LANCASTER COtJNTY. 431 



turned to Europe, there arose a small band of brothers 

 about the year 1788, who hold the peculiar views of 

 baron Swt-denborg; among the first, besides count Buelow 

 and Reichenbach, in this county, who were receivers of 

 the doctrines of the New Jerusalem Church, were Fran- 

 cis Bailey and family, Mr. Eckstein, Jacob Carpenter, the 

 intimate friend of Buelow, Frederick Damish, a Saxon, a 

 teacher of music. There still exists in this county, a respect- 



himself to man, that he may be able to give him the felicities 

 of eternal life: And that the laws of permission are also laws 

 of the Divine Providence; since evil cannot be prevented 

 without destroying the nature of man as an accountable agent; 

 and because, also, it cannot be removed unless it be known, 

 and cannot be known unless it appear: Thus, that no evil is 

 permitted but to prevent a greater: and all is overruled, by 

 the Lord's Divine Providence, for the greatest possible good. 



V. That man is not life, but is only a recipient of life from 

 the Lord, who, as he is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, is also 

 Life Itself; which life is communicated by influx to all in the 

 spiritual world, whether belonging to heaven or to hell, and to 

 all in the natural world; but is received differently by every 

 one, according to his quality and consequent state of re- 

 ception. 



VI. That man, during his abode in the world, is, as to his 

 spirit, in the midst between heaven and hell, acted upon by 

 influences from both, and thus is kept in a state of spiritual 

 equilibiium between good and evil ; in consequence of which 

 he enjoys free-will, or freedom of choice, in spiritual things 

 as well as in natural, and possesses the capacity of either 

 turning himself to the Lord and his kingdom, or turning him- 

 self away from the Lord, and connecting himsjif with the 

 kingdom of darkness: And that, unless man had such free- 

 dom of choice, the Word would be of no use, the Church 

 would be a mere name, man would possess nothing by virtue 

 of wliich he could be conjoined to the Lord, and the cause of 

 evil nould be chargeable on God himself. 



Vil. That man at this day is born into evil of all kinds, or 

 with tendencies towards it: That, therefore, in order to his 



