From this point I shall continue with Sherman's text, and show my comments in bold face, or through foot notes. Where I show Sherman's quote of other authors I put that material in bold face indented text.

This communication, addressed to the doctor, brought no reply. But Martha and I were in for another disturbing factor when, upon reading the legal papers condemning the incorporation of the New Revelation Society, we found provisions for a self-perpetuating board of directors who never intended to give up custodianship, who could vote themselves any salaries they wished, or invest any monies received as desired, rather than putting the resources behind further exploitation and publication of the book itself. These stipulations ran counter to the directions purportedly received from the higher intelligences, as well as the assurances the doctor had given the members who had contributed monies to the books of his own that he had published, as well as toward the financing of the forthcoming New Revelation Book.

Sherman's reference is to "comdemning" papers that probably were written by Clyde Bedell. Bedell held a strong and vocal opposition to Sadler's proposed autocratic legal structures. The monies contributed by the members of the Forum for publication of the Papers made them sensitive to Sadler's policies, which were certainly not democratic. Refer to further Sherman remarks below. I shall discuss this situation also, and the repercussions, later.

For a man with the distinguished background of Dr. Norton, who was one of the great pioneer psychiatrist of his day, and outstanding authority on comparative religions, who presented theological seminars to assemblies of the United Protestant ministers, it is readily understandable why he had been "chosen" as "custodian" by "higher intelligences" in charge of the reception of these spiritual messages. Old-time Forum members said that Dr. Ruth had been the "balance wheel" in this unusual medical team, but with her passing, the doctor seemed to become less tolerant and more impatient with Forum members who disagreed with him.

Without question Lena brought a balance to Sadler. She was his alter-ego. But Sherman was ignorant of other elements which may have caused Sadler to be less patient with opposition to his policies. When did SS die? Did Sadler miss the vehicle of communication upon which he had come to rely? Now that the Papers were in a position to be submitted to a printer, and thus ready for distribution to the world, did Sadler find himself suddenly exposed to the fears and concerns of trust which he had held privately for so many years? Sherman certainly was not sensitive to the personal situations of others.

With the closing down of the Sunday afternoon Forum meeting for the summer recess, the doctor again announced that he was surrendering his custodianship at the first fall session, which announcement was greeted with a fever of excitement and anticipation. The membership-at-large could hardly wait for a gathering shortly thereafter at the home of Ben and Beatrice Deane for the purpose of exchanging thoughts and ideas.

At this meeting, I enquired if they knew, of course, that the charter for the New Revelation Society did not permit any turnover of custodianship, that it was held in trust for the doctor, his family, and the Staffords, and that the rank-and-file member actually had no voting control or participating rights. This was news to all present, although some recalled the doctor having read the charter straight through, when first drawn up, allowing no questions and calling for a vote of approval, which was unhesitatingly given.

Floyd Winters, one of the most active members, volunteered to go to the doctor's office, read a copy of the charter, and report back.

Within a week, the Deanes phoned the Forum members and invited them to come to their home again, stating that Winters had read the charter and had a report to make.

"Harold was right," he said, "and I think something should be done about it."

He then produced a petition to be presented to Dr. Norton, which he had personally drawn up, based on some of the points I had raised in my letter to the doctor. The petition was ready for signing. It called in a friendly way for a discussion of the charter as a first order of business when the Forum reconvened in the fall.

I shall discuss this situation in the next chapter. I do not know the real identity of Ben and Beatrice Deane.

We can recognize how Sherman was now turning the Forum members against Sadler. He found a vehicle for doing so, and used it for his purpose of influencing the contents of the Papers.

After some discussion, the petition was passed around and all except Fred and Elsie Egberts signed.

"Come on," urged Winters, "let's make it a hundred percent!" And the reluctant Egberts signed.

Then a volunteer committee of Larry Bolton, Ben Deane, and Nancy Dietrich was formed to call upon the doctor and present the petition.

The identity of these several Forum members is unknown to me.

The Egberts suffered pangs of conscience intermingled with fear as they contemplated what they had done in putting their signatures on the petition. They didn't sleep that night, and when morning came, they were of one mind -- they must go to the doctor and privately inform him of what was getting ready to happen.

The doctor listened to the Egberts' account and told them they had "been moved to protect the New Revelation project by 'the higher intelligences,' that they would be rewarded for their actions, and that he was 'now receiving instructions' as to just how to handle this 'uprising.'"

When the committee of three arrived later that day, the doctor surprised them by stating that he knew what they were coming to see him about, that he had been "taken out of his physical body the night before and transported to the Deane home in his spirit form," where he "saw and listened to everything that was said in the invisible."

That William Sadler would have made such a statement is highly doubtful.

