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there are several other informative paragraphs at  the bottom of the page
one being the genealogy of Frank ND Buchman

The Mountain Path
Vol. 1 - JANUARY 1964 - No. 1

Buchman and Bhagavan
By Buchmanite

How can there be anything in common between Frank Buchman, who has been referred to disparagingly as a 'mere moralist' and Ramana Maharshi, the Master of divine philosophy? I think there is, and I am glad of this opportunity to air my views on the subject.

Why did Frank Buchman launch Moral Rearmament? Because, as he put it, the fences were down and someone had to repair them. In former times only too many people broke through the moral fences and trespassed into fields where they had no right to be; but at least they knew they were trespassing. They knew that they had left the highroad and broken through a moral fence and had no right to be where they were. But now young people grow up recognizing no fences, or considering that it is the fences that have no right to be where they are. Formerly if people went back on their word they knew it was wrong to do so; now, who cares? If they fornicated they knew that their religion forbade it; now religion does not come into the question and they can quote psychologists [who say] that it is the natural thing to do. If hatred and envy poison the air anyone who speaks against them is likely to be sneered at as a goody-goody. Above all, religion no longer means anything for the vast majority of people in Western countries. And the ease with which Communism supplanted it in China suggests that its roots may be withered in Eastern countries too, even though on the surface it still seems to flourish.

Frank Buchman steadfastly refused to found a new religion or sect. He held that there were too many religions and sects in the world already. A new one would soon grow a stiff epidermis, like all the others, and shut its followers off from theirs, whereas what he wanted was to build bridges between men of good will in all religions. Himself, he was a devout Christian, but that did not mean that he wanted to make Indians and Japanese, Buddhists and Muslims [into] Christians. He wanted them to become good men, sincere men, men one could trust - with one's money, with one's secrets, with one's daughter, men of good will, eager to help where help was needed, not bearing malice or spreading slander, not gloating over another's misfortune or resenting past injuries. In many, if not most cases, the best instrument for recalling a man to a life of right conduct is the religion he knew in childhood and still sees around him; therefore Moral Rearmament can generally achieve better results by strengthening a man in his own religion than by coaxing him to another. Its reluctance to proselytise does not mean that it is indifferent to religion; on the contrary, it values religious faith above all, but it sees that in the present urgent work of rebuilding the dykes and holding back the flood, all religions can help. After all, however great the differences between them, all religions do forbid falsehood and violent pursuit of one's own interests, hatred, envy and self-indulgence, and do sponsor a way of life that could be called moral, and that Moral Rearmament could approve of.

One of the criticisms leveled at MRA is that it is not intellectual, it has no philosophy. That is the whole paradox. It is the inevitable result of its refusal to become a sect or a religion. As soon as it draws up any philosophy or code of beliefs for itself, however broad and general, it becomes a creed and is walled off from other creeds, whereas its purpose is to build bridges not walls.

I very much doubt whether Guru Nanak, the founder of Sikhism, ever intended to found a religion. The Granth Sahib, the holy book containing his songs, contains also a number that he selected from earlier poet-saints, some Hindu and others Muslim, and especially from Kabir, the great mystic who had both Hindu and Muslim disciples and refused to belong to either. What Nanak wanted was not to build a new enclosure between that of the Hindus and that of the Muslims, but to make a bridge between those two, showing that in essentials they agreed and that the accidentals were not worth fighting about. He sang

The Lord is the Truth Absolute,
True is His Name.
His language is love infinite
His creatures ever cry to Him
'Give us more, O Lord, give more'
The Bounteous One gives unwearyingly.

What then should we offer
That we might see His Kingdom?
With what language
Might we His love attain?

In the ambrosial hours of fragrant dawn
Think upon and glorify His Name and greatness.
Our own past actions
Have put this garment on us,
But salvation comes only through His Grace.

O Nanak, this alone need we know,
That God, being Truth, is the one Light of all.*
__________________________
* No. 4 of the hymns of Nanak in Selections from the Sacred Writings of the Sikhs, Allen and Unwin, UNESCO collection of representative works.

There could hardly be a broader and more non-committal creed than that - that God is Truth and Love and bestows His Grace on us for our salvation; and yet Sikhism hardened into a religion. This serves to illustrate how careful MRA has to be to avoid doing so too. It has to deny itself a philosophy and a creed, because they would immediately shut out all those who follow any different philosophy or creed. Therefore MRA has to be unintellectual - but that does not mean that those who follow and propagate it are necessarily unintellectual. What is required of them is that they should be men of good will and initiative, intelligent enough to see that today's situation is perilous and dedicated enough to work at mending the dykes before the flood sweeps in. If they are intellectual as well, so much the better, but it is good will and initiative that come first.

In restoring moral barriers philosophy is not very important. Religion is much more potent. Then why not leave it to religion? Simply because the religions today have become too enfeebled to do it. If they recovered sufficient vitality to leaven the lump and uphold a moral code not only among a few scattered adherents but in the community as a whole, thus making MRA unnecessary, that would be the sign that MRA had succeeded.

But ethical control, it may be said, is only one aspect of religion, and perhaps not the highest. Granted, but it is one, and it is not being done, or not at all adequately.

It could be said that religion has two functions or aspects, one horizontal and the other vertical. The word is said to derive from a Latin root meaning 'to bind'. Horizontally it binds men together in a way of living where each has his rights and duties, his functions and obligations - not only his rights, as so many modern idealists seem to suppose. Rights entail obligations. As one witty philosopher is said to have put it, your right of movement ends where my nose begins.

A fully living and flourishing religion - for instance Christianity before the Reformation (and before the corruption that called for the Reformation) - binds the whole of society together in a living harmony. It also organises each person's life in a pattern or harmony. A man grows up with the knowledge [of] what he can do and what he must not do. The pattern may not be perfect, there may be dark smudges in it, social injustices, but by and large it will be found that sins and uncharitable actions are listed among what a man must not do. There may be situations where he can do them and get away with it - every human pattern is stained by imperfections and I am far from wanting to idealise the past - but in general he is liable to the censure of his religion, and to a large extent this is effective, often bringing with it social ostracism or legal condemnation. But today there is no valid condemnation; the fences are down. Who cares?

