which our New Church program provided.
     Our toastmaster, Mr. Carith Hansen, had worked everything out beforehand with a masterly touch. He had clever introductions and appropriate anecdotes for each one he presented to us: the Rev. Roy Franson, our presiding minister; his own lovely wife, Elizabeth Hansen; Mrs. Felix Junge, also an honored guest at the head table; Mr. Gerald Penner, a speaker for the evening, and his mother, Mrs. Eldin Fairburn.
     After a welcome to all by Mr. Hansen a song was sung by all-"Our Glorious Church"-and then came the toast to "The Church." The first speech was given by Mr. Gerald Penner, a Vancouver University student, his subject being: "The Difficulties of Isolation, Especially for Young People." As there are many in this part of the world who live apart from our societies this speech was of vital interest to us all, and it was followed by a lot of discussion with questions and answers. All then sang with gusto "Our Own Academy."
     The Rev. Roy Franson was then introduced. His speech was entitled "Why a Church Specific?"-a very fine paper which answered a good many questions for us all and brought on another good discussion.

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The program ended with the singing of "Our Church Evermore." Before the meeting closed, and to conclude the evening, the toastmaster announced music by the "4H's"-Mr. W. E. Hansen on the piano, Mr. Carith Hansen on the violin, Mr. Clifford Harthill on the saxophone, and Mrs. Clifford Harthill on the organ. They played some of the old favorites while people visited and just enjoyed the old tunes. As the hour was growing late, people started leaving after the music was over, still discussing the very interesting topics of the evening as they moved to the doors and said good-night.

     Sunday. Sunday, August 18, was a beautiful day of sunshine and gladness as all gathered once more in the lovely reception room of the Frances Lester Inn. The room was bright with the sunshine and with flowers, and quiet with a sabbath stillness as we drew near to the Lord in spirit.
     The Rev. Roy Franson conducted the service and Mrs. John Carbury played the organ. After the lessons, Mr. Carith Hansen, Mr. W. E. Hansen and Mr. Clifford Harthill presented special music. We had the privilege of partaking of the Holy Supper.
     After the service we all retired to another social room for a coffee hour and a last opportunity for visiting and getting friends' addresses. Pictures were taken on the steps and on the lawn.
     It was indeed a very fine Assembly, and much of the credit goes to Mr. Carith Hansen and his Spokane group, who planned and worked for months ahead making arrangements and all the preparations for the forty members and guests who came so far to attend, and who all enjoyed it so very much. We hope to see everyone in North Vancouver, B. C., Canada, at our next Assembly in the Eldin Fairburn home in 1965. Plan now to come!
     We feel that this meeting indeed served a good use and that it received the Lord's blessing as well.
     MELVA HARTHILL

457


NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     The story of Abraham sending forth his servant to the land of Padan-aram to find a wife for his son, Isaac, is one of the most gentle and beautiful stories in the Word. It describes how Abraham's servant goes to the city of Nahor and there, by a well of water, finds a beautiful virgin named Rebekah. She is a relative of Abraham, being the granddaughter of his brother, Nahor. After introducing himself, and conferring with her family, the servant returns with Rebekah to the land of Canaan. As they arrive, Isaac comes from the fields to meet Rebekah at the time of sunset. Shortly after this they become husband and wife, and to the end of their lives remain faithful to each other alone.

     In our readings from the Arcana Coelestia for this month we learn that the inmost sense of this story describes part of the process of the Lord's glorification. It tells how the Lord prepared good and truth so that they could be conjoined in the Divine rational. In this sense, Isaac represents the good of the rational, and Rebekah the truth that is to be initiated into that good.* In the interior sense that refers to the things of man's regeneration, the story of how Isaac and Rebekah were prepared for marriage describes how the Lord prepares man s rational mind so that good and truth may be conjoined in it. In that sense, Isaac and Abraham's servant represent the love or affection for rational good, while Rebekah represents the knowledges of truth which rest in man's natural memory. When man is led by that affection for rational good which is given through the presence of the angels, then he seeks to use the knowledges he has learned-the truths and doctrinals from the Word-to carry out the good uses of life, the uses that look to the Lord and the neighbor. The effort to do this is a preparation for the conjoining of good and truth in him by the Lord; it is a preparation for the heavenly marriage of good and truth in him.**
     * AC 3012.
     ** See AC 3040, 3161, 3175.
     Now the Writings teach that the conjunction of good and truth in man, the heavenly marriage that makes his regeneration, is imaged in the conjugial marriage of one man with one woman.

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Indeed it is not only imaged there, the conjugial marriage actually exists and comes forth from the heavenly marriage of good and truth. What pertains to the spiritual betrothal and marriage of good and truth, therefore, pertains also to the betrothals and marriages of men and women.*
     * See AC 2618, 2727-2729, 3077, 4434.
     As we have just noted, the state described in our story is that of preparation or initiation that precedes the marriage of good and truth. Therefore it is not the marriage itself that is described, that is, the conjunction of good and truth, but the state which precedes marriage and prepares for it. What is described is the state leading to betrothal and then the betrothal itself. In the literal sense of the story of the preparation of Isaac and Rebekah for marriage, when we know something of the internal sense, we see a wonderful confirmation of the teachings concerning courtship and betrothal which are set forth in the work entitled Conjugial Love.

     The first part of our story describes the state prior to betrothal. We note that Abraham would not allow a wife to be chosen from among the women in the land of Canaan, but insisted that Isaac's wife should be taken from among his own relatives in the land of Padan-aram. The reason Abraham insisted upon this was that at that time the religions of all the inhabitants of the land of Canaan were idolatrous and had nothing in common with his faith in the one God, Jehovah. The "daughters of Canaan" represent evils of life and false doctrines with which nothing of good and truth can be conjoined. Good and truth cannot be conjoined with evil and falsity; and that is the reason for the teaching of the Writings concerning the choice of one's partner, that marriages between one who is of the church and one who is not of the church, or between those in opposite religions, are heinous in the sight of heaven. They are heinous because in these instances there can be no conjunction of minds, no spiritual conjunction, and therefore nothing enduring.*
     * AC 3024. Cf. AC 8998.
     The references to church and religion here are in no way to any organized body or sect, but rather to the doctrines, the beliefs and principles, which each man holds and by which he lives. There can be no true marriage formed between a man and a woman who have different beliefs, and therefore different principles and goals in life. How can the minds of two be conjoined if the things which form and mold the very quality of their minds are in opposition? How, for example, could conjugial love be established if one partner regards marriage as holy, of Divine order, precious and eternal, while the other regards it only as a physical convenience and as merely of earthly endurance?

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Isaac's wife was to be chosen from among Abraham's people, which signified that marriage must be based upon common beliefs and common principles.
     We will continue our consideration of this subject in our calendar notes for next month.
BY MEANS OF THE PRESS 1963

BY MEANS OF THE PRESS              1963

     Without the distribution of the Writings themselves there can be little effective evangelization. The annual reports of the Swedenborg Foundation and the Swedenborg Society show that the work is being pressed vigorously on both sides of the Atlantic, with results that reach into many parts of the world. Thus the Foundation distributed 14,909 volumes in 1962. This total was made up of the Writings, complete sets and selected titles, several collateral works, and many paperback missionary editions. A large part of the distribution was by 21 colporteurs, groups and individuals, in the United States, Australia and Canada. For the same year the Swedenborg Society reported a total distribution of 4,341 books and 1,351 booklets.
     The Swedenborg Foundation was active also in supporting foreign language translations. Final payment was made on a grant for printing volume III of a new German translation of True Christian Religion; it was agreed to co-operate with the Swedenborg Society in financing publication of a new Danish translation of Heaven and Hell; work is proceeding on a new Spanish translation of the same work; and an appropriation has been made to complete the printing of a new Chinese translation of Divine Love and Wisdom. Modern translations of several collateral works into Spanish are available, and translation work continues in Japan with some support from the Foundation.
     In England, the Swedenborg Society has been active in producing new English translations. Volume I of the Spiritual Diary was published in May, 1962. New English translations of Apocalypse Revealed, Divine Love and Wisdom, and The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine are in hand, and progress has been made both with them and with the preparation of a volume of small theological works and fragments left by Swedenborg which will be published with the original text and the translation on facing pages. The Latin Arcana Coelestia Editorial Committee has continued its work on volumes VI and VII, and it is hoped that volume VI will be ready for the printer this year.

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TRIUNE WORD 1963

TRIUNE WORD       Editor       1963


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

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

BRYN ATHYN, PA.

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

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


TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     The Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings are not three Words but one Word. The Lord is the Word; and as we acknowledge in Him the triune God, worshiping in His Divine Human unity in trinity and trinity in unity, so should we acknowledge the totality of Divine revelation that has been given to us as the triune Word. It matters not that each of these three forms of Divine revelation was given over a period of years or that centuries separate the forms themselves. They are forms of Divine revelation, which is one; and as the mental planes to which they are accommodated constitute one mind, so they are one Word-the complex of Divine revelation to the human mind.
     We have long referred to the Writings as the Word for the New Church. This would be unfortunate if it were to convey the idea that the inspired books of the Old and New Testaments have been superseded. Every church established by the Lord has indeed been founded upon a new revelation of Divine truth, from which it has rightly drawn its doctrine; but that revelation has been an opening by the Lord of truths stored up in the interiors of the revelation previously given, and in the light of the new, the old, which confirms it, is enhanced and indeed glorified.
     With this in mind, we may legitimately distinguish the Old and New Testaments and the Writings, even as we distinguish soul, mind and body while recognizing that they make one man. But it is one thing to observe distinctions, another to divide; one thing to recognize as such the parts of the whole as a means to a more comprehensive understanding, another to sunder them so that they become separate entities.

461


BRIDE AND WIFE OF THE LORD 1963

BRIDE AND WIFE OF THE LORD       Editor       1963

     The New Church is described spiritually in the Word as the bride and wife of the Lord. Each of these names refers to a particular state, yet the only distinctions made directly are these: that the church is called a bride when she wills to receive the Lord and is thus being renewed by Him, and a wife when she receives the Lord and has therefore been renewed. However, if we recall that a maiden puts on the name and state of a bride when she is betrothed, and then turn to what has been revealed about betrothal, more can be learned about the distinction involved, which is not merely a comparison but a correspondence.
     It is well known that the nuptials of men and women represent the conjunction of good and truth effected in the mind by regeneration which is called the heavenly marriage and also the reciprocal conjunction of the Lord and man which is meant by the marriage of the Lord and the church. What is represented by betrothal is the initiation which precedes these conjunctions: the first conjunction, which, as the stipulations concerning the time of betrothal make clear, is that of the internal man without the external. In other words, betrothal represents the conjunction of good and truth in the internal man which initiates the conjunction of the internal man with the external-the marriage.

     Initiation and conjunction, then, are spiritual betrothal and marriage, and from this we may see when the church is a bride and when a wife. The church is, of course, within man, and in the man whose internal mind has been reformed the church is the Lord's bride, whereas in the man whose external mind has been reformed through the new internal it is the Lord's wife. The church in the man who wills and thinks what is good and true is a bride; but the church in the man who then acts and speaks as he wills and thinks is a wife, for, from the internal, the conjunction of good and truth is in the ultimates of the mind. In a general sense it may be said that the betrothal occurs when man enters into the state of reformation, looking to the spiritual and longing to attain it.
     The more we reflect upon it, the more beauty may we discover in the idea of the church as the Lord's bride and wife-ardent to receive and then receiving Him. However, this is no mere emotional ardency. The church is prepared for betrothal and marriage only through the Word, for the marriage is effected by Divine good from the Lord being received by
     the man of the church in Divine truth from the Word. The Word is the only medium of conjunction; and it is they who seek truth from the Word, and by obedience make it receptive, who say from the heart, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus," which are the words of betrothing unto the marriage.

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ELECT 1963

ELECT       Editor       1963

     New Church people are averse to the words "elect" and `election." in their theological sense, because of the way in which they are used by orthodox Christians. In whatever form it is advanced, and there are several, the doctrine of predestination is branded as pernicious in the Writings; and the idea that individual salvation or rejection is predetermined, that eternal life and eternal damnation are foreordained and thus by God's decree, is as repugnant to reason as it is abhorrent to Divine revelation.
     Yet the term, the elect, is used in the Sacred Scripture, and we must therefore go to the internal sense of the Word to find out what it really means. When it occurs in prophecies of the Second Coming, the "elect" signifies the remnant within the consummated church in whom the truth of faith and the good of charity endure-those who can therefore be instructed and with whom the New Church is to be instituted. Elsewhere those are meant who are in the life of good and in the truth of faith and are therefore with the Lord. In each instance, of course, who these are is known only to the Lord.

     The Writings warn us that in election, when rightly understood, there is nothing of predestination. Those who are in heaven with the Lord were not selected arbitrarily, nor were they chosen in the sense of being shown mercy that was denied to others. All men are elected, because all are called to heaven; but there is no mercy without means, and it is those only who live in good and believe rightly who open their minds to receive of the Lord's mercy and can be prepared for heaven. In this is the saying true: "Many are called, but few chosen."
     While the teaching itself is clear, and quite well known, the question remains: Why are those who choose heaven called the elect-the chosen? One answer is that the Word in the letter is written according to appearances, and that since evil men consider their own condemnation as unjust, they therefore regard the salvation of others as arbitrary, unfair and unmerited. This, although true, is relatively external, however. The deeper truth is that the Lord does choose those who enter heaven; only, and this is vital, He does not select them from among others who might equally be saved, He chooses all who live in good. The fact is that while there is no mercy without means, no man can be saved apart from the Divine mercy; and while man chooses to receive or reject it, and must as if of himself prepare to receive it, all things of the life of good and the truth of faith are of mercy. This is the truth, and it can be expressed no otherwise than as the Lord's choosing.

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NEED NEITHER FISCAL NOR POLITICAL 1963

NEED NEITHER FISCAL NOR POLITICAL       HYLAND R. JOHNS       1963

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     During the summer of 1961, the Reader's Digest carried an article which stated that the need of some medical schools in this country for bodies is so acute that as many as ten students had to study dissection by sharing one body among them instead of there being one or two to a body for the best study of anatomy.
     It is said to be a tradition in our church that when any need exists, the first consideration should be an authoritative statement of the degree or magnitude of the need.

     From the State Anatomical Board, which has an office in Philadelphia, it was learned that this need is genuine and that the Board needs two or three times as many bodies as are now available. At the office of the Anatomical Board it was said that years ago, when this need was not as great, the maximum number of bodies received was about five times as many as are available today for the satisfying of a larger need. It is the policy of the Board to distribute bodies in proportion to the number of students in the various medical schools in this city. Why the shortage? The answer is less important than the need; but many believe that the provisions for burial afforded by social security, veterans' organizations, state and federal governments-in short, various social benefits-have been the cause.
     Whatever the cause, there is a genuine need in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania. However, the need is not confined to these two areas. While there is no known need in California, Florida and New York, the need is said to be even more acute in some states than in Pennsylvania, and general in the rest, with the exceptions noted. The need is said to be acute also in Great Britain and in continental Europe.
     What say the Writings? The word, cemetery, was not found in the Concordance, but of the many usages of the word, body, the following are examples. "The body only serves man for living on earth" (AC 447). "The body itself must die" (AC 1408). "The body is only as it were a covering or shell which is dissolved" (AC 1718). "The exterior things of man are of his body. They are all like a body, or, what is the same, a covering or clothing" (AC 2576: 2). If we have in mind the doctrine of use, may this not suggest that it is more useful to dedicate the body to science and to a medical school than to dispose of it in the usual fashion? Habit may understandably be a deterrent, but habit changes. Half a century ago cremation was not as common as it is today.

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     With the shortage of doctors as great as it is acknowledged to be. it is said that some medical schools elsewhere have had to turn away applicants with the explanation that there is a shortage of bodies for dissection.
     Inquiry of the State Anatomical Board has elicited the information that it prefers to receive a body, unembalmed, as soon after death as possible. However, no body received by it is released to a medical school until at least thirty days after death.
     The State Anatomical Board, 257 South Sixteenth Street, Philadelphia, Pa. (PE 5-0668), and kindred organizations, will be glad to assist those who desire to be of use in this regard.
     HYLAND R. JOHNS
Feasterville, Pa.
SEEING THE LORD IN THE WORD 1963

SEEING THE LORD IN THE WORD              1963

     "In the internal sense of the Word, the Lord alone and His kingdom and church are treated of. From this comes the holiness of the I Ford, and also the coming and presence of the Lord with those who . . . while reading the Word do not look to themselves, but to Him, and the neighbor, that is, to the good of one's fellow citizen, of our country, of the church, and of heaven (n. 6818-6824, 8123). The reason is that those who look to the Lord suffer themselves to be raised by Him into the light of heaven; whereas those who look to themselves do not suffer themselves to be raised, for they keep their view fixed on themselves and the world. From this it can be seen what is meant by 'seeing the Lord in the Word.'" (Arcana Coelestia 9405e)
WANTED TO PURCHASE 1963

WANTED TO PURCHASE              1963

     One copy, in good condition, of Swedenborg's Journal of Dreams

     Please communicate with Mr. Norman H. Motum, General Church Book Room, 72 Prettygate Road, Colchester, Essex, England.

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LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1963

LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY              1963

     1963-1964

     Local Schools report the following teaching staffs for 1963-1964:
BRYN ATHYN: Rev. David R. Simons               Principal
     Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson                    Assistant to the Principal
     Miss Mary L. Williamson                    Kindergarten (I)
     Miss Eleanor Cranch                    Kindergarten (11)
     Miss Gretchen Schoenberger               Grade 1 (I)
     Miss Laura Gladish                    Grade I (II)
     Mrs. Grant Doering                    Grade 2 (1)
     Miss Cora Lee Woodworth                    Grade 2 (II)
     Miss Erna Sellner                         Grade 3 (1)
     Miss Vanessa van Rij                    Grade 3 (Ii)
     Miss Nancy Stroh                         Grade 4 (1)
     Miss Susan Cranch                         Grade 4 (II)
     Mrs. William Homiller                    Grade 5 (1)
     Miss Diana Carpenter                    Grade 5 (11)
     Miss Anna Hamm                         Grade 6 (Girls)
     Mrs. Dan Echols                         Grade 6 (Boys)
     Miss Louise Doering                    Grade 7 (Girls)
     Mr. Carl Gunther                         Grade 7 (Boys)
     Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt                    Grade 8
COLCHESTER:     Rev. Frank S. Rose               Principal
     Miss Hilda M. Waters                    Grades 1-6
DURBAN:     Rev. A. Wynne Acton               Principal
     Miss Sylvia Pemberton                    Grades 1-3
GLENVIEW:     Rev. Louis B. King               Headmaster
     Miss Jane E. Scalbom                    Kindergarten, Grades 1 & 2
     Mrs. Ben B. McQueen, Jr.               Grades 3 & 4
     Mr. Bradley G. Smith                    Grades 5 & 6
     Miss Gertrude R. Hasen                    Grades 7 & 8
                                   Assistant to the Headmaster
     Miss Gladys Blackman                    Grade 9
KITCHENER:     Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs               Principal
     Miss Josephine Odhner                    Grades 1-4
     Miss Joan Kuhl                         Grades 5-8
PITTSBURGH:     Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh               Principal
     Mrs. Gareth Acton                         Kindergarten
     Miss Helene Howard                    Grades 1-3
     Miss Viola Friesen                         Grades 4-6
     Mr. Dirk van Zyverden                    Grades 7-9
     Mrs. John J. Schoenberger          Special Teacher, Upper Grades
TORONTO:     Rev. Martin Pryke                    Principal
     Miss Sylvia Parker                    Grades 1-4
     Miss Barbara Charles                    Grades 5-8

     Part-time teachers, whether voluntary or otherwise, are not included here. The teaching staff of the Academy of the New Church is listed in the Catalog Number of The Academy Journal, pp. 4, 5.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     "They're changing guard at Buckingham Palace." This line comes to mind during this summer of 1963, for we are changing the clergy at Pendleton Hall. As reported in this column last year, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton accepted a call to serve as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Society. Just about the time we became resigned to this transfer, the assistant to our departing pastor, the Rev. Geoffrey Howard, followed suit by announcing his imminent removal to Tucson, Arizona. Both of these changes become effective September 1, but during the summer one might wonder: "Who's in charge here?"
     If you often use the short cut path through the Manse driveway, you might come upon the following scenes: Mr. Acton visiting in a kitchen devoid of furniture; Candidate Alfred Acton typing in the pastoral study or refinishing a table top; the Rev. Louis B. King and daughters trimming a hedge; the Rev. Douglas Taylor, en route from Tucson to Australia, looking for keys to Pendleton Hall; and very little of the Rev. Geoffrey Howard, who is preparing not only for his departure but also for the arrival of daughter number two-Cathleen, who finally checked in on August 1. Wherever there is work to do you might also find Mr. Bradley Smith, our hardworking male teacher, boys from the Boys' Club, and various and sundry parishioners helping with landscaping, remodeling and moving.
     All is not lost, however. To quote a song composed for the choir on one of the farewell occasions: "We're losing a Dean to Bryn Athyn-but gaining a King for Glenview." Mr. King has been quietly taking over while waiting for his wife and children to come from Pittsburgh in their second Volkswagen.
From what we have seen of the family already here, we will be fortunate in having lots of Kings for Glenview!
     Candidate Alfred Acton has preached for us on several occasions, so we have not been neglected despite a shifting clergy. He also gave a wonderful paper one Saturday night about his grandfather, the Rev. Carl Theophilus Odhner. Some of us did not know about the flamboyant youth of that respected gentleman. Alfred presented the subject with style and a pronounced literary flair. His wife was here to visit with him, and us, that particular weekend.
     In fact, there were more ministers than usual. The Rev. Dandridge Pendleton was invited by the Sons of the Academy to give a speech in the same manner as Alfred Acton's. Sons and wives assembled in Pendleton Hall and adjourned afterwards to the outdoors for refreshments. Mr. Pendleton chose three numbers from the Writings to show principles used in teaching, commenting on each one and showing ways of applying it. There was interested discussion afterwards.
     We have had Pendleton Hall for only four years, but what would we do without it? It has been in full use this summer, for the church building was closed for repairs during July and August. There have been festival services in the hall before; this time it became the "church" for one or two services each week. It has the advantage of being large enough that we are never crowded.
     Instead of the recorded music and piano accompaniment used in the past, the Society rented an electronic organ for two months. Although it cannot be compared in tone with our beloved old Estey pipe organ, it does add to the atmosphere of church and improves the singing. All six organists learned to use it, with varying results.

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This organ is used for popular music and even has a "sh-boom" attachment, which drummers use. This makes a sound like a wire brush, and it worried the life out of one organist, who thought the organ was defective.
     We rented this particular organ, despite its fancy attachments, because the Wurlitzer Company offered lessons to anyone in the Society while the organ was in our midst. Nineteen students made use of the offer; the youngest, from fifth grade up, being piano students of Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt. Some of these girls are already helping as accompanists at school worship. Learning organ technique so young should help them to be the organists of the future. In addition, most of the present organists took lessons, for obvious reasons, and several adults were learning for their own amazement.
     Mr. Acton observed many "last times"-the last Christmas festival; the last meetings with the Women's Guild, Theta Alpha and the Sons; the last graduation exercises, and so on. On each occasion he gave useful suggestions for the future. At the last annual meeting, in May, he reviewed the almost twenty years of his tenure, showing their connection with the early days of the Immanuel Church. From its early beginning under the Rev. W. F. Pendleton, it has been served with distinction by the Rev. Messrs. E. C. Bostock, N. D. Pendleton, David Klein, W. B. Caldwell and Gilbert H. Smith.
     The first generation has passed on, the second is now in command, and the work is now passing to the third and fourth generations of New Church families. Much has changed since Mr. Acton came. The school has doubted in attendance, has added classrooms, and has acquired its first man teacher. Church attendance has doubled-to fill a great need, two services will he held every Sunday, starting in September. The pastor has a regular assistant instead of occasional volunteers. New homes have arisen in the Park and on the newer portions of Park Lane and Gladish Lane. The Midwest Academy has been conceived, along with District Assemblies and the addition of Detroit to the District. Pendleton Hall has been built, and aptly named after the founder of the Society. We hosted our first General Assembly in thirty-six years. We have a newer, more modern Manse-just in time for complete occupancy. Mr. Acton did not take credit for these improvements; the Society awarded it to him with a resolution thanking him for years of outstanding leadership.
     The "last official gathering" was the New Church Day banquet. An album and a check were given to the Actons. Their going-away gift to us was a beautiful tape-recorder, unique in being brand new when given to the school. In a lighter mood, they sang a Zulu song with warmth and humor. The choir returned the serenade with songs for each departing guest by Rodgers (Dwight Day, guitar and tenor) and Hammerstein (Gloria Barry, lyrics). The highlight of these timeless verses was sung by Miss Gale Coffin and Miss Diana Carpenter to the tune of "Oh, Susannah." "Oh, Geoff Howard, we hate to see you leave-for an Englishman in cowboy boots is a sight we can't believe!"
     To my mind, the nicest gift to us was the sermon preached by Mr. Acton at an evening service late in July. His text was, "Come unto Me, all ye that labor"-enlarged by a heartening quotation from the Writings that "it is not so difficult to live the life that leads to heaven as some suppose." Many came to hear these comforting words; to say goodbye, with a present, to Geoffrey and Nadine; and to look forward to the future For, to quote Mr. Acton again: "We are in good hands."
     GLORIA BARRY


     DURBAN, NATAL

     The plane touched down at Louis Botha airport at 7:15 p.m., on Monday, June 10, 1963. There was a large gathering from the church to meet Peter Buss, who was on the plane. Peter was coming to Durban to spend his candidate summer in South Africa. It was lovely to have him with us again and to see the more mature and serious man he has become.

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The following Wednesday, after doctrinal class, the social committee sang a song of welcome to Peter, and after tea we all took the opportunity of speaking to him and of receiving news from all our relatives and friends in Bryn Athyn.
     On June 18, the children of the Society celebrated the 193rd birthday of the New Church. There were present twenty-six children and the parents of those children who were to give papers. The Rev. Wynne Acton gave a talk in which he expressed the hope that the peoples of the world would in years to come accept the teachings of the Writings. The three papers were entitled "The White Horse," "The New Jerusalem" and "The Holy City," and they were all of a very high standard. Peter Buss spoke on the second coming of the Lord. The tables were very prettily decorated, and a lovely supper was enjoyed by all the young.
     Ninety-five members of the church once again gathered at the High School Old Boys Club to celebrate our New Church Day. The tables were delightfully decorated with red roses and greenery. Our first toast of the evening was to "The Church," after which we drank a toast to our loved ones both near and in far off lands. A lovely rendering of "The Holy City" was given by Mrs. Dan Heinrichs, and this surely set the tone for an inspiring evening. The subject for this year's banquet was "Communications." Our toastmaster reminded us that the Lord's communication with man is through His Word. In 1757, the Last Judgment was effected in the spiritual world to separate the evil from the good. Thus our celebration of June Nineteenth is of an event that took place in the spiritual world: so was started a new spiritual age, a new state in the spiritual world. The Rev. Dan Heinrichs gave the first paper, on "Communications of the General Church and its Societies." He stated that inadequate communications are a disruptive influence, even in the home. In heaven the angels are the center of all communications and they delight in passing on their happiness. Our church has very good communications-everyone in the Society is always in touch through some form of communications service, and this must not fail, for with it we can go on from strength to strength. "Communications of the Society and its Members, Resident and Isolated" was the subject of our next paper. The writer. Mr. Wilfred Waters, stated that after the revelation of truths to the New Church by the Lord had been given, the church had to have communications in order to grow. All members of the Society, resident and isolated, should communicate with each other, thus fulfilling the Lord's wilt. Regular attendance not only at church but also at doctrinal classes and social activities enables us to share our ideas and thoughts with one another. The third and last paper was given by Mr. Peter Buss, his subject being "Communications of the New Church to Others." He mentioned that our first duty should be a genuine concern for others, and to try to impart truths to them. Let us think of God as Divine Man, he said: this is the cornerstone of our faith. Simplicity. Yes, a simple love of the Divine, the one and only God. How do we recognize these qualities in a man? We must first come to know his interests and point of view before he can be taught or can gain an interest in the church. Thus we have a fruitful field for the communication of ideas, and can help a man to find the Lord fully. There will be many setbacks, and the road of a prophet is a stony one; but be of good cheer, for the Lord will help us to prevail.
     The first children's sports afternoon, held in the school grounds on Monday, July 22, was a great success. The children were all extremely excited and full of energy the entire time, and we have to thank Mrs. Ken Waters for her efficient handling of them. After the children had taken part in the sports there was the traditional peanut scramble, plus tea and biscuits.
     The new social committee got off to a splendid start with its first social on Saturday, July 27. The hall was converted into a barn for the occasion. A miniature haystack occupied one corner, while saddles and a pair of garden shears decorated the walls.

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The program went with a swing from the start, with nearly all of the sixty people present joining in the dancing at one time or another Our caller, Mr. John Meiring, who patiently taught us the sequences of several square dances, had a hard time making himself heard above the clapping of hands, the stamping of feet, and the shrieks of laughter from the participants. There were other dances to vary the program. To satisfy the ravenous appetites caused by all this exercise there was a delicious supper of hot dogs, salad and coffee.
     The Mission held its annual Winter School for young people at Hambrook, Natal, from Sunday. June 30, to Sunday, July 7. Twenty-nine students attended the school. They were divided into three separate classes-according to age and previous attendance-to receive Instruction in the doctrines of the church. The teachers were the Rev. Dan Heinrichs, the Rev. Benjamin I. Nzimade, Candidate Peter Buss, the Rev. Stephen E. Buthelezi and the Rev. Paul Sibeko. At the end of the week a concert was held at which some of the students read papers relating what they had learned during the course of the week. At the service with which the Winter School closed, Candidate Peter Buss preached on "The Use of Worship" and conducted the opening of the service in Zulu. The Superintendent, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, administered the Holy Supper, reading the service in Zulu. It was certainly a milestone in the history of the Mission when two Europeans conducted the service in Zulu.
     On Friday and Saturday, May 17 and 18, the children of the Society, ranging from six to sixteen years of age, enacted two operettas in the church hall. Entitled Play Days in Holland and Little Gypsy Gay, these operettas delighted audiences on both evenings. Very patiently produced by Mrs. Brian Lester and Mrs. William Schuurman, they provided, we feel sure, a most useful and important lesson in co-operation for all the children. Play Days in Holland was the story of Dutch children on holiday. The set was attractively decorated with tulips, a lovely backdrop of a scene in Holland, and, much to the delight of the children, a real turning windmill. Little Gypsy Gay was altogether different, being the story of a baby found in a hut by the gypsies and eventually returned to her rightful parents. The costuming for both these operettas was quite delightful. It was evident from the delightful expressions on the faces of the large audiences at both these performances, and the natural expressions and actions of the young cast, that the hard work which preceded these performances was well worth while.
     SERENE DE CHAZAL


     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The 140th annual General Convention was held, July 4-7, in Miami, Florida. Approximately 300 ministers, delegates and visitors from 35 states and 3 Canadian provinces attended the main events, which were highlighted by the dedication of the newly completed chapel of the recently organized Miami congregation. A special feature of the program allowed all who attended to gather information and express their opinions in small groups before formal discussion and voting took place. Ministers heard interim reports on new experiments in progress involving new concepts of the parish ministry.
     A major item of business was the election of officers and of members to boards and committees. The president, the Rev. Richard H. Tafel, completed the first year of a three-year term, but elections were held for all other positions. Chosen by the 114 voting ministers and delegates were: Stewart E. Poole, vice president; Chester T. Cook, treasurer; Horace B. Blackmer, recording secretary; and the Rev. Bjorn Johanoson, editor of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER.
     Major results of the voting in the business sessions, aside from the election of officers, were as follows. A set of recommendations for sounder financial polices was adopted and a planning conference was set for January. Convention passed a resolution supporting the intention of the Board of Managers of the Theological School to move to close proximity to the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, and to continue its interseminary plan.

