Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 10)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

All things in the universe bear relation to Good and Truth. That which does not bear relation to good and truth is not in Divine order; and that which does not bear relation to both together, produces nothing. Good is that which produces, and truth is that by which it produces.

These facts may illustrate how the case is with spiritual good and truth, which are called charity and faith; namely, that all things which belong to the church bear relation to these, and those which do not bear relation to them have nothing of the church in them; and also that which does not contain both within it produces no fruit, that is, no good of charity or of faith.

For in order that anything may be produced, there must be two forces, one which is called active, the other which is called passive; the one without the other brings forth nothing. Such forces, or lives, are charity and faith in the man of the church.

The first of the church is good, the second is truth; or the first of the church is charity, and the second is faith. For the truth of the doctrine of faith is for the sake of the good of life. That which is the end for the sake of which something else exists, this is the first.

With the conjunction of the good which is of charity, and the truth which is of faith, in man, the case is this. The good which is of charity enters through the soul into man, but the truth which is of faith enters through the hearing; the former flows in immediately from the Lord, but the latter mediately through the Word. Hence the way by which the good of charity enters is called the internal way; and the way by which the truth of faith enters is called the external way. That which enters by the internal way is not perceived, because it is not plainly subject to sensation; whereas that which enters by the external way is perceived, because it is plainly subject to sensation. For this reason everything of the church is attributed to faith. It is otherwise with those who have been regenerated; with such the good that is of charity is plainly perceived.

The conjunction of the good of charity with the truth of faith is effected in the interiors of man. The good itself which flows in from the Lord adopts truth there, and appropriates it to itself, and thereby causes the good with the man to be good, and the truth to be truth; or the charity to be charity, and the faith to be faith. Without this conjunction charity is not charity, but only natural goodness; neither is faith faith, but only the memory-knowledge of such things as are of faith, and in some cases a persuasion that a thing is so for the sake of earning gain or honor.

When truth has been conjoined with good it is no longer called truth, but good; and so when faith has been conjoined with charity it is no longer called faith, but charity; the reason is that the man then wills and does the truth, and that which he wills and does is called good.

With the conjunction of the good of charity with the truth of faith, the case, further, is this. This good obtains its quality from truth, and truth its essence from good. From this it follows that the quality of good is according to the truths with which it is conjoined; and therefore good becomes genuine if the truths with which it is conjoined are genuine. Genuine truths of faith are possible within the church, but not out of it, for within the church is the Word.

Moreover, the good of charity receives its quality also from the abundance of the truths of faith; likewise from the connection of one truth with another; thus is formed spiritual good with man.

A clear distinction must be made between spiritual good and natural good. As before said, spiritual good has its quality from the truths of faith, their abundance, and their connection; but natural good is born with the man, and also arises by accident, as by misfortunes, diseases, and the like. Natural good saves no one, but spiritual good saves all. The reason is that the good which is formed through the truths of faith is a plane into which heaven can flow, that is, the Lord through heaven, and lead man, and withhold him from evil, and afterward uplift him into heaven; but not so natural good; and therefore they who are in natural good can be as easily carried away by falsity as by truth, provided the falsity appears in the form of truth; and they can be as easily led by evil as by good, provided the evil is presented as good. They are like feathers in the wind.

The confidence of trust which is said to be of faith and is called faith, is not spiritual confidence or trust, but natural. Spiritual confidence or trust has its essence and life from the good of love; but not from the truth of faith separate. The confidence of faith separate is dead; and therefore there cannot be true confidence with those who have led an evil life. Moreover, that confidence which depends on salvation through the Lord's merit, irrespective of what the life has been, is likewise not from truth.

(Arcana Coelestia 7752-7762)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 9)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

There are two things which proceed from the Lord and from this in their origin are Divine:  the one is Good, and the other is Truth. These consequently are the two things which reign in heaven, nay, which make heaven. In the church these two things are called charity and faith.

When Good and Truth proceed from the Lord they are completely united, and so united as to be not two, but one. Consequently they are one in heaven; and because they are one in heaven, heaven is an image of the Lord. It would be the same with the church if charity and faith therein were a one.

An idea of the good which is of charity and of the truth which is of faith may be formed from the sun and its light — when the light which proceeds from the sun is conjoined with heat, as is the case in spring and summer, then all things of the earth sprout forth and live, but when there is no heat in the light, as in winter time, then all things of the earth become torpid and die.

Moreover, in the Word the Lord is compared to the "sun;" and truth conjoined with good, which proceeds from Him, is compared to "light;" and also in the Word the truth of faith is called "light," and the good of love is called "fire." Moreover, love is the fire of life, and faith is the light of life.

