Anc words-for-the-new-church-1876-1886-xiv-first-principles-1884-(reprint-cincinnati-1984)

WORD·S FOR

THE NEW CHURCH

A 8ERIAL

XIV

FIRST PRINCIPLES

CINCINNATI 1984 - 214

--

1~1

11J:rC - 'î PROLOGUE '<b ~?

100 years ago the Academy of the New Church published a serialunder the title WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH. Their purpose in publishing this work was to affirm the Divine Authority of the Writings as the infallible works of the Lord Himself in His second Advent, and to show clearly from the Writings themselves the consummated and devastated state of the Christian World, and its opposition to the Lord's New Church. (WORDS vol. 1, p. 571) Also through THE -:» WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH, the Academicians sought to promote a more thorough study of the Heavenly Doctrines by which aIl things of knowledge l and life might be subordinated to Dlvin~elati2n.

We quote from the prologue of th_fLfirst volume of the SERIAL:

The Heavenly Doctrines as unfolded in the Writings of Swedenborg we joyously take as our guide in conducting the SERIAL. Indeed as we come into a more searching culture of these Writings, we discover more and more the vastness oftheir scope. They find us everywhere. And tb.ese Doctrines being themselves Divine are the me~r~o~se.Thcey are the TabY..Jlacl~of G.QcLwith n:!en; the Lord Himself in His Advent making aB things new. What more therefore can we have? What more than these gr;nd di~~IôSures

Iwhich are the final analysis of aB that has respect to God, at;1.d to l\:1a_n, and to the relation between the two.

WeB therefore may we devote ourselves to the development in ourselves and others of a familiar knowledge of thi§! ~y~stem ~f

DiviQeTI:uth, - to an actual internal2rop~gandaofthel!!ith, - to th~

bringing of our own liyes, and aB that is dearest to us, under the

2 PROLOGUE

influenceofthese wonderful disclosures through the Word,'made by the Lord in His Second Advent. (WORDS vol. 1 p:2)

This SERIAL truly was, and still remains, WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH, a searching study of the Writings which brought forth principles from which to view everything around us, WORDS by which scientifics of every sort can be subordinated to the truths of

L Revelation. In this SERIAL, which is now being presented 100 years later, we hope to continue with the same principles and goals of the original SERIAL: To affirm the Divine Authority ~f the Writings in every

"thing of the Church, and to draw from these Heavenly Doctrines particular aEPlications i~ science, language,

J\history, and in aIl other subj·ects in which the Writings find us.

CONTENTS

PAGE

PROLOGUE : ; 1

FIRST PRINCIPLES

SECTION

1. - DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS 5

II. -THE DEVASTATED AND CONSUMMATED STATE OFTHB CHRISTIAN WORLD TODAY ... 13

III. - ALL THINGS ARE TO BE MADE NEW IN TH~ NEW CHURCH 24

IV. -THE AFFIRMATIVE PRINCIPLE 32

~

SCIENCE IN THE LIGHT r. '> l

OF THE NEW CHURCH (REPRINT) , .. , 38

APPENDIX - A MISSING NUMBER FROM THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED , 53

NOTES - WHY REVIVE WORDS FOR THE N~W CHURCH? 57

"THE TRANSLATION OF THE WORD" ...58

.,

FIRST PRINCIPLES

I.

THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS

Happy are they who do his commandments, that their authority may he in the tree oflife, and that they may enter hy the gates into the city.-Reu. 22:14

The first and foremost principle of the Academy movement was the acknowledg~ment of the Divine Authority of the Writings. They affirmed in no un

., certain terms "The Second Advent of the_Lqrd in the ~ Il Writings, and consequ;ntly their infallibility and

Divinity." (WORDS vol. 1 p. 571) The first number of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCHwas devoted to the affirmation and confirmation of this principle. .In the section entitled "The Divine Authority ofthe Writings," they state that "the books, then, in which the LORD is jn His Second Coming, and by which that Di~iiïe

Coming and Presence are effected from the Word, were wri.tte.!1 by Him, and not by man. '" Being thus drawn out of His Ow!,!-Word, presented by the Lord Himself and written by His command, they are necessarily His books and not man's!" (WORDS vol. 1 p. 41)

Several issues later to clarify even more their position on the Divine Authority of the Writings, the editors of WORDS wrote:

5

- -

~j Q"~~"'? "' ·t~ S-v

6 THE DIVINE A UTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS

Our estimate of the Writings we have given in the previous numbers of the SERIAL. For the convenience of our readers and that we may be weil understood we give once more a brief summary of this estimate:

We hold that the Writings are a body of Divine Doctrines, namely, the Heavenly Jloctri.!teLoL th_e New JerusaJemf:tJthat Swedenborg was divinely inspired and illuminated by the LORD to receive these Doctrines in his understanding, and to publish them by the press; that the Doctrines are free from error and infallibly true; and that they constitute the Second Coming of the LO~D, and are His peq~e.!llillP..tese!!ce in His Ch,?rch, and that ~ing evolved by the LORD Himself{6om the Worg..they are inseparable from,it constituting ità)Divine Sanctity and its very lif~(vol. 1pp. 339, 340)

Such was the doctrinal position expressed in WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH with respect to the Divine Authority of the Writings. It was not a conclusion arrived at by a series of human deductions and reasonings, but a Erinc!pl~..rawn dir..e.1:..tly from the

II Heavenly Doctrines. Therefore we also affirm this principle, not because our forefathers so believed, but because it is a principle from the Writings themselves, and thus from the mouth of the Lord. For it is clearly taught in several passages of the Heavenly Doctrines that the Lord Himselfis thereal Author ofthe Writings, that it is He who has revealed to the workfthe doctrine and arcana ofheaven, and that Swedenborg only served as the means through whom thls Orvine Revelation was made. In the INVITATION Ta THE NEW CHURCH Swedenborg writes:

IThe-s&itual se!!s~ ~ord has been disclo~d by the LordJJthrough me, which has never been revealed since the Word was- ~ /" -

written with the sons ofIsrael. ... Not even a jot ofit can be opened except by the Lord alone. This surpasses aIl revela_tion which ~aslbeen made since the creation of the world. (Inv. 44, also see App.

THE DIVINE A UTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS 7

And in responding to Ekebom's report he refers to the' Wri~~gsas '~the...doctrineofthe New Church, deliverèd to the world by our Saviour Jesus Christ through me His servant." (Smalt Theological Works and Letters, p. 258f, Sëe also TCR 779) This declaration of Divine origin and authorship is not only made with respect to

J the spiritual sense and heavenly doctrines in general, but it is also made in reference to aIl of the heavenly--=---arcana revealed by the Lord in His Second Coming. For in response to Dr. Ernesti's attacks against the Writings, Swedenborg wrote: "Please read what is written about the arcana that have been disclosed by the Lord through me His servant in nos. 846-851 in the latest work, 'l'RUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION." (Smalt Theological Works and Letters, p. 198±) From this last Memorable Relation of the work True Christian Religion, referred to here by Swedenborg, it is evident that the arcana disclosed by the Lord through Swedenborginclude the whol; of die"Wrltings in aIl the1r v~riety. Thus it1Sëlear that the Lord Himself revealed the Heavenly Doctrines, and Swedenborg His servant was only. the means.by which i.hf8rtWclation was made. (see also AR 43, SS 4, De V VII 21, AE 641:3, 670:4, Inv. [VII], NJHD 7, TCR 508, Cor Sum XLIX, etc.)

Now it may be argued that, although the Lord is the source of the Writings, something of the means will also enter into them, something of Swedenborg the man. But the Writings themselves testify that, although the Heavenly Doctrines have indeed been reveale,.Çl to us by m!lans of Swedenborg, a-n-a aIso by ) way of the spiritual world, nevertheless Swedenborg } was not alIôwed "to take anything from the mouth of any spirit, nor from the mouth of any angel, but from the mouth of Lord alone." (De V XIII 29) For "in order that th.e true Christian religion might be opened, it was


absolutely necessary that someone should be introduced into the spiritual world and, from the mouth of the Lord, drawlor.th genuine truths from the ~d."

(Inv. 38) Therefore in the TRUE CHRISTIAN RELIGION Swedenborg testifies: "from the first day of my calI, l have not received anything pertaining to the doctrines of the Church from any angel, but from the Lord alone while reading the Word." (TCR 779

Although Swedenborg discoursed with spirits and angels for many years, no spirit dared, nor did any angles wish, to instruct him about what is in the Word, or about any matter of doctrine from the Word. He was "taught by the Lord alone, Who was revealed" to him. (DP 135) For the Lord gave Swedenborg a distinct perception ofwhat came from the Lord and what came from angels. (AE 1183) Even what he learned by means of evil spirits, he "learned from the Lord aIOn"ë; altho-ugn tne spirits spoke." (SD 4032) This unique enlightenment and perception is described as follows:

The things which 1 learned from representations, visions, and discourses with spirits and angels were from the Lord alone. Whenever there was any representation, vision, and discourse, 1 was kept interiorly and intimately in ref1ection upon it, as..to~w.hat

thence w~s useful and good, thus what might be learne.d frOJ:!l it.... 'Thus-have-I been instructed; consequently by no spirit, nor by any 'angel, but by,Jhe_Lord aÏone, from Whom is aU truth and good ... When they wished to persuade me, 1perceived an interior or inmost persuasion that the thing was so and so, and not as they wished; which also they wondered at; the perception was manifest, but cannot he easily described to the apprehension of men. (SD 1647)

Thus it was possible for Swedenborg to be taught by the Lord alone, even though this was done by means of things in the spiritual world perceived by his understanding. The events that he witnessed and the subjects that were discussed were "ofthe Divine Auspices of the

-- -


Lord." (AR Chap. X, 484) And the spiritual sense ofthe Word, although given to him through heaven, was revealed to him by the Lord alone.

Everyone is able to see that the Apocalypse cannot be expounded except by the Lord alone, for the single words there contain arcana that would never be known without a unique enlightenment and thus a revelation. It has therefore pleaseatliëLôrd to open for me the sight of my spirit, and to teach. (AR pref.) -

As Swedenborg received the Heavenly Doctrines from the Lord alone, therefore we must conclude that he wrote that which he received, without tarnish from his own spirit, or his worldly ideas. For if he could distinguish between what came from angels and spirits and what came from the Lord, surely he could also distinguish between what came from himselfand what came from the Lord. Nevertheless, this conclusion is not ours, but is given to us directly in the Writings, for the passage from the preface to the APOCAL YPSE REVEALED quoted just above continues with this declaration:

Do not therefore suppose that 1 have taken anything there from myself, or from any angel, but from the Lord alone. (AR pref.)

"That'the internaI sense is such as has been set forth" in the Arcana Coelestia, "is evident from aIl the details that have been unfolded, and especially from the fact that it has been dictated from heaven." (AC 6597) Therefore the exposition ofthe chapters ofGenesis and Exodus begin with the words "the internaI sense." and at the end of the exposition of.the tirst chapter of Genesis, it is stated, "Here now is the internaI sen~of

the Word." (AC 64, see also AC 1965) Also in the APOCAL YPSE REVEALED the exposition is called "the spiritual sense." (see also AE 1061) For "it has

10 THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS

pleased the Lord ... to open the Word ... as to its spiritual sense. This has been done through me [Swedenborg] in the ARCANA COELESTIA published in London, and afterwards in the APOCAL YPSE REVEALED published in Amsterdam (Appendix to the White Horse 4, see also AR 820, De Dom perf., SS 97:5) From these references and the whole of the Writings it is evident that what is written in the Writings is the internaI sense as it has been revealed to us DY tneLüraalone. For [his reason the editors of WORDS considered the position that "Swedenborg's

, Writing!' are not in themselves the internaI se~ of!he~

Word," as "The New Heresy." (WORDS vol. 1 pp. 331-348)

It has been shown above that the experiences and arcana of the spiritll.al w..,grld related in the Writings are revelations from the Lord Himself. (SD 1647,4034, HH 1) And this is true both with respect to the revelation of these things to Swedenborg in the spiritual world, and also with respect to what is written in the Writings concerning these things. For "the Lord has opened arcana concerning heaven and heU, man's life after death, the Word, and the Last Judgement. AU these things have been written down in Latin and sent to aU the ArchbiShops ofthis~kiogQ.om~eatBritain] andIto the Nobility." (Ath Cr 2)

Nevertheless, Swedenborg foresaw that many would attribute much ofwhat he wrote to his imagination or to an obscure state of mind. Therefore he declared "in solemn truth that they were not inventions, but were truly seen and heard; not seen and heard in sorne state

·1 of mind when asleep, but in a state of complete 'L wakefulness. For ~it has pleased the Lord to manifest

Himsel{to me, and to send me to teach those thingsJ1w}1ich will oelongPto His New Chu1Ch." (TCR 851) "As it


has been granted me by the Lord to see the wonderful things which are in the heavens and under the heavens, l must, as commanded, relate that which has been seen." (AR 962) The Lord revealed these things to Swedenborg so that He might also, through Swedenborg, reveal them to the world in written form. That the whole of the Writings was written and published by command of the Lord can also be seen in other passages in the Writings. (D. Lord pref., CL 1, TCR 771)

Thus, from the teachings ofthe Heavenly Doctrines , themselves, we conclude that each and everything :wz:itJ;en in !!te~ Wr!ting~j$ neither from Swedenborg, nor from any angel or spirit, but from the mouth ofthe

1\ Lord alone. For Swedenborg was given to percéive distinctly what came from the Lord and what came from angels: "What is from the Lord was written, and what is from angels was not written." (AE 1183) Neither did Swedenborg write anything from himself (AR rref.), for the Writings are not his work~ "b~t the) Lord s, Who wished to reveal the nature ofheaven and hell, and man's life after death, and about the Last Judgment, and that thElolQgica!-thin~do not transcend) r~~~on." (~.D_6IÇn) Thus we find the following statement in the ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOR Y OF THE NEW CHURCH:

1 The books which were written by the Lord through me (a Domino ) per me s.,9'ipti), from the beginning to the present day, must be

enumerated. (Ecc. Hist. 3)

From aU these teachings quoted above, and from many more, throughout the Heavenly Doctrines, it is evident that the Writings are from the Lord alone, in

1their essence and OTIgin, fii1lie way in which-they were revealed, and in their written form. It is because ofthis that they constitute the Second Coming"of tJ)e Lord. For how coula-the Lord in His Divine Humanèoniëto man, except in His Own Divine Truth? (AC 8427)

). .....,,~ l ......; 5~'t:


The Second Advent of the Lord is effected bv means of a mant7.J before whom He .has m~ested Himselfin Person and-;hom He has fiUed witb Hi~-fu>irit, to teach the doctrine of the New Church1through the Word from Him. (TCR 779)

It has now pleased the Lord to reveal many arcana of heaven, especiaUy the internaI or spiritual sense of the Word, which ' hitherto has been entirely unknown; and with this He has taught

r j1the genuine truths of doctrine; which revelation is meanLby the IAdvent ofthe Lord in Matt. 24. (AE 641:3)

There are also many other passages which teach that the Writings themselves constitute the Second Coming of the Lord (TCR 3, 771, AC 4060:7, 9807:4, D Lord 26, AE 36, 670, 948, AR 642 etc.), but perhaps the most direct teaching to this effect is in the ECCLESIASTICAL HISTOR Y OF THE NEW CHURCH.

