Charity and Good Works (pt. 10)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt. 10)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

(6) The merely natural and sensual man.

As there are few that know who are meant by sensual men, and what their nature is, and yet it is important to know it, therefore they shall be described:
1. He is called a sensual man who judges of all things by the bodily senses, and who believes in nothing except what he can see with his eyes and touch with his hands, calling this something real, and rejecting everything else; consequently, the sensual man is the lowest natural man.

2. The interiors of his mind, which see from the light of heaven, are closed, so that he there sees nothing of the truth that pertains to heaven and the church, since he thinks in outermosts, and not interiorly from any spiritual light.

3. Because he is in gross natural light he is inwardly opposed to the things of heaven and the church, although outwardly he may advocate them with a zeal proportionate to the dominion he may thereby secure.

4. Sensual men reason keenly and ingeniously, because their thought is so near to speech as to be almost in it, and, as it were, on the lips, and because they place all intelligence in speech from memory only.

5. Some of them can confirm whatever they wish, and can confirm falsities dexterously; and after confirming them they believe them to be truths; but their reasoning and confirming are from the fallacies of the senses, which captivate and persuade the common people.

6. Sensual men are more shrewd and crafty than others.

7. The interiors of their minds are loathsome and foul, because through them they communicate with the hells.

8. Those who are in the hells are sensual, and the deeper they are the more sensual. The sphere of infernal itself with the sensual things of man from behind.

9. Sensual men do not see any genuine truth in light, but reason and dispute about everything, as to whether it is so or not; and these disputes when heard at a distance from them are like the gnashings of teeth, which viewed in themselves are the collision of falsities with each other, and also of falsity and truth. This therefore makes plain what is meant in the Word by the "gnashing of teeth," because reasoning from the fallacies of the senses corresponds to the teeth.

10. Accomplished and learned men who have deeply confirmed themselves in falsities, and still more those who have confirmed themselves against the truths of the Word, are more sensual than others, although they do not appear so to the world. Heretical doctrines have been introduced chiefly by such sensual men.

11. The hypocritical, the deceitful, the voluptuous, the adulterous, and the avaricious, are for the most part sensual.

12. Those who reason from sensual things only, and against the genuine truths of the Word and consequently of the church, were called by the ancients serpents of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

As sensual things mean the things presented to the bodily senses and imbibed through those senses, it follows:
13. That by means of sensual things man communicates with the world, and by means of things rational above the sensual he communicates with heaven.

14. Things sensual furnish such things from the natural world as are of service to the interiors of the mind in the spiritual world.

15. There are sensual things that minister to the understanding, and these are the various natural studies called physics; and there are sensual things that minister to the will, and these are the delights of the senses and the body.

16. Unless the thought is elevated above natural things man has but little wisdom. The wise man thinks above sensual things; and when thought is elevated above what is sensual it enters into clearer light, and finally into the light of heaven; from this man has perception of truth which is properly intelligence.

17. The elevation of the mind above sensual things, and its withdrawal therefrom, was known to the ancients.

18. When sensual things are in the last place, by means of them a way is opened for the understanding, and truths are disengaged by a kind of extraction; but when sensual things are in the first place they close the way, and man sees truths only as in a mist, or as at night.

19. In a wise man sensual things are in the last place, and are subject to more interior things; but in an unwise man they are in the first place and have dominion. Such as these are they who are properly called sensual.

20. In man there are sensual things that he has in common with beasts, and others not so. To the extent that one thinks above sensual things, he is a man; but no one can think above sensual things and see the truths of the church, unless he acknowledges God and lives according to His commandments; for it is God who elevates and enlightens.

(True Christian Religion 402)

To be continued ...

Charity and Good Works (pt. 9)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt.9)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

(5) The internal and external man.

1. Man was created so as to be at the same time in the spiritual world and in the natural world. The spiritual world is where angels are, and the natural world where men are. And as man was so created, there was given him an internal and an external - an internal whereby he is in the spiritual world, and an external whereby he is in the natural world. His internal is what is called the internal man, and his external the external man.

