Letters
Letters may be sent to the Editors of New Church Life at
Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009
or e-mailed to [email protected].
An Abridged Edition of the Arcana Coelestia
To the Editors:
I would like to comment on several of the points raised by Barrie Ridgway
in New Church Life November/December 2016. This was in response to
the review by the Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss Sr. in New Church Life July/August
2016 concerning the 12 volumes of the Abridged Arcana Coelestia that I have
prepared. Many of the points that Mr. Ridgway raises are in fact covered by
Bishop Buss in his review. However, I believe there should be more clarity,
particularly because Mr. Ridgway admits he has read none of the actual work
itself.
The first issue I would like to address is that this work is directed at those
lay people who find the original too onerous to handle and “give up” after a
limited effort, which they do by their own admission. This is clearly stated in
the Introduction to the work, which Mr. Ridgway has not read. This is not
directed at all to those people who are comfortable in reading the original.
Subsequent to the review appearing in New Church Life many people have
contacted me, confirming they do not read the original for this reason. I also,
in the Introduction, suggest to lay people who are now reading this version that
they should follow this up by going back to the original. The question is, is it
better to have an abridged version, which hopefully many lay people will read
and is reasonably readable – and also has been given the stamp of approval by
two bishops of the Church – or to leave the status quo? I personally have no
doubt now which is the better option, considering the response that I have
received.
Under no circumstances do I even suggest that this work should be seen as
a replacement for the original, which would be supreme arrogance on my part!
The next issue I would like to address has to do with the reason for me
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