n e w c h u r c h l i f e : m ay / j u n e 2 0 1 4
There is a growing
army of people
under the radar of
public perception
who live in a silent
awareness indicated
by expressions like,
“there must be more
to reality than this.”
the full explanation for me.
Then a few years ago – probably 2009
– Dr. Erland Brock from the Swedenborg
Scientific Association sent me a section
from Words for the New Church, a series of
articles written in 1879 and subsequently
published as a book in the United States.
The sub-heading is, A Serial Controlled by
the Academy of the New Church. It read
very much like a manifesto in which the
New Church clearly outlined much of its
distinctive function and character. Very
near the beginning is this statement of
purpose: “To preach the Doctrines of the
New Church simply from the letter of the
Word is not sufficient; for in this case we should be able to reach only those
who have already a belief in the Divinity of Sacred Scripture.”
The fact that Christianity is declining is evidenced by falling attendance
figures, particularly in countries where the belief in science and its influential
progress has overshadowed religion, and perhaps not without reason. This is
arguable, of course, but the point is that here was a church that had a vision
that reached beyond the preaching-to-the-converted philosophy. Who, then,
was the target audience?
I have to say that I was more than surprised and actually jumped out of
my chair as I read the next line in this passage: “But the Doctrines of the New
Church are also for those who have intellectually separated themselves from
the foundations of Christianity, and whose minds are absorbed in the study of
the natural sciences.”
Reading this, I realized why the New Church was significant to me. The
questions that had arisen in my mind about the appeal of the Writings were
answered. I was that person described as “separated from Christianity” and
immersed in the “study of the natural sciences.”
That is not to say that the New Church came into existence exclusively
for me. The world today is full of people much like myself. Secular education
promotes its own advantages, but it is common for a person’s actual experience
of it to reveal how narrow a view it presents of reality. “What’s in it for me?”
is the kind of question that shapes that view of reality, and one soon discovers
how limited that vision is. (By “soon,” I mean a period of years that can extend,
as in my case, from the age of 18 up to 50 or 60.)
Just to emphasize, this is a conclusion discovered by experience rather
than study, a conclusion many feel dawning over them gradually as they
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