2. Every man has an internal and an external, but with a difference between the good and the evil. With the good the internal is in heaven and its light, and the external in the world and its light; and this light of the world in them is illumined by the light of heaven, and therefore in them the internal and external act as one, like cause and effect, or like the prior and the posterior. But with the evil the internal is in hell and its light, and this light, in comparison with the light of heaven is thick darkness, although their external may be in a light like that in which the good are; thus there is an inversion. On this account the evil, just like the good, can talk and teach about faith, charity, and God, but not from faith, charity, and God.

3. The internal man is what is called the spiritual man, because it is in the light of heaven, which is a spiritual light; while the external man is called the natural man, because it is in the light of the world, which is a natural light. The man whose internal is in the light of heaven, and his external in the light of the world, is a spiritual man in regard to both, because spiritual light from the interior illumines the natural light, and makes it as its own. But the reverse is true of the evil.

4. The internal spiritual man viewed in himself is an angel of heaven, and while living in the body is in association with angels, although he does not know it; and when released from the body he goes among angels. But with the evil the internal man is a satan, and while living in the body is in association with satans, and when released from the body goes among them.

5. With those who are spiritual men, the interiors of the mind are actually elevated towards heaven, for they look primarily to that; but with those who are merely natural, the interiors of the mind are turned away from heaven and towards the world, because they look primarily to the world.

6. Those who cherish a merely general idea of the internal and external man, believe that it is the internal man that thinks and wills, and the external that speaks and acts, because thinking and willing are internal, while speech and action are external. But let it be understood that when a man thinks and wills rightly respecting the Lord and the things pertaining to the Lord, and respecting the neighbor and what pertains to the neighbor, he thinks and wills from a spiritual internal, because from a belief in truth and a love of good; but when his thought and will respecting these things are evil, his thought and will are from an infernal internal, because from a belief in falsity and a love of evil. In a word, so far as man is in love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, he is in a spiritual internal, and from that internal thinks and wills and also speaks and acts; while so far as he is in the love of self and the world, he thinks and wills from hell, even when he speaks and acts otherwise.

7. It has been provided and arranged by the Lord, that so far as man thinks and wills from heaven, the spiritual man is opened and formed, the opening being into heaven even to the Lord, while the forming is in conformity to the things of heaven. But on the contrary so far as man thinks and wills, not from heaven but from the world, so far the internal spiritual man is closed, and the external is opened and formed, the opening being into the world, while the forming is in conformity to the things of hell.

8. Those in whom the internal spiritual man is opened into heaven to the Lord are in the light of heaven, and in enlightenment from the Lord, and thereby in intelligence and wisdom; these see truth from the light of truth and perceive good from the love of good. But those in whom the internal spiritual man is closed do not know what the internal man is, neither do they believe in the Word or in a life after death, or in the things pertaining to heaven and the church; and because they are in merely natural light, they believe nature to be from itself and not from God; they see falsity as truth, and have a perception of evil as good.

9. The internal and external here treated are the internal and external of man's spirit; his body is only an additional external within which the former exist; for the body in no way acts from itself, but acts only from the spirit that is in it. It must be understood that the spirit of man, after its release from the body, thinks and wills and speaks and acts, just as before. Thinking and willing are its internal, while speech and action then constitute its external.

(True Christian Religion 401)

To be continued ...

Charity and Good Works (pt. 8)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt. 8)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

(4) Love of self and love of the world in particular.

1. The love of self is wishing well to oneself only, and not to others except for the sake of self, not even to the church, one's country, any human society, or to a fellow citizen; it is also doing good to them solely for the sake of one's own reputation, honor, and glory; and when these are not perceived in the good done to others, saying in one's heart, What matters it? Why should I do this? What will I gain by it? - and so leaving it undone. This makes evident that he who is in the love of self does not love the church, or his country, or society, or his fellow citizen, or anything truly good, but only himself and his own.

