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The Big Ideas

Од стране 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

Фусноте:

Из Сведенборгових дела

 

Divine Love and Wisdom # 179

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179. There are levels of love and wisdom, consequent levels of warmth and light, and also levels of atmosphere. Without a knowledge that there are levels, what they are and what they are like, what is to follow will be incomprehensible, since there are levels in everything that has been created; therefore they exist in every form. Consequently, I need to discuss levels in this part of Angelic Wisdom.

We can tell clearly from the angels of the three heavens that there are levels of love and wisdom. Angels of the third heaven so surpass angels of the second heaven in love and wisdom, and these in turn so surpass angels of the farthest heaven, that they cannot live in the same place. Their levels of love and wisdom mark them off and separate them. This is why angels of the lower heavens cannot climb up to angels of the higher heavens, and why if they are allowed to climb up they do not see anyone or anything around them. The reason they do not see anyone is that the love and wisdom of the higher angels is on a higher level, a level beyond their perception. Every angel actually is her or his love and wisdom; and love together with wisdom is human in form because God, who is love itself and wisdom itself, is human.

Occasionally I have been allowed to see angels of the farthest heaven go up to angels of the third heaven. When they managed to get there, I heard them complain that they could not see anyone; and yet they were surrounded by angels. They were afterwards told that these angels had been invisible to them because they could not perceive their love and wisdom, and it is love and wisdom that give angels their human appearance.

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

Из Сведенборгових дела

 

Arcana Coelestia # 10702

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10702. 'And whenever Moses went in before Jehovah to talk to Him' means the state of what was outward when what was inward from the Lord flowed into it and it received instructions. This is clear from the representation of 'Moses' as what is outward containing what is inward, dealt with in 10694; from the meaning of 'going in before Jehovah' as the state of this when the Lord flows into it, dealt with below; and from the meaning of 'talking' as instructions, dealt with in the places referred to in 10280. The situation with what is outward when what is inward flows into it, meant by 'whenever Moses went in before Jehovah', is as follows: There are with people two states so far as things of the Church, worship, and the Word are concerned. There are some who turn themselves to the Lord, thus to heaven, and some who turn to self and to the world. Those who turn to the Lord or heaven receive the influence from there, become enlightened, and for that reason have the ability within themselves to perceive truth; and this influence comes from the Lord by way of what is inward into what is outward. This is what 'going in before Jehovah' serves to mean here. But people who turn to self and to the world cannot receive any influence from the Lord or heaven, and so they are unenlightened and have no ability to perceive truth. For self-regard causes the world to be the influence, and this either completely destroys, or drives back, or perverts whatever comes from heaven. Consequently these people are in thick darkness so far as all things of the Church, worship, and the Word are concerned. This is what 'the veil before Moses' face' serves to mean. The interiors of a person also actually turn to face the things he loves. The interiors of those who love the Lord turn to the Lord or heaven, thus in an inward direction; those who love themselves turn to the world, thus in an outward direction. Turning to the Lord implies being turned by the Lord Himself, for no one can raise his interiors by his own efforts. But turning to self implies being turned by hell; and when this happens the things belonging to the internal man are closed, to prevent the person from serving two masters.

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