When the Brie! Exposition was published, the angelic heaven from the east to the west, and from the south to the north, appeared of a deep scarlet color with the most beautiful flowers.... In the spiritual world there was incribed on aU these books: "The Adv~~t

or the L<>rd." The same 1 also wrote by command on two copies in J'..coUand. (Ecc Ijist. 7, 8)

One of these copies has been found, on which was lincribed the words; Hic.--Libe~UdY.e.ntlllLPomini,

IJScrimum ex Mangp.to - This book is the Advent ofthe Lord, written by commando

We therefore reaffirm the principle of the Divine Authority ofthe Writings, and base this beliefupon the clear and direct doctrine from the mouth of the Lord. And, as did the first editors of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH, we apply this QIinciple to the whole ofthe Writ~~s, accepting everything thatis written in them as Divine Revelations, as teachings from the LordJ \Himself.

'}

THE DEVASTATED AND CONSUMMATED STATE 13 OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD TODA y

II

THE DEVASTATED AND CONSUMMATED STATE OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD TODAY

Daughters ofJerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shaH be done in the dry? (Luke 23:28:31 see also Matt 21:18-20 and AC 9337:2, AE 403:21.)

Another principle clearly and repeatedly stated in WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH is the recognition of the devastated and consummated state of the Christian world, even to the present day. This position was taken in marked contrast to the opinion held by many New Churchmen at the time, which was that the Christian world was improving and becoming more receptive to the Heavenly Doctrines, an oQinion forrped

1 largely t'rom external appearance~and affections. The 1 prirïciple presented in WORDS FOR THE NEW! CHURCH, on the other hand, was not drawil. from

observations of the world around them, but from an 1 objective and extensive study of the Writings them1

selves. 1 They state in the second number of the SERIAL, in

WhiCh they treat ofthe state oftl?-~Christianworld; "In 'i),:cf'J ç \ the Writings of the New Church w.ùl.aY~n int~r

J\VleW of]i11 things, a view which penetrates beyond external guises.. Jlnfolds the most recondite realities of life.... Under thjs lighj; Qfheaven, which in other phase is the light of Divine Truth, myriads of things are revealed, never conceived of before, fallacious appearances are stripped off, and the reality is brought to

iltght,. sothat aIl things appear, less according to their seemmgs and as man sees them, and more as they really are, and as the. Lord sees them.

~ l'J J "The Christian world analyzed under tllli; light of Heaven will, in many respects, be found in a most d~plorabl~ condi~ion, ~ts .Iif~~~gh~~ith the most dlreful eVlls, and!ts prmclples ofhfe1llost lamentably

~L 1 <> J{:l.c tA~~ (D", 7J )

)

14 THE DEVASTATED AND CONSUMMATED STATE OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD TODA y

/1'fallacious .... The interior state~ofmencan be known only from Divine Reveiation;. Opiiiions formed from observation alone are of no value ... (hence) our absolute dependence upon Divine Revelation for aIl true knowledge of man's spiritual state, and conse

2. quently the state ofthe Church." (WOIlDS vol. 1 pp. 77 and 78, see also AC 3489 quoted in what follows.)

The reader is referred to the rest of this second number of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH for a thorough treatment of this subject according to the teachings ofthe Heavenly Doctrines. But to summarize this study the following principles and points will be quoted.

..L -==-, From what precedes (especial1y AC 3398 and 3898) we have these five priIJ.::!ples:

-r -- First:~toctrin~Ofa New Chu~ch are never revealed until the men of the ormer Church reach a state in which they will not acknowledge them.

L -_. Second: When a former church is consummated, the Church is transferred ta the Gentiles. --

3 - - -Third: Draya fliW of the former church then remain in the lif~of

good. il' - ourth: The posterity of the vastated church, by accumulation of

hereditary evil, becomes more confirmed in evil than their ancestry. Fifth: The men of a vastated church acknowledge no truth ands

good by which they may he regenerated, and by which the increasing force of ancestral evil may be broken. (WORDS vol 1 pages 105, 106)

'Î1 '- Though involved in what precedes, these Five Points, because of their conclusive force, are still to be presented separately, as fol1ows:

-- First: The interiors of Christian are, as it were inundated in a black cloud of direful falsities from-evil, separatiitg them from r j)1.7 S

heaven. (see AC 4423) 'L - J1 Second: Chri~tians abominate the genuine goods and truths of 'IL) 1\

,the Churchana: the Word:{8ee AC 5702) ? Third: In the Church once perverted, there is continued growth of

-1 evils and falsities. rAC45<f3j-\-

\ \0'I~/.r


(1 _

Fourth: The evils of the consummated church are inherited and confirmed by posterity. (see AC 2910) , -- Fifth: The disposition to acknowledge God as Man, and the Lord \ as God, is de_~trQyed among Chris~ians, exc~Ilt.Jl.mollgthe fëWWl10 )1 al'ünl'impl~ good. (see AE 808, 1097, Ath Cr 6, SD 4772) - WORDS vol. 1 pp. 114-123

It may appear as ifthe writers of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH were harsh and judgmental, without charity and condemning. But a careful reading of the SERIAL will show that they themselves did not make the harsh judgments upon the Christian world, but merely recognized and set forth the open and fr~uent 1 teaG-hi~§~ijh~---Writj!1~s on this subject. For it is

l~ .{ - clearly taught in the Heavenly Doctrines that'~

hO come into the other life from the Christian world re the worst of ~Il, hating the neighbor, hating faith, enying the Lord; besides being adulterers above aIl thers." (AC 1186 pref.) '~ are deyoured.IDfu1he

L.. .love ofself aIH:l the world ... they also make nothing of iland utterly despise aIl things that are of charity and jfaith; and do not acknowledge the Lord Himself, nay,

'" 1they hate aIl who con~im."(AC 2122) "Almost aIl <- from the Christian world have an idea of three gods,"

and consiaer "the Lord as another m~n" and "separate from the Divine." (AC 3704 & 5256)tr~o not even know what good is, what charity is or what the

o - neiK-hbor is, neither wJ!..'!t the i!!.!ernal man is, nor what heaven and heIl are, nor that everyone lives immediiately after death." (AC 9409:5~believe "that they may live like devils, hold the neighbor in hatred and

s persecute him, pass their whole life in adulteries, and yet be saved.... The very gentiles perceive that this is false, many of whom abhor the doctrine of the Christians be_cause the)': see their life. Thus it is evident that nowhere does there exist a more detestable life

, _

1-

;Z

j ~

10

Il _.

, ~~

11


than in the Christian world." (AC 916) There are also ~any other teachings in the Heavenly Doctrines which reveal t~e interior evils in the Christia~rld (AC 1032,2121,2343:6,3469:4,3469:4,3489,5009, and TCR( 619) showing hqw ~he most pernicious, cruel and adulterous are mostly "from the Christian world, and

( rarely fromütIiers/'(XC 2752, 824, 826, 1673:3, 2744, 2754,4327:2, 5060, and AE 1008). There are also many

, passages in the Writings that reveal the f~lsity and ignorance of the Christian world (AC 3489, 4464:5, 4733:2, 5572, 5639:2, 5702, 6876, SD 153, 239, 262, AE( 1220, and TCR 4, 121, 339) and the preferable state of the gentiles (AC 1059:2, 2590 - 2598, 4190, 9256:2 and DP 322).

Now sorne may argue that these passages are not referring to most individuals in the Christian world, but only to the general state of the church brought about by a few who have confirmed themselves in evils and falsities. However such an argument is not supported by the Heavenly Doctrines. Indeed the

(Writings teach us that "there are very many from ~he

Christian world ... devoured by adulteries," (AC 2752) "that very many at this day in the Christian world ... love themselves and the world above everything else,"

( (AC 10409:2) and "that very many think ofnothing but filthy, obscene and profane things, and among themselves speak of nothing else." (AC 2122, see also 2754,( 4327) The Heavenly Doctrines also reveal that "there are very many in the Christian world who ascribe aIl

( thin,.gs to nature, and scarcely anything to the Divine," (AC 5572) and that "almost aIl" from the Christian Church "have the idea of the Lord as another man" . _. and "separate from the Divine." (AC 5256, see alsof3704) And lest we still think that "very many" may here refer to a smaIl percentage ofthose in the Christian

THE DEVASTATED AND CONS UMMA TED STA TE 17 OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD TODA y

world let us add the following teaching from the Arcana Coelestia.

Be it known that those who are in inverted order, that is, in evil and the derivative falsity, become at last so averse to the good and truth of the church that when they hear of them, and especiaUy when they hear oftheir interior things, th~~o greatly abominate them that theY feel as it were a nausea and vomiting. Thishas been told and shown me, when 1wondered why the Christian world does ~jve these interior things ofthe Wordo There appeared spirita from the Christian world who, on being compelled to hear the interior things of the Word, felt so sick that they said they were .

11 going to vomit. 1 was told that such is the Christian world at thisj\ N~

day almost e~x.where. (AC 5702)

The!3e teachings, revealed to us by the Lord in His Second Coming, clearly do not refer to sorne general state of the church apart from individuaIs, nor do they refertoonly a few in theChristianworld whohaveconfinned themselves in evils and falsities. Rather the Writings use the word "few" (pauci) to describe those in the) Christian world "who are in the good oflife" (AC 3898). For although the Christian doctrine prescribes love and charity more than any other in the world, "there are few who live according to it." (AC 2596, see also AC

-' 2732 and DP 330:7) And "although the whole Christian i-)

lworld acknowledges that evils must be shunned as sins

" {... and unless they are . ~erelsnosalvation;Yet

scarcely o.ne in a thousand understands this." (DP 153, see also HH 495, CL 500 and AC 3812) In the Christian

\ church the Lord is received "by few with acknowledgement ofheart, and by still fewer from affection of

1\ love," (AC 9198:2) and "not a single one from the1ût."")fChristian world knows that His Human is Divine, and scarcely anyone that He alone rules Heaven and the Universe." (AC 4689) For "scarcel~yI;the

Christian world are affected with truth for the sake of


truth" (AC 9409) and because of this "few know anything about spiritual good and freedom," and "few believe in the resurrection." (AC 4136:3 and 1886 pref.) 80 much is this the case that newcomers from the world who were introduced into a hëavenlY society declared that "not a single person in the whole Christia;;orld ~ :s,

f knows what heavenly joy and eternal happiness are, or 'what heaven is." (CL 2, see also AC 1033 and 3957)

2 l

That the church is such, does not appear to those who are in the church .... For they frequent Illihlic~hip,they hear preaching, they are in a certain holiness when there ... they also live among themselves in civic charity or friendship. Hence it is that in the

J~

si~m~nno comtempt is visible,rn"ch le.. ?ve"ion, and~'-st

of aIl enmlty against the goods and truths oHalth and agamst the ~But these things are only external fQ!1Ils, by which one person iëads anothe;;;~y;whereas t'Fiëiiiternai forms of the meru>-Qhe church are altogether unlij{e, even aItogether contrary to the external forms.... How far these differ from the external forms may1 he evident from those who come from the Christian world into the other life.... For when the Lord is but named before them in the other life, Mphere not onl ofcontempt, but also of aversion and of enmity against Him, is manifestIy exhale an if'fusea aroundbY

em ... so likewise when charity and faith are named.... Suchàre Christians at this day as to their interiors, except a few who are notJ 1 known. From this it is evident what is the quality of the Chureh. ~

(AC 3489)

