WHAT MOVES US
A Tapestry of Faith Program for Adults
WORKSHOP 1: GEORGE DE BENNEVILLE
BY REV. DR. THANDEKA
© Copyright 2013 Unitarian Universalist Association.
Published to the Web on 9/29/2014 11:49:13 PM PST.
This program and additional resources are available on the UUA.org web site at
www.uua.org/religiouseducation/curricula/tapestryfaith.
WORKSHOP OVERVIEW
INTRODUCTION
The spirit of Love will be intensified to Godly proportions when reciprocal love exists between the entire human race and each of its individual members. — George de Benneville
This workshop introduces George de Benneville's Liberal Theology of Boundless Universal Love. The workshop tests the relevance of his Universalist theological legacy for our religious lives as Unitarian Universalists today. De Benneville (BEN-eh-ville) was a medical doctor, preacher, teacher, writer, translator, friend of the refugee, advocate for Native American rights and the welfare of indentured servants, host to European nobility through his own aristocratic background, and friend to such men as Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush through his liberal foreground. Today, de Benneville is recognized as one of the spiritual forebears of the Universalist Church of America. For 20 years in France, the German States, and the Netherlands, and for more than 50 years in Pennsylvania, he preached the restoration of all human beings "without exception," building religious communities united by fellowship and action rather than by church doctrine and creed. "My happiness will be incomplete," he declared, "while one creature remains miserable." This declaration of heartfelt compassion for the human race was born from his inner life, tried by sorrow and despair, and transformed by his personal experience of the spirit of universal love. By example, he gave those around him courage to pay attention to their feelings, emotions, and sentiments. "Let us search ourselves well," he said, "and test thoroughly what is within us, whether it degrades or elevates us." The pathway to Universal Love begins here, he said. Can his life, words and his deeds help us discover and practice a Unitarian Universalist liberal theology of Universal Love relevant to our own lives today?
Before leading this workshop, review the Accessibility Guidelines for Workshop Presenters found in the program Introduction.
Preparing to lead this workshop
Read the George de Benneville (at www25-temp.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/georgedebenneville.html) entry in the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography.
Read the story, "Remarkable Passages (Excerpt)," which includes excerpts from George de Benneville's autobiographical text. As you read, note each occurrence of the words "heart," "inward," and "inner." You may wish to circle or highlight the words to help you focus on the place where de Benneville believes human beings are regenerated by Divine Love: the human heart. Use these questions to help you understand the passages in the story. You may wish to write your responses in your theology journal.
GOALS
This workshop will:
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
Participants will:
WORKSHOP-AT-A-GLANCE
Activity | Minutes |
Opening | 5 |
Activity 1: Recalling Experiences of Being Loved | 10 |
Activity 2: Surprising Emotions | 10 |
Activity 3: Introducing George de Benneville | 15 |
Activity 4: Testing de Benneville | 30 |
Activity 5: Large Group Reflection | 15 |
Closing | 5 |
SPIRITUAL PREPARATION
Use the following exercises and questions to help you find connections between your own faith journey and de Benneville's:
WORKSHOP PLAN
OPENING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
We are here to abet creation and
to witness to it,
to notice each other's beautiful
face and complex nature
so that creation need not play to
an empty house.
Description of Activity
Welcome participants. Invite a participant to light the chalice while you share Reading 493 in Singing the Living Tradition, "Fire of the Spirit," by Hildegard of Bingen (adapted).
Invite participants to join in reading the opening words you have posted on newsprint, "We are here to abet creation" by Annie Dillard.
ACTIVITY 1: RECALLING EXPERIENCES OF BEING LOVED (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce this activity using these or similar words:
George de Benneville used a Christian mystical motif to describe his feeling of being unconditionally loved by Christ. De Benneville realized that if he, who housed ignoble feelings of arrogance and pride in his heart, could be so loved, so, too, must other undeserving souls be loved and saved by Christ. This link between his contrite heart, his humility, and his experience of unconditional loved transformed de Benneville into a man who could no longer abide by the traditional Catholic and Protestant division of the world into the damned and the elect. De Benneville discovered through his own personal experience of emotional restoration to health and wholeness that everyone will be restored by, through, and to the eternal love of God.