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A proposed amendment to Article 5, providing for a lay ministry, was passed. The Rev. Messrs. Rollo Billings and Ernest Martin were invested with the office of general pastor; the authorization of Mr. Harold Larsen as a lay minister and of Mr. Thornton B. Smallwood as a candidate for the lay ministry was voted; the authorization of Mr. Theodore Foster as a candidate for the ministry was renewed; and, after much discussion, Dr. Edward B. Hinkley was dropped from the Roll of Ministers "with deep regret" by a vote of 71-42. The Convention accepted an invitation from the Philadelphia Society to hold the 1964 Convention in that city.

     Canada. The Rev. Paul Zacharias, pastor of the Cherry Park Community Church, Portland, Oregon, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Church of the Good Shepherd, Kitchener, Ontario. He will replace the Rev. David P. Johnson, who is moving to Bellevue, Washington, to take part in Project Link.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1963

MINISTERIAL CHANGES              1963

     In addition to his duties as Secretary of the General Church, the Rev. Robert S. Junge has accepted appointment as visiting pastor to New England, replacing the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson.
     In addition to his duties on the faculty of the Academy of the New Church, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom has accepted appointment as visiting pastor to the Cleveland (North Ohio) Circle.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1963

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN              1963

     People coming to Bryn Athyn for Charter Day or any other time or occasion who need assistance in finding accommodation will please communicate with the Hostess Committee. Please address letters to: The Hostess Committee, c/o Mrs. Roy H. Rose, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PLACE FOR YOU 1963

PLACE FOR YOU              1963

     "To prepare heaven is to prepare those who are to be brought into heaven, because heaven is given according to the preparation, that is, according to the reception of good. For heaven is in the man, and there is a place for him in heaven according to the state of life and of faith in which he is; because place there corresponds to the state of life." (Arcana Coelestia 9305e)

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CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963




     Announcements
     The Chicago District Assembly will be held in Glenview, Illinois, Frida, October 18, to Sunday, October 20, inclusive, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
EASTERN CANADA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

EASTERN CANADA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963

     The Eastern Canada District Assembly will be held at Blair, Ontario, Friday, November 8, to Sunday, November 10, inclusive, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
CHARTER DAY 1963

              1963

     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 47th Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 11 and 12, 1963. The program:
     Friday, 11 a.m.-Cathedral Service, with an address by the Rev. Robert S. Junge
     Friday Afternoon-Football Game
     Friday Evening-Dance
     Saturday, 7 p.m.-Banquet. Toastmaster: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
RECEPTION OF THE LORD'S MERCY 1963

RECEPTION OF THE LORD'S MERCY       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
November 1963
No. 11
     "0 that men would praise the Lord for His mercy, and for His wonderful works to the sons of men." (Psalm 107: 8)

     The practice of keeping a harvest festival goes back to the beginnings of religion. For as "every man, when he beholds the universe, and particularly when he contemplates its order, is naturally led to acknowledge a Supreme Being . . . and to worship Him,"* so, when the earth has yielded her increase, and the fruit of the ground has been garnered and man is assured of food for the coming winter, he is innately led to praise and give thanks to the Creator and Maker of all things. "Where this is not the case, man is under the dominion of infernal spirits, and does not acknowledge a God."**
     * AC 1308.     
     ** Ibid.
     A harvest festival, held at the time of the gathering in of the first fruits of the ground, is essentially a religious celebration; it is not so much a thanksgiving for natural food as it is for the mercy of the Lord and for His wonderful works in providing that food as well as food for the spirit of man. The thankfulness and the praise spring from the acknowledgment that all is from Him; that our part, although of such great importance to us, is as nothing in comparison. The more clearly we see this and acknowledge it, the greater is our praise and thanks. The text is an earnest prayer that we may increasingly acknowledge and perceive this truth: "0 that men would praise the Lord for His mercy, and for His wonderful works to the sons of men."
     In the Psalm from which the text is taken, preceding each exhortation to praise Him, particular mercies of the Lord are recounted, so that man may be encouraged to give thanks to Him, not in a general and vague way, but for particular and known blessings of the past and the present.

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A time of thanksgiving, then, is a time for reflection and self-examination: a time to reflect upon the Lord's part in providing natural and spiritual food, and this, not as a general acknowledgment that all things are from Him, but as an increasing knowledge of His particular mercies and wonderful works; a time for self-examination, to see how far from conceit and selfishness we have held ourselves back from giving praise to the Lord, and have claimed for ourselves credit for the wonderful works which are not of our doing. Unless these two things precede and enter into this festival, and every other festival of the church, our praise and thanksgiving are merely of the lips, and their internal is a glorification of self-accomplishment and a complacent self-satisfaction.

     The essential use of festivals is to stimulate these two things-reflection and self-examination. In our day-to-day lives we are compelled to act and think according to the appearance that our natural and spiritual welfare depend upon our own efforts. In these states, which predominate during most of our life upon earth, our efforts seem all-important and the Lord's part seems far removed, concerned only with general and universal ends. The Lord's providence wills that it should seem so; for it is only in the self-acting of man that the Lord can give man His blessings, so that man can feel them in himself as his own and thus enjoy happiness and delight from them. The very image and likeness of God in man is this appearance of self-life, and the sensation of it is made more exquisite according to the increase of man's self-endeavor. Yet this sensation of self-life is destroyed if man confirms it as the truth and really believes that all things are from self and nothing is from the Lord. Here is the use of festivals-to remind man that in reality all is from the Lord, and that it is of His mercy that we are given to act as of ourselves. This can be done only if we look back upon the events of our lives, and see how the Lord has overruled our every effort and of His mercy has brought us to our present state. And if that state is found to be wanting-and who will not find it so?-then we are to examine our lives and discover how by self-leading, by giving in to sensual pleasures, by conceit and selfishness, we have interfered with the Lord's leading and prevented Him from showering His blessings upon us. We are then to acknowledge our transgression and return again to the Lord, who will abundantly pardon because His mercy is everlasting. In this way every event of the past, evil as well as good, unfortunate as well as fortunate, can be seen to be of the mercy of the Lord as a means of leading us to greater happiness.
     This shows that the external conditions of the present state in any celebration do not determine the interior joy of it. For the essence of the celebration is not the present external state, but rather the interior possibilities within that state-the interior potentialities of the present state when rightly regarded.

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Even in evil and calamity the mercy of the Lord is present, for when the cause of it is seen and acknowledged and shunned the Lord can and will lead away from it. The abundance of the harvest is not the cause of the thanksgiving. This is beautifully expressed in the wisdom of the ancients: "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me; lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."* An abundant harvest can lead man to the conceit that his own endeavors are responsible; a poor harvest can lead him to revile his God and to cheat and steal to supply his imagined need. These things are sure to follow if man regards the festival from external conditions. The prayer and desire should not be for food and wealth; it should be for sufficient food and wealth. This is the daily bread of the Lord's prayer: "Give us day by day, bread sufficient for us." When this is the sincere prayer, then whatever the external conditions at the time of the festival, there is still praise of the Lord and thankfulness for His mercies and for His wonderful works to the sons of men, for it is known and believed that what has been provided is best for our eternal welfare.
     * Proverbs 30: 8, 9.

     The use of reflection and self-examination as preparation for any celebration of the church is powerfully illustrated in the history of the sons of Israel in their journey out of Egypt into Canaan. At each great state of advance they were made to rest and to hear recounted the mercies of the Lord in the rigors and hardships of the past. Their stubbornness and rebellion in the past were recalled, and it was shown to them how the Lord, through the failures as well as through the successes of the past, had led them to the peace and glory of the present. Thus they were exhorted to look to the Lord in the present and give thanks to Him, and not to glory in self-accomplishment lest they lose all that had been gained. Thus Moses, after the forty years of wandering in the wilderness and shortly before his death, admonished them: "Thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart whether thou wouldest keep His commandments or no. . . . And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought thee into the land which He sware unto thy fathers . . . to give thee great and goodly cities which thou buildest not, and houses full of all good things which thou filledst not, and wells digged which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full, then beware thou lest thou forget the Lord who brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt. . . . And thou say in thine heart, My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God; for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day."*
     * Deuteronomy 8: 2, 6: 10, 11, 8: 17-18.

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     Joshua, having led the sons of Israel in the conquest of the land, after recalling the journey through the wilderness, said: "And l have given you a land for which you did not labor, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the Lord, and serve Him in sincerity and in truth. . . . And the people answered, and said. . . . For the Lord our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt therefore will we also serve the Lord; for He is our God."*
     * Joshua 24: 13, 14, 16, 17.
     Samuel also, at the end of his life, reviewed the same events, adding the works of the Lord during the period of the judges, and said: "Stand still, that I may reason with you before the Lord of all the righteous acts of the Lord, which He did to you and to your fathers. . . . Only fear the Lord, and serve Him in truth with all your heart: for consider how great things He hath done for you."* David in the Psalms and the prophets in their prophecies followed the same practice.
     * I Samuel 12: 7, 24.

     From all this it is clear that a festival of thanksgiving should be preceded by a recalling of the Lord's mercies in the past and of His infinite wisdom in providing for our eternal welfare in all events, evil as well as good. "0 that men would praise the Lord for His mercy, and for His wonderful works to the sons of men." This brings us into a state of humiliation, the state which precedes all genuine glorification. We reflect upon the past to see that its every state of good has come from the Lord alone. For "man cannot be in humiliation, nor consequently can he receive the Lord's mercy . . . unless he acknowledges that there is nothing but evil from himself, and that all good is from the Lord."*
     * AC 5758: 2.
     It is useful to begin with reflection on external things and to progress towards interiors. The materials from which we build our houses and clothe ourselves are all the creations of the Lord. We collect and assemble, but the Lord alone creates. That which feeds us is not the material of the vegetable kingdom; it is the Divine life within, which is uncreate and which is freely given by the Lord. The land in which our country exists, with its mineral and vegetable resources, is God's creation.

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The order of the government of our country, in which we enjoy freedom and the privilege of performing uses, is great because it was founded upon Divine order in the natural sphere. It is not created by man, and we give thanks to the Lord that men have been led to see, acknowledge and apply these laws. Whatever of prosperity we enjoy in the church and in the society is from the truth of the Word of the Lord in His second coming. It is the Lord who gives conjugial love and the interior joys and pleasures of family and home.
     All of these things should lead us in the end to reflect upon the blessings of spiritual and eternal life which are of the Lord alone. The ground in which spiritual life grows is the Lord's with man; it is the good of innocence which is implanted in every man during infancy. This is the beginning of the new will. The seeds of truth received through the reading of the Word and instruction from it are of the Lord alone, and the light and heat which nourish these seeds and cause them to spring up unto eternal life are from the spiritual sun, which is the Lord. The joy and delight of this harvest is the sensation of the Lord's love and wisdom as being our own; and so we come to see and acknowledge that all is from the Lord, and our praise and thanksgiving are according to the fullness of this perception and acknowledgment.

     To acknowledge these things from the heart is to praise the Lord for His mercy, and for His wonderful works to the sons of men. There is only one thing that prevents the reception of this Divine mercy, and the enjoyment of all good. It is the evil of self-love. To shun the evils of this love is to prepare the ground for the reception of the Lord's mercies which He would shower upon us. The man who examines himself, sees and acknowledges his evils, and shuns them as sins against God, he is a wise man; and "whoso is wise, and will observe these things, even he shall understand the mercies of the Lord." From understanding he can say with fulfilledness of heart: O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy is forever"; and he can exhort his fellow man: "O that men would praise the Lord for His mercy, and for His wonderful works to the sons of men." Amen.

LESSONS: Deuteronomy 8. Psalm 107. Arcana Coelestia 9296.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 570, 561, 566.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 109, 129.

478


THANKSGIVING 1963

THANKSGIVING       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     A Talk to Children

     You know, of course, why it is that we have a feast every year on Thanksgiving Day. You know how the Lord brings the seasons-spring, summer, autumn and winter. Spring is called in the Word seedtime, because then seeds must be planted in order that they may have warmth and rain all through the summer to make them grow; and autumn is called harvest, because then the plants, having become full grown, bear fruit, corn and wheat, grapes and apples and many different kinds of food for the service of man.

     That these things may grow, the warmth of summer is necessary. In the winter time, when the cold winds blow, when the ground is frozen hard and the snow is piled high, nothing can grow. If seeds are planted then, unless we give them warmth as in a greenhouse, they will either die, or they will sleep until spring comes with its heat to open the ground and bring the water and food to the little plant. In the far north, where the winter is very, very long and the summer is very, very short, scarcely anything can grow. The ground is snow-covered and barren nearly all the time, and many plants that bear a luscious harvest for us are not known and their fruits are never tasted there.
     It is the heat and light of the sun that make things grow. Not the light alone, nor the heat alone, but heat and light together. When these two are received, as is the case in spring and summer, then will seeds sprout, send forth roots and leaves, and bear flowers and fruit. If it were not for the sun, and for the heat and light the Lord sends us from the sun every year, there would be no growth; there would be no harvest; there would be no food to sustain us over the winter; and we would die of starvation. So at harvest time we have a feast at which we enjoy all the fruits of the ground, and at which we given thanks to the Lord because He has sent us seedtime and harvest.
     Now there is, as you know, a sun in the other world. It is not the sun that we see on earth. It is not the sun that brings the spring, the summer and the autumn by which the Lord provides food for our bodies. It is another sun, in which the Lord dwells, a sun that gives light and heat to the angels.

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Its heat is the Lord's love and its light is the Lord's wisdom; and that heat and light cause things to grow in the other world, just as heat and light from our own sun cause things to grow in this world.
     The Lord's sun shines just as brightly on everyone. But some receive its light, and others do not. Some turn their backs upon the Lord and close all the windows of their minds against Him, so that while the sun goes on shining brightly outside, for them it is dark and they see nothing of those beautiful things which are in heaven. For them it is cold, for they shut out the heat of that sun as well as its light. Their life is like that of those in the far north, where for months at a time the sun is not seen, where there is only night and only winter. There is no spring, no summer and no harvest. Evil spirits live there in barren wastes and deserts among caves and rocks. They never taste the delicious fruits on which the angels live. They have to work hard for the coarse food that finds some soil between the rocks and stones. All of this is because they have rejected the light and heat of the Lord's sun, have tried to get as far away from Him as possible, and so have journeyed to a land where it is dark and cold.

     Now in your life also there is a seedtime and a harvest. The springtime of your life is now, while you are children. When you grow up to be men and women, then it will be summer for you; and as you grow older it will pass from summer to autumn, and then is the time of harvest. The harvest is when you go into the other world. There, in heaven, all men are gathered after their life on earth, just as grain is gathered in from the fields and stored up for use. There is gathered all that has grown during spring, summer and autumn, that is, during childhood, adult life and old age on earth. Nothing can be gathered there that has not grown here. If seeds are not planted in the spring, if you have put nothing into your garden, you will reap no harvest; and if, after they are planted, you do not take care of them, water them and weed them through the summer, they will bear no fruit.
     So is it also with your lives. Seeds of heavenly fruit must be planted while we are on earth, while you are children-in the spring of your life's year when they can take root and grow; and these little plants must be taken care of during the summer of adult age, or, when you go into the other world, you will reap no harvest. You will find yourselves there in that barren country where nothing will grow, and where you will never see beautiful plants or flowers.
     The seed that grows in the light and warmth of heaven's sun is the Lord's Word. From the Lord's Word all the wonderful and beautiful things of heaven grow. This seed must be planted in your minds when you are children, when it is springtime.

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And you must then receive it as a gift most precious, as something that you must love and cherish and care for and tend all through your lives. If that is done, then will the light and heat of the Lord's sun fill your lives with gladness. They will cause the seed to take root and grow, and to produce around you in the other world beautiful gardens with lawns and trees and flowers, and with vines and orchards bearing luscious fruits far more delicious than anything to be found on earth. You will not see this garden. You may not realize that it is there, because the eyes of your spirit are not opened. But when you pass into the other world you will find this garden. The angels will lead you to it, and they will tell you: "This is your garden. This is what has been growing in your mind through your life on earth; enter in and enjoy the fruits thereof."
     This is the harvest that is most precious of all. This is the Thanksgiving to which you should look forward above everything else, and for the sake of which you should be willing to give up many things that you might like to have, but which are wrong and evil. When you celebrate Thanksgiving, and enjoy the fruits of the ground in a great feast of joy, you should think also of this other harvest. Remember that as you receive the Lord's Word and love it, so will the seeds be planted from which that harvest comes. Give thanks to the Lord for these seeds. Give thanks to Him for the love and wisdom which, shining down from the sun of heaven, cause those seeds to grow. And pray the Lord that He may help you to take care of the little plants all through your lives; so that when the summer is ended and the autumn comes, when you grow old and are ready to die, you may awake in the other life to a glad thanksgiving-an eternal harvest, an ingathering of the fruits that bring everlasting happiness in heaven. Amen.

LESSON: Psalm 148.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 560, 568, 570.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. CI0, CI8.
FEAR OF GOD 1963

FEAR OF GOD              1963

     "To 'fear God' is to guard and keep what the Divine has commanded, for all they who fear God guard and keep the commandments; but all holy fear, and hence obedience and the guarding of the commandments, are from the Divine, and not at all from man" (Arcana Coelestia 6678).

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IMPUTATION 1963

IMPUTATION       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1963

     The subject of this address is imputation. If that statement evokes little or no response, that is scarcely to be wondered at, because the term "imputation" has almost lapsed into desuetude. It comes from Latin by way of the law. To impute is, legally, to charge, arraign or indict. In general it is to ascribe something, especially a fault or a virtue, to a person, and then deal with him in an appropriate manner; that is, deal with him as though he actually possessed that fault, or was graced by that virtue.

     Theologically, imputation means two things: the vicarious attribution of personal guilt, on account of the sin of another, and the vicarious attribution of personal righteousness, on account of the righteousness of another. The orthodox Christian doctrine is, that God the Father imputed the guilt of Adam's sin to all his descendents; turned away from the human race; and from Divine justice, condemned it to eternal death. But the Son of God came into the world by the will of the Father to expiate and make satisfaction for that sin and to effect a reconciliation. This He did by taking on Himself the entire guilt and condemnation of mankind and by suffering the cross for it.
     Now this faith, which imputes the merit and righteousness of the Lord, was not known in the Apostolic Church. That church is simplicity worshiped the Lord Jesus, and also God the Father in Him. It had no thought of a tri-personal trinity, and it followed the teaching of the Gospels in believing that men would be judged by their own words and their own deeds. The thought it held ascribed to a man his own guilt or righteousness, not that of another.
     The idea of a vicarious attribution could not come into existence until a belief in three Divine personalities had been established; for that belief depends upon one person making satisfaction to another person, and it could not be sustained for a moment under the concept of one God in one Divine person. Belief in a vicarious imputation of guilt, or righteousness, belongs to the Western Church. It is part of the Augustinian doctrine of original sin, and under that doctrine-under that view-the term has two meanings or two usages. It does refer to the judgment passed by God upon the entire human race, as guilty because of the sin of Adam; and it refers also to God's judgment of individual persons on the basis of their own merits or the lack thereof.

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Protestantism retained these usages but added a further one-namely, the imputation of Christ's righteousness and merit to believers.
     Modern thought, however, tends away from legal analogies, and except for its historical associations the term, imputation, has almost vanished. It is widely felt among a number of current writers in the field of theology that it is morally impossible to maintain that men, in general, are guilty because of Adam's sin. There is a common perception that even among men, while one man might take on himself the punishment of another, he cannot take upon himself the other's guilt. Yet this is not rejection of the doctrine, it is simply an attempt to soften it and make it more palatable. For it is still believed that the guilt of Adam's sin is imputed to other men, even if it said that this is done only with those who sin-that it is a conditional imputation.

     Now it will have been realized, perhaps, that there are two aspects to this subject-the imputation of the Lord's merit and righteousness and the imputation of guilt to men. Our concern in this address is with the second of these two aspects-that is, the imputation of good and evil to man; and we would simply note in passing that the Christian doctrine of the imputation of the merit and righteousness of the Lord was based on a misunderstanding of that in which His merit and righteousness consist. The Writings show these things to be such that in no way could they be imputed to any man.
     The things by which the Lord made Himself righteousness-the things in which His merit consists-are entirely Divine, and, as the Writings say, they could no more be imputed to man than could the creation of the universe. Yet there is an imputation with man. However, what is imputed to men is obviously not the guilt of Adam's sin, which would be a tremendous injustice. Even if Adam had been an individual, instead of the representative figure of a church, it would certainly have been contrary to any concept of human justice, let alone Divine justice, to impute guilt to men for a sin which was not committed by them-for a sin committed untold centuries before they were born.
     What is imputed to man is neither the righteousness of the Lord, which is impossible, nor yet the guilt of another's sin, which would be unthinkable. What is imputed is his own good or his own evil-the spiritual qualities he has appropriated to himself in freedom and in which he has confirmed himself by his life. Furthermore, the Writings insist that only what is attributed to the good is imputed by the Lord. What is ascribed to the evil is from hell, which also imputes evil to man; and in each instance the imputation is not based on the acts of the body, or even on the relatively external thought of the understanding, but on the inmost affections of the will, which are the true quality of the inner life, and are indeed the man himself.

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The ground of imputation, therefore, is not what a man is, but what, with his ruling love, he wills to become, and therefore will become.

     The general doctrine is that there is an imputation of good and evil. The Lord imputes good to man, hell imputes evil, and it is only an appearance in the letter of the Word that it is otherwise. What is imputed to man is his own good or his own evil. Every man has a life peculiar to himself, the Writings say, which remains after death, and to an evil man is then imputed the evil of his life. That is the general teaching, and to follow it we should note what is meant by imputation in the Writings. That is made clear in these teachings. "By imputation is meant accusation after death, and thence adjudication, that is, judgment concerning the spiritual life of a human being, which takes place according to the state of man's spirit." However, it is added that "the imputation of evil is not accusation, arraignment and judgment as in the world. Evil itself, produces this effect, because the evil freely separate themselves from the good since they cannot be together. The delights of the love of evil hold the delights of the love of good in aversion, and in the spiritual world bring about a separation.
     Thus imputation, or what is meant by imputation in the Writings, is not the verdict of other world court proceedings. Contrary to long established popular opinion, there is no literal bar of Divine justice before which every man must stand. What happens is, that the real quality of his life is disclosed and this judges him to heaven or hell by drawing him to one or the other. To understand what is imputed in this way it is necessary to note the following teaching: "Since all in hell are influenced by a will of evil, all there are viewed from that will. Wherefore imputations of evil after death take place according to the quality of the will and the understanding. Evils are there imputed to everyone, not according to the deeds themselves, but according to the state of the mind in the deeds, for the deeds follow the body into the grave, but the mind rises again." "The deeds follow the body into the grave, but the mind rises again." That is a very clear statement of the essential principle.
     From this it follows that thought is not imputed to man, but will. Love and its affections are in the will, and evil belongs to the will, to the love and to the affection. So it is that man's will is what is imputed to him and not his thought, and these ideas are brought together in a further teaching which is, that "imputations after death take place, not according to the external circumstances of the deed, but according to the internal circumstances of the mind, and these are viewed according to the state of the church with everyone.

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Thus a man who has no fear of God, no love of the neighbor, no reverence for the holy things of the church, becomes guilty after death of all the evils he did in the body, because his heart, from whence these deeds flow, was turned away from heaven and turned toward the hells, and deeds flow, it is said, from the place where the heart has its habitation."
     If the heart is in an infernal society it intends and confirms, as do those in that society, all the evil that is done by the man and of that evil he is therefore guilty. And when it is said here that evil is imputed, this is meant in accordance with the teaching that in these instances the man has acquired a sphere of delight-he has acquired a sphere of delight from the evil, and by that he judges himself to the hells.

     Now these teachings furnish the rational explanation of something that is quite well known to all students of the Writings, and that is that men who have committed the same deeds in the body may be judged quite differently after death. A number of men may act and speak alike, and yet all differently, because each one does so from a different will; and they will be judged differently because evil is imputed to man according to the quality of his will and his understanding. So when it is said in the letter of the Word that men will be judged according to their deeds, what is meant is the quality of the will and the understanding in the deeds, no matter what the deeds themselves may have seemed to be in externals.
     Under this principle there are certain evils which are not imputed to man and these may be classified as follows: Evils of ignorance are not imputed because imputation is to those who know, and not to those who do not know. In spiritual things, then, if not always in natural ones, ignorance of the law may be indeed a valid excuse. Evils committed in ignorance of the fact that they are evil-idolatory, for example, on the part of those who know no better-are not imputed. Nor are those evils which are done in a state that is not of rationality. What is done by a man when he is deprived of rationality is not imputed to him. There would seem indeed to be a common perception of this fact, and one which has led to the almost standard defense one meets today against criminal charges. However, spiritually it is true that the evils which are done by a man when he is not in a state of rationality are not imputed to him as evils. Now they may be imputed later: if his condition is such that he may return to a rational state, then the evils would be imputed-if he should confirm them then. Unintentional evils are not imputed to man if he does not purpose what is evil, if he does not do it of deliberate intent; or, of course, if he is destitute of reason. Then the evils that are done unwittingly are not imputed to him as his own.

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This is the general significance of the cities of refuge which Israel was required to maintain in the land of Canaan for those who unintentionally slew other men. Furthermore, those evils which are only of the will-that is, evils which proceed from the will and without meditation-are not imputed to man unless, and the qualification is important, he has confirmed them in his understanding.
     A man may be inclined by heredity, or by some previous actual doing of evil, toward the commission of certain evil acts, and those will not be imputed to him unless they have been confirmed in the understanding. However, if evils that are only of the will are not imputed to man, neither are those which are only in his thought. No evil that is the subject of thought only is imputed to man, because he is so created as to be able to understand and thence think either good or evil, and he can desire or not desire. What he does desire is received by the will and appropriated, but what he does not desire is not received and is therefore not appropriated by him. One would understand that to mean, that if an evil enters the imagination of the thought only, it is not imputed; but if it is received with delight, so that the delight of the evil is wilfully induced and experienced in the imagination, then, of course, it would become of the will also. But the teaching is clear, that an evil that is only of the will or the understanding is not imputed. The same is said of evils which result from some prevailing concupiscence and also of occasional evils with those who are in faith. The regenerating man cannot instantly abstain from all evil; evils will still be done, but they will not be intended, and for that reason they will not be imputed as his own.

     None of those evils, then, are imputed to men, and from this two laws emerge-namely, that evils which are only of thought are not imputed to man; and that for evil to be imputed it must be from both the will and the understanding. With regard to the first of these, it is said in the Writings that no man can refrain from thinking evil, but he can refrain from willing it, and so making it his own. The evil which enters into the thought and goes no farther does no harm, because evil is continually infused and can be as continually repelled. It is when it enters the will that harm is done. But the mere presence of evil in the understanding does not carry imputation, and the importance of this teaching can scarcely be overestimated.
     A proper understanding of it might save many people from much unnecessary mental anguish. It is very commonly believed in the world that the thought is the man, with the result that many people judge themselves by their thought, by the things which enter into their thought. But thought does not make the man.

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There are two things which do so, the thought and the affection, and thought without the affection of love is not the man himself. The evil that simply presents itself in the imagination is not the index of the mind. We may realize that from the fact that certain evils have only to present themselves for us to turn away from them in revulsion. In fact, the human mind is so constituted that anything may present itself in the thought-anything may present itself in the imagination; and yet we are no more responsible for what thus enters into the imagination than we can be held responsible for the people who may walk up and down the street outside our homes. We are responsible for those whom we choose to invite inside and make our friends; and similarly, we are responsible when we take certain evils out of the imagination and give consent to them, by inviting them to return with delight. But the mere presence of the thought of evil is not the index of the man himself. Imputed evil is from the whole mind. Evils which proceed from one part of the mind and not at the same time from the other are not appropriated. So it is, as we have seen, that the evil which is only in the thought is not regarded as man's own. Indeed it is not uncommon for men to have entertained, sometimes for considerable periods of time, the thought that, given the opportunity, they would commit a certain evil; only to discover, when the opportunity was finally afforded, that that evil did not attract them at all: it had been only in the thought and had not been of the will.

     The evils that are imputed to man are, then, those which come from both his will and his understanding: those which he knows to be evil, which intellectually he believes to be evil, but which he does not shun; those which he appropriates by inviting to himself in order that he may experience their delights. In all those instances the spirit of man acquires a sphere from the delight of evil-a sphere that will be perceived by good spirits in the life after death and will cause them to separate from him, and a sphere which will cause him to separate himself because it makes the sphere of the delight of good repugnant.
     This teaching should not be misunderstood. The evils that are not imputed to man, are evil in themselves. We should make no mistake about that-they are evil. But they are not attributed to him as his evils, because he has not acquired from them a sphere of the delight of evil. This is really one of the most comforting doctrines in the Writings-one which shows that there may be more hope for some men and women than they themselves think. This doctrine is not given that we may minimize evil, but that we may be able to see with some degree of clarity what are the things which we should strive to resist, and what may be regarded, in the mercy of the Lord, as not being part of our lot.