The vertical aspect of religion is its binding men to God or, perhaps better, providing a lifeline by which a man can climb up to God. Horizontally a religion produces a harmonious way of life; vertically it produces saints. And the two dimensions constantly interweave, since the harmonious way of life facilitates a man's growth to sanctity, while the saints, by the radiation of their influence, harmonise the life of a community.

Sainthood doesn't just happen. A saint is no more a lucky freak than is a concert pianist or an Olympic athlete. There is doubtless a strong natural disposition in all three cases, but there is also hard work and arduous training. He is something more than a very good man. He is also something more than a mystic. Neither is enough alone. It might be said that he is a combination of the two. A mystic may receive spontaneous visions and experiences like unearned largesse; but so long as he is impure his egoism will cloud or distort his experiences, ultimately to frustrate them. Whole-hearted dedication and severe training are necessary. There is power as well as goodness in a saint.

The training may take various forms. It may consist more of mortification or loving service of one's fellows or solitary prayer and meditation, but whatever its forms they have always been provided by religion. In Hinduism and Islam this is clear to see. Ample records remain of the gurus, their ashrams, their modes of training; and some of their successors still practise today, whether or not with the full potency that the great teachers of the past had. In Christianity it was the same, though more concealed. One anonymous 14th century classic, 'The Cloud of Unknowing', even describes its form of training in some detail. Characteristically, the author prefaces it with a stern warning to those who are not pledged to the training but merely inquisitive not to read it.

And today? Today the religions have grown ineffectual in their vertical training no less than in their horizontal. That is not to say that nobody ever obeys the moral injunctions of his religion or undergoes spiritual training, but by and large the hedges are down and the ladders broken. And just as Frank Buchman instituted a moral discipline independent of any religion on the horizontal plane, so did Ramana Maharshi a spiritual discipline on the vertical. He was well versed in Hindu philosophy, but in explaining to non-Hindus he used neither Sanskrit terminology nor Hindu philosophical concepts but simply told them to seek the essential Self of them; just as Buchman was a devout Christian but never tried to thrust his Christianity on others.

I have no doubt that if someone had come and told Frank Buchman: "I am following the moral injunctions of my religion and I feel that that is enough. I don't feel that I need Moral Rearmament," he would have replied: "Splendid! I wish more people could say that." Similarly, I have no doubt that if someone who was following a traditional discipline under a realized guru in his own religion had told the Maharshi so, the Maharshi would have approved just as fully. But such cases must be very rare. What paths are still valid, and where are the guides? There are some who try to follow guides who are not realized men, but that can't take them far; it is not much better than play-acting. Swami Brahmananda (who was the principal successor to Sri Ramakrishna in the training of disciples, as Swami Vivekananda was in organisation and propaganda) has expressed this very clearly. "Ordinary people understand by the term 'Guru' a person who whispers some mantra into the ear of the disciple. They do not care whether he possesses all the qualifications of a true Master. But today such a conception is losing ground. It is now recognised that none but a realized soul is qualified to be a spiritual teacher. He who does not know the path himself cannot show it to others."*
__________________________
* Spiritual Instructions by Swami Brahmananda, quoted in Prabuddha Bharata, Oct, 1963 issue. [italics added].

If, then, as this article contends, Frank Buchman and Ramana Maharshi were performing identical functions in providing a universal substitute for the fast-vanishing guidance formerly offered by the religions, the former on the horizontal plane and the latter on the vertical, would it be possible and advantageous for the two movements to combine? They cannot do so completely. In the first place, MRA is likely to appeal to far greater numbers, since more people are drawn by nature to outer activity than to inner effort. At the same time, it does seem that the Maharshi's path of Self-enquiry, being by nature independent of the creed and ritual of any religion, could supply that intellectual element which is so conspicuously lacking in MRA, without the danger of tying it down to any one religion and thereby shutting it off from others. In doing so it would remove its greatest, though perhaps not most apparent, weakness and increase its power. It could not, of course, be made compulsory, any more than MRA itself can, for the Spirit bloweth where it listeth; but for those who did take it up it would supply what may be lacking now. This would imply no change in the injunctions given by the Maharshi, since he encouraged his followers to practice Self-enquiry in the life of the world and not in solitude and renunciation.

So far as the opposite influence is concerned, the Maharshi's training does naturally presume high moral standards. Being a war on the ego, it is ipso facto a war on egoism. Arthur Osborne explains that succinctly in The Teachings of Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words. "Sin and evil of every kind are the result of egoism unrestrained by consideration for the injury caused to others or the deleterious effect on the sinner's own character. Religions guard against them by moral and disciplinary codes and emotional appeals, seeking to keep the ego within bounds and prevent its trespassing into forbidden places. However, a spiritual path that is so radical and direct as to deny the ego itself does not need to attend specifically to the various excesses of egoism. All egoism has to be renounced. Therefore non-duality turns the attack on the ego itself, not on its specific manifestations."