Thus, there are "very many" in the Christian world who are in evils and falsities, "who have confirmed themselves against the truths of faith," (AC 9256) and only a "few" in genuine good who can receive the Heavenly Doetnnes. Indeedthe Heavenly Doctrines could not be revealed until the Christian church was so \d~.§.tatedby evil and falsity that they wOJ!ld not~ven"ft>JT) ) Icompreh~md the tru!hs revealed, lest they should receive them and later profane them. For "Divine truth can in nowÎse be profaned except by those who have first

(...~i-c-,tc::---. t.v .... /"'" r ;;'e~~f;~ (J_ vl.·,/d < )

I, S rw-:.. r::~ cfi- l'j -, J t:..f j 4 ' .,

THE DEVASTATED AND CONS UMMA TED STATE 19 OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD TODA y

acknowl~dge~H.... It is for this reason that the arcana of the inîernal sense of the Word are now being revealed, because a~ this daY.-there--is scarce~ any faith, because there is not any charity, consequently, because it is the con~mmmationof the age, and when this- takës plac~, th-e-n these arcana can be revealed without danger of profanation, because they are not interiorly acknowledged." (AC 3398) At first it may seem paradoxical that the interior things of the Word can now be revealed because the Christian church is so

J\,c,9nsummated that they will not acknowledge or receive them but this is the teaching of the Lord in His Second Advent. - ~

The reason whyfthe interi~~ of the Word are now being opened, is that the church at this day has been so far vastated, that is, so

'/s devoicfoffaith and love, thataJfhough men knowand understand, sWI they do not acknowledge, and much less believe, except a few '"YQo are in the life of good and are called the 'elect', who can now be

.JI instructed, and with whom a New Church is t.Q..btinatituted. But where these are, the Lord alone knows. There will be few within the

1c~h; it has been a_mong the Gent~st~ previo,!s~ëllurenes \ nave been set up. (AC '3898

Because ofthe evils and falsities so prevalent in the Christian world, the New Church, as the other Churches

\.1 before it, will b~tranferred to the gentiles, those,.Q~de

JH of Christendom. This is because the gentiles are not imbued with the false principles which oppose the Heavenly Doctrines. Thus, although the church does begin among the remn~nt, the few in the Christian world that cano receive t.b~Heavenly Doctrines, its real

J\strength..J!1l.d increase will be with the gentiles. For "a Nn~ church is always insiituted among the nations

J1wno areoutside the-.k.hurch. This is done when the old '> cli~rcJi has cl~sed heaveI!..ag~instit~elf. For this reason

),~"""'J

"S Sf?,I?'-'


/1 _ the church was transferred from the Jewish people toll < t~e gentiles, and the church at the present time also is J\ 2.. -- being transferred to the gentiles. That the church is

being transferred to the gentiles who acknowledge the Lord, appears from many passages in the Word." (AC 9256, see also AC 409, 410, 3812, 9209;4, 9780:13)

Futhermore, it should be known, when any church becomes no Ç.@n:h, that is, \Yhen charity perishes, and a new church iS)

J. U'jestablishe.d by the Lord, that seldom, if ever, is this effected with -1 ~- J those amongst whom the old church existed, but with those

amongst whom there was heretofore no church, that is, amongst the gen.tiles .... The case will be the same with this which is called l the Christian Church.The reason why a new church ~ed ?_

with the gentiles, i~ec~e the)' have--.!!9 principles of ialsity opposed to the truths of faith, for they are ignorant of tlie t;uths of faith. (AC 2989 see also AC 2910, 4747, 1366,9198, AE 49: 52)

Therefore, the angels "have slender hope for the men of the Christian church, but have much hope of some ·nation far distant from the Christian world, and ltlierefOre removed trom mIëStors, WhlCh nafiOn is such Ithat it is capable ofreceiving spirituallight. (W 74, see \'1also AC 1850, 3353, SD 4770-4779 and 5807)

From aIl the passages that have been quoted and cited above the real cause for the lack ofreception ofthe Heavenly Doctrines in the Christian World becomes evident. It is not because of inefficient or -Împroper presentation, but simply because the Christian world

liS devllslated by falsitie~.JlndeYils which preven.!J!1e). Doctrines frQm being understood and accepted. "Revel

ation has been given by the Lord concerning the Last J udgment as having been accomplished, and concerning the spiritual sense ofthe Word, thus the way to salvation has been revealed, and man's state after death ... and copies have been distributed. But still the church pays no heed to it. It is greatly wondered at in


heaven that the church is in such astate that those things which are its very essentials are not even considered, but left as matters of no moment, a sign that heavenly things do not occupy their minds, neither are they seen when revealed." (De Dom 1, see also Ath Cr 2 and letter to Oetinger) We are also taught in the Heavenly Doctrines that "the spiritual sense will not be acknowledged for a long time, and this owing entirely to those who are in falsities of doctrine, especially concerning the Lord, and who therefore do not admit truths. This is meant in the Apocalypse by the beast and the kings of the earth who were going to make war with Him that sat on the white hor8'e, chap. 19:19. By the beast are meant the Roman Catholics, as in chap. 17:3, and by the kings ofthe earth are meant the Reformed, who are in falsities of doctrine." (SS 25)

For the New Church to be received, the Old Church must first be removed. This is true ofan individual, ofa household, and of a city (BE 103), and it is also true of the Christian world in general.

It is of the Lord's Divine Providence that the church may be at first among a few and increase successively among many, because the falsities of the former church must first be removed; for before this, truths cannot be received, since the truths that are received and implanted before the falsities have been removed are not permanent, and are also rejected by the dragonists.... It is certain that the New Church, which is: the New J erusalem, is going to come into existence, because it has been foretold in the Apocalypse (chaps. 21, 22). And it is certain that the falsities of the former church must be removed before this, because these things have been treated of in the Apocalypse as far as the twentieth chapter. (AR 547, see also AR 473, 500, 700, and TCR 784)

This removal of the falsities of the former Christian church is not accomplished through graduaI lack of interest and disassociation by its members. Their


interior evils will not be dissipated because offriendship and outward acts of charity. The Christian world will not become more spiritual or more receptive to the Heavenly Doctrines simply through the passage of time or by sorne interior and imperceptible influx. If this were possible we should expect to find the Christian world at the present time more receptive to the truths of the Writings than they were one hundred years ago when the writers of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH made their analysis (WORDS vol. 1 pp. 123-129 and 351-361) But is this the case? Rather we find the evils and falsities of the Christian world more destructive and more insane than ever, and even more opposed to the life and faith taught by the Lord in His Second Coming.

Nevertheless these evils and falsities must be removed for the New Church to be received. And this removal is accomplished through the opening up and examination of the falsities of the former Christian Church and the evils associated with these falsities. "The reason why the falsities of the dogmas of the faith ofthe present church must first be opened and rejected, before the truths ofthe dogmas ofthe New Church can be received, is because they do not agree together, no not in one single point or particular." (BE 96) Moreover "they who have confirmed themselves in the faith of the old church, cannot, without endangering their spiritual life, embrace the faith of the New Church, until they have first disproved the particulars of the former faith , and thus have extirpated it, together with its offspring or eggs, that is, its dogmas." (BE 103)

This examination and rejection of the falsities and evils of the Christian world must be done from the truths revealed by the Lord in His Second Advent, as is manifest from the internaI sense ofthe Apocalypse. (see


especially AR 295, 388, 420, 657, 718, etc.) For this reason so much of the Heavenly Doctrines treat of the state ofthe fallen Christian church, examining it in the light ofheaven and exposing the infernal quality ofits falsities and evils. Also, Swedenborg wrote, in a letter to Dr. Beyer:

Here l am asked concerning the New Church, when it will come; and to this l reply that it will come gradually as the doctrine of justification and imputation is uprooted, which should he done hy means of this treatise (the Brie! Exposition).

(March 15, 1769)

Therefore the Heavenly Doctrines are the very means by which the Lord will separate the evils and falsities ofthe Christian world and establish His New Church, and this not only in the spiritual world, but also in the natural world. For "when the end of the church is at hand, then the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, are revealed and taught. The reason is that the good may be separated from the evil; for these interior things ... which are celestial and spiritual, are received by the good, but rejected by the evil, separation being the result ....The case is the same at this day, for it has now pleased the Lord to reveal various arcana of heaven, especially the internaI or spiritual sense of the Word, which have been till now entirely unknown, and He has also taught the genuine truths of doctrine. This revelation is meant by the "coming of the Lord" in Matt. 24:3, 30, 37. The reason of this revelation at the end of the church is, as said before, that by means ofit separation ofthe good from the evil may be accomplished, and also a new church formed, and this not only in the natural world where men are, but also in the spiritual world where spirits and angels are. For the church is in both worlds and


revelation takes place in both, and separation by means ofit, as also the formation of a new church." AE 641

Even the gentiles, with whom the New Church will increase in its fullness, must recognize and reject the evils and falsities ofthe fallen Christian world, before they can receive the Heavenly Doctrines (see Prophets and Psalms, Jonah chapters 1 and 3). For the life of so called Christians is a stumbling block to their reception of the True Christian Church now being established (AC 916, 2592, 2596, 2597). Thus, considering the state of evil and falsity in the Christian world, and the necessity ofits removal before the New Church can be truly established, we reaffirm as a fundamental principle the recognition of the consummated and devastated state of the Christian world, even to the present day. This principle is as essential in the establishment of the New Church on earth, as the recognition of the corrupt and devastated state of our own proprial will is necessary for our reformation and regeneration. For just as our evil will masks itself in hypocrisy and persuasions, so too, the_uld Christian

-.5 Church conceals its hatreds, adulteries, blasphemies and_pr_ofanatiQns, under vërYPëi-Süasive appearances oflove and faith. But the Lord has warned us, -and let us heed his warning.(Matt 7:15-23,24:23-25, AE 763 etc.) We cannot judge the state of the Christian world, but the Lord can, indeed He has, and He has revealed this judgment to us ig His Second Advent~

III

ALL THINGS ARE Tü BE MADE NEW IN THE NEW CHURCH

He that sat upon the throne said, Behold l make aIl things new. And He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful.

(Apoc. 21:5)

25 ALL THINOS ARE TO BE MADE NEW IN THE NEW CHURCH

A third and equally essential principle of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH was the belief that aIl

'. thjngs are to be made new by the Lord in His Second Il'3'''' Coming. This principle was clearly stated at the very

outset of the SERIAL:

Indeed as we come into a more searching culture of these Writings, we discover mOre and more the vastness of their scope. They find us everywhere. And these Doctrines being themselves Divine are the measure of all aIse. They are the Tabernacle of God with men; the Lord Himself in His Advent making aIl things new. What more therefore can we have? What more than these grand disclosures which are the final analysis of aIl that has respect to God, and to Man, and to the relation between the two? (WORDS vol. 1 p. 2) -

Later, when the editors of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH were defending the doctrine of the Divine Authority ofthe Writings, tney wrote that "the doctrine of the authority will not be found to be an adversary in the way to those who humbly approach the Lord in His Second Advent and on every subject come first to Him to be taught concerning it, and then having been enlightened by Him proceed in the way there pointed out. To them the Writil1gs àte a strong help to the rational comprehension of every subject, the very presence ofthe Lord Himselfmore specifically guiding and helping them on theirway." (WORDSvol.l p. 350) Thus they considered the Writings their starting point and guide to every subject, for with the Second Coming ofthe Lord the Word was opened so that it might shine forth and give enlightenment in aIl things. And it was with this belief that they made th-e fol1owing declaration:

May the glorious day soon come, when man will rise out of the

26 ALL THINGS ARE TO BE MADE NEW IN THE NEW CHURCH

darkness of self-derived intelligence and appeal to the Open WQ.rd of God for aIl that concerns his life, its moral government, its civil andpolitical instruction, its philosophy, its science, its everything. (WORDS vol. 1 p. 251) ~ _~,

J

From these statements, and from the general tone of the entire SERIAL, it is clear that the writers of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH believed that everything in the New Church, both in knowledge and in--rrre,-should be made new througn-tnesfiïây and)uapplicatiOn ofthe HeaveIily Doctrine~Theyconsidered the Writ[ngs their first and final authority, not just in doctrinal matters, but in everything, both in generals and in particulars. And therefore they sought to bring every subject into subordination to the truth revealed by the Lord in His Second Advent.

Now, it has been argued that the Lord, in order to preserve our freedom and as-of-self, does not reveal direct applications to life, nor specifie knowledges about natural things. It is proposed that Divine Revelation provides us only with general principles, and that particular applications and knowledges should be formed by individuaIs through experience and science. But is such a position in accordance with the Heavenly Doctrines? For we are taught that in the Ney; Church and in the regenerating man, the Lord make~ aIl things new, both in general and in particular, both as to internaIs and as to externals. (Rev. 21:5, AR 886, AC 1040,9258, and 9723). And the_Lord m~an things new from His Word (John 1:1-3); first through the general truths ~rthe let~f the Word, and then through the particular and singular truths of the spiritual sense, now revealed in His Second Coming (AC 2395).

The things of the literaI sense of the Word are general vessels

27 ALL THINGS ARE Ta BE MADE NEW IN THE NEW CHURCH

which receive truths, and the quality ofthese vessels appears only as through a transparency, as it were, until they have received truths. Thus they are only generals, which must first he learned hy a man, in order that he may receive the particulars and singulars fitly (AC 6222:2, see also AC 245, 2395 and 3438).