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The doctrine shows also, that the imputation of good or evil after death is according to perfect justice. Conviction in a criminal court on earth is not always with the hearty assent of the convicted defendant; but in the world of spirits man imputes evil to himself by freely separating himself from the good because their sphere is intolerable to the sphere of the delight of evil which he has acquired for himself. There is only one way in which man may acquire such a sphere, and that is from deliberate, intentional evils which are done and confirmed with the eyes open and in a free state. There is no other imputation of evil than that. This is the doctrine of imputation delivered in the Writings and it is entirely in accord with the letter of the Word, which says: "The soul which sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. The soul that sinneth, it shall die."
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY              1963

     Glorification. To glorify is to make Divine. Glorification is therefore the process by which the Lord, on the planes of the rational, natural and sensual minds and of the body, put off by degrees the merely human and put on the Human from the Divine. It includes also the bringing of these planes into an infinitely perfect correspondence with the Supreme Divine, such as that of a Divine mind and body with a Divine soul. Thus the term refers also to the establishment of a Divine consciousness in the Lord's mind, and to the process whereby His Human, from being a receptacle of life, became life itself. As that which is offered to the Lord by man, glorification is praise, exaltation and worship from a sincere heart. (See TCR 104; SS 99; AC 2112.)

     God. By God is meant in the supreme sense the Divine above the heavens, which is the Divine good; in the internal sense the Divine in the heavens, which is the Divine truth, is meant. The distinction made here rests on the fact that Divine truth proceeds from Divine good, makes heaven, and arranges it. It should be noted also that God and the Father do not, in the spiritual sense, mean two persons; God means the Divine as to wisdom, and the Father means the Divine as to love. One of the things most characteristic of New Church terminology is that we rarely speak of "God," but name Him "the Lord" without the addition of other names. (See AC 7268; AR 21; AC 14.)

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FORTY-EIGHTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1963

FORTY-EIGHTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY       FRANK S. ROSE       1963

     COLCHE5TER, JULY 19-21, 1963

     It was a record-breaking Assembly! We accommodated 110 people in homes and hotels. Those who came only for Sunday brought the total number of visitors to 149, and this, together with our own membership, gave a grand total of some 230 people who took part in the Assembly activities.

     First Session. Many people took advantage of the tea provided on Friday evening by the ladies of Theta Alpha to welcome friends old and new. There was a last-minute roundup of chairs, due to the fact that the extra ones ordered did not arrive in time, but this meant only that the people in the back rows had the best seats in the house. The session was opened by Bishop Pendleton just after 8:00 p.m. with a short service of worship. The Bishop then declared the Assembly open and spoke briefly. The host pastor, the Rev. Frank Rose, then read messages of greeting from Mr. and Mrs. John Posthuma, Lyris Hyatt and Vera Powell, the Bryn Athyn Sandstroms, Roses International, Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Fred Fletcher of Hurstville, Australia, and the president of the General Conference of the New Church, the Rev. Bernard S. Willmott. Bishop Pendleton added greetings from the Bryn Athyn Society gathered to celebrate New Church Day, and others rose to convey verbal messages from friends in Scandinavia and other parts of the world. Having been well and truly greeted, the Assembly then proceeded to adopt the minutes of the 47th British Assembly as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1962, pp. 546-549.
     Just before 8:30 we settled down for the address by the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen on "Can the Love of Self be Good?" After describing the nature of the human proprium, Mr. Boyesen pointed to the teachings concerning the heavenly proprium that is given to those who are regenerated by the Lord. In opening the discussion, Bishop Pendleton thanked the speaker for a "powerful and thoughtful" address. He emphasized that man is delivered from evil through the delight of use. The only other comment came from the Rev. Donald Rose, fresh from Australia via Bryn Athyn, who called attention to the teaching that the love of self is one of the three loves which perfect man when rightly subordinated.

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     The discussion could have gone on for some time, but a strange thing happened. One by one, men in various parts of the hall rose and quietly left the building-a terrifying experience for a speaker! In due course they returned, explaining that they had been called out for the truly British custom of "lighting up"; no, not their pipes, but their cars parked along Maldon Road. This broke the sphere, so, after a short reply by Mr. Boyesen, the meeting was closed with announcements, a hymn and the Benediction.
     We found, however, that we could pursue the subject in small groups as we enjoyed the hospitality of the Colchester Society in the marquee, where wine and biscuits were provided. There, in the light of lamps hung high in the tent, we mingled in happy circles until people dispersed to homes and hotels. A very happy day!

     Second Session. The second session, on Saturday morning, was opened by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom. We then turned to the business of the British Finance Committee of the General Church (BFC), and in the short space of half an hour managed to hear reports from the chairman, the Rev. Alan Gill, and the treasurer, Mr. Kenneth Pryke. The latter was discussed and formally approved. We then ratified the Bishop's reappointment of Messrs. E. R. E. Brisoe, Kenneth Pryke and Herbert F. Ward to the committee and heard of the Bishop's appointment of the Rev. Frank Rose as chairman, following the retirement from that position of the Rev. Alan Gill. Messrs. A. M. Appleton and Philip Waters were re-elected as auditors.
     Contrary to the usual custom, the presidential address was given at this second session rather than at the first because it was felt that many people who would like to hear the Bishop could not be at the Assembly on Friday evening. The Bishop spoke on the question "Where is Thy God?" (Psalm 42: 3). This reminder of the essential acknowledgment and worship of the New Church aroused a number of comments and questions, but, as at the other sessions, time seemed all too short. After announcements-among them, one suggesting that the men might remove their coats because of the heat-the session closed with the singing of Psalm 42 and the Benediction.

     Third Session. For the first time in many years we had a session on Saturday afternoon. Worship was conducted by the Rev. Frank Rose, and reports were made by him as one of the visiting pastors and as editor of the News Letter. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom also made two reports, the first as the other visiting pastor, the second as chairman of the British Academy of the New Church.

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     Mr. Sandstrom then took the rostrum for the final address of the Assembly, on "The Understanding of the Word." To understand the Word, he said, was to see the Lord; and this is to make it possible for the man of the church to become His image and likeness. Two laymen commented on the address, but once again the discussion had to close before it was fairly under way. We shall have to devize some arrangement that will solve this problem.

     Social. It had been six years since we last held the Assembly Social at the Red Lion Hotel. This year we found the room re-decorated and even more elegant than before. It was the largest social for more than a decade. Nearly 140 people sat around tables to enjoy one another's company, to watch or join in the dancing, and to witness the entertainment-a choral group from Michael Church under the direction of Miss Edith Elphick. Later we had a program of toasts, with Mr. Roy Griffith as toastmaster, and speeches on "The Church" by Mr. Norman Turner, "Friends from Overseas" by Miss Edith Elphick, "New Arrivals Since the Last Assembly" by Mr. Garth Cooper-although we never did hear about the new arrivals-and "The Future of the Church" by Mr. Christopher Smith. Bishop Pendleton added a few remarks and the social closed with the singing of the 45th Psalm.

     Services. Sunday was a beautiful day, and a record number of people filled the church to overflowing-210 as compared to a previous high of 187 at the 1950 Assembly. Children under five were excluded from the service, but Mr. and Mrs. Wallace Glover looked after them in the garden of 183 Maldon Road, next door to the church. There was a talk for children by the Rev. Frank Rose on "What is Heaven Like?"- inquire and learn what delight is, and you will know (TCR 570); the sermon, by the Rev. Donald Rose, was on "Butter and Honey" (Isaiah 7:15).
     After the service we posed for the Assembly photograph-so much easier now than it used to be. Instead of having the Assembly arrange itself on a huge scaffolding, the photographer, Mr. Brian Appleton, simply takes up a position on the roof of the church and looks down on us all. Two hundred and nineteen faces may be counted in the picture.
     After luncheon we entered the church for the final service-with an address by Bishop Pendleton and the administration of the Holy Supper. During the service, the Rev. Donald Rose showed Old Testament slides to a large group of children next door to the church.
     The Sunday luncheon was delicious, but, unfortunately, the cost was too much for some people, especially those with large families, so there was a number of empty seats.

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This was more than compensated for by the wonderful turnout for the garden party and tea (free of charge) at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wyncoll. The sun shone down on a happy throng-a delightful close to a very delightful Assembly.

     Statistics.     Two hundred and four people signed the roll (including some fifty young people and children). Excluding the children, this breaks down as follows: 68 from Colchester, 45 from various places in Great Britain, 40 from London, 8 from the U.S., 6 from Sweden, 3 from Norway, 3 from Canada, 2 from Germany, 1 from Durban.
     Attendance figures were as follows:

Friday Tea          (over) 100
First Session     124
Second Session     138
Saturday Lunch     142
Third Session     125
Saturday Tea     159
Social          139
Worship          210
Holy Supper     103 communicants
Garden Party     200
          FRANK S. ROSE,
     Secretary of the Assembly
NEW CHURCH CLUB 1963

NEW CHURCH CLUB              1963

     The Assembly was preceded by a meeting of the New Church Club on Thursday, July 15. The Rev. Donald Rose gave the address, on the "Eat not so much" incident, pointing out that Robsahm's account is very suspect. Fifteen men attended.
GIFTS TO THE LORD 1963

GIFTS TO THE LORD              1963

     "The Lord does not accept any gifts or offerings, but gives to every one freely. Nevertheless He wills that these things shall come from man as from himself, provided he acknowledges that they are not from himself but from the Lord. For the Lord imparts the affection of doing good, from love, and the affection of speaking truth from faith; but the affection itself flows in from the Lord, and it appears as if it were in the man, thus from the man. . . . From this it is evident that what are called gifts and offerings made to the Lord by man are in their essence gifts and offerings made to man by the Lord, and their being called gifts and offerings is from the appearance" (Arcana Coelestia 9938: 2).

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MEETINGS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1963

MEETINGS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL       CARL GUNTHER       1963

     AUGUST 16TH TO 23rd, 1963

     After the short service of worship that customarily opens the week of meetings of the Council, Bishop Pendleton offered a word of welcome to all those who were able to attend the 1963 session. In doing so he noted that the published program of meetings and classes promised an unusually outstanding series of meetings, and he was gratified to see so many present.
     The statistics show that seventy-two teachers currently active in New Church education were present as well as eighteen others who are presently teaching in non-New Church schools or who are looking toward becoming teachers in our distinctive system. The Rev. David Simons, chairman of the program committee, gave his reasons for opening some of our sessions to people who are not presently active as New Church teachers. He divided the sessions into two classes: those he termed informative, which were open to practicing and non-practicing teachers alike, and those he termed deliberative, which were open only to those presently working in New Church schools. This innovation seems to have been highly successful. The ripples of stimulation always stirred by the pebbles of truth dropped into the waters of education lapped on new and broader shores for the first time in the Council's history. This certainly seems to be one way of encouraging more qualified men and women to help shoulder the ever increasing educational load.

     As in past years, two series of classes were offered, both of which added substantially to the increasing scope of background knowledge necessary for continual improvement in our work. Bishop De Charms delivered a very stirring series on "The Cosmogony of the Principia." Just what this had to do with New Church education, the Bishop worked hard to make clear to us. He pointed out that if we could discover what Swedenborg's premises were and could see how he built them into the logical explanation of the means by which the Lord could have created the universe, and if we would then apply the teachings as given in the Divine doctrine, we might see more clearly the path by which the Lord leads men into all truth. The Bishop's study represents a slightly different view of the philosophical works than has been presented in the past, and he expressed the hope that others, through their own studies, might add even more light to this important subject.

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     The second series of classes was the work of several minds in collaboration on the subject of art. The classes were organized and led by Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt, Bryn Athyn Elementary School, and Miss Erica Lavine of the Academy staff. The series consisted of one or two brief but provocative lectures, round-table discussions and work-shop sessions, and was rounded off by an excellent summation of the place of art in our lives and in the curriculum by the Rev. David Simons. Many expressed the hope that this very instructive and practical series on art would be followed up in future years with similar sessions on some of the other fine arts.

     The Council meetings themselves were also varied in their offerings. Reports on curricular studies by committees on anatomy, English, elementary arithmetic and science, and a new approach to teaching the fundamentals of reading, were made and thoroughly discussed. Several ideas and suggestions for further studies resulted, and thus New Church education marches on.
     In addition to these reports a docket session was provided in order that other education problems could be discussed. Suggestions on such topics as summer school programs for teachers, future curricular studies, formalizing statements in regard to the states of mental growth, and others were put before the Council for its consideration and action.
     In its final session the council heard a paper by the Rev. Fred Schnarr entitled "The Burden of the New Morality." Mr. Schnarr stressed the need for teaching, perhaps more emphatically than ever before, the virtues of a moral life. He noted with serious concern the erosion of the moral fabric in modern civilization, thus placing an increasing burden on our schools and homes in the maintenance of high moral standards. The discussion brought out many of the educational implications, both philosophic and practical, that this decline in morality involves.
     New Church education has been called the work of charity for the New Church. As such it represents a vital responsibility that seems to fall on the shoulders of comparatively few. The Council provides the much needed strength that a number working in concert provides. That its leadership has been dynamic and blessed with foresight is amply attested to by the constantly improving programs in all of our schools. The effect of New Church education has been great within the church. As the church grows, and as this work progresses, the world must also surely benefit.
     CARL GUNTHER

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CONFESSION OF THE CELESTIAL CHURCH 1963

CONFESSION OF THE CELESTIAL CHURCH       COLIN M. GREENHALGH       1963

     The things which enter into the church's confession make known before the Lord the quality of the church. That confession should be an acknowledgment from the heart that the Lord is Divine Man, who alone is good; that the Lord Himself is the church; and that men are not men, and cannot enter into the body of the church, until they confess that the finite nature is evil in itself, shun evils as sins against the Lord, and are created anew by Him.
     Not infrequently we have heard views expressed which would identify the body of the Lord's church, at least in its specific parts, with an actual organization. It is said that since the church must exist among men, where else does it do so than with those who acknowledge the Lord's second advent? We believe this attitude to be deficient in understanding of a true confession of the church; an attitude that fails to discriminate between one kind of acknowledgment and another, thus between one quality and another.
     The work Invitation to the New Church teaches: "Qualities are of two kinds: one kind pertains to the knowledge . . . that He is the Human of God the Father. The other kind pertains to the knowledges which proceed from Him. . . . These things also make up the idea of the Lord."* These additional knowledges are said to make known the quality of the Lord, to effect conjunction, and to determine the quality of the church.
     * Inv. 41.
     As an enlightened church body we believe, perhaps, that we have long known the difference between a merely formal acknowledgment of the Lord and the acknowledgment of heart and mind. Yet do most members of the church know the discriminate and emphatic nature of the doctrine involved? The most important of the particular knowledges which belong thereto are those which regard the celestial from the Divine. Primarily this celestial aspect is that the Lord alone is good, and the derivative principles of this aspect are thus set out:

     "In the Most Ancient Church the general principles were celestial and eternal truths; such as that the Lord rules the universe, that all good and truth are from the Lord, that all life is from the Lord, that man's proprium is nothing but evil and that in itself it is dead . . . .

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They received a perception of the innumerable things confirming and agreeing with these truths."
     * AC 597.

     Let us consider how one of the above celestial and eternal truths entered into the confession of the celestial church, namely, the truth that man's proprium is nothing but evil. It is stated that "the celestial church implores mercy . . . because it is in humiliation of heart. The spiritual church is merely in humiliation of thought."* The heart of these different acknowledgments is thus opened further: ". . . it comes from the fact that those who are celestial acknowledge that the human race is nothing but filthiness; yea, is . . . infernal; wherefore they implore the mercy of the Lord. But the spiritual, although they know that such is the nature of the human race, yet do not acknowledge it, because they remain in the proprium."**
     * AC 598.
     ** AC 981.

     We see, then, that the quality of the true church is derived from that full confession of the Lord in which there is the heartfelt confession of self as nothing but evil and the acknowledgment of the infernal nature of the human race. This is confirmed by many teachings of the Writings. It is said of man that "by the knowledges of the true and the good, and by an acknowledgment of what he is of himself, he should be led . . . towards heaven; for no one can be conducted thither without such self-acknowledgment."* Elsewhere we are told that such acknowledgment precedes charity. We are taught also that "to see from love is astonishment at the Divine majesty, and adoration from humiliation of heart"** and it is said also that apart from the acknowledgment of the Lord from the heart nothing of doctrine is of any account.***
     * AC 189.
     ** AE 76, 77.
     *** AE 45.
     In its true form, the confession of the church contains a most intimate perception of the difference between the Divine and the finite human, and is a matter of the holiest consequence. We are indeed taught that to know the Lord in this sense is implanted in all men, if they will but heed it when it is called forth. For the same reason, a knowledge or comparison of heaven and hell properly introduces man to an awareness and confession of the Divine. It was under precisely this aspect that the Lord first revealed Himself in person to Emanuel Swedenborg.
     In Prophets and Psalms, Jeremiah 3 is expounded summarily as follows: "The acknowledgment of those who will be of the new church is that they are in falsities of evils, whence there is an exhortation to desist from evils and to acknowledge the Lord." In regard to the crown of churches, it is the only confession which the gentiles will heed in their search for the Lord God of heaven and earth.

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Apart from this confession, no other so-called "little by little" doctrine is of consequence in leading men to the Lord and to the church. Unless the church holds aloft this confession of celestial origin as its torch of life and doctrine, it need not presume to wonder how best it can introduce to others the marvelous order and form of Divine doctrine. The acknowledgment of the Lord and the confession of self are the first and last things of the uses and measures of evangelization. Indeed every man in the church might ask himself: "Am I really in this confession; have I recognized it to be the first and most emphatic thing of doctrine? Do I really know what is meant when it is said that the Lord alone is good?" The man of the church may say: "I can well answer the question, What is truth? and I can appreciate the profound nature of the doctrine of truth from good." But can he, in truth, answer properly to himself the questions, What and whence is evil? and, What is the nature of the finite human of itself?

     Certainly the shunning of evils as sins against the Lord has been stressed in the General Church as the first thing of religion, and the subtleties of evil have been deeply exposed; but man cannot shun evil in a real sense until he understands in what way the human race is evil of itself. It is not enough for him to see the accidental, hereditary causes of evil. Like the most ancients, he must see the evil of man as distinct from the sins of man, and as distinct from the pure receptacle of life created by the Lord, and yet see it as something that is to be confessed from a celestial and eternal truth. From the beginning was not the Divine law one of exploration, interrogation, judgment, and finally mercy, on account of man being evil of himself? Or shall it be said that the confession of the celestial church is irrelevant to the idea of the pristine state of man? But every member of the church must decide for himself what is the answer to that question.
     It is one thing, as we have seen, to know that there are two essentials which constitute the church, namely, love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor. Familiar with this teaching, we stress it as the fundamental doctrine of the church; but we have also seen that the celestial church alone confesses that the law concerning charity was given out of Divine mercy and out of regard for what man is of himself. "Charity is necessary in order for man to be saved."* From what should man be saved but from the finite hell which of himself he would set up against life from the Lord, and which consists of the falsely appropriated things described by the men of the Most Ancient. Church as filthy and infernal?
     * AC 4723.

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     We should know and stress above all other things that the full confession of the church is a holy and living thing in which the Lord alone is seen as good; in which He is said to be mercy itself; in which man confesses to the evil of the finite proprium in both its ignorant and confirmed claim to possession of the faculty of life before regeneration. Without this confession we shall be as those already mentioned who, although they know the evil of mankind, yet do not acknowledge it in the universal and eternal sense. Such men cannot make full confession of the Lord's Divine, for they would stifle the holy awareness of the Divine good.
     The church is not reduced to impotence and despair by the confession of evil. Rather does the Lord then raise it up and exalt it as His dwelling place on earth; and to be the footstool of the Divine is indeed exaltation itself.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     New Horizons, the quarterly magazine of the New Church (Conference) Mission in South Africa, prints news of mission activities and seeks to give an idea of the environment in which they take place. As the editor, the Rev. John 0. Booth, explains: "Unlike Umchazi, we do not write on matters of doctrine as our readership is mainly overseas and they are well supplied with doctrinal matter-although sometimes we do indicate the application of doctrine to some specific problem." Three issues received recently, in addition to being newsworthy, contain matter of historical interest and a thoughtful appraisal of the modern African's predicament which is both hopeful for the New Church and realistic.
     In a provocative article, "Neither Hot nor Cold," published by the NEW-CHURCH HERALD, the Rev. Brian Kingslake argues that the weakness of Conference is due to the fact that it is neither conservative nor liberal. In this Mr. Kingslake has a point; but many will view with little enthusiasm his conclusion that if all the "authoritarians" had joined the General Church, "Conference would have been free to fulfill its own historic mission, as the bulwark of liberal Swedenborgianism." Less will they embrace with fervor his suggestion that "a strong current of protestantism should be allowed to blow through the Conference organization." His thesis, that men may believe or doubt any particular item of faith provided they worship the Lord and shun evils as sins, is one we cannot accept; and it is difficult to see how this would send men back to the Writings in an entirely new spirit that would strengthen the church. The mind is liberated by accepting the authority of Divine revelation, not by denying what it does not wish to accept.

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SWEDENBORG'S FIRST RULE OF LIFE 1963

SWEDENBORG'S FIRST RULE OF LIFE       SYDNEY B. CHILDS       1963

     All in the New Church are familiar with this rule: "Often to read and meditate on the Word of God." While it is obvious that this rule, framed by one of the world's wisest men, is a good precept, it is one that may easily be overlooked by the laity of our church. The laity are engaged in worldly affairs, and are subjected continually to pressures and responsibilities that have little or nothing to do with the exalted sphere of the elements of spiritual life. Yet the "first rule" is a jewel of wisdom that may well be a gateway to heaven and eternal life.
     We are reminded of this in the words of the first Psalm: "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."*
     * Psalm 1: 1-3.

     The Old and New Testaments are witnesses to man's need to look continually to the Lord. How can man better seek guidance from God than by reading and reflecting on His Word daily? The Writings, to one who has accepted the Lord in His second coming, provide a new medium of communication with God through their revelation of the internal sense of the Word. Ideally a man might read both the Scriptures and the Writings each and every day of his life.
     Our earthly lives, as measured against eternity, endure for but a small fragment of time. We live a span of life so brief that before we know it we have entered into old age, unless in the mercy of the Lord our lives have been terminated earlier. We live in a world that is almost entirely devoid of either the knowledge of genuine truth or the affection for spiritual well-being. The history of mankind contains a frightful record of human depravity, despite the Lord's intervention to maintain a citadel of defense against evil by providing the leadership of good and wise men, whose principles have yet gone unheeded down through the ages. We had the mysteries of the pagan dynasties of Egypt, the pseudo civilization of Greece and Rome, and the consummation of the first Christian Church after an interval of a few centuries.

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Then followed the corruption of that church, with the consequent burden of unbelievable falsity and of the cruelties of an empire built on the love of dominion. Forgotten was the justification for any church, that is, the salvation of souls.
     The miracle of the Lord's first coming on our earth is one of beneficent mercy toward the whole human race. Without His first coming no man could have been saved. His second coming, more than seventeen centuries later, has opened the way for man to enter into spiritual and celestial life; and, given time, it can lead to the restoration of good and truth to our now sad and troubled earth.
     As to the value of meditation, in addition to the reading of the Word, there can be no question. It is in meditation that the understanding of the Lord's laws can be illuminated and in some measure applied to the ever perplexing and seemingly insoluble problems of human life.
     In the New Church-especially by those in the General Church, who acknowledge the Writings as the Word of God-Swedenborg's first rule of life might be interpreted to urge all to read the Writings daily. It is only in the New Church, among those prepared to accept the new revelation, that the Writings will be received and read as Divine. There are untold millions in the Christian world to whom knowledge of the Sacred Scripture is available, but those who know of the Writings and read them devoutly are very few.
     Only those few can, by reading the Writings, approach the Lord directly for the inspiration given in the most precious of all revelations-the internal sense of the Word. The sublime value of the revelation which we especially acknowledge as the second coming of the Lord is foretold in the memorable relation at the conclusion of the work Conjugial Love, where it is stated:
     "I was once taken up into the angelic heaven as to my spirit, and into one of its societies, and then some of the wise there came to me, and said, 'What is there new from earth?' I said to them, 'This is new: that the Lord has revealed secrets that surpass in excellence the secrets revealed hitherto from the beginning of the church. . . .' The angels were greatly rejoiced on hearing these things, but they perceived a sadness in me, and inquired, 'Whence is your sadness?' I said, 'Because the secrets this day revealed by the Lord, although in excellence and worth they surpass the knowledges hitherto made known, are yet on earth esteemed as of no value.'"*
     * CL 532.

     Certainly in our modern life with its exaltation of science and material philosophy, and its general denial of any revealed interior truth, especially among the learned, the situation is little changed since the second coming of the Lord. As is stated in that memorable relation: "The angels were astounded by this, and besought the Lord that they might be permitted to look down into the world.

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And they looked down, and, lo, mere darkness there."
     Certainly this darkness still prevails on earth: darkness and the ever-increasing threat of chaos posed by deadly falsities. These falsities father both open and hidden atheism and immorality among so-called civilized men. This has led to open or scarcely hidden manifestations of the love of dominion and the love of wealth for its own sake, with the consequent threat to the remnant in the world who would seek to know and follow the precepts of God in their daily lives.

     The work of regeneration at best is fraught with doubt and endless vicissitudes which often lead to desolation and despair of man's ever attaining to the conquest of the seemingly insurmountable evils and the pitfalls of life.
     How much better, then, to seek the Lord's aid by following the implications of Swedenborg's first rule of life? For we know that, contrary to appearance, the Lord is nearest to man when he is in temptation; and that while deliverance from evils can be granted only by the Lord, man must yet approach the Lord of his own free will if the Lord is to enter into his life.
     No canon of life can of itself furnish a guaranty of salvation. Salvation is of the Lord, not of man. Yet man must do his part; and to follow the precept here discussed, by faithful practice and in humility, is a little act in comparison with all that the Lord has done for mankind since the dawn of creation.
     There is a beautiful analogy to the true wisdom of Swedenborg's first rule of life in the story of the Lord talking to the woman of Samaria beside Jacob's well. "There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give Me to drink. . . . Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water. . . . Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever shall drink of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever shall drink of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."*
     * John 4: 7, 10, 13, 14.
     Truly the Word is the "gift of God." Let us be ever mindful of this gift, and show our gratitude to the Lord by seeking daily to know and understand His guidance through reading and meditating on the true fountain of life, the Word of God.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     In our notes for last month we indicated how the story of Abraham sending forth his servant to find a wife for Isaac contains many teachings concerning the states of courtship and betrothal. In the fact that Isaac's wife was chosen from among his own relatives, and not from the idolatrous tribes of Canaan, we saw the importance of there being a common basic religious belief in order that conjugial love may develop and grow-a teaching that was expounded briefly.
     Both Isaac and Abraham's servant represent the function of the masculine mind, so in this series we are not to think of them as two different persons. The same is true of Rebekah and her family-they all represent the function of the feminine mind. Now we would note that in the state prior to betrothal it is the male who goes forth to choose and court the female, not the reverse. Abraham's servant goes to the land, to the city, and finally to the very home of Rebekah. She does not openly seek him; he openly seeks her. That man is to court and entreat the woman, and not the reverse, is clearly taught in the Writings, and three reasons for this being the proper order are advanced.

     The first of these is that man is born predominantly a form of understanding, and where this form has been properly developed it has more ability than has the feminine mind to see and judge what is compatible and what incompatible, and to endeavor to select accordingly. The second reason is that with man there is a general love of the opposite sex which, before conjugial love begins to be formed, tends to be a love of variety. With the female the love is different, for it inclines to conjunction with one and not to variety. The general love of the opposite sex gives man a freedom to investigate and select which woman does not have. It also gives the cause for the third reason why the man is to court and entreat the woman, namely, that because man has the general love of the opposite sex it is not unbecoming for him to speak of love and the things of love, whereas it may well be unbecoming for the woman to do so; for woman is a form of love, and love is at once more personal and intimate.*
     * CL 296, 297.
     The fact that Abraham's servant met Rebekah by a well, and that he at once recognized her because she gave a drink of water to him and to his camels, represents two important truths pertaining to the period of courtship that precedes betrothal.

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A well of water signifies the Word and the truths and doctrines of the Word. That Abraham's servant met Rebekah at the well signifies that the first beginnings of conjugial love must come through the knowledges of the Word and the use of them in one's life. Both man and woman must look to the Lord and seek His guidance in the things of their lives before the Lord can begin to lead them to the conjugial. If they do look to the Lord individually as they inquire as to the selection of a partner, the Lord will lead to whatever is best for them, and finally to conjugial love. While this leading depends upon each of them looking to the Lord, the actual leading is done in the secret workings of Providence. It may appear to us that it is by chance that a partner is provided; but that it is not so is what is meant by Abraham's servant at once recognizing Rebekah as the right woman by the sign for which he had asked-that she gave water both to him and to his camels.

     The discussion between Abraham's servant and Rebekah at the well represents the period of inquiry, investigation and mutual consultation that precedes the period of betrothal. It is a period during which the young man and woman inquire into and talk over their beliefs, their principles and their ideals. It is a period in which they begin to feel common interests and ideas and delights. This initial communication between the masculine and the feminine mind is indicated by Abraham's servant saying to Rebekah: "Let me, I pray, sip a little water from thy pitcher," and by her replying: "Drink, my lord."
     Before Abraham's servant was invited to Rebekah's home she first went there to tell her parents about him. Here we would note the teaching that a woman is to consult with her parents, or those who stand in their place, when she is in the process of determining whether or not to give consent to a proposal of marriage. The reason for this is that a young woman needs the guidance which the knowledge, experience and judgment of her parents can supply. Her own judgment has not yet matured; her knowledge and experience of many things may not be sufficient for the making of a wise decision. This does not mean that a young woman need be bound by the recommendations of her parents, but their recommendations should be carefully weighed and considered. The use of such consultation with parents hinges, of course, on the nature and quality of their judgment, wisdom and love.*
     * CL 298, 299. Cf. AC 3089, 3090
     We will conclude our consideration of this subject in the calendar notes for next month.

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IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS 1963

IT IS GOOD TO GIVE THANKS       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     We are taught in the Word that it is good to give thanks unto the Lord. The significance of this may be seen by reflecting upon further teachings. Genuine thanksgiving, we are told, is voluntary and is thus from the love and from the will. It is made in the heart from good, and is expressed from Divine truth and through it; and when man is in such thanksgiving, the Lord can inflow with heavenly good.
     That is why thanksgiving is urged upon man in the Word, for his own sake, and why it is said to be good to give thanks unto the Lord. When man is able to give thanks genuinely it is indeed good, for it is a sign that he has already received from the Lord somewhat of good and truth, and that his state is one into which the Lord can inflow with further gifts. It is a sign that there are spiritual things working within him and a promise of the possibility of more spiritual things in store.
     In all genuine thanksgiving, furthermore, there is confession: confession of the needs arising from a state that is entirely dependent yet utterly unworthy and of the Lord's infinite love and wisdom in meeting them. As is pointed out elsewhere in this issue, confession involves self-examination and reflection. Where all these elements are present there can be true thanksgiving; and while it will include gratitude for the Lord's most ultimate blessings, it will center in the spiritual benefits that flow from His love and that He wills to bestow upon all men-purification from falsities, deliverance from evils, and the implantation of truth in good which is regeneration. Truly, then, it is good to give thanks unto the Lord, for the thankful heart is blessed.