excerpted from 

Below is a set of dates providing an overview of the history/development of Alcoholics Anonymous. The list provides information not usually evident in material promoting the therapeutic work of A. A. (Dates for the work of A. A. in Ireland the UK are not included.)
4 June, 1878, Birth of Dr. Frank Buchman, whose views on spirituality are later to have an influence on the development of what is now known as Alcoholics Anonymous.
1893, Birth of the later missionary and Episcopalian minister, promoter of the Oxford Group program in the north-eastern US, Dr Samuel Shoemaker, whose views on spirituality also are later to have an influence on the development of what is now known as Alcoholics Anonymous.
1908, Dr Frank Buchman has an experience of personal conversion in Keswick, England.
1909, European doctors Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud visit the United States. Freud introduces psychoanalysis to medical men. This however was not Jung’s only visit to the US (see for example his later writings on the worldview of Puebelo Indians).
1916, Dr Frank Buchman holds a position as extension lecturer at Hartford Theological Seminary. He resigns this position in 1923.
1918, Dr Frank Buchman has been attempting unsuccessfully to set up a spiritual renewal group at Princeton University.
1918, Dr Frank Buchman in China meets an American missionary, Dr. Samuel Shoemaker, who later adopts some of the principles Buchman espouses for the growth of Christian life.
1919, The beginning of the Prohibition Era in the United States. The issue is: does alcohol contribute to lawlessness? It is found that prohibition only encourages an excessive variety of lawlessness.
1921, Dr Frank Buchman has begun evangelizing at Oxford University, England, and begun what became known as The Oxford Group, the Oxford Movement. The original name, surfacing firstly in China, probably, was First Century Christian Fellowship.
1925, Jung writes, Marriage as a Psychological Relationship.
1926 Jung writes, Spirit and Life.
1927-1931, Jung wrote, The Structure of the Psyche, and Mind and Earth.
1928 Jung wrote, On Psychic Energy, and, Child Development and Education, and, The Significance of the Unconscious in Individual Education, and Mental Diseases and the Psyche. Between 1928-1931, Jung wrote, Analytical Psychology and Weltanschauung. Also, Psychoanalysis and the Cure of Souls. By 1928, he had finished a treatment (1921-1928) of The Therapeutic Value of Abreaction.
1928, Author Tom Driberg meets Dr Frank Buchman. Years later, in 1964, Driberg writes a book on Buchman and his Oxford Movement/Moral Rearmament Movement.
Between 1928 and 1931, Jung writes, The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man.
1929: Jung writes, The Aims of Psychotherapy, The Significance of Constitution and Heredity in Psychology, The Relations between the Ego and the Unconscious. and in his Alchemical Studies wrote "Commentary on the ‘Secret of the Golden Flower’." In 1929 he also wrote on the famous/infamous chemist/alchemist, Paracelsus.
1929, The name, Oxford Group is first used by Buchmanites in South Africa. (One suspects, to invoke the prestige of that university’s name in an unsophisticated cultural environment).
1929, Beginning of the world’s Great Depression.
In 1930, Jung writes, Complications of American Psychology.
1930 Between 1930-1931, Jung wrote, The Stages of Life. And, Some Aspects of Modern Psychotherapy, and, an introduction to Kranefeldt’s "Secret Ways of the Mind".
About 1931, American alcoholic Rowland H. consults Dr Carl Jung in Zurich and is told that a spiritual conversion ought to be part of any useful treatment. Rowland H. is later associated with Bill W. and other co-founders of A. A, as well as with the Oxford Group in the United States. At this time, the Oxford Group was at its height in Europe. In New York, the Oxford Movement is led by Dr. Samuel Shoemaker.
1931: Jung writes, Basic Postulates of Analytical Psychology, and Archaic Man.
1932 Jung wrote, Psychotherapists or the Clergy. Also, Sigmund Freud in His Historical Setting. And, an essay on the Spanish artist, Picasso.
1932-1934, A variety of interchanges occur between Rowland H. Bill W., Edwin "Ebby: T., and various members of the Oxford Group, plus Bill W.’s physician, Dr. William Silkworth.
1933, In the US, the prohibition of the use of alcohol is ended. 1933 Jung writes, The Real and the Surreal.

1934 Jung writes, The Soul and Death, and, The Practical Use of Dream-Analysis, and, The Development of Personality, and A Review of the Complex Theory.Between 1933 and 1934, Jung writes, The Meaning of Psychology for Modern Man.
Between 1934 and 1954, Jung writes, Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious, A Study of the Process of Individuation. 1934, Jung writes, The State of Psychotherapy Today.
August 1934, Bill W., "Ebby" and others concerned about alcoholism work with Oxford groups, discussing ways to help alcoholics find sobriety.
December, 1934, Bill W. is hospitalized for acute alcoholism and later experiences a spiritual illumination which provided inspiration for later application to the development of A. A. Shortly, due to a visit from "Ebby", Bill. W. was reading William James’ book, Varieties of Religious Experience. "Ebby" and Bill W. engage in long discussions of the principles espoused by the Oxford Group. A preoccupation with Oxford Group methods lasts at least till 1937, when A. A. personnel abandoned reliance on the Oxford Group and went their own way with their program successfully adapted for their own purposes. May-10 June, 1935, In Akron, Ohio, discussions are engaged by Bill W. and a local doctor, Dr Bob, on the scientifically-derived views on alcoholism of Bill W.’s own doctor, Dr Silkworth of New York.
Late 1935, After other discussions in New York between Bill W. and other interested parties, the Twelve Steps of A. A. are formulated and published.
In 1935, Jung wrote, Principles of Practical Psychotherapy; What is Psychotherapy?
In 1936, Jung wrote, Individual Dream Symbolism in Relation to Alchemy, and The Concept of the Collective Unconscious. Also, Yoga and the West.
1938, Dr Frank Buchman develops the idea of "moral rearmament" while visiting Germany and later writes Moral Re-Armament. Other books followed on similar themes. Buchmanites in England become suspected of developing links with pro-Nazi elements.
1939, Reporter Elrick Davis writes a piece on A. A. in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
In 1939, A professional becoming interested in A. A. is Dr. E. M. Jellinek, co-founder and former director of the Centre for Alcohol Studies, Yale University, and consultant to the Alcoholism Research Foundation of Alberta, Canada (which was set up in some years before 1953).
1939, Outbreak of World War Two.
1939, The Oxford Group/Moral Rearmament Movement are incorporated as a charity.
In 1939, Jung wrote, On the Psychogenesis of Schizophrenia.
In 1941: an article on A. A. by Jack Alexander in the Saturday Evening Post had caused membership to grow from 2000 to 8000 by the end of 1941. (Bill W., p. 7 of AA Today - 25, writes, AA now had a membership of 250,000, in 8000 groups.
1950, Jung writes, Foreword to the "I Ching".

