The Illinois free trader and LaSalle County commercial advertiser. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1841-1843, 1842-12-23
MIR. Fields Lectures,

ny course of lectures which have been d,veroJ
at the court house on the doctrines of new de-
nomination or class of Christians who STYLE Them
selves the "New Jerusalem Church. hut wbo a.,
oetter known by the name of OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES"
Mr.. FIELD the lecturer, came among us an entire
stranger; aud as, in proportion to the attention ex
cited by the lectures the anxiety appears TO have
increased to know something more about the lcc.
'ufer' II may not be improper, before going any
further, to give same information in regard to his
history. A writer in the Western Citizen. a M.
per published at Chicago, where Mr.. +. recently
delivered course OF lectures, gives the following
very brief biographical sketch of him:
Mr.. GEoaGE FIELD, who has been lecturinc in
our city, formerly resided in Norwich, England,
where he taught school. He spent some timo
IN Newcastle ON the Tyne, where he frequently
leclurSd with success, upon philosophical subjects
and the doctrines OF the New Jerusalem Church.
He now resides at Battle Creek, in the state Of
Michigan, where he has resided for two or three
years past.
Las, winter he lcctured in Goshen and Elkhart.
Indiana, and his lectures were attended to lv We
ry large audiences, and with absorbing interest.
lie has been occurring this fall in Goshen and
EIkhart Indiana aud at Niles and st. Josephs.
Michigan. la all these places his lectures lave
been attended by intelligent aud respectable audi
ences, and have been listened 10 with deep in.
terest.
Mr.. Field belongs to that class Of protested
Christians who believe that the second coming Of
the Lord, torctolL in the New Testament, is not u
literal coming, or Il coming in person, but COM
ing in spirit, by revealing the internal or spiritual
# tt1n Of OIL h,
they believe that the Bible throughout has an in
ternal or spiritual sense--so that every word has
a meaning within the letter, and distinct from it.
Mr. Field delivered in this place course of six
lectures, upon the following subjects: l.. A crii-
cal examination Of the popular systems OF cosmo-
gony. 2. The manner in which the sun, earth,
and other plants have been produced. g. What
Genesis. 4. On the creation Of vegetables, ami
mails, and the varieties of the human species
5. What is signilied by Adam, Eve, Garden Of
Eden, rivers, and trees O! the garden. 6. An eA-
animation of the scripturaI and philosophical
ground Of universal deluge. In addition to
these, Mr. Field, at the urgent request Of a num-
Der of our citizens, delivered lecture on the doc
lrine of future state, as held in the New Jerusa.
lem Church, and two lectures on the miracles Of
Egypt.
1t is not our purpose to give any even the brief
est sketch of these lectures. Besides that we would
not have room to do it even should we wish to, we
do not feel competent, merely from memory, to
give those of our readers who did not hear them,
any thing ike an adequate or just idea OF their
contents 1t must suffice, then, to state that, IN
the course of the first six lectures delivered by Mr.
Field, it was his main object to show, "that TO
borrow again the language of the Cilizen) The Mo-
sale account of the creation and the delugc cannot
be literally true, and was never intended to be SO
understood; that it was written in a symbollcal
age, when natural images and language were used
to express spiritual things; and that the book Of
Genesis, instead of treating of literal creation
and destruction of the world. treats of the regene-
ration Of nan; thus showing that the inveStiga'
tons of geology, which are supposed to contradict
the Mosaic account of the creation, may be true
wi,hou, dctrac,ing from the authority OF scripture
Mr.. Field is a very modest and unassumlng
man, vet we have never heard more engaging
sneaker, nor one who could bring to the eluclda-
ton of his subject greater fund OF scientific
knowledge or logical ability.
lie has left deep impression in the place. ana
one that will induce a search for more light. ne
| subject is one of immense interest, and well wor-
tby of thorough investigation. 1t will not DO
to treat with Indifference or contempt doctrines
which bear with them such fair show oil reason,
| and which come ostcnsbly backed by what are at
least conceived to be the discoveries OF BIOLOGISTS
but, if met at ALL they must be met by reason anu
argument.