Inventory of the Andrew Christian Lohr Collection

Marvin Lance Wiser

Graduate Theological Union Archives

Graduate Theological Union

2400 Ridge Road

Berkeley, California, 94709

Phone: (510) 649-2523/2501

Email: archives@gtu.edu

URL: http://library.gtu.edu/archives/

Inventory of the Andrew Christian Lohr Collection

Collection number: GTU 2009-03-01

Graduate Theological Union Archives

Graduate Theological Union

Berkeley, California

Processed by:: Marvin Lance Wiser
Date Completed:: January 22, 2014
Encoded by:: David Stiver

Descriptive Summary

Title: Andrew Christian Lohr collection

Dates: 1930-1996

Bulk Dates: 1936-1996

Collection number: GTU 2009-03-01

Collector: Allen, William H.

Collection Size: 12 linear feet (10 record boxes, 1 folio )

Repository: The Graduate Theological Union. Library.

Berkeley, CA 94709

Abstract: This collection preserves the life and teachings of Andrew Christian Lohr (1880-1960), a modern day mystic who lived in Southern California. William H. Allen, a professor of education, collected the material, in part used for a book on Lohr's teaching, Born of Water and Spirit: Teachings in Mystic Christianity (1990). Additional volumes were planned but not published.

Physical location: 8/C/top

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Copyright has not been assigned to The Graduate Theological Union. All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Archivist. Permission for publication is given on behalf of The Graduate Theological Union as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader.

Preferred Citation

Andrew Christian Lohr collection, GTU 2009-03-01. Graduate Theological Union Archives, Berkeley, CA.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Julie A. Page in March 2009.

Biography / Administrative History

Andrew Christian Lohr was born in Amsterdam, Holland, on October 30, 1880. He grew up in a pious Huguenot family of French-German lineage. He experienced visions at an early age. Mary, as well as Jesus, would appear to him and provide comfort. He reported his consciousness could travel outside of his body, for example accompanying his uncle to Masonic ceremonies. Lohr had no formal education. He left for Paris at an early age looking for work and became an upholsterer. There he married a Dutch woman and had 2 daughters.

His mystical studies and experiences continued throughout his life. He began healing the sick in hospitals in Paris. In 1920, he had a vision telling him to move to the United States. He moved to Oceanside, California, where he taught at the Rosicrucian Center. He later moved to the Los Angeles area, working as an upholsterer. He said, "I can do my daily work and, at the same time, be a thousand miles away helping someone." Along with his healing practices, he spoke on a regular basis and developed a small following, meeting in Glendale and in Santa Monica. Lohr died in La Canada, California, on September 1, 1960. The day after his passing, three students reported seeing him.

This material was collected by William Homer Allen (1914-2009). Raised in Glendale, California, and in Arizona, he received an AB from UCLA (1941); MA, Claremont Graduate School (1948); and EdD, UCLA (1950). He was a captain in the Army, serving from 1941 to 1946.

Allen taught at San Diego State College, University of Wisconsin and the University of Southern California. He worked for the RAND Corporation from 1957 to 1960. He founded and edited the journal, AV Communication Review, published by the Department of Audiovisual Instruction of the National Education Association. After 18 years, he retired from USC as professor in the education department in 1978.

Allen's parents were Christian Scientists and then members of the Unity Church. They met Andrew Christian Lohr (1880-1960) in the early 1930s and became part of the group who met with him on a regular basis. They held teachings at their house in Glendale.

After he retired, Allen transcribed and organized Lohr's teachings, leading to a self-published book, Born of Water and Spirit: Teachings in Mystic Christianity (1990). The book is organized into four parts: The Realm of God, The Realm of Man, Aspects of Man's Regeneration, and Ways to Spiritual Attainment. Additional books with Lohr's talks were planned but never published. Allen also painted and wrote an unpublished book on the relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus. He died in 2009.