2. Man is in the love of self, when he has no regard for the neighbor in what he thinks and does, thus no regard for the public, still less for the Lord, but only for himself and those who belong to him, and therefore does everything for the sake of himself and those who belong to him, or if for the public's sake, it is for appearance only, or if for the neighbor, it is to obtain his favor.

3. It is said, for the sake of himself and those who belong to him; for he who loves himself loves also those who belong to him, who are especially his children and grandchildren, and in general all who make one with him, whom he calls his own. Loving these is loving himself, for he regards them, as it were, in himself, and himself in them. Among those whom he calls his own are also included all who praise, and honor, and pay court to him. All others he indeed looks upon with his bodily eyes as men, but with the eyes of his spirit he scarcely regards them otherwise than as specters.

4. That man is in the love of self, who despises his neighbor in comparison with himself, and who regards his neighbor as an enemy if he does not favor him and does not venerate and pay court to him. Still more in the love of self is he who for these reasons hates his neighbor and persecutes him; and still more he who on this account burns with revenge against him and desires his destruction. Such at length love to be cruel.

5. The nature of the love of self can be made clear by comparison with heavenly love. Heavenly love is loving uses for the sake of the uses, or goods for the sake of the goods which a man does for the church, his country, human society, and the fellow citizen. But he who loves these for his own sake, loves them only as he loves his household servants, because they serve him. From this it follows that he who is in the love of self, wishes the church, his country, society, and his fellow citizens to serve him, instead of his serving them; he places himself above them, and them beneath himself.

6. Again, so far as anyone is in heavenly love, which is loving uses and goods and having a heartfelt delight in promoting them, so far he is led by the Lord, because that is the love in which the Lord is, and which is from Him. But so far as anyone is in the love of self, so far he is led by himself, and so far is led by what is his own [proprium]; and man's own is nothing but evil, for it is his inherited evil, which is loving oneself more than God and the world more than heaven.

7. Moreover, the love of self is such, that so far as the reins are given to it, that is, so far as external bonds are removed, which are fear of the law and its penalties, of the loss of reputation, honor, wealth, office, or life, so far it rushes on until its desire is not only to rule over the whole world, but also over heaven, and even over God Himself. There is nowhere any limit or end to it. This lurks in everyone who is in the love of self, although it is not apparent before the world, where it is held in check by the reins and bonds just mentioned; and any such man, when the impossible blocks his way, remains quiet until the possible comes about. Because of all this the man who is in such a love is not aware that such an insane and limitless cupidity lurks within him. Nevertheless, that it is so, no one can help seeing in rulers and kings, to whom there are no such reins and bonds and impossibilities, who rush on and subjugate provinces and kingdoms, and so long as they are successful, aspire to unlimited power and glory. And still more is it visible in those who extend their dominion into heaven, and transfer to themselves the whole of the Lord's Divine power. These continually desire more.

8. There are two kinds of dominion; one of love towards the neighbor, and another of love of self. These two kinds of dominion are opposites. He who exercises dominion from love towards the neighbor, desires the good of all, and loves nothing better than to perform uses, thus to serve others. Serving others is doing good from good will, and performing uses. Such is his love, and the delight of his heart. Moreover, so far as he is elevated to dignities he rejoices in it, not on account of the dignities, but on account of the uses which he can then perform to a greater extent and in a higher degree. Such is dominion in the heavens. But he who exercises dominion from love of self desires the good of none but himself and his own. The uses he performs are for the sake of his own honor and glory, which to him are the only uses. His end in serving others is that he himself may be served and honored, and may rule. He seeks dignities not for the sake of the goods he may do, but in order that he may gain eminence and glory, and may thereby be in his heart's delight.

9. His love of dominion remains with everyone after his life in the world; but to those who have exercised dominion from love towards the neighbor there is also entrusted dominion in the heavens, and then it is not they who rule, but the uses and goods which they love; and when uses and goods rule, the Lord rules. But those who in the world exercised dominion from self-love, after their life in the world are made to abdicate, and are reduced to servitude. From all this it is known who these are who are in the love of self. It does not matter what they may seem to be externally, whether haughty or humble, since such things reside in the internal man, and, by most men, the internal man is kept hidden, while the external is trained to counterfeit what belongs to the love of the public and the neighbor, thus the contrary of what is within; and this too is done for the sake of self; for they know that loving the public and the neighbor interiorly affects all men, and that they to that extent gain esteem. This love thus affects men because heaven flows into it.

