I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids until I find a place for
the Lord, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob. Behold, we heard it in
Ephrathah; we found it in the fields of the forest.
Amen.
The Rev. Jeremy F. Simons is semi-retired and serves as the
Chaplain of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. Most recently he served
as pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, and also has served in
Glenview, Illinois, and Kempton, Pennsylvania. He and his
wife, Allyn (Edmonds), live in Bryn Athyn. Contact: Jeremy.
[email protected]
O U R N E W C H U RC H V O C A B U L A R Y
Part of a continuing series developed by the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, 1961-1966.
DOCTRINE
Even in the New Church this term is sometimes associated with abstract theology.
Nothing could be further from the truth! Doctrine is all that in the Word which teaches how
the Lord is to be worshipped and how men ought to live that they may be withdrawn from
hell and introduced into heaven. Doctrine therefore has a vital relation to life and the good of
life does not exist without it. (See Arcana Coelestia 3445)
It is necessary to distinguish between the “doctrine of genuine truth” and what is known
to us as “derived doctrine.” By the former is meant that which appears plainly in the letter of
Divine revelation, and which can be drawn thence and formulated into systematic teaching
by a careful comparison of passages and an arrangement of them into a logical order and
series.
Derived doctrine, on the other hand, is the formulation in which the Church expresses
its understanding of what the Writings teach. The difference, and it is a vital one, is that the
doctrine of genuine truth has Divine authority; derived doctrine does not, since it consists in
human conclusions and is finite and fallible. (See Sacred Scripture 25)
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