He told the astonished committee that it had been revealed to him that Harold Sherman was "under the influence of Lucifer for the purpose of destroying this New Revelation by planting the seeds of distrust and revolt in the Forum minds." The doctor went on to say that Martha Sherman was "an innocent dupe of this evil influence manifesting through her husband," but that Sherman would be dealt with; and that every Forum member who had signed this petitions must come in, ask forgiveness, and personally scratch out his or her signature. Otherwise, they would run the risk of excommunications, even loss of eternal life.

We do not know the emotional elements which may have moved Sadler.  But we can be certain that one of the elements in the selection of Sadler for care of the revelation was his strength of character.

The committee members retreated in utter confusion and bewilderment, leaving the petition in the doctor's keeping. He told them that every member who had affixed his or her signature would be given a chance to undo what he had done before a sentence would be pronounced upon them.

Martha and I, situated in the Rutledge Hotel across the street, had previously been kept informed of all Forum interests by various members. Knowing the time the committee was to meet with the doctor, we awaited word as to the outcome. It did not come. A day passed, and then another, no phone calls, complete silence from every front. We finally phoned several members at whose homes we had been dinner guests and had enjoyed the friendliest of relationships. All we could learn was that "something terrible happened," and that we would hear about it later, probably from the doctor himself. No one was talking.

Finally a telephone call from the hotel lobby. A woman Forum member whom we had not yet met introduced herself. "My name is Anna Gobler. Could I come up and speak with you a moment?" She appeared to be in her fifties, soft-spoken, apparently deeply concerned.

"I've been told some awful things about you, especially Mr. Sherman," she said. "I just couldn't believe them, so I decided to come and see for myself."

Then she informed us for the first time of what had occurred -- and the wrathful action the doctor was now taking. Cindy had been phoning and setting up appointments with each Forum member, at fifteen minute intervals all day and into the night, and the doctor had been telling Forum members individually of the attempted "Lucifer rebellion." Each had been required to ask forgiveness, and then take his or her name off the petition, following which the women members had received a kiss from the doctor⁽¹⁾ as a "symbol" of their "forgiveness." The great majority of signers were bowing to this decree. Mrs. Gobler said that she, herself, had taken her name off the petition, but she didn't know why. But she refused to let the doctor kiss her and told him she would have to know more about both sides of this issue before she could make up her mind. She went on to say that she had never met the Shermans; but that they seemed like nice, honorable people, and she found it hard to believe, that Mr. Sherman had been animated by the Lucifer spirit.

^1. This is sheer fabrication by Sherman. Sadler never engaged in any actions which might bring accusations of immorality or denigration of his integrity. His many years of dealing with the weaknesses of human character had well prepared him for the grave dangers of such behavior.

When she told us that she knew of only four others of the entire group of signatories who had resisted the purported command from the spiritual authors of the New Revelation Book to have nothing to do with the Shermans, we commended her for her courage and forthrightness. Mrs. Gobler said Forum members were being instructed to ostracize us completely, not to speak to us by phone or in person or have anything to do with us directly or indirectly. We were to be treated as though we didn't exist: and members were led to believe that they were being spied upon in the invisible and that the doctor would be made aware of any infraction of this mandate, which would result in punishment.

By dealing with the members singly, rather than facing them as a group, the doctor was able to exercise his authority without challenge, and each was given to understand that when all names had been expunged from the petition, the doctor would call in Harold and Martha Sherman and dispose of them in line with the special instructions from higher sources.

Mrs. Gobler went on to say that Forum members, talking among themselves, privately referred to Dr. Norton as "the little Pope," and his specially selected "board of control" as the "Vatican," but all admitted their helplessness in speaking out against his rule, however such a protest might be justified⁽²⁾. "We've got to go along with him like it or not," Floyd Winters conceded. "I don't know what to make of his charges of Sherman being animated by the spirit of Lucifer, but maybe the doctor has access to knowledge not possible to us. He's certainly taking radical action, and he told me that he had been instructed not to turn over custodianship at the fall meeting -- that until the Lucifer rebellion had been put down, the destiny of the New Revelation project was in peril and needed every protection."

^2. Refer to Clyde Bedell's later commentary on this foolish and false portrayal.

It required a little over a week for every Forum member who had signed the petitions to be contacted and put through the ritual of removing their signatures. Then Dr. Norton had announced, it would be the Shermans turn to "face judgement."

When Cindy phoned us, Martha answered. She was crying⁽³⁾ as she told her that we were to see the doctor at four o'clock that afternoon without fail. Martha assured her that we would be there.

^3. It is highly probable that this behavior assigned to Christy is once again sheer fabrication by Sherman. Christy was much more mature than to act in such immature fashion.