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PROVIDENCE, MAN AND DEMOCRACY 1963

PROVIDENCE, MAN AND DEMOCRACY       Editor       1963

     The New Church man may rightly deplore the existence of a viewpoint in which preparation for and the preservation of democracy becomes the final end and highest goal of education: this the more especially since its corollaries are that religion may be tolerated as long as it does not interfere with the democratic process, and that, if it is to be acceptable at all, it must accommodate itself to the demands of a pluralistic society. Even more may he deprecate the belief of some liberal churchmen that the preservation of political democracy is the supreme purpose of religion and that a truly democratic society is what is meant by the kingdom of God on earth.
     There is, however, another side to this which should not be overlooked. The Lord ever seeks to be present with men, and His presence is in spiritual good; but if there is nothing spiritual by which He can be with them, He can still be present in the simple innocence that may be within moral or even civil good. We may well wonder whether there is in our western society very much of spiritual good; but where there is ignorance in the belief that civil and moral good is the highest good, and where there is innocence within that ignorance, there the Lord can still be present in some measure; and through that innocence He can prepare the way secretly for a leading towards spiritual values.
     Civil and moral good will never make men spiritual. In themselves they are natural, and they become spiritual only through regeneration. Yet, in the Divine Providence, a movement which seemingly has as its end to remove men further from the Lord and His kingdom, may be a means by which the Lord is preserving many of the simple in heart. We know that the supreme purpose of education is to prepare for a life of use in both worlds, and that the goal of true religion is a spiritual kingdom in the minds of men on earth. Among those who do not yet know this, but will eventually accept it, may be some who are being prepared for reception by unselfish devotion to the democratic ideal.
VALUES IN SECURITY 1963

VALUES IN SECURITY       Editor       1963

     Ours is an age which attaches a high value to security. National, domestic and private security are certainly of order and therefore to be desired-in their highest form they exist in all the heavens; but we may wonder whether the concept of security held by many today is not merely external, incomplete, and fraught with hidden dangers when it is regarded as the highest end, as it seems to be by those who appear to long for security more than for anything else.

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     The Writings observe that nearly everyone believes that peace is security from enemies and tranquility at home and among companions. Peace is equated with the absence of war, and the cessation of hostilities among men, and peace of mind is thought of as the state experienced when worldly cares and anxieties are removed and men meet with success in their enterprises. Indeed an evil man feels that he is at peace when nothing and no one hinders him and he succeeds in all his ventures.
     This is a fair description of what many people today regard and seek as security-an impregnable national and domestic defense against foes without and within the state, assurance that they will never lack the means to provide the necessaries and even the luxuries of life, and freedom from fear in their way of life; and with this there is nothing wrong, though the means proposed to attain it must be under constant scrutiny. Yet if this kind of security is sought as an end in itself, or is supposed to be the only security there is, then the effort to attain it, and also the possession of it, can be dangerous spiritually.
     For the things in which man places peace are not necessarily good. Indeed as long as the cupidities of the loves of self and the world are dominant, he places rest in unrest and peace in what causes trouble because he finds delight in evils. Men may have the external peace they desire and still be consumed by enmity, hatred and revenge. Much as external security is to be desired, it is external and relatively nothing.
     Internal security is that which the Lord gives to those who live in good and believe that He is life itself, that He rules the universe, and that He provides all things and will lead to a good end. When man is in the faith and love of these things, he is in heaven with the neighbor, which is charity, and in protection against the hells, which is spiritual security. He fears nothing and has no solicitude about things to come. Such inner security is not inconsistent with struggle. Nor is it a state of quiescence, but of life itself inflowing from the Lord.
ETERNAL LIFE 1963

ETERNAL LIFE       Editor       1963

     It is the teaching of the Writings that man is created to live to eternity and that all men are predestined to eternal life. By eternal life is meant the Lord's life in man, which is in the faith and love with man, and thence eternal happiness. Man is so created that as to his internal he cannot die, wherefore all men endure to eternity, but those only receive eternal life who are conjoined with the Lord.
     Men have been known to argue that it matters little whether they believe in the immortality of the soul or not.

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If life ends in death they will never know that they were merely mortal; if they survive they will then know that they are immortal, and it will be time enough then to learn what eternal life is. But this is fallacious reasoning. The truths of the Word and the spiritual things of heaven and the church all look to and have as their end eternal life; and in proportion as anyone confirms himself against the immortality of his own soul, or regards it as a matter of indifference, he confirms himself against these things or regards them as matters of indifference. If, however, he confirms himself in the immortality of the soul, he confirms himself in them.
     Furthermore, man's belief in or denial of the immortality of his own soul inmostly qualifies all his thinking and determines his ultimate values. Those who believe in eternal life think from what is eternal while they are thinking of what is temporal, and their assignment of values is guided by the thought: What is that which is not eternal? For they know and believe that the eternal alone is because it never ends.

     If the man of the church would receive eternal life, he must prepare himself for it here on earth. For that life is not infused into anyone immediately, but is given mediately, and it cannot be received without spiritual combat. No one can receive eternal life who does not love that life and its delight; and no one can come into that love and its delight who does not believe that evils are sins and therefore does not will them, and at the same time looks to the Lord. Indeed we are taught that man has eternal life according to the uses of his affections, and these uses must become spiritual if he is to receive it.
     Man today is surrounded by sensuous spirits, and we are taught that in order to be uplifted from them man must think about eternal life. Now it is true that he must think from a determinate idea and that this is difficult for him, since man cannot apprehend eternity except as an eternity of time. However, we may abstract time somewhat if we will consider that the Lord alone is eternal and that man lives to eternity by perpetual reception of His life. In the Lord's sight there is no past and no future, but all is present; and for those who receive the Lord there is not an eternity of time but an eternal present in which is all the past and all the future. Nor is that present static; it is one of increasing perfection that has no end. With this idea from which to think, and as the mind is affected by it, we may be led to prepare ourselves for the love of eternal life, from which is all spiritual freedom, and which is a leading characteristic of the Lord's New Church.

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Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND

     It has been sixteen months at least since any news of the Colchester Society has been given in NEW CHURCH LIFE. However, this does not mean that we have been inactive. Society suppers started a year ago and have been immensely successful. Our parents' and young people's doctrinal classes have continued, a record-breaking Assembly has been held here, and a young people's week end and two summer schools have come and gone. We have also had a pastoral change. The Rev. Frank S. Rose was unanimously chosen as pastor of the Colchester Society at the annual general meeting in January; the Rev. Alan Gill taking services, and junior young people's classes, when Mr. Rose is on the Open Road.
     In June, 1962, the first Society picnic for many years was held, in Birch Park, near Colchester. It was a great success. Everyone brought his own lunch, after which meal the younger children played games with Messrs. Geoffrey Pryke and David Appleton, assisted by our pastor. On June 16, we had our New Church Day Celebration. This was also the 60th anniversary of the Colchester Society. Mr. Gill introduced Mr. Rose as the speaker on the history of our Society. He read from documents dating from 1882. During the evening of September 21 last year, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Motum and Miss Rosemary Wyncoll showed slides of Canada and the United States.
     The Christmas tableaux were presented on December 22. This was one of the most successful and beautiful series of tableaux we have had, mainly due to the work of our pastor, Mr. Denis Pryke, and Mrs. Edna Pike. Christmas Eve was the occasion for twelve young people to pile into various cars and sing carols outside the homes of many Society members. Next came the New Year's Eve social. It was a great success, with parents and young people alike sending the audience into gales of laughter with their antics. At the annual general meeting, as already mentioned, the Rev. Frank Rose was unanimously chosen as our pastor. Mr. Alwyne Appleton retired after forty years of service as Society treasurer, and was presented with a hi-fi transistor radio. He was succeeded by Mr. Cohn Colebrook, who is to be assisted by Mr. David Appleton.
     The young people's weekend was held June 1-3. Although the attendance was lower than usual, a successful and, as always, educational time was had by all who attended. The young people attended the second Society picnic at Birch Park in place of the usual Monday outing. It was not until we arrived home that we realized how much we had caught the sun. The next big event was the 48th British Assembly, which was held over the weekend of July 19-21. For many of us this was the first opportunity to meet the Rev. and Mrs. Donald Rose, also their son Gregory. The Assembly was a great success for all concerned. For a pleasant change, we had warm, sunny weather for the whole weekend. Much credit is due to Mr. Denis Pryke who, with his ushers and signature hunters, had to overcome difficulties as they arose, so that as few people as possible might know that there had been any hitches. A most enjoyable Sunday afternoon was spent at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wyncoll.

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This was the first time that it did not rain at a garden party given by these very kind people.
     To name a few of the welcome visitors we have had over the past months is not difficult because to most of us they are old friends. Mr. Will Cooper and his daughter Doreen spent five happy weeks with us; the Rev. Durban Odhner came on a surprise visit, and gave the young people a most useful class on "Reflection"; Mr. and Mrs. Opsand from Norway have been living in a tent while in England; Miss Ola Hawkins from Washington, D. C., joined in our New Church Day celebrations; Miss Beryl Briscoe, from Bryn Athyn, has been staying with her sister here; and Miss Phillis Cooper has only just left us, having spent most of the "summer" with us. Also in our midst has been Miss Alice Fritz.
     We have had to say au revoir to several of our English friends-to Kenneth Glover and Christopher Smith who are now in Bryn Athyn to study. Also departed to Bryn Athyn are the Rev. and Mrs. Erik Sandstrom and Eva. It was with heavy hearts that we bade them bon voyage.
     On August 31, we were happy to attend the marriage of Wilhelmina Maria Braam and Andrew Ralph Hawkins. They had been baptized into the church on August 18, and a shower was held for them on the following Thursday. We wish you eternal happiness, Meip and Andrew.
     The Fifth British Academy Summer School has just ended. It was held at Shirley House School in Watford. There were 21 pupils in attendance, not to mention four who joined up for the middle weekend. Visitors also joined us for that weekend, and the dining room was packed for lunch and tea. Aunts, uncles, parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters came from Colchester, London, St. Albans and Bristol.
     We now welcome as old friends Mr. and Mrs. Colin Colebrook. They have moved here from Chadwell Heath in order to be near their friends.
     Classes continue. We have conjugial love classes for the parents and Arcana classes for the older members of the Society. The senior young people are studying the work Conjugial Love, and the junior young people are studying Heaven and Hell under the Rev. Alan Gill.
     Theta Alpha meets regularly on Tuesday every two months. Mrs. Ruby (Shepherd) Foord has succeeded Mrs. Martha (Mardell) Appleton as president. The president of the Sons, which continues to flourish, is Mr. John Cooper. Wednesday suppers for everyone over 21 are followed by singing practice and doctrinal class. The "omnibus evenings" have been restarted after a lapse during the summer months.
     The school, under Miss Hilda Waters, continues to progress. For the first time ever, it is believed, all of the 15 pupils are from New Church families. There is a total of 40 children under 14 years of age in the Society.
     Plans for meeting the future needs of the Society will doubtless be of interest to old friends and to visitors. The two plots of land adjacent to the church have been purchased. The house which stands on one of these, 185 Maldon Road, is the home of our pastor; the second house, 183 Maldon Road, has been turned into apartments, and the upper apartment is occupied by Meip and Andrew Hawkins. There is a committee which is looking into the possibility of a new house of worship.
     We are a busy, happy society, joined together in a true belief in the Lord. It is this that enables us to overcome innumerable difficulties.
     CHRISTINE PRYKE

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Conference. The 156th Annual Meeting of the General Conference of the New Church was held at Brightlingsea, Essex, near Colchester, June 10-13, 1963.

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Among the reports presented were those of the Conference Council, the Joint Council, the Ministers and Leaders Committee, the secretary, the New Church College (now entering its centenary year) and the Provincial Councils. Both the reports and the ensuing discussion showed concern about the shortage of ministers and other problems, together with a quiet determination to meet the challenges offered. The report of the Joint Council led to an animated and frank discussion of ecclesiastical government.
     In accordance with the recent policy of the Conference Council to encourage the presentation of doctrinal and practical themes, the reports were interspersed with several addresses. In addition to the addresses of the incoming and outgoing presidents, the Rev. Messrs. Bernard S. Willmott and Arthur Clapham, on "The Greater Charity" and "A Distinctive New Church," respectively, the Rev. P. V. Vickers gave an address entitled "An Honest Answer" which dealt with the issues raised by the resignation of the Rev. Hugh Bain from the New Church ministry on doctrinal grounds. The Rev. E. J. Jarmin addressed the Conference on "The First Need," and the Rev. Norman E. Riley was the Conference preacher.
     The Rev. Bernard S. Willmott took office as president for the coming year, and the Rev. Claud H. Presland was reelected secretary. The Rev. Dennis Duckworth became president-elect.
     Conference adopted a resolution to hold a gathering in the week after Easter, 1964, open to all members, at which matters of spiritual importance and the affairs of the organization might be freely discussed. This gathering, which will he in addition to the usual Annual Conference, will probably be held in Birmingham from Thursday through Saturday. The Brightlingsea Society offered a notice of motion to the effect that Conference should make its voice heard at every opportunity in the national press, and that a reasoned and authoritative statement should be prepared giving the church's views on national and world events. After a long and interesting debate which brought out both approval and the possible difficulties is was resolved to lay the matter before the whole church by printing in the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE the address given in support of the motion.
     It would appear from the interesting and informative report prepared by four ministers and published in the NEW-CHURCH HERALD that this Conference was marked by a sober but not despondent attitude. Encouraging signs as well as difficulties were noted, the one as realistically as the other, and there was a clear call to distinctiveness and to a more sustained approach to the Lord in the Word and in the Writings. The attitude was summed up by one reporter as "realistic in outlook and courageous in spirit."

     General Convention. Dr. Clyde Hissong, former State Director of Education in Ohio, has been selected as acting president of Urbana College, and will serve until a permanent successor to President Ralph E. Gauvey is named. Mr. Roger Paulson, chairman of the national Public Relations Bureau of the General Convention, has been appointed business manager of Urbana College. The Rev. Bjorn Johannson, editor of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, is to teach at Urbana, and a "resolution of intent" to increase its membership from 12 to 19 has been passed by the board of trustees.

     West Africa. It was reported at the Conference that the Mission in West Africa, particularly in Eastern Nigeria, was beset by serious troubles due mainly to irregularities in the collection and payment of grants to schools. Delegation of authority had been necessary, and many schools were not properly managed. It had been deemed wise to close or relinquish the schools of Eastern Nigeria now attached to the Mission. This would probably result in a retraction of the Mission's influence, but the first essential was to have a Mission that was sound. It was thought that the whole question of the reappointment of a white Superintendent would need to be considered.

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1963

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1963

     Enrollment for 1963-1964

Theological School     6
College (full-time)     66
Girls School          100
Boys School               81
                    253

     LOCAL SCHOOLS

     Enrollment for 1963-1964

Bryn Athyn          365
Colchester          15
Durban          12
Glenview          133
Kitchener          27
Pittsburgh          36
Toronto          36
624

Total enrollment in Academy and General Church schools 877
COMMON GOOD 1963

COMMON GOOD              1963

     "The common good exists from the goods of use which individuals perform, and the goods of use that individuals perform subsist from the common good.
     "The common good consists in these things: that in the society or kingdom there shall be, 1) what is Divine with them; 2) that there shall be justice with them; 3) that there shall be morality with them; 4) that there shall be industry, knowledge and uprightness with them; 5) that there shall be the necessaries of life; 6) that there shall be the things necessary to their occupations; 7) that there shall be the things necessary for protection; 8) that there shall be a sufficiency of wealth; because from this come the three former necessaries.
     "From these arises the common good; and yet it does not come of these themselves, but from the individuals there, and through the goods of use which individuals perform. As that which is Divine is there through ministers; and justice through magistrates, so morality exists by means of the Divine and of justice; and necessaries by means of industrial occupations and commerce, and so on.
     "The goods of use which individuals perform, from which the common good exists, are ministries, functions, offices and various employments. By ministries are meant priestly offices and the duties pertaining to them; by functions, various offices of a civil nature; by employments are meant such vocations as those of artificers, which are numerous; and by offices, various pursuits, businesses and services. Of these four the commonwealth or society consists" (Charity 126, 130, 131, 134).

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EASTERN CANADA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1963

EASTERN CANADA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       WILLARD D. PENDLETON       1963




     Announcements
     The Eastern Canada District Assembly will be held at Blair, Ontario, Friday, November 8, to Sunday, November 10, inclusive, the Bishop of the General Church presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Bishop
SPIRITUAL DIARY: A CORRECTION 1963

SPIRITUAL DIARY: A CORRECTION              1963

     Volumes II through V of the Spiritual Diary were recently reproduced and offered for sale by the Academy Book Room. In Volume II, the wrong page 406 was inserted. If those who purchased this edition will write to the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa., a sheet containing the correct page 406 will be furnished which may be pasted in in place of the present incorrect page.

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FROM NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM 1963

FROM NAZARETH TO BETHLEHEM       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1963


Vol. LXXXIII
December 1963
No. 12
     "And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child." (Luke 2: 4, 5)

     The arduous journey taken by Joseph and Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem was of the Divine Providence. It was made, shortly before the Lord was to be born, in fulfillment of the prophecy in Micah: "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall He come forth unto Me that is to be ruler in Israel."* The decree issued by Caesar Augustus, that "all the world should be taxed," was the ultimate means provided by the Lord for the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning Bethlehem as His future birthplace on earth; and all the events which led Joseph and Mary to take that journey at the particular time when she was about to be delivered were of the Divine Providence.
     * Micah 5: 2.
     We stress this point because many of the Jews were not convinced that Jesus the Christ was the promised Messiah. There were indeed some who acknowledged that, "of a truth, this is the Prophet"; and there were others who said that He was the Christ. But this was the minority opinion. They were answered: "Shall Christ come out of Galilee? Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was? So there was a division of the people because of Him."* The majority were not convinced that the journey to Bethlehem taken by Joseph and Mary constituted the fulfillment of the prophecy. Joseph and Mary were not natives of Bethlehem, and the Lord was born in that town as if by accident.

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This left the Jews in complete freedom to form their own opinion of Jesus the Christ from the inclination of their own hearts. From the time of His birth to the time of His death, no one was ever compelled to accept Him through external means alone. In regard to acceptance of the Lord because He had been born in Bethlehem the Jews were left in complete freedom.
     * John 7 41-43.
     The idea of the Word of God as containing a spiritual sense was entirely foreign to Jewish thought. Their idea of the promised Messiah was not that of a heavenly king, but of an earthly king who was to be born in splendor-born of the lineage of David to a family of renown whose habitation would be Bethlehem in the land of Judah. It was this Jewish concept of an earthly king that caused Herod to be so troubled. He became filled with the spirit of fear and jealousy, which caused him to slay all the male children of Bethlehem and its environs from two years old and under; for he feared greatly the possible loss of his earthly dominion.

     How different was the actual coming of the Lord from the expectation that had become traditional with the Jews! The "kingdom of God cometh not with observation."* The Lord was not expected to come out of Galilee, and least of all out of Nazareth, for that was a city of disrepute in the opinion of many of the Jews. Nathaniel, one of the very early disciples of the Lord, when he heard of Jesus as having come from Nazareth, answered: "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?"**
     * Luke 17: 20
     ** John 1: 46.
     Nazareth, a city of Galilee despised by the Jews, was the habitation of Joseph and his espoused wife Mary. Perhaps it seems somewhat strange that this city should be the scene of the annunciation to the Virgin Mary by the angel Gabriel; but it was there that the most sacred message of scripture was delivered to her: "And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call His name Jesus."* This angelic message reveals the power of the Divine mercy-the Lord's love for the whole human race. So great was this Divine love in its desire to provide for the salvation of all that it was represented before the spiritual eyes of Mary as an angel or messenger, an emissary of God Himself. The Holy Spirit came upon the virgin, and the power of the Highest overshadowed her, and the holy thing that was conceived in her was indeed the "Son of God." The whole state of the Divine conception seems to be implied in those beautiful words of assent uttered by Mary: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."**
     * Luke 1: 31.

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     ** Luke 1: 38.
     The Lord's conception therefore took place in Nazareth, but He was born in Bethlehem. In regard to the significance of the events that occurred in Nazareth the Writings are almost silent. The city of Nazareth receives little mention; we are not told directly what its representation is. However, the Hebrew origin of this name means a "branch" or a "sprout." With this in mind we are led to an ancient prophecy in Isaiah, where it is revealed that "there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his root."* The stem of Jesse was the lineage of David, by which is signified the Jewish Church. Out of the root of that church a Branch was to grow. Mary, a woman of the Jewish Church, was to be that root, and the Branch was to be God incarnate. This prophecy was fulfilled in Nazareth at a time when the sceptre had literally departed from Judah. The Annunciation took place when the royal line of David had been ruthlessly dispersed throughout the land of Canaan and surrounding countries. The royal line of kings no longer reigned in Judah. Disobedience to the law of Moses had cost the sons of Israel their independence. They had spurned the warnings of Jehovah and had become the victims of several conquests; and now the whole land was under the stern rule of Rome. Nazareth, the city so despised in Judea, was the dwelling place of Joseph and Mary, who were of the house and lineage of David.
     * Isaiah 11: 1.

     Nazareth was the Divinely chosen place where the Holy Spirit would overshadow Mary, to conceive in her that "holy thing" which was the "Son of God." This also was under the Divine Providence. "Had it pleased the Lord, He might have been born in the most splendid court, and have been laid in a bed adorned with precious stones. But this would have been among those who were no longer in the doctrine of truth and were without any heavenly representation.* Instead, He was conceived of Mary, a woman in whom there was something of simple good, in whom there was still something of innocence. It was this state of innocence that made it possible for the Holy Spirit to come to Mary and to overshadow her. This wondrous thing happened in Nazareth-in the city of which it was asked: "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?"
     * AE 706: 12.
     The Lord had to descend into the world and assume a human from Mary. That infirm human bore the evil heredity of the human race. It was upon this maternal heredity that even the worst of the hells would operate. The power invested in the Lord through His Divine soul would completely expel their taunting influence in temptations. "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not."*

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For it is written: "This people's heart is waxed gross, and 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." "**
     * John 1: 11.
     ** Matthew 13: 15.     
The visit of the angel Gabriel to Mary in Nazareth of Galilee would seem to represent this descent of the Divine into a hostile world, into a state in which the Lord would be received by a mere few. He came into the world at a time when the hells had reached the height of their power over the minds of men; the minds of men were so dominated by them that they could not easily distinguish truth from falsity. Men could not tell with certainty whether Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah or not. If this domination had continued, the Lord's coming would have been in vain. The angel Gabriel therefore descended to Mary in Nazareth, and in that despised city the Lord was conceived. He descended into the world into a state which was almost entirely opposed to anything good and true. This was probably the reason for the visitation to Mary in Nazareth. The Lord's avowed purpose was to redeem and save the human race. He had to subjugate the hells, order the heavens, and establish a new church in which He could be worshiped in His glorified Human as the visible God. For this end He came into the world; and the fulfillment of this Divine end began at the time of the annunciation to Mary in Nazareth of Galilee.
     Then "there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. . . . And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because He was of the house and lineage of David:) to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child."

     It was this decree issued by Caesar Augustus that made it possible for the prophecy to be fulfilled that the Lord would be born in Bethlehem Ephratah. Bethlehem was an ancient city and in ancient times it had been called Ephratah. It was there that Benjamin was born. David also was born there, and was there anointed king, and finally it became the Lord's birthplace. The Lord had to be born in Bethlehem, because that city was significative of His state at birth. We are taught that the Lord "was born like other men, except that He was conceived of Jehovah."* That exception is of the utmost significance. Since the soul of any child is from the father, so likewise in the case of the Lord His soul was from His Father, from the Divine itself.

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Thus, although the Lord was conceived, born and educated like any other man, it is important to realize that there was this difference: with Him there was no hereditary evil transmitted from the Father, since in the Divine all things are perfect. But "He was born of a virgin mother, and by birth derived infirmities from the virgin mother like those of man in general."**
     * AC 1414.
     ** Ibid.
     The Lord came on earth, not to learn truth and be led by it, for He was the source of truth. He came to live truth visibly before the eyes of men. The inspired record of His life was to become the New Testament Word. This was to be the foundation of the Christian Church, which He came to establish. He was born in Bethlehem because He was born a spiritual-celestial man. In this way was He different from all other men, for all others are born natural. Bethlehem signified the spiritual of the celestial, and thus was significative of the state of the Lord at birth. The word, Bethlehem, means "house of bread," and this signifies Divine truth from Divine good. The Divine good of the Lord was His Father, and it was also His soul, and this Divine good was to guide His every word and action while He was in the world. Thus everything that proceeded from Him would be truth: truth which would be visible in a form before all whose eyes were willing to see, and whose ears were willing to hear. For this reason was the Lord born in Bethlehem.

     Formerly Bethlehem had been named Ephratah. Ephratah means "fruitful," while Bethlehem means "house of bread." Ephratah was indeed fruitful, for there, in Bethlehem Ephratah, the Lord was born to become the Bread of Life. In the internal sense, Ephratah signifies the Word as to the sense of the letter-the literal sense of the Old Testament so familiar to the Jewish Church. The Lord was to be born there in fulfillment of the law and the prophets; but the literal sense of the Old Testament had been so confounded that the truth had to be given anew and this through the Lord's birth into the world.
     In the New Testament the name, Ephratah, is no longer used to designate the place of the Lord's birth. Instead it is called Bethlehem, and by Bethlehem is signified the Word as to its spiritual sense. It can readily be seen that the New Testament does indeed lead us to see truth of a more interior nature. The purpose in the giving of this interior truth was to enable man to allow the Lord to open his spiritual mind so that, with the sight of his spirit, He could see God as He is in His glorified Human. Thus the shepherds, when they had heard the tidings proclaimed to them by the angel, said: "Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this great thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us."*
     * Luke 2: 15.

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     In this simple expression of willingness to be led by the truth our own affections are stirred. We pause for a few moments to consider ourselves in the light of the true spirit of Christmas. Surely, if we are to follow the path ordained by the Lord, if we truly desire to be regenerated, then we, too, must go even unto Bethlehem. This is not always easy. We have all inherited something of the infirmity of the human race; and through this the hells operate continually to pull us down, to cause us to resist taking the path which must be trodden. Our proprial delights become traditional, and we cling to them only because we love them more than the truth; and sometimes, even when we see the true way, do we not turn aside and prefer the darkness rather than the light because our deeds are evil? Do we not justify and defend our evils when the truth challenges them? Are we not like those of the Jewish Church who refused to believe that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God?
     Yet, for our own eternal welfare, we must relinquish these proprial delights and, like the shepherds, go even unto Bethlehem. We must go to the Word continually, and from the vision of the spiritual sense pray to the Lord to enlighten us to see its teachings in application to our daily lives. Only then will we truly see the Lord in the spiritual Bethlehem; and only then will we be able to see the true significance of "this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us." Amen.

LESSONS: Micah 4:1-7, 5:1-3. Luke 1: 26-35, 2:1-7. AC 1414.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 530, 516, 515, 534.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 51, 119.
PURPOSE OF THE ADVENT 1963

PURPOSE OF THE ADVENT              1963

     "No one is purified by the Lord's passion of the cross, thus by His blood; but by a life according to His precepts, as He Himself teaches in many places. The passion of the cross was the last of the Lord's temptations, by which He fully glorified His Human, as He Himself also says in Luke: `Ought not Christ to suffer this, and to enter into His glory?' (24: 26). For the Lord came into the world that He might subjugate the hells and bring back all things into order, even in the heavens, which was effected through temptations admitted into Himself; and the passion of the cross was the last of His temptations, by which He fully conquered the hells and set the heavens in order, and at the same time glorified His Human; and unless He had done this, no man could have been saved. . . By the blood of the Lord is signified the Divine truth that proceeds from His Divine good" (Arcana Coelestia 10,026e),

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HEAVENLY HOST 1963

HEAVENLY HOST       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1963

     A Talk to Children

     In your recitation from the Word, you repeated those words which tell how the shepherds saw angels from heaven the night the Lord was born.* The shepherds' spiritual eyes were opened, and first they saw just one angel and heard his good tidings of great joy: "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." But really it was not just one angel; it was a whole host of angels-a whole society of angels; and sometime in the other world you, too, may see a whole society of angels as just one single angel.
     * Luke 2: 9-14.
     In the Writings of the New Church, Swedenborg tells how he sometimes saw a whole society of angels in a single human form, just as though it were one man. But then the shepherds' spiritual eyes were opened still further, and they, too, saw that it was not just one angel but a whole society of angels, a whole host of angels; and they heard them praising God, and saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
     But, children, when you said that recitation, how many of you understood what the word, host, means? Did you? Did you? What does "host" mean?-a "multitude of the heavenly host." "Host" means, army: "A multitude of the heavenly army praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men"-a multitude of the soldiers of the Lord bringing to men the promise of peace on earth.
     Now, why do you think that it was an army that was sent by the Lord to the shepherds? Why did angel-soldiers bring the promise of peace to men? Well, it was for the very same reason that the Lord was born as a Man, long, long ago in Bethlehem of Judea.
     You see, in those days most men on earth had become very, very wicked. For ages most of the people in the world had been very, very selfish.

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They were not kind and nice to each other any more; and, worst of all, they did not love the Lord any more, either. Most people, in fact, did not even know who the Lord was; and without knowing the Lord you cannot love Him and go to live with Him in heaven.
     So the Lord was born on earth to show men who He was: to show people that He was their God, their wise and loving heavenly Father, and to teach people how to live so that they could go to heaven. Yes, that is why the Lord was born: to teach men truth, because only when you know the truth and love the truth so much that you live it-only then can you get rid of your evils and go to heaven.
     All of us, when we are born, are inclined to be evil at times, and we have to stop being evil before we can go to heaven as angels. Most of us, for example, are inclined to be selfish and to want better things for ourselves than we want for other people. But no angel is like that. Angels all love their neighbors more than they love themselves. All of them want to share every good thing they have with everyone else. But when we are born we are not like that, are we? We do not always want to share what we have with others. Yet if we want to go to heaven that is how we have to become-like angels, loving everyone else.

