Life of Emanuel Swedenborg: Together with a brief synopsis of his writings, both philosophical and theologicalWhite, William
Religion
Life of Emanuel Swedenborg: Together with a brief synopsis of his writings, both philosophical and theological
White, William
Mystics -- Sweden -- Biography; Swedenborg, Emanuel, 1688-1772
Chapter VI. treats of Faith. Faith, it is said, is first in regard to
time, and charity is first in regard to end; that is, the use of faith is
to lead to charity. A saving faith is a faith in the Lord God the Saviour
Jesus Christ, because He is the visible God in whom is the invisible.
Faith, in general, consists in a belief that the Lord will save all
who live a good life and believe aright; and a man receives this faith
in consequence of approaching the Lord, learning truths from the Word,
and living a life in conformity with them. Faith without charity is not
faith, and charity without faith is not charity; and neither faith nor
charity has any life in it but from the Lord. Although a man has power
given him to procure for himself faith and charity, and the life of faith
and charity, yet nothing of faith, charity, or the life of either, is
from man, but from the Lord alone. Charity and faith are together in
good works; for charity consists in willing what is good, and good works
consist in doing what is good, from and under the influence of a good
will; and both charity and faith are merely mental and perishable things,
unless they are determined to works, and coexist in them, whenever there
is opportunity. The wicked have no faith, because wickedness is of hell,
and faith is of heaven, and all the truth of faith is derived from
heaven. Faith cannot dwell with evil, for evil is like fire,—infernal
fire being the love of evil, which consumes faith like stubble, and
reduces it and all that belongs to it to ashes. Evil dwells in darkness,
and faith in light; and evil by means of the falsehood which it loves,
extinguishes faith, as darkness does light. And because the world is at
this day full of evil, (notwithstanding the morality of life, and the
rationality with which faith is spoken and written about,) of true faith
there is almost none, because of goodness there is almost none.
Chapter VII. discourses of love towards our neighbor, and good works. It
is introduced by the statement that there are three universal loves, the
love of heaven, the love of the world, and the love of self. These three
loves, when they are in right subordination, make a man perfect; but when
they are not in right subordination, they pervert and invert him. The
love of self and of the world are not in themselves evil. When the love
of heaven, that is, the love of God, of goodness and truth, is supreme in
the mind, and the world is loved as a means to do good, and self is cared
for that uses to the neighbor may be performed,—then the love of self
and of the world are orderly and justifiable. But when the love of God
and heaven is dethroned, and the love of self or of the world rules, and
a man is religious and just only so far as religion and justice conduce
to self-interest and thus God and justice and all things holy are put to
vile uses, then the soul of man is inverted,—is a form of hell; and in
the light of heaven appears bestial, ugly, and deformed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account