A Stumbling Block to
Sharing Our Faith
The Rev. Kenneth J. Alden
(Note: This article originally appeared in The New Church Voice of Florida.)
A
mong the doubts that may cross our minds when we attempt to share our
faith is whether we appear to be selling tainted goods. Many Christians
have heard what it says at the end of the book of Revelation: “If anyone adds to
these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and
if anyone takes away from the words of this prophecy, God shall take away his
part from the Book of Life.” (Revelation 22:18-19) Even if our listeners don’t
voice it, we may wonder if they have closed their minds, thinking, “You and
this Swedenborg are adding books to the Bible!”
Adding to the Bible is a serious concern. It is spiritual death to have other
gods than the Lord. Accepting the product of man’s own intelligence as having
Divine authority would be the same as having some other god. If our listener
is cautious about accepting what Swedenborg penned, lest they be adding to
the Bible, that is a good thing. We should be concerned about this issue, too.
Are we violating the Lord’s law in accepting the theological writings of
Emanuel Swedenborg as Divine revelation? Is it enough to acknowledge that
everything in those Writings leads us to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as
our only God and to keep His commandments as the law of religion? Is the
way they satisfy our thirst for truth with systematic, rational doctrines that
make sense like no other theology sufficient to quiet our fear of adding books
to the Bible? Here are six points that offer reassurance that our faith is not
misplaced.
First, we should know that all of the Bible was penned by men. All written
Divine revelation was recorded in this way. Even when He spoke from Mount
Sinai, or taught His twelve disciples from His own mouth, the Lord had His
Word written by men at His command and by His inspiration.
Second, we should recall that the book we call “the Bible” was gathered
over time. At first there was the Law of Moses. Later came the Prophets and
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