At the fateful hour of four, we were ushered into the presence of the "great man" by Cindy, who gave evidence of being under high nervous tension. The doctor sat in the meeting room, his short, pudgy frame giving the impression of a "little Napoleon," as he gazed at us severely though thick lensed glasses. He held some note papers in his hand, containing penciled scribbling.

"Sit down!" he ordered, waving the papers. "What I have to say applies mostly to Harold. I was told before Susan Saunders sent you to us, to 'beware of a writer who will make application to join the New Revelation Society -- because he might be under the influence of Lucifer, without his knowledge, and might try to disrupt the Forum.'"

The doctor then referred to the notes, which he said he had made at the time and put in his file and never thought of again until this incident occurred⁽⁴⁾. He said he had never ever told Cindy of this happening until now. He then implied that Harold needed Psychiatric treatment to free him from this Lucifer influence and expressed sympathy for Martha who should be relieved to have Harold's mental condition corrected.

^4. This warning, given to Sadler years before the incident, may be true. It is possible he was given sufficient guidance to guard against such threats.

Martha and I looked at one anther, and we both stood at the same time.

"We don't believe a word of this!" I challenged. "Do you mean to say you would have had a warning from higher intelligences in whom you profess to have such faith, and would have forgotten it, and not immediately associated it with us when we appeared on the scene? Those notes you made were phony!⁽⁵⁾"

With this we walked out.

^5. Sherman's emotional response again indicates his inability to assess the reality of human situations, even where special instructions may have been filed away years before.

It was mid-summer by this time⁽⁶⁾, and in the weeks that followed few members got in touch with us; and if any members chanced to see us on the street, they hastened to the other side or turned in the opposite direction to avoided any possible confrontation. At one time, I boarded a bus and saw John Grigsby seated at the other end. I moved toward him, and when John saw me coming, he leaped up and jumped off the bus with abject terror in his face. It was clearly evident that most Forum members had been completely dominated by fear⁽⁷⁾.

^6. Sherman's account shows how these matters developed over the summer months between his entry in the spring, and the formal assumption of meetings in the fall.

^7. Again, Sherman is exaggerating circumstances and behavior of Forum members to color his portrayal of events.

What should or could we do about it? Should we fold up our tent and quietly steal away, or should we remain, attend the Forum meeting in the fall, and challenge the doctor to make his charges against us in public so we could answer them? Would this prove to the Forum members that they, themselves, should not fear the doctor or anything he or his higher powers could do to them, and perhaps bring the members to their senses, cause them to realize how ridiculous and false this whole procedure was?

After thoughtful deliberations, we decided to remain and face the issue, even though almost everyone had been turned against us and we knew the doctor was confident we would not dare show up on his premises. This ostracism was his conceived method of driving us away and ridding the Forum and The New Revelation Book of the Lucifer menace. We could tell from the frightened and apprehensive attitudes of the Forum members that they were expecting some awful fate to befall us at any moment, even to the point of our being annihilated.

However, something happened to me about this time which gave Dr. Norton and the Forum members a severe jolt: I was contracted by the Goldblatt Brothers Department Stores to present a radio series six nights a week over Chicago Tribune Station WGN, based on my book Your Keys To Happiness, which I had presented over the CBS radio network in New York City some years before. This made me a well-known personality in the Chicago area and the personal Philosophy, question-and-answer program proved highly popular, breaking all mail return records.

The eventful day for the reopening of the Forum meetings finally arrived. Meeting time was always three o'clock sharp when Dr. Norton would enter and take his position, a New Revelation paper in hand, ready for reading. While the Forum member were coming in, the doctor often followed a routine of standing at the top of the stairs, on the landing, with his secretary, Cindy, welcoming and shaking hands with the arrivals.

Just inside the door, on the lower level, it was usually the custom of the doctor's brother-in-law Alfred Buxton⁽⁸⁾, to take his stand. Anyone who didn't belong, who might have thought, with the people going in, that this was a public meeting, could be screened out.

^8. This was Sherman's alias for Wilfred Kellogg.

Five minutes before the starting time of three o'clock, most of the forum members already were present, we made our appearance. As we entered the door, Mr. Buxton gave us a startled, unbelieving look and fled up the stairs to carry the news of our arrival to the doctor.

As we mounted the stairs, we caught a glimpse of the doctor hastily retreating from the stair landing, followed by Cindy, and Mr. Buxton, seeking to avoid direct contact.

As we stepped inside the small auditorium, itself, we saw astonished Forum members wondering where we would elect to sit. We glimpsed a row with only two people in it, halfway back, two seats in the aisle, to which we headed. The Forum members in this row quickly vacated so that we had the whole row to ourselves. No one spoke; they looked towards the doctor, who was up front, as though expecting him to take some sort of barring action but this was a situation that the doctor didn't know how to handle at the moment.

