Die Bibel

 

Genezo 3

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1 Kaj la serpento estis pli ruza, ol cxiuj kampaj bestoj, kiujn kreis Dio la Eternulo. Kaj gxi diris al la virino: CXu Dio diris, ke vi ne mangxu de cxiuj arboj de la gxardeno?

2 Kaj la virino diris al la serpento: La fruktojn de la arboj de la gxardeno ni povas mangxi;

3 sed pri la fruktoj de la arbo, kiu estas en la mezo de la gxardeno, Dio diris: Ne mangxu ion de ili kaj ne tusxu ilin, por ke vi ne mortu.

4 Kaj la serpento diris al la virino: Ne, vi ne mortos;

5 sed Dio scias, ke en la tago, en kiu vi mangxos ion de ili, malfermigxos viaj okuloj kaj vi estos kiel Dio, vi scios bonon kaj malbonon.

6 Kaj la virino vidis, ke la arbo estas bona por mangxi kaj gxi estas cxarma por la okuloj, kaj la arbo estas dezirinda por sagxigxi; kaj sxi prenis de gxiaj fruktoj, kaj sxi mangxis, kaj sxi donis kune ankaux al sia edzo, kaj li mangxis.

7 Kaj malfermigxis la okuloj de ili ambaux, kaj ili sciigxis, ke ili estas nudaj; kaj ili kunkudris foliojn de figarbo kaj faris al si zonajxojn.

8 Kaj ili auxdis la vocxon de Dio la Eternulo, kiu marsxis en la gxardeno dum la malvarmeto de la tago; kaj Adam kaj lia edzino kasxigxis de Dio la Eternulo inter la arboj de la gxardeno.

9 Kaj Dio la Eternulo vokis Adamon, kaj diris al li: Kie vi estas?

10 Kaj tiu diris: Vian vocxon mi auxdis en la gxardeno, kaj mi ektimis, cxar mi estas nuda; kaj mi kasxis min.

11 Kaj Dio diris: Kiu diris al vi, ke vi estas nuda? cxu vi ne mangxis de la arbo, pri kiu Mi ordonis al vi, ke vi ne mangxu de gxi?

12 Kaj Adam diris: La edzino, kiun Vi donis al mi kiel kunulinon, sxi donis al mi de la arbo, kaj mi mangxis.

13 Kaj Dio la Eternulo diris al la virino: Kial vi tion faris? Kaj la virino diris: La serpento tromplogis min, kaj mi mangxis.

14 Kaj Dio la Eternulo diris al la serpento: CXar vi tion faris, tial estu malbenita inter cxiuj brutoj kaj inter cxiuj bestoj de la kampo; sur via ventro vi irados kaj teron vi mangxados dum via tuta vivo.

15 Kaj Mi metos malamikecon inter vi kaj la virino kaj inter via idaro kaj sxia idaro; gxi frapados vian kapon, kaj vi pikados gxian kalkanon.

16 Al la virino Li diris: Mi multigos viajn suferojn dum via gravedeco; en doloro vi naskados infanojn; kaj al via viro vi vin tiros, kaj li regos super vi.

17 Kaj al Adam Li diris: CXar vi obeis la vocxon de via edzino, kaj vi mangxis de la arbo, pri kiu Mi ordonis al vi, dirante, ke vi ne mangxu de gxi, tial malbenita estu la tero pro vi; kun suferoj vi mangxados de gxi dum via tuta vivo.

18 Kaj dornojn kaj pikajxojn gxi kreskigos por vi, kaj vi mangxados herbojn de la kampo.

19 En la sxvito de via vizagxo vi mangxados panon, gxis vi revenos en la teron, el kiu vi estas prenita; cxar vi estas polvo kaj refarigxos polvo.

20 Kaj Adam donis al sia edzino la nomon Eva, cxar sxi estis patrino de cxiuj vivantoj.

21 Kaj Dio la Eternulo faris por Adam kaj por lia edzino vestojn el felo, kaj Li vestis ilin.

22 Kaj Dio la Eternulo diris: Jen Adam farigxis kiel unu el Ni, sciante bonon kaj malbonon; nun eble li etendos sian manon kaj prenos ankaux de la arbo de vivo kaj mangxos kaj vivos eterne.

23 Kaj Dio la Eternulo eligis lin el la Edena gxardeno, por ke li prilaboradu la teron, el kiu li estis prenita.

24 Kaj Li elpelis Adamon, kaj lokis antaux la Edena gxardeno la kerubon kaj la turnigxantan flaman glavon, por gardi la vojon al la arbo de vivo.

   

Aus Swedenborgs Werken

 

True Christian Religion #380

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380. (ii) Spurious faith is any faith which departs from the true and only faith, and is possessed by those who climb up another way and look upon the Lord not as God, but merely as a human being.

