FATHER DIVINE
The only prosaic statement that can be made about FATHER DIVINE is that HE is the Founder, Bishop and Pastor of the Peace Mission Movement. The Church Discipline, Constitution and By-Laws says of HIM:
'We recognize and declare FATHER DIVINE to be the Person of the Perfect One; the FATHER Who moved out upon the face of the deep before the world was; the Son Who said,
'I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life';
and the Holy Ghost, the Comforter Who was to come all three in One, the same with or without a Body but dwelling with us, a Body in this last dispensation known as FATHER DIVINE.'
Actually HE is beyond the borders of classification or comparison. Only an inner revelation of some of His nature and characteristics could give the least knowledge of Who FATHER DIVINE really is.
No matter what frame of mind a visitor approaches FATHER DIVINE in, when he departs he is well aware that there is something that cannot be defined, that cannot be categorized. Not only the spiritually inclined, but the atheist and agnostic feel that something that is out of bounds, that something to be fathomed, something very deep, the limitlessness, the atmosphere of infinitude that surrounds HIM.
When asked for the Radio Station WOR "Answer Man" program in New York how old HE was and where HE was born, FATHER DIVINE answered:
'Before Abraham was I AM.'
No other answer could be given. Refusing to be confined, FATHER DIVINE says HE
came through forty-two generations before the advent of Jesus and never lost
a battle.
Though FATHER DIVINE speaks from and of the ages, the thoughts of others about HIM are inclined toward the limits of this dispensation with which they are most familiar. Those who were with HIM personally long before most of the followers were born, have deep-seated convictions about FATHER DIVINE and relate instance after instance of His miraculous work. One of these is a forceful and dynamic speaker who often punctuates his remarks with phrases like,
'This is GOD you know.'
After the first MOTHER DIVINE had been married to FATHER for over half a century
SHE said SHE had never seen anything but GOD about HIM. Reflecting back to times
when those about HIM thought they fully knew the path HE was traveling in a certain
direction, She recalled how FATHER would suddenly broaden the pathway beyond
the limits of their understanding. It is in moments like this His infinitude
can be fully realized. FATHER DIVINE is the same today.
Because of the proximity and length of time with FATHER, followers such as these are in a better position to know HIM than any who have attempted to write about HIM after one audience or perhaps none at all.
His words, given freely to various publications featuring His works over the years, clearly portray a spirit that is free from all barriers, a spirit flowing through the universe into infinitude without any prohibitions. Phrases conveying this nature which is FATHER DIVINE are:
'By nature, GOD is impersonal, infinite. His blessings go into infinitude, the end you cannot see;
'To claim, The world is my country,' is an advanced degree of spiritual understanding;
'I AM doing for all as I AM doing for you;
'I came to save the bodies of men, their spirits are already saved;
'There is a science transcending all physical sciences . . . man's finite mind cannot measure nor fathom out GOD'S omniscience;
'When you have advanced in consciousness to where you can see ME completely, you will be on the Mount of Transfiguration.'
During His ministry in the years when HE walked among men trying to hide His identity, FATHER DIVINE preached the doctrine of love through the Life of Christ and the brotherhood of man without thought of purse or scrip. Traveling from city to city, HE often attended the various denominational churches offering His service to those who would accept it. Those who accompanied HIM quietly voiced their belief in FATHER DIVINE'S Deity, but never publicly, for it was not yet His will to be exposed to the public as an individual. His searching doctrine of Love agitated and convicted many to such a pitch that HE was personally cast into the hands of mad lynch mobs thirty-two times. In the face of this intense hatred, the presence of His omnipotent spirit, activated by those with HIM filling the air with hallelujahs, brought HIM out each time unharmed. The word of GOD was their only weapon.
In the years following, when FATHER and MOTHER DIVINE resided in New York, many were attracted to follow. Some only for the "loaves and fishes." And so, in the early nineteen hundreds, on the shores of Long Island in the town of Sayville, FATHER and MOTHER DIVINE and Their household close to take up residence on a quiet little street in an unpretentious manner. It was here that FATHER, surrounded only by those who expressed His own mind and spirit and shared His opinions, apart from the things of the world, quietly brought the awareness of a world of peace and brotherhood with abundance for all under the FATHERHOOD of GOD into practical realization. Here HE set about to establish the kingdom of GOD under His own jurisdiction.