From all this an idea can also be formed about the man of the church, as to what he is when with him faith is conjoined with charity, namely, that he is like a garden and a paradise; and what he is when with him faith is not conjoined with charity, namely, that he is like a desert and a land covered with snow.

From the mere light of his natural man everyone can see that Truth and Good are in agreement, and also that they can be conjoined together; and that truth and evil are in disagreement, and that they cannot be conjoined together; and in like manner faith and charity. Experience itself testifies the same; that he who is in evil as to life is either in falsity as to faith, or is in no faith, or is quite opposed to faith. And (what is a secret) he who is in evil as to life is in the falsity of his evil, although he believes that he is in truth. That he so believes is because he is in persuasive faith.

(Arcana Coelestia 7623-7627)
(series to be continued)

Seriatim Remarks on the Doctrine of Charity (Pt. 8)

Selection from Arcana Coelestia ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
— Doctrinal Things of Charity —

It was said above that the loves of self and of the world make hell with man; and now the quality of these loves is to be told, in order that a man may know whether he is in them, and consequently whether hell or heaven is in him; for in man himself is either hell or heaven. That the kingdom of God is within man, the Lord teaches in Luke 17:21:

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

consequently hell also is within him.

The love of self reigns with a man, that is, he is in the love of self, when in what he thinks and does, he does not regard his neighbor, thus not the public, still less the Lord, but only himself and those who belong to him; consequently when he does all things for the sake of himself and those who belong to him; and if for the sake of the public and his neighbor, it is merely for the sake of the appearance.

It is said "for the sake of himself and those who belong to him," because he together with these, and these together with him, make a one; just as when anyone does anything for the sake of his wife, of his children, grandchildren, sons-in-law, or daughters-in-law, he does it for the sake of himself, because they are his. In like manner one who does anything for the sake of relatives and of friends who favor his love and thereby conjoin themselves with him; for by such conjunction they make one with him, that is, regard themselves in him, and him in themselves.

Insofar as a man is in the love of self, so far he removes himself from the love of the neighbor; consequently insofar as a man is in the love of self, so far he removes himself from heaven, for in heaven there is the love of the neighbor. From this it also follows that insofar as man is in the love of self, so far he is in hell, for in hell there is the love of self.

That man is in the love of self who despises his neighbor in comparison with himself, who regards him as his enemy if he does not favor and reverence him; he is still more in the love of self who therefore hates and persecutes his neighbor; and he still more who therefore burns with revenge against him and desires his destruction. Such persons at last love to rage against their neighbor; and the same, if they are also adulterers, become cruel.

The delight which these men perceive in such things is the delight of the love of self. This delight in a man is infernal delight. Everything that is according to love is delightful; and therefore the quality of the love can be known from the delight.

From what has now been described, as a test, it is known who are in the love of self. It matters not how they appear in the outward form, whether pretentious or unassuming; for such they are in the interior man; and the interior man is at this day hidden by most people, and the exterior is trained to make a show of love of the public and the neighbor, thus for contrary things; and this also for the sake of self and for the sake of the world.

But the love of the world reigns with a man, that is, a man is in the love of the world, when in what he thinks and does he regards and intends nothing but his own advantage, not caring whether this involves harm to his neighbor and to the public.

Those are in the love of the world who desire to possess themselves of the goods of others by artful devices, and still more those who do this by cunning and deceit. They who are in this love envy others their goods, and covet them; and insofar as they do not fear the laws, they take them away, even by robbery.

These two loves increase insofar as the reins are given them, and insofar as the man is borne along into them; and at last they increase beyond measure, so that they desire to govern not only all things in their own kingdom, but also what is beyond, even to the ends of the earth; nay, these loves when unbridled ascend even to the God of the universe, that is, to such a height that they who are in them wish to climb to the throne of God, and to be worshiped instead of God Himself, according to what is written in Isaiah concerning Lucifer, by whom are meant those who are in these loves, and are called "Babel":

Thou saidst in thine heart, I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; and I will sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the cloud, and become like the Most High. Yet thou shalt be cast down to hell (Isa. 14:13-15).

From all this it can now be seen that these two loves are the origins of all evils, for they are diametrically opposed to love toward the neighbor, and to love to the Lord; thus diametrically opposed to heaven, where love to the Lord and love toward the neighbor reign. Consequently it is these loves, namely, the love of self and the love of the world, that make hell with man, for these two loves reign in hell.

But they are not in these loves who aspire to honors not for the sake of themselves, but for the sake of their country; and who aspire to wealth not for the sake of wealth, but for the sake of the necessaries of life, both for themselves and for their families, also for the sake of the good use on account of which the wealth delights them. With such persons honors and riches are means of imparting benefits.

(Arcana Coelestia 7366-7377)
(series to be continued)