Outreach no. 220

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MARCUS BACH founder no220
THE LETTER
dear friend of the fellowship
here is something I1 have long wanted to do let you readers of FSU write THE LETTER portion
of OUTREACH just once this is the time because of the inspiring comments you are sending in
uuunnnsssooolliiclciiticeteidtdellyydoolynn the subject of THE BIBLE AND 1
are you game very good in this issue lets use as many letters or comments from letters as space
allows
here goes from honolulu when OUTREACH no 218 arrived I1 opened it immediately intending
to glance at the theme then wait for a more favorable time to read it slowly and leisurely but
a6rr
OUTREACH
the newsletter of
7 etUiicdfaaooa
the
first paragraph held me spellbound with the title of your personalized essay THE BIBLE AND 1I and
I1 read the entire issue clear through without stopping
what an undertaking for you dr bach was my thought and what a privilege for us your OUT-REACH
family to be able to share your early experiences and eevveerrwwiiddeenniinngg love for the bible you
inspire us to recall similar incidents of our own childhood as we learned of yours
all at once the picture of your parlor bible awakened long dormant memories of the huge bible in
my parental home in iowa and the story of sessions of catechism reminded me of sunday school in
our methodist church and of weekly question and answer periods such a long time ago but thanks
for the memories
1 I feel very grateful for each and every newsletter you have written but somehow seem to feel extra
thankful for this latest gift to the world the pictures and reproductions are gems and I1 continually
marvel at lorenas amazing photography I1 am eagerly looking forward to the rest of THE BIBLE
AND I1
peggy bridges
from new york new york have just received and read the first installment of THE BIBLE AND 1I
I1 see in this the seeds of an interesting autobiography have you ever given this a thought
john A price president
dDeEmMoOvision
SOS
vision
to lisa can you devote your page to a continuation of our readers comments on our current
series
yours for the fellowship
L
UTREA
no 220
on
eggl
I1 was lured deeper into the heart of
these movements emerson simply had
to be dealt with this transcendental icsisttiicc unitarian
sage of concord and ssttiirrrreerruupp of souls was a man
for all faiths 1 I unsettle all things
I1
I1
no220 page 2
THE LESSON AND THE LEARNING
SPIRITUAL understanding BY WAY OF THE BIBLE AND
part I1I1I1
5
THE BIBLE AND
the bible is like an old violin it has been played
upon by the devotion of thousands of years until
every word and particle is public and tunable
surely ralph waldo emerson wrote the words for
me to compare scripture to a stradivarius was all
I1 needed to hear our sainted herr pastor make music
of the hexaglot and professor stamm make scripture
out of musical compositions
to think they never realized that the true minister
of god and the true musician are made for each
other what fun they might have had together and
what contributions they could have made to spiritual
understanding in their time to me it was becoming
obvious that everyone who llooookkssupon life as art and
those who see art as an expression of life have finally
read the bible in the language of the spirit in which
it was originally written
wherever you are professor stamm whether tarrying
outside the gates with virgil or dwelling with the
saints are you listening wherever you may be herr
pastor seated at gods right hand or among the
sacred seven have you heard that the bible is an
instrument public and tunable through which our
spirit plays
the emersonian analogy might never have crossed my
path but for the fact that I1 was deeply involved at the
time in research and personal acquisitiveness with
modern metaphysics as expressed by the unity
school of christianity the church of religious
science and other new thought groups A friend and
fellow writer in the field of comparative religions
charles M braden referred to them as spirits in
rebellion to these avant garde liberals the bible
was sacred but not infallible it was gods word
as the biblical writers had interpreted his word and
experienced it but it was by no means without
human error and the constant intrusion of mortal
mind the BOOK according to modern meta
physicians was to be taken not only literally but
symbolically definitively and esoterically seriously
yet nonetheless with a light and loving touch with a
jeu dddeeesssppprrreiittt as well as with sombre reflection in
short the bible was a masterwork challenging the
individuals ggooddggiviveenn power to reason in every realm
of human thought
this was substantially what I1 believed
about the bible at this stage of the
game and when I1 discovered that
emerson was considered by many to be
