are people who draw on several of the world’s faith traditions, based partly
on what is attractive to them, without needing to absorb the whole of any
particular faith.
Other times, dismissiveness can come in the form of relegating certain
teachings to the time in which the revelation was given. How many of us
have heard hesitancy or even outright rejection of certain parts of the Old
Testament because they seem so tied to a culture foreign to our own, or fall
into the realm of appearances of truth that are so clothed as to be perceived
today as offensive? We also know of the challenge before us of figuring out how
to absorb the examples that the Lord inspired Swedenborg to use from his own
background.
The point is, we cannot get caught up in any dismissiveness. Yes, there
will always be a need to see some passages in the light of others, and we can
usefully debate their intended meaning as a result. But the key warning is
against saying in any way: “I don’t like that teaching so I’m going to leave it
over here.”
Another Scripture that comes to mind in this regard is Moses before the
burning bush. He was commanded by the Lord: “Take your sandals off of your
feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” (Exodus 3:5) Perhaps we
could all agree that we are on the same ground when reading anything in the
Word of God.
7. Removing Time-And-Space Thinking
A final guiding principle helping us to see the timeless truths of the Word is
to rise above time-and-space thinking as much as possible. Several teachings
remind us of this difficult challenge:
However, please do not allow your ideas to become confused with notions of time
and space, for the more notions of time and space you have in your ideas when you
read the following discussions, the less you will understand them. (Divine Love and
Wisdom 51; cf. Apocalypse Explained 1217:3)
This same concept is repeated a little later in a more philosophic way: “The
Divine is present through all time independently of time.” (Divine Love and
Wisdom 73) Then there is this teaching:
The Word may be likened to a Divine human being; the literal sense is so to speak
His body, while the internal sense is so to spe