The reading of the New Revelation paper began. Dr. Norton's hand shook as he read; he glanced uneasily from time to time at his audience and particularly at us. We were still alive and well and unafraid of him. This was a challenge to his entire authority.

When intermission time arrived and the doctor prepared to leave the room, I stood up and addressed him as startled Forum members seemed to freeze in their seats⁽⁹⁾.

^9. Two other records of the following events are available. The first is a letter to Harry Loose which Sherman prepared that same evening; the second is the memory of Clyde Bedell many years later.

"Dr. Norton -- you have made charges against me behind my back, which I am prepared to answer. Will you now repeat these charges to my face?"

The doctor looked up as though he might be on the verge of a stroke.

"You can not speak!" he shouted. "Your are a guest in my house!"

For answer, I left my row and walked to the front to take position beside the frustrated doctor.

"I am innocent of your charges and I demand the right to answer them!" I insisted.

"Sit down -- you can't speak -- you are a guest in my house. Sit down!" the doctor kept repeating.

At this point, the two husky Herschel brothers⁽¹⁰⁾, just back from military service together, left their seats and rushed forward, seizing me by the arms and shoulders.

"Shall we throw him out?" they said to the doctor.

^10. These were the Kulieke brothers.

Forum members were now in an uproar. Some were begging Martha to urge her husband to stop -- to go back to his seat before something awful happened. One man leaned over Martha's shoulder and whispered, "Sit tight!"

Henry Junior, the doctor's son, also of husky build, enter the scene threatening violence. The doctor stood by, not knowing what to do or say, as I held my ground.

At this critical moment, a new figure entered the picture. He came from the annex-type room off to the side and was a new face to most of the Forum members. He was our friend, H. C. Mattern, attending a Forum meeting for the first time, and we had not known he was present.

"Take your hand off that man!" he ordered, pushing the surprised Herschel brother back and stepping between Henry Junior and me. The he grabbed me and pressed me against the side wall so no one could get behind us.

"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Henry Junior. "You keep out of this!"

"Not until I know what this is all about!" said H. C.

"But I know Harold Sherman, and if he is trying to defend himself against whatever had been said about him, he has a right to speak. I'd like to ask you all -- is God in this house?"

"I consider that an insult!' shouted Henry Junior.

"He can't speak -- he's a guest in my house!" the doctor once more repeated.

I was watching the reactions of the Forum members. I wanted to see if this demonstration was revealing to them -- was showing them how tyrannical the doctor was, that he must have something to fear, something he wanted to cover up, which he thought might come out in open discussion.

Amazingly enough, no one came to my defense. They sat petrified, as H. C. maintained his protective position, holding off the intended attackers.

Realizing that I had gone as far as I could in establishing that Martha and I had no fear of the doctor and no respect for the type of authority he was exercising over the Forum members, I went back to Martha, and the two of us left the auditorium.

Thereafter, for FIVE CONTINUOUS YEARS, we attended every Sunday Forum meeting, without exception, remaining only for a complete reading of the New Revelation papers, to show our continuing interest in the material itself, and the leaving at intermission⁽¹¹⁾. We did not stay for the doctor's question and answer period, indicating a total lack of respect for, or fear of him personally, and also demonstrating that he had no power to hurt or destroy us or anyone else -- and the doctor and his "ruling body" did not know how to cope with this situation. Help was obviously not coming from any higher source. All threats had been the doctor's own conniving and pretense.

^11. Clyde Bedell denied this assertion by Sherman. Other Forum members could not recall that the Sherman's remained for meetings in the following years. It would have been highly unusual, almost unbelievable, that the Sherman's would have engaged in such effrontery.

All the time, we sat pretty much by ourselves, most members avoiding personal contact. They just could not understand why we had not been struck dead. In the interim, Ben Deane, disillusioned and threatened with blindness, committed suicide by shooting himself; the son of Henry Junior also committed suicide due to unhappy home conditions⁽¹²⁾. There was no evidence that exposure to these spiritual messages had made the Form member any better humans. Less than a dozen Forum members, including Mrs. Anna Gobler, made any friendly overtures towards us. But they kept us informed of Forum activities. They chose not to resign from the Forum in protest so they could keep in touch with the unusual Forum material.

^12. Sherman's memory and account is badly faulty. He confused two different episodes. William Sadler, III, son of William Sadler, Jr., did not commit suicide. He lost consciousness on Christmas day, 1955, probably due to a combination of alcohol and barbituates, in association with undiagnosed diabetes, and shortly died in the hospital. He had been suffering partial blindness, which Dr. Sadler attributed to a brain tumor. Autopsy failed to find a tumor, or even the actual cause of death.