10. The evils that prevail with those who are in love of self are, in general, contempt of others, envy, enmity toward those who do not favor them, from which results hostility, hatred of various kinds, revenge, craft, deceit, unmercifulness, cruelty. And where such evils prevail, there is also a contempt of God, and of Divine things, which are the truths and goods of the church. If they honor these things, it is with the lips only, not with the heart. And because such evils are from love of self, like falsities are also from it; for falsities are from evils.

11. But love of the world is a desire to draw to oneself the wealth of others by any device whatever, to set the heart upon riches, and to permit the world to withdraw and lead one away from spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor, that is, from heaven. Those are in love of the world who long to draw to themselves the goods of others by various devices, but especially those who wish to do so by craft and deceit, caring nothing for the good of the neighbor. Those who are in that love covet the goods of others, and so far as they do not fear the law and the loss of reputation on account of the gain, they get possession of others' goods, and even plunder them.

12. But love of the world is not opposed to heavenly love to such a degree as the love of self is, because so great evils are not concealed within it.

13. This love is manifold. There is a love of wealth as a means of being raised to honors; a love of honors and dignities as means of acquiring wealth; a love of wealth for the sake of various uses that afford worldly pleasure; a love of wealth for the mere sake of wealth, such as the avaricious have; and so on. The end for the sake of which wealth is sought is called the use, and it is the end or use from which love draws its quality; for such as the end is for which anything is done, such is the love; all else serves it as means.

14. In a word, love of self and love of the world are directly opposite to love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor. Consequently love of self and love of the world, such as have just been described, are infernal loves, and these reign in hell, and also constitute hell in man. But love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor are heavenly loves, and these reign in heaven, and also constitute heaven in man.

(True Christian Religion 400)

To be continued ...

Charity and Good Works (pt.7)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt.7)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

(3) Love in general.

1. The very life of man is his love, and as his love is such is his life, such even is the whole man; but it is the dominant or ruling love that makes the man. This love has many loves subordinate to it which are derivations from it; and while these are in appearance different loves, yet they are everyone included in the dominant love, and with it form one kingdom. The dominant love is like the king and head of the others; it directs them, and through them as mediate ends it looks to and is intent upon its own end (which is the first and last of all), and this both directly and indirectly.

2. What belongs to the dominant love is what is loved above all things. That which man loves above all things is constantly present in his thought, because it is in his will and constitutes his veriest life. For example, one who loves wealth above all things, whether money or possessions, is constantly studying how to acquire it, is inmostly delighted when he gets it, and inmostly grieved when he loses it. His heart is in it. He who loves himself above all things is mindful of himself in every least thing, thinks about himself, talks about himself, acts in his own behalf, for his life is the life of self.

3. What a man loves above all things is his end; that he looks to in all things and in every single thing. In his will it is like the latent current of a river, which draws and bears him away even when he is doing something else, for it is that which influences him. This it is that one man searches out and discovers in another, and thereby either controls him or acts with him.

4. Man is wholly such as is that which is dominant in his life. By this he is distinguished from others; according to it his heaven is formed if he is good, and his hell if he is evil; it is his very will, his very own [proprium], and his very nature, for it is the very being [esse] of his life. This cannot be changed after death, for it is the man himself.

5. Everything that gives delight, satisfaction, and happiness to anyone is wholly from his dominant love, and is in accordance with it; for that which he loves man calls delightful because he feels it to be so. What he thinks about and yet does not love, he may also call delightful, but it is not the delight of his life. The delight of a man's love is to him good, and what is undelightful is to him evil.

6. There are two loves, from which, as from their very fountains, all goods and truths spring; and there are two loves from which all evils and falsities spring. The two loves from which are all goods and truths are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, while the two loves from which are all evils and falsities are the love of self and the love of the world. When the two latter loves are dominate they are entirely opposite to the two former.