the father of modern metaphysics
he once declared
no facts are to me sacred and none are profane I1
experiment an endless seeker with no past at rn
back among his finest thoughts was his suggestion
that the bible was as tunable and eternally resonant
as a strad
these references kept drawing me closer to my theory
that the bible should by all means bring people to-gether
into a spiritual symphony a playable ensemble
this was a poignant supposition on the part of the
metaphysical movement for it appeared to me at
times that even the varying schools of new thought
were themselves encountering difficulty in effecting
an harmonious integrated performance there were
already schisms and discordant notes within the pre-vail1I
iing groups
but
ng
then
grou
metaphysical
ps
movements had always
followed an awareness of their own the wide spec-trum
of their biblical interpretation insisted on in-cluding
considerations of aristotelian and platonic
thought while seizing upon emerson the ultimate
interpreter of metaphysical scholastics each new
group created and justified its own blend of human-ism
and orthodoxy hoping to insure despite basic
differences that rebellious scientists and religionists
freeborn and fundamentalist mystic and maverick
had the right to feel at home and godsseeccuurree by
virtue of the BOOK
no 220
upon
as
cnomeeaanss
page 3 no220
the bible and I1 more
american church history
question and writing the
watch and listen involve
is and weigh the wonder
no religionists had ever taken on as
sensational a task as did these humani-tarian
spiritual reformers the christian-izing
of america which began with our
founding fathers had required some
three hundred years to come of age but
the modernization of scripture metaphysically was
compressed within a century following emersons
death in 1882
RMAPLPHH WALDO EMERSON
from tahfe ching by oltito J 4s6fhchnnuedidier
what was all this doing to
and more I1 realized that
itself was answering the
script one needed only
oneself where the action
of it all
by good fortune I1 was in the very center of action
when like a ggrroowwffaasstt additive metaphysics was
injected into the roots of established protestantism
throughout the american scene I1 was close at hand
when this mmiirraacclleewwoorrkkiinngg new thought ingredient
became a doctrine and a creed in the traditionally
established churches along church street USA
one of the most sensational demonstrations that I1
covered for the christian century publication re-volved
around a reformed dutch church of america
with a congregation more staid and stable than any
found in my own evangelical persuasion the place
was marble collegiate church of fifth avenue new
york the central figure a perfectly respectable
untarnished minister the reverend norman vincent
peale the event the flowering of the metaphysical
concept into a luminous bloom in historic protestanti-sm
it was not only peales book THE POWER OF
POSITIVE THINKING 1952 that worked the
miracle it was the ministers ability to adroitly
blend and bend metaphysical truths to fit biblical
texts making them applicable for the coming of a
new person for a new age at every stage of the game
his astounding success prompted a pundit to declare
that st paul was appealing but peale is aapppapuaulilningeg
the quip stuck because peale himself became a most
appealing link between the king james version and
the american revised appraisal of what american
faith had secretly been searching for and passionately
desiring all too long
an emphasis on the godliness of pros-perity
instead of the sinfulness of riches
a scriptural absolution for securalistic
joy
listic
of heart the power of mind over
matter an insight into god as health
hope and happiness in a world where his
love could be justified by the american life and his
law construed as livable and benign
peale was by no means alone nor was protestantism
alone in this exciting turn of events the new meta-physical
interpretation of the bible fanned the
attention and allurement of a roman catholic priest
monsignor fulton sheen a TV celebrity and author
of PEACE OF SSOOUUL
A jewish rabbi joshua loth liebman of temple
israel in boston provided the metaphysical move-ment
with the intellectual clout it needed when in his
book PEACE OF MIND which preceded peales
POSITIVE THINKING by six years he noted that
inner conflicts can be solved by combining hitherto
antagonistic spheres of psychology and religion
this book was precisely what the metaphysical move-ment
needed for public exposure though it had by
no means been written with an endorsement of meta-physical
churches in mind
closer to the grass roots where new thought think-ing
had usually been stamped out by fundamentalists
as soon as a hint of its growth appeared liberal rank
aannddffiillee protestant ministers began using their pulpits