Moreover, "during man's reformation, the general things which are in his natural man, are disposed by the Lord into correspondence with those which are in heaven .... The general things are first disposed in order that particulars may be successively insinuated into them by the Lord, and singulars into the particulars. (AC 3057:3, see also AC 868, 4345, 4383 and 6610)

Thus the Lord reveals to us, not only general truths, but also particular truths, and even singular truths. But to preserve our freedom and rationality, He introduces us into these truths successively, first into the generals, then into the particulars, and finally into the singulars. AlI these truths are openly revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines, but only progressively can we be led to see them. For we are in the beginning blinded by

P.... r-jY ~ worldly thought and corporeal desires. Therefore this JJeJ. "J )1 renovation or making new of aIl things with the II!..an,

is not just limited to his knowledges and understanding, but also involves everything ofhis life and will, for it is

~-'" t- "" t-the process of .regeneration. (AC 9258 a~d 97?3) ~or

./ ~ )/ "w~an~s regenerated, then aIl thmgs m hlm, both in ~en~rà and in particular, are also regener~ted,

thaTi~have life, and tne life they have is exactly proportional to the degreein which his own will, which is fouI and dead,. can be separated fro~ the new will

IJ and understandmg that he has recelved from flle Lord." (AC 104à) Therefore to see and receive the particular and singular truths of Divine Revelation we need to separate ourselves from fallacious appearances


and false persuasions, and especially from our selfish and wordly desires. It is these which keep us from seeing the extent and application of the Lord's Divine truth in our knowledge and life.

As the removal of the old will and its evils and falsities is necessary for the making new of aIl things with an individual, so also a similar removal is required for aIl things to be made newiï1tlï:e chur'ch and in the world. We are taught in the Brie! Exposition that "the opening up and rejection of the dogmas of the present church and the revelation and reception of the dogmas ofthe faith ofthe New Church, is meant by the words in the Apocalypse: "He that sat upon the throne said, Behold l make aIl things new; and He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful." (BE 95) And in the Apocalypse Revealed the signification of these words is given as follows:

The former heaven with the former earth, and the former church, with aU things in them, both in general andin'particular, are going to perish; and a new heaven and a new earth, and a New Church which is to be cal!ed the New J erusalem, are going tobe crëàted ~ .. with al! things in them, both in gen~l and in particular. (AR 886)

Thus, with these words in the Apocalypse, the Lord promises us that everything will be made new in the New Church through the truths now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine. Not only its interior goods and truths will be new, but also its life and knowledge, its practices and studies. For "no man puts new wine into old wine skins, else the new wine will burst the wine skins, and be spilled." (Luke 5:37-39, TCR 784 and AE 376:28) The old externals ofthe consummated Christian world have been formed by false dogmas and fallacious appearances, as old wine skins have been stretched by the fermentation process of the old wine. Trying to infill the practices and theories ofthe world today with

ALL THINGS ARE TO BE MADE NEW 29 IN THE NEW CHURCH

the interior truths of the Writings is like putting new wine into old wine skins, which, already formed and stretched by the old wine, would burst under the pressure of the new. What is of the old church is not compatable with that of the New, and "if they were together, such a collision and conflict would take place, that everything of the church would perish." (BE 102)

Nevertheless the New Church is only established ... gradually and man is only re-gënerated slowly, through

successive states~··Everything is n<2!-made new inynII instant, nor can it be. "No man, having drunk the old

wine, straightway desires the new." (Luke 5:39) And ... therefore, so that m~n can be regenerated and the

church established in the world, there are many fallaclOus appearances and mediate goods, which, although they are interiorly incompatable with genuine truths and goods, serv~ asa~ns to introduce th;se. But as the man is regenerated and the new chID"ch is

i., restablished=:t"hese external appearances and nop'/ S genuine goods are put off, and new externals are

formed from interior truths and genuine goods. - ÎP",/J t,(~} f"'-'o'sJ-

When the internaI of man lS being formed anew, that is regenerated, the knowledges lÎiid truths which belong to the external man are Iike the fibers of the fruit, through which the sap is carried towards the internaI. Afterwards when the man has been regenerated, there things are also separated, and then serve for soil. The case is the same with the man's internaI to which the seed corresponds; here the good which has been formed in this manner produces a new man, just as the prolific germ in the seed produces a

\/new tree, or a new plant. AlI things thus are made new, and }/afterwards multiply, and produce fruit to eternity. (AC 9258 âiîd

9723)

And so, as we enter into the study of the Heavenly Doctrines with the purpose ofhaving our understanding

).,0'';:04

, ~~".':)

-'":>

0-'-;5

30 ALL THINGS ARE Ta BE MADE NEW IN THE NEW CHURCH

and life made new by Lord, we should not consider ourselves free from aIl fallacious appearances and worldly desires. For our understanding of genuine truths, especially in the beginning, will indeed he limited by these desires and appearances. But as long as these are not destructive ofgenuine truth orinteriorly fiIled with hatred and contempt, such external things may be ofuse for introducing interior goods and truths. (AC 9258) However, there must be a humble recognition that we of ourselves are filled with selfish and worldly loves, and false and faIlacious ideas, and that aIl genuine good and truth are from the Lord alone (AC 3993 - 3995). This recognition is contained in the belief that the Lord makes aIl things new, that aIl our -J.,.;,·f>".(ci.

thoughts and affections, knowl~ges and practices, should be made new by the-Cordthrough the interior

/~~':f:.-'

;t::;,truths of the Heavenly Doctrines. ( D---'ÏJ)

That aIl knowledges ofevery kind can and should be subordinated to the truths revealed by the Lord is openly stated in the Writings themselves:

When a man has been~m~;and is thus in the ~rmative 1 frorrlJ;he Wordithat the doctrmal things are truths offaith, it is then ) allowà~ him ta ~ them by allthe knowledges he possesses, of whatsoever name or nature; for then because what is affirmative reigns IlDiyers.§liy, he accepts the knowledges which agree, and rejects those which, by reason of the fallacies they contain, disagree. (AC 6047:3 see also 2568:5 and 6023)

Through this subordination and reordering ofknowledges, the interior truths of Divine Revelation become principles which bring forth and govern aIl things of tnènatnral ~- and life. Knowledges and pract~s

become outward forms of gemÜnetruths and ~ds, . and those which cannot serve it this way are=put aside. J2.ç, l''''Jj

This is of course a graduaI process, both inlhe church rj).<I:_"'JJ


and in the individual. But it is in this way that our study and knowledge of natural things can be made new, and our lives can be broughtjnto correspondence with the life of heaven.

When a man subordinates and reorders his natural 1k- j j - knowledges and experience according to the revea1ëd- ~dSS'

t!J!ih.s, then the natural world becomes, as it were, a theatre representative ofheavenly and spiritual things. When he sees the heavens, "he does not think of the sun, but ofthe Lord, as being the SUJ1J)fheaven. So too

,when he sees the moon, and the stars also; and when he sees ~he immensity of the heaYens, he does not thinKof their immensIty, but ofthellI1measurable and infinite) p'ower of the Lord. It is the same when he sees aIl other things, for there is J!othing which is not r!mresentative." :r""(" -.: (AC 1807, see Psalm 8) " (Lv') s

t This is the vision ofthe naturat world which should J1 be cultivated in the New Church. And such an intenor ,

VISIOn can be gIven on aIl subjects and aspects oflife, ~- H'-, +'-':3__ we will only go to the Lord in His open Word with the humility to receive something new in place of the old. Therefore, in taking as a principle the belief that each

1 é!nd everything ofthe New Church is to be made new byff the Lord in His Second Coming, we also recognize that

Hie continuing presence of falsities and evils with us 1 À:'6":0<:, /1 prevents our full rece?tion. ,!,he ~acred Scripture~~

1 2 the Heavenly Doctrmes gIve us answers to every question we have, even though we cannot yet see or accept most of them. And the answers we need will not be given to us in the form ofsome unique interpretation or clever insight, but th!.....Lord Himselfwill answer us)\\ j) directly, using His very words of Divine Revelation. ~ fl7)

'7. "A~and it shall be given you; seek;'and ye shall f1nd; . J knock~ and it shall be opened uiïfo you; For everyone'\ t~t asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and 1 to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matt 7:7, 8) )

J

THE AFFIRMATIVE PRINCIPLE 32

IV

THE AFFIRMATIVE PRINCIPLE

In that day there shaH he a highway out o~tolÂ.ssyria'.\ and the Assyrian shaH come into Egypt, and the Egyptian~~ma,

and the Egyptians shaH serve with Assyria. In that day shal~el

he a third with Egypt and Assyria, even a hlessing in the midst of the l~d, whom Jehovah Zehaoth will hless, saying, hlessed he Egypt My people, and Assyriithe work of My hands, and Israel3 Mine inherit@ce. (Isaiah 19:23-25)

The three principles set forth in the preceding sections are the essential principles of the seriaI, WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH. But we should not consider these princples as separate from each other or without connection. For although these principles are indeed distinctly presented in the Heavenly Doctrines, they are in reality various aspects of one universal

fprinciple - "the principle which leads to aIl intelligence Jla.!!d wisdom," (AC 2568), the way in which--truths or faith are conjoined with factual knowledges (AC 6047), "the true order" by which man becomes wise from the Lord (AC 128, 129); This principles is "the affirmative principle." (AC 2568, 2588)

The affirmative principle in its simplest form is the "belief from a simple heart that something is true because the Lord has said so." (AC 1911) Therefore the acknowledgement of the Divine Authority of the Writings is in agreement with the affirmative principle. For this acknowledgement is the belief that what is said in the Writings is true because it is from the mouth of the Lord Himself (lnv. 38, De Verbo 29). It is the humble acknowledgement that everything stated in the Heavenly Doctrines, whether we comprehend it or

33

\ /•• s <-:> S,-r. ..,(, <J~ r ...~-V

<:1Z AcT<=...·· '.fa-. r.. Vo-,A.....>.. ~ôo <, a3 &. il.."z ,

THE AFFIRMATIVE PRINCIPLE

not or whether we favor it or not, is true because the Lord has so said. For according to the affirmative principle a man's "starting.Qoint must be the Lord, and not himself, for the former is life, but the latter is death" (AC 129).

That the affirmative principle is applicable to the Heavenly Doctrines is expressly stated in theARCANA COELE8TIA:

The ... principle consists i!Ulffirming the thingS which are of'l---'{J ) doctrine out of the Word, or in thinking and believing in oneselfsw'\~~ that they are true because the Lord has said so. This principle leads

to all intelligence and wisdom, and is to be called the affirmative principle (AC 2568:4).

That the Writings are doctrine "out ofthe Word from the mouth of the Lord" is taught in INVITATION TO THE NEW CHURCH no. 38 (see also TCR 779).

But the affirmative principle involves more than just the acknowledgement of the Lord's Divine truth. l t also involves thinking from Di~ine truths and not from the scientifics and reasonings of the world or from the doctrine of men.

Indeed the start must not be made from knowledges (scientifica) and through these an entrance be made into the truths of faith, because the knowledges with a man are derived from things of sense, thus from the world, from which innumerable fallacies spring. But the start must be made from the truths of faith, in this

1 way. First the doctrinal things ofthe church must be learned, and L then th.~ W~.rd must be examined to see if these are true; for they are

not true because the heads of the church have said so and their \Ol ~) c.. .followers confirm them....cr~m!ls.t.b.e..s.earched,and it must

)be seen here whether the doctrinal things are true. (AC 6047:2)

To reason about the truths offaith from the things of sense and "factual" knowledge, is the opposite of the

34 THE AFFIRMATIVE PRINCIPLE

(

.p'lk-l2. , 4/T~"o(

affirmative principle, and is called in the Writings "the ' negative principle", which leads to aIl folly and insanity (AC 2568:4), and is represented by eating of the tree of knowledge ofgood and evil (AC 126-129). It is necessary that we recognize the danger ofreasoning from appearances and opinions of the world, and accept affirmatively the teachings of the Writings, especially when they disagree with such appearances and opinions. This means that we must, at least temporarily, and often forever, put aside "hard facts" and "real life experiences" in order to receive what the Lord himself teaches. Forthen, from thetruths of Divine Revelation, false appearances and opinions can be recognized and rejected.

The recognition and rejection offalsities and fallacies which do not agree with revealed truths is an essential part ofthe affirmative principle. This is clear from the passages in the ARCANA COELE8TIA where this principle is presented and explained.

He who would be wise from the Lord, and not from the world, says in his heart that the Lord must be believed, that is, the thingtl which the Lord has spoken inethe WorcD because they are truth~d

accoraing to this principle he regulates his thoughts. He confirms himself by things of reason, by scientifics, by things of sense and by natural things, and those which are not confirmatory he casts aside. (AC 128)

Truths are initiated and brought in where knowledges (scientificafare ruled by tIuths; and they are ruled by truths when truth is acknowledged bec~~;;the Lord has so said in €Wor~and the knowledges which affirm it are accepted, but those which oppose it are removed. Thus truth becomes lord over those knowledges which are affirmative of it,While those not affirmative are rejected. (AC 6023, see also AC 6047 quoted above)

Therefore, the affirmative principle is first put into practice by putting aside the appearances and opinions

l~dOC,)

~


ofthe world and beginning with the truths given to us by the Lord. Then afterwards, when we are in the affirmative ofwhat the Lord teaches, we may consider the knowledges and theories of the world, accepting those which confirm the truth, and rejecting those which disagree. Thus the recognition of the evils and

JI falsities ofthe Christian world is an essential aspect of the affirmative principle. For we must c011~e

II practices and ideas ofthe Christian world according to the truths revealed in Divine Revelation, and not according to external appearances and affections. When this is done, evils and falsities from the old church and from the old will can be uncoveredând rejected, and we caÏi. enter into a more genuine affirmation of the truth.