7. The two loves from which are all goods and truths, which, as has been said, are love to the Lord and love towards the neighbor, constitute heaven in man, for these rule in heaven; and because they constitute heaven in man they also constitute the church in him. The two loves from which are all evils and falsities, which, as has been said, are the love of self and the love of the world, constitute hell in man, for they rule in hell; and consequently they destroy the church in man.

8. The two loves from which are all goods and truths, which, as before said, are the loves of heaven, open and form the internal, spiritual man, because they reside there, but the two loves from which are all evils and falsities, which, as before said, are the loves of hell, when they predominate, close and destroy the internal spiritual man, and render man natural and sensual according to the extent and nature of their dominion over him.

(True Christian Religion 399)

To be continued ...

Charity and Good Works (pt. 6)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt. 6)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

(2) Good and truth.

1. All things in the universe that are in Divine order have relation to good and truth; for nothing can exist in heaven or in the world that does not have relation to these two. This is because both of these, good as well as truth, go forth from God from whom are all things.

2. From this it is clear that it is necessary for man to know what good is and what truth is, how the one has regard to the other and how the one is conjoined with the other; and this is especially necessary for the man of the church, since all things of the church have relation to good and truth, just as all things of heaven do, because the good and truth of heaven are also the good and truth of the church.

3. It is according to Divine order for good and truth to be conjoined and not separated, thus that they be one and not two; for they are conjoined when they go forth from God and are conjoined in heaven, and therefore must be conjoined in the church. The conjunction of good and truth is called in heaven the heavenly marriage, for all who are there are in that marriage. For this reason in the Word heaven is likened to a marriage, and the Lord is called the bridegroom and husband, and heaven, and likewise the church, the bride and wife. Heaven and the church are so called because those who are there receive the Divine good in truths.

4. All the intelligence and wisdom that the angels have is from that marriage, and nothing thereof is from good separated from truth, or from truth separated from good. It is the same with the men of the church.

5. Since the conjunction of good and truth is like a marriage, it is evident that good loves truth, and that truth in turn loves good, and that each desires to be conjoined with the other. The man of the church who has no such love and no such desire is not in the heavenly marriage; therefore the church is not yet in him, since the conjunction of good and truth is what constitutes the church.

6. Goods are manifold. In general there is spiritual good and there is natural good, and also the two conjoined in genuine moral good. As with goods so with truths, since truths are of good and are forms of good.

7. As with good and truth, so is it in an opposite way with evil and falsity; that is, as all things in the universe that are in accordance with Divine order have relation to good and truth, so do all things contrary to Divine order have relation to evil and falsity. Again, as good loves to be conjoined with truth, and truth with good, so does evil love to be conjoined with falsity and falsity with evil. And further, as all intelligence and wisdom is born from the conjunction of good and truth, so is all irrationality and folly born from the conjunction of evil and falsity. The conjunction of evil and falsity viewed interiorly is not marriage but adultery.

8. From the fact that evil and falsity are the opposites of good and truth, it is clear that truth cannot be conjoined with evil, nor good with the falsity of evil. If truth is joined to evil it comes to be no longer truth, but falsity, because it is falsified; and if good is joined to the falsity of evil it comes to be no longer good, but evil, because it is adulterated. But falsity that is not the falsity of evil may be joined to good.

9. No one who is in evil and therefrom in falsity by confirmation and life, can know what good and truth are, for he believes his own evil to be good, and therefore his own falsity to be truth; but everyone who is in good, and therefrom in truth by confirmation and life, can know what evil and falsity are. This is because all good and its truth are in their essence heavenly, while all evil and its falsity are in their essence infernal, and everything heavenly is in light, but everything infernal in darkness.

(True Christian Religion 398)

To be continued ...

Charity and Good Works (pt. 5)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt. 5)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

(1) The will and understanding.