as a forum for rrceerceraeatitinngg man in the image of christ
by meeting christ in man over and over emerson
was quoted man by his nature is as unconditioned
as pure as perfect and alone as the infinite but he
no 220
r
no220 page 4
doesnt know it and the smoke screen of his own
conditioning seems forever to fog him in to uunnbfoogg
him was new thoughts aim
from where I1 stood in this phenomenal metaphysical
swing to a psychologized and socialized religion in
harmony with the gospel the feeling of an unfinished
symphony persisted in my thoughts about the bible
and I1 now more than ever my respect for the
BOOK was persuading me to be all things
to all
people a principle which was suspect not only to
rank and file christians but most particularly to the
increasing number of fundammeennttaalliissttiicc preachers and
parishioners who violently opposed the new thought
invasion these bbiibblleebbaasseedd defenders of the infalli-bility
of the BOOK had assumed the title of the
moral right or better the moral majority or
better still the religious right wing these were
the born again christians who condemned the
metaphysical movement as the vanguard of the
antichrist
the antichrist A word mentioned only
once in the bible 1 I john 218 but
described in other new testament
passages as the man of sin the
beast and whatever texts could be
stretched to indicate that metaphysics
was satan in disguise powerful enough to cause
almighty god the gravest concern and arouse his
fiercest wrath
to the moral majority liberal metaphysics was the
spectrum of religions other end to liberal meta
physicians the moral majority was the other end of
religions spectrum
where did this leave the bible and I1 and my con-stantly
growing conviction that the GOOD BOOK was
intended to be the ggooddggiviveenn basis of iintterrspiritual
orchestration
spiritual
the thought could have left me
stranded hhaallffwwaayy between the spectrums two ex-tremes
but for one interesting point in the early
days of my research I1 had experienced the baptism of
the holy ghost and had been exaltedly in the spirit
for approximately a year and a half it was a deeply
meaningful and sentimental journey which had to be
lived to be understood it was a time following my
evangelical ordination and a short year in a pastorate
when objective research became for a time a subjective
encounter and when walking the line between reason
and reaction was a razors edge it was also as I1 re-viewed
it now a thrilling period of absolutism the
belief and insistence that there was but one single
solitary biblical path to salvation jesus the way the
truth and the life
the setting for this stage in my life was the assembly
of god pentecostal in milwaukee wisconsin I1 had
gone there to investigate this rapidly growing work
on 18th and brown my violin was with me as it
always was in those days for a time I1 directed a mini
orchestra of ffaaiitthhffiilllleedd holiness people all members
of the congregation whom I1 loved and who loved me
I1 was a ready candidate for conversion fascinated by
the upper room encounter the pentecostal power
the mesmerizing baptism demonstrations the ever
rising crescendos of faith from the hundreds of dedi-cated
worshipers predominantly german who took
literally the dramatic account in acts 2 the rush of
a mighty wind the tongues of fire glossolalia the
charismatic flames the transformed life the laying on
of hands the verifiable signs that followed those who
believed I1 was given the gift of speaking in tongues
with its many attendant manifestations this was my
damascus road experience
my ffeelllloowwssppiirriitt in all this was joseph wannamaker a
hungarian violinist in his mid twenties my age at the
time he was a serious seeker like myself a friend as
close and refreshing to me as my catechumen johnny
had been in my days of innocence and inquiry in-volving
the bible and me
joseph and I1 experienced the baptism together when
we spoke in tongues joseph frequently interpreted
the unknown language since his conversion he
played his violin only to the glory of god he was
my superior by far in the musical field but we were
often a violin duo during witnessing sessions in
street meetings hospitals prisons we were one in the
lord and brothers in christ
what separated us after more than a year of iimmppass
ddiioomneedd fellowship how did the ecstasy slip away and
the feeling of affinity apostatsiizzee the major reason
was the insistence of pentecostal preachers and evan-gelists
that they were speaking for god whenever
they quoted the bible insinuations about their own
infallibility an intolerance for those who stood in
their way a literalistic dogmatism in interpreting the
BOOK all began to grate on my rememberization of
the dogmatics of my bedrock evangelicalism pente-costal
