ordination of God himself. If a man possess talent ard piety, he is bound to use them, whether outwardly ordained or not; and if he is destitute of these, no external ordination can possibly confer them, or make him what he professes to be—a MINISTER OF CHRIST JESUs.

I have already said, that the messenger of the New Church (Swedenborg) ordained none; and that in his writings he does not appear to have anticipated the formation of a New Church priesthood. From him, therefore, they cannot, and do not derive their authority. And to what other messenger from God can they point, as the originator of their ordination? The account of the casting of lots, in order to pick out an ordainer, may be looked upon by some as a sufficient guarantee for its necessity; but I certainly must be excused from relying on it until I can find something in the Word, or the writings of Swedenborg, to justify the measure.

The conference itself acknowledges, that with respect to New Church ordination, Swedenborg is silent. He “has not given any instructions;” but say they," he has plainly intimated that a solemn inauguration, accompanied by laying on of hands, is the proper method." After this direct assertion, one would expect that the passage would be quoted in which this "plain intimation" is to be found. We look,—and to our surprise, the passage says nothing about the ordination of New Church ministers at all! It merely states that in the other life, communications "are effected by the touch;" that hence Jesus touched infants;" and that from this truth it was, that in the early Christian Church, ministers were appointed by the laying on of hands. There is not one word about the ordination of New Church ministers;—not one word about New Church ministers at all!! There is nothing but the statement of a fact, and an explanation of the cause why, in the early Church, “laying on of hands" was practised.

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But, let me ask these gentlemen, If the ordination of New Church ministers is of such importance, and involving in itself such serious consequences; he should have spoken plainly; especially when things of far less importance are plainly set forth.

The truth is, Swedenborg never once looked for the establishment of a separate New Church ministry, and consequently never anticipated their ordination! In fact, he declared that the new doctrines, after being received by the clergy (that is, the clergy of the existing Christian Churches, not a new order), would from them be dispensed to the people. The whole tenor of his writings shews that he had no idea of *See Conference Minutes for 1830, page 95.

See T. C. R., 146, in which this plain intimation is given. See also "Canones Novæ Ecclesiæ," p. 38, No. 7.

the establishment of any separate ordained priesthood, during the state of transition from the old to the new doctrines; and hence he leaves no directions for ordination.

But then again, it is said that they must be set apart by prayer; for that he declares that places of worship must be "sanctified by prayer.” To this I have no objection; though what the setting apart a place for worship has to do with giving authority to administer sacraments, I have yet to learn. Certainly, however, let all who engage in the propagation of truth (whether ordained or not) be set apart by prayer. Nay, in this respect, every man who is "a temple of the living God," ought to be sanctified by prayer. Such sanctification is not peculiar to

ministers alone.

But again. In ancient times "the appointment of the first deacons, though their duties were not altogether ecclesiastical, was by the choice of the people and ordination of the Apostles." And "Paul says to Timothy, Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, and with the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery. The Presbytery were the other ministers."* Did the writer of this paragraph intend to mislead his readers, or did he really believe that the Presbytery were "the other ministers”? If he wrote the sentence merely to support, at any cost, the necessity of ordination, I have no more to say; but if it was his real opinion, I will inform him that "the Presbytery" were NOT the "other ministers"—that they were not necessarily ministers at all. "The Presbyters" (pesẞUTEрoi) were strictly "the Elders" of the Church: in modern language, they were "the committee of the Church." Each separate Church had its "Presbytery or Presbyters," who regulated and ordered its concerns. Indeed the Greek word Presbyter, is generally translated "Elder" throughout the English version. These Presbyters or Elders were not ministers; but lay members chosen (with the minister for president) to arrange and order the particular concerns of their particular Church. Yet the authority possessed by Timothy (as Bishop of Ephesus) is said by Paul to be given by the "laying on of the hands of the Elders."

Nothing can be more opposed to Conference ordination than this; for if the Elders or committee of the Church at Ephesus could ordain Timothy as Bishop at Ephesus, then the committee of any society may, in a similar manner, choose and ordain their own minister: and there needs no Conference order to render the ordination valid !†

* Conference Minutes for 1830, page 95.

The writer is mistaken in the supposition that the "Elders" formed merely a committee of the Church; for in the earliest age of Christianity the bishops and elders

But why not insist upon ordination for others, whose "duties are not altogether ecclesiastical," the secretaries and treasurers of the churches, for instance, whose duties are somewhat analogous to those of the ancient Alakovi or Deacons? In the ancient Church these were appointed by imposition of hands; and if we must follow the example of that Church in its modes of ordination,-why not in this case also ?

That certain orders in the ministry may be necessary in the state of the Church, is one thing: insisting that those orders are essential, and that a Church cannot exist without them, is a widely different one. Let the Conference place their ordination upon a proper footing, as a convenient institution, not absolutely essential, but beneficial under certain circumstances, and no one will dispute with them. But let them not lay burthens upon men's shoulders which God has not laid; and make those things essential which are in themselves indifferent.

QUESITOR.