As for us, we felt that the extraordinary nature of some of the writings gave proof of a higher spiritual source, even though we now know we could never endorse the book when it was finally published, because of the editorial liberties that we were sure had been taken with it⁽¹³⁾.

^13. Here again Sherman falsely deduces actions on the part of Sadler which were not under Sadler's control.

The mystery of the author of The New Revelation Book remained. It was published anonymously in 1955, as though dictated by a host of higher intelligences. We, however, came upon a clue to who the human instrument might be - and he was not a stockbroker, which story served as a "cover" for so long. He was a person very close to the doctor, one who might have been least suspected, a self-effacing, quiet individual⁽¹⁴⁾.

^14. Here Sherman enters into gross speculation on SS, proposing him as Wilfred Kellogg. It was a desperate attempt by Sherman to anticipate possible identity of that man. However, his letters to Harry Loose in 1942 show that he did not believe it was Wilfred at that time. This idea developed later from unfounded rumors circulating among some Forum members.

We left Chicago in May, 1947, to take up residence in the wilds of the beautiful Ozark hills. It was a great release from the tension-packed years of dedications to a project that may or may not have been worth all the pain and sacrifice⁽¹⁵⁾. Then again, it my well have been, if the telling of this experience helps stabilize the thinking of others who have been involved in similar psychic adventures.

^15. This was a rather pathetic position for a man of Sherman's background and age. It again demonstrates an emotional state he never resolved, brought on by his psychic delusions.

So as not to depend on our judgement alone, when the book was published in 1955, we sent copies to a number of people we considered outstanding metaphysical authorities, well qualified to evaluate its content.

Sir Herbert Wilkins, whom we had interested in joining the Forum in our first enthusiasm for the material and who had been impressed, as had we, during the time the book was in preparation, distributed twelve copies to special friends. His report to us was that he had received only one interested response -- "some seem to think it is a joke -- novel -- or something of the kind. Anyway, the response is a good criteria of their real mind ability⁽¹⁶⁾."

^16. This response is typical of many others over the years. A vast majority of individuals simply did not know what to do with the revelation.

We found that most readers who attempted to study the book did not get beyond the first few pages, saying, "I don't understand it. It's too much for me," and "Who cares how many planets or ascending mortals there are? What can that mean to us?"

Christian S. Ronne (real name), a brilliant Frenchman, who has lived in this country for many years and who was formerly associated with Brentano's New York, as the head of their metaphysical book department, and the head of a similar department in Pickwick Bookshop, Hollywood, had this to say after a careful study of The New Revelation Book:

"Since you asked for my opinion on this book, I can truthfully say, after a great deal of time spent in meditation -- one year -- most careful and disinterested thought and study of many other similar books ... that I cannot subscribe to the authenticity of these superhuman entities that seemingly were responsible for its inception. It is an impressive and powerful work and evidently brought together a group of influential people, no doubt men of good will, to finance its publication, in its present form. It is in the same class as many other inspired books that have resulted in bringing forth a new religion, or sect, due to the faith of tormented humans who crave to learn the TRUTH.

"How much, if any, of the original script was edited, I can not venture to say. It is one of the very few books published in the United States that is absolutely free from typographical errors, and that is exceptional indeed in these times of hurry and stress and great imperfection in the printing of books, even so-called fine editions⁽¹⁷⁾.

^17. Sherman probably had requested Ronne's commentary on possible editing of the text. Of course, this would have put Ronne into an impossible position. Thus his neutral reply. The original printing was not free of typographical errors, but the number was amazingly small.

"Having read every word of its contents, I am convinced that the uniformity of its style denies the large number of its purported AUTHORS. This is aggravated considerably by the fact that there were so many differently constituted superhuman entities from vastly separated worlds and cosmoses who were employed to dictate their special messages. Due to their tremendously different backgrounds from each world, they would have used contrasting styles of expression. There simply is too much uniformity in style, in vocabulary, and in point of view throughout the thousands of pages of this book that deal with such a multiplicity of various subjects. To counter this criticism by saying that it was due to the fact that all these messages had to be channeled through the one subconscious mind of the medium would be a lame excuse. I am firmly convinced there was but one author, regardless of how many entities may have inspired him or how far he might have traveled on the several planes⁽¹⁸⁾.

^18. Many individuals, including Sadler, believed they could distinguish among the celestial authors of the Papers. Personally, I was struck by the uniformity of the style of writing. Linguistic analyses are too tenuous to subject the Papers to rigorous proof of possible differences.

"There are some interesting new theories that require a great deal of thinking out. The THOUGHT CONTROLLERS and the role they play in the conditioning of the first inhabitants on this earth, especially, are most arresting until one realizes that it is a faulty and complicated way of saying that all men can receive the spirit of God in their hearts when the time comes, and when they are ready for this momentous happening in their lives as mortals⁽¹⁹⁾.

