1. THE DOCTRINE OF THE NEW JERUSALEM REGARDING FAITH

Faith is an Internal Acknowledgment of Truth

Faith today is taken to mean no more than the thought that a thing is so because it is something the church teaches, and because it is not evident to the intellect. For we are told, "Believe and do not doubt." If we reply, "I do not understand," we are told that that is why it should be believed.

Faith today is therefore a faith in the unknown and may be termed a blind faith. Moreover, because it is one person’s assertion received by another, it is an inherited faith. We will see in what follows that that is not a spiritual faith.

343. [335.] 1) What faith is.

2) That there is a conjunction of faith with good works, there being as much faith as there is life.

3) That life is the soul of faith.

4) That faith by itself is not faith, being lifeless.

5) That it is the dragon, ¹ that it is the he-goat, ² that it is Philistia, that it is Cain, that it is Reuben.

6) What faith is, that it is truth.

7) How sterile it is at the present time and not constituting religion.

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44. The Nature of Faith Divorced from Charity

In order to show the nature of faith divorced from charity, I will present it in its basic elements, which are as follows:

God the Father, being angry with the human race, banished it from His presence, and moved by justice, decided to exact retribution by damning it to eternity.

Moreover, He said to the Son, "Go down, fulfill the Law, and take upon Yourself the damnation to which they are destined. Perhaps then I will take pity."

So the Son went down and fulfilled the Law, and He suffered Himself to be crucified and cruelly put to death. Having done that, He returned to the Father and said, "I have taken upon Myself the damnation of the human race. Now be merciful." And in so doing made intercession for them.

But He was told in reply, "I cannot be merciful to them. Yet because I beheld You on the cross and saw Your blood then, I have been moved to mercy. Nevertheless, I will not pardon them, but will impute to them Your merit. But only to those who acknowledge this. This must be their faith, which will make possible their salvation."