     How do we get to be like the angels? Well, first we have to learn the truth that the Lord teaches, such truths as: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." But just knowing that truth is not enough, is it? All of us have already learned that truth from the Lord's Word, and still, at times, we are selfish. What more do we have to do, then, in order to get to be angels? We also have to live that truth; we have to do what it teaches. That is not always so easy, is it? We know that truth, and we try to live up to it, and all of a sudden we find ourselves being selfish again.
     Do you know why that is? It is because with every man on earth there are not only angels from heaven, there are also evil spirits from hell. The angels try to get us to love what is good, but the evil spirits try to get us to love what is evil. They feed our evil loves, they feed our selfishness. They can be happy only when they make us as bad as they are.
     Now, evil spirits are not nice people at all. They do not care about what we want; they care only about what they want. When we try to be good-when we try to be unselfish-they do not try to help us. Instead, they try to hurt us. When we try to be good, that tells them to go away. But they will not go away simply because we tell them to; they want to stay in us and make us as evil as they are.
     So we have to fight them. Again and again we have to tell them to go away, and the only thing we can fight them with is truth.

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Every time we feel them making us bad and selfish, we have to remember the truth the Lord has taught: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." We have to make ourselves live up to that truth, even when the evil spirits try to make us forget it.
     Yes, children, we have to fight against evil in order to be good. We have to fight against evil in order to know the peace of heaven. That is why it was an army of angels-a multitude of the heavenly host, an army of the soldiers of the Lord-that gave the promise of Christmas to the shepherds: "Peace on earth." For the angels love truth more than anything else in heaven or on earth; and if we will only let them, they will take the truths we know, and with those truths they will fight against the evil spirits who are with us, send them away from us, and bring us peace. Amen.

LESSON: Luke 2: 1-7.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 517, 535, 511.
PRAYER: Liturgy, no. C9.
CIRCLE OF REGENERATION 1963

CIRCLE OF REGENERATION              1963

     "During man's regeneration the truths which are to be of faith are insinuated through the hearing and sight, and these truths are implanted in the memory of his natural man. From this memory they are withdrawn into the thought that belongs to the understanding, and those which are loved become of the will; and in so far as they become of the will they become of the life, for the will of man is his very life; and in so far as they become of the life they become of his affection, thus of charity in the will and of faith in the understanding. Afterwards the man speaks and acts from this life, which is the life of charity and of faith; from charity which is of the will goes forth the speech of the mouth and also the act of the body, both by way of the understanding, thus by the way of faith. From all this it is evident that the circle of the regeneration of man is like the circle of his life in general; and that it is in like manner instituted in the will by means of an influx out of heaven from the Lord" (Arcana Coelestia 10,057: 3).

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UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD 1963

UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1963

     AN ADDRESS

     (Delivered at the Third Session of the 48th British Assembly, Colchester, July 20, 1963)

     To understand the Word is to see the Lord. The Word is the mode whereby the Lord reveals Himself. He reveals Himself through creation, too, and in that sense creation, too, is His Word. Yet it was given only to the most ancients to perceive the Lord immediately in creation. Later generations were dependent on a written Word, and the men and women of these generations were not able to see the glory of the Lord in the works of His hands save by means of that written Word. It is thus that the Word has become the key to the understanding of everything; for nothing can be said to be truly understood unless the Lord is seen in it.
     Now, we have at the present day a revelation to the rational, and we know that it is permitted to enter intellectually into the arcana of faith. Yet it would be a mistake to assume on that ground that previous ages could have no understanding of the Word at all, even as it would be a mistake to think that the Lord was never visible in any manner whatsoever prior to His second advent. What is visible now is the Divine Human. Through it the Lord stands forth to view in His fullness, that is, not only as the Beginning but also as the Ending, not only the Alpha but also the Omega. This Divine Human could not have been seen immediately, prior to His birth in the flesh, because it did not exist prior to the birth in the flesh. Nor could it be seen even then, except as it were through dark glasses. It was indeed said by John: "The Word was made flesh . . . and we beheld His glory";* yet the glory was obscured behind the veil of the maternal human.
     * John 1: 14.
     The disciples and early followers could not but pay attention to that infirm body; nor could they fully understand, even after the resurrection, that He had laid it away completely and that the body which rose from the tomb was not one whit from the mother. The Babe of Bethlehem was born of the virgin, and was conceived of Jehovah; but the body that was "lifted up from the earth," as He Himself expressed it,* was both conceived and born of Jehovah.** This is what the disciples, and the first Christian Church founded through them, could not fully comprehend. Hence the Lord said to Mary Magdalene, who represented that church: "Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father."***

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Hence also the Lord appeared to the women and to the disciples after the resurrection in a body that was recognizable to them, and did not show Himself as on the Mount of Transfiguration, or as later to John on the Isle of Patmos. The vision on the Mount and at Patmos is fulfilled only in the Writings, for it is in them that He is seen fully ascended to the Father; wherefore also it is written: "The time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall show you plainly of the Father."****
     * John 12: 32.
     ** AC 2628, 2649: 2, 2798: 2.
     *** John 20: 17.
     **** John 16: 25.
     What, then, shall we say concerning the understanding of the Word and the vision of the Lord prior to the Writings? The Old and New Testaments themselves will testify to these points in their letter, for the letter reflects the state of the people for whom it is written. There it is apparent not only that there was some understanding and some vision but also that these things were most obscure in the Jewish Church, and were possible with relative clarity in the Christian Church. Let us place some passages before us.
In the Old Testament we find the following:

"The entrance of Thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple."* "Give me understanding, and I shall keep Thy law . . .
"Give me understanding, that I may learn Thy commandments . . .
"Give me understanding, that I may know Thy testimonies . . .
"Give me understanding, and I shall live . . .
"Give me understanding according to Thy Word."**
     * Ps. 119: 130.
     ** Ps. 119: 34, 73, 125, 144, 169.

     This, in the letter, may be regarded as a cry among the best of the Jews. Yet the nature of the understanding possible among them is indicated as follows:

     "And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever."*
     * Gen. 19: 9.

     Their vision of the Lord was in a similar way possible, but limited. We read:

     Moses said: "I beseech Thee, shew me Thy glory. And the Lord said, I will make all My goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee. . . . And He said, Thou canst not see My face: for there shall no man see Me, and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by Me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while My glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and I will cover thee with My hand while I pass by: And I will take away Mine hand, and thou shalt see My back parts: but My face shall not be seen."*
     * Ex. 33: 18-23.

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     Then the New Testament.     The following will suggest how the Lord through His coming somewhat lifted the veil of the understanding of His followers.

     Having spoken to them in parables, He asked: "Have ye understood all these things?"* And when, at another time, they were slow and dull in response, saying, "Declare unto us this parable," He rebuked them with the words: "Are ye also yet without understanding?"**
     * Matt. 13: 51.
     ** Matt. 15: 15, 16.

     Still more significant, however, are His words in His farewell discourse on the day before the crucifixion:

     "Henceforth I call you not servants: for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth: hut I have called you friends."*
     * John 15: 15.

     The culmination was reached after His resurrection, for He then opened their understanding further. He said:

     "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the Law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning Me." And "then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures."*
     * Luke 24: 44, 45.

     As for the vision of the Lord made possible through His advent, it is obvious that it was clearer than in the days of the Old Testament era. Yet, though clearer, how limited it still was can be seen from the difficulty of the disciples in seeing the Divine of the Lord within His maternal human, as already mentioned. Did not Philip say: "Shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us"? and yet the Lord had been "so long time with them."* They saw Him, but only as it were through the veil of the maternal human.
     * John 14: 8, 9.
     In all this we sense a gradual increase in the understanding of truth by means of the three forms of the Word that have been given since the days of the escape from Egypt, namely the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings. And as with the understanding of truth, so also with regard to the vision of the Lord. In fact, is it not apparent that these two things, the understanding of the Word and the vision of the Lord, are interdependent and inseparably linked? Is not the Lord the Word, and is He seen anywhere else than in and through the Word? Moreover, is not the Word understood precisely in the degree that the Lord is seen in it? And does not this apply to any and all forms of Revelation, and to man's response to Revelation? Is the opening of the Word essentially anything but the appearing of the face of the Lord?

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     Concerning the opening of the Word we read:

     "At the end of the Jewish Church, which was when the Lord came into the world, the Word was opened interiorly; for when the Lord was in the world He revealed interior Divine truths that were to be for the use of a new church about to be established by Him and that did serve that church. For like reasons the Word has been opened interiorly at this day, and still more interior Divine truths have been revealed therefore for the use of a new church, that will he called the New Jerusalem."*
     * AE 948: 2.

     "Still more interior Divine truths have been revealed . . ." Compare at this point the following:

     "Enter hereafter into the mysteries of the Word, which has been heretofore shut up; for the particular truths therein are so many mirrors of the Lord."*
     * TCR 508e.

     II

     If it is true, then, that the Word is rightly understood in so far as the Lord is seen in it, we would turn to the question as to how He may be so seen. Involved is also the question of why He wills to be seen. In asking these questions, we particularly set the Writings before us; for the fact that they are openly addressed to the understanding is no assurance that the understanding of the reader or listener will rightly and willingly respond. The Writings have been read by men of learning, and have been rejected. They may also be read with external affirmation, as when men would speak and think favorably about them. But it must be recognized that they are truly understood by those only who learn to think from them, and who consequently live from them also.
     Let us therefore reflect on how and why the Lord reveals Himself in the Word. Here we would first suggest that He showed Himself in the Old Testament as the Creator, in the New Testament as the Redeemer, and in the Writings as the Holy Spirit, that is to say, as Savior or Regenerator. For confirmation let us reflect that the burden of the Old Testament is to set before the people the Lord God as the omnipotent Maker of the earth, of the sun, moon and stars, and of all men: the great and terrible one, who must be feared and obeyed. Similarly let our minds sweep through the pages of the New Testament, and see the Lord there present Himself as the one who came to redeem what was lost. He came to restore freedom; even as He said: "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."* That was redemption. Of course, salvation was the end, just as that was the final end with the Jews also; but salvation could be completed with few in the Christian Church while they were still on earth, and with few if any in the preceding Jewish Church.

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In the Writings the doctrines of heaven are given openly. For this reason it is now possible to live the life of heaven openly, and thus to enter into the actual states of regeneration while on earth. The deeper temptations-those that rise up out of interior evils and subtle falsities-could not be fought before, because the interior truths, whereby such things can be overcome or refuted, had not been revealed. They are now available, and the Hero of War is riding forth on His white horse, conquering, and to conquer.* That is why the Lord reveals Himself fully as Savior only in the Writings.
     * Rev. 6: 2, 19: 11-16.

     But let no man think that the Lord was not able to save before. He was, in each church, until the perversion of the Word necessitated His coming to restore the Word by revealing the interiors of the preceding form of it. Nor let any man think that salvation could commence only in the spiritual world with those who lived prior to the Second Advent. It was ever necessary for regeneration to make a beginning on earth; but the beginning is of one kind when the actual states of regeneration are only latent, operating only as it were secretly in the interiors of the mind, only awaiting the day when the exteriors may be brought into full accord; and of another kind when the exteriors of thought, speech and act openly receive, and openly show forth, such affections and thoughts as have come down from God out of heaven. The difference is between that which is internal only and that which is external also. It is clear that if the state is external also, it is confirmed and is complete. To the end that such states may exist among men on earth, the doctrines of heaven have been formulated in earthly language. There may now be true fulfilment of the words of the Lord's Prayer: "Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth." Those words were essentially prophetic in the New Testament, but through the Writings they may now be descriptive of actual things on the earth.
     The same general observation evolves if we think of the three major aspects of the Divine love and wisdom. We read: "There are two things which make the essence of God: love and wisdom; but there are three things which make the essence of love: to love others outside of itself, to desire to be one with them, and to make them happy from itself. The same three things also make the essence of His wisdom, because love and wisdom in God make one . . . ; but love wills those things, and wisdom produces them."*
     * TCR 43.
     Once more we find the Divine of the Lord reflected in the threefold Word. As the Old Testament exhibits the Lord as Creator, so it testifies to the love of God towards others outside Himself, that is to say, towards beings who are not God-not Divine-thus beings who are created.

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The New Testament adds to this by revealing the Lord's longing to be conjoined with those beings. "Abide in Me, and I in you," He said. "Come into Me . . ." "Follow Me . . ." And when instituting the special sacrament of conjunction, He said: "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you."* Recall also that the Word is the bond of conjunction between the Divine of the Lord and the created receptacle of man, and between heaven and earth. "The Lord has provided a medium to serve [as] a base and foundation for heaven, and also for the conjunction of heaven with man. This medium is the Word."** And the Lord came into the world as the Word made flesh-the Word in its own person. He came to make known what had never been seen, or what had been forgotten: The existence of God-Man, His qualities, His will, His way. No man can make common cause with God without knowing these things; and to make common cause with someone is to be conjoined.
     * Luke 22: 15.
     ** HH 305.

     As for the Writings, do we not see that the whole burden of their teachings is the Divine love to make others happy from itself, and this in a manner not similarly manifest in the previous forms of Revelation? Of course, we are speaking of the letter of the Old Testament, and the letter of the New Testament. Interiorly the Word ever contains the same things, and fully so, whatever the form in which it is couched. But heaven was not openly revealed before, and it is there that the Divine love to make others happy comes into its own. Nor was it known before that the very end of creation is a heaven from the human race.
     To love others, to will to be conjoined with others, to make them happy-these are the things set forth in the Word: these, and the mode whereby love is fulfilled; that is to say, the wisdom in creating others, the wisdom in establishing conjunction with them, the wisdom in bringing them to eternal happiness. This Divine essence is one. It was ever one. The three aspects were not added in time, one after the other. They were only unfolded in time. Moreover, a later Revelation is not silent with reference to the things stated in a previous Revelation. Each new form of the Word repeats, and adds.
     Thus it is that all the three things of the Divine essence are seen in the Writings. They are all seen anew. For what was stated before is now seen in new light. It is now that the whole of the Divine essence is recognized in the glorified Divine Human of the Lord. It is the Divine Human that is seen to love others outside itself, to wish to be conjoined with them, and to make them happy; and it is the Divine Human that has the wisdom in creating, in conjoining and in saving.

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We see the Divine Human: the visible God, in whom is the invisible, infinite Divine soul. He it is, the Lord in His revealed Human, who has the power to do, and the glory in doing it.
     It appears, then, that even as the Creator, Redeemer and Regenerator are one Lord, so the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings are one Word. They make one by contents, and one by continuous succession. The Divine Human is in them all: first prophetically, then actually and finally revealed internally. The New Testament opened up the Old Testament, and the Writings opened up them both. In this a later Revelation fulfilled a previous one. To fulfill is to open up. Thus the whole Word is fulfilled in the Writings, just as it was reserved for the Writings to set forth the final end of the Divine love and wisdom.

     III.

     Now, we are taught that the church is according to its understanding of the Word.* What does this mean? Is the church glorious from its ability to talk about arcane things? Are we more a church, a better church, for our ability to see the Divine essence in the Word? The understanding is but an instrument, it is not an end. Life is the end. Why, then, is it not said that the church is according to its life?
     * SS 76.
     Yet that is what is said, namely, once we see what is meant by understanding the Word. The doctrine must be given as it is given; for life can be apparently good without having anything of the Word in it. Hence: "The church is such as is the understanding of the Word with those who are in the church."* But Christian life, genuine human life, has the Word in it; for "without it was not anything made that was made."
     * TCR 243
     What is it, then, to understand the Word? The Word is properly understood when the good of it is understood. The Word is not only truth! It is good too; that is to say, it is not only the setting forth of order, it is the purpose of that order, too. After all, what is truth? Let the Writings reply: "In itself truth is good, because from good; and truth is the form of good, that is to say, when good is formed so as to be perceived intellectually, it is then called truth."*
     * AC 3049.
     What, then, is this-enter intellectually into the arcana of faith? Is it not to perceive the good of faith intellectually? Is not good, the use, the real arcanum of all things? Do we understand a truth before we see how it functions, that is, its use? Do we understand something that is living as long as we see it only as a formula? Do we understand the blood of the universe for being able to call it law?

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     The Word is not just a set of doctrines. The Word is Divine truth from Divine good. It is truth in its form, and good in its essence. So it is not understood for what it is unless the form is understood as to its essence.
     Clearly, such understanding depends upon agreement between the Word and man. The angel in man, the reborn mind, is created by the Word, or by the Lord in the Word; and like creates like. So also like sees like; that is to say, as man has been created by the Word, so he sees the Word.
     Accordingly we read: "In the proper sense nothing can be called understanding but that which is from the truths which are from good . . . Man's understanding is never opened except when the man perceives and loves truths; and the perception and love of truth are from good."*
     * AC 10675: 3.
     It must not be forgotten that in the truly human state the understanding and the will are not separated but conjoined. Nor is an enlightened or unperverted understanding ever separated from that will which lies latent in conscience. It is separated only from the will that belongs to the native proprium. But conscience must become the only will in man. It alone must see in the understanding and guide the understanding. Do we not read that faith is "the eye of love"?* This is so when the will, too, is a creature of the Word, and not only the understanding. In fact, the understanding has no existence of its own. It is nothing but the will forming itself. Hence it is the will itself that must understand the Word. "The will must see in the understanding."** Before regeneration, and in the process of regeneration, that will is a "borrowed" one, namely, conscience; but after regeneration it becomes conscience appropriated, that is, man's own new will.
     * AC 3863: 12.
     ** DP 259: 2.
     Now, we have reflected that the Lord alone is the Word, and also that He makes books to be the Word by infilling them with His Divine Human; further, that the Word reveals Him, serves for conjunction, and leads to heaven. We have also considered how the Lord reveals Himself, establishes conjunction, and leads to heaven; namely, by endowing created beings with an essence of their own, outside of the Divine essence, by showing the way of conjunction, and by flowing in with good, which is to lead to heavenly happiness.
     If, finally, we ask why the Lord wills to reveal Himself to man, the answer is simple: Because otherwise man cannot obey, or conform. The Word has always been for obedience, and is now, in its spiritual sense laid bare, for obedience. That is why we must say it has always been possible to understand the Word in some way. No one can obey what he does not at all understand. He must at least understand that He who commands has authority to bestow blessings and to inflict punishments. To obey is to follow.

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To obey is to respond as of oneself. To obey is to reciprocate conjunction.
     In our day it is possible to obey internally as well as externally, as never before, because the doctrines of heaven have come down to earth, and because the Lord may now be known on earth as He is known in heaven. The most ancients obeyed, saying yea, yea, and nay, nay. But they did not see the Divine Human, that is the Divine Natural, for it was by coming into the world that the Lord assumed it.* Therefore their natural was not immediately addressed. Nor, therefore, could it be fully opened and fully subservient to spiritual and celestial loves. In our day it is different. "In the world the Lord put on also the Divine Natural, and from this not only is the internal spiritual man enlightened, but also the external natural; and unless these two are simultaneously enlightened, man is, as it were, in shadow; but when both are enlightened, he is, as it were, in the light of day."** Hence the natural, too, can obey in a heavenly manner. It, too, can be lifted up to heaven. It, too, is invited to see the Lord in His glorified Natural Human. It, too, is called friend. It, too, may see and receive the good of the Word.
     * See TCR 109.
     ** TCR 109
     Hence it is that the New Church is called the Crown of Churches. "This New Church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth, because it is to worship one visible God in whom is the invisible like the soul in the body. Thus, and not otherwise, is a conjunction of God with man possible, because man is natural, and therefore thinks naturally, and conjunction must exist in his thought, and thus in his love's affection, and this is the case when man thinks of God as a Man."*
     * TCR 787.
     To see this God-Man in the Word is to understand the Word.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1963

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY               1963

     Good.     Good is defined in the Writings as the affection of thinking and acting according to Divine order. Thus it belongs to love to the Lord and charity toward the neighbor, is spiritual, consists in willing and doing well unselfishly, and is heaven with man. That which proceeds from man's proprium is never good and may actually be entirely evil. However, what man loves he calls good, whether it be heavenly or infernal, because it is felt by him as such. This is what has given rise to the theory that good is only relative, but the Writings make clear that there is an absolute good. (See AC 4538, 4997, 7255; DP 279; DLW 335; TCR 38; F 14.)

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     Gorand Man.     Here is another term that is found only in the Writings. The angels are organized into societies, and these into groups, each one of which performs a general use to which corresponds the function performed by some member, organ, viscus or membrane of the human body. Every part of the body, even every single cell, has its heavenly counterpart in the field of use. As to their uses the heavens are therefore organized in the form of a man, and it is this heavenly man that is called the Gorand Man. Note that heaven is so called from use, not from shape, though we may well suppose that if it could be seen in its entirety it would appear in the human shape. Note also that while the heavens from this earth constitute a grand man, the Gorand Man is made up of all the heavens from all the earths.
     The Writings present us with three general ideas: 1) heaven as a grand man, with the world of spirits as the alimentary system and hell as the waste excreted from the body; 2) heaven as a grand man and hell as a great monster; 3) heaven, hell and the world of spirits as one man: heaven being the man, the world of spirits being the alimentary system as to the work of the angels in that world, and the hells being those things which are in the body but not of it, yet which serve vile uses, that is, for purification and so on. This last concept is under the teaching that everyone in the spiritual world must be of some use, as well those in the hells as those in the heavens.
     The general idea of the Gorand Man is that the Lord is within heaven and the church as the soul is in the body-immanent but discretely distinguished; that heaven and the church are the mind and body; and that they are to the Lord what the spiritual and natural organics are to man. Thus the Lord is the soul and life of the Gorand Man; angels, spirits, and the spiritual minds of men on earth are the mind of that man; and men on earth are its body and senses. (See AC 2906, 4219, 4225, 6807; U 9; TCR 119.)
VISIBLE GOD 1963

VISIBLE GOD       ERIK SANDSTROM       1963

     This pamphlet, originally published in mimeographed form, is now available in type, paper, pp. 35. Copies may be obtained from New Church book centers or from the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, Bryn Athyn, Pa., price, 40 cents or 2 shillings. The pamphlet was reviewed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, August 1963, pp. 366, 367.

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CHARTER DAY ADDRESS 1963

       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1963

     (Delivered at the Cathedral service on Charter Day, October 11, 1963)

     The Charter whose establishment we celebrate today was written before the memory of any one here. Even the schools we know as the Academy were founded by men essentially of other generations. But we still acknowledge, as did they, the Writings themselves as the Great Charter for all our education. The basic vision is unaltered. The plan and purpose of New Church education has been declared; and it is our prayer, indeed the purpose of this day, that that vision be renewed from generation to generation.
     But the great leaders of the past faced very different problems from those that we face. They were innovators, starting something new. Into their few hands fell the task of bringing to birth a new vision. They dreamed, they struggled and fought for a tiny, distinctive and unique beginning. Their dedication even in the face of separation from family and friends, their strength of purpose before bitter criticism even in the courts of law, their steadfastness with but a handful of pupils, has become a tradition of inspiration for us all.

     In its best sense, this tradition can serve us as affectional remains, opening our minds to new visions of truth. It can become a rich history upon which to build both consciously and unconsciously. Yet it is nevertheless a tradition. Traditions wrongly used can lure us to become like an adult who will not give up childish behavior.
     In the broad perspective, no one could deny that New Church education is still in its beginnings. It is still a tiny speck on the vast horizon of secular and parochial education. But in a narrower sense, viewed from our own perspective, we are no longer so much of an experiment. Just as the church passes through ages from infancy to maturity, so does our educational system* As a babe grows, all of its functions and systems become more and more developed, enriched and specialized. Yet all these individual uses must make a growing organic unity.**
     * TCR 762: 1.
     ** SD 3419.
     In our time, then, the general vision of a new beginning will not suffice. In relation to our church and among ourselves we no longer face the travail of bringing forth.

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It is not so much a question of whether that which was conceived in a charter in 1877, and which was born in the Academy schools, will take its first breath. More and more the question becomes: How can we co-operate with the Lord, so that the young and perishable thing known as New Church education can grow to maturity through new and ever more specialized uses.
     The time is just beginning when it will be impossible to know and appreciate directly the uses of all our fellow New Church men. The personal contact and friendship with all is giving way to growth and change. Our students today have an opportunity to see this age of specialized uses develop in the church. They can see it in their friends and appreciate the value of the different backgrounds and points of view. Different interests, even different countries, merge for a time in the classroom.
     Right now, as you listen, different thoughts are going through each of your minds. Your neighbor has many points of view of which you might not have thought. Each of you looks at everything that is said to you from his own talents and loves, and will continue to do so throughout his life. These unique gifts from the Lord are what enable you to be creative.
     These talents begin in very general terms, almost undefined. But gradually, with experience, your point of view will become so sharpened and defined that you can find a place among the uses of men that no other man can possibly fill.

     The vision of New Church education is so vast because it involves the preparation for the Gorand Man of all uses. There is not one man, student or teacher, priest or layman, rich or poor, who cannot actively find a place in that vision. Our schools must keep pace with the unique uses and talents that the Lord provides, so that they can grow and express themselves in the actual life of the church. If they do not, we are not allowing the Lord to build the church and school from within. As the Lord provides us with more and more diversity of talents and interests, the challenge to appreciate special points of view in others presses even more upon us.
     However, imbalance of uses, overemphasis of one special use over another, can cause the church to limp and flounder. Careful study of the Heavenly Doctrine, however, can preserve the balance. The leadership of the priesthood, through doctrine applied to these uses, is essential to the development of unity in the church and to the education of its children. Yet more and more even the priesthood itself has special uses. Inevitably we are developing priestly pastors and priestly educators. If we are going to grow up, such concentration of energy in specific fields is an absolute necessity. If ever a spirit of jealousy and competition enters between our academic uses and our church uses, we will become very much akin to the Scribes and Pharisees, struggling to rule the synagogue and each pressing from his own field of interest.

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     No progress can be made in the church or the school without mutual respect for the uses and visions of both. Whenever ultimate support of uses becomes more difficult and funds and energies grow short, the demands for appreciation of the essential uses of our neighbor become more necessary than ever before. However, genuine appreciation is not attained by becoming like a herd of sheep, all subscribing to a general vision, but failing to make really unique and creative contributions. The more we really serve the Lord, the more unique and individual our uses will become, because all diversity is from Him.

     We therefore face a new and growing burden of judgment according to use. When we are called upon to dovetail something of our own vision into a use which others see, the mere concepts of New Church education in themselves are not enough. The balance of uses cannot be found unless man's proprium, with all its desires and false ambitions, bows to the greater vision of the Lord's Heavenly Kingdom. Not just our thoughts, but our wills must dovetail with our neighbor's. When we contemplate then the wonderful Gorand Man of heavenly and church uses, we might well recall the teaching: "Whoever wishes to live, or act his own life, cannot be in the Gorand Man, but as far as he desires this, so far does he expel himself, is purged away and rejected."* Nevertheless, we must make no mistake; we are not called upon to sacrifice the use and talents the Lord has given us, for that is the gift we have to give to the church. To withhold that gift from a lack of self-confidence, diffidence or laziness would be false.
     * SD 3419.
     The Scribes, Sadducees and Pharisees all wished to foster their own interests. They shared the Word and a traditional acknowledgment of its authority. Yet they lacked any real confidence in and respect for the essential usefulness of their fellow man; and the condemnation brought upon them as an organization of men by the Lord Himself was: "Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." For special interests, selfishly fostered, inevitably lead to concealment and hypocrisy.
     Special uses associated with the Academy on the one hand, and the General Church on the other, is only part of our diversity. To some minds, a symphony or work of art unlocks new affections and illustrates and confirms faith; to others, a reaction in a test tube or a tiny animal under a microscope is an experience confirming the Lord's wisdom.
     Every area of study must have its balanced place like the organs of the body. What an incongruous monster would develop if each organ competed for its own interest in the human body!

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It would be like a body riddled with runaway growths and tumors. If one subject competes with another, for example, the sciences with the arts, then we have failed to find the true human organic.
     To develop these subjects, men trained in the doctrine must meet with and appreciate the training of other men in secular fields, and they must be respected and appreciated in turn. The harvest of a more particularized view of education and its subject matter is ripening; but only with mutual confidence in our hearts, only if we are ruled by the inmost affection for use, can the ripened harvest be reaped. Many minds must meet, must give, and must receive in a unique atmosphere of freedom under the law of God, if the founders' vision of a new curriculum can genuinely continue to flourish and grow.
     There is a spiritual freedom open to the New Church which must be exercised if we are to progress-a freedom recognized by the founders as seated in mutual confidence and love. It is a freedom which seeks to unlock the creative counsel of all New Church men. It does not fear for self or for sincere mistakes, for it trusts and is trusted in return. We are not united by the oneness of Revelation alone, but by the oneness of our love to the Lord and our sacred prayer that His will be done. This inmost spirit of New Church education must rule if there is to be a genuine development of our schools. Without that love our Charter is nothing.

     Founders of an organization frequently can and do labor alone. Everything is new; there is so much to do that there is little need to worry about the relation of uses. To establish a new vision a man must stand as it were alone against the world; and his friends almost automatically stand with him because the common enemy is so strong. But the greatest temptation is not necessarily separation from the former things, important as that is. Still greater temptation lies within any organization as its uses broaden and differentiate, as a distinction from our friends as to use becomes essential.
     Six men of genius in different fields can sit down together, and if each labors only for his own interests, they will produce nothing of lasting worth. Six other men of genius, intellectually subscribing to some inherited formula for unity, but manipulating behind a pharisaic facade of good will and respect, will produce platitudes and generalizations. But six other men of genius, who have genuine respect each for the other's talents and essential usefulness, who sit down with the desire that above all else the Lord alone should be served, will produce a way of preparing the mind of man for heaven, such as none of them alone could imagine or possibly produce.

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And what is more, that philosophy and the spirit upon which it was built will enter the classroom and affect the whole life of the church.
     Let us never forget, in the Lord's eyes, every single man is loved and respected for the sake of the use that he can perform. The use for which man was created contains in a finite way the power of the Lord. Organizations and associations of men can bring out that creativity or they can smother it. True organizations do not ask that man blindly respect his neighbor. Genuine confidence is not respecting what is of self in our fellow New Church man. Genuine confidence is rather a trust in that which seems to us to be from the Lord in others.
     Each of us today can reflect upon his place in the uses of the church and school. We can open our minds and lives to the power of the Lord in our hearts that can serve our educational system, and so serve our church. We can so restrain the conceit and pride, even the love of rule in our lives, that our selfishness does not stand in the way of letting others bring forth their gifts to the church. To love the Lord and His kingdom is to love what we see of the Lord in others. This love of the Lord is seen and shared in the light of the teachings of His Word. In the freedom of that love, spiritual truth shines. In that light we see light. In that light New Church education cannot fail.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1963

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES              1963

     The latest addition to the ranks of society manuals is the Territorial, bringing news from the Tucson, Phoenix and San Diego circles of the General Church. Such a publication can be of great value in maintaining communication between a visiting pastor and his scattered charges and in promoting a sense of unity among the members, and it gives an over-view of area uses not easily obtained from separate news reports.
     Now under the editorship of the Rev. Robert S. Junge, the Missionary News Letter begins its second volume with interesting offerings which show that the work of church extension is being pursued with intelligence and vigor, imagination and enthusiasm. Ably launched by the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh, it shows heartening promise of continued usefulness.
     Included in the November issue of New Church Education are editorial comments, a sermon, and several talks to young people and children. The children are represented by the prize winning entry in the Theta Alpha essay contest and two religion papers, and there is a poem inspired by a doctrinal class given in Cleveland, Ohio, by the Rev. Louis B. King.

