New Church Life Mar/Apr 2014 | Page 84

new church life: march / april 2014 Women have an awesome spiritual role. Consider this: “The reason why the inspiration or insinuation of love is from the wives into men is that with men there is nothing of conjugial love, nor even of the love of the sex, but only with wives and women.” (Ibid. 161) Then consider what that insinuation of conjugial love involves: “True conjugial love in its first essence is love to the Lord.” (Apocalypse Explained 995:2) “As true conjugial love in its first essence is love to the Lord from the Lord it is also innocence.” (Ibid. 996:2) “Since conjugial love in its first essence is love to the Lord from the Lord, and thus is innocence, conjugial love is also peace, such as the angels in the heavens have.” (Ibid. 997:4) All of these things – conjugial love, love to the Lord, innocence and peace – are insinuated into men by means of a perception which is the wisdom of wives – a wisdom which “cannot be with the man.” (Conjugial Love 168) Perhaps we have a lot to learn about the spiritual side of domestic uses, and the respect we should have for it. The Rev. Robert S. Jungé has been a minister of the General Church for almost 60 years. He has been pastor in Denver, Colorado, and founding pastor of the Ivyland (Pennsylvania) New Church and the Kempton (Pennsylvania) New Church. He has also been Secretary of the General Church, Principal of the Bryn Athyn Church School, instructor at the Academy of the New Church, and Dean of the Theological School. He has also been visiting pastor in many areas, from the western United States and central Pennsylvania to West Africa, Japan and Korea. He lives in retirement in Kempton and looks forward to being reunited with his wife, Vera (Pitcairn), who has been in the other world for 34 years. Contact: [email protected] 180