^19. Again this displays a direct inquiry from Sherman. Previous remarks in his Chapter show his concern about the Thought Adjuster, which he called Thought Controllers. Indeed, this term is used for God's Spirit which minister to more mature members of the human race. Ronne failed to recognize the great religious and spiritual teachings contained in the Papers on the Thought Adjusters.

"The detailed delineation of other strange beings is attempted and fills many, many pages. As for the chronological history of the various races of mankind, it does not agree with many top authorities. The story of Adam and Eve, and the geographical location are also quite new and most original, especially in reference to Eve and the Serpent. It is ludicrous ... gauche⁽²⁰⁾!

^20. Ronne obviously failed to grasp the realities of the several accounts within the Papers, especially those of Adam and Eve. He was clearly conditioned by the mystical presentations from our historical sources.

"In conclusion, this book with all its tremendous array of new facts, does not explain the First Cause, which still remains unsolved⁽²¹⁾, and the intrinsic difference between the Absolute and the Relative worlds, the Kingdom of God and its Creation, and the Kingdom of Men and its creation.

^21. First Causes cannot be resolved by human logic. It was unfortunate that Ronne could not discern this philosophical impossibility.

"All wise men, inspired men of God, have always and will always learn and then understand the TRUTH is extremely simple and can never be found through intellect, but only through the Heart. It is far better to hold one's tongue than babble meaninglessly in the marketplace."

The reader should know that when I employed Mr. Ronne to make an exhaustive study of The New Revelation Book, I gave him no information whatsoever except that it purportedly came through a "sleeping subject." I wanted to make sure that he wouldn't be prejudiced in any way in forming his opinion. Dr Norton had contended that The New Revelation Book would speak for itself, and I was determined to give it every opportunity to do so. The same procedure was applied in my arrangements with my scientist friend, Adolph Thies (real name), whose comments follow.

"So, I read The New Revelation and I could give my opinion in just one single word . . . but I dare not. Firstly, because I do not want to appear biased, and secondly, because I do not want to hurt your feelings. Honestly, Harold, I am very sorry to say to you that I failed completely to find the "profundity." and I cannot help it if this makes me feel like a heel.

"On the whole, The New Revelation is of no help. All the "revelations" add to the already too great burden of compulsory belief which is now breaking the back of religion. Yet, assuming that all of the New Revelations presentation is true, what, then does it offer? There is a central autocratic authority hopelessly entangled in a conflict between the Infinite and the Finite, its nature being explained with a host of phrases of adoration. All of it is functioning in a mountain of bureaucracy loaded with orders of Over and Under and In-between Beings. The very few objectors in this set-up have been interned. All that ever was and ever will be, bearing a distinct flavor of English terminology and sorry to note, ideology, bringing to mind the possibility that an Indian or Chinese patriarch might view the promise of his exalted future with considerable reservation.

"The anonymity of the work puts its very birth under the onerous cloud. I think the work is not only erroneous, it is fraudulent. I think people behind this New Revelation movement are trying to impose a new religion on the masses and are attempting a "piggy-back ride" on the Christian religion with the new life of Jesus story to do it.

"Strangely enough, not one of the 'whole gang' has the slightest inkling of the dawn of the atomic age. Please note how The New Revelation always comes up with precise figures when it is safe to do so. A cycle in the New Revelation can never be proved wrong if a phenomenon to which it applies cannot be proved.

"At this point I am upset enough to point and point again, to the many samples of monstrous creations of wishful thinking which have deluded mankind⁽²²⁾."

^22. The emotional response of Thies to a work that threatened his "scientific" orientation is evident. Many minds, conditioned to materialistic explanations of reality, suffer the same dilemma when faced with revelation.

 

All over the world there are psychics who, through use of the Ouija Board or automatic writing or direct voice or trance mediumship, are producing inspirational as well as factual material, which they interpret or have been told is coming from higher spiritual beings of sources, and which has led them to believe they have established an exclusive "pipeline" to God⁽²³⁾.

^23. Here Sherman enters into a grand summary about "revelation" in general, without ability to distinguish that which comes from rebel spirits, and that which comes from God.

Usually these people, many sincere and dedicated, have attracted a faithful following, who had been guardedly jealous of this knowledge that has been given them a privileged feeling that they have been favored over most humans.

Mary Margaret Wilson (real name) of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a highly developed woman, wrote us recently her concern over the trend of things in the psychic world -- the development of appealing but actually dangerous philosophies under the guise of Light and Truth, led by well-meaning and often deluded mediumistic men and women who are receiving messages and directions from high sources, even purportedly from Jesus Himself.