1. Man has two faculties which constitute his life; one called the will and the other the understanding. These are distinct from each other, but so created as to be one, and when they are one they are called the mind; consequently these are the human mind, and in them the whole of man's life resides in its principles, and therefrom in the body.

2. As all things in the universe which are according to order, have relation to good and truth, so all things in man have relation to the will and understanding; since good in man pertains to the will, and truth to the understanding; for these two faculties or these two lives of man are their receptacles and subjects - the will being the receptacle and subject of all things of good, and the understanding the receptacle and subject of all things of truth. Here and nowhere else are the goods and truths in man, and as goods and truths in man are nowhere else, so love and faith are nowhere else, since love belongs to good and good to love, while faith belongs to truth and truth to faith.

3. Again, the will and understanding constitute man's spirit, for in these his wisdom and intelligence reside, also his love and charity, and in general his life. The body is mere obedience.

4. Nothing is more important than to know how the will and understanding make one mind. They make one mind as good and truth make one; for there is a marriage between the will and the understanding the same as between good and truth. The nature of that marriage will be made clear in what is now to be set forth respecting good and truth, namely, that as good is the very being [esse] of a thing, and truth its manifestation [existere] there from, so is the will in man the very being of his life, while the understanding is its manifestation therefrom; for good, which belongs to the will, takes form in the understanding, and there presents itself to view.

(True Christian Religion 397)

To be continued ...

Charity and Good Works (pt. 4)

Selection from True Christian Religion ~ Emanuel Swedenborg
Charity and Good Works (pt. 4)
v Doctrinal Series v

I. THERE ARE THREE UNIVERSAL LOVES:
THE LOVE OF HEAVEN, THE LOVE OF THE WORLD, AND THE LOVE OF SELF.

That these three loves reside in every man from creation and therefore from birth, and that when rightly subordinated they perfect him, and when not, they pervert him.... It may serve for the present merely to state, that-

these three loves are rightly subordinated when the love of heaven forms the head, the love of the world the breast and abdomen, and the love of self the feet and their soles.

... the human mind is divided into three regions.

From the highest region man looks to God, from the second or middle region to the world, and from the third or lowest to himself.

The mind being such it can be raised and can raise itself upward, because to God and to heaven; it can be extended and can extend itself to the sides in all directions, because into the world and its nature; and it can be let downward and let itself downward, because to earth and to hell. In these respects the bodily vision emulates the mind's vision; it also can look upward, round about, and downward.

The human mind is like a house of three stories which communicate by stairs-

in the highest of which angels from heaven dwell, in the middle men in the world, and in the lowest one, genii.

The man in whom these three loves are rightly subordinated can ascend and descend in this house at his pleasure; and when he ascends to the highest story, he is in company with angels as an angel; and when he descends from that to the middle story he is in company with men as an angel man; and when from this he descends still further, he is in company with genii as a man of the world, instructing, reproving, and subduing them.

In the man in whom these three loves are rightly subordinated, they are also coordinated thus:

The highest love, which is the love of heaven, is inwardly in the second, which is the love of the world, and through this in the third or lowest, which is the love of self; and the love that is within directs at its will that which is without.

So when the love of heaven is inwardly in the love of the world, and through this in the love of self, man from the God of heaven, performs uses in each.

In their operation these three loves are like will, understanding, and action-

the will flows into the understanding, and there provides itself with the means whereby it produces action.

But on these points more will be seen ... that these three loves, when rightly subordinated, perfect man, but when not rightly subordinated, pervert and invert him.

In order that what follows ... may be so presented in the light of reason as to be clearly seen, it is necessary to premise something respecting the will and understanding, good and truth, love in general, the love of the world and love of self in particular, the external and internal man, and the merely natural and sensual man. These things must be made clear, that the rational sight of man, in his perception of what follows further on, may not be as it were in a dense fog, and in that state be like one wandering through the streets of a city until he knows not the way home. For what is theology separated from the understanding, or with the understanding not enlightened when the Word is read, but like a lamp in the hand giving no light, such as were those of the five foolish virgins who had no oil?

(True Christian Religion 395 - 396)

To be continued ...