Books: Personal Experience of a Physician

J >> John Ellis >> Personal Experience of a Physician

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So we are not to look for the destruction of the prevailing religious
organizations, but for the rejection of their false and irrational
doctrines, and the receiving of new light and life from the Lord. And how
is such a result to be brought about?

It was apparently the opinion of Swedenborg that his writings would be read
by the clergy, who would teach the doctrines therein contained to their
congregations; and thus the glorious truths for this new Era or crowning
Church would be spread among the people; for, in speaking of the descent of
the New Church, or New Jerusalem, from God out of Heaven, he says it can
only take place "in proportion as the falses of the former Church are
removed; for what is new cannot gain admission where falses have before
been implanted, unless those falses are first rooted out; and this must
first take place among the clergy, and by their means among the laity."

That Swedenborg's anticipations are surely and somewhat rapidly being
realized at this time seems beyond question; for over 30,000 clergymen of
the various religious denominations of our country have already sent for
and obtained Swedenborg's "True Christian Religion" and "Heaven and Hell,"
and over 25,000 have received his "Apocalypse Revealed." It is known that
large numbers are reading the above works with great interest, and that
hundreds if not thousands are full receivers of the doctrines therein
contained, and that they are teaching them to their people as fast as they
find they can receive them. In fact, many of Swedenborg's writings were
translated into English by the late Rev. John Clowes, Rector of St. John's
Church, Manchester, England, who, for many years, without ever being
required to sever his connection with the Church of England, openly and
boldly taught the doctrines revealed through Swedenborg. Mr. Clowes says:--

"Nothing, therefore, can be plainer than that the New Jerusalem
Dispensation is to be universal, and to extend unto all people, nations,
and languages on the face of the earth, to be a blessing unto such as are
meet to receive a blessing. Sects and sectarians, as such, can find no
place in this General Assembly of the ransomed of the Lord. All the little
distinctions of modes, forms, and particular expressions of devotion and
worship will be swallowed up and lost in the unlimited effusions of
heavenly love, charity, and benevolence with which the hearts of every
member of this glorious New Church and Body of Jesus Christ will overflow
one toward another. Men will no longer judge one another as to the mere
externals of church communion, be they perfect or imperfect; for they will
be taught that whosoever acknowledges the incarnate Jehovah in heart and
life, departing from evil, and doing what is right and good according to
the commandments, he is a member of the New Jerusalem, a living stone in
the Lord's new Temple, and a part of that great family in heaven and earth
whose common Father and Head is Jesus Christ. Every one, therefore, will
call his neighbor _Brother_, in whom he observes this spirit of pure
charity; and he will ask no questions concerning the form of words which
compose his creed, but will be satisfied with observing in him the purity
and power of a heavenly life."

"The Gentiles," says Swedenborg, "cannot profane the holy things of the
Church like Christians, because they are not acquainted with them." "They
are afraid of Christians on account of their lives." "Those who have lived
well, according to their religious principles, are instructed by the
angels, and easily receive the truths of faith, and acknowledge the Lord,"
"for they have not formed for themselves any principles of falsity opposed
to the truths of faith, which would need to be first removed."

"Although Gentiles are not in genuine truths during their life in the
world, they receive them in the other life from a principle of love."

"The Church of the Lord exists with all in the universe who live in good
according to their religious principles, and acknowledge the Divine Being;
and they are accepted of the Lord and go to heaven."

The above is in strict accordance with all that Swedenborg has written; for
he says:--

"In the spiritual world to which every man goes after death, it is not the
character of your faith into which inquiry is made, nor of your
_doctrine_, but of your _life_, whether it has been of this
character or that; for it is known that such as a man's _life_ is,
such is his faith--nay, more, such is his doctrine; for life forms its
doctrine and faith for itself." (_D. P._ 101.) "For the good of life
according to one's religion contains within it the affection of knowing
truths, which such persons also learn and receive when they come into the
other life." (_A. C._ 455.)