Note that all of us in one way or another have felt loved or have a sense of what such a feeling of being loved and cherished would be like. Explain that these personal experiences can help us understand de Benneville's experience of feeling loved. Invite participants to recall one experience of being deeply loved. Suggest they find their story and jot notes or draw about it in their theology journals. Allow a couple of minutes, then invite them to form groups of three and each briefly share their experience of being loved or cherished.
ACTIVITY 2: SURPRISING EMOTIONS (10 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce this activity using these or similar words:
When he was twelve years old, George de Benneville first discovered a difference between what he expected to feel as a self-exalted member of the English aristocracy and what he actually felt. This difference astonished him, and eventually transformed him into a humble man of God who preached universal love and salvation for all. As preparation for our investigation of de Benneville's experience, we will look for an experience within our own life that replicates, at least in small part, de Benneville's experience.
Invite participants to recall an experience in which they expected to feel one set of emotions about something that happened to them, but instead felt a very different set of emotions that surprised them. Assure participants they will not be asked or expected to share the details of this exercise with others. Invite them to make notes and comments in their journals describing the experience. Invite them also to respond to the questions you have posted on newsprint. Allow participants five minutes to reflect in their journals.
ACTIVITY 3: INTRODUCING GEORGE DE BENNEVILLE (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Introduce George de Benneville using these or similar words:
George de Benneville was a medical doctor, preacher, teacher, writer, translator, friend of the refugee, and advocate for Native American rights and the welfare of indentured servants. He was a host to European nobility through his aristocratic background and friend to such men as Benjamin Franklin and Benjamin Rush through his liberal foreground. Today, de Benneville is recognized as one of the spiritual forebears of the Universalist Church of America. For 20 years in France, the German States, and the Netherlands, and for more than 50 years in Pennsylvania, he preached the restoration of all human beings "without exception," building religious communities united by fellowship and action rather than by church doctrine and creed. "My happiness will be incomplete," he declared, "while one creature remains miserable." This declaration of heartfelt compassion for the human race was born from his own inner life, tried by sorrow and despair, and transformed by his personal experience of the spirit of universal love. By example, he gave those around him courage to pay attention to their feelings, emotions, and sentiments. "Let us search ourselves well," he said, "and test thoroughly what is within us, whether it degrades or elevates us." The pathway to Universal Love begins here, he said.
Distribute Handout 1, which contains more detail about de Benneville's life, and invite participants to read it at home.
Distribute the story and invite participants to listen to de Benneville's recounting of his experiences as the two volunteers read it aloud, one as the narrator and the other as de Benneville's voice. After the reading, ask participants to reflect in silence on de Benneville's account of his vision and then to write or draw a response in their journals.
ACTIVITY 4: TESTING DE BENNEVILLE (30 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Share de Benneville's words:
The spirit of Love will be intensified to Godly proportions when reciprocal love exists between the entire human race and each of its individual members.
Invite participants to form groups of three and share their personal feelings and reflections on the ways de Benneville's writings and experience illuminate their own thoughts and experiences, using the posted questions as they are moved to do so. Explain that groups should give each person about four minutes to share their experiences. After everyone has spoken, participants may share insights and further reflections prompted by their experience of listening to the others in their small group. Remind them that they are not to critique the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of others, but rather to share personal reflections, thoughts, and insights prompted by their small group experience. Invite groups to appoint a timekeeper or to share that function to make sure each member has their opportunity to speak.
ACTIVITY 5: LARGE GROUP REFLECTION (15 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants in one large group and invite comments, observations, and insights. Use these questions:
Each person who wants to should be allowed to speak before anyone speaks a second time.
CLOSING (5 MINUTES)
Materials for Activity
Preparation for Activity
Description of Activity
Gather participants around the altar or centering table. Affirm the good work that participants have done in this workshop.
