new church life: jan uary/february 2015
of New Church education. Is it not evident that the Lord has a great deal to
say about the importance of this use? There is a calling to every parent to
provide for this level of guidance for their children. Those parents who are so
motivated will naturally turn to the Church for support in this endeavor. And
the Church can and should respond by providing a rich array of support for
children as they grow.
The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Jr. is Assistant to the Bishop of the General
Church, Vice President of General Church International, Incorporated,
and Head of General Church Education. Prior to his ordination into
the third degree he was Pastor of the Glenview (Illinois) New Church.
He and his wife, Teresa (Farrington), live in Bryn Athyn with their four
children. Contact: [email protected]
O U R N E W C H U RC H V O C A B U L A R Y
Part of a continuing series developed by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, 1961-1966.
CONCUPISCENCE
Here we have another term which should be retained as marking an important
distinction, even though it may fall strangely on the unfamiliar ear. Concupiscence is
voluntary evil; yet not so much the evil of the will itself as the continuous lust of evil, and
therefore the life that is breathed into it by the loves of self and the world that sustain it.
The various and distinct evils that make up man’s ruling evil are called concupiscences;
and the derivations of infernal love, which are affections of evil and falsity, are called
concupiscences, the term “affection” being reserved properly for good and truth. (See Arcana
Coelestia 10,283:12; Divine Providence 296, 106)
42