"Evils which belong to the will, are what condemn a man and sink him down
to hell; and falsities only so far as they become conjoined with evils;
then one follows the other. This is proved by numerous instances of persons
who are in falsities, and yet are saved." (_Ibid._ 845.)

"It has been provided that every one, in whatever heresy he may be as to
the understanding, can still be reformed and saved, provided he shuns evils
as sins, and does not confirm heretical falsities in himself; for by
shunning evils as sins the will is reformed, and through the will the
understanding, which then first comes out of darkness into light. There are
three essentials of the Church: the acknowledgment of the Divine of the
Lord, the acknowledgment of the holiness of the Word, and the life which is
called charity. According to the life, which is charity, every one has
faith; from the Word is the knowledge of what the life must be; and from
the Lord are reformation and salvation. If the Church had held these three
as essentials, intellectual dissensions would not have divided but only
varied it, as light varies its colors in beautiful objects, and as various
diadems give beauty in the crown of a king." (_D. P._ 259.)

Here, then, we have a broad spirit of charity which acknowledges every man
as a brother who believes in a Supreme Being, shuns evils as sins, and
strives to live conscientiously and honestly according to the light he
possesses.

As many who will be likely to receive this pamphlet may know little, if
anything, in regard to the claims which Swedenborg makes, that he was the
human instrument chosen by The Lord through whom to reveal to the world the
truths of a New Dispensation, even of the Second Coming of the Son of Man,
it may be well to allow this chosen servant to speak for himself as to his
mission. He says:--

"I have been called to a holy office by the Lord Himself. I can sacredly
and solemnly declare that the Lord Himself has been seen of me, and that He
has sent me to do what I do, and for such purpose has opened and
enlightened the interior part of my soul, which is my spirit, so that I can
see what is in the spiritual world and those that are therein; and this
privilege has now been continued to me for twenty-two years. But in the
present state of infidelity, can the most solemn oath make such a thing
credible or to be believed? Yet such as have received true Christian light
and understanding will be convinced of the truths contained in my writings,
which are particularly evident in the book of 'Revelations Revealed.' Who,
indeed, has hitherto known anything of importance of the spiritual sense of
the Word of God, of the spiritual world, or of heaven and hell; the nature
of the life of man, and the state of souls after the decease of the body?
Is it to be supposed that these, and other things of like consequence, are
to be eternally hidden from Christians?"

Again, in the "True Christian Religion," at a later date, toward the close
of his life in this world, he says:--

"I foresee that many who read the relations after the chapters, will
believe that they are inventions of the imagination; but I assert in truth
that they are not inventions, but were truly seen and heard; not seen and
heard in any state of mind buried in sleep, but in a state of full
wakefulness. For it has pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to me, and to
send me to teach those things which will be of His New Church, which is
meant by the New Jerusalem in the Revelation; for which end He has opened
the interiors of my mind or spirit, by which it has been given me to be in
the spiritual world with angels, and at the same time in the natural world
with men, and this now for twenty-seven years."

In a letter to the King of Sweden, with characteristic simplicity and
boldness, he says:--

"When my writings are read with attention and cool reflection (in which
many things are to be met with hitherto unknown) it is easy enough to
conclude that I could not come to such knowledge but by a real vision and
converse with those who are in the spiritual world. I am ready to testify
with the most solemn oath that can be offered in this matter, that I have
said nothing but essential and real truth, without any admixture of
deception. This knowledge is given to me by our Saviour, not for any
particular merit of mine, but for the great concern of all Christians'
salvation."

When asked why a philosopher was chosen to this office he replied:--

"To the end that the spiritual knowledge which is revealed at this day
might be reasonably learned and naturally understood; because spiritual
truths answer unto natural ones, inasmuch as these originate and flow from
them, and serve as a foundation for the former."

To the Swedish clergymen who visited him a short time before his death, and
who urged him to recant what he had written if it was not true, he replied,
with great zeal and emphasis:--

"As true as you see me before you, so true is everything that I have
written, and I could have said more had I been permitted. When you come
into eternity you will see all things as I have stated and described them,
and we shall have much to discourse about with each other."