Distribute the Taking It Home handout. Explain that each workshop will provide a Taking It Home handout with ideas for continuing to explore the workshop's subject with friends, co-workers, housemates, and family. Mention that the Faith in Action activities included in the handout offer another extension opportunity.
Offer a benediction from Richard Jeffries, "Immortality," Reading 527 in Singing the Living Tradition or share these words of George de Benneville:
... adore in spirit and in truth the ocean of love, and the great wonders of the wisdom and power of thy God, who hath employed all these boundless, incomprehensible miracles to restore and to save thee, and not thee only, but all the human species...
Extinguish the chalice and invite participants to go in peace.
Including All Participants
Be inclusive of people with a variety of living situations—for example, living alone, with a significant other, in a multigenerational family, or with housemates—in the way you explain the Taking It Home activities.
LEADER REFLECTION AND PLANNING
After the workshop, co-leaders should make a time to get together to evaluate this workshop and plan future workshops. Use these questions to guide your shared reflection and planning:
TAKING IT HOME
The spirit of Love will be intensified to Godly proportions when reciprocal love exists between the entire human race and each of its individual members. — George de Benneville (1703-1793)
Think of an action you might take to offer an unbounded moment of love to someone without expectation of a return. Do it such that your kindness is given as a gift without strings. Keep the gesture small, as a test for this way of being in the world. Decide, afterward, whether a theology of the Unbounded, Universal Love might become part of your spiritual practice.
Faith in Action
Look over the entries in your journal about personal practices that could help you generate and sustain love as foundational to your faith. Try three new ways to make love and compassion an active part of your spiritual practice. Invite others to join you in this work. Meet for dinner and share what you did and what you discovered.
WHAT MOVES US: WORKSHOP 1:
STORY: REMARKABLE PASSAGES (EXCERPT)
Excerpted from Some Remarkable Passages in the Life of Dr. George de Benneville, translated by Rev. Elhanan Winchester (Germantown, PA: Converse Cleaves, Publisher, 1890), with material to explain the context for each.
George de Benneville was raised by his godmother, Queen Anne of England. Both of his parents, who were part of the French aristocracy, had fled to the British Royal Court of London because they were Protestants threatened by the ruling French Catholic crown.
George was sent to sea at age 12 to learn navigation. He was a midshipman in a war vessel attached to a small fleet bound for the Barbary Coast on a diplomatic mission. At this point in his life, he was "wildly believing," as he put it, that he "belonged to a different class from mankind in general [and was] self-exalted." His ship arrived at Algiers. De Benneville explains what happened next:
[A]s I walked upon deck, I saw some Moors who brought refreshments to sell; one of them fell and injured one of his legs; two of his companions having laid him on deck, kissed the wound and shed tears upon it; then turning towards the rising of the sun, they cried in such a manner that I was moved with much anger, and ordered my servant to bring them before me. Upon demanding the reason of their outcry, they, perceiving that I was angry, implored my pardon, and told me the cause was owing to one of their brothers having hurt his leg by a fall, and that they kissed the wound in order to sympathize with him, and likewise shed tears upon it, and as tears were saltish, they were a good remedy for the hurt; and the reason for their turning towards the rising sun was to invoke him who created the sun to have compassion upon their poor brother and be pleased to heal him. Upon that I was so convinced and moved within that I thought my heart would break, and that my life was about to leave me; my eyes were filled with tears, and I felt such an internal condemnation that I was forced to cry out and say, "Are these men Heathens? No; I confess before God they are Christians, and I myself am a Heathen!" Behold the first conviction that the grace of our Sovereign Good [God] employed: he was pleased to convince a white person by blacks, one who carried the name of a Christian, by a Pagan, and who was obliged to confess himself a Heathen. Still that was soon overcome and forgotten.
Upon his return to England, de Benneville went to a dance and so overheated himself he fell into a faint and had a vision in which he again was unexpectedly forced to pay attention to his own emotions of vanity, pride, self-exaltation and arrogance. He saw himself burning in Hell. Returning to consciousness, he cried out: "I am damned."
