FATHER and MOTHER DIVINE
serving Holy Communion, Sayville, L. I., N.Y.
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As the moment arrived for the broadcast of FATHER'S Message to the world over Philadelphia Radio Station WCAU by the Columbia Broadcasting System, the voices of the multitudes which had gathered for this great occasion, rang out loud and clear as they sang in unison, "GOD has blessed America," the theme song spontaneously selected at this time.
The Station's announcer, after a few words of explanation, introduced Hon. Harry S. McDevitt, Supreme Court Judge and leading citizen of Philadelphia, who, with the following city officials and press representatives, invited FATHER to the City of Brotherly Love to give its citizens HIS great Message of redemption: Magistrate Edward Henry; Magistrate Joseph H. Rainey; Mr. Ray Fabiani; Mr. L. H. Joly, Editor of the "Afro-American;" Mr. Ralph Jones, Editor of the Philadelphia Independent; Mr. John A. McGinnis; Mr. A. L. Austin, Director in Chief of the Sesqui--Centennial; and Mr. Robert N. C. Nix, Esq., former Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania.
Judge McDevitt in turn introduced FATHER to the radio audience, and the sincerity of the tribute he paid FATHER and his appreciation of HIS mighty Works in salvaging humanity, show the high esteem in which our beloved SAVIOR is held by the leading citizens of Philadelphia.
Thank YOU, FATHER, for the light YOU are bringing to all mankind.
(The foregoing statements are those of the transcriber, and following is the Hon. Judge Harry S. McDevitt's introduction, which preceded FATHER'S radio broadcast Message.)
Fellow citizens: With our brother nations torn asunder by war born of hate and with propaganda sowing such seeds almost on our hearth-stones, we welcome this Messenger of Peace. What a wonderful thing for Ray Fabiani to bring HIM here under such circumstances.
GOD knows no difference in the color of our skin. The fervent prayers of the "so-and-so" man are as welcome as the prayers of men of any other color. In these harrowing days prayer is our only salvation, and we welcome this religious Man Who brings out the best there is in man. We know the good HE had accomplished in other cities and neighboring states, and we wish HIS Godspeed in this City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, founded upon centuries of religious persecution.
We should turn a deaf ear to bigoted teaching and propaganda and hate. Equality before GOD should guarantee equality among men. The fervor and sincerity of our expression measures the effectiveness of our prayer, and mere lip service had better be left unsaid. The Scripture guarantees our reward, and GOD loves a kind deed; and such a Man as our Guest, Who had dedicated HIS Life for spiritual improvement and uplift of our fellowmen, can do no wrong. Whether you can agree with HIS doctrine or not, the answer is obvious--
'By HIS Works ye shall know HIM.'
Look about HIM at home: look about HIM where HE visits--HE has left in HIS wake only improvements. Let us hope that those of our City who come in contact with HIM may benefit from HIS Teachings. PEACE is HIS creed and the hope that PEACE will be world-wide and everlasting is HIS Prayer. HE has substituted law and order for crime. HE has established contentment where unrest and uncertainty ran.
It gives me great pleasure to present to you a Man Who better than anyone else can explain HIS Mission on this earth--FATHER DIVINE.
(FATHER Speaks as follows:)
PEACE, Ladies and Gentlemen and Representatives of the radio audience, hearers and friends and coworkers together!
I Come to bring you this Message of LOVE. As I have brought to your attention before, it is a privilege to be in this great City of Brotherly Love, to stress the significance of living brotherly and recognizing the Brotherhood of Man and the FATHERHOOD of GOD, but we believe under no circumstances can we produce this Brotherhood of Man and the FATHERHOOD of GOD, so long as we segregate, and discriminate among ourselves and hold race prejudices, bigoted minds and such as that, one against the other. But when we learn to UNIFY ourselves together for one common purpose, we believe we will bring about the Universal Brotherhood of Man and the conscious realization of the FATHERHOOD of GOD.
For this cause I AM going forth into the land, teaching and advocating the Constitution and its Amendments as the hope of the REDEMPTION of the American people, that those who are American Citizens might manifest it and stress it and produce it and bring the spirit and the meaning of the Declaration of Independence and also the spirit and the meaning of the Constitution and its Amendments to fruition, that they might be American citizens.
I must stress this thought quite vividly for your consideration, for in MY opinion I believe Americanism is the truest "ism" of all "isms" to be considered, for it has granted to us as American citizens the privilege to serve GOD to the dictates of our own conscience; and by this great democracy and under this Constitution I have brought the CHRIST within the hearts and lives of millions to fruition, by which we are able to stand and live circumspectly and live soberly and righteously and godly in this present world, and be law-abiding citizens as well as law-making and law-respecting citizens.
For this cause I come to you as One representing the democracy of this country more stressfully than I am that of which is commonly known as religion; for we are converted into the true spirit of Americanism under the Constitution and its Amendments. If we are sincere and conscientious and have a foundation to start from, we will be obliged to bring the CHRIST within our lives to fruition of which will produce a real law of righteousness, of truth and of justice.
I stress for MY friends as hearers, those of you who do not know MY Work and Mission, I AM endeavoring to bring about a closer relationship between the divers nationalities, to cause men to understand and love each other better according to the Gospel and according to the Constitution and its Amendments. When this is established, by coming in close contact with our fellowmen we will eventually bring an abolition, a complete destruction to all hate, malice and prejudice, and GOD HIMSELF in our lives will be established once and forever.