It is self-evident that spurious faith is any faith which departs from the true and only faith; for when one faith is the truth, it follows that anything that departs from it is not the truth. All good and truth in the church spring from the marriage between the Lord and the church. Thus everything which is in essence charity, or which is in essence faith, is the product of that marriage. But anything in charity and faith which is not the product of that marriage is not from a legitimate union but an illegitimate one. Thus it is the product either of a polygamous marriage or union, or of adultery. Any faith is the product of polygamy, if it acknowledges the Lord and espouses the falsities contained in heresies; a faith is the product of adultery, if it acknowledges three Lords in one church. For it is like a woman who is a prostitute, or one married to one man, but hiring herself out for the night to two others, each of whom she calls her husband when she sleeps with him. This is the reason their faiths are called spurious.

The Lord calls these people in many passages 'adulterers', and this too is what He means by 'thieves and robbers' in John:

Truly I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up another way, is a thief and robber. I am the door; if anyone enters by me, he will be saved, John 10:1, 9.

Entering the sheepfold is entering the church, and also heaven. It entails entering heaven too, because they make one, and it is nothing but the presence of the church in it which makes heaven. Therefore just as the Lord is the bridegroom and husband of the church, so too is He the bridegroom and husband of heaven.

[2] It is possible to investigate and recognise whether a faith is a legitimate offspring or an illegitimate one by using the three indicators described above. These are the acknowledgment of the Lord as the Son of God, the acknowledgment of Him as the God of heaven and earth, and the acknowledgment that He is one with the Father. Therefore in so far as any faith departs from these essentials, so far is it a spurious faith. There is a spurious and adulterous faith with those who look on the Lord not as God, but as merely a man. The truth of this is evident from the two unspeakable heresies, those of the Arians and the Socinians, which were made anathema in the Christian church and excommunicated from it. This was because they deny the divinity of the Lord, and climb up another way. But I am afraid that these abominations lurk hidden in the general attitude of the people in the church to-day. It is an astonishing fact that the more anyone believes himself to excel others in learning and judgment, the more prone he is to seize on and make his own ideas about the Lord being a human being and not God, arguing that because He is a human being He cannot be God. Anyone who makes those ideas his own betakes himself to the company of the Arians and Socinians, who in the spiritual world are in hell.

[3] The reason why this is the general attitude of people in the church today is that every person possesses a companion spirit. Without him the person could not think analytically, rationally and spiritually, so that he would not be a human being, but an animal. And each person attracts a spirit who resembles him in the affection of his will and thus the perception of his understanding. If someone brings himself into good affections by means of truths taken from the Word and by living in accordance with them, the companion assigned him is an angel from heaven. But if someone brings himself into evil affections by proving falsities to himself and living a wicked life, the companion assigned to him is a spirit from hell. Once so assigned, the person enters more and more into a kind of brotherhood with satans, and then strengthens more and more his belief in falsities in opposition to the truths in the Word, and in the abominable Arian and Socinian attacks on the Lord. The reason is that all satans cannot bear to hear any truth from the Word, or even the name of Jesus; if they do hear them, they become like furies, running about blaspheming. Then if light floods in from heaven, they throw themselves headlong into caves and the thick darkness they love; in this they enjoy the kind of light that owls do in the dark, and like that enjoyed by cats hunting mice in cellars. This is the fate after death of all who in their heart and faith deny the divinity of the Lord and the holiness of the Word; and this is the nature of their internal man, however much the external puts on an act and plays the role of a Christian. I know this is the case, because of what I have seen and heard.

[4] All who honour the Lord as Redeemer and Saviour merely with their mouth and lips, while in their heart and spirit they look upon Him as purely a human being, when they utter and teach such ideas have a mouth like a skinful of honey, but a heart like a skinful of gall. Their words are like sugared loaves, but their thoughts are like poisoned draughts of wine, or like curlicues of cake containing flying serpents. 1 If they are priests, they are like pirates at sea who fly the flag of a country which is not hostile, but when a passing ship approaches them as friends, they hoist the pirate flag instead of the former one, and seize the ship and make prisoners those on board. They are also like the serpents of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, who come up to one in the guise of angels of light, holding in their hand apples from it coloured with golden tints as if they had been plucked from the tree of life, offering them with the words:

God knows that on the day you eat of them, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil, Genesis 3:5.

When they have eaten, they follow the serpent down to the underworld and live with him. Around that underworld are the satans who have eaten the apples of Arius and Socinus. It is they too who are meant by the man who went in not wearing a wedding garment, and who was cast into outer darkness (Matthew 22:11-13). The wedding garment is faith in the Lord as the Son of God, the God of heaven and earth, and one with the Father. Those who honour the Lord merely with their mouth and lips, but in their heart and spirit look upon Him purely as a human being, if they reveal their thoughts and persuade others, are spiritual murderers, and the worst of them are spiritual cannibals. A person's life comes from his love and faith in the Lord; but if this essential of faith and love, the belief that the Lord is God-man and Man-god, is taken away, his life is turned into death. So in this way the person is killed and devoured like a lamb by a wolf.

Fußnoten:

1. This and the previous sentence are given rhetorical point by verbal assonances in Latin, which cannot be reproduced in English.

  
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Thanks to the Swedenborg Society for the permission to use this translation.