at Bryn Athyn College would prevent me from providing extensive editorial
assistance. So I wrote back, saying that I would be happy to read the manuscript
and provide general comments, but would not be able to give him a detailed
review or provide extensive editorial assistance. In his reply, which included a
full copy of the manuscript, he said he would be pleased with any comments
I could provide.
And so I began to read . . . and read . . . and read. It took me about two
weeks, reading every morning and evening. As I read, I became more and
more captivated by his style and approach. His own thinking is so seamlessly
interwoven with direct quotations from the Writings that sometimes it is
hard to discern whether one is reading the Writings or reading Mr. Kaage’s
reflections.
While my editor’s instinct picked up many “no-no’s” – such as the misuse
of ellipses, overuse of exclamation points, capitalization errors, and a disruptive
shift from “he” to “she” to “we” to be gender inclusive – my theological mind
began to look beyond the grammatical problems to the beauty of this man’s
doctrinal insights.
Here are a few I gleaned from the manuscript, followed by my comments:
Thesis 17: There are infinite things in the Divine which nevertheless
make one.
Kaage: “It is not possible for the Lord’s pure mercy – and this alone – to
bring anyone out from a hellish state to a heavenly state of salvation, for this
requires consent and agreement on the part of each person.” (p.27)
Silverman: While this is a well-known doctrine, I found Mr. Kaage’s
inclusion of the phrase “consent and agreement” arresting. It reminded me
of the teaching in Conjugial Love 21 that “consent is the essential element in
marriage.”
Thesis 27: Life, Happiness, Heaven and Salvation are terms expressive
of an identical concept.
Kaage: “These terms are all descriptive of a continuously expanding degree
of Divine presence. This Divine Life is entering us each moment from within.
Thus it is that the greatest gift we could ever hope to receive is truly something
we already possess.” (p. 43)
Silverman: Despite Jesus’ teaching that the kingdom of God is within us,
and the teaching from the Writings that the heavenly kingdom is not “on high”
but in those things that are internal (Arcana Coelestia 2148), the human mind
has a tendency to think that heavenly qualities are somewhere “outside” of us.
Mr. Kaage reminds us, in simple language, that everything we seek is already
present, and that all we need to do is “receive” what is already there. Later, he
will say more about how we receive.
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