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Brock Hall, Dedicated to Erland J. Brock

Dedicated to Erland J. Brock, professor of science, whose warm, generous, and humorous spirit inspired students, colleagues, and others to see God’s purpose through the physical world.

Address read by Quentin Brock:

Dr. Brock brought the earth to Bryn Athyn College. He personally experienced much of the world. He hailed from Australia, traveled by bus from Ostend, Belgium to Bangalore, India, visited numerous countries around the world, and resided for many years in the United States. Dr. Brock earned degrees in geology and geomorphology from the University of Adelaide, and wherever he went, he continued to engage in disciplined study of the world.

As a professor, Dr. Brock trained generations of students in geography, earth science, geology, and chemistry, all with his magnetic mix of charm, wonder, humor, and insight. Like the hidden and immense power of the earth, Dr. Brock’s teaching moved his students’ minds, coaxing layers of thought into formation and firing up the occasional earthquake.

Dr. Brock’s lifelong passion was building knowledge of the earth and its mechanisms, and using this foundation to explore the next realm. What, he asked, did rock strata and soil horizons tell us about the world of spirits and the Creator who makes and sustains all? The son of a Swedenborgian minister, Dr. Brock saw from an early age the world as animated by correspondence. He contributed scholarly articles on scientific topics, including explorations of correspondences.

What motivated Dr. Brock’s effort was his dream of growing the New Church. He realized that the concept of God he saw in all he studied was a rare and delightful gift, animating nature with spirit and purpose, and he wished to share this vision with many.

Dr. Brock joined the faculty of Bryn Athyn College in 1964 and served as professor of physical science, supervisor in the faculty development program, and chairman of the Academy Publication Committee. Dr. Brock also served as editor of The New Philosophy for the Swedenborg Scientific Association and as projects coordinator for Swedenborg Publishers International, a group he helped establish.

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