new church life: september/october 2015
of itself, but whatever it shall hear, it shall speak; and it shall announce to you
things to come. It will glorify Me . . . “
This shows how important a true doctrinal understanding is in the work
of translating Scripture. And why the General Church should continue to train
and support New Church scholars in that use.
(WEO)
smile, you’re on candid camera
Many people are learning the hard way – from social media to criminal
investigations – that video cameras have become ubiquitous. Big Brother – or
anyone with a Smart phone – is recording almost everything these days and
putting it out there for all the world to see on YouTube.
But long before surveillance cameras and iPhones, we have the warning,
repeated throughout the gospels: “For nothing is secret that shall not be
revealed; neither anything hid, that shall not be known.”
We also are warned, both in the Word and in the Writings, that we will have
to answer after death for everything written in our Book of Life – everything.
That can be intimidating, although we also know that we will not have to
answer for any transgressions where we have repented.
But the cameras increasingly intruding on our lives are good reminders
that the Lord also is with us every moment. We also know that He is forever
forgiving and striving to raise us up to heaven.
So we are not victims of whatever someone may capture on video. We are
writing the script – and can always make it better.
(BMH)
making the ordinary extraordinary
“The use of art is to make the ordinary extraordinary.” I saw this in a catalog
from an art exhibit recently and thought what a fine statement it was about
the use of art. Art does serve to open our eyes to wonders all around us that
we might not see as wonderful because they are so common. The clear early
morning sunlight coming in at a low angle through the tree branches onto the
grass beneath, the way the stems of flowers in a vase are bent by the water’s
refraction of light, the character in a human face – so many wonders hidden in
plain sight because we just haven’t paid enough attention.
Religion also makes the ordinary extraordinary by revealing the spiritual
significance of ordinary human events and everyday objects. This is especially
true of the doctrine of the New Church.
The doctrine of the internal sense, for example, transforms the dull,
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