Here, then, we have in this illustrious seer the unparalleled instance of a
man, not in the enthusiasm of youth, but at the mature age of fifty-six
years, standing among the first in the philosophical world, with reputation
unsullied, high in office in his native country, with proffered promotion,
giving up all, and proclaiming to the world that he was called by the Lord
to the important office of revealing new truths of vast moment to his
fellow-men--even the truths of a new dispensation, or of the second coming
of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Now, I appeal to you, one and all, Clergymen of the Christian Church, of
every name, to obtain and read his writings. In the good Providence of the
Lord, three among his most important works can be obtained without money
and without price by the clergy and theological students of our country, by
simply ordering them and sending the postage--as will be seen on the second
page of the cover of this pamphlet.

Swedenborg does not require or desire you to believe anything contained in
his writings on his simple declaration, but you are to believe the
statements made, and doctrines proclaimed, in his writings, only as you
perceive them to be true, and in strict accordance with the Sacred
Scriptures. What have you to lose by reading his writings? Thousands of
laymen and clergyman testify to you that they have found the greatest help
and strength from reading them, even where they may not have read enough to
fully recognize his claims.

Canon Wilberforce, of Southampton, England, one of the most distinguished
clergymen of the English Church, visited this country a few years ago; and
while he was here, being a prominent temperance man, the National
Temperance Society gave him a reception, during which some one introduced
me to him as a believer in the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Stopping a
moment, and looking steadily at me and those in the immediate vicinity, he
exclaimed, most emphatically: "Emanuel Swedenborg has done the Christian
Church an immense service! an immense service!! especially in his
explanation and illustration of the doctrine of the Lord." These words were
spoken manfully and boldly in the presence of members and clergymen of his
own and other Churches. The doctrine of the Lord is the chief corner-stone
of the New Jerusalem now descending from God out of Heaven. Let that
doctrine be accepted by our Churches, and their creeds, so far as they are
based on a tri-personal God, will need no revision; they will disappear.

"All things," says a great authority, "are of God, who hath reconciled us
to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath committed unto us the ministry of
reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto
Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them." (2 Cor. v: 18, 19)

The late Professor George Bush and a large number of distinguished scholars
and clergymen, after a most thorough and careful examination of
Swedenborg's writings, assure us that in them they find the truths of a New
Dispensation, even of the Second Coming of the Son of Man in the clouds of
heaven. The light of a New Day is shining. Christian brethren, will you
close your eyes against it?

Was there ever any greater need of a new revelation from God to teach men
anew that, if they would reach heaven and happiness, they must repent and
shun evils as sins against God, and strive to live a life according to the
commandments? Look at the fearful evils which prevail in our beloved
country; the love of rule, civil and ecclesiastical; the miserly love of
money, selfishness, vanity and sensualism, in their worst and most
degrading forms! Customs and habits prevail which threaten the extinction
of at least the Protestant portion of the community in large sections of
our country. A Catholic bishop stated, a few years ago, that one quarter of
the inhabitants of New England are Catholics, and that one-fourth of the
population give birth to 70 per cent. of the children born in New England.
More recent inquiries, it is stated, show that the average number of
children in a family among the Canadian French settled in New England,
averages 5; whereas among the native New Englanders the average number of
children in a family is 1-1/2. It is not difficult to see by whom the land
of the Puritans will be ruled within the next quarter of a century. Seventy
years ago, the average number of children to a family among New Englanders
was fully equal to the number among the French to-day. Why this change?
Fashionable habits of dress--tight lacing, which is worse to-day than ever
before--has, to a large extent, destroyed the ability of the New England
and other native American women to bear healthy and well-developed
children, and to properly nurse them after they are born. Among our present
deformed women, child-bearing is attended with much more danger and
suffering than among well-developed, symmetrical, and beautifully formed
women. No man who desires peace, health, and happiness in his home, and
desires to leave children behind him, and to thus perform the most
important use which can be performed in this life, should ever think of
marrying a small-waisted woman.