preachers references to nnpooennnpteencteocossttaall
ministers as antichrist as though they themselves
were totally exempt from the term seemed to me in
itself to be antichrriissttiicc and after all I1 argued did
no 220
L
h01y
161bic
I1
oocrhhiiss
pages no220
jesus who spoke in truth ever speak in tongues and
where in the scripture was it advocated that one relig-ion
should sit in judgment over other faiths then
there was my feeling that religion was never intended
to be marketed or become big business and that if
one was actually in christ the fact should reveal it-self
in the quality of life and love that was truly
christliilkilkee
but always there was joseph a true
emissary of god joseph and I1 could
play bachs concerto for two violins
with the closest of spiritual responses
even though we often differed on
what composer johann sebastian may
have had in mind we always resolved
our points of view and went on with our playing
how wonderfully these discussions drew us to the
heart and meaning of the musical text and how close-ly
they brought us to each other
we were able to sublimate our differences in the field
of musical composition but when it came to religion
and the biblical score there was no room for com-promise
this was a revealing insight for me in my coming to
terms with the bible and I1 for if the bible could
be played that way harmoniously how near might
we all come to realize what the great composer of
the BOOK had in mind shouldnt religion be like
music a song for the soul
joseph stayed in ppeenntetceocsotasltiasmlitsrmue to his guidance
he became a minister exercising a powerful influence
in the assemblies of god true to my guidance I1 left
returning to my research of religions everywhere
why didnt I1 give in and stay perhaps because this
was the time in my life when I1 began to value the
search for truth so much I1 was willing to compromise
but not convert I1 to be one with other
seekers in other christian and nnoonnchristian expres-sions
christian
of faith who in their close encounters with god
were willing to speculate without bitterness or insis-tence
that god is hnott a being but BEING and that
his BOOK is not merely a bbBooOooOkkKej but an instrument
public and tunable to a TON a1cc CHORD unbound by
any one denomination or faith in the hope of creating
a sense of oneness among gods people
this was the reasoning that reinforced
my original premise we understand
people best when we understand what
they believe and we best understand
what they believe when we put our-selves
in their place to put ourselves
in their place does not mean we must remain forever
one with them bound to their cherished texts it
means that we must find our own oneness with god
while respecting the oneness which is theirs
THE NEW
SCOFIELD
HEHHENCE
such was my reasoning at the time my apologia
su spurperemmao causing me to remain committed to what
someone referred to as religious vvaaggaabboonnddiinngg
to me it was a commission as sincere and adventurous
in the field of faith as that of the evangelist who finds
fulfillment in converting one more soul to whatever
his biblically appointed view I1 felt more comfortable
in my wish not to convert but to communicate and to
remain in areas where reason and intuition were not
compelled to bow to institutionalized conformities
was it wrong to speculate with emerson that no
truth is so sublime but that it may be trivial to-morrow
in the light of new revelations was it im-proper
to respect the bible totally as one would an
instrument of music that he loved no matter what his
talent or his hope for a career or what his frustration
might be if the playing of it were beyond the capacity
he felt for it in his heart
wasnt there truly something to be said for the dis-covery
of an ultimate text in the scripture one great
unified TONIC CHORD my bible would not let the
dream or the quest go away
one reason for my conviction that spiritual under-standing
and musical harmonization had a common
kinship was because of a visit with my parents after
the publication of a book on my pentecostal experi-ence
THE INNER ECSTASY
world publishing company 1969
page 5
L
true
no 220
wanted
TONIC
ppaarrttiiccua lbaarrllyy
no220 page 6
during this rroouunnddtthheettaabbllee conference my mother
agonized over the shame she felt about my skirmish
with the assembly of goders as she called them
and her embarrassment that my jabbering joseph iirnl an unknown tongue had been put into
print and what must our departed herr pastor be
thinking it perturbed her to think how little I1 had
done with my ordination and how insignificant had
been my contribution to the evangelical faith
yet this low ebb in our family conference was to be-come
one of the most meaningful moments for the
bible and I1 and for all concerned for it happened
