Page:A Cloud of Independent Witnesses.djvu/54

This page needs to be proofread.

48 A CLOUD OF WITNESSES.

communion with other professing Christians." And after remarking upon some of the dangers to be apprehended from such separation, he says:—

"Would the compass of this address permit, I could here point out some other dangers to be apprehended by the New Church from a sudden separation from external communion with other professing Christians, such as particularly the danger of falling into a sectarian spirit, and thereby despising or thinking lightly of all others, who are not worshipping God according to certain forms expressed in a peculiar language. But I trust that what has been already said, will be sufficient to convince every candid reader of the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, that such separation is neither prudent nor expedient at this time whilst the New Church is in its present infant state, nor yet agreeable to the sentiments of our enlightened author."

And in this address, Mr. Clowes gives his idea of the Apocalyptic New Jerusalem.

" It is a church," he says, " not to be limited by any external forms or ceremonies of worship, neither to be pointed out by a lo here! or lo there! but universal as the reception of heavenly truth and obedience

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.