For 15 months he remained in a state of irreconcilable self-loathing and depression, rejecting assurances by court ministers that he, of his rank and station, had done nothing wrong, unmoved by their counsel. The court ministers eventually deemed de Benneville predestined to be damned because they could not console him.
De Benneville had come face to face with his sinful arrogance and hardheartedness toward the wellbeing of others. He could no longer avoid the truth of his heart: He was a wretched being utterly undeserving of forgiveness or love. De Benneville knew his sins and acknowledged to himself that he indeed had too many of them to be forgiven. He awaited his death for he had discovered within himself, as he put it:
... the root of all my sins and iniquities to be within my heart [and] that discovery brought me into an extreme agony, and despair took possession of my soul, which was now pressed on all sides with misery, caused especially by great unbelief and hardness of heart. I could discover no remedy for my troubles... . I desired to die, but death fled from me.
He knew that God, his judge, damned him. This awareness brought de Benneville's arrogance to its knees. He had discovered the place of emotional humility within himself: a contrite heart. Now he could abandon himself to the mercy of God.
At this moment, his religious transformation began: the moment of utter contrition linked to a deep and abiding sense of humility. Contrite rather than arrogant, and humbled rather than depressed, de Benneville discovered he was not standing alone before the judgment seat of God. In de Benneville's words:
... a most majestic appearance [stood before him], whose beauty, brightness, and grandeur can never be described: he looked upon me with grace and mercy, and with a penetrating look of love, the fire of which so embraced my soul that I loved him in return. He persuaded me in my heart that he was my Saviour, Mediator, and Reconciliator, and while I thought thereon, he began to intercede for me in the following manner, saying "... I have suffered all kinds of ignominy for him. I have suffered the shameful death of the cross for him... I have descended into the abyss of Hell for him, that I might deliver him... O my Heavenly Father, pardon this poor sinner, and cause thy mercy to descend upon him." The Judge or Justice had nothing more to say. The sentence disappeared. Then I heard his eternal, universal voice, which penetrated me with divine power, saying, "Take courage, my son, thy sins and iniquities was removed, all the stings and reproaches ceased, a living faith came in their stead, and the tears of sorrow were all wiped from my eyes. .... O my dear soul! sink thyself into nothingness and the deepest humiliation, and adore in spirit and in truth the ocean of love, and the great wonders of the wisdom and power of thy God, who hath employed all these boundless, incomprehensible miracles to restore and to save thee, and not thee only, but all the human species, through Jesus Christ our Lord... He loved me before I was born. Oh, what grace! He loved me in my fallen estate when I was wholly lost. Oh, what mercy! He even loved me when I was altogether unworthy, and freely too. Oh, what love... Hallelujah! Amen."
WHAT MOVES US: WORKSHOP 1:
HANDOUT 1: INTRODUCING GEORGE DE BENNEVILLE
Information drawn from Albert D. Bell, The Life and Times of Dr. George de Benneville (1703-1793) (Boston: The Universalist Church of America, 1953) and David Robinson, "George de Benneville," The Unitarians and the Universalists (Westport CT: Greenwood Press, 1985).
George de Benneville is the father of non-creedal Universalism in America. This man, whose 90-year life span began in the first decade of the 18th century, believed that "no church is pure in all things, so none can be found that does not contain some truth. Glorious truths are found in every church and religion under the sun. And this glorious chain of truths which we believe will someday unite all of them into one form of love." De Benneville did not want to create another Christian sect or denomination, but rather to unite those which already existed. By contrast, John Murray, who is usually recognized as the founder of the Universalist movement in America as a new Christian church denomination, believed "we never shall be able to form a friendly union with any one denomination of Christian [confessors of faith]." De Benneville arrived in America the same year John Murray was born, 1741, and propagated Universalist faith for 39 years before Murray arrived in America from England. This is why de Benneville is called the first preacher of Universalism in America.
