Joseph Sieber Benner

Joseph Sieber Benner
Born Joseph Sieber Benner
Jan. 3, 1872
Akron, Summit County, Ohio, USA
Died 1941[1]
Akron, Ohio, USA
Resting place Glendale Cemetery, Akron, Ohio
Residence 270 Chesterton Ave, Akron, Ohio
Known for Publisher, Author.
Home town Akron, Ohio
Religion Lutheran Church
Spouse(s) Nillie E. Stuver (m. 1894)
Children 1 daughter: Mary Joyce Benner McGrath
Parent(s) John Benner , Mary Sieber

Joseph Sieber Benner (1872–1938) was an American author, Spiritual writer, and Representative of the Brotherhood of Christ who used the pen name "Anonymous." He was the first to introduce the Knowledge and Teachings of the Impersonal Life (also known as the "I AM" Teaching) to the world in his first book, "The Impersonal Life" published in 1914. Among his works were "The Way Out", "The Way Beyond", "Wealth", "Teacher", "Brotherhood", "The Way to the Kingdom", "Papers (65 Lessons)", "The Impersonal Life Vol. 2: The Christ Message", "The Impersonal Life Vol. 3: The Soul (Newly Released March 2016)" and other unpublished writings.

He died in September 24, 1938 based on OHIO, DEATH CERTIFICATE INDEX, 1909–1912, 1945–1953, Cert. No. 54658, Summit County (This database is from the Ohio Historical Society Archives).

Early life

Benner was born in Akron, Ohio, USA on Jan. 3, 1872. His father John W. Benner was a businessman. Benner attended public schools and held positions at J.F. Sieberling & Co., People's Savings Bank Company, Central Savings Bank Company, and Akron Trust Company. He was chief owner of the Akron Printing Company. Benner was also on the boards of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, Akron People's Telephone Company, Akron Coal Company, Globe Sign and Poster Company, Hower Building Company, Permanent Savings and Loan Company, Bannock Coal Company, and the Young Men's Christian Association. He remained an officer of the Central Savings and Trust Company for the rest of his career.

In the 1890s, while Secretary of the local YMCA, Benner was also listed as Gymnasium Director of Buchtel College in Akron, [2] and he contributed at least one macabre illustration, titled "Murder", to The Lotus, an Intercollegiate journal published in Kansas City.

Benner married Nillie E. Stuver in 1894. Both were members of the Lutheran Church. They had one child, Mary Joyce Benner McGrath.[3][4][5][6]

Elvis Presley – a fan of Benner's writing.

Spiritual writer

Author Jon Klimo wrote, "by 1916, Benner said he felt he could no longer resist the growing inclination to give himself over as a vehicle to a larger presence, to let his mind be subsumed by (or co-creatively interact with) a larger Mind or Being."[7] His book The Impersonal Life contained words Benner believed were recorded directly from God, and was first published in July 1914. Benner taught that Christ's proclaiming "I AM" indicated "the true spirit that resides in every human being." The "SUN center" was an Ohio group formed in 1920 around Benner's teachings. One of the group's practices was to "enter into the silence, stillness and peace" each day at noon. Benner also made a series of lessons called the "The Inner Life Courses" he intended to develop discipline in life, discernment and the awakening of the Christ within the soul.[8]

Benner died in 1941. According to his daughter, letters were found after his death in which he expressed devotion to God and his belief that God had chosen him as a medium.

In the 1960s Elvis Presley was introduced to Benner's work by his hairdresser-turned-guru, Larry Geller.[9] In the last 13 years of his life, Presley gave away hundreds of copies of the book,The Impersonal Life. A copy was allegedly with him on the night he died.[10]

Sun Center

Sun Center was established in the early 1920s in Akron, Ohio, U.S.A. because of the overwhelming response of the readers and their flood of letters for further elucidation of the Law after The Impersonal Life was published in 1914. It also became the parent organization of the Impersonal Life Teachings, under the direct supervision of Joseph Benner until his death in September 1938. The group moved the Sun Center Headquarters to Buffalo, New York on January 10, 1940.

The Sun Center continued its activities unnoticed, just like in Ohio. Students who remained in Ohio continued their individual and group application of the Law of the Impersonal Life Teachings just like the other students all over the world.

Sun Center (NOW!)

In 2014, groups of students of the Impersonal Life Teachings in the Philippines who had been silently practicing the teachings for decades officially legalized their groups as SUN CENTER, to continue the legacy and spiritual work of the former Sun Center (Ohio Group). Their priority project is to publish Joseph Benner's unpublished and out-of-print works.

In May 2015, Sun Center published the long-awaited sequel to The Impersonal Life entitled The Impersonal Life Volume 2: The Christ Message. More recently, Sun Center released The Impersonal Life Volume 3: The Soul in March 2016.

Books

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Melton, J. Gordon (1996). Encyclopedia of American Religions. Gale Research. p. 775. ISBN 0-8103-7714-4.
  2. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=-qtIAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA2&lpg=RA1-PA2&dq=joseph+s.+benner+buchtel+college&source=bl&ots=Ir0yoAMhC4&sig=ekCEQWQK3Ad2tLHQoFEa5zXg1Mc&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQ-I-f47HJAhVC02MKHdXRAI4Q6AEIHTAA#v=onepage&q=joseph%20s.%20benner%20buchtel%20college&f=false
  3. ↑ Progressive Men of Northern Ohio 1906
  4. ↑ Source: Centennial History of Summit County, Ohio and Representative Citizens, published by Biographical Publishing Co. - Chicago, Ill - 1908 p. 406)
  5. ↑ Walden's Stationer and Printer. V. 21-22, Jan 1904 - Jan 1905 (p.12)
  6. ↑ The American Printer and Lithographer V. 39 Sept 1904 - Feb 1905 (p.143)
  7. ↑ Jon Klimo (17 April 1998). Channeling: Investigations on Receiving Information from Paranormal Sources, Second Edition. North Atlantic Books. p. 157. ISBN 978-1-55643-248-4. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
  8. ↑ James R. Lewis (2002). The Encyclopedia of Cults, Sects, and New Religions. Prometheus Books. pp. 705–. ISBN 978-1-61592-738-8. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Charles Reagan (2006). "'Just a Little Talk with Jesus': Elvis Presley, Religious Music, and Southern Spirituality". Southern Cultures. 12 (4): 74. doi:10.1353/scu.2006.0059.
  10. ↑ Biographer Albert Goldman in the History of Elvis 1964

External links

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