that my father had visited me in milwaukee during my
conversion period and had attended a service at which
joseph and I1 presented several musical numbers he
had never talked about this in detail but now he
recounted his impressions his wonder and response
when the worshipers rose to their feet with exalted
hhaalllleelluuijlaahhss and praise the lord never one to
show much emotion rarely interested in pressing a
point he went to my mother on this home front
occasion and put his arm around her unsteadily as
if hesitating to share a memory deeply felt too
deeply perhaps in view of his casual acceptance of
matters religious he said to her too bad you werent
there to have heard them make music together you
would have been proud it was better even than that
christmas eve when professor stamm and aunt selma
played those numbers in the music room when herr
pastor was still alive remember
my mother looked at him with a glance that reached
back through the years long before I1 came into their
lives she covered his hand with hers the music I1
could understand she began then paused as if the
analogy of music and a common bond of faith had
suddenly crept into her mind possessing her sensing
something spiritual in my fathers words finding
something in his heart that had been lost or hidden
all too long
it was the greatest reward anyone
could have given me for my years of
research it was in fact a time of new
beginning when the inner ecstasy
with oneself becomes the interrelated
ecstasy of all who believe
ahead of me unknown at the moment lay two
state department assignments in the field of inter-cultural
religions in india and southeast asia also a
rockefeller grant for additional research in america
following which there was to be a university spon
akukrreedd interssppiirriittuuaall exchange with leaders of japans
eevveerrggrroowwiinngg shinto and buddhist faiths many of
which had been influenced by contributions from the
bible
any number of significant signals were pointing to
the bibles positioning in our contemporary world
particularly since the advent of paleontologist teil
hard de chardins phenomenon OF MAN of
this monumental book the review of metaphysics
said the book provides a coherent vision of the
process of evolution starting from the formation of
our planet through the emergence of life and later
thought to an imagined end state or omega point
liberal christianity and modern metaphysics were
welcoming the rapprochement of science and religion
psychology and religion anthropology and religion
all of which put the BOOK into a new perspective
with the life and thought of our time
the moral right opposed such close encounters with
secularistic nnoonncchhrriissttiiaann human progress the aim
and mission of the born again movement was to
utilize the bible to promote its creationism theory of
the universe to christianize america and evangelize
the world political power was also a goal the
separation of church and state said one of its leaders
was the devils trick to keep christians from ever
governing the united states
middle of the road christians were con-tent
to keep the bible sacrosanct letting
their churches scholars interpret it accord-ing
to their wisdom and the guidance of the
holy spirit
then there was a new generation which saw the bible
as an enjoinder for world fellowship through the con-cept
of the prince of peace by way of christs passive
resistance his power that had been demonstrated in
civil rights movements outstandingly in the life and
mission of martin luther king these zealots had
their own eclectisciissm often finding in other faiths
christian and nnoonncchhrriissttiiaann alike creeds and rituals
to supplement a christian heritage which too often
no longer sufficiently demanded a vigorous medita-tive
and
spiritually dedicated mission in life
then there were those on many a seekers path who
simply loved and respected the bible for what it
meant to them a personal letter from god a work of
art a poetic book of imagery an amulet against evil
no 220
with
th is
g6
ored
ga
page no220
a protection against the uunngkoowwnn a book that be-longed
on a shelf with other best sellers statistics had
it that less than ten in ten thousand had ever read it
from cover to cover ten percent of the clergy did
not believe its promise of an afterlife or a literal
heaven and hell of which it spoke its two billion five
hundred million copies was the greatest outpouring of
any publication and there were sufficient contracts
for new versions translations and revisions to remain
on the bbeessttsseelllleerr lists well into century 21
but what makes it sell Is it simply clever merchan
ddaizziinngg Is it the love and hope expressed ideals in-voked
fears aroused truths presented consciousness
created sentiment self esteem egotism quotable
