Faith (pt. 15)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 15)

An abundance of truths cohering, as in a bundle, exalts and perfects faith

(2) The Truths of Faith are disposed into Series, thus, as it were into bundles.

This has been hitherto unknown. It is unknown because the spiritual truths of which the whole Word is composed could not be seen, owing to the mystical and enigmatical faith which forms every point of the present theology; consequently, they have been buried in the earth like storehouses.

To make clear what is meant by series and bundles, it shall be explained.

The first chapter of this book, [True Christian Religion*] which treats of God the Creator, is divided into a series of sections — the first of which treats of the Unity of God, the second the Being of God or Jehovah, the third the Infinity of God, the fourth the Essence of God (which is Divine love and Divine wisdom) the fifth the Omnipotence of God, and the sixth Creation.  The arrangement of each section into its articles constitutes the series, and the contents of these are bound together as if into bundles. These series in general and in particular, thus conjointly and separately, contain truths which, according to their abundance and coherence, exalt and perfect faith.

He who does not know that the human mind is organized, or that it is a spiritual organism terminating in a natural organism, in which and according to which the mind produces its ideas or thinks, must needs suppose that perceptions, thoughts, and ideas are nothing but radiations and variations of light flowing into the head, and presenting forms which man sees and acknowledges as reasons. But this is foolishness; for everyone knows that the head is full of brains, that the brains are organized, and that in them the mind dwells, and that its ideas are fixed therein, and are permanent so far as they are accepted and confirmed. The question is, therefore, What is the nature of that organization? The answer is, that it is an arrangement of all things in series, as it were in bundles, and that in this way the truths belonging to faith are arranged in the human mind. That it is so, may be illustrated as follows.

The brain consists of two substances, one of which is glandular, and is called the cortical and cineritious substance, and the other fibrillous, and is called the medullary substance. The first, or the glandular substance, is arranged into clusters like grapes on a vine; these clustered formations are its series. The second, or the medullary substance, consists of perpetual bundlings of little fibers issuing from the glandules of the former substance; these bundlings are its series. All the nerves that proceed from the brain, and pass down into the body for the performance of various functions, are nothing but groups and bundles of fibers; in a like manner all the muscles, and in general all the viscera and organs of the body. All these are such because they correspond to the series in which the mental organism is arranged.

Moreover, in all nature there is nothing that is not formed into series of little bundles; every tree, every bush, shrub and plant, nay, every ear of corn and blade of grass in whole and in part, is so formed. The universal cause is, that such is the confirmation of Divine truths; for we read that all things were created by the Word, that is, by Divine truth, and that the world also was made by it (John 1:1, seq.).

From all this it can be seen that unless there were such an arrangement of substances in the human mind, man would possess no ability to reason analytically, which everyone has according to this arrangement, thus according to his supply of truths cohering, as it were, in a bundle; and the arrangement is in accord with his use of reason from freedom.

(True Christian Religion 351)
* True Christian Religion, Author Emanuel Swedenborg is available online or in bookstores.

To be continued...

Faith (pt. 14)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 14)

An abundance of truths cohering, as in a bundle, exalts and perfects faith

(1) The Truths of Faith may be multiplied to Infinity.

This is evident from the fact that the wisdom of the angels of heaven increases to eternity.

Moreover, the angels say that there is no end to wisdom, as its source is no other than Divine truths analytically distributed into forms by means of light flowing in from the Lord. Such human intelligence as is truly intelligence is from no other source.

Divine truth may be multiplied to infinity, because the Lord is Divine truth itself, or truth in its infinity, and He draws all men to Himself; but as angels and men are finite they can follow the current of the attraction only according to their measure, although the force of the attraction persists to infinity.

The Lord's Word is a great deep of truths from which comes all angelic wisdom, although to the man who knows nothing of its spiritual and celestial meanings, it appears like the water in a pitcher.

The multiplication of the truths of faith to infinity may be compared to the seed of men, from one of whom may be propagated families to ages of ages.

The proliferation of the truths of faith may be compared to the proliferation of seeds in a field or a garden, which may be propagated to myriads of myriads and perpetually.

In the Word "seed" means nothing but truth, "field" means doctrine, and "garden" wisdom.

