Levi H. Dowling
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Levi H. Dowling (18 May 1844 – 13 August 1911) was an American
preacher A preacher is a person who delivers sermons or homilies on religious topics to an assembly of people. Less common are preachers who Open-air preaching, preach on the street, or those whose message is not necessarily religious, but who preach com ...
who authored ''
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ The ''Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ'' (full title: ''The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World and of the Church Universal'') is a book by Levi H. Dowling. ...
'' (1908).


Life

He was born in Bellville,
Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...
. His father, of Scots and
Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...
descent, was a pioneer preacher among the
Disciples of Christ The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
. Dowling claimed that at the age of thirteen, in his first public debate, he took the negative side against a
Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
elder on " The Everlasting Punishment of the Wicked." Levi began preaching at the age of sixteen; and at the age of eighteen was
pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...
of a small church. He entered the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
at the age of twenty, as a
chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
, and served in this capacity to the end of the
Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. In 1866–1867, he was a student at Northwestern Christian University at
Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...
,
Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
. The next year he began publishing
Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
literature, issuing Sunday school lesson papers, song books, and a children's Sunday school paper. Dowling preached President Lincoln's
funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
service to Union troops in
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
. He was the author of two spiritual healing books ''Self-Culture'' and ''Biopneuma: The Science of the Great Breath''. The publisher's introduction to ''Biopneuma'' says that Levi taught
chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...
,
toxicology Toxicology is a scientific discipline, overlapping with biology, chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine, that involves the study of the adverse effects of chemical substances on living organisms and the practice of diagnosing and treating ex ...
,
physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...
,
histology Histology, also known as microscopic anatomy or microanatomy, is the branch of biology that studies the microscopic anatomy of biological tissue (biology), tissues. Histology is the microscopic counterpart to gross anatomy, which looks at large ...
, and lectured on the use of
electricity Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter possessing an electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by Maxwel ...
in
medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...
. Much of his time was devoted to the cause of
prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...
. He was a graduate of two medical colleges, and practiced medicine for a number of years. He retired from the medical profession to resume
literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...
work. Even as a child, he was impressed with the sensitiveness of the finer
ethers In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R′ r ...
, and believed that in some manner they were sensitized plates on which sounds, even thoughts, were recorded. He studied etheric vibration , determined to solve the great mysteries of the heavens for himself. He claimed to have spent forty years in study and silent
meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique to train attention and awareness and detach from reflexive, "discursive thinking", achieving a mentally clear and emotionally calm and stable state, while not judging the meditat ...
, and that he eventually reached a stage of spiritual
consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is awareness of a state or object, either internal to oneself or in one's external environment. However, its nature has led to millennia of analyses, explanations, and debate among philosophers, scientists, an ...
that permitted him to enter the domain of the superfine ethers he had referred to, and become familiar with their mysteries. He claimed that during the meditation he was able to repeat events, as many times as necessary, in order to produce a perfect transcript. He said that he spent many months transcribing the events he supposedly witnessed in what he called "The Book of God's Remembrance" or the
akashic records In the religion of Theosophy and the spiritual movement of Anthroposophy, the Akashic records are believed to be a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future, r ...
. The book he produced from these meditations is commonly known as "The Aquarian Gospel." He claimed to have learned from those visions that the imaginings of his boyhood days were founded upon veritable facts, and that every thought of every living thing is in the akashic record. He claimed that as a boy, he also had a
vision Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to: Perception Optical perception * Visual perception, the sense of sight * Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight * Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
in which he was told that he was to "build a white city", and that this vision was repeated three times over a period of years. Dowling announced a plan for a self-contained community for his religious followers, but it was never accomplished. In 1904, west of
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, "Mount Carmel-by-the-Sea" was reported to be under development on 800 acres between
Hermosa Beach Hermosa Beach (, Spanish language, Spanish for "Beautiful") is a beachfront city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Its population was 19,728 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. Census. The city is located in the South Ba ...
and
Redondo Beach Redondo Beach (Spanish for ) is a coastal city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located in the South Bay region of the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of three adjacent beach cities along the southern portion of Santa Mo ...
, which a company connected with Dowling had purchased for about $65,000. Lots in this 800-acre area were advertised for sale in newspapers. Members received 1-acre lots for housing in the core section called the "White City of the Mystic Initiates", a home for what Dowling called the
Gnostic Gnosticism (from Ancient Greek: , romanized: ''gnōstikós'', Koine Greek: nostiˈkos 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems that coalesced in the late 1st century AD among early Christian sects. These diverse g ...
people. Dowling was to be the head instructor in a planned polytechnic high school, which was to have been called "Temple of Resplendent Light". Businesses, factories, water, power, streets, parks, and a top university were expected to follow, but the community was not a success.