lines prophecies beauty of language the awakening
of the presence of god and the christ within
these questions belong to those whose research is in
the field of inquiry of fact finders ppoollllsters com-puters
sters
and ddaattaabases
the
bases
bible and I1 is strictly a personal affair it has
its own secret silent way of striking the responsive
note most sought and needed to fulfill ones quest it
is the master musician of the tonic chord persuading
the heart to vibrate to the call
everyones bible is my bible it is only that the chord
to which we respond may be different when during
his boyhood albert schweitzer was a catechumen he
recounted how he raised his slingshot one morning to
kill a bird just when the angelus rang it was he
said as if god was speaking to me about a reverence
for life
when george washington carver as a student was one
day sitting tthhoouugghhtffuullllyy turning a peanut over in his
hands and he was asked what he was doing he
replied 1 I am reading the bible
religious writer and researcher gerald heard during
his final fatal illness philosophized 1 I am treating
my sickness as a mother would her child I1 am reading
it as one would read the mysteries of the scripture
helen keller told a school assembly in rochester
minnesota that the book which helped most in her
understanding of its hidden meaning was that of
emanuel swedenborg she said of her religion As I1
wander through the dark encountering difficulties I1
am aware of encouraging voices that murmur from
the spirit realm I1 thrill to music that beats with the
pulses of god
since the bible and I1 still have
some journeying to do I1 find it
impractical to speak of conclusions
but inasmuch as the spirit of
aAmmeerriiccaaddeessppiittee setbacks and trage-dies
is intent on seeking out new
worlds and visiting ancient ones as
old as mars and setting foot on it
the reach for a world of spiritual understanding should
not be beyond our grasp
after all when I1 realize that my mother accompanied
me on a number of my research trips by reason of
her growing interest in iinntteerrssppiirriittuuaall relations
anything is possible I1 remember our visit to the
assembly of god in milwaukee where during the
moments of ecstasy I1 heard her fervent whisper
praise the lord this in view of pauls injunction
for women to keep silent in church indicated she had
come a long long way and when she entertained our
new evangelical minister along with the local catholic
priest and a jewish rabbi friend of mine and we all
partook of her home baked patisserie and sampled
my fathers wild grape wine a more impressive com-munion
service would have been hard to come by
when our three guests took notice of the parlor bible
it was an event of unprecendented proportions as far
as ecumenicity in our hometown was concerned
there it was with its illustrated first page depicting
for each clergyman evidence of its personal relation-ship
of his particular faith there was moses holding
the tablets of the ten commandments to bring notice
to the rabbi there was st peter with the keys to
7 no 220
no220 page8d
heaven assuring the priest and there were the disciples
and the lamb of god reaffirming the minister and
protestants of their status in the BOOK and em-broidered
round about were signs and symbols that
allowed pagan unbelievers to find their way into its
holy pages
there in this ffrroonntteiessspppiiieeeccceee under date of anno dom
1611 was proof positive of the wonders of gods
WORD as an instrument tunable and public to the
collective consciousness of all mankind surely it held
the theme of a terrestrial symphony under the com-position
of an interplanetary COMPOSER here were
its opening chords with future sounds reverberating
from an inner quest far into outer space
was it possible 1I iwwoonnddeerreedd whether the bible and
I1 had a point when we felt just then that institution-alized
religion had placed too great an emphasis on
doctrinal texts that divide and on chords that seemed
to create only dissonance what if we should center
on those tonic chords that were being left all too
unexplored and unemphasized by both church and
state texts we were all capable of tuning in on and
playing together with no excuse for copping out such
texts and chords as
thou shalt love the lord thy god with all
thy heart and thy neighbor as thyself
what doth the lord require of thee but to
act justly to love mercy and to walk
humbly with thy god
or any one of the ten commandments or
almost every line from the sermon on the
mount or the literal application of the
golden rule which is the common heritage
of all religions and scriptures globally
could it come to pass that if enough people
would orchestrate such a teunaaabbiiillliiitttyy it
might work the miracle for surely the
great composer has provided in the bible
the score in which seemingly dissonant