We have now considered two aspects of the affirmative principle, the acknowledgement of the truth of what the Lord teaches, and the recognition and rejection of the falsities and appearances which do not agree with the teachings of the Lord. A third aspect is the making new of aIl things from Divine truth. For when the affirmative reigns, and falsities have been removed, the mind is opened to receive new truth in abundance. Dur former way ofTIllnkmg from appearances ceases, and our eyes are opened to see the wonders of heaven mirrored in the world around us (DLW 46 and AC 1807).

The beliefthat aIl things are to be made new with the ord's Second ComiP-g is inseparable from the affirm

ative principle. For it is the affirmative to believe that the Heavenly Doctrines reveal specific truths about every aspect oflife and study, that knowledges ofevery kind and nature can be reordered according to Divine Truth. Indeed the clearest passages which teach that everything of knowledge and reason can be subordinated to Divine truths are given in connection-wlth the affirmative princi"ple.

.J/~-V

\0;0<; \~

'"/.. ..o~

THE AFFIRMATIVE PRINCIPLE36

/ .-Th(true ord~is for m~n to be wise..f!:Qm the Lord, that is, from '.7 -\!iis W0!5L and then ail things follow, and he is also enlightened in

matters of reason and of science. (AC 129) They who think from the affIrmative principle are able to confirm

\nthemselves by means of ail rational, scientific, an(Leve~.2Èilo,filsophical things whatsoever, as far as lies in their power, for ail

thëse things are to them confirmatory, and give them a fuller idea of the subject. (AC 2568, see also AC 2588 for various examples and AC 6047 quoted earlier).

With ~e Se~ond CominiJ of the Lord, aIl things Of~

knowledge~sonare to be subordinated to t~e #R.G"-L spiritual truths of the Heaven]~octrines.This subordination, and consequent blessing, is signified by the lprophecy of Isaiah concerningJsrael;being a third withJIl ~gyPl and ~ssyri~\ a blessing in tne midst of the land.

j These words (Is. 19:23-25) in the spiritual sense mean that at the

time?>o[ the Lord's Coming the l'~cientif~ther-!ation~ and the spiritua shall becoID.LQ.ne, and t'FieSCientific"1strnll serve the

JratlOnal;and both shaH ~erve thèspirituJ;l.l, fo~ by ~~1 is meant t1i.eS(;ientific, by Assyriathe rational, and by IsraePthe spiritual. ~

I\ By the day, twice-=tioned, is meant the First~nd the Second ~ Coming of the Lord. (TCR 200:4)

Because of this signification, the affirmative principle is so often illustrated in the Writings by this prophecy (AC 119, 1462:3, 2588:13, and 6047:4, 5 see also AC 2568:3 and 6023)

We can now see how the three essential principles of WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH are various aspects ofthe affirmative principle. Indeed they come together in the affirmative principle as end, cause, and effect. f-k,

'lThe end, or purpose, is th_~t t~~~'S truth may Èe J affirmed and received in the heart,!iîlind, and life?>The

cause or means is the recognition and rejection of falsities and fallacies which do not agree with the Divine truth.

--


~"7S jrAnd the effeet or result is the making new ofev.e.IY!!::!in.g Ji<Jj::S- fofknowledge and life according to the truths revealed

hy- the Lord. Thus we take as our nrst principle the affirmative principle, which contains within it the acknowledgement of the Divine Authority of the Writings, the recognition of the devastatÈ~d and consummated state of the Christian world, and the

Jhelief that l!ll things-'ar~J~ .. made new in the New Il Church.

".L.

38 SCIENCE IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW CHURCH.

xv. SeIENCE IN 'filE LIGll'f OF 'fllE NEW CIIURCrr.

T HE New Church has BO conflict with true Science but - is in full harmony with it and rests upon it. Much of the Seience of the pre3ent day however is so filled with Natlll'ali~m that it does not acknowlcdgc Divine Revelation, and eomes into direct conflict with it. We must therefore ~listillguislt hetween tr~nce and that which is false. Fa ls~ Seienè,g> is floocling the old Church and the \Vorld wlth its theories and leacling away from ~he LOlm and the ,y01'(1, and iuto Naturalism.

The \Yl'itings deseribe the state of Naturalists in the other life in Jn:lIlY pIaees. We quote the füllowing:

Evcry man who has become a naturalist by rneanR of thought derived from natllre, remains sueh also after death, calli ng ail the objects that he sees in llic Kl'irit!lal world, n:tturul, bccuuse thcy urc similur to those in the nutural world. i.\lün 01' this kinù urc however enlightcucd IInd t:tught by tho ungcls that thcse abjects are not nalural, but that they are the appearanc('-8 of natunt! lhings and thcy are convinced so far as to uffirlll that this is 50. Still

'\thCY relapse and worcl!iP~tEre, us they !lad done in the world, until, ut i Icn;.;t1l, scparating themsclves' from the àngels, th~ filU into hen and cannot

Il':! rcocueJ From it to etcl'llity. The rC0.'3on of this ie that their soul is not ~piritnal but natural, like that of the bc'asts, with the faculty still of thinking and sl'cak'ing, bccanse they were born men. The hdls, at thifl day, more t.han at uny /ormer pcriod, ure fillcd with men of this class. At the preseut

VdaL.lllil!Jru1ism hns..J11.!!.J!lst delllged the Chul'ch, and can only bo dispersed by llleallS ot' r~ti()nal :Il'gurncllts, which will enable man to see that this is so. (Sec Athullasian Crcc<1, 107.)

Such are the naturalists and Sl1Gh the prevalent condition ~{"3...... If~hQ sciclllific world t.o-day. Thinking from nature and

from space and tÏme, which belong to it, the mujority of i'icicntifie Jl\CII rqject the spiritual and the LORD, who is the i'iource of a.U life.

39 'j'III,' Xl: 1/" ('If( In·/I.

In tbe "\Vritings, tbe ~illll'k Illinded, ,yll() (':In willl diflicuHy rcmove the idéas of Hp:l(.'l~, and lime l'I'OIl\ Lhl'il' I1I(lllgld, are advised ta avoid thinking of 10fty S1)Îl'itllal sllldpd~, as olllllipre~enee, omniseiencc, de" frolll any rcasolling nt' tlw

ullJerstanJing, buL simply ta L~licYe thCIll [rom. l'ld igion ; or tü aeknowledge Lltat th(,y exist, becallse they arè aUribllll's

of God, Gad being cvcrywhcrc and inlinitu, anJ bl'ctlllSC Ihe "\Vonllllso tcaellc:'! thi~. (f.;l'(' Athan. Cl'l'(~d, 107.) ln Illi" way, I~J H('JlllU cxl.ent, Lllu ,-.;illll'1e ilia} lll: 111'<'S01'\,('d 1'1'11111

materiulisrn. 'l'Ilcre arc nHlllY Wl10 dc1iglJt in the stlldy or Seil'Il('('.

'l'h/'re is a peeuliar ellaJ'1ll in Jll'ying ,ililn I1a.LlIl'l"~ f'('('I'I'ls

and dii:leoveri/lg Iler govel'l1ir'g lawi,i. HilL tll(~ diJlielllli('s 01'

this work are ail bilL oV('J'wll(·lllling. Wc: live in a \Yurld of appearanecs, HIl(l if wc n':lsun all.ugdlll\1' l'rolll Lhe It1al1(: of the sen8('S, we are cUlItillllally lcd lnLo erraneous eO~I

c1usioJls. 'l'he Writiugs say that

\vitla Ihe Allciellt..~ iL IVaH ulto;..::(·tltcr difTerellt. Wit.1t tltcm RI,ielllifi"M Ircaled of Ihc cl)rrcs!,lluJeIlC()~ of ()lillgS in Lhe lIalur<ll wllrld \\"il,h lhill~s i,) tlte HIJirilUal worl,\. The ~(,i()utilics wltielt are lluW eallvJ philt)~('l'hical,.~lIch

as arc lho~e of Aristot.k, 1I"(~rc 1I11k1lO\\"1I 10 ,hmll.. 'l'he ~Ci('lIlifil;M wllieh 8Ilce/'/'dcd the all(,ye, :11,,1 which are prop"..ly eall(~d philosophiea!. rall,,'r wi thdru W Lhe III iud Ihllli 1he kIIU\\" l..Jrj(· of ~!,i l'il liai alld cd,'"' j:i1 11, jllg"S,

bec((lIs(', tltcy 1I!UY a/su /Je ((j,/d/cd (0 clJ1(firmfalsù/e.l, alld Lhey likcwisl' !t'Ild 10 obscure the lUind wllen Irulhs arè cOllfirlllcù by 1,111'111, inaslIIlldl as 1II0st

or (hclll were l'X l'I'I:ssili liS, \\"111'1',,1,)" (,IIl1firlllll\,ioIlS an' en·l.ch'd, whieh an, apl,rdlclIJeù by few, UollÙ cOlJccruillg which Cl'ell t.ho!!e fcw Ji"l'ute.-.:1. C. 4%G.

'l'he lelll1<'llcy toward natll\':dii:illl JIIWil illcrease, rutllcl' Ikm JillliJlisll, IJlle:tll~u f'(~i('lllilie edll(:aLioll 1I101'() :lIId I110j'(' drin~

ill lhat direetioll; alld llue,wsc llutumli~JII qllitc eOllsislCIII\y lJeluugs ta the l'allull eh 1Il'cll, wllit:1t lms tUl'lled l'rom the Lult Il :lllIl e()I1~(''1"elllly J'rom Lnl!" lllld good. (1:'et) '1'. C. IL 17:;, "0)(1 ) A •'1'] 1. ":>0v. le .11.lIe1<.'1It8 Wl~l'e Ilot as su~cet. La C1'1'01' as we :11 l'.

Thuy culti vatu<1 the Sei('lltC of Corrcspolltlences. 'l'Itey saw

1

40 SCIENCE IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW CHUR CH.

lhe Hpirilnal in the naturul und were in wisdom accordingly. Bllt as man withdrew farther and farther from thc LORD

awl conscl}ll\'ntly sank dcepel' and deepor into evil, he imIl1cI'Scll hil1l:-ielf in materialism. To-day, sueh is dIe eonstrnetion of tlte human mind, and so far has it dcgenerated, that evcn wltat he calls truth is sIlseeptillle of divcrse and even opposite applicatiolls, so that he may confirm with it either truth or fitlsity.

lIow CS:-il'Iltial, then, is a new Hcvelation, whieh shaH instrnct man how ta distinguish the trlle from the false, that Il(~ lJIay rii;c ont of his dcplorahle condition into a higher st<ltc, in which he may grutify his landaLlc desil'e fl)r knowledgc with the hope of temporal and eternal profit.

Tn worki Ilg out this mueh nceded reformation, the first stcp nceessa l'y is an earnest desire to know the truth-not for any selli:-ih purpose, but simply from a love of the truth, as t'rom and of the LOHn.

'l'Ile nnd(~I;,.;tanding conferred upon man, may be clevatedI~

intu tire intcrior light of heavcn, provided only he desires, j'rom a prineiple of love to know the tl'uth.-Athan. Oreed, ] ')7.

It is lIsclcss to investigate tire philosophy offered by the CllIlrclr, wit!lout this primaI love of truth. !ts pl'eeepts will Ilot he eOlnprellcnded nor will its Leauty and grandeur appl'ar. Certaill of i~ statement.'5 lIlay plen::>c for the moment ~lllli cvell win eulogillllls, bllt theil' aceeptane8 will he Lllt snperficial and cphellleml. 'Vhen, from a sinccre dcsire to 11~<l1'Il the (l'Ilth, man permit::l lJilllself tü he tanght of the LOJ{D~ by Illenus of !lis HevdatioD, he, ft)r the fil'st time, llndcrst.alld8 rcal causes an Il views ail natural phenomena, as ètli.~cL". 'l'he faets he had lcarned bcforc remain Just as tmc, but are now vivified and arranged in an orderly manner. New f:tCts are added, Loth spiritual and natura!. His 11101]lOt! of tllUUght is inverl.ed. He loob l'rom within out,

411.'lIE NEW CIIURCH.

from above down and finds that he is approaching an entirely new philosophy. He begins to appreciute something of tlte order of thought unù of crention. He fllC)S the full

force of the passage in the Writ.ings which reads: "those ,vho do not conceive the creation of the universe and a11 tllings thcrein by continuaI rnediations from the First, cannot but build unconnected hypotheses, disjointed from their causes, which, when examined by a mimi that looks interiorly into tllingi3, appear Ilot like houses, but Iike heaps of ruhbish."-D. L. IV. 303.

Viewed in interior light, what is the state of the science of to-(lay? Do we find consistency, order, harmony, unity ? ls it like a hC:I Il ti fi Il picture with the LORD flS the ccntre and a11 arouncl arranged with light and shade into bold relief?

True science, the science which the Church teaches, is harmonious alld consistent. Tt penetrates deeper than th~

plane of thc senses and unfolds infinitely more than natural thought can snggest or merely natural reason expound. Science is thc lwowledge of nature, and its philosophy gives us an insight illto the orderly arrangement of ail things. So far from being in confiict with the Church, it is a part of il. Knowled~('S of facts are instruments to Rerve the in

AlCl'llal Illall in his l'egcllen~tjon. ~Scc A. C. (i()57.) Tlwy ure the initiaIs of thought and rcnder rationality possible. How

ri <1nngcrol1s, then, i8 their perversion. How fatal to regenerJ~Htion is the lInturalism which inverts true ortler and elevates l~el'ial tlling:-> ahove spiritual, or:t~~bstitutes matter for spir!:b "The scrvant is not grenter than his LORD."