The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ

Dowling wrote ''
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ The ''Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ'' (full title: ''The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World and of the Church Universal'') is a book by Levi H. Dowling. ...
'' (full title: ''The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World and of the Church Universal'') in the late 19th century and published it in 1908. He claimed it was the true story of the life of
Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
, including "the 'lost' eighteen years silent in the
New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
." Dowling claimed to have transcribed it from the Akashic records in the early morning hours from two to six - the absolutely "quiet hours". ''The Aquarian Age'' describes the human race as standing on the cusp of the Piscean- Aquarian
Ages Ages may refer to: *Advanced glycation end-products, known as AGEs *Ages, Kentucky, census-designated place, United States * ''Ages'' (album) by German electronic musician Edgar Froese *The geologic time scale, a system of chronological measuremen ...
. Aquarius is the eleventh sign of the
Zodiac The zodiac is a belt-shaped region of the sky that extends approximately 8° north and south celestial latitude of the ecliptic – the apparent path of the Sun across the celestial sphere over the course of the year. Within this zodiac ...
, symbolized as a man carrying a pitcher of water.


Legacy

The Aquarian Christine Church Universal, Inc. (ACCU) is a denomination founded on the teachings found in ''The Aquarian Gospel'' and other writings by Levi H. Dowling. These include ''Self-culture'' and ''Biopneuma: The Science of the Holy Breath.'' The church also incorporates other New Age teachings. It is similar to the "I AM" movement and the
Ascended Master Teachings Ascendency or ascendancy is a quantitative attribute of an ecosystem, defined as a function of the ecosystem's trophic network. Ascendency is derived using mathematical tools from information theory Information theory is the mathematical s ...
. In a biographical sketch included in the original publication of ''Self-culture'', Levi is said to have taught and lectured medical students in the use of electricity in medicine. The Aquarian Christine Church considers Dowling an Ascended Master.


See also

*
The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ The ''Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ'' (full title: ''The Aquarian Gospel of Jesus the Christ: The Philosophic and Practical Basis of the Religion of the Aquarian Age of the World and of the Church Universal'') is a book by Levi H. Dowling. ...
*
Akashic records In the religion of Theosophy and the spiritual movement of Anthroposophy, the Akashic records are believed to be a compendium of all universal events, thoughts, words, emotions, and intent ever to have occurred in the past, present, or future, r ...
*
Edgar Cayce Edgar Cayce (; March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to diagnose diseases and recommend treatments for ailments while asleep. During thousands of transcribed sessions, Cayce would answer questions on ...
*
Clairvoyance Clairvoyance (; ) is the claimed ability to acquire information that would be considered impossible to get through scientifically proven sensations, thus classified as extrasensory perception, or "sixth sense". Any person who is claimed to h ...
*
Esoteric cosmology Religious cosmology is an explanation of the origin, evolution, and eventual fate of the universe from a religious perspective. This may include beliefs on origin in the form of a creation myth, subsequent evolution, current organizational form a ...
*
Plane (cosmology) In esoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being. The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings which propound the id ...
*
Morphogenetic field (Rupert Sheldrake) Alfred Rupert Sheldrake (born 28 June 1942) is an English author and parapsychology researcher. He proposed the concept of morphic resonance, a conjecture that lacks mainstream acceptance and has been widely criticized as pseudoscience. He has ...
*
Mindstream Mindstream (Pali: ''citta-santāna'', Sanskrit: ''citta-saṃtāna;'' Ch: ''xin xiangxu'' 心相續) in Buddhist philosophy is the moment-to-moment continuum of sense impressions and mental phenomena ( citta), which is also described as continui ...
* Terma *
Tertön In Tibetan Buddhism, a Tertön () is a person who is a discoverer of ancient hidden texts or '' terma''. Many tertöns are considered to be incarnations of the twenty five main disciples of Padmasambhava ( Guru Rinpoche), who foresaw a dark time in ...


Sources

*


External links


The Story of Levi Dowling and the Aquarian Gospel

Levi's letter of April 17, 1865
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowling, Levi H. 1844 births 1911 deaths American Disciples of Christ Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) clergy American people of Scottish descent American people of Welsh descent Union army chaplains People from Bellville, Ohio 19th-century American Christian clergy