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

Footnotes:

God is love itself and truth itself, and His mercy is everlasting. As he tells us in Psalms 100:5:

“….The Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting; and His truth endureth to all generations.”

He created humans in His image and gave us the Ten Commandments and the Two Great Commandments - the Manufacturer’s directions - to teach us how to be happy. God plans for everyone to go to heaven and be happy and tells us how to do that. See Jeremiah 29:11-13 where He says,

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

God also gave us freedom to chose whether to follow Him or not. We are free agents and not puppets so our love and obedience if given freely is real. All our actions have consequences. If we follow the Lord’s laws, we will be happy, if not immediately, certainly in the long run and to eternity in heaven. If we choose not to follow the Lord’s laws, we will be unhappy, if not immediately, but certainly in the long run and to eternity in hell because evil brings its own consequences.

The consequences of evil may seem like punishments from God but they are just the results of bad choices. We bring on ourselves the suffering, frustration, and anguish that come from evil choices. At any point in life, at any time of decision, we can change our direction or continue in the same direction. Over the course of our lives we determine our true character and our final home either in heaven or in hell. After death we go to either heaven or hell of our own free will. Birds of a feather flock together there, so we find our eternal home where we are comfortable with people whose core loves are like ours.

Psalms 136: says this: “O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.”

(References: Heaven and Hell 545, 577)