19 November 1950, Death of Dr Bob.
nd: Dr Marvin Block of Buffalo, New York, is a physician credited with persuading the American Medical Association with defining alcoholism as a disease. (Hanna, Second Chance, p. 29).

1958, Dr Samuel Shoemaker writes an autobiography which heavily qualifies views on the extent to which he ever espouses "Buchmanism", or, what became known as The Oxford Movement, whilst acknowledging the debt he did owe to Buchman. Driberg writes (p. 267) that Shoemaker ceased links with Buchmanites from November 1941, when he advised parishioners that he had "evicted" Buchmanites from their national headquarters, which had been his own parochial mission house.

1959-1961, The BBC produced a black-and-white documentary on Carl Jung, only a short time before Jung died. The documentary has since been widely rebroadcast. (See the introduction to an illustrated volume of Jung’s Man and His Symbols). One wonders if Bill. W. had not seen this documentary and was thus inspired to write to Jung on 23 January, 1961? In this documentary, Jung, then an impressive old man, was asked, "Do you believe in God?" Jung answered, "I don’t need to believe." (He meant, "I do not need to believe, because I experience.").

Dr Frank Buchman died, August, 1961. Between 1961 and 1968, his Moral Rearmament Movement became entangled in Cold War politics and was widely discredited.

1961, The chief organizers of A. A. were prompted to explain to A. A. members, and also to the public, how A. A. had developed. By this time, Bill. W. is retiring from the leadership of A. A.

1968, Bill W’s 33rd anniversary talk given. See his book, The Language of the Heart.
(End of Chronology on Alcoholics Anonymous)

Tom Driberg

This was a happy period for him but when Edith Sitwell got to know of his circumstances she was horrified and arranged for Beverley Baxter, who was managing editor of the Daily Express to consider him for a job, and in January 1928 he was taken on as a reporter. Within a month he had a scoop when he discovered the arrival of the Moral Re-Armament movement. The story was run on for several days starting on the front page on 28th. February, 1928. He continued to take an interest in the movement and in the 1950s was invited to lecture on the subject at Oslo and Göteborg universities. His friend David Ferrer of Secker & Warberg also commissioned a book which came out in 1964 as The Mystery of Moral Re-Armament.

The Sacrament of Forgiveness excerpt from this article click to view the web pages

When the Church neglects to teach and to use the fullness of the Faith strange things happen. As with the
power to heal the body so with her power to cleanse the soul -- her priests must exercise it or it will be
used (and perhaps abused) by those outside the Church. The very stones cry out, the living waters break
forth in a new place. In recent times various forms of non-sacramental confession unchurchly or
semi-churchly, have appeared. 

And much good may have been accomplished through the confessions, both open and private, of the
Oxford Groups and also through Dr. Fosdick's Protestant Confessional, and similar institutions. An
experience of relief comes from any kind of housecleaning. The psychoanalyst's patient often feels purged
after a session; those who made group confessions at Buchmanite house parties undoubtedly were
lightened by their "sharing." After an intimate chat with a friend one feels better. Anyone can listen to a
confession, and Anglo-Catholics recognize the good sometimes achieved by psychological "personal
problem clinics," dramatic psychotherapy and the like, or even by talking things over with a wise and
sympathetic friend

The Religious Roots of the Twelve Steps Ken Ragge
Editor notes: I do not agree with this paragraph and it is unsubstantiated

The son of one of Frank Buchman's disciples reported that among the inner circle, it was an open secret that Frank was a homosexual. The evidence supports this: Buchman never married, never had any romantic relationship with a woman, and there was never, ever, in his entire life, even the slightest hint of any scandal involving a woman. The same is not true of boys. (Remember his banishment from Princeton.) While collecting converts, Frank seems to have preferred young men. He would listen to their confessions, especially confessions of a sexual nature, tirelessly, while young women's sins do not seem to have particularly interested him. (He had his inventory of standard scathing denunciations of any woman who had sex, but listening to their confessions and saving their souls didn't seem to have the same appeal as boys'.) Frank's vicious homophobia was probably just a cover, to convince other people that he wasn't a homosexual, and also a way for him to deny his own feelings

The Public Square Richard John Neuhaus
Copyright (c) 1995 First Things 51 (March 1995) 66-80While We're At It

Speaking to students at Cornell recently, I was struck by a young woman who kept
saying of some Intervarsity students who were there, "I just can't get into their
universe." I was reminded of that by an A. N. Wilson column in the Spectator.
Wilson, readers may recall, was an atheist, was converted, became something of a
Christian apologist, wrote a curious biography of C. S. Lewis, and then went back
to being an atheist, except this time of the very noisy variety. In his column he
deplores the number of public figures-cabinet ministers, bishops, and now the
Prince of Wales-who are going in for rather ostentatious public confessions. The
whole thing reminds Wilson of "what it would be like to attend one of those
Buchmanite meetings of the Oxford Groupers in the 1930s. (A friend of mine once
attended a meeting of theirs at the Randolph Hotel and slipped out of the back
having heard a burly Rhodes Scholar tearfully acknowledge that he was in the habit
of blowing his nose on his bath towel.) Much as I admire the daring of all those
seized with the confessional urge, I find it baffling. 'I do not recall committing a
single blameworthy act,' Ivy Compton-Burnett once said. I could not quite echo
this, but it is closer to my position than that of the new breast-beating school.
Surely if one is a well-balanced person one simply does not do things one
considers to be wrong." Imagine that. No sin, no confession, no need for
forgiveness. As the young woman at Cornell would say, I just can't get into his
universe. In the view of "well-balanced" persons such as A. N. Wilson, just as well,
no doubt.

