Emmet Fox (1886–1951) was a New Thought spiritual leader of the early 20th century, famous for his large Divine Science church services held in New York City during the Great Depression. A Minister, Author, Teacher, Healer and Mystic. Emmet Fox, probably more than any other New Thought leader has influenced more people simple because, in his day he attracted wider audiences than anyone else for longer periods of time.
Born in Ireland in 1886, he was educated in England, pursued his spiritual career mostly in the United States, and died in France in 1951. He discovered early that he had healing power, and from the time of his late teens studied New Thought. He came to know the prominent New Thought writer Thomas Troward. Fox attended the London meeting at which the International New Thought Alliance was organized in 1914. He gave his first New Thought talk in Mortimer Hall in London in 1928.
"Love is by far the most important thing of all", it is the golden gate of paradise. Pray for the understanding of Love, and meditate upon it daily. It casts out fear. It is the fulfilling of the law. Love is absolute invincible."
Soon he went to the United States, and in 1931 was selected to become the successor to the James Murray as the minister of New York's Church of the Healing Christ. Fox became immensely popular, and spoke to audiences in some of the largest halls in the city. He was ordained in the Divine Science branch of New Thought by Dr. Nona Brooks. This was the beginning of one of the most remarkable ministries in America. His Sunday morning lectures at the Hippodrome Theatre, the Manhattan Opera House and Carnegie Hall were attended by over 5000 people. His meditations were powerful and his sermons never lasted more than twenty minutes. He spoke to, and of God in the most personal and intimate terms.
Fox's secretary was the mother of one of the men who worked with Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill Wilson, and partly as a result of this connection early AA groups often went to hear Fox. His writing, especially The Sermon on the Mount, became popular in AA.
"Sooner or later you will have to put God first in your life, God must become the only thing that really matters. It need not be and better not be the only thing in your life, but it must be the first thing.When that happens your life becomes simple, richer and infinitely more worthwhile."
He sought not to establish yet another religion, not to establish yet another set of religious doctrines, but to encourage individuals, whether they attend church or not, to develop their own creative power and to personally understand what God is, and what God is all about, and then to be able to relate that to their own lives. He had a talent to speak and write with great clarity, and in a very dynamic way. His message was simple and direct.
It is in "Sermon on the Mount" that he reveals a source of universal power that is rightly yours. Here he gives the keys to success in life by tapping into the realm of Infinite power. He teaches that man is a child of a perfect God.
The theme of his teachings is Life is Consciousness and we are what we think. He emphasized that if we want to change our life, we must change our thoughts first. We set forth our own destiny by our thoughts, words, and actions. That there is only one presence and power in the universe, God, all else is an illusion.
“On
Monday, August 13, 1951, the earthly sojourn of Dr. Emmet Fox came to a quiet end, in his beloved Paris, where he
began the experience of which he had written to comfort uncounted thousands in
his booklet Life After Death.
Seekers
of Truth throughout the entire world will reverently pause to pay tribute to
this noble soul whose life was marked with rich achievement. Those who hunger
and thirst after righteousness will treasure his books for generations to come.
His Sermon on the Mount has been carried by praying hands into every
church. His Find and Use Your Inner Power has made the lives of millions
brighter. When he wrote Make Your Life Worth While and Power through
Constructive Thinking he left us clear and simple guideposts for Christian
living.
In
recent years it seems fitting that Dr
Fox should take his work to Carnegie Hall, which had known the finest
music. He brought to its time-honored halls the finest of thinking and Christly
teaching. His rich humor and humble British dignity endeared him to thousands.
His footprints are clearly established on the sands of time.
The
metaphysical movement claims Emmet Fox
as one of its greatest leaders. Although he was ordained to the Christ Ministry
by the Reverend Nona L Brooks,
co-founder of the Divine Science College in Denver, Colorado, and affiliated
his New York work with this organisation, his ministry reflected his own marked
individuality. With the authority that arises out of a deep spiritual understanding
and conviction, he spoke the Word of God with clear certainty and unwavering
faith. The greatest monuments left to honor him are the mended lives of men and
women everywhere who have found peace of mind, health of body and purposeful
living through his teaching.
Our
hearts are deeply moved over the golden bowl that is broken, but our loving
thoughts embrace the emerged Spirit that moves through timeless space in the
Eternal Heart of God. Our gratitude and blessings reach out to our honored
friend whom the hand of the Infinite Shepherd has anointed. In reverent faith
we know that beyond the dim horizon of our vision his unseen lips still speak
the words of God to a vaster congregation.” by Dr
Fletcher Harding for the Science
of Mind magazine
“Wholeness is a state of Being, not a condition.”
Dr Fletcher Harding
“The true spiritual teacher
dedicates his strength to others and takes upon himself the psychic burdens of
the race. He lays down his life in every earnest effort to lighten these
burdens. Dr Emmet Fox carried a
tremendous burden all his life. But ‘all that we send into the lives of others
comes back into our own’, and in the end, the prayers of thousands attended and
blessed him, not necessarily for return, but for progress. In the most
immediate sense in which we can contact life, he is not dead. He walks abroad
in all the changed and happier lives he touched. We all owe him much. We shall
not soon see his like again.” Ervin
Seale, the pastor of the Church of Truth, in New York City
Donald Curtis (1915-1997) was a leader in New Thought and metaphysics for over twenty years, Dr. Donald Curtis was the senior minister of the Unity Church of Dallas where he ministered to thousands from the pulpit and through his regular radio and television programs.