These followers and their leaders have been told that they are the "chosen ones," selected to help save the world as well as themselves in the terrible destruction which is soon to engulf the earth.

"So many of the people involved in these groups," say M.M.W. "have become caught up in a force which had taken a very strong hold on their lives. They don't make a move without 'consulting spirits.' They follow some of the most ridiculous instructions. While they may have good intentions, it doesn't prove anything as far as their spirituality goes -- it only proves that they will blindly follow instructions. These people are entrapped in an occult force -- not a spiritual force. And this is a point which I think is very important to get across: how to recognize the difference between the occult and the spiritual force.

"Quite some time ago, a psychic lady I know was caught up in such an occult force. Strangely enough, it was not a force which was received by her directly but by another person with whom she was friendly and sat in meditation. The entity came through the other person. It soon developed the wildest tale you can ever imagine by the time they were through. True, the messages were sprinkled with many wonderful thoughts and how much good would come when they traveled all over the world as missionaries of the Lord.

"When I had an opportunity to read some of the messages, I learned the entity had introduced himself as the 'Lama Dalai.' I immediately mentioned that they should check the encyclopedia for the proper title usage. They even refused to do that. The entity also presented himself as a dazzling spiritual being who came without light, because since he was of the 'highest' of God's beings, they couldn't stand his light. They were so adamant that their messages were coming from just such a high spiritual being that without question they followed whatever instructions they were given.

"They started to give away many of their possessions on the instructions of the entity. In fact, I still have an end table which was given to me by these people. I watched the situation develop to a point where the lady involved became nervous and distraught. She lost weight and looked haggard. When they were finally caught up in the heights of great expectation, the blow was struck and the moment of truth finally arrived. These people came to realize that they had been made the fool. No great amount of harm was done in this case, but I know of others where harm was perpetrated, and I am sure that your files reveal far more than I could even surmise.

"But in this case, there was the same idea put forth. The entity tells that he is a very high spiritual force -- they are chosen to perform a grand mission -- they will receive instructions as they go along (almost like a soap opera) -- and they all seem to have a common message that they are to go out and speak to people to get others on the right track. All of the non-spiritual experiences follow the same pattern.

"Many years ago, when I first became interested in extrasensory perception, my guidance cautioned me not to become a 'lost soul of the mind.' I puzzled about that phrase and never really understood what point was being made until I observed what happens when people submit to these forces without using their own good sense and investigate. This is what you stress in all your books -- for people to use caution and to investigate. How much wiser people would be if they just followed that advice.

"It has always amazed me what people are willing to accept from an occult force. If a man walked into their living room and immediately started to tell them how great he was and spoke in lofty terms about himself, they would probably think he was an 'ass.' However, they don't have a bit of difficulty swallowing it from a nonphysical entity. It must be an ego trip, too, because the messages always have flattering words about the recipients of the messages. I strongly feel it is very necessary for people to sort out the real from the unreal at this critical time in our earth's history.

"If some of these blind followers of these dubious groups would stop for a minute and reflect on what would happen if everyone in the world did just what they are doing -- blindly following instructions which are given out piecemeal, not knowing why they are doing certain things -- they could reach no other conclusion but that the world would be in a state of utter chaos. Of course, they usually come back with the retort that it is a way of life for "them," but I have always thought that the essence of a spiritual life is for everyone. The result of their guidance also impinges itself on the lives of other people -- sometimes to the point of meddling -- so it never really is confined to a way of life for them only⁽²⁴⁾."

^24. Mary Wilson well summaries the problems of blind acceptance of, and allegiance to, psychic "revelations." She well describes the fraudulent morass of sources deriving from the insane mind of Caligastia.

 

Our mail, as M.M.W. has surmised, is increasingly filled with tragic reports of misguided men and women who have placed their faith in such occult practices as she has described and we have experienced, only to have suffered disillusionment, often resulting in impairment of health in body and mind.

Robert von Gunten (real name) of New Midway, Maryland, who has devoted many years to the counseling of men and women seeking self-development, had this to say:

"I believe the hardest thing on me as I endeavor to make a contribution to the field is the encounters with individuals and members of some group who are well meaning but SELF-DELUDED. Other than being direct and honest with them, I am many times not sure of their approval, for no one seems to want to be told of a delusion. It is difficult for me to understand why and how educated, sincere adults can be so deluded and blind. And what is just as bad is that others join with them in accepting and following the delusion. Certain things have been given me to know, but none of them need to be covered up in a maze of 'gobble-de-gook,' egotism, or Savior complexes.

"I believe the same God force is in all people, and the difference in people is their degree of choice in the direction and acceptance of that Power."

To all of which we agree.