The New Church promises here, as everywhere eIse,JQ_ Ji make ail things ~w. First, as the crowning truth of all,

and fi'om which ail proceed, will it be acknowledged that the LORD JESUS CHRIST is the Creator of the universe; that He,.-J,!.8 Very-Man, and because He is Very-Man, created the universe from Himseif.

>{k;)L

42 SCIENCE IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW CHUR CH.

It will be seen that there proceed from Him, as the Spiritual Sun, Divine Love and Divine Wisdom. These are not vol(ltile, ethereal, nothings; but Substance and Form, self-subsisting and sole-subsisting. They are the aU of life throughout aIl creation fi-om highest to lowest. They flow from within into every oqject and form. In their manifestatioll, they procced as the Divine of love by heat, the ])i ville of. wisdom by light and the Divine of use by atmospheres. In ultimates they form earths, iri which they tenninate in simllltalleollS onle!'. Inrnostly, is~ or life itself, the force of ~ing;'mediutely, is the force of~j1

3 and next that of(formill~ These lie hidden in everything in the universe, and constitute the continuous presence of the LoRD.

Natural forms derive their origin from the spiritual containeJ. within, which is the universal sphere of the Divine. From the spiritual Sun cornes the patural; from this proceeJ. atlllospheres, and from these the earths are formed. Natural forms are, of themselves, clead. AU their activity is del'ived from the spiritual.

Mun's love is his life, derived from the universal sphere in its various clegrees. His affections are the continuations and derivations of love, Rowing like streams from the fountain, producing lIses in forms and therein adva.ncing from first prineiples ta last. These forms are efiÊ:lcts, which are the effigies of uses, and in these, uses advance to the outmost fihre of t.he ho<1y. Tlms man's organs are aB and each of them forms of uses. And 1.0 comprehend human physiology, one must bear in mind, not only the form and structure of the various parts of the body, but also their functions as determined from their several uses. This can only be known accurutely by a careful study of the Wl'itings, particularly where correspondences with the Grand Man, are given. Thus instructed, the investigator is better qualified

16

43 THE NEW OHURCH.

10 rationally interpret the various bodily functions in their order and workillgs.

Lire, it must be remembered, app1ies itse1f 10 man, on1y in the uses in which he is employed. Hence is conjunction. These uses are arranged in man in a series, and the Divine life applies itsclf to these in aIl their gradations. Renee is the soul. This is true of aIl men coIlective1y, of nations, eities, fil.milies, as well as of the individual.

AH things in the world tend to the human form, for aU arc forms of uses which are subservient to man. AlI things wcre made for man, and by him Lave communication with the other world. (See A. C. 3702.)

If the philosopher thoroughly understands the correspom1enccs of the organism of man with Reaven, or the Gl'llnd Man, he will be bot.ter prep(lred to explore nature outside of man; for man, as 10 his body, is a 1ittle wor]el, a microcosm, and all without him corresponds with aH within 11im.

Natural things do not live of themselves, but only by influx. The heat and ]ight from our Slln act from their l':lpiritllal eorrcsponf1ence, and then they only operate in opelling the extl'eme parts of the hody, t1H1t illtemal heat lllllY How in. Ph)'l:iio]ogy has no rig11t to c1aim that vital heat comes from combustion in the animal economy, or is sim ply a re8ult<lnt of aetivity. This is merelyan appearance, 311(1 is itself dcpelHlent on interior causes. Love is t11e origin of vital heat. Love proceeds as beat from the spiritual sun, ",here the LORD is, and is so felt by the ange]s. Spiritual 1Ie:lt, wbieh in its essence is Jove, ilows by correspondence into the heurt and olood, and gives it heat, and at tbe same time vivifies it. (See D. L. W'. a79.)

l Il the vegeta!J1e and millera1 kingdoms, forms are prod\lœd Hw1 maintained oy the Jowest degree of the universa1 influx merely. AnimaIs are correspondent forms of natural


affections. Vegetables derive their forme from the atmospheres, in which there is such a creative endeavor from the determination of spiritual forces. These latter continually tend toward the human form and so impress every terrestrial thing. Thus there is in every partic1e'of matter an endeavor to shape itself into form, which more and more resernbles the l,uman as we rise in the order of creation. Crystallize a :>alt, and it" figures a pigmy forest of plants; examine a tree, and its growth of leaf, circulation of sap, blossom and fruit, pl'c~ent more than a fanciful resemblance to animal life.

Creation, then, is li panorama, imaging the LOIW as very man. But what of its blelllii:ihe:>? \Vhat of venomOU8 animal, noxious plant and poisonous minerai? What of devastating storm, destructive earthquake? 'What of 80rrow, suffering, disease, untimely death? If delight and happiness flow into uses constituting their rewanl, acconling to thcir degree, whence corne evil uses with consequent wretchcdness and misery? Neither from the LoRD nor from heaven. N either from nature's sun, nor from earth itself. Bnt from hel1.

I~verything spiritual endcavors to clothe itself with a muteria.! llOdy. 'l'he lowest or natural degree of man, is no longer controlled by influx direct from heaven. Its order is inverted. In origin it is still the LaRD's, in reception, it bears elllbosometl the venom of hel1. Like the sun's ray p()lIred into the poisonolls plant, it is distorted unto ·death. Evil uses, then, fJow from hell and clothe themsel VCd with whatever of filth they e<)11 find, in the stagnant pool, the H<lvagu lwust, the unregenerated mind.

From this brief outline, embracing sorne leading points in true Scienœ, it becomes apparent how far man has wandered from a just conception of creation and of matter, its laws and relations. The primaI cause of thjs confusion, is plaiuly the lack of the conception of God as a man; for,

45 THE NEW CHUR CH.

although the iclea of His unity and Humanity is implanted Ly the LORD in every one, it faùes away in the life of evil and in the rnind oLscured by fUIse doctrines. This primaI conception lost, aIl else is confused. Man gropes about in spiritual darkness and. finaIly thinks and acts in the treacherous light of nature. The heavenly windows of his mind. are closeJ and he revol ves in a perpetuaI whirl of appenrances. His ingenuity contrives aIl sorts of theories, which t!olll'ish for a while and finally sink into oblivion before·some llewcr :1ll(1 more 8ubtle invention. Setting ont frorn the impressions of the senses, his science soon takes these impressions for truth and reasons frorn thern accordingly.

But the view is not aIl so dark and gloorny. Sorne there are, who have sought after knowledge, suLmitting self to the \Vord and to the LoRD'S manifold working in nature. Theil' horizon is narrow, perhaps, but what they have discovcred, Lecaw:ie truc, will never perish. AnJ even others, though actuated by nothing higher than a love of being called wise, hr.ve brought minds to the work weIl adapted to it apd have discovercd thousands of invaluable fads.

These fads will Ilot Le rqjected, Lut will Le examined in the light of the New Church. By means of the dvctrine of correspondences, as expounded in the \Vritings, man is enaLled to discrirninate Letween cause and effect, betwE'en spiritual and natural, between true wisdorn which reasons frorn interior light and that false reasoning, which is founded only in the impressions of the senses. Thus will be dcvelopel! a pllilo~0l'hy, which will Le enduring, hecause orderly; true, Lecause from the LORD; and therefore Loth comprehensive and satisf\lctory.

It may Ilot 1>e unprofitable to briefly examine some of the t'abc theories of present science the better ta comprehend the reformation required.

One of the first steps necessary, is the renoyation of Psy


chology. Sucll a labor is essential before materialism will rcleatle it8 hold on philo80phy und permit the nxioIIlutic acknowledgmcnt of the LORD as the Cause and Sustainer of the uni verse. But Philosophy is not advanced by the nominal acknowledgment of a Divine Being, when this is placed illfinitely distant, or diffused through space as the first Source of things. Nor does the conception of God as three pel'sons a(l(l one iota of strength; for, " Creation is an image reprcsentative of God-Man, and this image cannot be seen by him who denies that the LoRD is a Man;" nor can it be seen by him who denies that God is One.

111 the Spiritllal niary and elsewhere are recorded frequent conversations bctween Swedenborg and eminent philosophers and scicntists, whose teachings still exert a powerful influence in the learned 'Vorld. In every instance the lesson is to disaouse these teachinl:,"S of their falsities and to present them in their true light. His denunciations of Aristotle and his followel's apply more to the materialistic abuse of logic, than to logic itself: (See S. D. 3947-55, 3959-Gl. A. C. 4446-7, 4658.) His conversations with Newton were but to correct errors in science, some of them taught by Newton himself and otllers introdllced by !lis followers. (See S. D. GOG4, and S. D. Purt vii. p. 85.) The latter reference eIHls with these remarkable words, which clearly explain the use and importance of tÈlis permitted meeting with this philosopher, " Now 1 koow that colors are modifications of light in objects, in t!lc t(mos of which they make common planes, above which light is variegated according to the forms of the parts; hence are colors. These are the words of Newton hirnself, which he wùhes that I should communicate."

Speaking of the philosophy and science of to-day Swedenborg says:

O>hilosOP!IY)U ils every department has had no other effect than ta darken Dlèiï'SïITiïï~(alld thus to shllt' the way to a view of interior and universal

THE NEW CHUR CH. 47

things j for it consista of mere terms and in disputes concerning thcm j

besides, so-called rational philosophy so confines the ideas, that the ruind c]ellVClI only to plll'ticulllTlI anù thue to the ùust; bll8idos, it not 0011 obstruaIs the way t~ interior things, but also blindB the mind and utterl banishes faith, so that in the other Ife, a philosopher who has dwclt mueh on or in·, Julgcd, in sueh studies, becomeB stupid and beyond ail others, ignorunt. \ AB tu ItrccllUnical seiencs:>when one indulges too ruueh in rnechanicul praxis,

[1 he f~ as to bcJieve that not ollly nature, but even spi!i!ual -' and celestial thinb'll consists oLnothing but \Vhat lB mechanicaJ j and if he

cannot~uce thelll to llJechanir.~~f;;ciples, and thei;ib;ces, he believes Iluthing, and thus bceomes corporeul and, curthly. @~and tho like \ also concentrate the mind llnd impede it from lldmnclllg into U~IS;)

besides, it supposes nothing ta exist but what is geomctricai or mcchaniéal, whereas geometry ex tends not beyond terrestrial and corporeal forms .

. \ No knowlctlgcs arc illjurious provided a 1II11n docs not place evcrything \ in thelll, but regarJSïïUïïItëTloreü""d. KMOwlcJgel:l ure spiritual richcs, on ) whieh the understanding of things ean be founded. (See S. D. 767 to 773.

A. C. 3348.)

Hence it may be seen that to escape from materialism, the man of science must constantly look to uses as ends and C''sl'ccially must lie look to the LORD anù continually elevate hi:; tllOughts above merely earthly things. (See S. D. 866, 4578, 4655.) '] 'l'flle intelligence consists in seeing and E.,erceiving whatJi:;J..:.lIc and good, and thence whal j:; f;tl~e llllll evil. 1tfnn'B interiors, are formed in heaven, his exteriors, in the world. 'l'rue intelligence oemands that these interiors shall flow into the extcl'iors nnd so give perception. (See H. & H. :34() to 356 with the numerOllS references.)

Psychology legitimately expounded, physiologists will have need to thoroughly remodel their theol'ies of the brain lllld derivative nervous systems, and, in fact, of the whole organism. N owhere but in the 'Vritings, can be found the gelluine definition of thonght, idea., sensation and emotiOlI, of ncrve-force, vital-force, and function. New Church philosophy is not satisfied with the chemical theories of the origin

48 SCIENCE IN THE LIGHT OP THE NEW ClIU1ÜJH.

of animal heat, of the digestion of food, and of the bloodmetalllo!'phoses, any more than it is with the theory, which affinl1s thought to he the result of chemical changes in braintissue. Nor can it tolerate the prevailing theol'Y of protoplasm, as "the parent of a11 things." The sea yields from its depths a homogeneous, quivering substance, which is c<llled, bjoplasm, or life-forming substance. 'Vith avidity cxplorcrs boUle this bioplasm, study its microscopie stI'l1Ctll!'e, analyze it, :lIlcl conelude that it is the long sought for p1'ùna causa vitœ. Hereafter every seert, every animal, ev(~!'y man, is reduced, at least theorctically, to IL llWS.'l of <}uivering jel1y, formless, organless, havillg only the capacity of moving, amœboid-like, and here philosophy points to the orio'in of life !b .

Next, Natural History will receive a remodeling. The prescnt classification of animaIs, including man, is imperfect. Man, monkey, horse, bat and whale, bccause they all suckle thcir young and have warm blood, are huddlled toget.hcr illto one elass. In genuine science, man will be ackllowledgcd as imrneasurably above ail the l'est of creation. He Il:113 the capacity of being conjoined forever with the LORD

by will and undc!'stanùing. The mere animal is but a form of sorne affection, born into unchangeable desires and the consequent instinctive science and it perishes with its natural life.

Use is the esscntial characteristic, not form only. Swedenborg calls the whale a fish, because of its correspondence, :lIHl cons()Cjlwntly of it.s use.