tones are in fact harmonious extensions of
the TONIC CHORD to which all life re-sponds
drawn by that dream my early selection from the
treasured BOOK seemed to catch the beat and cap-ture
the vision that all of us no matter what our
religious persuasions may be are truly space age
adventures in faith tunable and public
and it came to pass as the musicians were
as one to make one sound in praising and
thanking the lord when they lifted up
their voices with the trumpets and cymbals
and instruments of music and praised the
lord by saying FOR HE IS GOOD AND
HIS MERCY ENDURETH FOREVER
then the house was filled with a so
great that the priests could not stand to
minister for the glory of the lord filled
the HOUSE OF GOD
lets dust off the bible a new world is here
A SPECIAL LEARNING
in his instructive and helpful book jung and the
bible published by the john knox press wayne G
rollins presents five ways of gaining psychological
insight into bible reading and bible study based on
carl jungs analytical psychology rollins outlines
five steps toward indepth understanding of what the
bible is and does to the primary functions of the
mind thinking feeling sensation intuition inspira-tion
think in terms of listening to the bible rather
than merely reading the bible and find your own
reward
1 listen thoughtfully as you would to an inter-pretation
of your dreams
2 listen empathetically ie as though you were
atoonneenneessss with the characters the messages the
mysteries the situations
3 listen broadly consider the testimony of others
who have heard the bible speaking to them cease
to be jjuuddggmmeennttaall recognize that the bible speaks
differently to different individuals
4 listen totally refer back to the functions of the
mind and cccooommnttteeemmmppplllaaattteee on your ability to listen to
the bible as though you were a ttoottoall ppeenrssoonn listening
to messages affecting your total self
5 listen prayerfully the bible speaks most clearly
to those who prepare themselves through prayer for
the tonic chord and the symphonic meaning of its
texts and messages ones aspiration to listen prayer-fully
is rewarded by an awareness of the certainty of
guidance through gods WORD
no 220 page 8
cloud
pretation
ttaoolttpalepresrsoonn
page 9 no220
PAGING LISA
I1 am more than happy to use the next two pages
for comments from our FSU family we have titled
this series THE BIBLE AND I1 and it is clear from
these excerpts of letters that each of you have taken
the lesson and learning to heart and have put your-selves
into the ssttoorryyline
the
line
sharing in these letters both in material con-tributions
to FSU and in the spiritual content
is extremely precious to us comments such as
these are always a special bonus for the effort that
goes into OUTREACH even though we do not
have space to include every letter we receive we do
want to thank you for all the especially meaningful
expressions you include in your gracious correspon-dence
with us
in the spirit of FSU
4 3u nu lisa smetana
we havent been by your office to tell you HI for
several years but we still enjoy OUTREACH as
much as ever the last copy no 218 was very
enjoyable I1 was reading it in bed and had to stop
because I1 was laughing so hard at some of MBs
remarks that I1 was keeping my wife awake would
you please put these two names on your mailing
list and start their issues with no 218 as they would
like to know what I1 found so funny
orville brandt
houston texas
how I1 love your unfinished symphony in THE
BIBLE AND I1 the blending of the autobiographical
as your passage on a lliiffeelloonngg venture is especially
moving to me perhaps because 1I too am a wisconsin
native your narrative gave special meaning to your
journey thank you for sharing such poignant me-mories
with us which is a beautiful way to lead us
into your thoughts about the bible please continue
in this manner I1 find it provocative exciting heart
warming and enriching
mae tombazian
thousand oaks california
the BIBLE AND I1 deserves every one of its acco-lades
third part is really high potential high
pot as the linesmen say only because of the
relaxed emersonian intensity in the first pages would
it be possible if required to tighten up any of the
other pages I1 loved the tonic chord of scripture
repeated as you have done my praise for this piece
of work remains unqualified
earle G lippincott
montrose alabama
OUTREACH no 218 was so special it touches a
memory within and when aunt selma and herr
stamm finished their concert I1 could not hold back
the tears many thanks for sharing yourself with
all of us
dorothy lantz
long beach california
1 I feel you will hear from many besides me about
OUTREACH no 218 and the two to follow it
would seem to me that your background how you
arrived at your study etc will be of interest to