Then again, to have a good family of children is thought not to be
fashionable, among those who are led by fashion, as it interferes too much
with one's selfish pleasures, they think; most dearly do they pay in after
life, if they live many years, for their folly. Children are a blessing;
and yet the most unnatural and injurious measures are adopted to prevent
bearing children, even to the destroying of the unborn. The Catholic
Church, through the confessional, holds some restraint over Catholics; but
what restraint do our Protestant Churches hold over their members in regard
to such evils? Look at the miserable caricatures of the female form printed
in our fashionable magazines, and even in our daily papers, and sent forth
and freely spread before our young girls, for them to pattern after, and
thus deform themselves.

Look at the drunkenness, the leaden and congested faces of our steady
drinkers of intoxicating drinks, and the innumerable deaths and the
wretchedness and sorrow which follow such drinking; and remember that the
chief support of such drinking at this day is the use of the drunkard's cup
instead of "the fruit of the vine" as a communion wine in so many of our
churches, and the example of so many of our clergy, backed up by the
prescribing of such drinks by so many of our doctors. Do away with these
two chief supports, and prohibition would be enacted and enforced
throughout our land within five years.

Look at the use of tobacco, which is to-day recognized as one of the most
deadly poisons, which when used by the young prevents the development of
the human body, and at all ages causes innumerable diseases and deaths and
an inability to withstand the encroachment of other causes of disease; and
the smoke and saliva from the nostrils and mouths of those who use it,
which are so unpleasant and disagreeable to those who are not accustomed to
them, but who yet are so frequently compelled to breathe a polluted
atmosphere. Please read the following and tell us whether to thus prevent
the development of the body and lessen one's ability to withstand the
causes of diseases should be shunned as a sin against God or not:--

SMOKING AND PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT.

From the records of the senior class of Yale College during the Past eight
years, the non-smokers have proved to have decidedly gained over the
smokers in height, weight, and lung capacity. All candidates for the crews
and other athletic sports were non-smokers. The non-smokers were 20 per
cent. taller than the smokers, 25 per cent. heavier, and had 62 per cent.
more lung capacity. In the graduating class of Amherst College of the
present year, those not using tobacco have in weight gained 24 per cent.
over those using tobacco, in height 37 per cent., in chest girth 42 per
cent., while they have a greater average lung capacity by 8.36 cubic
inches.--_Medical News._

Just see the countenance which is given to this habit by too many of our
clergymen--the example which they set! Yes, in many of our denominations,
young men who are known to be smokers, or chewers of tobacco, with their
breaths smelling of this filthy, poisonous weed, are deliberately licensed
and ordained by Clergymen, when it is known that they will go in and out
before young and old, setting them an example which will unquestionably do
untold injury to the rising generation, and confirm old smokers and chewers
in their injurious and destructive habits, and thus be instrumental in
destroying many lives. What are the fathers and mothers in our churches
thinking about when they consent to such an example being set before their
children? Is it not time that they awake to the importance of choosing and
introducing into office their own ministers, instead of entrusting this
duty to the clergy? Swedenborg has given us the true signification of
ordination by the laity. In speaking of the ordination of the Levites by
the laity he says: "By the sons of Israel laying their hands upon the
Levites was signified the transference of the power of ministering for
them, and the reception of it by the Levites, thus separation."--A. C.
10,023. It will be seen that it was not Aaron the priest who laid his hands
upon the Levites when they were introduced into the office of the
priesthood, but the laity, or the children of Israel; and we can all see
how appropriate and significative the ceremony was; and it was strictly in
accordance with republican usages of this day. It does not exalt the
officer above the office which he fills.