'l'he saille cr!'!)!', that is classifying according to forrn instcad of use, extends also, to the science of Butany. Noxious and eùiblc plants are grouped in one family, because of cel't<lill cxtcrllal similarities, despite their internaI and utilitari:m intolllpatibleness. This is one of the rnany illustration::> showing the damagillg influence of the consummated

49 THE NEW CIlUR CIl.

Church upon Science. These errors, arise not so much from mistake of judgment, as from the life which rejects dml'it.y ulld Ll1ri~tl uee with it. Let the Dotftlli::;t in elu'Bsif)'illg plants, consult use and he will not associate the paralyzing lathyrus with the nourishing bean. rsp0ntaneous gcneration is another fact i.n nature, which

to-( ay fi( s scarce y one to defenc1 it. Swedenborg however says, after dŒcribing the origin of noxious things, "whether slleh thing::; exi::;t fl'om eggs carried thither, either hy the ail', or by rain, or by the fiowing of water, or whether they exist from hUlllors and stenches is a question. That such noxiolls animalcules and insects as are mentioned above are hatchetl frOIl\ eggs carricd thither or lying hill from creation everywhcre in the ear!h, is not supporteù by genêral experieuce, because worms exist in seeds, in nuts, in woods, in stones, yea from leaves; also upon plants and in them, lice and moths, which accord with them; flies also appear in !lauses, fiel<1s and woo<1s, in summer, produced in great ablludance not from any oviform matter; as is likewise the case with tlJOse allirnalcules that devour meadows and lawns and in sorne hot places fill and infest the air, besicles those which swim anù fly invisible in fetid waters, sour wines llnd Jll~stih~nt.ial ail'. Tltese faets fiLVor the opinion of those who

[ say that smelJs, effiuvia, and exhalations themselves, rising 1 from plnnts, earths and ponds, also give origin to such

animalcules. That afterwards when they are produced they are propagated either by eggs or spawn, does not disprove th,9ir imlllc<1inte origin."-D. L. HZ 342.

Indeed, generation itsclf, as explained by science, will <!cmanù an elltire renovation. It is fitlsely cxpoundcd in plant-life anù imperit.'ctly studied in animaIs. Not only is the spiritual presentation of the subject neglected or erroneously presented, but also the physical phenomena are lamcntahly misunderstood and c1efectively expressed.

50 SCIENCE IN TIIE LlGHT OF THE NEW CHURCH.

Physiology stumbles at. the very initiament of fecundation and TIutany introduces the fa11acy that plants are male and femule, possessing organs, which are compared to the generativc parts of animaIs of both sexes. Swedenborg, present-

JI ing LIS with the true state ~f things, teaches t~at plunts are ail male, t.he earth onl)', bClng femule. (Sec '1. C. R 585.)

\Vhat a ùestructive warfare will the Church wage against a~gant :r.hysjology and a falsely systematized bo~

Physicists inform ns that the sun's ray is composed of f:;Ovcn 01' lIIore colors, and that these may be reduced ta three pl'imary (;olors, red, blue and yel1ow. From these aH combinations, now colors and shades arise.

Truc science, however, teaches tbat a11 colors are reducible \\ t.2-~o, red and white; and that their modifications ~;; a Jground of dark, g~ve !!.se t~ev~.[Y-PQSsible_~ion.

-- Muoh of the confusion which prevailsJE._Phy~i~, arises from thc notiolls entertnilleù concernin~cèj Reluctant to consider it as spiritual, theorists regard it as an inheren~

property of matter; or, disregarding any conception of its nature, connue thclllselvos to the investigation of its effects. Bllt how can these om~cts be explained or systematized with their cause undetermined or treated of, upon purely hypothctical grollnds? Illogical conc1usiorls and fauIty classification must result. (See D. L. W.185.) Take, by wayof exalll pIc, the theory of heat and light Ils radiations from the sun, differing in wave length only. Radiant heat is said tü ho idcntieal with light, diflcl'ing from red light, for instance, as l'cd from blue, lIlcrely in the length of its waves.

A baIl of lime is gradually heated. At first, it gives off only rays of llcat; as its temperaturc increases, it adds a low l'cd light. \Vith a further rise of temperature, it gives off yel1ow, blue, etc., until fina11y when incandescent, its light is white as that of the sun, thus containing a11 the colors of sunlight. When the Solar Sp~ctrum is formed by means

THE NEW CHUR CH. 51

of ft pl'ism of rock-salt1 the thermo-electric pilc proves the existence of heat in aU the colo1'ed spaces, inc1'easing, however, düwn tailie red, and attaining its maximum beyond the visible lig1Jt, just as if heat were (as it must be) rfgTït;ith longer wnVéS. (See Chambers's Encyclopœdia, vol. v. last editioll.) i "-

Butl)ICàtJ is not ~ What are called For~) in na~lre,

lire Ilot llIi1tel'ial, nor are they- inhercnt in matter. They ure 1\1<tllifestations ';;r activity, which proceeds from the LORD

al ll.lle, And tltey are varled-~ill111el-r receptlOn 6y matter. 117lli, thel'c arc several cmanations from the slIn: aUl'a~ ether amI atlllosphere. These are pel'fcetly distinct, the purer occu

1 lJyillg tIte interstices of the Iower and ...ç..Qar~r. Activity in 1

( one of these spheres is manifested as (magnetism, in anotheI 2.

as~~ ill another as~ung, an.d so on.. (Com~are D. L ,v.3 170 and S. D. 222.) -wIlen ID expenmentatlOn, one force, as magnetislll, for instance, seems cOllverted into another, as hl'at, it i:3 merc1y this force manifested in IL different

HI,mediulll. .For, as was said, these solar emanations, are intiJI llIately associute{l in aIl thin_~~!!l~ .~~!Eth. (F~--m;li

fl'ated as magnetislll, arranges particles into cel'tam orders, alld~changc;,; the state of matter a.nd arouses it into activity. The atmospheres hohl substanccs in their proper fOl'ln. The extel'llul of form, as the surface of the body, is mailltained by the aerial atmosphere; the internaIs, as the viscera, are muintuine<1 in their farD! by an œthereal atmo

arhere. To brÎng Scien~nd Philosophy out of its ch~os, t.b~n,

we must a) lcal to tlLEL.BliVJllatioIl . he New Church, '1 which will afliml us aIl needed ass~tance-by the_ ScieI!-Çe L of Corresponde.!!,ces, ~y the doctrines of forms, of cause and

()fll~ct, by sllpplying fucts corrective and supplementary to ] wlw:t of science we already know; and also, by th~Doctrine

~f D.,ggees.

52 SCIENCE IN THE LIGH1' OF THE NEW CHURCH,

J" Thc knowlcdgc of dc~ees i8, as it wcre, the key to open thc causes of

thingll nnd tu Cil ter intotfi(;m j without it sonreoly nny~hing of OIlUSO oan he known j for without it, the objecta and subjects of both worlds appear 50

gencral as to seem to have nothing in them but what is seen with the eye. The intcrior things which lie hid, can by no means be discoycrcd, ~ss

d~s arc unùel'stood.... Nothing, BO fur as 1 an} nware, has hithcrto

bccn known of Discrcte D~grEle.'l. , .. 1 can declare, thrit ~gels are in

sadncss on ~unt oLthe dnrkness that p,Eevails upon carth. They say that l~~carccly unywhere to be Been, and that men seize on and eonfirm /,t1lacies and thcreby lllulrir!y falsities upon falsilics; and 1.0 confirm lhem,

devise by Fcasonings grounded in falses und in truths falsifieù, sueh figmenls

as Callnot be dispellcd, s~great is the dUl'kness that pr~ils conccrning C~C8

and the ignorance concerning truths. (Sce D. L. W. 184 and 188.)

May the glorious day soon come, when man will rise out 'j of the darkness of self-derived intellige!1ce a~d ~p-~al to the

J. 0een \Vord of Gnd for aU that concerns lus lIfe, lts moral government, its civil and political instruction, its philosophy, its science, its~yth~.ng.

APPENDIX

A MISSING NUMBER FROM THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED

To the first fascicle of Words for the New Church was added an appendix containing the Latin text ofHistoria Ecclesiastica Novae Ecclesiae. The significance of the publishing ofthis was that it had never before appeared in print. Itgives us great pleasure, therefore, to be ableto follow this precedent by including here a passage ofthe Writings which has not hitherto been published:

In the current Swendenborg Society edition of Apocalypse Explained (prepared, apparently, in 1896), there is a note at the bottom of page 485 which reads:

"That he might cause her to be carried away by the river." The explanation of this clause is omitted from the author's MS. But see 762.

(This clause is the last part of verse 15 in Revelation 12. Number 762 contains only a summary explanation of the internaI sense of verses 15 and 16 and therefore states its meaning very briefly.) This note is correct in that this explanation is omitted from Swedenborg's final draft but it is not true that Swedenborg never wrote the explanation of these words.

The first draft of Apocalypse Explained was only first reproduced in 1916. This means that none ofthe published editions were able to take into account the information contained in it. Both the English and the Latin editions published by the Swedenborg Foundation take the one sentence explanation of the internaI sense in number 762 and add it in Brackets as 763112. 764, then, is the explanation of verse 16. There is no number 765 in Swedenborg's final draft and 766 explains verse 17. Comparing this to the first draft, it becomes clear what happened: When recopying, Swedenborg simply skipped over his original 764 and put this number instead on what had been 765 in the first draft. Coming to the end ofthis number he saw that

53

54 APPENDIX

the next was 766 and resumed numbering the final draft as he had the first. AH this probably took place without Swedenborg being aware of what he was doing. The original 764 stands intact in the first draft. It is of special interest because it is the only place in the Writings where the last part of Revelation 12:15 is specificaHy explained (AR 562 and AC 7293:5, both of which explain verse 15, don't really say anything about the last part.)

Here, then, for the first time it has been seen outside Swedenborg's manuscript, is the real Apocalypse Explained 764 (The 764 of the present published editions should be 765).

55 APPENDIX

764. Ut ilIam a flumine absorptam faceret, quod significet ut Ecclesia ilIa per ratiocinationes occaecaretur et dissiparetur. constat ex significatione fluminis, quod sit ratiocinationes, de qua mox supra; et ex significatione absorptum facere ac absorbere, quod sit perdere, quod sit occaecari et dissipari est quia intelligitur per ratiocinationes ex falsis perdere, et qui ex falsis perit, is primum occaecatur ut non videat vera, ac dum vera non amplius videntur, dissipatur etiam Ecclesia apud ilIum nam Ecclesia est Ecclesiux v.eris.

[TRANSLATION)

764. That he might cause her to be swallowed up by the river, means "in order that that Church might be blinded and dissipated by ratiocinations." This follows from the meaning ofriver, namely, ratiocinations, as said just above, and from the meaning of "to cause to be swallowed up" and "to swallow up," in that it is "to destroy."

This is to be blinded and dissipated because to destroy by ratiocinations from falsities is understood. And he who perishes from falsities, is first blinded so that he does not see truths. And when truths are no longer seen, the Church with him is dispersed as weIl. For the Church is the Church from truths.

NOTES

~lm ~biue ~Orb6 Jlfor m~e ~efu arlturc~?

Words far the New Church is a publication unique in the history of the New Church. There are several aspects which, taken together, give it its speciaI character. Each ofthese aspects, as will be seen, has value still today. Therefore there is a use in resuming the publication of Wards.

The first of these aspects is the e~Qlicit devotion ta the §utbority of the Writings and ta scholarship founded on that authority. In the era

lin which Wards was first published, tao much time and energy was

Il being spent in the periodicaIs and publication ofthe Church, reasoning whether the teachings of the Writings were true, rather than going 1\

!j 1fQ!:W..ard with constructive work based 0l!.reasoning th<!:i the teachin.gsJJ w~.r.e-.true. At this day, men of the Church can work with this assumption implicit. Nevertheless, there is still a use in returning, on occasion, ta reaffirm the first principles explicitly and ta encourage continuing scholarship which begins with these principles.

Secondly, Wardswas a seriaI, rather than periodica1 publication. That is to say, it did come out in fascic1es or issues, but not at regularly specified intervaIs or periods. It was published, then, from time ta time as matêriaI became available and was properly polished for presentation. In this there is a reflection of the principle, which was seen to derive from the authority ofthe Writings, that doubt is cause for delay.

~ There was p.o rush ing> p!"Î.nt wi!h ~n,ythingJlot c~llysonsidere?

and reviewed. . ~ The seriaI formaI was aIso considered more appropriate for extended

studies. Seen in this light, Wards is more like a single work, published in instaI1.Jnents, than a magazine which h~different focus ;ach issue. This, again, is an expression ofthe unity ofpurpose that was felt in..pLoceeding from the aJl1hority prin.ciple.

.3 - One further aspect of Wards is the ty:lonymity of the allthprs and editars. This tao helps undeI:line the unity of viewpoint of those

57

58 WHY REVIVE WORDS FOR THE NEW CHURCH?

contributing ta th~ work. The intention was not secrecy, but simply ta avoid association of the ideas expressed with any one name. Everything written in Words, with the exception of what was explicitly quoted from other sources, was written, it might be said, from the editarial viewpoint.

The present editars intend to follow the practices of the original editars in maintaininK~ty. Our intention is that the readers may conSlder the ideas presented on their own merits, apart from personal attachment or disaffection. Many who read Words will soon know who the editars are, ifthey do not already, but perhaps the lack of a signature at the end of each article may still serve as a reminder of the intention behind anonymity.

