Arcana Coelestia #379
379. The fact that such things are meant by these statements is clear from what has gone before, and from the fact that 'one who is cursed' means one who became alienated, as also shown already in 245. For it is forms of iniquity and abomination, which are forms of hatred, that alienate a person and cause him to look downwards only, that is, towards bodily and earthly interests, and so to things that belong to hell. This takes place when charity is banished and annihilated. Indeed the bond that exists between the Lord and man is in that case put asunder. Charity alone, or love and compassion, is what joins the two together. Faith without charity never does so, for that is not faith, but mere knowledge such as even the devil's crew is able to possess and by which they are able to deceive and mislead the upright and pretend to be angels of light. Very wicked preachers are sometimes accustomed to act in a similar way; they preach with a zeal that seems to be an expression of inner godliness but is in fact nothing more with them than that which they bear on the lips. Can anyone be so lacking in judgement as to believe that faith alone residing in the memory has the power to achieve anything, or that mere thought from the same source has? Everyone from personal experience knows that nobody places any value on another person's words and assentings if these are not an expression of his will and intention. It is will and intention that make them acceptable and join one person to another. The activity of the will is the real person, not thought and utterance of that which he does not will. From the activity of his will he acquires a particular nature and disposition, for his will is what moves him. If his thoughts are of good, the essential element of faith, which is charity, is contained in his thinking, because it contains the will for good. But if he asserts that his thoughts are of good and yet lives wickedly, the activity of his will cannot possibly be anything else than the will of evil, and as a consequence faith does not exist.
Genesis 5
1
This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
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Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.
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And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth:
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And the days of Adam after he had begotten Seth were eight hundred years: and he begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years: and he died.
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And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and begat Enos:
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And Seth lived after he begat Enos eight hundred and seven years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Seth were nine hundred and twelve years: and he died.
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And Enos lived ninety years, and begat Cainan:
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And Enos lived after he begat Cainan eight hundred and fifteen years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Enos were nine hundred and five years: and he died.
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And Cainan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalaleel:
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And Cainan lived after he begat Mahalaleel eight hundred and forty years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Cainan were nine hundred and ten years: and he died.
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And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:
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And Mahalaleel lived after he begat Jared eight hundred and thirty years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Mahalaleel were eight hundred ninety and five years: and he died.
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And Jared lived an hundred sixty and two years, and he begat Enoch:
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And Jared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty and two years: and he died.
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And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
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And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
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And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.
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And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and begat Lamech:
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And Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech seven hundred eighty and two years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty and nine years: and he died.
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And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, and begat a son:
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And he called his name Noah, saying, This same shall comfort us concerning our work and toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD hath cursed.
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And Lamech lived after he begat Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and daughters:
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And all the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy and seven years: and he died.
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And Noah was five hundred years old: and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.
