n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 5
a warning to us, and so we could identify their presence in ourselves, and
because the goodness and sanity of heaven is made especially apparent by
contrast with its opposites.
But in themselves these hellish things are nothing. They are simply the
opposite of heavenly qualities, and can be generally understood that way. Cold
is the absence of heat, darkness is the absence of light, death is the absence of
life. A shadow has no existence apart from light.
Love and wisdom are real; hatred and insanity result from a willful turning
away and denial of what is real, and the delusions this produces. Heaven is
something, hell exists only as a rejection and perversion of heaven.
But just as we are affected by cold and dark and death, the effects of hell’s
influence on our lives are real enough. It is better not to dwell on them, though,
or even mention them any more than necessary. Let them remain unspeakable.
It is better to concentrate our thoughts on the things of heaven, some of which
are too beautiful for words.
“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is
pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians
4:8)
(WEO)
lest we forget
Philip Yancey, prolific Christian writer of such popular books as What’s So
Amazing About Grace?, Where is God When It Hurts?, and Discovering God,
also wrote, Soul Survivor – How Thirteen Unlikely Mentors Helped My Faith
Survive the Church. Too bad Swedenborg wasn’t one of Yancey’s mentors; he
may not have needed the others.
One of those mentors was a favorite author of mine, Annie Dillard, whose
transcendent and beautifully written Pilgrim at Tinker Creek won the Pulitzer
Prize in 1974. (I had written to her then because so many of her themes seemed
congruent with Swedenborg. She wrote a kind note back saying that she had
been a religion major at the University of Pittsburgh and was well acquainted
with Swedenborg.)
She told Yancey in an interview: “I have no problem with miracles. I’m a
long way from agnosticism, and no longer even remember how a lot of things
that used to be problems for me were. But that isn’t the question I struggle
with. To me, the real question is: How in the world can we remember God?
I like that part of the Bible that lists kings as good or bad. Suddenly there
comes this one, King Josiah, who orders the temple to be cleaned up and
inadvertently discovers the law. This happens after generations of rulers and
304