new church life : may / june 2017
underlies his faith . There is a “ divine design ” ( see True Christianity 105 ) for forming a partnership with the Lord . This is shown as a series of steps , laid out in the sequence of the chapters , that provide a guidebook for why we should and how we can cooperate with our Creator .
Allen admitted to being challenged at times by scientific statements in True Christianity – and elsewhere in the Writings – that just are not true , and by generalities about nationalities and religions that may seem overstated for Swedenborg ’ s time and certainly don ’ t hold up today .
Some in the audience expressed similar concerns about the context of the Word and the Writings , which sometimes seems at odds not only with science but with what we expect to find about a loving , omnipotent God . How do we reconcile those doubts with the sincere conviction that we are conjoined with the Lord through reading the Word ?
Allen cautioned against getting bogged down in the literal sense . We are taught that the Word is always directed at us personally . And no matter the context , it is always teaching us to love the Lord and love the neighbor . So when we come to stumbling blocks where what we read just doesn ’ t sound true this is what we should be looking for : What is the Lord trying to say to me here ? How does this apply to my life ?
( BMH ) when we forget the lord
At least when we are reading the Word we are looking to the Lord for guidance in our lives . What happens when we are just too busy or distracted to read the Word and those “ green books on the shelf ”? What happens when we forget the Lord ?
In the Books of Kings there is a series of chapters about kings who either “ did what was right in the sight of the Lord ” or what was wicked . Then comes Josiah , who “ did what was right . . . and walked in the ways of his father David .” He began purging Judah of its graven images and ordered that the temple in Jerusalem be restored . The high priest , Hilkiah , found in the neglected temple the Book of the Law of the Lord , given by Moses , which had been abandoned and forgotten there .
When he learned this Josiah was distraught about the spiritual lapse of his people , saying : “ For great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us , because our fathers have not harkened unto the words of this book , to do according unto all that is written concerning us .” ( II Kings 22:13 )
But Josiah and his people were spared “ the wrath of God ” because he made a covenant “ to walk after the Lord , and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all their heart and with all their soul , to
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