[We have been compelled to abridge the above article of our correspondent, especially in those parts in which he alludes to John the Baptist as having performed the rite of baptism without human ordination, and also where reference is made to Abraham, Samuel, and David, "who, although not ordained, offered sacrifices." We must all be aware that there is every possible difference between divine appointment and command, and merely human ordination; and the two cases must by no means be confounded. John the Baptist was divinely inspired and appointed to baptise; what need, therefore, had he of human ordination for that purpose? And that Philip also, to whom our correspondent has alluded, although not an apostle, was under an extraordinary influence were not distinguished into separate bodies. This is partly evident from Acts xx. 17, compared with verse 28 of the same chapter, and from Titus i. 5 compared with verse 7, and from the oldest of the Fathers, Clemens Romanus, Ireneus, and Jeromy,

who expressly says:- "Olim idem erat presbyter, qui et episcopus." "Formerly the

presbyter, or elder, was the same as the bishop." The same is also declared by Theodoret. Some of these elders, according to their various ability, used to teach, but others did not. (See Neander's Church History, &c., German edition, vol. i., page 285.) Thus the writer, in the above-mentioned "Minutes of Conference," is correct when he says that the "presbytery were the other ministers." (See also Winer's Biblisches Realwörterbuch, &c., under the article "Bishof.") Now in cases of ordination, the elders, as a kind of committee, carried out the choice of the Church, and appointed a certain brother amongst them to perform the office of ordination, and to offer up prayers and deliver an address suitable to the occasion, by which the whole Church were devoutly impressed and edified. As to the ten commandments mentioned in connexion with ordination in the Report to which our correspondent refers, we solicit his attention to the "Supplement of that Report" in the "Minutes" for 1834, in which he will see that it is guarded against the misapprehension to which it was certainly liable.-EDITOR.

of the Spirit of God, is evident from verse 39 in Acts viii. Our correspondent is evidently ignorant of the design of Conference ordination. No one can for a moment dispute, that it is the Lord alone who can give the grace and fitness, both internal and external, for the work of the ministry. Ordination or fitness for the ministry comes from him alone. Our correspondent, therefore, is greatly mistaken if he imagines for a moment that the Conference takes upon itself the authority to convey ordination in this sense; for this assumption would be impious, indeed, and only to be placed by the side of that diabolical Popish arrogance, which claims to itself the power of absolving from sin, and of introducing into heaven. But there must be order in externals and ultimates,

otherwise internal order cannot subsist. And all that the Conference aims at, is the establishment of order in externals, that internal principles may freely operate and establish their effects. Our correspondent admits ordination as a "ceremony," but a ceremony is nothing unless it be attended with some use. What, then, is the use of ordination as a ceremony? It is a mark of recognition that the ordained person, as chosen by a society, is to devote his time and talents, as far as he can, to the work of the ministry. It is further a sign that he belongs to a recognized body, whose great object in all their deliberations is to promote the increase of the Lord's Church upon earth. All denominations of Christians have found it necessary to have something of the kind for the sake of order, and for the purpose of preventing their body from being disgraced by such as might, through imprudent and immoral conduct, bring discredit upon the connection. These and other uses which might be mentioned, shew that ordination, viewed in the light of a mere ceremony, is important as a means of promoting external order. But that ordination is attended with a certain solemnity calculated to impress the person ordained with the great importance of his duties and responsibilities, is evident. And that ordination was recognised by Swedenborg as necessary to order, and as a means of conveying spiritual benefits, is abundantly obvious from what he says upon the subject; see especially T. C. R., 146, and also the small work published in Latin by the London Printing Society, in 1840, entitled Canones Novae Ecclesia," &c., page 38. If our correspondent desire to enter into connexion with Conference as a minister, why should he object to the simple form of recognition, which that body has thought proper to adopt? That some form is requisite will not be denied; and the form which the Conference has adopted appears to us to be as much in harmony and analogy with that of the Primitive Christian Church as circumstances will admit ;* although we are by no means among those who suppose that the Primitive Christian Churches were models of perfection, and, therefore, worthy of our imitation. On the contrary, we can see, from the apostolic epistles, that they fell far short of the wishes of the apostles, and that they were characterized by many imperfections, both as to life, intelligence, and organization. As there is no divine prescription in the New Testament in respect to the external constitution, or organization, *See "Lord King's Enquiry into the Constitution, Discipline, &c. of the Primitive Church," and the two works mentioned above in the note.

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and government of the Christian Church, that form may be adopted, which, under the divine blessing, seems most calculated to ensure that every thing shall be done according to the apostolic precept, "decently and in order;" and that thus a plane and basis in externals may be laid, upon which the internal vital principles of Truth and Goodness may be most fully developed and established.]-EDITOR.

INQUIRY RESPECTING TASTE AS PREDICATED
OF ANGELS.

To the Editor of the INTELLECTUAL REPOSITORY.

SIR,-Under the article" Angels," in the Index to the Arcana, is the following sentence :-"That Spirits and Angels have every sense except taste, more exquisite than man," (see 322, 1630, 1880, 1881, and 1883.) Upon reference to those numbers, I find that in 322, 1630, 1881, 1883, the sense of taste is not mentioned, nor in the most remote degree alluded to specifically; but the whole of the senses are treated of as being possessed by Spirits and Angels in the most exquisite degree. In No. 1880 the author speaks of their possession of all the senses in a greater degree than man, except that of taste.

It is often repeated throughout the author's writings, that man loses none of his senses by death, but that he takes with him all that belongs to him as a man, and that he is a gainer by his entrance into the spiritual world, retaining all the senses in that state corresponding to those he had while on the earth.

I do not recollect having seen, in the author's writings, any exception to the sense of taste, except in the one above quoted; probably it may have arisen from an error in translation, &c.* I shall feel obliged if you will do me the favour to refer to the number quoted; and if the translation be correct, I shall feel further obliged by your stating the reason of Spirits and Angels not possessing the sense of taste in an exquisite degree, or, according to the reading, not at all.

I have thought it right to trouble you with this subject, in the hope that yourself, or some of your correspondents. will be enabled to give the required information.—I am, Sir, a reader of the Repository, &c. Liverpool, Dec. 14, 1845.

G. P.

*The translation is correct.