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CHARTER DAY BANQUET ADDRESSES 1963

       NANCY H. WOODARD       1963

     TEACHERS IN TRAINING

     (October 12, 1963, in the Asplundh Field House, Bryn Athyn, Pa.)

     Academy higher education was instituted primarily to provide New Church ministers, but very early in our history (1890) a normal school for training teachers also came into existence. As the whole program gradually developed, our present form of organization took shape. A four-year college course was laid out to precede entry into the theological school. The first two years of college, upon completion of which a junior college diploma has been granted since 1925, offer a general liberal arts course. Specialization, looking to either the ministry or teaching, occurs in the third and fourth years, referred to as the senior college. It is of this teacher education program that I speak tonight.

     At present the Academy focuses primarily on the education of teachers for elementary schools. A very large proportion of those who are now teaching our children have had all or some of their training at the Academy. We feel certain that the continued strengthening of New Church education depends on teachers well-grounded in our own distinctive concepts, but we recognize, also, the dangers inherent in becoming too ingrown or inward-looking.
     Thus it is that last year's accreditation procedure was a very healthy thing and we may now reap benefits from all the labor which was involved. We speak confidently of progress made and of worthwhile directions for new effort. Tonight I would like to report to you briefly on some of these, such as teacher recruitment, practice teaching, the handling of pedagogy or methods-teaching and its relation to the rest of the curriculum; and, finally, the further development of a concept stemming directly from our doctrines which can help us achieve the kind of growth central to the Academy's particular purpose.
     Here it is necessary to insert a sad fact. Present enrollment in the teacher training program is at an all-time low. No new teachers will graduate this year, and perhaps only one next year. Of those presently engaged in teaching, some will inevitably get married and some may retire.

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As those of you who attended the opening exercises of any of our schools realize full well, there is an ever-increasing number of children to be taught. So a most pressing subject is teacher recruitment. Extensive discussion of this has been going on, of course, and such items as the following are being considered:
     First: emphasize our advertising campaign in the senior year of secondary school, in the freshman college year, and at the Sons Career Conferences.
     Second: steadily work to improve the teacher training program so that its reputation will help to attract able students.
     Third: find ways to encourage older married women, especially those with some college background, to participate in the teaching work.
     Fourth: provide refresher courses, or include such women in our present courses, in order to help them feel a part of the New Church educational effort, and to make them conversant with recent thought in the field. (This is one of the ways the Summer School plays a vital part, as you will be hearing from Mr. Pryke.)
     Fifth: use young people, of about eighteen or so, who are trying to decide what they want to do in life, as volunteer assistants or apprentices in the schools for a year-to help the school and to help the young people toward a wise decision.
     Sixth: learn more about how to organize schools to make use of part-time help, either fully trained or partially so.
     Seventh: include in a Charter Day speech an appeal for church-wide thought on ways to meet these needs.

     Now let us consider practice teaching. This subject is always good for a lively controversy, in or out of the church. The Academy has safely passed an era when "teachers are born, not made" controlled policy. Now it is a question of what kind of and how much practice teaching shall be included. Our present program attempts to provide more than formerly and under more controlled conditions, and with consciously planned variety. This program ideally develops in the following manner, through the second, third and fourth years of college.
     Sophomore students enrolled in Mr. Simons' Ed. 28 handle one classroom for the major part of a week as the high point of that year's effort. This concentrated dosage is aimed at placing the student in a teaching attitude realistic enough to find out if it is a becoming one.
     In the third year, the Academy sponsors (which includes paying for) a one-week visit to another society school. Toronto, Kitchener, Glenview and Pittsburgh participate in this program. The aim of the week's venture is to have the students learn as much as possible about the unique features of the smaller schools.

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They learn by observing, teaching, and direct instruction by the teachers on the scene. As the Academy progresses in its organization of this important week, the necessary contact with the local schools builds toward more and better co-operation among them all-always a desirable end.
     In the fourth year, practice teaching is concentrated into the laboratory part of Ed. 37. The emphasis here is on learning to plan, execute and evaluate the teaching of a unit of subject matter. Arrangements for each student for each unit are necessarily made individually-and rely always upon the good will and co-operation of the elementary school teachers. All the practice teaching in the Academy's education program can be accomplished only because we have willing allies in the elementary schools-and forbearing parents as well!

     Another way in which the teacher training program is being strengthened is by a shifting emphasis in the course-offerings. The major aspects of pedagogy, or methods of classroom procedure, have been gathered together into one course, again Ed. 37, so that this work goes hand-in-hand with the fourth year's practice teaching. The teachers of other courses in the program, such as English, history or math, freed of the responsibility to cover methodology, can concentrate on building up a wide background of knowledge in their given subject-field.
     We enjoy realizing that we had this shift underway several years ago, well ahead of some recent books, including Conant's latest, dealing with the education of teachers, which deplore a proliferation of methods courses at the expense of liberal arts training.
     In this era of rapidly expanding knowledge, elementary school teachers who handle a wide variety of subjects simply ought to know so much about so many things. Our program must make the best possible use of the time students spend at the Academy. Besides reducing duplication, and examining the essential worth of all present or proposed items in the curriculum, a challenging possibility for timesaving lies in a determined effort to search out the fundamental structure and principles in each subject. Then we may concentrate on these rather than on the minutia of details. Plenty of good minds in the educational world are talking about doing this, but by diligent use of the Writings as a guide, we might have a better chance of early success.
     To progress now to the development of a truly New Church concept as it applies to teaching, we arrive at the subject of the differences in the contributions to be made to education by the masculine and the feminine minds. The feminine mind remains something of a mystery, but we know that there is one! In the senior college, learning how to meet the needs of this now almost mature mind is one of the fascinating challenges of the teacher training program.

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     By focusing attention on the idea of the school as an extension of the home, and calling to mind the wealth of doctrinal material pertaining to the distinctive uses of each partner in the home, a number of points come immediately to mind.
     Obviously, women should be responsible for the housekeeping type of activities, such as the decor of school rooms, planning for reasonable comfort, caring for cupboards and storage, etc. Women also are particularly fitted for teaching the younger grades, since this requires patience and interest in doing the repetitive kind of teaching so necessary in the early grades.
     On the other hand, all ministers are men and as soon as possible worship and religious instruction are placed in their hands. Men also possess the rational judgment which is so necessary to sound executive action, and so should assume leadership in making all major administrative decisions.
     Besides such specifics, there also emerges a general concept of the part each type of mind can play. As exemplified by the minister, but also characteristic of the other male teachers, the masculine mind is the one to study doctrine, to undertake research, and to develop philosophic concepts. The feminine mind finds delight in grasping these new concepts and applying them-determining where they fit and how they can be put to work in the classroom.

     In considering these complementary aspects of the use of teaching, one may call to mind the passage in Conjugal Love 325, which says that "the state of a widow is more grievous than that of a widower." This statement might conjure up a picture of New Church women teachers who may fall into the grievous lot of the widow if our men are forced by the burdensome demands of daily commitments to forego the research and study from the Writings which is the "fountain of living waters" for New Church education. Of course, it is the part of women to inspire the men to this work by being intelligently interested and by using what they do produce. Certain it is that no truly creative work for sound development will be made without the alert participation of both kinds of minds.
     Thus as our thinking leads to further clarification of what the masculine and feminine should contribute to education, we will so direct our program in the senior college as to prepare students well to make that contribution. As an example of an application of this concept, some major assignments should give the young men ample opportunity to do abstract studies in the Writings, whereas the young women's efforts should be directed toward appreciation and analysis of such studies.

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They should be given constant practice in the art of discerning applications for these ideas.
     A woman's mind can order, arrange or seize by perception upon useful points propounded in the theoretical studies made by men. She can develop the routines, even as she does in the home, for the ultimation of such primary church doctrines as those of remains, order and charity. But the initial clarification and development of these doctrines must be supplied her by the ministry.
     Thus even as the uses of the home require the best efforts of both parents, so the work in New Church schools requires the fullest contribution from both men and women teachers.
     The Academy's teacher education program carries a dual responsibility for the actual training of many of our future teachers, and of being the fountainhead for the growth of a New Church philosophy of teaching. As we strive to see ever more clearly what the Writings tell us about the needs of the minds we are teaching, as we delve more deeply into the underlying philosophy of all the subject-fields in the curriculum, as we continue to study the modes of teaching used by the Lord Himself to help us develop our methods-surely we are making a good effort to co-operate in the Lord's work. If this happens to be what one loves to do, then truly there is no more challenging, inspirational and essentially useful work for either men or women than teaching in our New Church schools.
MINISTERS IN THE MAKING 1963

MINISTERS IN THE MAKING       Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON       1963

     The relation between the Academy and the General Church appears most directly, perhaps, in the Theological School. To that school is entrusted the preparation of young men for the priesthood of the General Church; and the Academy, in turn, accepts the Bishop of the General Church as the head of its theological school, the Dean acting as administrative officer. At the same time, the distinction between the two bodies is shown by the fact that while the recommendation of senior-students for the degree in theology is by faculty action, the decision to ordain is the Bishop's, co-ordination being provided for by his dual role as chief governor of the church and head of the school.
     Any professional school must be influenced in its course-offerings by the demands that will be made upon its graduates. What does the church expect of its pastors-of the men whose professional training it has entrusted to the Academy's school of theology? To frame the question thus is to invite, perhaps, as many answers as the church has members.

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There is also a flippant though rather realistic reply which may be disposed of quickly by citing the mythical professor of pastoral theology who assured his freshman class: "It is easy to be a pastor-if you can preach like Paul, counsel like Solomon, work like Edison, and budget like Franklin!"

     We may shift the inquiry to firmer ground by asking: What has the church a right to expect of its pastors? The priestly love is that of the salvation of souls, and no school, of course, can promise or undertake to instill that love; it comes from the Lord alone and is given to those only who prepare themselves to receive it. Like every other love, it comes from the Lord alone and is given to those only who prepare themselves to receive it. Yet, like every other love also, it can become effective only through certain means, and it is with them that we are here concerned.
     The church surely has a right to expect that its pastors will be prepared to preach and teach the spiritual truth of the Word with clarity and conviction in application to human states and needs and in accommodation to different kinds of people, both old and young. This involves, of course, the science and art-because it is both-of exposition of the Word; for the truth of the Word alone can lead to the good of life and thus to the Lord.
     The church has a right to expect that its pastors will have been trained to lead and govern wisely in accordance with what the Writings teach about ecclesiastical government and in consonance with the order and organization of the General Church. This requires, among other things, a perceptive understanding of church history.
     That the church has a right to expect its pastors to be well grounded in the Heavenly Doctrine, the Sacred Scripture, philosophy and the languages of Divine revelation goes without saying. Surely it has a right also to expect that they will have at least a working knowledge of current theological and philosophical views, of biblical criticism and archeology, and so be able to point to a rational defense of the church and its doctrines rather than lead the way in an undignified scramble to the uncertain refuge of what is really a form of faith alone!
     The church has a right to expect also that its pastors will be zealous evangelists: actively interested in promoting both that internal evangelization which consists in the interior development of the church in the minds and lives of its members, and that external evangelization which takes the form of bringing adults into the church, and also our own young people and children, who are within the sphere of the church but not yet of it.
     The church has a right to expect, too, that its pastors will be self-disciplined men-men who set for themselves, and try to maintain, high standards of excellence.

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There are few men who work under less supervision than pastors, or who have, in many respects, more tolerant judges of their performance.
     If this seems like a great deal, there are theologues scattered around this hall who will agree readily and with feeling that it is! Yet it is an unalterable law that he who would teach and do must first learn. It is just as simple as that-though the simplicity may end here.
     Some of the things that have been mentioned cannot be imparted by instruction; yet they can be taught, and by faculty attitude and the discipline of study an atmosphere can be provided that is favorable to their cultivation. With this qualification, however, it is to meet these requirements as effectively as can be done in a three-year program that the Theological School has adopted the curriculum, and the prerequisites, which may be found in the Catalog Number of The Academy Journal.
     Yet no school can safely rest content with its curriculum, no matter how good it may be, but must re-examine it periodically in the light of its philosophy and objectives; and the faculty has begun this year a voluntary self-evaluation of the curriculum by a committee consisting of Bishop De Charms and the Rev. Ormond Odhner with the Dean as chairman.

     One other thing remains to be said. If there is one thing that the church has a right not to expect of its pastors it is cloistered scholars whose only contact with a society is as congregation and audience. The pastoral relation is a human one; the truth of the Word is to be taught to people-men, women and children; and a man who is not interested in people, no matter how much doctrinal study may delight him, would be well advised to consider some other line of endeavor-lighthouse keeping, perhaps-rather than the ministry. Furthermore, our history shows that relatively few pastors fail as preachers and teachers of doctrine; where difficulties arise, they are more likely to be human ones.
     Here, perhaps, is the area in which we can most directly strengthen our offerings. An intensive course in the principles and methods of church extension is already being given; but we hope to develop a course in pastoral theology-a subject that covers all of a pastor's relations with his people apart from formal worship and instruction-and to offer this as a combination course, the various units of which would be taught by clergymen, not necessarily on the faculty, who have had long experience in different kinds of pastoral work. It is true that many of the problems involved will be theoretical for the student, but he should not be sent out entirely unprepared to meet them until they become actual.

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     Finally, the title of these remarks has been "Ministers in the Making." We might well paraphrase a familiar quotation by saying that of the making of ministers there is no end. If there is one over-riding concern in our program, one thing which underlies all the leading and teaching of the faculty, it is this: that our students shall regard the degree in theology, which is the immediate goal of their studies, as terminal only in marking the end of their formal preparation-a proposition that few if any of them would be unwilling to accept.
     The pastoral office may be thought of as falling into two parts: preaching and teaching and caring for the flock, and preparing to preach and teach and give pastoral care; and the effectiveness of the first will be according to the thoroughness of the second. If a pastor were unwise enough to think that he and his society could live indefinitely on what he had learned in theological school, his pulpit would inevitably come under its own law of diminishing returns!
     On the other hand, a pastor who remains forever a student, and whose hours in the study-and they will be long ones-are hours of diligent and reflective work inspired by the zeal of the priestly love and graced by intellectual humility, will be a minister in the further making all the days of his life; and under such men, as instruments in the hand of the Lord, our societies may grow indefinitely in the knowledge, understanding and love of the doctrine and life of the church. It is this ideal that we try to transmit to our ministers in the making.
EDUCATORS IN A CONTINUING QUEST 1963

EDUCATORS IN A CONTINUING QUEST       Rev. MARTIN PRYKE       1963

     (The Educational Council of the General Church and Summer Schools.)

     It is evident that the development of an educator does not cease upon graduation. Not only will experience in the use add immeasurably to the teacher's knowledge, but there must also be a determined effort to seek out new knowledges and to keep up-to-date with growth in doctrinal understanding and all branches of the worldly sciences. Still further, this continuing quest for perfection must involve close co-operation with others in the use, in order that knowledge, experience and inspiration may be shared and passed on. There must be an opportunity for mutual support and for exchanging ideas concerning principles, the application of principles and teaching techniques.
     The men and women of the General Church who are engaged in the work of New Church education are widely scattered, both geographically and in the fields of education that they cover-from Africa to Canada, from England to the United States, from kindergarten to theological school.

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Yet these people are all one in their central purpose and in the authority which they recognize and from which they work.
     The schools outside Bryn Athyn are all isolated in varying degrees; they all have very small faculties, which gives only limited opportunity for an exchange of ideas. It is not always understood how complete this professional isolation is, and how hard it often is to carry on with enthusiasm without the stimulation and inspiration that comes with sharing our work with others.

     From the very beginning the need for communication and co-operation between these scattered parts has been recognized and, over the years, different procedures have been adopted to meet them. In 1941 Bishop de Charms formed the present Educational Council of the General Church. This was designed to be a properly constituted professional body gathered under the chairmanship of the Bishop. It is deliberative in nature and preserves the autonomy of all Academy and local schools. Its membership is made up of all those who are actively engaged in the work of New Church education. It is a council in the educational field in the same sense that the Council of the Clergy is a council in the priestly field.
     In 1948 the Educational Council first met in August instead of at the time of the meetings of the Council of the Clergy. This arrangement has given opportunity for a more complete program, and it may be fairly said that the real development of the Council's work has taken place since that year. Teachers take a week or two weeks out of their summer vacation in order to add to their knowledge and to renew their inspiration. They return to their work with a new enthusiasm.
     The first object of the Educational Council is to continue the study of the principles upon which our education is to be established. This is a study from the Writings which has now gone on for a hundred years, but there is still need for each generation to make it afresh and to build on what has been done before. Without this we lose all!
     A further purpose is to study the application of these principles in the various subject-fields. As is to be expected, we have been far more successful in finding general principles than we have in discovering how these can be applied in the actual teaching in the classroom. We therefore need to study each subject so as to relate the essential principles of revelation to the subject matter in hand. In this way we will develop a philosophy of teaching each subject which will be sound in principle and in application, and upon which future generations of teachers may build.

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     We must also study curricula in the light of revealed principles so that our children may be taught the right things at the right time, as well as in the right way. This involves careful co-ordination between teachers in the elementary schools and the faculties of the higher schools in the Academy.
     The Educational Council is concerned with the whole work of New Church education-at all levels and in all places. Yet because this is the only opportunity for all of our elementary school teachers to meet with one another the Council has the additional function of providing for the particular needs of these schools. Thus there are special sessions designed to meet that area exclusively. It is however a dangerous mistake to believe that the Educational Council is intended primarily for the work of our elementary schools. This is not the intention nor is it possible, for we cannot thus separate an educational system into isolated compartments.

     The need for teachers to continue their studies and to build on what they began in their college training has long been recognized. In 1941, when the Educational Council was first instituted, Bishop Willard Pendleton spoke of the need for summer school courses to accomplish this end. It has often been suggested that the Academy should do this, but the problem of adding this burden to men and women already carrying more than a normal load has been insuperable.
     The day will certainly come when the Academy will offer a choice of summer courses for teachers; perhaps the day will even come when the General Church will be able to offer sabbatical years to both its priests and teachers so that they may extend their scholarship, make specialized studies, and refresh themselves at the well of learning.
     In the meantime the Educational Council has taken a modest but valuable step in this direction. In 1944, Dr. William Whitehead and Mrs. Robert Cole gave the first summer school courses, on the teaching of history and on astronomy. After a wait of fourteen years the summer school was resumed in 1958 and has now become a part of the program of the Council meetings each year. It is a small beginning, for the courses are usually only eight to ten lectures in length; rarely require much study on the part of those attending; and do not involve examinations or credit; nevertheless they have been well supported. Subjects covered have included mathematics, composition, principles and practice of New Church education, discipline, philosophy, art and the teaching of religion.
     Those who have participated in the meetings of the Educational Council and the Summer School in recent years share a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.

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We have seen this real aid to our educational system become firmly established and even grow and mature. The members of the Council would not be willing to contemplate its demise. Each year we feel that our work is improved, our endeavor strengthened and our spirit enlivened and given hope.
     Apart from possible development of the Summer School, the Council, too, is capable of greater effectiveness. It seems to me that it is reaching the point where it needs a permanent secretariat, under the Bishop, which has time to devote to this work throughout the year, not only in preparing a program for the yearly meetings, but also in preserving what has been accomplished and in maintaining communication between the members and between schools.
     The first responsibility of such a secretariat would be to prepare a journal of each year's proceedings which would include all the papers and addresses offered to the Council, a resume of the discussion of them, and the minutes of the business session. These journals could be indexed periodically and would provide a most valuable collection of material for each school, each teacher and all students of New Church education.

     We repeat that we must not overlook the situation faced by our teachers in the small schools, especially in our two schools in England and South Africa. Imagine yourself a teacher in one of these schools! You may or may not have even one other teacher with whom you may discuss your principles, your attempts to apply them, your problems of all kinds. How valuable it would be for such a teacher to receive regular communications from others. Although there is a natural reluctance to add to the number of periodicals in the church, perhaps one day there will be a monthly professional publication issued by the Educational Council which will be a forum in which the overseas teachers can take part, and which would provide valuable material for study by the faculties of all our schools.
     A further development which we may hope to see grow from the work of this Council is the preparation of textbooks for use in New Church schools. This has been a declared need since the time when J. P. Stuart wrote of it to Benade, but it is an extremely difficult one to fulfill. A beginning has been made in such diverse works as Bishop W. F. Pendleton's Science of Exposition, the Rev. David Simons' Unity in the Universe, Bishop De Charms' Life of the Lord, and Growth of the Mind. The day may not be near when we can often prepare textbooks to be used by our students, especially in certain fields where the scientific data is changing so rapidly.

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Perhaps, though, we may be able to do much more in preparing handbooks for teachers in certain subjects, so that they should not each have to start from the beginning in preparing a course, but should be able to draw on the work of others who have taught the subject for many years.

     The responsibility of those engaged in New Church education is enormous. Of course this has always been so, for nobody can be engaged in the work of training and leading the young without accepting great responsibility. Yet there is a sense in which the load is greater now than ever before. The material requirements of education are higher and we must be able to meet them. The day of the little red schoolhouse has gone. When this was a customary mode of education in North America it was not difficult for our small one room schools to compete. Now there are greater demands upon our competence. By this I do not imply for one moment that the vital spiritual quality of our work must give way to natural demands; this is never either justified or necessary. But it does mean that we have to meet new challenges; and if we do not move forward to take them up, then we will not only fail the children presently under our care but will fail the whole cause of New Church education, for it simply will not survive under such conditions. We will lose the confidence of the parents, and without that we cannot succeed.
     This responsibility falls primarily upon the priesthood, which leads our educational system-whether it be the priests in the Academy or those in the parochial schools who must be pastors and principals (and a good many other things besides). Our priesthood must be equipped to accept this vital responsibility. We cannot afford to overlook this in their training in theological school, nor in their subsequent opportunities for experience. The Educational Council and Summer School provide a means for all priests within reasonable reach of Bryn Athyn to make further preparation for this work which may become theirs at any time, if they are not already in it.
     In the final view, of course, the principals must accept the responsibility for the maintenance of distinctively New Church education, of secular standards, and of discipline in the schools under their charge. They cannot rightly avoid or ignore this charge. Equally it is necessary that the societies recognize that their pastors have this great responsibility and so must give them every support and assistance in carrying the load.
     Yet it is our teachers, the men and women who stand each day before the class, who must carry all our ideals and ideas into effect. Without this body of devoted men and women our work would instantly cease; without the quality which they bring to it, our work would no longer be real New Church education; without their willingness to serve in small outposts, and to suffer the isolation which it brings, we could not operate our Society schools.

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Our gratitude to this faithful band can never be adequately expressed. No one else has made an equal sacrifice to the cause of New Church education. Yet they do not ask for our gratitude, although we hope they may be warmed by our affectionate thanks. They do not ask for our gratitude because they find their only delight in this high use. They would not forsake it for any other because it is only here that their love finds its fulfillment.
     We are told, and we believe, that years of numerical growth lie before us. These hold a challenge for all of us in the work, and it is my firm conviction that a strengthened Educational Council will play its most important part in that growth; providing opportunities for co-operation amongst us, for an increase in an understanding of our work, for a stronger inspiration and a clearer vision in our continuing quest for perfection. These things will be handed down from generation to generation and in the years to come will bear spiritual fruit for those yet unborn, the seed of which fruit was first sown with perception and love in generations now long past.
DISTINCTION OF BAPTISM 1963

DISTINCTION OF BAPTISM              1963

     "He who does not know that 'waters' signify the truths of faith cannot know what baptism signifies; for he believes that this external rite saves man, when yet this external thing effects nothing; but the internal thing that is signified, which is regeneration by means of the truths of faith. For they who are of the church are distinguished by baptism from all others in the whole world because they can be regenerated by means of the truths of faith, but not those who are outside the church, seeing that within the church is the Word, in which are the truths of faith" (Arcana Coelestia 10,238: 2, 3).

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IN MEMORIAM JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY 1963

IN MEMORIAM JOHN FITZGERALD KENNEDY       Rev. ELMO C. ACTON       1963

     AN ADDRESS

     (Delivered at a Memorial Service, Bryn Athyn, Pa., November 25, 1963.)

     The whole country is shocked and stunned by the dastardly, wicked and senseless act which took the life of our President last Friday. The civilized world mourns with us this attack upon the highest office in the country. Bewildered, we seek to strengthen our trust in the Lord's providence, and, coming together in His house, we ask in prayer for strength and understanding. We extend our love and sympathy to the wife and family of our late President, and we join with our brethren everywhere in prayer to the Lord for His continued mercy and protection.
     With us the memorial service is not for the purpose of eulogizing the man whose passing we commemorate; it is not to recount his life of service and use, as if he will continue to live only in our memory of these things. It is rather to strengthen our trust in the Lord's merciful providence, to seek the worthiness of continued protection, and to confirm our faith in the individual, personal continued existence of every man who passes through the gate of death into eternal life.
     We unite with all good men in deploring and condemning the vicious attack upon the person of our President, which, when truly seen, is an attack upon all that we as a nation hold to be good and true. While good cannot come from evil, yet the Lord permits no evil, violence or catastrophe unless it can eventually, in some way, result in good. An evil deed should not be regarded as a mere objective act. The act should bring to our consciousness the evil from which it originates. We can then subjectively see and recognize a like evil in our own will, and shun and reject it before it breaks forth into an evil deed.
     The act which caused the death of the President strikes at the very foundations of our existence as a country, for it involves the false doctrine that the good of the country and the world can be promoted by acts of hatred and violence, in opposition to the Lord's teaching "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." Directed against the highest office in the land, it seeks to overthrow the order and use of the entire nation.

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In the threat of this great danger we turn to the Lord for consolation and protection. We acknowledge that as men we deserve no Divine favors, but as a nation embodying the high ideals of freedom, justice and truth we cannot be destroyed. We are assured that the Lord in His providence will preserve these things with us in so far as we are faithful and loyal to them; because He has revealed in His Word that He desires us to have them, for only where these ideals exist and are preserved can the spiritual growth of the church be assured.
     As men we are as other men. As a nation we are as other nations. But the principles and ideals upon which we as a nation are founded set us apart to perform a distinctive use in the world-a use which involves not only our own good and prosperity as a nation but the good and prosperity of all people, nations and tongues. For as our President said: "The rights of man come not from the generosity of the state, but from the hand of God."*
     * Inaugural Address.
     John Fitzgerald Kennedy filled, as President, the highest office in our country, an office that must be honored and respected by all citizens. This should be well understood by New Church men, for our doctrine teaches that the only real and eternal distinctions among men are from uses and according to uses. The person is not the use, all uses are Divine; but the use is adjoined to the person, and the person in the use is to be honored and respected. Even though we disagree with the means by which the man in the use strives to carry it out, we must still do no violence to the use. We must be careful lest we bring opprobrium and disrespect upon the use by too severe and harsh criticism of the man in the use. We do this especially when we wilfully attribute to the man evil and designing spiritual motives which we have no right to judge.
     The occasion of the wicked assassination of the President of the United States of America causes us to reflect on this matter. We recall his devotion to duty; his declared support of the principles that have made our country great-freedom, liberty and equality; his affirmation of our willingness to uphold these ideals in all adversities. As he said: "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival of liberty."* We recall also his call for service: "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country"; his devotion to the cause of peace; and, above all, his acknowledgment of and trust in God.
     * Ibid.
     We may strongly oppose the means by which he sought to realize these ideals; we may believe that the means he used were destructive of the ends he sought. Yet we can and should honor and respect the office and the man in the office; for the office or the use is Divine, and we cannot seek the mercy and leading of the Lord, who alone is Divine, if we disregard and destroy that which is His in the highest function in the country.
     President Kennedy is now fully conscious in the spiritual world, and we hope that his life of service and devotion to use here has prepared him well for a life of use and service in the Lord's eternal kingdom. We pray that he has not given his life in vain, that the life he gave in the service of his country will inspire us all to a truer idea and a fuller appreciation of the Divine principles upon which our country is founded, so that we, too, would be willing to die that they may live.
     We ask the Lord's continued leading in the internal and external affairs of our country. We seek the Lord's blessing upon the people of our land. We, as a people, are united in the prayer that our new President may be blessed with the knowledge, the strength and the wisdom to carry on the affairs of the government of our beloved country; that, in providence, he may be led to uphold and forward the good of the country, and to increase and establish her use to all people and nations in the world.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1963

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1963

     For the past few months we have been examining in these notes the exposition of the spiritual sense of the story of Abraham's sending forth his servant to find a wife for Isaac. We have noted particularly the teachings concerning the states of courtship and betrothal which are given as part of the exposition of the spiritual sense.
     In continuing our examination of the story, we note how Abraham's servant, after meeting and conversing with Rebekah at the well, goes to stay at her home. Here is described a further state of progression to the state of betrothal; and we observe that this final progression, and the betrothal itself, occur in the sphere and protection of the home.

     The proposal of betrothal, which is made by the masculine, is referred to in our story when Abraham's servant says: "now if ye will do mercy and truth with my lord, tell me; and if not, tell me. . . . And the servant brought forth vessels of silver and vessels of gold, and garments, and gave to Rebekah." That Rebekah did not give her consent until the next day indicates that consent is not to be given lightly. We would note here the teaching that after a woman has consulted with her parents she is to deliberate with herself, in order that her consent may be full and free.* We read that "consent is the essential of marriage," and that it is not to be given until there is a free state of deliberation with both the man and the woman.**
     * CL 299     
     ** AC 3158. Cf. TCR 748; CL 21.
     Consent to the state of betrothal is not just consent to a formal service, or even to the various ideals pertaining to marriage; it involves a willingness and desire that the minds of one man and one woman should be conjoined: not conjoined as to any one or two particular things, but conjoined as to everything of the will and the understanding, thus as to everything of the life of their minds. The same idea of consent holds in the marriage of good and truth that takes place in each regenerating man; both the will and the understanding must give their consent if it is to be a true and full consent.*
     * AC 3158.
     When the woman freely gives her consent to the man after his proposal, then the state of betrothal actually exists. "And they said, Let us call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth.