De Benneville was a highly educated man whose range of vocations and interests was wide and broad. He wrote six or seven volumes on the medical therapeutics of his day using parallel columns to formulate remedies in English, German, and Latin. He worked as a medical doctor in Europe and America. He established a ministry to Native Americans. As a schoolmaster he taught German, French, and Native American youth. He preached widely and regularly, and built a stone mansion with an upper room consecrated for religious services that accommodated 50 within and 50 more in the hallway. Moreover, he maintained extensive correspondence with European associates. Louis XVI of France even sent a royal commission to urge his return to France as his advisor. He declined. Working with a local publisher, de Benneville oversaw the publication and translation of numerous tracts on the doctrine of universal salvation that helped foster the rise of Universalist faith in America.
Like his fellow religionists of the Radical Reformation, de Benneville rejected the ordinance of baptism and the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, affirmed the Gospel as an experience of inward revelation, and affirmed the universal restoration and salvation of all human beings to God's eternal and everlasting love. Also, like the German Pietists with whom he associated in Europe and America, de Benneville believed, as one of his biographers notes, "Catholic sacraments and Protestant dogmas cannot make men Christ-like." He was influenced by the mystical legacy of Jacob Boehme and associated with reformers who emphasized spiritual conversion rather than creedal conformity. Members of these nontraditional Christian groups had migrated, like de Benneville, to enclaves in Pennsylvania.
Thanks to de Benneville, an English translation from the German of Paul Siegvolck's 1700 manuscript, "The Everlasting Gospel," was printed in 1753 and widely disseminated as a primary sourcebook for Universalist faith in America. This book, like the Universalist movement linked to it, affirmed the doctrine of the restoration of each and every human soul to the eternal love of God. Eternal damnation and the election of a select few espoused by Lutheran and Calvinist Protestants were roundly rejected as unbiblical and logically untenable claims.
WHAT MOVES US: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 1: DE BENNEVILLE'S THEOLOGY IN THE CONGREGATION
This is a 30-minute activity. You will need copies of Singing the Living Tradition, the Unitarian Universalist hymnbook, one for every two participants; paper and pens/pencils; and newsprint, markers, and tape.
Engage participants to consider how contemporary Unitarian Universalism reflects de Benneville's theology of Boundless Universal Love. Post a sheet of blank newsprint and invite participants to name ways universal "love" is held up in their congregation—for example, in prayers or meditations, spoken covenant, hymns, messages for children, or the literature and website of the congregation. Allow participants to brainstorm for about five minutes. List what they name.
Then, invite participants to examine the list and consider what they mean by the word "love." Tell them that there will be time to share those reflections with one another later in the activity.
Ask participants to pair up and give each pair a copy of Singing the Living Tradition. Invite them to examine the lyrics of some of the hymns to get a sense of what contemporary Unitarian Universalists mean when they say love. Point out the category "Love" in the topical index (p. 675), and suggest participants start by looking at some of those hymns or at others that speak of love.
Distribute paper and pens/pencils and allow pairs 15 minutes to examine the hymnbook and jot down any notes about hymns in which they find an understanding of "love" which is similar to their own.
Then, invite participants to share what they have found and to express what they mean when they say the word "love" in a religious sense.
Conclude by singing together Hymn 131, "Love Will Guide Us," or another favorite.
WHAT MOVES US: WORKSHOP 1:
LEADER RESOURCE 2: ENGAGING AS RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS
This is a 30-minute activity. You will need newspaper, markers, and tape.
Write the reflection questions on newsprint, and post them. Invite participants to form groups of three or four and reflect for 25 minutes on de Benneville's life and theology using the posted questions as a guide. Then re-gather the large group and ask for comments and observations.
Questions
FIND OUT MORE
Albert D. Bell, The Life and Times of Dr. George de Benneville (1703-1793), (Boston: The Universalist Church of America, 1953).
John C. Morgan and Nelson C. Simonson, George de Benneville (at www25-temp.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/georgedebenneville.html) entry on the Dictionary of Unitarian and Universalist Biography website.
Some Remarkable Passages in the Life of Dr. George de Benneville (at books.google.com/books?vid=HARVARDHNQ5LI&printsec=titlepage), trans. Rev. Elhanan Winchester (Germantown, PA: Converse Cleaves, Publisher, 1890).