Spencer Heath Archive

Item 139

Pencilings by Heath in the margin of a booklet by W. Norman Pittenger, “Living Christianly” (Cincinnati, Ohio: Forward Movement Publications), attached to a penned letter to his daughter which was apparently unfinished and not mailed.

August 2, 1959

“Suppose somebody asked you what Christianity is. How would you answer the question? What does it mean to be a Christian?” (p3)

The first and second commandments.

First: Love God — subjectively

Second: Love Man — objectively

Both equally essential.

“The true life of the Christian is ‘hid with Christ in God;’ the exterior expression of that life is inevitably his day-by-day action among his fellow-men. But the order of things is first inward, then outward.” (p4)

Not necessarily. Our unconscious, vauntless virtue, expressed in habitual actions is what sustains us day by day. The virtue that thinks not of itself as such, and is its own reward, in that it serves life. /Sentence? – check original/ Our great need is for understanding of it with our minds. The rational is no less spiritual than the devotional — the inspirational.

“But the priority is on ‘change from within.’ We are to be conformed to Christ in our heart of hearts, ‘letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly,’ before our interest turns to outward activity. /Heath notes here, “But practice is what makes perfect.”/ Obviously enough this is more a logical than a chronological priority, since to live man must act. But it is a priority nonetheless. Our failure in contemporary Christian thought and life to remember this explains a great deal of the frustration and triviality of our religious life.” (p6)

Frustration is the fruit of false means — nothing else.

 

 

_______________________________

 

 

Grand Canyon Ariz.

August 2, 1959  12:50 A.M.

Dearest Beatrice  –

 

     I’ve been reading your nice letter of July 13 several times — and enjoying it. I certainly am glad that you have so many less responsibilities and able to concentrate more on the women’s church organization. You are finely gifted and able to do a whole lot in that line. – same as Irvan, only somewhat broadly, seeing what others do, but a whole lot more in it.

 

     I am on my way back now — Los Angeles to New York with stop-overs — one day here (Aug 1^st) and at Colorado Springs, Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Lansing — to see somebody in each place. But the train from here is over two hours late and it’s pretty tiresome sitting up nearly all night in the station — not really at Grand Canyon but at the junction town of Williams nearby. I’ve just heard that the train will be here in 45 minutes now, so I’m not likely to finish this letter by then.

 

     California visit has been quite good, but only in spots, so I may have to return next fall or winter to follow up. The presidents of three colleges have shown much interest in me and my ideas and propose to have faculty and administrative groups to discuss and consider them. There are dozens of colleges in Southern California and much more open-mindedness, it seems, than elsewhere.

 

     O, yes, that Mildred certainly did impress me as having great potentialities — very attractive in appearance and demeaner, too. I really ought to send her a card or something but most likely won’t.

 

     Glad to hear how things are so much more on an even keel with you and Irvan and you are on such a fine trip together now. Nothing like doing things together and if one really enjoys what he takes on and gives time to the other is very likely sooner or later to get in with it “’cause the water’s fine.” And that garden of yours too, is a grand thing to enjoy together. It’s wonderful to hear about those very special roses of yours.

 

     About your Dr. Pittenger and his “Living Christianly”:

 

 

                                     

                                           /Breaks off/