new church life: jan uary/february 2016
purpose, to think broadly and critically from a variety of perspectives, and
to build intellectual and practical skills. The ultimate purpose is to enhance
students’ civil, moral and spiritual lives, and to contribute to human spiritual
welfare.”
This is “The Road to Character” and Bryn Athyn College has not lost its
way.
(BMH)
you’re welcome
I heard a man on talk radio saying that he had been raised in a very religious
family but had turned against religion as an adult himself. Why? Because he
heard too many Christians condemning others to hell because they were not
“saved,” had not been baptized, didn’t believe in Jesus, belonged to the wrong
religion, or had no religion at all. This, he thought, is not what religion should
be all about. It had no attraction for him.
One of the most comforting teachings of the New Church – and one of
the most appealing for visitors and newcomers – is that everyone is born for
heaven and that everyone who loves God and the neighbor can enter.
The image in Revelation is reassuring: the Holy City has 12 gates –
numerous ways for any and all to enter heaven who have loved God and lived
lives of charity and conscience.
And that is what religion is really all about.
(BMH)
a correction and apology
The quotation from Isaiah 11:1-3 on page 618 of our November-December issue
was erroneous, substituting “her” for “Him” and “she” for “He” throughout.
The original language is unambiguous and the passage is a prophecy of the
Lord’s own advent and refers to Him. As spiritual editor I should have spotted
this error.
The wording was obviously intended to communicate the Lord’s love for
women, which is a good message, but as a direct quote from Scripture the
translation of the Hebrew is simply inaccurate. Every translation I have found
has “he” or “He” as the pronoun. Here is how the passage appears in the New
King James Bible:
There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
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