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And they called Rebekah, and said unto her, Wilt thou go with this man? And she said, I will go."
     We noted, in respect to the period preceding betrothal, that it is one of investigating and determining whether or not there is a basis for a conjugial relationship. If we recall the teaching that every good has its own truth, and every truth its own good, this period preceding betrothal may be likened to that state in which a good searches for its form of truth, and a truth for the good of which it is the form. The state of betrothal itself, however, is not this searching; rather is it the endeavor, once they have found each other, to be conjoined. The states of betrothal are the preparatory steps leading to full conjunction, to marriage itself, of which consent is the first essential step.*
     * AC 8996.
     The uses of betrothals before marriage were known and practised in ancient times.* Today, however, little remains of the meaning and importance of the betrothal state. Now the word, betrothal, refers most commonly to a mere declaration of the intent of a couple to marry. Let us not confuse this common usage with the state of betrothal which the Lord wills to re-establish in the New Church.
     * AC 9182. Cf. 5137.
     Betrothal signifies the conjunction of good and truth in the internal man, but not yet in the external.* It signifies a state of internal conjunction that is preparatory to complete conjunction. In regard to the relationship of the male and the female in the betrothal state, therefore, the conjunction is one of minds, but not yet of bodies.** The thought in betrothal ought not to be centered in the physical ultimate which pertains to the marriage state alone, but ought to be concerned with reflection upon the spiritual uses of the betrothal state that are taught in the Writings.*** We are clearly taught that the essential preparation for marriage which takes place in the betrothal state must come through the Word.****
     * AC 9182.
     ** AC 8996. Cf. 9182.
     *** See CL 301 for an enumeration of these uses.
     **** AR 881: 2; CL 305; SA 6110: 48.
     When Rebekah left her home to enter into the state of marriage, she received a blessing from her family: "Be thou for thousands of ten thousands; and may thy seed inherit the gate of those that hate thee." This blessing was commonly given in ancient times to those in the state of betrothal. By it the ancients meant that when the couple did the work of regeneration, then goods and truths with their delights and happinesses would be multiplied greatly, and the things of charity and faith would succeed and take the place where evil and falsity were before.*

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This is also the promise that the Lord makes in His second coming to those who approach the things of conjugial love through the Word-to those who look to the Lord and strive to do the work of regeneration. The life of regeneration is the cradle in which the conjugial is nourished when newly born. As regeneration progresses, so are the delights and happiness of conjugial love multiplied, and so does that love become chaste, holy, pure and clean.
     * AC 3187.
     The state of betrothal is like the spring before the summer, or like the blossoming of a tree before it bears fruit.* When it is in its order, it is a beautiful and happy state-a state filled with delights that grow and increase and become ever more full.
     * CL 301.
     The order of the betrothal state that is set forth in the Writings is the Divine order. It is the order that the New Church is to strive to re-establish, and this regardless of what the individual experiences of the members of the church have been, or are now. The truths pertaining to the betrothal state are the orderly preparation for the life of conjugial love. The elevation of the thought to the truths of betrothal, to the spiritual conjunction of minds, does not end with marriage. As to its interior uses, the interior state of betrothal returns constantly in marriage, that it may prepare the way for ever new and more complete states of that conjunction which is the most perfect image of God-the conjugial relationship.
SERPENTS OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE 1963

SERPENTS OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE              1963

     "What the sensuous man is may again be briefly told. He is called a sensuous man who thinks only from such things as are in the memory from the world, and who cannot be raised toward interior things; such especially are they who believe nothing about heaven and the Divine because they do not see them; for they trust solely in the senses, and what does not appear before the senses they believe to be nothing. Such people closely approach the nature of brute animals, which also are led solely by the external senses; nevertheless they are cunning and skilful in acting and reasoning, but they do not see truth from the light of truth. Such were formerly called serpents of the tree of knowledge, and such for the most part is the infernal crew" (Arcana Coelestia 10,236: 6).

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REVIEW 1963

REVIEW       LYRIS HYATT       1963

MARY LOU AND JOHNNY: An Adventure in Seeing. By Mildred Hark and Noel McQueen. Illustrations by Taylor Oughton. Franklin Watts, Inc., 575 Lexington Avenue, New York, 1963. Cloth, pp. 228. Price $2.95.

     The subtitle of this book for children is accurate. The story includes a number of adventures, but the real adventure is single: the development of insight. Johnny, who is physically blind, already has learned to see and to accept a good deal of reality. Mary Lou, the "sighted" child from whose viewpoint we have most of the story, learns through pleasurable and painful experience to see. She comes to understand something of the simple but sometimes difficult truth that charity lies, not in being superficially and smotheringly helpful to the neighbor, but in being unobtrusively and unselfishly useful to him. In ways suitable to her years she learns to examine, criticize and change her actions and attitude.
     For the most part the book is not moralistic in tone. The words spiritual light, truth, charity, the neighbor, use (as a doctrinal term), self-examination and love of self do not appear. The authors have these concepts but do not preach. Instead of sermons from themselves, they provide teachers for Mary Lou. These, who do not preach more than such people would, include her parents, her friend Johnny, Johnny's grandfather, her schoolteachers, a small group of her blind schoolmates, and Mr. Fiorelli, who recently has become blind and downhearted.
     Mr. McQueen and his wife Mildred had investigated work with the blind and had written half the story when Mr. McQueen died in 1960. Their research included many conferences with blind people, correspondence in Braille with blind children, and getting information from the Pilot Guide Dog Foundation. That they have passed along much of the knowledge they gained is both a weakness and a strength of their book. Some readers may feel that so much information interferes somewhat with the artistry of the story. For instance, the account of Mr. Fiorelli's education at the Pilot Dog Association is a little unnatural because we have it only from his letters and tape recordings to his friends at home. But the information appeals to us as an easy, fascinating and useful means of learning much that we might otherwise miss. Even though readers may not have Mary Lou's handicaps of bossiness and impetuosity, they would be unlikely to know even the simplest rules for helping blind people. Mary Lou did not know what "pickles at six o'clock" meant.

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How many people would? "'It's a sort of game we play,' said Johnny's mother. 'Johnny pretends that his plate is the face of a clock.'" The game has worked, and Johnny, because he has been told that his hamburger is at ten o'clock (and because he has listened and remembered), can put his finger "right on the middle of the bun on his hamburger." And probably young readers would learn the "rules" better from Mary Lou's experiences as a Braille attendant in her public school classroom, lunchroom and playground than from an impersonal list.
     Girls of about ten to thirteen should enjoy this book. It is unsentimental and realistic, as are the simple and modern but undated illustrations. The characters are not too good to be true. It is a relief that neither Mary Lou nor Johnny knows better than their elders. Both city and country children will probably be glad to read of pleasant home life in Chicago apartments, and of a daddy who does not commute to business but works as a pianist at a television studio. Birthdays, Thanksgiving and Christmas are the warm occasions for a variety of making as well as giving.
     After many years of writing in collaboration with her husband, it may be hard for Mrs. McQueen to go on alone. However difficult it is, we hope she will, for books like this will be welcomed by, and useful to, a wide juvenile audience, both general and New Church.
     LYRIS HYATT
Out This Month 1963

Out This Month       GEORGE DE CHARMS       1963

     THE NEW CHURCH AND MODERN CHRISTIANITY

A thoughtful appraisal of the state of the modern Christian world with special reference to its attitude to the Lord's Divinity and the holiness of the Word, together with an examination of the scientific approach and the social gospel. Sectarianism and religious tolerance are discussed, as are the bases for co-operation among New Church bodies and the place of the New Church in the Christian world.
     May be purchased at the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Mail orders to the General Church Book Center, 55 Park Drive, Glenview, Ill. Cloth, pp. 136. Price $1.50.

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SIGN UNTO YOU 1963

SIGN UNTO YOU       Editor       1963


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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
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     When the Lord's birth had been announced to the shepherds, the sign given to attest its truth was that they would find the babe "wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." All newborn infants in Judea were swaddled, but the Lord alone was laid in a manger; so the sign itself by which it might be known that this child was Christ the Lord was that He would be found there. Yet neither in fact nor in spirit could that which was distinctive be separated from what was common.
     It is of doctrine that a rational concept and consequent acknowledgment of God are not attainable without revelation, and that a rational concept and acknowledgment of the Lord as the one God of heaven and earth cannot be attained except from the Word, which is the crown of revelations. When the man in whom the church is to be established goes to the doctrine of truth in the Word, He finds it there taught that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only God. He finds this to be the self-evidencing reason of truth, to which the self-evidencing reason of love assents; and to find this in the Word is to find the Lord in a manger.
     This is the sign that the Savior has, in truth, been born into the world of his mind. Yet the sign is not complete unless he finds the babe "wrapped in swaddling clothes"; for by these are meant first truths which are truths of innocence and of Divine love-in general, the truths that nothing but evil is from man and that all good is from the Lord. It is within such truths, believed and acknowledged in simplicity, that man finds the Lord in the doctrine of truth in the Word; and when he does so, it is indeed a sign that the Savior has been born to him.

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UNITY OF GOD 1963

UNITY OF GOD       Editor       1963

     It is a teaching of the Writings that there is one God, who is Divine Man. The two ideas here expressed are most intimately connected, for the unity of God is most easily seen and understood when He is thought of as Divine Man. Soul, mind and activity, far from making three, make one man; so much so that if any of these could be lacking, there would be no man at all! So is it also with God, in whose image man was created. The three Divine essentials which in the Scriptures are called Father, Son and Holy Spirit-the Divine itself, the Divine Human and the Divine proceeding-are the essentials that make one Divine Man. God is therefore one in essence and in person; and it may be said that He is one because He is Divine Man.
     In thinking this we at once confess the unity of God and acknowledge the trinity in Him which is essential to that unity. Both of these are necessary, for it is the trine in Him that makes God to be one. As the Writings teach, there is a trinity in God and also a unity: a unity in trinity and a trinity in unity-a concept which is expressed in the term, the Triune God.

     However, although God is one in the vital sense that there is no other, more is involved in the concept of the unity of God than the idea of number. What that is the Writings indicate in the teaching that every one is formed from the harmony of many things, and that such as the harmony is, such is the one. In the Lord there are infinite things in infinitely perfect harmony, and these infinite things in Him are distinctly one. Therefore, not only is God one, He is the perfect one and the only one, from whom is all unity in creation.
     The knowledge, understanding and love of these truths are what make the New Church's celebration of the Lord's advent distinct and distinctive. In the child born in Bethlehem we worship the one God, become incarnate that through glorification He might become Divine Man in lasts or ultimates as from eternity He had been in firsts. Within the infant body we think of the Divine soul, from which the Lord was to put on the Divine Human: the Human which is the person of the one infinite God in whom is the trinity of essentials that make God to be one.
     Therein lies that which is essential to our salvation; for we are taught that in proportion as man acknowledges the unity and infinity of God, and according to the way in which He does so, he becomes a receptacle and an image of God-if he lives well. The living is, of course, all important; but it cannot be separated from the acknowledgment, and for that a determinate idea is needed-the idea of God-Man.

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FACING BOTH WAYS 1963

FACING BOTH WAYS       Editor       1963

     As the closing year enters its final hours, men of different national origins are variously affected. For some it is Old Year's Night-an occasion to look back fondly over the dying year, often through a sentimental haze which has the happy effect of blurring its sorrows and its failures and allowing only its joys and successes to come into focus. For others it is New Year's Eve: an exciting time to look forward to new experiences and opportunities, challenges and responsibilities; to savor the prospect of opening a new volume of the book of life, its pages all unsullied; to entertain the enticing possibility of becoming what they had failed to be in the past, or of achieving at last the ambitions that were again denied fulfillment in the vanishing year. For them, New Year's Eve represents a fresh start, with hope renewed and the effort needed scarcely seen by a mind that leaps eagerly to the desired result.

     For the New Church man the end of the year may well be regarded as an opportunity for looking back on the old and looking forward to the new. It is only out of the wisdom garnered from the Word and from experience in the past that we can shape the future intelligently and well when it becomes the present. Also, it is as we reflect upon the Lord's providential care as we may see it in the past, and on the opportunities for usefulness and character development that have been presented to us-even though some came in ways that were unpleasant-that we may find an additional incentive to go forward into the new year resolved to do justly, to love mercy, and humble ourselves to walk with God.
     Of one thing, however, we may be quite certain. The new year has no magic to erase the past. The man who steps into it is the same man who in doing so steps out of the old year. At any given time man is the product of all his past states. There is nothing of determinism in this teaching. In every year into which we are given to enter there is the possibility of new states-of more interior states of love and faith, or at least of their beginnings; but it is the part of a rational man to realize beforehand-for rationality is not always one of the more noticeable features of New Year's Eve-the personal and topical applications of the teaching against instantaneous conversion. Our entrance into a new year is an earnest of the Lord's willingness to reform, or regenerate us further, in it; but the man He and we have to work with is the man we may know ourselves to be, and the man we can better discover ourselves to be, through self-examination. With this in mind we have a better chance of appropriating as our own the borrowed state experienced at the start of a year as in all new beginnings.

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DIRECTORY 1963

DIRECTORY              1963

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

     Officials and Councils

Bishop: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Bishop Emeritus: Right Rev. George de Charms
Secretary: Rev. Robert S. Junge

     Consistory

Bishop Willard D. Pendleton
Right Rev. George de Charms; Revs. Elmo C. Acton; Karl R. Alden; W. Cairns Henderson, Secretary; Hugo Lj. Odhner; Norman H. Reuter; Erik Sandstrom.

"The General Church of the New Jerusalem"
(A corporation of Illinois)

"General Church of the New Jerusalem"
(A corporation of Pennsylvania)

     OFFICERS OF BOTH CORPORATIONS

Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, President
Right Rev. George de Charms, Vice President
Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, Secretary
Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Treasurer


     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ILLINOIS CORPORATION

     AND

     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATION

Right Rev. George de Charms; Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Mr. Daric E. Acton; Kesniel C. Acton, Esq.; Mr. Edwin T. Asplundh; Mr. Lester Asplundh; Mr. Robert H. Asplundh; Mr. Geoffrey E. Blackman; Randolph W. Childs, Esq.; Mr. Walter C. Childs; Mr. Gordon D. Cockerell; Edward H. Davis, Esq.; Mr. Murray E. Hill; Mr. John Howard; Mr. Kent Hyatt; Mr. James F. Junge; Alexander H. Lindsay, Esq.; Mr. H. Keith Morley; Philip C. Pendleton, Esq.; Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn; Raymond Pitcairn, Esq.; Mr. Stephen Pitcairn; Mr. Oliver I. Powell; Mr. F. G. Colley Pryke; Mr. Roy H. Rose; Mr. Gilbert M. Smith; Mr. David H. Stebbing; Mr. Marvin V. Stevens; Mr. Ray Synnestvedt; Mr. Marvin J. Walker.
     Honorary Members: Dr. Marlin W. Heilman; Mr. Sydney E. Lee

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     The Clergy

     Bishops

DE CHARMS, GEORGE. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1916; 3rd Degree, March 11, 1928. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. President Emeritus, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

PENDLETON, WILLARD DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 18, 1933; 2nd Degree, September 12, 1934; 3rd Degree, June 19, 1946. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Pastors

ACTON, ALFRED WYNNE. Ordained June 19, 1932; 2nd Degree, March 25, 1934, Pastor of the Durban Society, Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: 129 Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.
ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928. Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ALDEN, KARL RICHARDSON. Ordained June 19, 1917; 2nd Degree, October 12, 1919. Pastor-in-Charge, General Church Religion Lessons. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ASPLUNDH, KURT HORIGAN. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 6901 Yorkshire Drive, Pittsburgh 8, Pa.
BOYESEN, BJORN ADOLPH HILDEMAR. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2nd Degree, March 30, 1941. Pastor of the Stockholm Society. Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Jonkoping and Oslo Circles. Editor of NOVA ECCLESIA. Address: Aladdinsvagen 27, Bromma, Sweden.
CHILDS, GEOFFREY STAFFORD. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Pastor of the Carmel Church, Blair, Ontario. Address, R. R. 1, Blair, Ontario, Canada.
CRANCH, HAROLD COVERT. Ordained June 19, 1941; 2nd Degree, October 25, 1942. Pastor of the Los Angeles Society. Visiting Pastor to San Francisco. Address: 346 Riverdale Drive, Glendale 4, Calif.
FRANSON, ROY. Ordained June 19, 1953; 2nd Degree, January 29, 1956. Pastor of the groups at Dawson Creek, B. C., and Gorande Prairie, Alta., Canada. Visiting Pastor, Portland, Oregon, Spokane, Washington. Address: 1108 96th Avenue, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada.
GILL, ALAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Address: 9 Ireton Road, Colchester, England.
GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928. Address: 3508 Linneman Street, Glenview, Illinois.
HEINRICHS, DANIEL WINTHROP. Ordained June 19, 1957; 2nd Degree, April 6, 1958. Assistant Pastor of the Durban Society. Assistant to the Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: 1 Mowbray Place, Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.
HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained June 24, 1923; 2nd Degree, February 8, 1925. Part-time Assistant to the Pastor of the Kitchener Society. Address: R. R. 3, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

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HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, April 14, 1935. Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Dean of the Theological School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
HOLM, BERNARD DAVID. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, January 27, 1957. Visiting Pastor in South Ohio and to the Erie Circle. Address: 521 E. Sharon Avenue, Glendale, Cincinnati 46, Ohio.
HOWARD, GEOFFREY HORACE. Ordained June 19, 1961; 2nd Degree, June 2, 1963. Resident Pastor of the Tucson Circle. Visiting Pastor to Phoenix, Arizona, and San Diego, California. Address: 2536 N. Stuart Avenue, Tucson, Arizona.
JUNGE, ROBERT SCHILL. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, August 11, 1957. Secretary of the General Church. Visiting Pastor to New England. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
KING, LOUIS BLAIR. Ordained, June 19, 1951; 2nd Degree, April 19, 1953. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Address: 73 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois.
LIMA, JOAO DE MENDONCA. Ordained, 1st and 2nd Degrees, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro. Society. Address: Rua Visconde de Itaborai, 485, em Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGBERG. Ordained, June 28, 1914; 2nd Degree, June 24, 1917. Special Teacher of Theology and Philosophy, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, ORMOND DE CHARMS. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, October 11, 1942. Visiting Pastor to the New York Circle. Instructor in Religion and History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PRYKE, MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, March 1, 1942. Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Visiting Pastor to the Montreal Circle. Address: 2 Lorraine Gardens, Islington, Ontario, Canada.
REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastor of the Detroit Society. Address: 280 East Long Lake Road, Troy, Mich.
RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Visiting Pastor to the South-Eastern States. Address: 19820 N.E. 12th Court, Miami 62, Fla.
ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Pastor of the Advent Church, Philadelphia, Pa. Visiting Pastor to the New Jersey Circle. Special Instructor in Latin, Academy of the New Church. Address: 5007 Penn Street, Philadelphia 24, Pa.
ROSE, DONALD LESLIE. Ordained, June 16, 1957; 2nd Degree, June 23, 1963. Pastor of Michael Church, London, England. Address: 135 Mantilla Road, Tooting, London, SW. 17, England.
ROSE, FRANK SHIRLEY. Ordained, June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, August 2,1953. Pastor of the Colchester Society. Visiting Pastor to the isolated in Great Britain and to the Circles at Paris and The Hague. Address: 185 Maldon Road, Colchester, England.
SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained, June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, August 4, 1935. Professor of Theology and Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Visiting Pastor to the Cleveland (North Ohio) Circle.

563



SCHNARR, FREDERICK LAURIER. Ordained, June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Pastor of the Washington, D. C., Society. Visiting Pastor in North and South Carolina. Address: 116 Enterprise Road, Rt. 556, Mitchellville, Md.
SIMONS, DAVID RESTYN. Ordained, June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church in charge of elementary education. Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
STROH, KENNETH OLIVER. Ordained, June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Director of Music, Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
TAYLOR, DOUGLAS MCLEOD. Ordained, June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Pastor of the Hurstville Society. Address: 22 Dudley Street, Penshurst, New South Wales, Australia.
WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained, June 19, 1922; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Professor Emeritus of History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Ministers

BOOLSEN, GUDMUND ULERICH. Ordained, June 19, 1961. Resident Minister of the Copenhagen Circle. Address: Holtegade 3111, Copenhagen N, Denmark.
COLE, ROBERT HUDSON PENDLETON. Ordained, June 16, 1963. Visiting Minister to Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. Address: 6788 Eaton Street, Arvada, Colo.
CRANCH, RAYMOND GREENLEAF. Ordained June 19, 1922. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
NEMITZ, KURT PAUL. Ordained June 16, 1963. Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Visiting Minister, Madison, St. Paul-Minneapolis Circles, St. Louis Group. Address: 2700 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois.
SONESON, LORENTZ RAY. Ordained, June 16, 1963. Assistant to the Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church, Assistant to the Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Authorized Candidates

ACTON, ALFRED. Authorized, February 1, 1963. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
BUSS, PETER MARTIN. Authorized, February 1, 1963. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
FIGUEIREDO, JOSE LOPES DR. Authorized, August 15, 1951. Address: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     British Guiana Mission

     Pastor-in-Charge

ALGERNON, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2nd Degrees, September 1, 1940. Pastor of the General Church Mission in Georgetown, British Guiana. Address: 288 Middle Street, Georgetown 4, Demerara, British Guiana, South America.

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     South African Mission

     Pastors

BUTELEZI, STEPHEN EPHRAIM. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Hambrook Society. Address: Hambrook Bantu School, P/B, 912, Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa.
LUTULI, MAFA M. Ordained October 3,1948; 2nd Degree, April 13, 1958. Pastor of the Durban Society. Visiting Minister to Ohlange New Farm. Address: Plot 1701 Cleremont, or P. O. Box 100, Clernaville, Natal, South Africa.
MKIZE, SOLOMON B. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3,1948. Pastor of the Greylingstad Society and District. Address: P. O. Box 38, Greylingatad, Transvaal, South Africa.
NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Assistant to the superintendent. Pastor of the Enkumba Society, Deepdale and Bulwer Districts. Address: Enkumba Bantu School, P/B Bulwer, Natal, South Africa.
SIBEKO, PAUL PEFENI. Ordained October 3, 1948; 2nd Degree, March 23, 1958. Pastor of the Alexandra Township Society. Visiting Pastor to Mofolo. Address: 161 11th Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa.
ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Kent Manor Society. Address: Kent Manor, P/B Ntumeni, Zululand, South Africa.

     Ministers

MAQELEPO, ARMSTRONG. Ordained April 13, 1958. Minister of the Queenstown Quthing and Sterkstroom Societies. Address: Phahameng School, P. O. Box 33, Quthing, Basutoland.
MBEDZI, PAULUS. Ordained March 23, 1958. Assistant at Alexandra Township. Visiting Minister to Mofolo. Address: 131 3rd Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa.

     Societies and Circles

     Societies

ADVENT SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA     Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
BRYN ATHYN CHURCH                    Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
CARMEL CHURCH OF KITCHENER, ONTARIO     Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs
COLCHESTER SOCIETY, ENGLAND          Rev. Frank S. Rose
DETROIT SOCIETY, MICHIGAN          Rev. Norman H. Reuter
DURBAN SOCIETY, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA     Rev. A. Wynne Acton
HURSTVILLE SOCIETY, N. S. W., AUSTRALIA     Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor
IMMANUEL CHURCH OF GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS     Rev. Louis B. King
LOS ANGELES SOCIETY, CALIFORNIA     Rev. Harold C. Cranch
MICHAEL CHURCH, LONDON, ENGLAND     Rev. Donald L. Rose
OLIVET CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO     Rev. Martin Pryke

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PITTSBURGH SOCIETY               Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh
RIO DR JANEIRO SOCIETY, BRAZIL     Rev. Joao de M. Lima
SHARON CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS     Rev. Louis B. King (Supervisor)
STOCKHOLM SOCIETY, SWEDEN          Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
WASHINGTON SOCIETY, D. C.          Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr

     Circles

     Visiting Pastor or Minister

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK               Rev. Gudmund Boolsen
DENVER, COLORADO                    Rev. Robert H. P. Cole (Res.)
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA               Rev. B. David Holm
FORT WORTH, TEXAS                    Rev. Robert H. P. Cole
THE HAGUE, HOLLAND               Rev. Frank S. Rose
JONKOPING, SWEDEN                    Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
MADISON, WISCONSIN               Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
MIAMI, FLORIDA                    Rev. Morley D. Rich
MONTREAL, CANADA                    Rev. Martin Pryke
NEW YORK, N. Y.                    Rev. Ormond Odhner
NORTH JERSEY                    Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
NORTH OHIO                         Rev. Erik Sandstrom
OSLO, NORWAY                    Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
PARIS, FRANCE                    Rev. Frank S. Rose
ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA     Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz
SAN DIEGO, FLORIDA               Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA          Rev. Harold C. Cranch
SOUTH OHIO                         Rev. B. David Holm
TUCSON, ARIZONA                    Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard

     In order to avoid confusion, it seems well to observe, in the official records and the official journal of the General Church, the recognized distinctions between a "Society," a "Circle," and a "Group."

     A "Group" consists of all interested receivers of the Heavenly Doctrine in any locality who meet together for worship and mutual instruction under the general supervision of pastors who visit them from time to time.

     A "Circle" consists of members of the general Church in any locality who are under the leadership of a regular visiting Pastor appointed by the Bishop, and who are organized by their Pastor to take responsibility for their local uses in the interim between his visits. A Group may become a Circle when, on the recommendation of the visiting Pastor, it is formally recognized as such by the Bishop.

     A "Society" or local "Church" consists of the members of the General Church in any locality who have been organized under the leadership of a resident Pastor to maintain the uses of regular worship, instruction and social life. A Circle may become a Society by application to the Bishop and formal recognition by him.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON
     Bishop

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     Committees of the General Church

                                   Chairman

British Finance Committee               Rev. Frank S. Rose
General Church Publication Committee     Rev. Robert S. Junge
General Church Contributions Committee     Mr. Harold P. McQueen
General Church Religion Lessons          Rev. Karl R. Alden
Committee on the Liturgy               Rt. Rev. George de Charms
Military Service Committee               Mrs. Philip C. Pendleton
Nominating Committee                    Mr. James F. Junge
Orphanage Committee                    Mr. R. W. Childs
Pension Committee                         Mr. Edward H. Davis
Salary Committee                         Mr. Philip C. Pendleton
Sound Recording Committee               Rev. W. Cairns Henderson
South African Mission Committee          Rt. Rev. George de Charms
Visual Education Committee               Mr. William R. Cooper
     
Address all Committees, Bryn Athyn, Pa. except the following:

Rev. Frank S. Rose      185 Maldon Road, Colchester, England
Mr. Harold P. McQueen     2610 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois

567


Church News 1963

Church News       Various       1963

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     The Hurstville Society has said goodbye reluctantly to the Rev. Donald Rose and his family. His fine work here has been appreciated greatly by young and old. He would have made a good Australian! We were happy to be able to present them with some gifts which were distinctively Australian.
     The celebration of New Church Day made a most enjoyable evening. Tasty food was set out, children and adults moving around to take what they fancied. Two short talks suitable for children were given; and to make the occasion a happier one for the children, a gift was given to each one of them.
     During the year the Society was pleased to see Mrs. Bengt Carlson (Martha Schroeder), who traveled with her husband from the United States. A much traveled lady, Mrs. Carlson was here twenty-four years ago. Those who remember her first visit say that she has changed only a little-she is even more charming. Another welcome visitor was Mr. Basil Lazer, who always inspires with his fervent desire to spread the knowledge of the New Church.
     It was indeed a pleasure to see Mr. Fred Fletcher home again after eleven weeks in hospital. It is hoped that he will continue to improve in health and that he will soon be able to attend services again.
     A few weeks ago we welcomed the Rev. Douglas Taylor, his wife Christine, and their four lovely children. It has been glorious spring weather-which is appropriate to their new and happy beginning.
     NORMAN HELDON

     NEW YORK, N, Y.

     The New York Circle has a unique ability to shrink and expand from year to year. Last year the average adult attendance was 17, including the two oldest of the Cowley young people, Terry and Malcolm. Malcolm recently attended his first doctrinal class, so he has graduated from the junior group of seven.
     We have been most fortunate in having the stimulating leadership of our pastor, the Rev. Ormond Odhner. He has been ably supported by our executive committee: Mr. Robert Schoenberger, vice chairman; Mrs. Roland Goodman, secretary; and Miss Cornelia Stroh, treasurer. These officers were so able that the entire slate was re-elected for the coming year.
     Other duties have been faithfully performed by Mrs. William Cowley, in charge of refreshments, and Miss Kirsten Synnestvedt as pianist. Kirsten graduated from the Julliard School of Music last June, and has left our Circle to take a position as a church organist in Lee, Mass. Mrs. Peter Synnestvedt (Jane) has consented to replace her for the coming year.
     During the year we have had two baptisms, mother and daughter-Mrs. Peter Synnestvedt and Susan. A beautiful Christmas service and party were held at the home of Mrs. Greta (Hilldale) Toutain, with Marilyn Stroh, a member of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, providing the music. The party served also as a farewell to Mary Aye and her daughter Susan, who were rejoining Tom in California. In June, members of the Circle were guests of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schoenberger in Larchmont, N. Y.
     The other services, seven in all, were held on the premises of the New York (Convention) Society at 112 East 35th Street in the afternoon. After each service there was an interval for refreshments, followed by the doctrinal class.

