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The Big Ideas

Од страна на New Christian Bible Study Staff
A girl gazes into a lighted globe, showing the solar system.

Here we are in the 21st century. We know that the universe is an enormous place. We're just bursting with scientific knowledge. But how are we doing with the even-bigger ideas? Our human societies seem to be erasing them, or ignoring them - maybe we think we're too busy for them.

Here on the New Christian Bible Study site, we'll buck the trend. We want to explore the big ideas that give us a framework for living better lives. Here's a start on a list of big ideas from a New Christian perspective. For each idea, there is a footnote that lists some references in Swedenborg's theological works:

1. God exists. Just one God, who created and sustains the entire universe in all its dimensions, spiritual and physical. 1

2. God's essence is love itself. It's the force that drives everything. 2

3. God's essence comes into being, that is, it exists, in and through creation. 3

4. There are levels, or degrees, of creation - ranging from spiritual ones that we can't detect with our physical senses or sensors, to the level of the physical universe where most of our awareness is when we're alive here. 4

5. The created universe emanates from God, and it's sustained by God, but in an important way it is separate from God. He wants it to be separate, so that freedom can exist. 5

6. God operates from love through wisdom - willing good things, and understanding how to bring them about. 6

7. The physical level of creation exists to provide human beings with an opportunity to choose in freedom, with rationality, whether or not to acknowledge and cooperate with God. 7

8. God provides all people everywhere, regardless of their religion, the freedom to choose to live a life of love to God and to the neighbor. 8

9. God loves everyone. He knows that true happiness only comes when we're unselfish; when we're truly motivated by a love of the Lord which is grounded out in a love of the neighbor. He seeks to lead everyone, but will not force us to follow against our will. 9

10. God doesn't judge us. He tells us what's good, and what's evil, and flows into our minds to lead us towards good. However, we're free to reject his leading, and instead opt to love ourselves most. Day by day, we create habits of generosity or of selfishness, and live out a life in accordance with those habits. Those habits become the real "us", our ruling love. 10

11. Our physical bodies die eventually, but the spiritual part of our minds keeps going. It's been operating on a spiritual plane already, but our awareness shifts - so that we become fully aware of spiritual reality. 11

Фусноти:

1. Divine Love and Wisdom 4, 15, 16, 23, 301, Divine Providence 46, True Christian Religion 11, 19.

2. Divine Love and Wisdom 4, 29, 30, Apocalypse Explained 297, Heaven and Hell 13, 545.

3. Divine Love and Wisdom 31, 32, 57, 59, 84, 169-171, 329, 330, Divine Providence 3, 27.

4. Divine Love and Wisdom 65, 179, 180, 213, 230, 363.

5. Divine Love and Wisdom 44, 45, 55.

6. Divine Love and Wisdom 42, 43, 52, 154, Divine Providence 3, 5.

7. Divine Providence 27, 71, 72, 75, 129, True Christian Religion 459, 490.

8. Divine Providence 145, 322, 324, 325, 328, Apocalypse Explained 986, Heaven and Hell 522, True Christian Religion 457.

9. Divine Providence 67, 322, 333, 334, Heaven and Hell 312, 319, 324.

10. Apocalypse Explained 986, Heaven and Hell 479, 481, 525, 598. The True Christian Religion 795.

11. Arcana Coelestia 168, 1854, 3016, 5078, 6008, 8939, Heaven and Hell 445, 461, 493, 498, Divine Love and Wisdom 90, Last Judgment 25.

Од делата на Сведенборг

 

Divine Love and Wisdom #154

Проучи го овој пасус

  
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154. The reason the Lord created the universe and everything in it by means of the spiritual world's sun is that this sun is the first emanation of divine love and wisdom, and as explained above (52-82), everything comes from divine love and wisdom.

There are three components of everything that has been created, no matter how large or how small it is: a purpose, a means, and a result. There is nothing created that lacks these three components. In the largest instance, the universe, these three components arise in the following pattern: the purpose of everything is in that sun that is the first emanation of divine love and wisdom; the means of everything is in the spiritual world; and the result of everything is in the physical world. I will describe below [167-172] how these three components occur in both first and last forms.

Since there is nothing created that lacks these three components, it follows that the universe and everything in it has been created by the Lord by means of the sun where the purpose of everything resides.

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

Библијата

 

Genesis 5

Студија

   

1 This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, he made him in God's likeness.

2 He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name "Adam," in the day when they were created.

3 Adam lived one hundred thirty years, and became the father of a son in his own likeness, after his image, and named him Seth.

4 The days of Adam after he became the father of Seth were eight hundred years, and he became the father of sons and daughters.

5 All the days that Adam lived were nine hundred thirty years, then he died.

6 Seth lived one hundred five years, and became the father of Enosh.

7 Seth lived after he became the father of Enosh eight hundred seven years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

8 All the days of Seth were nine hundred twelve years, then he died.

9 Enosh lived ninety years, and became the father of Kenan.

10 Enosh lived after he became the father of Kenan, eight hundred fifteen years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

11 All the days of Enosh were nine hundred five years, then he died.

12 Kenan lived seventy years, and became the father of Mahalalel.

13 Kenan lived after he became the father of Mahalalel eight hundred forty years, and became the father of sons and daughters

14 and all the days of Kenan were nine hundred ten years, then he died.

15 Mahalalel lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Jared.

16 Mahalalel lived after he became the father of Jared eight hundred thirty years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

17 All the days of Mahalalel were eight hundred ninety-five years, then he died.

18 Jared lived one hundred sixty-two years, and became the father of Enoch.

19 Jared lived after he became the father of Enoch eight hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

20 All the days of Jared were nine hundred sixty-two years, then he died.

21 Enoch lived sixty-five years, and became the father of Methuselah.

22 Enoch walked with God after he became the father of Methuselah three hundred years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

23 All the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty-five years.

24 Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.

25 Methuselah lived one hundred eighty-seven years, and became the father of Lamech.

26 Methuselah lived after he became the father of Lamech seven hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

27 All the days of Methuselah were nine hundred sixty-nine years, then he died.

28 Lamech lived one hundred eighty-two years, and became the father of a son,

29 and he named him Noah, saying, "This same will comfort us in our work and in the toil of our hands, because of the ground which Yahweh has cursed."

30 Lamech lived after he became the father of Noah five hundred ninety-five years, and became the father of sons and daughters.

31 All the days of Lamech were seven hundred seventy-seven years, then he died.

32 Noah was five hundred years old, and Noah became the father of Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

   

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