Note: For this class I have reordered the chapters from the way they are regularly presented in The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine. The new order reflects a philosophical construct presented in the work Divine Love and Wisdom, which is that all things flow from the Lord and then back to Him through the world, thus completing the cycle and cementing conjunction of people with the Lord. ~CAB
How we view the world is important to understand. Our worldview, while personal, impacts how we interpret the world in which we live, and it also impacts how we chose to live in the world. Understanding our personal worldview can help us to become more self-aware and, in turn, become more intentional about how we live our lives.
This course introduces students to the concept of worldviews, and helps to bring them to a place of being comfortable with the reality that there are as many ways of understanding the world as there are people who live in it. Whether a person's worldview is based on a particular philosophy, or religion, or has been shaped by popular culture, it is worth understanding.
The Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem are the sacred writings for the New Church, which is a new Christianity—the fulfillment of prophesy of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The Heavenly Doctrines were opened to Emanuel Swedenborg, a multi-talented man from 18th Century Sweden, and they were written and published for the world to read. Through these Doctrines, the Lord opens the inner meanings of the Sacred Scripture, reveals the true nature of Divinity, spirituality, the afterlife, and more. The truths they contain are delivered for one purpose and one purpose only, to aid all people in their journey to become angels in heaven, which is the Lord’s ultimate goal for all people.
The Lord is the marriage of Goodness itself and Truth itself. He connects with us in this World most immediately through His Sacred Scripture, which is the Word of the Old and New Testaments. Those who engage in the Word from good motivations form the church. The Lord's Divine Providence oversees and encourages the formation of His church on Earth and also works to extend its affect over all the world, both directly through the Truths of the Word and indirectly through those who are in good motivations.
Readings:
Chapter 22: The Lord (280-297)
Chapter 01: Good and Truth (11-19)
Chapter 20: Sacred Scripture, or the Word (249-254)
Chapter 19: The Church (241-245)
Chapter 21: Providence (267-275)
Within each individual in creation, there are two faculties which facilitate all activity, the will and the "intellect." When these work together, deliberate activity proceeds. The will is the driving force, and the "intellect" gives structure to this drive, thus yielding results. These function at the internal of a person. While a person is alive in the world, that person exists on two planes, an external natural one and an internal spiritual one. A person’s natural is akin to a persona, while the internal is the real identity. These can be in agreement, but the external is removed after death, and the internal is all that remains.
Readings:
Chapter 02: The will and the "intellect" (28-33)
Chapter 03: The internal and the external person (36-46)
At the core of a person, within the external and internal person, within the internal and external of a person, behind the faculties of the will and the “intellect,” a person is love. "The loves that make people what they are the loves that make them act." The love which drives each individual will ultimately become either selfless love which values the Lord and the neighbor, or it will become selfish love which values only the things of this world which serve the self.
Readings:
Chapter 04: Love in general (54-61)
Chapter 06: Love toward the neighbor or charity (84-105)
Chapter 05: The loves of self and of the world (65-80)
All people are given a choice as to what kind of person they will each become. This freedom of choice is key to being a human and it is protected by the Divine, as it is His will that people live deliberately in freedom from good motivations so that they will love to live lives that are fit for heaven. Becoming fit for heaven is a process that begins with developing faith. Faith is not simply knowledge or even “belief,” but it is a willingness to do what is true because it is true.” This faith manifests itself in selfless charitable living. Additionally, the external trappings and demeanor of religious living accompany true faith in the form of piety. As a person grows and develops in faith and piety, a conscience is developed, which is informed by the things of truth and feedback from living well. This conscience will serve the person oriented toward the Lord.
Readings:
Chapter 10: Freedom (141-147)
Chapter 07: Faith [and Charity] (108-119)
Chapter 08: Piety (123-128)
Chapter 09: Conscience (130-138)
There are two sacred practices initiated by the Lord Jesus Christ in the New Testament, these are baptism and Holy Supper. These two sacraments serve as signs and reminders of eternal truths and connection with the Lord. Baptism is a sign and reminder of the cleansing of the spirit by means of living the truths that we learn, it does not save in itself, but reminds of the salvation that comes with righteous living. The Holy Supper is a sign and a reminder of the goodness and truth of the Lord that sustains us, and eating the bread and drinking the wine is representative of our accepting these goods and truths from the Lord for ourselves.
Readings:
Chapter 15: Baptism (202-208)
Chapter16: The Holy Supper (210-214)
In an ideal world, all people would naturally live charitable lives in accordance with Divine truth, however because this world is imperfect and is influenced by selfish motives, it is necessary to have systems in place to govern people and maintain order. There should be a governing system responsible for civil and secular issues, and there should be a governing system responsible for religious and moral issues. The leaders and facilitators of each system should be people concerned with what is right to do from the Word.
Readings:
Chapter 23: Ecclesiastical and Civil Government (311-325)
Humanity is called by the Lord to embrace and embody goodness while in this world, but just because someone does good things does not mean that that person has embraced goodness in their heart. People who do good things, not out of charitable goodness, but out of self-interest are seeking merit in the form of reputation, honors from others, or gain. While the actions of a merit-seeker can benefit society in the short-term, they ultimately harm the individual and do not prepare the person for heaven. In order to be made fit for heaven, one must repent of the selfish things in life by recognizing them and refraining from them on account of their wickedness. By this means a person comes into good behaviors and the Lord gradually, insofar as He is welcomed by the repentant human, forms a new heart which loves to live the life of heaven. This process happens through temptations, which is the effect of battle between selfishness trying to defeat selflessness.
Readings:
Chapter 11: Merit (150-157)
Chapter 12: Repentance and the remission of sins (159-169)
Chapter 13: Regeneration (173-182)
Chapter 14: Temptation (187-195)
At the end of a person’s life, a new beginning awaits. It is this life for which the Lord created people, not the life on earth. After death, people wake up in the spiritual world and are people just as they were in this world, only they gradually come into whatever was their central love and this defines them and where they will call home for eternity. That home will be in either heaven or hell, both of which are ruled by the Lord, and both of which are perfectly suited to the loves of their inhabitants.
Readings:
Chapter 17: The Resurrection (223-228)
Chapter 18: Heaven and Hell (230-235)
Wrap up and prepare for final assessment.