BUCHMAN FAMILY
From: Anniversary History Of Lehigh County, Vol 2
Transcribed by Sue Jones  pensylvania genweb.com

Martin Buchman, the ancestor of the Buchman family of Lehigh County, arrived in America at the port of Philadelphia on the ship Phoenix,
John Mason captain, from Rotterdam, Holland, on August 28, 1750. The ship carried 339 passengers and among them was a Jacob Buchman,
probably a brother of Martin. This Jacob Buchman settled in Lehigh township, Northampton county, where he was assessed eight pounds in
1762. In 1780, and again in 1786, he was assessed as a farmer, and in the latter year he was taxed on 160 acres of land. A daughter, named
Maria Margaret, was born to Jacob and Margaret Buchman on June 12, 1763.
Martin Buchman was born May 31, 1728. He was buried in the old cemetery at the Weisenberg church, and his grave can be seen marked by
a slate stone, which is gradually crumbling away. Unfortunately the date of his death has disappeared from the stone, only the date of his birth,
and a few words, of the inscription can be seen. The inscription reads: "Martin Buchman. Geboren 1728, den 31 May. Er begab sich in der Ehe
mit Barbara, cine geborne - Jan. -." It is from this stone, probably the only place that the information could be obtained, that a few years ago
could have been secured the maiden name of his wife, and the date of his marriage and death, but nature has prevented the obtaining of this
valuable information.
Martin Buchman secured a warrant for 25 acres of land in Lowhill township on April 14, 1757, which was surveyed on October 29, 1757, by
George Schultz, a noted surveyor of Goshenhoppen, Montgomery county, Pa., as can be seen in his diary. In 1762, Martin Buchman was
assessed fourteen pounds in Lowhill township, then a part of Northampton county. In 1772, he was taxed four pounds, eight shillings. On
January 10, 1785, Martin Buchman, and his wife, Barbara, conveyed to his son, Andrew, the tract for which he had secured the warrant in 1757,
then given as containing 28 acres and 154 perches, and the 20th of January, 1785, they conveyed to Andrew the homestead and a tract of land
called Strasburg, containing 120 acres, which Martin Buchman had received in 1768. After this date his name does not appear in the tax lists.
Andrew Buchman, was the only son of Martin and Barbara Buchman, and was born between the years 1750 and 1760. He died in May, 1821,
leaving a widow, Mary Magdalena and seven children. He was a tailor by occupation as well as a farmer and was taxed for 170 acres of land in
1788. Andrew Buchman was one of the trustees of the Weisenberg church, of which his father was also an active member.
Andrew Buchman was active in the militia of Northampton county at the time of the Revolution, serving as first lieutenant of the Fourth
Company of the Third Battalion of Northampton county militia, as appears in a return dated May 21, 1777, but there is no mention of the battalion
having been called into service. On May 8, 1783, he was chosen major in the Militia Battalion District of Heidelberg, Weisenberg, Lowhill, Lynn
and Penn townships. In the census of 1790, the name of Andrew Buchman appears in Lowhill township as having two sons over and two under
16 years of age and four daughters.
Peter Buchman, son of Andrew, was born, October 25, 1784, and died June 13, 1838. He married Maria M. Mohr, who was born March 25,
1789, and died December 18, 1847. They had four children.
Andrew Buchman, son of Andrew, was born March 10, 1793, and died July 10, 1870. He married in 1816, Salome Haas, who was born April
29, 1799 and died February 25, 1846. They had ten children. They are buried in the old cemetery at the Weisenberg church.
Andrew Buchman, Sr., was married to Mary Magdalena Schall, daughter of George Schall, born May 4, 1760. George Schall, bequeathed to
his grandson, Andrew Buchman, his watch and 16 pounds of money. Issue: 1. Peter; 2, Andrew; 3, Salome (Mrs. Abraham Haas); 4, Elizabeth
(Mrs. Deibert); 5, Barbara (Mrs. Kilian Leiby); 6, Catherine (Mrs. George Klotz); 7, Maria (Mrs. Krause).
Peter Buchman, son of Andrew and Mary M. (Schall) Buchman, was born Oct 25, 1784. Like his father and grandfather he was a farmer. The
homestead of the descendants of Peter Buchman is now in possession of Solomon Haas and is situated about one-half mile northwest from
Weidasville. Peter and his brother, Andrew, were appointed administrators of the estate of their father. They filed an account in 1823, showing a
balance of $761.25 for distribution among the heirs and legatees of Andrew Buchman. A bond in the sum of $1,000 was given by the two
brothers for the faithful performance of their duties, their sureties being Daniel Deibert and Christian Holben.
Peter Buchman was married to Maria M. Mohr, Issue: 1, Nathan, 2, Peter, 3, Levi, 4. Sallie (Mrs. Laury). He died June 13, 1838.
Andrew Buchman, Jr., son of Andrew and Mary M. (Schall) Buchman, was born March 19, 1793. He was reared upon the farm and followed
this business his entire life. He was located one mile southwest of Pleasant Corner. He was a soldier of the War of 1812 in the 101st Regiment
of Pennsylvania Militia. He was a member of the Weisenberg Lutheran church, which his grandfather assisted in organizing. He died July 10,
1870.
Andrew Buchman was thrice married. First, in 1816, to Salome Haas, who was the mother of all his children, viz: 1. Evan, 2, Sallie, (Mrs.
George Cook); 3, Jonas; 4, Julia (Mrs Jonas Knerr): 5, Hettie (Mrs. George De Long); 6, Louisa, (Mrs. O. H. Pryor); 7, Willoughby; 8, Hiram, 9
Anna (Mrs. Aaron Kern); 10 Henry.
Andrew Buchman married, third, Rebecca Schaeffer, a widow, whom he appointed as the sole executrix of his will, made on Aug. 4, 1866,
which was admitted to probate on July 11, 1870. She declined to act, and the register of wills, then appointed Phaon Schaffer, a step-son, as
administrator to settle up the estate.
Of the children of Andrew, Jr., Evan 1, lived and died at Easton, Jonas 3, resided at Claussville, He was the father of the following children. 1.
Adam. 2, Eliza (mrs. Confer) 3, Sarah (Mrs. Beidler). 4, Milton, 5, Luella, 6, Frank Buchman, Hiram (8) Lizzie, Lizzie (Mrs. Schiffert) 2, Carrie
(Mrs. Bowers); 3, Edward; 4, Oscar; 5, George A.; 6, Raymond; 7, Leon and 8, Willoughby Buchman.
Henry 10, died at Mauch Chunk, Pa. His children were: 1. Harry 2, Esman, 3 Edward, 4, Ella and 5. George A Buchman.
Willoughby Buchman, son of Andrew and Salome Haas, was born Dec 11, 1835, in Lowhill township. He was reared upon the farm and
educated in the public schools. He owned a small farm and has always followed agricultural pursuits. He and family are Lutheran members of
Morgenland church, which he served as a deacon and elder. He married Mary Frey, daughter of John Frey. Their twelve children were born in
Heidelberg township.
They were: 1. Alvin J., of Allentown; 2, Mantana C., (Mr.s Harvey Newhard; 3, Ulysses H., 4, Lillie S., (Mrs. Jacob Bloch); 5, William W., of