The human mind is like soil, in which spiritual and natural truths are implanted like seeds and may be endlessly multiplied. Man derives this from the infinity of God, who is perpetually in man with His heat and light, and the faculty of generating.

(True Christian Religion 350)

To be continued...

Faith (pt. 13)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 13)

An abundance of truths cohering, as in a bundle, exalts and perfects faith

From the conception of faith that prevails at the present day it cannot be seen that -

faith in its compass is a complex of truths, still less that man can contribute anything toward acquiring faith for himself

and yet faith in its essence is truth; for it is truth in its own right, and -

as truth can be acquired so also can faith.

Who cannot go to the Lord if he will? Who cannot collect truths from the Word if he will? And every truth in the Word and from the Word, gives light; and truth in light is faith. The Lord who is Light itself, flows into every man; and in everyone in whom there are truths from the Word, He causes truths to shine and thus to become truths of faith. And this is what the Lord teaches in John:

That they should abide in Him, and His words in them (15:7).

The Lord's words are truths.

But to make it properly understood that an abundance of truths cohering as if in a bundle exalts and perfects faith, the consideration of the subject shall distributed under the following heads:

(1) Truths of faith may be multiplied to infinity.
(2) They are disposed into series, thus, as it were, into bundles.
(3) According to their abundance and coherence faith is perfected.
(4) However numerous truths are and however diverse they appear, they make one from the Lord, who is the Word, the God of heaven and earth, the God of all faith, the God of the vineyard or the church, the God of faith, light itself, the truth, and life eternal.

(True Christian Religion 349)

To be continued...

Faith (pt. 12)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 12)

Man Acquires Faith -
by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.

From the foregoing (previous articles)it is clear that there are three things by which faith is formed in man; first by going to the Lord; secondly, by learning truths from the Word; and thirdly, by living according to them.

Now as these are three things - and one not the same as another - it follows that they can be separated; for a man may go to the Lord, and not know any but historical truths respecting God and the Lord.

Also a man may know truths from the Word in abundance, and yet not live according to them.

But in the man in whom these three things are separated, that is, in whom one is apart from the other, there is no saving faith.

Saving faith arises when the three are conjoined, and becomes such as the conjunction is.

Where these three things are separated, faith is like a sterile seed, which when dropped in the earth moulders into dust. But where the three are conjoined, faith is like a seed in the ground which grows up to a tree, and the fruit of it is according to their conjunction.

Where these three things are separated, faith is like an egg which contains no prolific principle; but where they are conjoined, faith is like an egg that can produce a beautiful bird.

The faith of those in whom these three things are separated, may be likened to the eye of a fish or of a crab when cooked; but the faith of those in whom the three are conjoined, may be likened to an eye translucent from the crystalline humor even to and through the uvea of the iris.

Separated faith is like a picture drawn in dark colors on a black stone; but conjoined faith is like a picture drawn in beautiful colors on a transparent crystal.

The light of a separated faith may be compared to that of a firebrand in the hand of a traveler at night; while the light of a conjoined faith may be compared to that of a blazing torch which when waved about shows plainly each step of the way.

Faith without truths is like a vine bearing wild grapes; but faith from truths is like a vine bearing clusters full of noble wine.

Faith in the Lord destitute of truths may be compared to a new star appearing in the expanse of heaven, which in time grows dim; but faith in the Lord together with truths may be compared to a fixed star, which remains constant.

Truth is the essence of faith; therefore, as the truth is, such is the faith; without truths it is a wandering faith, but with them it is fixed.

Moreover, faith from truths shines in heaven like a star.

(True Christian Religion 348)

To be continued...

Faith (pt. 11)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 11)

Man Acquires Faith -
by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.

As to the formation of faith: it is effected by man's going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them.

First: Faith is formed by man's going to the Lord, because faith that is faith, or that is a saving faith, is from the Lord and in the Lord. That it is from the Lord is evident from His words to His disciples:

Abide in Me, and I in you for apart from Me, ye can do nothing (John 15:4, 5).

That it is faith in the Lord, is evident from the passages presented in abundance, to the effect that men ought to believe in the Son. Since then faith is from the Lord and in the Lord, it may be said that the Lord is faith itself, for its life and essence are in Him, and thus from Him.

