not dwell in ignorance, it is not holy. Even among the angels themselves, who enjoy
the greatest possible light from understanding and wisdom, holiness resides in
ignorance. They recognize and admit that they know nothing on their own, that
anything they do know comes from the Lord. They also recognize and admit that all
learning, their understanding, and their wisdom is nothing compared to the Lord’s
infinite knowledge and therefore that theirs is ignorance. If we fail to acknowledge
that what we do not know amounts to infinitely more than what we do know, we
cannot experience the holy ignorance of the angels. (Ibid. 1557)
Swedenborg also offers the comforting thought that “holy ignorance”
doesn’t mean we know less than other people do, just that we admit we know
nothing on our own, and what we don’t know infinitely outnumbers what we
do know. There’s something exciting about the prospect that we can go on
learning to eternity.
Real wisdom then dwells in holy ignorance, not a puffed-up intellect, and
recognizing ultimately that what we know and understand is far less important
than how we live. Not everyone can be smart or intellectual, but it doesn’t
matter, because everyone can be wise.
(BMH)
why the academy has received such support
One of the remarkable things about the Academy of the New Church is the
amount of support it has received from New Church people from its beginning
to the present day. There must be very few educational institutions whose
alumni have shown such a degree of lifelong interest, devotion and financial
commitment to the institution as the Academy has received. What is it that
inspires such ardent support?
The donations of money and thoughtful service which have benefited the
Academy so greatly through the years are the result of the inspiration the donors
have received from the teachings of the New Church, and their conviction that
the Academy is the best means for transmitting a firm knowledge and love of
those teachings to the next generation of the Church.
The love parents feel for their children is a very strong love, and it is
one of the main reasons the Academy is so highly valued. Parents want their
children’s lives to be as well-grounded and enriched as theirs have been by
their Academy experience, and their subsequent participation as adults in the
life of the Church.
This is why General Church people have supported the Academy so
ardently through the years. They know that a New Church education is one
of the best gifts they can give their children – because the faith and life of the
New Church, into which that education introduces the students, is the greatest
gift of all.
It was a principle of the Academy from the beginning that the schools
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