His close associates communed together with HIM, concentrating on things of the spirit and a unity developed that was to make unimaginable things possible. Little by little the knowledge of His Presence and His unique teachings spread throughout the country and then to other countries until, after a quarter century, people of every avenue of life came seeking His spiritual advice. The intellectual came from as far away as Europe and Australia to sit at His feet and learn of His ways. HE could no longer remain secluded; public demand was too great. People were beginning to find the One Who was to come. Suddenly the little fishing village was too small and HE moved back to New York where the people could reach HIM, later establishing churches to accommodate them.
'When I used to live in Sayville years ago,'
FATHER recalled, speaking to an interviewer in 1941,
'MOTHER and I had a home there and received people, and plenty of them came out there and lived absolutely gratis and did not have to pay for food or shelter or anything of that sort; and lots of them saved up money. And then when the time did come for them to launch out even as I have done, they have launched out and purchased nice homes and all such as that, and now in all of their homes they have given ME homes for MYSELF and staff . . . we were feeding everybody and would not accept a penny from anybody. That was My home then. But then when the followers began to try to walk in My footsteps and purchase homes and save up their money because some of them used to earn from fifteen to twenty-five dollars a week and they had nothing to spend it for and now they have homes, and this home belongs to them.'
FATHER referred to the Madison Avenue parsonage where HE was working at the time.
It was FATHER DIVINE Who personally laid every stone in the building of His Churches this same year. Each tenet, every law and precept was given His personal attention and sanction; HE was consulted on every point in question.
There remained not a subject HE had not touched upon in His Sermons and letters of correspondence. The foundation was laid. Today, as Founder, Bishop and Pastor of the Peace Mission Movement, FATHER DIVINE with MOTHER DIVINE is the Supreme Authority over all church affairs and the Movement in general.
Before the first MOTHER DIVINE passed quietly away, surrounded by the luxury of Her West-Chester County home in Tarrytown, New York in 1943, SHE expressed the desire for a youthful body that could keep step with FATHER DIVINE in His strenuous activities.
A few years later, after establishing His headquarters in Philadelphia because of continued persecution and prosecution by the New York City officials, on April 29, 1946, FATHER DIVINE married the second MOTHER DIVINE. The international, interracial marriage made world-wide headlines. Together with FATHER, MOTHER DIVINE takes an active part in the various phases of the Movement. Recognized as the reincarnation of the first Mother Divine whom FATHER married in 1882, SHE is symbolic of the union of CHRIST to His Church, GOD and His creation, heaven and earth, giving tangible evidence that the CHRIST Life can be lived in its fullness.
People who had voiced the opinion that FATHER DIVINE Alone could live the life and they as mortals could never live it, no longer had this argument. Had HE not chosen One among them as His Virgin Bride to live the life of perfection also? They now understood that His mission can be accomplished on earth. Of Their Marriage, MOTHER DIVINE said:
'There are many people who are sincere in wondering how long Our Marriage can exist . . . they especially wonder if We are happy together, living lives of purity and chastity, free from lust and passion and self-indulgence. Yes, a Marriage of this caliber can exist eternally, for it is founded on the spirit of purity, peace and godliness and inspired by the desire to lift up a standard for the people . . .
'To be daily in the presence of FATHER DIVINE and be fully aware of Who HE Is, is the most glorious privilege a human being could have, and for this honor I AM both proud and humble. HE emanates such peace, joy and happiness and complete freedom from worry at all times, that anyone coming in contact with HIM cannot help but be contagionized by such desirableness . . . FATHER'S energy is infectious and pervades everyone and everything HE touches. The Spirit of His Magnetic Presence among us enables us to slightly keep pace with HIM as HE goes about the many activities that require His personal attention . . . and yet, with it all HE is so loving and kind to everyone, has unending patience and a remarkable sense of humor. . .
'I, representing the Church, AM married to FATHER, in fulfillment of the Scripture; but as GOD is impersonal and universal by nature, HE is married to any and everyone who lives and expresses the conviction, I know YOU ARE GOD'. . . It was with this understanding that FATHER and I married and it is with this knowledge that I gladly relinquish all rights that a natural woman would claim when married to a man.'