Is there a race of men on earth to-day who stand in greater need of light
on spiritual subjects, and of the services of good, earnest, clean,
pure-minded Christian Missionaries, who shall call men and women to
repentance, and by precept and example lead them to shun the fearful evils
named above, and many others, as sins against God, more than the people of
the United States? Look at our children, many of whom, if they live at all,
grow up with crooked legs and spines, delicate muscles and irritable
brains, imperfectly developed jaws and consequently crowded teeth, which
commence decaying and torturing the young before they are twenty years old,
instead of lasting during life as they should; all of which results
principally from feeding children with starvation bread, or superfine flour
bread, cakes, and puddings, instead of the "full corn in the ear," or
unbolted flour or meal, as the Lord has organized it in the kernel of
grain. Many years ago scientific investigation demonstrated the fact that
the portions of the grain which nourish the brain, muscles, and bones is
principally confined to the dark, hard portion of the kernel immediately
beneath the hull; this is not easily pulverized or rolled into superfine
flour, and if it were the flour would not be white; but it goes principally
into, the second and third runnings or as canal, shorts, and bran, and is
fed to the horses, cattle, and hogs, causing them to be well developed,
strong, and healthy, while our children, for the want of it, are half
starved. Even a dog, it has been found by experiment, will starve to death
on superfine flour bread, but will live well enough on Graham or unbolted
flour bread. I have seen a child come near starving to death on such bread,
and only rescued her from impending death by mixing mashed potatoes with
the flour from which the bread was made. The little girl thought she could
eat no other food but such bread, and if she ate anything else she threw it
up. And yet, strange to say, I have known in one or more institutions under
the care of physicians, which were devoted to the treatment of deformed and
crippled children, superfine flour bread to be given them to eat.

It is fashionable and customary to use superfine flour bread; and as a
physician, and an employer of men, I know how difficult it is to induce or
persuade fathers and mothers, even for the sake of their children, to use
Graham or unbolted flour bread, cakes, and puddings, which will give
nourishment to the brain, muscles, teeth and bones, and all the fat and
heat-producing material they need, instead of superfine white flour bread,
cakes, and puddings, which give comparatively little more than fat and
heat-producing material.

I remember very well when my wife and myself were traveling in Egypt up the
Nile, and were at ancient Thebes, mounted on donkeys, going to the tombs of
the kings, the young Arab girl, with a vessel of water upon her head,
balanced by the ends of the fingers of one hand, who ran beside us over the
sand, stones, and hills; for she was one of the most beautiful and
symmetrical female forms I have ever seen. There was no contracted waist or
humped shoulders, but a beautiful female figure, full of life, with
splendid teeth and sparkling eyes. And on a visit to the house of our Arab
dragoman, or guide, we saw how the flour or meal was made upon which that
young girl was fed. In the court-yard two women were grinding at a mill as
they ground thousands of years ago. There were two circular mill stones,
perhaps 20 inches in diameter, standing in a basin; through the centre of
the upper stone there was an opening through which the wheat was poured,
and upon two sides were erect wooden handles, by which the women turned the
stone round and round, and back and forth, and the meal escaped into the
pan at the circumference. I said to our dragoman: "We have not had a bit of
good bread in Egypt. We have been stopping at hotels where they think they
must give the Americans and Englishmen white bread. Now, I wish you would
bring me some bread made from that flour to-morrow morning;" and he brought
us some bread, and it was by far the best bread that we had in Egypt.

The fearful evils which I have hastily named in the preceding pages, and
many others which cause the prevailing deformities, diseases, insanity, and
premature deaths, are not to be dragged along into the Church of the New
Jerusalem now descending from God out of heaven; but our race is to be
purified, renovated, and developed into a healthy, noble, symmetrical,
graceful manhood by the new inflowing of truths from the Lord, pointing out
the evils and falses which are causing the present suffering and
wretchedness, and calling on men and women to shun such evils and falses as
sins against God. A reformation from worldly motives is but "skin deep,"
and generally only results in the changing of one bad habit for another.
Men and women must be earnestly called to repentance, and to the absolute
necessity of shunning the evils which prevent the development of the body,
impair health and reason, and so fearfully shorten the average duration of
human life, as sins against God, which will tell on their eternal destiny.
The fact that individuals who drink intoxicating drinks, smoke or chew
tobacco, or deform their bodies by tight dressing, sometimes live to old
age under otherwise favorable circumstances, amounts to nothing. The simple
question is, do such habits shorten the average duration of human life? If
they do, they are a violation of the laws of God as manifested in the
organization of the human body and in His Word.

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