To cause men to live soberly, righteously and godly, I think it MY privilege and honor to be in this community to stress honesty, competence and truth, although it may be classed as religion when I speak it; but I believe it is Americanism as much as it could dare be that which is termed religion for true Americanism is religion in itself, because men, when they came to this country seeking religious liberty were inspired by the spirit of this democracy before it was established. And those who are now representatives of this democracy in and under this government, we feel it their duty to live exactly according to the Constitution and its Amendments and grant every American Citizen the privilege to serve GOD to the dictates of his or her own conscience. By so doing, we will bring an abolition to vice and crime, to sin and debauchery, dishonesty and incompetence of every kind.
I would like to say to the world at large, not one of MY real followers is on the welfare! All of MY followers pay their honest bills and owe no man. We do not believe in buying anything on the installment plan. We believe in the economic system that I have established through cooperation. By the cooperative system established in the different parts of this country and others, MY followers can live on a meager sum of about five dollars per week by living exactly according to MY Teaching and by opening business places according to the same.
I would like to say to our hearers of this City, we are not here for the purpose of grafting dollars and cents and taking a penny from your community. We came to bring you a blessing that will cause you as American citizens to be successful and prosperous and be able to produce money and lift your people from the welfare, from the streets and the hedges and the highways begging, to lift them from lacks, wants and limitations, to lift them from vice and from crime, to cause them to produce the real spirit of this democracy of which I AM stressing and have brought to fruition in the lives of millions. Not one of MY real followers would even so much as smoke a cigarette. This is not a Command of MINE, but it is merely an expression of the modesty and the morality and the morale that I have established in the hearts of these MY followers because they believe it is something that is not necessary. Therefore they do not spend their money for the different vices and the different petty pleasures that are in the act of indulging in self and selfishness, but they lift such a standard of the perfection of modesty that men and women throughout the universe might be contagionized with this great Contagion.
How glorious it is to live in such a recognition where the unity of spirit, of mind, of aim and of purpose can lift you! I heard Christendom say by composition:
"From sinking sands He lifted me, "With tender hands He lifted me; "From shades of night to planes of light, "Oh, praise His name, He lifted me."
Aren't you glad you have been lifted! Aren't you glad you are no longer living in sin and vice and crime! You have been cleansed from vice and crime, from sin and debauchery of every kind and every human tendency of dishonesty. You have been purged from those things and are no longer therein.
It is written:
'How can he that is dead to sin live any longer therein?'
Remember, sin is a violation of the law! I Came to bring law and order and respect
for the law and for the government. I came to stress the significance of respecting
your respective officials with whom you have to do. I came to give honor where
honor is due and tribute where tribute is due, that you as followers of MINE
might copy after the fashion I have shown you and by so doing, beloved ones,
you as American Citizens will become successful and prosperous and even the government
itself, if it will adhere to MY Message and take cognizance of MY Message, I
will emancipate it from all depressions and all of this very government under
which we are living will be free from the misery and the depressions that millions
have been undergoing.
It has long since been declared:
'A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump.'
Another phrase quite often used here in America:
'A little shows what a whole lot means.'
If you take cognizance of MY Work and MY Mission and MY daily activities in the City of New York, the Police Department can tell you I work cooperatively together with them. We curb vice and crime! MY followers and MY friends capture burglars and bandits and holdup men and turn them over to the Police Department. We work hand in hand with the other officials of the City and State Government.
For this cause we mean to be real citizens in whatsoever community we are represented in. We do not intend to buy on credit nor on the installment plan. We mean to pay our bills as we go and owe no man. We mean to lift up the standard according to MY Teaching, and bring our bodies into subjection to the CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS as exemplified among you, until all humanity will eventually recognize this Phenomenon as the CHRIST among you--a principle that has been lifted as a standard that all might copy after and imbibe it and become to be partakers of it. I thank you.
(As FATHER ceased speaking, the thousands of voices blended into the theme song, "GOD has blessed America" and the announcer spoke briefly. During these few moments, the little booklet printed by what was termed the "FATHER DIVINE Committee" was handed to FATHER, and lest anyone misunderstand concerning the proceeds derived from its sale,
FATHER addressed His radio audience once again to make clear to the world at large that neither HE nor HIS followers were receiving any financial returns from the sale of the booklet. HIS concluding words follows:)
PEACE, EVERYONE: I would just like to say in conclusion, as I afore said, we are not here to seek dollars and cents, neither to take anything away from your City but to rid it of vice and crime as a good many of MY followers have declared concerning themselves; that I do not take anything from them but sin and that which is unclean.
I would just like to say, we have before us just now a little pamphlet that has been gotten out by the Hon. Judge McDevitt, for the benefit of the Hospital itself in the name of FATHER DIVINE'S COMMITTEE--the Douglas Hospital and Mercy Hospital. It is for the benefit of the Hospital! I do not have anything to do with it Personally, for I Came to bless America. I Came to bless your City with as much service and contribution as I can for the common good of those who stand in need of same.
Those little pamphlets are being sold not for MY benefit--the general public can tell you we are not receiving a penny for our Mission, for our Work or our Activities--but these pamphlets are being sold for the benefit of the hospitals by those who have sponsored our trip here; and I hope you all who are interested and desire to contribute to the hospital here in your City, for the benefit of your own citizens, might take cognizance of this Message and anything you might desire to contribute in that way by buying these pamphlets if you wish to, it is your privilege to do so with MY blessing upon you and all others who are concerned, that the SPIRIT and the PEACE of GOD might rest and abide with you even unto the end. I thank you.
The New Day: September 14, 1939 A.D.F.D., Pg. 77