Speaking further of His work, MOTHER DIVINE said,
'I have seen the physically sick and afflicted restored to health and vigor; I have been moved by the forsaken and downhearted as they have sought FATHER'S counsel and have been encouraged and their faith restored through His understanding words of spirit and life. I have actually witnessed the change in men and women from lives of vice and crime to lives of upright, honest and independent citizens. I have watched the arrogant humble themselves before the profound truth and astounding wisdom of FATHER DIVINE . . .
'I have seen crowds who have stood sometimes for hours just for a glimpse of Him. I have been enraptured as I gazed with thousands of others, on the transcendent beauty and supernatural loveliness of His ageless, Holy Body. Never could anyone express such overwhelming humility and love as could turn a heart of stone. This is the FATHER DIVINE I AM married to, the One Who is greater than any atomic or hydrogen bomb and is able to save all who will just humble themselves long enough to call on HIM in all sincerity.'
FATHER DIVINE, like His work and mission, is without limit. HE declares:
'My Name is Democracy! My Name is Liberty! My Name is Righteousness!'
Predestined by His Own Law of the Universe to be the only One qualified and able
to bring about emancipation from every angle, FATHER DIVINE'S promise to mankind
is,
'You will get your emancipation in this GOD'S administration.'
This is His mission.
HE says:
'As an American citizen and Constitution reviver, yea, Americanism reviver, I have revived Americanism and the Constitution as no other statesman or politician has ever done. I have quickened the spirit of Americanism in the hearts and lives of millions and converted them into a true citizenry.'
HE has given emancipation from oppression.
HE says:
'The Spirit of the Consciousness of the Presence of GOD is the source of all supply, it can and will satisfy every good desire.'
Nowhere on earth is there a greater abundance of all good and necessary things
than in and around the Movement.
'I came as the poorest among men, yet making many rich,'
FATHER DIVINE says and HE blesses everyone who will let HIM. HE has given emancipation
from poverty.
HE says:
'Those detestable tendencies can knock out more energy that is within you and more ambition and more alertness, more spiritual substance in one hour than you can build up in many days . . . maliciousness and excitement, anger and jealousy and prejudice and envy, malice and strife and other selfish tendencies that were prenataled within you; they can and they do destroy your physical tissues and cells . . . You grow old by sapping out your energy and ambition by self-indulgence, by resentment, by anger and by jealousy and prejudice . . .'
And,
'........if a so-called incurable disease cannot be cured by man, because it is out of the ordinary,' out of the realm of men, then you have to have a faith and a belief and a religion that is out of the ordinary' out of the realm of men.'
Scientific and intellectual knowledge is not sufficient to cope with incurable
disease but faith is provided in the recognition of GOD'S Personified Presence
and in it FATHER DIVINE has given emancipation from disease. Medical treatment
is advised, however, for persons whose faith is not sufficient to produce the
cure.
Every advancement that is now coming into expression was called for by FATHER DIVINE years ago. Making it clearly understood that HE was not asking men or depending on them to bring it about, HE said:
'I came treading the winepress all alone and of the people there was none to help ME. I will do it with or without My Own Body, for it is not by power, nor by might, but by My Spirit.'
Every problem known to man, whether actual, factual or imaginary, has been given
a clear, simple, comprehensive solution by FATHER DIVINE. When every other avenue
fails His voice still must be heeded. Everyone of His predictions, declarations
and demands have been or are being fulfilled through the power of His Omniscient
Spirit.
The fact that FATHER DIVINE raises the dead; heals the sick; feeds the poor and houses the needy is not redemptive in itself, for did not Elijah raise the widow's son and Elisha cure Naaman, the leper; were not the children of Israel fed forty years in the wilderness and did not Jesus perform all types of necessary services for others, from the washing of their feet to restoring of life to those buried in the tomb? Yet non of these good deeds brought body salvation to mankind. FATHER DIVINE says that only the Supreme Godship Degree can give man his complete redemption.
FATHER DIVINE has explained it thuswise:
'Why is it mankind of the different religions, their theories and their doctrines, cannot give you full Salvation? It is because they do not request a full consecration, a full sacrifice, and a complete self-denial. Any religion or version of religion that requests only a partial surrender, a partial consecration, can only give you a partial Salvation, a redemption whichever. But because I request a full and a wholehearted consecration, and wide-open sacrifice of everything, even all of your versions, ideas and opinions, I can give you a complete and a full redemption by the recognition of My Actuated Presence and by you fulfilling My requests.'
(This article will be concluded in Part III; A Contemporary Religion.)
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