A SAD COMMENTARY

It must be said here that before Harry Loose passed on in the fall of 1943, he had sadly commented, in one of his last communications, that the Great Book, which he had originally recommended so highly, had been so altered because of mortal perversities and shortcoming that the project had become almost a total failure⁽²⁵⁾.

^25. Harry Loose faulting of Sadler was on two grounds: a) Sadler's autocratic policies, and b) alterations taking place with the text after Lena died in 1939.

At that time, his statement was shocking to us and we were not yet ready to accept it. But, as things progressed, when we saw how little spiritual development came to the members and what dictatorship existed, we were forced to conclude that Harry had been right.

Now, thirty years later, as we view the unhappy aftermath, we have learned of what is happening and has happened to some Forum members who devoted time, money, and talent in an effort to have The New Revelation Book translated in foreign languages, to promote it sale, and to encourage the formation of study groups. They did this only to run into prosecutions by the autocratic board of directors of the New Revelation Foundation, overzealous in their determination to protect the copyright and the "integrity" of The New Revelation Book, even to the point of excommunicating those who offended them. It is possible that the copyright itself is not valid because it is not in an individual's name. This point may have to be decided, one day, in a court of law⁽²⁶⁾.

^26. Kristen Maaherra received a denial of copyright by United States Courts, but not directly on grounds of authorship. The Urantia Foundation had falsified facts in its application for copyright renewal. They could not establish that the copyright renewal protected the commercial rights of any identifiable human.  This District Court ruling was later overturned by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals on the grounds that Sadler and associates had determined the arrangement of the Revelation, but not its content.

Meanwhile, three Forum members, probably more, have already sampled the legal wrath of the New Revelation Foundation. Dr. Fritz Handel, Paris member, translated and had published a French edition. Jeff Bracken, one of the original Forum members, financed a Spanish translation and published pamphlets containing passages from the New Revelation Book for public distribution. Both men have become involved in litigation as a consequence, charged with violation of the copyright and other legal and ethical indiscretions. Their cases are still in the courts and Jeff Bracken has been made the victim of a "kangaroo court" proceeding, tried in absentia, and found guilty, and excommunicated from the New Revelation Society. He is still defying the mandate. Clayton Prince, on the west coast, who has quoted freely from The New Revelation Book, had a suit for copyright infringement brought against him, wherein he permitted the New Revelation Foundation to take judgement . All of this underscores the tyrannical nature of the board of directors and their fanatical religious procedures. If The New Revelation Book was hopefully designed to serve all mankind why this overprotection⁽²⁷⁾?

^27. For discussion of the tyrannical Foundation policies refer to later chapters.

Through the years, many of the New Revelation followers have remained steadfastly faithful, held together more by fear than love -- fear that severance from the New Revelation Society might mean loss of identity or existence in the Hereafter⁽²⁸⁾.

^28. Sherman simply does not know what he is talking about. I personally have held to the Revelation out of my recognition of its holy nature, in spite of the faults of Sadler or the later autocratic misfeasance.

Floyd Winters, who took the lead at one time in protesting against the things he felt to be wrong, and who capitulated at the time of the so-called "Lucifer rebellion," has since then devoted himself to creation of a brilliantly conceived "Concordex of The New Revelation Book." It is a colossal achievement, which had to have required some years in the making. To scan its amazing outline of subjects covered in The New Revelation Book would make one feel that this authoritative list of contents must refer to a truly revelatory Second Bible.

I have the deepest admiration for Floyd, whom I have not seen or heard from since we left Chicago, for the example he set in loyalty and the enormous energy he has expended in behalf of the New Revelation Project. I only regret for him and for all of us that this venture did not turn out as idealistically hoped for⁽²⁹⁾.

^29. How Sherman arrived at such nonsense is impossible to say. He certainly does not hesitate in falsehoods to support his emotional reaction to a Revelation which outdistanced his mind.

For some time after this disillusioning experience, Martha and I were disposed to look upon it as a "loves labor lost," but the added prospective of more than thirty years has caused us to see compensatory values. We realized, for example, that this experience had freed us for all time from fear of religious persecutions and conceptual regulations laid down by other humans in an attempt to dictate our conduct and thinking. This type of fantastic psychic practice is widespread today and is enslaving many innocent people who have been seeking answers to their mental and spiritual problems.

While we, as stated, cannot accept or endorse the book and its contents, it is fair to concede that we found some of its material thought-provoking⁽³⁰⁾. Perhaps, you have had a similar experience with a group in support of a "psychic revelation," who have also felt or still feel they have established a "pipeline to God." If this is the case, it might be wise for you to remember that anything that come through the mind of man is fallible and subject to possible error or fabrication. For this reason, we suggest that you question any purported "revelation," however impressive, whose mediums or sponsors declare it to be "the infallible word of God or His representatives."

---