Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 10)
(Continued pt. 10)
Man Acquires Faith -
by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.
It has been said above (in the previous article) that faith, as to its existence in man, is spiritual sight.by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.
Now as spiritual sight which is the sight of the understanding, and thus of the mind, and natural sight which is the sight of the eye and thus of the body, mutually correspond, every state of faith may be compared with some state of the eye and its sight - a state of faith in what is true with every normal state of eyesight, and a state of faith in what is false with every perverted state of eyesight.
Let us compare then the correspondences of these two kinds of sight - mental and bodily - as to their perverted states.
• Spurious faith, in which falsities are mixed with truths, may be compared to that disease of the eye and consequently of the sight, called white specks on the cornea, which produces dimness of sight.
• Meretricious faith which comes from truths falsified, and adulterous faith which is from goods adulterated, may be compared to that disease of the eye and consequently of the sight, called glaucoma, which is a drying up and hardening of the crystalline humor.
• Closed or blind faith, which is a faith in things mystical that are believed, although it is not known whether they are true or false, or whether they are above reason or contrary to it, may be compared to the disease of the eye called gutta serena or amaurosis, which is a loss of sight while the eye still looks as though it saw perfectly, which arises from an obstruction of the optic nerve.
• Erratic faith, which is a faith in several Gods, may be compared to the disease of the eye called cataract, which is a loss of vision, arising from a stoppage between the sclerotic coat and the uvea.
• Purblind faith, which is a faith in any other than the true God, and among Christians in any but the Lord God the Savior, may be compared to the disease of the eye called strabismus.
• Hypocritical or Pharisiac faith, which is a faith of the lips and not of the heart, maybe compared to atrophy of the eye, and consequent loss of sight.
• Visionary and distorted faith, which is falsity made to appear like truth by an ingenious confirmation of it, may be compared to the disease of the eye called nyctalopia, which is seeing in darkness from an illusive light.
(True Christian Religion 346)
To be continued...