Coplay, Pa.; 6, Granville J., 7 Emma E., 8. Minnie E. (mrs. Milton G. Haas); 9. Justie D. of Berks county 10, Charles W.; 11, George A., and
12, Eva G. J. (Mrs. Oliver Yeager).
Ulysses H. Buchman, son of Willioughby and Mary (Frey) Buchman, was born Oct 17, 1868, in Heidelberg township. He was reared upon the
farm and educated in the public schools. He assisted his father until he was eighteen years of age. When he was employed for six years among
the farmers of Whitehall township. He began farming in North Whitehall township for himself in 1895, remaining there for eight years and since
1903, has been located in South Whitehall, where he continued farming. In politics he is a Republican. In religion he is a Lutheran Member of the
Morgenland church.
Ulysses H. Buchman married in 1890, Kate Bloch, daughter of Jacob and Caroline (Bortz) Bloch. Issue: 1. Mame, 2. Fred, 3, Meda, (Mrs.
Mark Klotz), 4. Herbert, 5. Wilbur, died in infancy; 6, Carrie,7. Lulu, died at age of seven. 8 Linnie; and 9, Penna Buchman.
William W. Buchman, son of Willoughby and Mary (Frey) Buchman, was born March 5, 1871, in Heidelberg township. He was educated in the
public schools and was reared upon the farm and at the age of eighteen years he became an employee of the wire mill, where he remained
several years. He then was employed upon the farm for six years, and since 1896 has been employed in cement mills and since 1908 is with the
Atlas Cement Company. In politics he is a Republican and since 1909 is one of councilmen of Coplay. He owns a residence on South Fourth
Street, Coplay. He is a member of Camp No 409, P. O. S. of A.; No 4, National Order of Steam Engineers; and a member of the Lutheran
Church. William W. Buchman married in 1900, Idella Moser, daughter of Jacob and Alavesta (Kerschner), Moser. No issue.
Granville J. Buchman, son of Willoughby and Mary (Frey) Buchman, was born Aug, 5, 1872. He was educated in the public schools and
assisted upon the farm. He followed an agricultural career until 1900, when he took the position of foreman in the packing department of the
Lehigh Portland Cement Company, where he had charge of a large force of men. He resigned his position in 1910 and with C. F. Pfeifly
purchased the Union Transfer Company in Allentown.
Mr. Buchman is a member of Allen Council, No 753, Independent Order of Americans; and ;the Loyal Order of Moose, No 129.
Granville J. Buchman was married No. 20, 1895, to Minnie Dutt, who was raised in the family of Jonathan Fenstermacher. They had children:
1. Oliver J. W., who died in infancy and 2. Beulah M. E. Buchman.
Charles W. Buchman, son of Willoughby and Mary (Frey) Buchman, was born April 22, 1880, in Heidelberg Township. He was reared upon
the farm and attended the public schools. At the age of eighteen, he became engaged in the cement industry and in 1901 he was made foreman
of the Coplay Cement Company, which he served for two years. He then accepted a similar position with the Lehigh Portland Cement Co., and
remained seven years. In Feb. 1909, he again returned to the Coplay Cement Co, as foreman, where he has since continued, having charge of
upwards of 50 men. He is a Republican and a member of the Lutheran Church. Also a member of Catasauqua Lodge No 269, I. O. O. F., Camp
No 409, P. O. S. of A.; and Fraternity Encampment No 156.
Charles W. Buchman married in 1900, Annie Reppert, daughter of John and Jane (Rehrig) Reppert, of Coplay. Issue: Willoughby J. and Sallie
L. Buchman.
George A. Buchman, son of Willoughby and Mary (Frey) Buchman, was born Jan 27, 1883. He was educated in the public schools of 1883.
He was educated in the public schools of the county and in Summer Normal School at Schnecksville, Pa., attending the latter for two terms.
During 1900, 1901, and 1902, he taught school successfully in Lowhill township. He then attended the American Commercial School at
Allentown and after graduation, he accepted a position as stenographer, which he served acceptably for four years. In 1908, he and W. E.
Wickert purchased the Union Transfer Co., at Allentown, which they conducted under the name of Buchman & Wickert, until 1910, when they
sold out that business and established a carriage and general vehicle business on center square Allentown, where they carry also a full line of
harness and horse goods. They are reputed to have the largest repository in their line in the entire Lehigh Valley. Mr. Buchman is one of the
officials of the Buchman family reunion, which holds annual meetings in the country. He has collected much data for a history of the Buchman
family. In politics he is a Progressive Republican, and is active in promoting the best interests of his party and also of the community. He hold
membership in the following named organizations: Constantine Lodge No 1113, I. O. O. F.; The Fraternal Protective Association; the Loyal Order
of Moose; all of Allentown, and the Mutual Aid Association of Leather Corner Post.
Nathan Buchman, grandson of Andrew and son of Peter Buchman, and his wife, Maria M. nee Mohr, was born in the old Buchman homestead
near Lowhill on the 25th of March, 1812. Mr. Buchman formerly kept tavern near Weidasville and later bought and tilled a farm near Werley's
corner. Nathan Buchman was married to Polly, daughter of Michael Hausman. Eight children were born - four dying early. The four children that
grew up were: Frank, of 117 North Eleventh Street, Allentown; Mrs. Henry B. Dietrich; Mrs. Phaon Baer; and Dr. Daniel P. Buchman.
Nathan Buchman was a brother to Levi buchman, of 1032 Hamilton Street; and to Peter Buchman, who lived at 1147 Hamilton Street,
Allentown, where Mr. Buchman celebrated his 86th birthday anniversary, when these venerable brothers had a happy time. Mr. Buchman died on
Feb. 23, 1899 at Fogelsville, where he was then living with his daughter, Sallie, the wife of Henry B. Dietrich, who now lives on his own large farm
in Upper Macungie township.
Frank Buchman, who resides at 117 North Eleventh Street, Allentown, was born in Lowhill on the old homestead of the family, April 10, 1844,
son of Nathan and Polly (Hausman) Buchman. He attended the public schools and later the Kutztown Normal School and afterward he spent a
year in Indiana. In Jan 9, 1875, he was married to Sarah Anna Greenawalt. After farming a year on the Greenawalt homestead, he started his
career of a merchant. He lived at Werley's Corner for two years and later removed to Pennsburg, Montgomery County, where he lived 17 years.
He was the owner of the Buchman House, a famous hostelry in Montgomery county. Since 1894, he lives at 117 North Eleventh Street,
Allentown. He now lives retired. He and his wife spent some time in travelling in Europe. They had the following children. 1, John, who died in
infancy; 2, Rev. Frank N. D., whose history follows. Mrs. and Mrs. Buchman adopted Daniel, the son of the late Dr. Daniel P. Buchman.

