new church life: november/december 2016
I have known both Peter and Willard all my life, as their mothers, both
Ridgways, were first cousins of my father. As well, Willard’s grandfather, “JH”,
played a large part in bringing the Durban Society into the General Church.
Admittedly I have not read Dr. Mansfield’s book, but from reading Bishop
Buss’s review it seems to me that we need to be very cautious about its merit.
We all know that the New Word is just that: namely the Lord in His
Glorified Divine Human. Thus there is an internal sense to every word that is
written. That sense is hidden within the literal sense that we read on the pages.
In Heaven and Hell No. 1 it is stated: “But those who so believe do not
know the arcana which lie concealed in every particular of the Word. For in
every particular of the Word there is an internal sense which treats of things
spiritual and heavenly, not of things natural and worldly, such as are treated
in the sense of the letter. And this is true not only of the meaning of groups of
words, it is true of each particular word.”
In De Domino (Concerning The Lord) Preface 9, it is stated: “But they are to
be excused who do not know anything about the style of the Word, that there
is a spiritual sense within every single word.”
There are also numerous statements in the Word which state that one
cannot see the internal sense without enlightenment from the Lord, that is
regeneration. See, for example, Arcana Coelestia 8106, which states, “the
internal sense cannot be comprehended by anyone that is not regenerated."
(See also Arcana Coelestia 10323, 10551.)
It would appear that Dr. Mansfield, contrary to what the Lord has stated
in His Word, has decided which parts of the Word have an internal sense
and should be read, and other parts which have not and may be given scant
attention or left out. This would seem to be a dangerous assumption for it is
not up to man to decide what has an internal sense or not.
In addition, I wonder to what extent this work will discourage others
from reading any more than what he has written; will readers of the shortened
version ever read the original, longer version given by the Lord? Then, too,
there is the matter of the effect it has on the heavens when we read the Word,
even if we do not understand it. But the point is that Dr. Mansfield, probably
inadvertently, is discouraging people from reading part of what the Lord has
given as His Word and which does have a bearing both on what precedes and
what follows.
I was also most surprised to read that Bishop Buss seems to think that
some parts of the Word are better suited to scholars. I had always been under
the impression that every word of the Lord’s Word is meant for everyone. We
are even told that simple people are often better able to understand than those
who are scholarly. This advice, this warning, applies to all Revelation, the New
as well as the former.
524