ALL who receive OUTREACH you see I1 am so
excited over no 218 1I can hardly wait to get the
next two I1 began biblical study at least 30 years
ago and after several surveys using only the king
james version I1 reached out for more information
on other bibles then I1 studied the denominations
of christianity after all why was I1 congregational
this led to the study of world religions and how
they compared with christianity if more people
were interested in WHY they believe and worship as
they do their eyes could be opened and they would
be enlightened so you see your decision to write
on THE BIBLE AND I1 is really my cup of tea
odetta veeder
madison wisconsin
I 1 loved your first part of THE BIBLE AND 1I you
have had such an interesting life and I1 love reading
about it I1 look forward to the next installment and
hopefully an extended autobiography some day
margot curtis
houston texas
what a wonderful subject THE BIBLE AND 1I
this surely brought many memories to my mind as
I1 read your first installment I1 too could say that
through my parents I1 was richly blessed by beautiful
christian faith starting when I1 was six it too
would be a long story but the turning point for me
was the two sundays I1 heard dr bach talk at a
church in cedar rapids iowa I1 have lived 75 beauti-ful
years and I1 have had many challenges but I1 have
found the bible to be the rock
evelyn rogers
hermosa beach california
yu
no 220
the
au
I1 pick up the bible
and there I1 read that even the prophets of old cried
out unto the lord in silence I1 turn to him and feel
blessed to have crossed his path once more ich
wuensche alles liebe and gute auf wWiieeddeerrsehn
mathilde
sehn
hoermann
ridgewood new york
the last issue of OUTREACH is by far the best yet
not to say I1 dont enjoy them all but this last one had
a special personal touch I1 think we all identify with
someones true story of tthheeilrt own growth
no220 page 10
just read the first issue of THE BIBLE AND I1 and
am deeply moved by your sharing of who you are
and what your path has been or rather what your
path is ah by what strange ways our lives are
moved and touched and grow
sara kay chandler
chicago illinois
OUTREACH no 218 SPIRITUAL understand-ing
BY WAY OF THE BIBLE AND I1 has added to
my daily meditation and prayer time to reinforce
my faith in god and his works as I1 await this new
experience
louise hall
hacienda heights california
thank you for newsletter no 218 and other issues
I1 have enjoyed THE BIBLE AND I1 will be a joyous
experience not only because of your treatment but
because of your great knowledge of the subject
I1 shall look forward to other issues
ellen wideman
pelson montana
what a splendid first article THE BIBLE AND 1I
I1 cant list enough adjectives to describe my apprecia-tion
for its beauty the insights and even the delightful
humor interwoven into your whole life and related
experiences I1 read every word again for a third time
before I1 started this letter I1 will share it joyfully
with our friends I1 know the next issues will be
equally inspirational
S ferreola kertz
racine wisconsin
THE BIBLE AND I1 is just something I1 had need of
life is often a matter of reaching growing
falling down once in a while picking ones self up
and feeling stronger than before
diane notti
fremont california
thanks so much for OUTREACH I1 am excited
particularly about THE BIBLE AND 1I 1I love the
idea of little books for lifelong learning I1 do want
to be on your mailing list
paula ohling
portland oregon
what a wonderful idea was in the mind of god when
he inspired you to write THE BIBLE AND 1I here is
special depth of understanding and limitless compas-sion
for this boundless expression I1 bless you in
christian love
elma forshey
san francisco california
among telephone calls
real reason im calling is to comment on THE
BIBLE AND I1 series there is something very special
about an insight to life and spiritual unfoldment in
these particular lessons great material for a book
jack townshend
fairbanks alaska
really enjoying the OUTREACH lessons on THE
BIBLE AND 1I just wanted to call and let you know
am looking forward to lesson no 220
daida gold
golden british columbia canada
greatly appreciate the current series in OUTREACH
do you have time to chat for a while
walter robbins
australia
tThhaannk you walter for
the twenty minute call
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no part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without ppeerrmmiissssiinngg in writing from the publisher
while copies of OUTREACH will be sent to anyone upon request your tax deductible contributions are invited
additional copies for use by organizations study groups etc are available write to fellowship FOR
SPIRITUAL understanding PO box 816 palos verdes estates CA 90274 phone 213 37322669
no 220
thankyou