Who's Who among the Muhlenberg Alumni, 1899

Rev. Frank N. D. Buchman, Young Men's Christian Association Secretary at Pennsylvania State College, State College, Pennsylvania 

The Rev. Frank N. D. Buchman, son of Frank and Sarah (Greenawalt) Buchman, was born at Pennsburg, Pa., June 4, 1878. After preparing for
college at Perkiomen Seminary and the Allentown high School, Mr. Buchman entered Muhlenberg College, from which he was graduated in
1899. He then took a theological course at the Mt. Airy Seminary and was graduated from the institution in 1902. His ordination by the
Ministerium of Pennsylvania soon followed. During his first pastorate, at the Church of the Good Shepherd, Overbrook, Philadelphia, Mr.
Buchman visited Europe and made a special study of Inner Missions, meeting Psastor Von Bodelschwingh in Germany, and other well-known
workers.
Immediately after his return from Europe he founded the first Luther Hospice in America at Overbrook, in 1904; in September, 1905, he
accepted the position of house father of the Luther Hospice at Twentieth and Race Streets, Philadelphia. In 1906, he founded the first Luther
settlement in American in the same city. Mr. Buchman may be termed a pioneer in Inner Mission work in America.
After three years at the hospice, Mr. Buchman again visited Europe, spending a year in travel and in further study both of inner and foreign
missions. Egypt, the Holy Land, Greece and Turkey, were included in his itinerary. During his visit to Greece, Mr. Buchman was entertained by
those who were close to the Royal Family and in Constaninople he had the privilege of taking breakfast in the royal palace at the invitation of the
sultan. On his return he accepted the position of secretary to the Young Men's Christian Association at the Pennsylvania State College, the
position which he is still holding.
The Young Men's Christian Association of the Pennsylvania State College, enjoys the unique distinction of being the first of its kind in the
student world. Men and women of Prominence in the world's work, and as a result the entire atmosphere of the institution has been changed and
many men are entering Christian service. State College has become the model for the student work throughout the country. It is not an
uncommon thing to have a thousand or more men attend a single meeting of the Association. The strength of Mr. Buchman's work lies in
individual work with individuals. He is constantly called upon to take part in religious movements in other universities.
High tributes to Mr. Buchman's work have been paid by such eminent men as Harlan P. Beach, of Yale; Robert E. Speer, the authority of
foreign missions; John R. Mott, the leader of the Student Volunteer Movement: Charles Steizle and Graham Taylor of Chicago.
Describing a visit to State College and its Association, the editor of The Continent thus sums up Mr. Buchman's work and pays this tribute to
his personality: " As for that merciless and indefatigable and tireless Young Men's Christian Association secretary, whom the unsuspecting
guest really should hold in enmity in the end of his days - he is a wonder; an asset for the kingdom at this strategic point, whose value is beyond
computation. What he compelled the wayfaring man to do, he himself is doing all the time. Without a taint of professionalism or piosity he has
literally invested his life in the lives of those hundreds of young men. His name should be remembered in gratitude at many family altars
throughout his state".
Dr. Daniel P. Buchman, son of Nathan Buchman and his wife, Polly, nee Hausman, was born at Werley's Corner on Dec 1, 1859. He attended
the State Normal School, alter taught school. He graduated from the Bellevue Medical College in New York and early gained a reputation for
being a skilled diagnostician. He enjoyed a lucrative practice. He married Rosa, nee Snyder. Three children were born: Beulah, Daniel and
Edwin. Dr. Buchman died at Stine's Corner on the 3rd of February, 1899 and was buried in the family plot in the Weisenberg Cemetery. 

from this source

11. Bethune, "A Letter from Switzerland," Telefact, July-August 1954, p. 1, BF, microfilm edition,
Reel 19. Bethune's transformation occurred during July 13-28, 1954, at a World Assembly for Moral
Rearmament. She touted the praises of Moral Rearmament, an interracial, international philosophical
movement emphasizing absolute moral principles, from that time until she died. See, for example, "`Life
with Me Begins at 80'--Mrs. Bethune Sums Up Well Rounded Life," Chicago Defender, 1 August
1954, p. 14; and her Defender column, "Frank Buchman, Front Line Leader for World Peace, Unity,"
30 April 1955, p. 10.

DISPUTED DOCTRINES -- Chapter Twenty-Two


QUESTION OF BUCHMANISM


by C. H. Little, D. D., S. T. D.

