Three Early Works by Thomas Parker Boyd — The Emmanuel Movement & New Thought Tradition
Three Early Works by Thomas Parker Boyd — The Emmanuel Movement & New Thought Tradition
Including a Signed Copy of The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement
This listing offers a collection of three early works by Thomas Parker Boyd (1870–1945), one of the prominent voices bridging the Emmanuel Movement with the New Thought tradition in early 20th-century America. The volumes presented here — The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement (1921, signed by the author), The Law and the Testimony (1923), and The Finger of God (1924, Sixteenth Edition) — together represent Boyd’s most influential contributions.
Through these works, Boyd explored psycho-therapeutics, daily meditation, and spiritual healing, offering practical methods for uniting Christian faith with psychological insight and affirmations. As a set, they illuminate the Emmanuel Movement’s historical role in shaping modern spiritual psychology and pastoral counseling, while also embodying the broader metaphysical emphasis of the New Thought movement.
Historical & Spiritual Context
The Emmanuel Movement, founded in Boston in the early 1900s, pioneered the integration of Christian ministry with psychotherapy. Boyd was among those who adapted and extended its principles, teaching that the power of thought, suggestion, prayer, and meditation could foster healing and wholeness.
His writings emphasize a practical, applicable spirituality—not abstract theology, but tools for daily living, inner renewal, and overcoming fear and illness. In this sense, Boyd stands alongside Charles Fillmore, Ernest Holmes, and Emmet Fox as a figure who helped shape the American metaphysical landscape of the early 20th century.
Book I: The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement (1921, Signed Copy)
Full Title: The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement: A Handbook on Psycho-Therapeutics
Author: Rev. Thomas Parker Boyd
Publisher: The Emmanuel Institute of Health, San Francisco, 1921. Third Edition (original copyright 1909).
Features: This copy is inscribed and signed by the author on the front endpaper: “Presenting my eldest child. Thomas Parker Boyd.” A remarkable association piece, given Boyd’s close involvement in spreading Emmanuel Movement principles.
Provenance Note: This copy of The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement is inscribed by the author to Dr. Stanton W. Stryker (1864–1927), a distinguished Portland, Oregon dentist (Willamette University, Class of 1890). Dr. Stryker was well regarded in his field and active in civic life. He was also a member of the Mazamas mountaineering club, and his life ended tragically during the group’s annual ascent of Mount Hood in July 1927, when he fell while roped with fellow climbers. His death was widely reported at the time and remembered in Mazamas records as part of the risks and legacy of early alpine climbing in Oregon.
Contents: Includes chapters on Back to Christ, Therapeutic Triumphs of the Apostles and Primitive Church, Mental Medicine, Moral Medicine, The Law of Suggestion, Sleep, Hypnotism, Personal Magnetism, The Will, and The Complete Life.
Condition: Very good. Original deep blue cloth with gilt lettering on cover and spine. Minimal wear, strong binding, clean pages. Signed inscription on first page; no other markings.
Book II: The Law and the Testimony (1923)
Subtitle: A Book of Daily Meditation
Publisher: Thomas Parker Boyd, San Francisco.
Contents: Designed as a devotional handbook, with both weekly and monthly meditations on themes like Health, Prayer, Trust, Comfort, Peace, Omnipresence, and The Great Sayings of Jesus. Includes liturgical forms and affirmations for “speaking the Word.”
Condition: Original brown wrappers with black lettering. Some edgewear and creasing; binding secure; interior pages clean with light toning.
Book III: The Finger of God (1924, Sixteenth Edition)
Subtitle: Lessons in Spiritual Healing
Publisher: Thomas Parker Boyd, San Francisco. First copyright 1920.
Contents: A structured course in spiritual healing, tested in Boyd’s classes and applied in “thousands of cases.” Lessons cover An Available God, The Mechanism of Thought, The Power of Constructive Thinking, Diagnosis and Prognosis, How to Heal Yourself, and The Impersonal Method, or Prayer by Right Thinking.
Condition: Brown cloth-style wrappers with black lettering. Spine shows some wear and hinge stress, but text block remains intact. Interior pages clean and moderately toned.
About the Author
Thomas Parker Boyd was a minister, author, and teacher of Practical Christianity who helped spread the Emmanuel Movement’s psycho-therapeutic methods while also contributing to the New Thought body of literature. His works blend Christian devotion, psychology, and metaphysical principles, offering practical tools for personal transformation. Boyd’s other books include The Voice Eternal, The Armor of Light, Applied Psychology, and Borderland Experiences.
Collector Significance
This grouping includes a signed copy of Boyd’s most historically significant work, The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement (1921).
All three volumes are early San Francisco printings, scarce in today’s market.
Collectively, they capture the Emmanuel Movement’s enduring legacy in blending religion, psychology, and spiritual healing.
A rare opportunity for collectors of New Thought, metaphysical spirituality, and early pastoral psychology to acquire a cohesive set with both devotional and therapeutic emphases.
This three-volume set includes:
- The How and Why of the Emmanuel Movement: A Handbook on Psycho-Therapeutics (1921, Third Edition, signed by the author).
- The Law and the Testimony: A Book of Daily Meditation (1923, first edition).
- The Finger of God: Lessons in Spiritual Healing (1924, Sixteenth Edition; copyright 1920).