568


Since we were studying man's uses in this world, many interesting discussions took place, and some of us expressed the opinion that at times the nature of our individual uses is hard to harmonize with eternal uses; yet the reading of the Writings stimulates us to reach this goal.
     The 1963 Christmas service will be held at 3:30 p.m., on December 15. All services in 1964 will be held on the first Sunday of the month at 2:30 p.m. We specifically mention the time as we heartily welcome all visitors and hope that New Church men everywhere will plan to join us when in New York. The place is usually 112 East 35th Street, but we suggest that a call he made for confirmation either to Mrs. Roland Goodman, UL 2-3766 or to Miss Cornelia Stroh, CH 2-8470. The New York World's Fair opens in April, 1964, and it is our hope that those coming to the Fair will come also to our services and doctrinal classes.
     LOUISE KINTNER KRAUSE

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN

     With the return of our pastor and his wife from a month's vacation trip to the West Coast, church activities for the new season have begun. Our program will be similar to that of last year. The most urgent concern of the Detroit Society at present is its Sunday school and future day school needs. There is a tentative plan to construct a classroom addition to our building. The matter was discussed at the recent semi-annual meeting of the Society. Harold McClow went to a great deal of effort to construct a beautiful scale model of the present church building, grounds, and prospective addition for us all to see. No definite plans have been made; we are all thinking about the matter, and another meeting will be called in the near future to decide what should be done.
     It would seem that our next greatest concern has been the loss of several families to the Society. Mike and Nancy Kloc have moved with their children to Topeka, Kansas. James and Karen Forfar and son are now living in Florida; the Harold Bellingers are living in Kitchener, Ontario, Harold having retired from business; the Robert Browns and their three children left in August for Bryn Athyn, where Bob is house-master of Stuart Hall; Scott and Beatrice Forfar left for Florida several months ago, but we hear that they have decided to return. We are most happy about this, as we are about the arrival of a new family for the Society; Bryce and Doris Genzlinger and their four children have moved here from Glenview. We welcome them wholeheartedly.
     During October and November a special singing practice for those adults who are interested is being offered by Mrs. Warren David, to increase both our repertory and our proficiency. This is partly in preparation for the new Hymnal, which will come out by Christmas, and also in preparation for the new Liturgy. Practises have been arranged also for the children.
     During the summer we witnessed two beautiful weddings in our church. On Friday, June 21, the marriage of Miss Myrna Howard and Dr. Hal Farquhar took place, and on Saturday, August 31, Miss Patricia McCardell and Mr. Michael Tyler were united in marriage. Myrna and Hal are living in New York, where Hal is serving his internship at St. Vincent's Hospital; Pat and Mike are living at Penn State, Pennsylvania, where Mike will continue his studies.
     It might be of general interest to cover some of our special activities since Detroit last reported to NEW CHURCH LIFE. Swedenborg's birthday was celebrated by our Society on February 23 with a banquet. The theme of the evening was "The World and Swedenborg," and Mr. Robert Brown was the toastmaster. The speakers were: Mrs. John Howard, "Comparing the 18th Century Woman with the 20th Century New Church Woman"; Nelson Howard, "Economics, Swedenborg and You"; and Mark Reuter, "The Development of Swedenborg's Natural Philosophy." Fifty people attended the banquet. The children's celebration took the form of a trip to the Cranbrook Museum and Planetarium.
     The next large Society activity was the New Church Day celebration.

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There was a banquet for the children with our pastor, the Rev. Norman Reuter, as the toastmaster. The program consisted of songs by Mrs. Reuter's religion classes 1-3, which the children had been practising all year, and four papers presented by members of religion class 7. We were most fortunate in having the Rev. Ormond Odhner as guest speaker for the adult New Church Day banquet, and we were happy to hear also from the Rev. Lorentz Soneson, a former member of the Detroit Society. Mr. John Howard was the toastmaster for a very interesting and entertaining evening.
     The young people's group of the Church of the Holy City (Convention) attended the evening service on Sunday, May 5. It has been their custom to attend one of our evening services about that time of year. Mr. Reuter asked that our own young people attend this service in order that they might welcome and mingle with our young visitors.
     While our pastor was on vacation during August we were honored with visits by the Rev. David Holm and the Rev. Henry Heinrichs. Both of them preached at our services of Divine worship.
     Mrs. Harold French, our oldest member, passed into the spiritual world on December 13, 1962. A memorial service was held on December 17.
     FREDA BRADIN

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

     Many months have passed since Bryn Athyn reported to this column. Coverage of events such as last year's General Assembly appeared from time to time, but the local schedule has moved along at its incredible pace without benefit of other than local publicity. A chronicle of the myriad of happenings worthy of note is impossible; historians will have to piece together a picture of Bryn Athyn in the early sixties by going to other sources. However, several events of long-range significance have occurred.
     The first of these was the election of a new Bishop of the General Church. Since the time of W. F. Pendleton, our Bishops have served, ex officio, as pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. One of the first official acts of Bishop Willard D. Pendleton in that capacity was to provide a Dean for the Bryn Athyn Church. The Right Rev. George de Charms filled this position for two years. The Rev. Elmo C. Acton then accepted a call to this office after Bishop De Charms had retired, and a formal welcome was held at the home of Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton. It was a happy evening, and Bishop Pendleton spoke of the pleasure it gave him to hold this reception at Cairnwood, where so many of Bryn Athyn's early celebrations occurred.
     In spite of the fact that this community has a large number of active ministers residing in it, it needs the unifying force of one in the pastoral degree who can devote his full time to the devotional, doctrinal and social needs of the society. Mr. Acton's leadership has already been felt in his tactful soliciting of support and his thoughtful review of the uses and activities of a General Church society. "Thinking and acting together from the Writings," said Mr. Acton, "should ever be our objective." Such an analysis will lead to changes, additions to and modification of certain customs. The more important of these changes will be reported in these pages.
     A welcome innovation, indicating the encouraging growth of this community, was the appointment of the Rev. Kenneth 0. Stroh as Director of Music. This will consolidate many of our efforts, and Mr. Stroh has already begun an ambitious program in our school. The Society took the occasion of Mr. Stroh's birthday to demonstrate its enthusiasm over his appointment at a surprise party held at the Philip Pendleton home last summer.
     A center of activity in the Society is, of course, the elementary school. This year's enrollment is a record 368; and the Rev. David R. Simons, who is assistant pastor in charge of elementary education, is the principal of the school.

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While adhering to established philosophy, Mr. Simons has pioneered in the introduction of the modern educational methods available today in an effort to ensure high educational standards for our school. An example of this was the invitation extended last summer to Miss Mae Carden, a nationally acclaimed educator, to give a course at the time of the Educational Council meetings. Next June the last "single" class will graduate, and every grade thereafter will require two teachers. Mr. Simons has introduced an experiment in team teaching to help to alleviate the demands on our teaching staff.
     Another recent "first" for Bryn Athyn was the purchase of a manse. It is currently occupied by the Rev. Lorentz Soneson and his family. An episcopal appointment has made Mr. Soneson assistant to the Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church and assistant to the principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. He is currently in charge of children's services-the family service held on Sunday morning prior to the adult service. Attendance at these services has increased in recent years to an average of 375; and the festival services, such as those held at Christmas and Easter, swell the Cathedral with total attendances for the double services of nearly 1,000.
     A community project of note was the building of a swimming pool, and this has become the social center for all summer stay-at-homes. Indeed summers have become as busy as the rest of the year, with school advancement courses and make-up work extending through July, a regular Sunday night supper and speech program at the Civic and Social Club House, full schedules on Independence Day and Labor Day, Little League and Boys Camp for the boys, and a girls homemaking competition held at the end of the summer. Although children's service is suspended during the summer, a slide program is offered during the sermon. Several small discussion groups and classes are carried on during the summer as well, and a growing custom is the honoring of local dignitaries. The most recent of these ceremonies was an eightieth birthday party for Dr. William Whitehead, one of the outstanding teachers in our church's history.
     One final note: because Bryn Athyn is the home of the Academy and the episcopal center of the General Church, it is host society to many visiting members of the church. In order that adequate housing accommodations may be provided for its many visitors, it is hoped that prospective guests will avail themselves of the services of the Hostess Committee by writing to it c/o Mrs. Roy H. Rose, Bryn Athyn, Pa. This will help to make their visit a pleasant one.
     LORENTZ SONESON

     TUCSON, ARIZONA

     Early in July, the Tucson Circle said a regretful goodbye to the Rev. Douglas Taylor, his wife Christine, and their four children. He had served as our resident pastor for some three years. The following account will tell in some measure how eminently successful and happy years they were. Mr. Taylor wrote a brief account for the September issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, but we shall endeavor to fill in with more detail the highlights of their stay.
     At the time of our last report in NEW CHURCH LIFE, our pastor preached a sermon over a local television channel. We had an early church service to enable us to rush home and watch. To have our doctrine come to us over TV in our own living rooms was a unique experience; yet Mr. Taylor was so poised, so confident, so clear in his delivery that one would have supposed this to be an everyday occurrence for him!
     Mentioned before was the recurring attendance of interested visitors. Some solid results of this were the baptisms of Joan (Mrs. Paul) Vanover and her children, Beverly, Stephen and Stanley; and of Greta (Mrs. Clarence) Lyman and her children, Tom and Jenny. We were happy and gratified also when Walter Hartter was baptized.
     In addition to Friday supper and class on alternate weeks, two series of introductory classes were given by our pastor, one at the Manse and the other at the church. Then the Epsilon Society branched out briefly from advertising to group mailings.

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Women's Guild meetings were instituted by Mrs. Taylor and were held at the Manse. A campus group, approved by the University of Arizona and beginning with four students, met at the Student Union Building. Another innovation last year was a Christmas caroling group and a Christmas Day choir-the happy result of Mrs. Taylor's training. Mothers of young children met semi-monthly to hear the "Growth of the Mind' tapes. Seven young people from Arizona attended the young people's gathering in Glendale, California, in June 1963.
     On March 4, 1962, Mrs. Glenn Smith (Isabel Vaughan) passed into the spiritual world. She was always eager to have the uses of our Circle expand and to do what she could to help. Her lifelong love of flowers culminated in a bequest that helped with the improvements to the grounds in front of the church. She had a family of five children, fifteen grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
     We had the pleasure of attending the beautiful wedding of Tom Waddell and Linda Coffin on August 31, 1962. Andri Simons was the maid-of-honor, Gary Shrieber was best man, Lexie Waddell was ring bearer, and Roslyn and Maret Taylor were the flower girls. A gala reception complete with Mariachi (wandering musicians in charro costumes) was held at the ranch home of Dr. and Mrs. Pat Waddell. The following visitors came especially for the wedding: Mrs. Roscoe Coffin, mother of the bride, Mrs. W. H. Alden, grandmother of the bride; and Miss Melissa Croft, all from Bryn Athyn; Mr. and Mrs. Garry Moore (Debra Croft) from Socorro, New Mexico; Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Walker from San Diego, California.
     In March, 1962, another baby boy, Steven, joined the family of Bob and Phyllis Bonser and their eighteen-month old son Jeffrey.
     Our banquet on New Church Day was the formal farewell to the Taylors, and it was a gay and happy occasion in spite of sad overtones. Present were more than thirty Tucsonians, and from Phoenix the James Barrys, Mrs. Fred Fiedler and the William Heilmans. Mr. Taylor addressed us on how to explain our church to casual contacts. His humorous illustrations of how to speak proudly and confidently were greeted with much applause and appreciative laughter. The other speakers, Jim Barry and Dan Wilson, expressed our gratitude to and appreciation of the Taylors and our regretful farewells. With appropriate speeches Bob Carlson, Irma Waddell and Pat Waddell presented gifts from the Circle: from the women to Mrs. Taylor, from the men to our pastor. At the end of the program everyone adjourned to the recently completed front patio. Here, surrounded by low walls, with semicircular planters on either side of the church entrance, and with an olive tree for correspondence as well as for shade, is a smooth brick flooring in interesting parquetry form. The following Saturday a picnic, arranged by Greta Lyman and Frances Binnion, and held at Mrs. Binnion's cottage on Mt. Lemmon, gave the children and adults alike a last romp with the Taylors. Surprise guests were the William Gilberts and Margo Coffin from Bryn Athyn.
     Many of us went to the airport on July 4 to see the Taylors off. We were happy for them that they were on their way back to Australia, but grieved that we were losing them.
     The next thing was the complete overhaul of the Manse, which was completely repainted inside and out. This was quite a project, and on Saturdays, Sundays and some weekdays, men, women and children arrived to help with the work. Later in August a weekend camping trip was sponsored by Bob Bonser and Walt and Marion Hartter for the young people who had worked many hours both at the Manse and the church building. The time spent by each of them averaged at least one morning a week during the summer. Though the campsite was wild country in northern Arizona, no mishap occurred except that one truck bogged down on a swampy road. Forest rangers, reluctantly summoned, cheerfully helped to extricate it.

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The Rev. and Mrs. Norman Reuter, on their way to the coast, visited Mr. and Mrs. Dan Wilson. Mr. Reuter conducted a service at the church on August 5th. Because it was vacation time, and the weather was hot, a small attendance was anticipated; instead there was a capacity congregation. Their short stay was a busy one and everyone thoroughly enjoyed having them with us.
     On September 4, 1963, the marriage of Marlene Fiedler and Harold Robert Daily, a native Tusconian, was solemnized by the Rev. Harold Cranch. As at the wedding of Tom and Linda Waddell, the guests were too many for our church building. Both the ceremony and the reception were in the spacious living room of Dr. and Mrs. Waddell, but our copy of the Word, altar cloth and candles were used for the service. The reception had an international flavor. Bob spent several years at a Japanese university; Marlene spent a year in Holland; and her father, Mr. Fred Fiedler, and her brother Tom flew here from Holland for the occasion. Not too many days later the newlyweds were due at the American Institute of Foreign Trade for a year of study. Out of town guests were: Lt. and Mrs. Fred Fiedler and Mrs. William Heilman, Phoenix, Arizona; Mrs. Donald Allen, Washington, D. C.; Mrs. Harold Cranch and daughters Claudia, Margaret and Kay from Glendale, California. The Cranches stayed for the weekend and Mr. Cranch preached on Sunday. Again the church was crowded. It was a rewarding experience to have our beloved first pastor and his beloved wife Jean with us again.
     We are always gratified to have our young people go to Bryn Athyn to school. This year and last there were two students from Tucson, Cheryl Carlson and Patricia Waddell, and Beth Moore from El Paso, Texas. It might be mentioned here that while our children do not have the privilege of attending a New Church school before entering the Academy, some achieve distinctions of a sort in public school. Before going to Bryn Athyn, Patricia Waddell placed among the first four in a speech contest in connection with the 4H organization; Mark Barry of Phoenix distinguished himself in model airplane flying, competing against grown men and winning; Mark Carlson, a clarinetist, was given the John Philip Sousa Band Award in eighth grade, and in ninth grade won a seat in the All State Band; Denby Barnett, Phoenix, won a place among the tenors in the All State Chorus; Kit Rydstrom, Phoenix, has been elected secretary of the National Honor Society at Camelback High; and her sister, Pamela, was valedictorian of her eighth grade class.
     Out of the way though we may be in southern Arizona, we are fortunate in having many visitors. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Scrimshaw arrived in December 1961, and stayed for five months. While they were here they entered into all our uses, and we especially appreciated Mrs. Scrimshaw's help with the organ. Miss Eo Pendleton spent part of two winters with us. She seemed to benefit from the Arizona sunshine, and we from her knowledge of church history and procedure. Miss Andri Simons worked at the Tucson Medical Center as a nurses aide for several months in 1962. Marlene Fiedler entered the University of Arizona in 1962, and was active in the campus group. Fred Fiedler, and later his bride, Barbara Allen Fiedler, lived near Phoenix during the 1962-1963 season. Sandy Cooper and Sidney Coffin of Bryn Athyn entered the University of Arizona this fall; Seid Waddell returned from his year of work in Glenview so that he might attend the university also; and Tom Waddell and Louise Smith are in their second year there. Other visitors during the past two years were: Willard Heinrichs, Miss Elaine Cooper, Mr. and Mrs. Dan McQueen, Mrs. Eyvind Boyesen, Mr. and Mrs. Aidwin Smith, Miss Raquel Sellner, Major Wayne Doering, Lt. and Mrs. Gordon McClarren, Mrs. Robert Hilidale, Mrs. Al Umberger, Mr. and Mrs. William Gilbert and family, Dave Ripley, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Grant, Miss Madge Horigan, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Pitcairn and Malcolm Gyllenhaal.

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     Our happy anticipation of the coming of our new first family was fulfilled when the Rev. and Mrs. Geoffrey Howard and their family arrived in Tucson on September 19, 1963. To welcome them informally a pantry shower was so arranged that during the next few days someone from each family called at the Manse carrying assorted packages. The following Sunday, Mr. Howard conducted his first service in our church. A note of subdued excitement prevailed as record numbers gathered to hear him. The subject of his sermon, "The Church Among the Few," was most applicable and encouraging. At the close of the service draperies were drawn across the chancel as usual. The chairs were stacked, and people surged forward joyously to welcome our new pastor and his wife. Punch and cookies were served. A toast to the church was offered, and then a toast to the Howards, followed by the singing of "Here's to Our Friends," to which Mr. Howard responded, speaking of his hope for and confidence in a rewarding growth for the future of our church.
     VIDA GYLLENHAAL AND
     BARBARA CARLSON

     CHARTER DAY

     The spotlight was on the college during the 47th Charter Day week-end. On the eve of Charter Day itself the Academy presented a brief but comprehensive review of three college faculty committees. Under the chairmanship of Dr. Grant Doering, faculty members gave capsule summaries of their activities on these committees. Dean Charles S. Cole explained their endeavors to comply with the recommendations of the visiting committee sent to us by the accrediting agency, especially in the areas of curriculum development, library services, and student advisory services, and Professor Edward Allen, Dean Eldric S. Klein, and Mr. Lawson A. Pendleton spoke in these three areas, respectively.
     After some worthy discourse, visitors and their hosts adjourned to the recently completed college men's dormitory for an open house. This new addition to the campus rises from as yet unlandscaped ground, north of the Assembly hall. Its split levels, open stairways, dramatic lighting and brick interiors caused much discussion among the many amateur architects roaming its corridors, but parents were soon assured that their sons had a comfortable home in this fine addition to the Academy's campus. Housemaster Grant Doering impressed the visitors with a two-way sound system that communicates with every corner of the dormitory and its twenty-two inhabitants.
     The college had another "first" this year by carrying the class banners in the procession to the cathedral. The speaker at the service, the Rev. Robert S. Junge, expressed the need for more specialization in the future work of the Academy. This address, printed elsewhere in this issue, reviewed the steady growth of the school from its infant beginning to the threshold of expansion and diversification upon which it stands today. The college, with its separate dormitory and its future campus, classrooms and faculty, will he a part of that not too distant future period of specialization described in Mr. Junge's address.
     In spite of the presence of several college players in the Bryn Athyn starting line, the alumni witnessed a 28-0 defeat by Episcopal Academy. One optimistic parent shrugged off disappointment with: "Yes, but the weather was magnificent and I did see some old classmates." Even grandstand quarterbacks were quiet by the time the dance started that evening. The music of the well-known Bill Davies' Band, colorful banners and the array of festive dancers soon erased any discouragement as new friends and old acquaintances mingled until midnight.
     Saturday morning found the visiting ladies being entertained at coffee by the local chapter of Theta Alpha in the hospitable sphere of Mrs. Boyd Asplundh's home. The Board of Directors of the General Church met on Saturday morning, there was a meeting of the Sons executive, and then a Sons luncheon to which all men were invited.

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     The banquet that evening in the spacious Asplundh Field House was an excellent one. Caterers served the 618 guests a delightful meal and Dean W. Cairns Henderson offered an equally agreeable program which featured the Senior College, the Theological School and further training of their graduates. Bishop Willard D. Pendleton, as toastmaster, introduced the first speaker, Mrs. George H. Woodard, who reviewed the current program for training New Church teachers. Her informative and provocative address was followed by Dean Henderson's "Ministers in the Making." The new Dean of the Theological School summarized what the General Church can expect from its pastors, and how the school prepares and tries to inspire its graduates to come up to those expectations. The third speaker, the Rev. Martin Pryke, succinctly reviewed the history of the Educational Council and the in-service training afforded by the summer school program.
     Bishop Pendleton noted in his closing remarks that the meetings and classes offered by the Educational Council this past summer marked a high point in achievement. The future of New Church education as a work of the General Church cannot succeed without this renewed study and continued counselling together of teachers and ministers in the field. The Bishop reminded us all that although Charter Day celebrations are most useful as a means of re-dedication to the work of the Academy, the Academy is not an end in itself but a means to an end, which is the establishment of the Lord's New Church in the hearts and minds of men on this earth.
     LORENTZ SONESON
ATTRACTIVE GIFT 1963

ATTRACTIVE GIFT              1963

     Do you want an attractive and lasting gift for your home this Christmas?
     A limited number of polished bronze Seals of the General Church are still available at the foundry cost price of $25.00, plus a small postage charge if mailed.
     If you are interested contact Walter Horigan, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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General Church of the New Jerusalem 1963

General Church of the New Jerusalem       ROBERT S. JUNGE       1963




     Announcements





     ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Board of Directors of the Corporations of the General Church have been scheduled to take place in the week of January 27 to February 1, 1964, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
     ROBERT S. JUNGE,
          Secretary
Academy of the New Church 1963

Academy of the New Church              1963

     APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION

     Preliminary letters concerning applications for admission to any of the schools of the Academy of the New Church for the academic year 1964-1965 should reach the Director of Admissions before February 1, 1964. This deadline applies both to new applications and to applications for re-admission of students already in attendance. Letters which arrive after this date will be processed after work is completed on those which arrived before the deadline.
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1963

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM              1963

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
RIGHT REV. WILLARD D. PENDLETON, BISHOP
RIGHT REV. GEORGE DE CHARMS, BISHOP EMERITUS
REV.     ROBERT S. JUNGE, SECRETARY OF THE CHURCH [UNINCORPORATED]
MR. STEPHEN PITCAIRN, SECRETARY OF THE CORPORATION
MR. L. E. GYLLENHAAL, TREASURER Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A.

     PUBLIC WORSHIP AND DOCTRINAL CLASSES

Akron, Ohio (North Ohio Circle).*-Occasional. Inquire of Dr. Philip de Maine, 183 Pasadena Ave., Akron 3.
Auckland, New Zealand.**-Corresponding Pastor: Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor. Contact Mrs. F. Mills, 8 Duders Ave., Devonport, Auckland, N. I., New Zealand.
Bryn Athyn, Pa.-Bryn Athyn Church. Pastor: Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton. Dean: Rev. Elmo C. Acton. Assistant to the Dean: Rev. Lorentz Soneson. Friday Class.
Chicago, Ill.-Sharon Church. Rev. Louis B. King, Supervisor. North Side, 5220 North Wyane Ave. Phone: Sunnyside 4-6398. Services 11 am. Monthly Class.
Cleveland, Ohio (North Ohio Circle).*- Monthly, next to last Sunday, at Cuyahoga Falls. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Erik Sandstrom. Secretary: Mr. Charles P. Gyllenhaal, 28609 West Oakland Rd., Bay Village, Ohio. Phone TR 1-3107.
Colchester, England.-175-181 Maldon Rd. Pastor: Rev. Frank S. Rose, 185 Maldon Rd. Phone: 6342. Wednesday Class.
Connecticut.**-Occasional. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Robert S. Junge. Secretary, Mrs. Allan C. Soderberg, 7 Town Rd., Niantic, Conn. Phone: PE 9-7791.
Copenhagen, Denmark.*-Resident Minister: Rev. Gudmund Boolsen, Holtegade 3111, Copenhagen N, Denmark. Phone: AE Gir 11165.
Dawson Creek, B. C.**-Pastor: Rev. Roy Franson, 1108-96 Ave., Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada. Class alternate Fridays.
Denver, Colo.*-3629 W. 32nd Ave. Regular Service at 11 am. Resident Minister: Rev. Robert H. P. Cole, 6788 Eaton St., Arvada, Colo. Phone: 424-6771.
Detroit, Mich.-205 West Long Lake Road, Troy, Mich. Pastor: Rev. Norman H. Reuter, 280 East Long Lake Rd., Troy, Mich. Friday Class.
Durban, Natal, South Africa.-125 Musgrave Rd. Pastor: Rev. A. Wynne Acton, 129 Musgrave Rd., Assistant Pastor: Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs, 1 Mowbray Place, Musgrave Rd.
Erie, Pa.*-Occasional. Visiting Pastor: Rev. B. David Holm. Secretary: Mr. Edro Cranch, 1309 East 20th St.
Fort St. John, B.C.**-Class alternate Fridays. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Roy Franson. Contact Dr. Fred Hendricks, Fort St. John.
Fort Worth, Texas.*-Minister visits third weekend, Saturday class, Sunday service. Lay services at other times. Minister: Rev. Robert H. P. Cole. Secretary: Mrs. H. H. Griffin, 6323 Camp Bowie. Phone: PErshing 7-4456 or EDison 6-9766.
Glendale, Ohio (South Ohio Circle).*-Pastor: Rev. B. David Holm, 521 Sharon Ave., E. Glendale, Cincinnati 46, Ohio.
Glenview, Ill.-Immanuel Church. Pastor: Rev. Louis B. King, 73 Park Drive. Assistant to the Pastor: Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz, 2700 Park Lane. Friday Class.
Hurstville, N. S. W., Australia.-Dudley St. Pastor: Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor, 22 Dudley St., Penshurst, N. S. W.
Jonkoping, Sweden.*-Monthly. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen. Call Mr. Lennart Fornander. Phone: 79119.
Kitchener, Ont.-Carmel Church, R.R. 1, Blair, Ontario. Pastor: Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs, R.R. 1, Blair. Friday Class.
London, England.-Michael Church, 131 Burton Rd., Brixton. Pastor: Rev. Donald L. Rose, 135 Mantilla Rd., Tooting, London, SW. 17. Phone: Balham 6239. Wednesday Class.
Los Angeles, Calif.-Service: 11 am. Resident Pastor: Rev. Harold C. Cranch, 346 Riverdale Drive, Glendale 4, Calif. Secretary:     Mr. A. M. Nickel, 3301 Sparr Blvd., Glendale 8, Calif.
Madison, Wis.*-Weekly service. Pastoral visit every second Sunday except August. Visiting Minister: Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz. Call: Mr. Max Howell. Phone: Cedar 3-4948.
Massachusetts.**-Occasional. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Robert S. Junge. Secretary: Mrs. Francis Frost, 125 Mill St., Foxboro, Mass. Phone: 617-KI 3-5078.
Miami, Fla.*-15101 N.W. 5th Ave. Pastor: Rev. Morley D. Rich, 19820 N.E. 12th Court, Miami 62, Fla. Phone: Wilson 7-1494.
Montreal, Que.*-Service and classes five times a year. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Martin Pryke. Secretary: Mr. D. C. Finley, Apt. 6, 82A Lakeshore Dr., Dorval, P. Q. Phone: MEI-8776.
New York, N. Y.*-First Sunday, 2 :30 p.m. Doctrinal class follows service. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Ormond Odhuer. Call Miss Cornelia Stroh: CHelsea 2-8470 or Mrs. Frances Goodman: ULster 2-3766.
North Jersey.*-First Sunday, 11 am. at home of Mr. Roger Doering, 5 Ridgway Ave., West Orange. Phone REdwood 1-2009. Class on first Saturday. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Norbert H. Rogers. Secretary: Mrs. Edsall Elliott, 26 Fieldstone Dr., Whippany. Phone: TUcker 7-0478.
Oklahoma.**-Minister visits monthly, third Friday or Saturday. Minister: Rev. Robert H. P. Cole. Secretaries: Mrs. Donald Haworth, 923 Knapp Ave., Stillwater, Okla.; Mrs. Robert Tennis, 3546 South Marion St., Tulsa, Okla.
Oslo, Norway.*-Occasional. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen. Contact Mr. Eyvind Boyesen, Vetlandsveien 82, Oppsal, Oslo.
Paris, France.*-Monthly meetings in the homes. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Frank S. Rose. Secretary: Mr. Elise Hussenet, 50 Rue Caulaincourt, Paris 18, France.
Philadelphia, Pa.-Advent Church, 5007 Penn St., Philadelphia 24. Pastor: Rev. Norbert H. Rogers. Thursday Class.
Phoenix, Arizona.**.-Service every Sunday. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard. Contact Mr. Hubert 0. Rydstrom, 3640 E. Piccadilly Rd., Phoenix 18. Phone: CR 4-9660.
Pittsburgh, Pa.-299 Le Roi Rd. Pastor: Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh, 6901 Yorkshire Dr., Pittsburgh 8. Phone: 412-661-6844.     Friday Class.
Portland, Ore.**-Quarterly. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Roy Franson. Contact Mrs. W. D. Andrews, 7619 East Evergreen Hwy., Vancouver, Wash.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-Pastor: Rev. Joao de Mendonca Lima. Rua Visconde de Itaborai, 485, em Petropolis, Rio de Janeiro. Secretary: Mr. Jose Lopes de Figueiredo.
Rockford, Ill.**-First Tuesday of each month. Monthly class. Visiting Minister: Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz. Contact Mr. Axel Eklund, 4608 Manheim Rd., Rockford, Ill. Phone: EX 8-0381.
St. Louis, Mo.**-Minister visits November, April. Visiting Minister: Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz. Contact Mrs. J. C. Wilson, 1421 Silverton P1., Richmond Heights 17, Mo.
St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minn.*-Weekly Service. Minister visits every third Sunday except in August. Visiting Minister: Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz. Secretary: Mr. Don Boker, 4001 E. 50 St. So., Minneapolis. Phone: PA 1-5236.
San Diego, Calif.*-Service every Sunday. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard. Contact Mr. Marvin Walker, 655 Savoy St., San Diego 6. Phone: AC 2-3368.
San Francisco, Calif.*-Visiting Pastor: Rev. Harold C. Cranch. Secretary: Miss Dolly Ashley, 1077 Stanford Ave., Palo Alto, Calif.
Seattle, Wash.**-Quarterly. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Roy Franson. Contact Mrs. Bertil Larsson, 1005-104th Ave. SE., Bellevue, Wash.
Spokane, Wash.**-Quarterly. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Roy Franson. Contact Mr. W. E. Hansen, South 904 Altamont Blvd., Spokane 32, Wash.
State College, Pa.**- Occasional visiting minister; taped services otherwise. Sundays, 10:45 am. Call Mrs. Robert F. Klein, R.D. 4, Tyrone, Pa. Phone: Evergeen 8-5660.
Stockholm, Sweden.-Services at Tunnelgatan 19 C. Pastor: Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, Aladdinavagen 27, Bromma, Sweden. Phone: 267985.
Tabor Mission, British Guiana.-Pastor-in-Charge: Rev. Henry Algernon, 288 Middle St., Georgetown 4, Demerara, British Guiana.
The Hague, Holland.*-Weekly services in homes. Visiting Pastor: Rev. Frank S. Rose. Inquire of Mr. Daniel Lupker, 43 Frederik Hendrikplein, The Hague, Holland.
Toronto, Ont.-Olivet Church, 279 Burnhamthorpe Rd. Pastor: Rev. Martin Pryke, 2 Lorraine Gardens, Islington, Ontario. Wednesday Class.
Tucson, Arizona.*-3O56 N. Country Club Road. Resident Pastor: Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard, 2536 N. Stewart Ave., Tucson, Arizona.
Urbana, Ohio (South Ohio Circle).*-Visiting Pastor: Rev. B. David Holm. Call Mr. Robert G. Barnitz, 609 South Main St., Urbana.
Washington, D. C.-Washington Church of the New Jerusalem. 2800 Douglas St. N.E., Washington 18, D. C. Pastor: Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr, 116 Enterprise Rd. Rt-556, Mitchellville, Md. Friday Class.
Youngstown, Ohio (North Ohio Circle).*-Occasional. Inquire of Mrs. Edna R. McElroy, 3103 Hudson Drive, Youngstown 7.

For services in England other than in Colchester and London communicate with the pastors of the Colchester and London societies.
     * Recognized Circle
     ** Group