new church life: jan uary/february 2017
You won’t find that worldview in the “righteous mind” of a “new atheist,”
no matter how scholarly his study of thinking and behavior.
We find true guidance in the teachings explained by Bishop Pendleton,
which are at the heart of New Church education: “Sooner or later – and
hopefully sooner – we must be brought back to the realization that moral
order is basic to all social life and that this order is inscribed upon two tablets
of stone which constitute the primitive covenant between God and the man
whom He created.”
(BMH)
the circle of life
Here is another “third lesson” (from a December 11, 2016 service at Bryn
Athyn Cathedral) that gives us a concise and beautiful description of the
“hidden agenda” governing each person’s life. According to the Divine plan for
our journey through life in this world, we proceed from the spiritual morning
of childhood to the evening of old age, and then in heaven are brought back
into a new morning “in which the rudiments of wisdom that were planted in
us while we were in the world grow and thrive to eternity.”
The Lord is present with each and every human being. He exerts insistent
pressure on us to receive Him. When we do receive Him, which occurs when we
acknowledge Him as our own God, Creator, Redeemer, and Savior, his First Coming
occurs [in us], which is the twilight before dawn. From then on, we begin to be
enlightened intellectually in spiritual matters and to grow into deeper and deeper
wisdom.
As we receive this wisdom from the Lord, we move through the morning into
midday. The day continues into our old age until we die. Then we come to the
Lord Himself in heaven. There, although we died old, we are brought back into the
morning of our lives, and the rudiments of wisdom that were planted in us while we
were in the physical world grow and thrive to eternity. (True Christian Religion 766)
(WEO)
sowing seeds with trust and hope
Who knew that the Parable of the Sower would find a whole new relevance in
the age of the internet?
The item about the work of the Swedenborg Foundation in Church News
(page 51) talks about the great success of its YouTube series in reaching people
all over the world. There were more than 40,000 subscribers in October and
the list grows every day. People are eagerly tuning in to learn more about the
teachings revealed to and through Emanuel Swedenborg.
What is the implication of all this for the growth of the New Church? We
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