S - The editors are not afraid to be associated with the ideas here presented. Nevertheless, as the doctrines point out, an idea is not true merely because the leaders of the church say so, and their followers

. affirm it. Our hop~ is that no one would a~t what is_\Y!it!en here {uncritically, becau8eOra name at t'Fie end, QQ!..r~ what is published

here without examining it. The Writings encourage us ta explore the doctrines of the church in which we are born or with which we are associated, ta see within ourselves whether or not they are true, before we assent ta them and confirm them. This spirit of open-minded examination ofthe teachings and common opmlOns within our church is what we hope to cultivate with the renewed publication of Words for the New Church.

In addition ta the new material we are publishing, we are reprinting herein a section from the original Words called "Science in the Light of --!1 3

1the New CQyrch." Besides drawing attention ta a foundation-fTOm 1which we h012e a pew science can arise, this rePûblication will

complement the Swedenborg Scientific Association's reprinting of the section on "Scienœ_anctP111IOSophy," in which it was not mcludèd. \

"'m~e 'mntnfilaiion of 'm~e ~orh"

1

So began a note in Words just over 100 years ago, which taok up the subject of the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible, the Revised Version being made at that time, and the question of a New Church Version. The note continued:

"In a report ta the Ecclesiastical Committee of the General Convention, June 1877, the writer opposes a new translation of the Word ta be made by the New Ghurch for its use, advising the LORD'S church ta look ta the vastate church for any improvement in the present version.

THE TRANSLA TIaN OF THE WaRD 59

"We would here examine a few of the reasons given, why the old church translation should be retained despite its many mistakes, and why we should wait until the old Church should make a better rendering, a rendering which shall be accurate enough for deriving therefrom the internai sense." (Words Vol. l, p. 252)

It is no accident that Words here and elsewhere concemed itself with the translation of the Scriptures. The need for a New Church version was much on the minds of those who wrote for Words.

Throughout the history of the New Church, those who have placed the highest authority in the Writings have felt acutely the need of a distinct New Church version of the Scriptures. This has not been simply because of the general realization, as indicated in the quota-tion just above, that the Old Church can't be counted on to produce anything which the New Church can trust, but because of the more specifie awareness that the theory of translation which is suggested, both by explicit statements and by the practice of the Writings, departs in several fundamental ways from Old Church theories of translation.

As early as 1788, in a letter ta the New Church in London, a correspondent observes:

"1 have lately applied to Swedenborg's Apocalypsis Explicata, and do find it a most valuable and truly divine work; but 1cannot help being very sorry to find, that the English Bible agrees so indifferently with most of the quotations from the Old Testament in that work. This

fcan only be remedied by a new translation, which thel Lord in his good providence will, 1 am persuaded, before -- long bring to pass." (Quoted in The New Magazine

Knowledge, 1791 p. 154)

We may note with sadness that almost 200 years have passed since

( this hopeful sentiment was expressed, and the Lord's good providence has not yet given us the hoped-for translation. But this, of course, is because the Lord provides onl)' through the efforts of the men of His 11

Church, men who are also subj~t to the interference.oLthe_hells,)J

J. which must work earnestly against any such translation. Only when the conviction of the importance of such a translation grows strong enough will it finally come to pass. l

60 THE TRANSLATION OF THE WORD

Another important element in this letter is the fact that the writer is quite c1ear about the nature of the defects in the King James Version: It does not agree sufficiently with the scripture quotations found in the Writings.

Soon after this, we find another early figure in the Church being even more specific about the problems with Old Church versions of

A 1the Scriptures. As an example he cites Isaiah 5:1: "My beloved hath a vipeyard in the horn of a son of oil," which, he points out, is mistranslated in "our common editions ofthe Bible" (i.e. the KJV): "M

.B 1Qeloved hath a vineyard in a very fr.uitful..h!W' After outlining the spiritual sense, as it is given in the Writings (see AE 375:31), he continues:

"The beauty which appears in this passage, when it is explained according to the internaI sense, is not equalled by the common translation, which seems to attempt to amend the sacred text, as ifit was not properly expressed bytIië-inspired writer. Such conduct in the translators is, however, excusable, because they were not aware that the ~le Word was written b.Y-Wmspondenc,es. But the New Church, in which the science of correspondences is beginning to revive, must have a Jllain literaI translation, not so much accommocIB:"'ted to the fluctuating taste, or Jrthe peculiar idiom of our language, as strictly expressive of the original terms of inspiration; for nothing else can contain the true correspondences, or be the medium of presenting to the mind the pure internaI sense of scripture." (New Jerusalem Journal, 1792)

The author not only notes the divergence between the "common version" and a version that would coincide with the rendering found in the Writings, he also begins to discuss the nature ofthe difference, namely, that a New Church version would be more literal than the King James Version.

( It is interesting to note, in the face of this, that the tendency of the

1) Old Church has been in just the opposite direction: Almost aU

translations done since the KJV have been less literal. AlI the revisions of the KJV, sorne to a greater extent than others, fall further than the original into the error of attempting to "amend the sacred text, as ifit was not properly expressed by the inspired writer." Part of the reason for this is the weakening, throughout the Christian world, ofbeliefin the verbal inspiration ofthe Scriptures. At the same

61 THE TRANSLATION OF THE WORDS

time modern, secular theories of language and translation have urged the idea that literalness is not the only measure of accuracy in translation and that it may indeed render a translation less accurate.

One modern theorist suggests that there are three types of translations:'(l) LiteraI translations, (2) translations ofthe general idea, and (3) translations based upon the c10set equivalents." The second of these is said to be achieved through applicaÙon of the formula "What would the author have said if he had been using English instead of Greek or Hebrew?" This type is rejected as too interpretive. It is essentially paraphrase. The theorist suggests the third type as a middle ground between the other two. It involves transferring the meaning from the idiom of the original, or source language into the natural idiomatic forms of the receptor, or target language. This is known as "idiom to idiom" translation and is said to represent "dynamic" equivalence, as opposed to the "formaI" equivalence of literaI translation.

Such ideas strike many as useful insights deriving from the most modern and advanced translation philosophy. Even within the bounds of New Church organizations, it is suggested that earlier generations oftranslators in the Church held to literaI translation as their only standard of accuracy because they had not the advantage of these modern insights as to other, nay, it is argued, superior standards of accuracy in translation. Such suggestions betray ignorance of the history of translation philosophy in the New Church. In a commentary on the Psalms in 1837, for instance, the introduction states:

"There are three ways by which a translation may be accomplished. The first is a literaI translation, by which every word is strictly rendered verbatim from the original. The second is an idiomatic translation, by which the original idiom is carefully conveyed into the idiom of another language. The third is a free translation, in which the sense of the author is regarded, abstractly from the expressions he uses, and freely translated in the manner in which the translator supposes the author would have expressed it had he written in the language into which his work is translated."

The resemblance ofthis analysis to the modern one cited above is remarkable, especially considering that is was written almost 150

62 THE TRANSLATION OF THE WaRD

years ago. The understanding it reflects of the problems and possibilities in translation is equally sophisticated. The conclusion drawn, however, is quite different:

"The first of these ways, that is, the strictly literaI, is the only way by which the Scriptures can be properly translated; in this respect, as in every other, they are essentially different from ail merely human compositions; in these it is only necessary to have an accurate comprehension of the author's meaning, whereas in the former the letter is divine, and cannot be departed from withou t injuring the base upon which the in ternal sense rests, as upon its proper foundation."

Here the important distinction is noted between translating the Word and translating any other work.

{ This distinction is one that cannot be understood by those who \ are not of the New Church, because, as mentioned in an earlier , quotation, it is only in the New Church, to which the doctrine of

correspondence has been revealed anew, that it can be understood how every word and expression in the Scriptures contains the Divine Truth. Only the New Church translator is fully prepared to see the expressions of Scripture as being, not in Hebrew or in Greek idiom, but in the Divine idiom, in language that manifests the Lord in a unique, correspondential way.

Example:

A specifie case mentioned repeatedly in the discussion of New Church principles of translation is that of Isaiah 5:1, the first reference to which was quoted above. It is a telling case because it has been cited both by those who look to the Writings for guidance (in addition to the reference given above, see Halcyon Luminary Vol. l, p. 162. and Words Vol. l, pp. 143-145, and pp. 256·257), and by those who are antagonistic to or ignorant of the teachings


of the Writings and turn instead to the vastate world for guidance (see Convention Journal, 1877, p. 54 and New Church Home, 1979, p. 45). This particular example illustrates the light that the Writings can shed on the translation of difficult passages, but also raises the very interesting question: Where do translators learn what the words of the original mean?

For instance: How arewe to know the meaning, in Isaia'h 5:1, of the Hebrew word QEREN, which the KJV and most other translations render as "hill"? Hebrew lexicons give "horn" as a first definition, but also include "the summit of a mountain" and compare this usage to that ofthe Swiss (Matterhorn, etc.). Proponents ofthe translation "a very fruitful hill" state matter-of-factly that conical hills were sometimes called homs. But what authority do such sources cite as support? None other than Isaish 5:1! It is the only place in the Bible to which they can point where QEREN has this postulated meaning. In the KJV QEREN is translated "hom" 75 times and "hill" only once.

( The lexicons refer only to Isaiah 5:1 for illustrations ofthis usage. In ) short, the argument that QEREN means hill in this passage is ) completely circular - the only real evidence is the context of the ( passage itself. We have taken the time to examine this case closely

because it shows dramatically how what may seem ta be authoritative p!~~.!!!l.~~ts by worldly sëholars, m~~in fac~, ~~_ mere con· jectures and that for the true meaning we must look to what the Lord Himselftells us about what His Word means.

In the vastate world, the meaning of Biblical expressions is generally determined from three things:

1) Study of expressions as they appear in different Sciptural contexts

2) Traditions going back to the earliest versions of the Bible 3) Scholarly investigation, including etymology in the original

language and comparison with related languages

As can be seen, only the first of these can be counted on to give Divine guidance as to the meaning of Scriptural vocabulary.

If one sets a priority on seeking the clues given by the Lord Himself, however, there are other resources available. One is to take into account not only the implicit contextual information, but also

( the explicit definitions given in the Word itself. These occur especially ) in regard ta names ofpeople and places, and are generally disregarded 1by scholars, who consider them to be quaint folk-etymologies

inserted by those who wrote down or edited the books of the Bible.


\ Here is a perfect example of the way the destruction of faith in the complete inspiration ofthe Scriptures removes an important source of

1information on the meaning ofthe words ofScripture. One additional, and highly important, resource we have in the New Church is the testimony ofthe Writings conceming the meaning ofthe Old and New Testaments. This includes both the translations into Latin used by the Writings and the implications about the meaning of the literal sense often contained in the explanations of the spiritual sense. This sometimes even includes direct statements of the form ''This word in the original language means ... ,"

Instead ofthe three sources from which the vastate world derives the meaning of Scripture, the New Church can look to these:

1) Study of expressions as they appear in different Scriptural contexts

2) Direct statements about the meanings ofterms in the Scriptures 3) The direct and indirect testimony of the Writings.

Using these as the standards for determining how to understand and translate the Scriptures can yield very different results than can he found in any translation produced by the vastate world.

Hence it is clear why those who trust in the authority ofthe Lord as He speaks in the Writings have always sought after translations ofthe Word produced br the NewChurch, andha~rbee~satisfied to look to thé ~astateworld for a v";;rsion acceptable to the New Church. This too is why Words for the New Church was and is vitally concemed with this issue.

Words for the New Church Box 37008 Cintinnati, Ohio 45222

. .Dear Readcr,

We are sending this fascicle of Words for the New Church to those who may be interested in its content. The prologue to this number explains our reasons for reinstating this New Church seriaI which has not been issued for one hundred years. The format and style of this SeriaI is also discussed in one of our editorial notes at the end of this issue. This particular number foc uses on the principles of Words for the New Church, which are set forth as clearly and directly as possible. Also, we have included a reprint of the last section of the third fascicle of the original Words,' "Science in the Light of the New Church," as an example of how these principles can be applied to a particular field of study. We include às weIl a "missing number" of the Apocalypse Explained which has direct bearing on one of the fundamental principles of Words for the New Church. .

This publication is not a periodical, but a seriaI, and as such it will nct appear et set times. We hope to publish whenever we have received and prepared sufficient material to be of interest and use to the New Crrurch.-Thecost of publication must also be considered, being about two dollars per copy. The frequency, therefore, with which Words for the New Church will be issued will de pend upon contributions, both literary and monetary.

By sending out this fascicle of Words, we hope to reach as many interested readers as possible. If you, or others who have not received a copy, would be interested in receiving future numbers of this SeriaI, please inform us, as we have no desire to continue sending fascicles to those who are uninterested. Since this is a seriaI we do not feel that we can set a subscription priee. A contribution for copies received would be appreciated, but there is no obligation. Our intent is to communicate, to aIl those who are interested, the principles of Words for the New Church and their application to every possible field of study. And to the end that this communication may be reciprocal, we hope to receive from men of the New Church either single articles or series on specifie subjects. We would truths of the Second C20ing affirmative principle.

welcome such ta an s

literary contributions in the s irit of

as t

apply e

t~e

Thank you for your attention.

Sincerely,

The Edi tors

Anc words-for-the-new-church-1876-1886-xiv-first-principles-1884-(reprint-cincinnati-1984)

Education

Transcript of Anc words-for-the-new-church-1876-1886-xiv-first-principles-1884-(reprint-cincinnati-1984)