Secondly: Faith is formed by man's learning truths from the Word, because faith in its essence is truth; for all things that enter into faith are truths; consequently -

faith is nothing but a complex of truths shining in the mind of man

for truths teach not only that man ought to believe, but also in whom he ought to believe, and what he ought to believe.

Truths ought to be taken from the Word, because all truths that conduce to salvation are in the Word, and there is efficacy in them because they are given by the Lord, and are therefore inscribed on the whole angelic heaven; consequently when man learns truths from the Word, he comes into communion and consociation with angels beyond what he knows.

Faith destitute of truths like grain without inner substance, which when ground yields nothing but bran; while faith from truths is like useful grain, which when ground yields flour.

In a word, the essentials of faith are truths; and if truths do not reside in and constitute the faith, it is only like the shrill sound of a whistle; but when they do reside in and constitute it, faith is like a voice of glad tidings.

Thirdly: Faith is formed by man's living according to truths, because spiritual life is life according to truths, and -

truths do not actually live until they are in deeds

Truths abstracted from deeds are merely matters of thought, and unless they become of the will also, are only in the entrance to the man, and thus are not inwardly in him; for the will is the man himself, and the thought is so far the man, in quantity and quality, as it adjoins the will to itself.

He who learns truths and does not practice them, is like one who sows seed in a field and does not harrow it in; and consequently the seed becomes swollen by the rain and is spoiled. But he who learns truths and practises them, is like one who sows the seed and covers it, and the rain causes it to grow to a crop and to be of use for food.

The Lord says:

If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them (John 13:17)

And again:

He that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the Word and giveth heed; who also beareth fruit and bringeth forth (Matt. 13:23);

also:

Everyone that heareth these My words, and doth them, I will liken him unto a prudent man, who built his house upon a rock. And everyone that heareth these My words and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand (Matt. 7:24, 26).

All words of the Lord are truths.

(True Christian Religion 347)

To be continued...

Faith (pt. 10)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(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.

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...

Faith (pt. 9)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
(Continued pt. 9)

Man Acquires Faith -
By going to the Lord, Learning truths from the Word, and Living according to them.

Before proceeding to show how faith originates, namely, by going to the Lord, learning truths from the Word, and living according to them, it is necessary first to set forth the summaries of faith ... for faith enters into all parts and each part of a system of theology, as blood flows into the members of the body and vivifies them. What the present church teaches respecting faith is known in the Christian world generally, and particularly in its ecclesiastical class; for the books treating solely of faith and faith alone fill the libraries of the doctors of the church, and almost nothing beyond this is regarded as properly theological at the present day. But before what the present church teaches respecting its faith is taken up, considered and examined (which will be done in an Appendix), the general principles which the New Church teaches respecting its faith shall be presented. They are the following:

• The Esse of the Faith of the New Church is: 1. Confidence in the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ. 2. A trust that he who lives well and believes aright is saved by Him.

• The Essence of the Faith of the New Church is: Truth from the Word.

• The Existence of the Faith of the New Church is: 1. Spiritual sight. 2. Accordance of Truths. 3. Conviction. 4. Acknowledgment inscribed on the mind.

• The States of the Faith of the New Church are: 1. Infantile faith, adolescent faith, adult faith 2. Faith in genuine truth and faith in appearances of truth. 3. Faith of the memory, faith of reason, faith of light. 4. Natural faith, spiritual faith, celestial faith. 5. Living faith, and faith founded on miracle. 6. Free faith, and forced faith.

• The Form itself of the Faith of the New Church, in its universal view, and its particular view, may be seen in the first two numbers of the work True Christian Religion.

As the constituents of spiritual faith have been presented in a summary, so also shall those of merely natural faith, which in itself is a persuasion counterfeiting faith, and a persuasion of what is false, which is called heretical faith. It may be designated as follows:

1. Spurious faith, in which falsities are mixed with truths. 2. Meretricious faith from truths falsified, and adulterous faith from goods adulterated. 3. 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. 4. Wandering faith, which is a faith in several Gods. 5. Purblind faith, which is a faith in some other than the true God, and among Christians in any but the Lord God the Savior. 6. Hypocritical or Pharisaic faith, which is a faith of the lips and not of the heart. 7. Visionary and distorted faith, which is falsity made to appear like truth by ingenious confirmation of it.

(True Christian Religion 343 - 345)

To be continued...