Allen writes about Lohr in the introduction to Born of Water and Spirit: "He was a spiritual teacher and leader who came to this country from Holland. For over thirty years he gave small talks to groups in private homes and religious centers. He spoke with the authority of a superior knowledge unknown to most people and told the Bible story with an understanding and insight that gave it fresh meaning and significance. Those who knew him felt that he carries a message for mankind that had the authority of a higher power. During the last years of his life, his teachings were recorded - almost half a million words. It is from these recorded talks that I have drawn the material for the book, presenting in an organized form the essence of his spiritual teaching."

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection includes transcripts of 76 of Lohr's lectures (late 1930s late 1950s), along with some of Lohr's original manuscripts; accounts of his visions; student notes of his talks/lectures; and secondary sources used by Allen in his research. There are drafts of Born of Water and Spirit, and Allen's outlines for successive books pertaining to Lohr's teachings; a draft of The Gospel according to Andrew Christian Lohr; documents pertaining to Allen's publishing process; hard disks containing additional drafts; cassette and reel to reel tapes of lectures; photographs and slides of Lohr; and personal correspondences between Allen and other students of Lohr.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged as follows: Series 1. Lohr's Manuscripts; Series 2. Correspondence; Series 3. William H. Allen's Writings; Series 4. Media; Series 5. Research. Subseries A. Biblical, Subseries B. Theological/Philosophical, Subseries C. Myth/New Age, Subseries D. Religion/Ritual/Church/Ministry; and Series 6. Recordings of Lohr on reel to reel tape (127). There is one folio of Born of Water and Spirit materials.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects

Theosophy.

Jesus Christ--Rosicrucian interpretations.

Mysticism.

Magical thinking.

Jesus Christ--New Age movement interpretations.

Religious leaders.

New Age movement.

Spiritual life.

Christianity and other religions.

Jesus Christ--New Thought interpretations.

Born of Water and Spirit

Index

Lohr, Andrew Christian

Allen, William Homer

Crater, Mildred

Meeks, Rowena

Series 1. Lohr's Manuscripts, 1931-1984

Physical Description: 36 folders

Box 1:1

Lohr Lectures - ACL Early Lectures 1932, 1939-40

Box 1:2

Lohr Lectures - ACL Early Lectures (Duplicates) 1930s-1940s

Box 1:3

Lohr Lectures - Notebook A (Original, Brown) 1931-1933

Box 1:4

Lohr Lectures - Notebook A Transcription 1931-1933

Box 1:5

Lohr Lectures - Notebook B (Photocopied) 1933-1935

Box 1:6

Lohr Lectures - Notebook B Transcription 1933-1935

Box 1:7

Lohr Lectures - Notebook C (Photocopied) Circa 1939

Box 1:8

Lohr Lectures - Notebook C Transcription Circa 1939

Box 1:9

Lohr Lectures - Notebook D (Original, Stenographer's) 1945

Box 1:10

Lohr Lectures - Notebook D Transcription 1945

Box 1:11

Lohr Lectures - Notebook E (Photocopied) 1949-1952

Box 1 :12

Lohr Lectures - Notebook E Transcription 1949-1952

Box 1:13

Lohr Lectures - Robinson Co. Letterhead (Original) circa 1946

Box 1:14

Lohr Lectures - Robinson Co. Letterhead Transcription circa 1946

Box 1:15

Lohr Lectures - Music Shop Letterhead (Original) 1955-1958

Box 1:16

Lohr Lectures - Music Shop Letterhead Transcription 1955-1958

Box 1:17

Lohr Lectures - Loose Sheets (Original) 1950s

Box 1:18

Lohr Lectures - Loose Sheets Transcription 1950s

Box 1:19

Lohr Lectures - Student Notes (Unknown) 1930-1934

Box 1:20

Lohr Lectures - Student Notes (Challgreen) 1940s, 1961

Box 1:21

Lohr Lectures - Student Notes (Rogers) 1958

Box 1:22

Lohr Lectures -Student Notes (Unknown) 1955, 1960

Box 1:23

Lohr Lectures - Allen's Notes undated

Box 1:24

Lohr Lectures - Transcriptions (Challgreen) undated

Box 1:25

Lohr Lectures - Transcriptions (Meeks) undated

Box 1:26

Lohr Lectures - Visions of Lohr undated

Box 1:27

Rosicrucian Fellowship - Monthly Letter 1932-1934

Box 2:1