The principles of this movement are: Absolute Honesty, Absolute Purity, Absolute Unselfishness, and Absolute Love. Its methods are declared to
be "Sharing and Guidance"; and may well be designated sharing and guidance reduced to a system. 

The movement originated in the fertile brain of the Rev. Dr. F. Buchman, a Lutheran minister, and was known at first as Buchmanism; but latterly,
after it had gained a foothold in one of England's great universities, it has been labeled the "Oxford Group." It has made quite a stir in the eastern
section of the United States and in certain parts of Canada. It has received unqualified approval in some of the Reformed Churches, while in others
it is a subject of lively controversy. Lutherans are also divided over the movement. Some heartily endorse it; others condemn it; and still others
reserve judgment upon it. Consequently, it might be well for us to examine it. 

As far as the principles of the movement are concerned, there can be no quarrel among Christians. As far as they go they are the ideals of Christian
lives, ideals toward which earnest Christians constantly aspire and strive. But it must not be forgotten that these ideals remain such, and are, in the
"absolute" sense, unattainable in this life. 

The best Christian in the world, the most exemplary saint, will never deceive himself into believing that he is "absolutely honest," "absolutely pure,"
"absolutely unselfish," "absolutely loving." Only the Lord Jesus could claim this. All others must confess that in every one of these things, they come
far short of the glory of God. Even those of the "changed life" will surely acknowledge that they are sinners in this respect. For any group or society
to claim these principles as their peculiar possession appears to be misleading. 

Their methods are also questionable. These methods as noted above are sharing and guidance. This sharing is not promiscuous but is a sharing that
occurs between one who has been "changed" and one who has not. It is somewhat similar to the Roman Catholic confessional, but differs from it in
that the confession is reciprocal. 

The Scriptural basis on which it is founded is insufficient, viz., James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that
ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Students of the Bible know that this verse no more teaches
the confession of sins in general, one to another, than the fourteenth verse of this same chapter teaches Extreme Unction, of which the Roman
Catholic theologians make it the sedes doctrinae. 

And in the matter of guidance, while the claim is made that this is the work of the Holy Spirit and that such guidance will not be found contrary to the
teaching of the New Testament, yet the supreme test is not the Word of God, but "the concurrence of other guided people." This is a most serious
objection and completely over-throws the supreme authority of God's Word, and is a direct contradiction of the Formal Principal of the
Reformation. It is consequently dangerous ground on which to stand, and becomes doubly so by the mysticism with which it is accompanied in the
silent waiting for "illumination and direct guidance." 

A feature of this movement which tends to popularize it, but which is objectionable from the confessional standpoint, is, that it is syncretistic. It
reminds one of the profession of certain secret societies, that they will interfere with no man's religion. Confessional differences are ignored, and
Lutherans and Baptists and Methodists and Congregationalists and Presbyterians and Anglicans, all unite on the principles laid down. This is a
compromise such as one would hardly expect to find in a movement which claims to be guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ in promising the Holy Spirit to His disciples declared, "He will guide you into all truth." But other truths are passed by as
of little or no consequence. Members of the group are free to hold any views they please concerning the doctrines of salvation, the great objective
truths set forth in the Scriptures, if only these subjective principles are agreed upon. This lays the movement open to the charge of synergism and
subjectivism, and of exalting human works above the Divine. It lays a wrong emphasis upon our own doings, or at least upon the doings of the
"changed and guided" rather than upon the grace of God in Christ Jesus. It leaves the impression that the "changed life" of which they speak so
much is wrought by the movement rather than by God. This emphasis on human works is, to say the least, dangerous. 

Further, the whole tendency of the movement is toward separatism. It reminds one of the Pietistic movement with their conventicles, their little
Church within the Church, which bore such fruit. The Pietists had the same end in view as this modern movement; but their subjectivism ran to seed,
and in the end the results were disastrous. This also encourages the Pharisaic spirit. Those who count themselves among the "changed" will naturally
look down upon those who are not so fortunate in their eyes and will have something of that spirit of the Pharisees who looked down upon the
common people with contempt and said, "But this people who knoweth not the law are cursed." 

The movement, if continued sufficiently long, is bound to result in a cleavage in the Church and in a lowering of the Church's confessional position,
and in a loosening of hold upon the great doctrines of Redemption, and is a standing reflection upon the Church's ordinary method of applying the
Means of Grace. It has been aptly characterized as the Salvation Army in full dress. Any movement, the tendency of which is to dislocate that
which is and must forever be central in Christianity, is dangerous and should be shunned and avoided. 

New Zealand Rationalist Vol 16 No 1
SEPTEMBER 1954
Christianity’s Debt To Zoroaster
HOWARD MCCONNELL [L]
Book Reviews: Inside Buchmanism (Williamson)
ARTHUR O’HALLORAN

Howard Carson Blake '24
Howard C. Blake died May 20, 1996. He was 92. He was born in St. Louis, Mo. He prepared at Lawrenceville. While at Princeton, Howard met Frank Buchman, founder of the Oxford Group, which later become Moral Re-Armament (MRA). He studied at Princeton Theological Seminary and Mansfield College in Oxford.
Howard spent 32 years with MRA in Scandinavia. In Denmark he helped build a team that later played a key role in the resistance movement against Hitler.
In 1960 Howard began serving as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Weslaco, Tex. Among his many accomplishments were the conferences he organized and his writings, including a book titled Way To Go: Adventures in Search of God's Will.
He married Margaret "Peggy" Stewardson of Philadelphia in 1929, and they had three children: Alice Blake Chaffee, Peter Carson B., and the late John H. of the U.S. Marine Corps. Peggy died in 1982, and in 1988 Howard married Margaret "Migs" Rickert, of Washington, D.C. Migs survives, as do his daughters, and four grandsons

The Legacy of the Protestant Reformation in Modern Times: Frank Buchman and Moral Re-armament - Tyler B. Flynn, Jr., Pennsylvania State University
The Sophisticated Insiders and the Evangelical Outsider: The Buchman Incident at Princeton - Daniel Sack, Material History of American Religion Project, Vanderbilt Divinity School