New Church Life July/August 2016 | Page 96

n e w c h u r c h l i f e : j u ly / au g u s t 2 0 1 6 and that the fallout is still playing out all around us. We know that this was a judgment not of “the souls under the altar,” but on the state of the church and the faith within each of us. We know that the “End Times” are not “Armageddon” but the Holy City New Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven – a time of great hope and promise. We know that the Second Coming was not another personal visitation but a spiritual presence, and that it was not a one-time event on June 19, 1770, but is ongoing. “The Lord’s coming does not consist, as the letter has it, in His appearing once again in the world, but in His presence within everyone.” (Arcana Coelestia 3900:9) But all of this is not meant to be our little secret. We are all tasked with the Great Commission to share the good news – to go forth and “teach all nations.” (BMH) a bridge to the arcana How many of us have felt overwhelmed and frustrated launching into a study of Arcana Coelestia, either as part of a class or as a personal commitment? It is a daunting prospect – even for a theolog. The temptation is to ask, somewhat facetiously, “Where’s the Cliff Notes version? There’s got to be an easier way to d o this.” Now there is. The Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Sr. has a review on page 363 of a new abridgment of the Arcana by a supremely dedicated South African New Churchman, Dr. Willard Mansfield. During a long, successful career in industry and academia – all the while completely devoted to the Church – Dr. Mansfield was saddened by the realization that many people were missing the wonders of what is revealed in the Arcana, mainly because they find those 12 volumes just too daunting to tackle. So he devoted the past 15 years to careful study, producing an abridged version which Bishop Buss calls truly “a remarkable gift to the Church.” Dr. Mansfield was extremely conscientious in preserving the internal sense, while cutting out some of the redundancy and distracting material. The result promises to be a “cleaner” read – not compromising the revelation given to us through Emanuel Swedenborg but adapting it to our understanding. As Bishop Buss notes, ministers “abridge” the Writings all the time in sermons and classes to accommodate to our understanding, and this is what Dr. Mansfield has done on a grander scale. This abridgment has enormous potential to be useful to church members who have shied away from plunging into the Arcana, and as an easier introductory work for newcomers. It should not replace the traditional 408