New Church Life September/October 2015 | Page 45

        the Lord is also “the life of love toward the universal human race.” (Arcana Coelestia 6467e) He said his paper was all about reminding his colleagues that we have a tremendous responsibility: we have the doctrines and we are supposed to use them to lead people. He compared people to a chrysalis, which may look like a mess inside but which, if given time and patience, develops into a beautiful butterfly. From a sight of doctrine we may be inclined to insist that what is done in heaven must be immediately done on earth – what he termed “imitation theology.” But people begin life with great imperfection, and the Lord allows for this “mess” to persist as regeneration unfolds. His concern is that in teaching the ideals – as we must – we should not add a burden that inadvertently makes them seem unattainable. While essential truths (the Two Great Commandments, the Ten Commandments, etc.) are at the top of the “mountain,” at the bottom are many non-essential doctrines like trees in a forest. He urged that priests not make belief in these to be compulsory or so central that people lose sight of the essential things that are at the core of spiritual life. Following discussion, Mr. Appelgren further clarified his main point by saying that if you have an ideal, and you put people off, you haven’t reached them. We can improve at how well we use doctrine so that more than “being right” we are doing right. A Doctrinal Duel The next session led by two ministers was more philosophical. The Rev. Stephen D. Cole led off with levity by literally throwing down a gauntlet in challenging the Rev. Dr. Erik E. Sandstrom to a doctrinal duel. At issue was the way the Lord presented Himself to people before vs. after His advent. The Lord’s presenting Himself to humankind by passing through the heavens is termed “transflux” in the Writings. The “duel” was over whether transflux changed or whether it ceased with the Lord’s advent, that is, whether or not the Lord still presents Himself by means of the heavens. Mr. Cole’s paper was titled: “The Angel of the Lord – Divine Transflux Then and Now.” He set out passages from the Heavenly Doctrine that showed both 1) that before His advent the Lord had presented His Divinity in Human form by taking on the whole of heaven as He inflowed through the heavens, and 2) that at His coming the Lord took on the Human form which had been with the angels and made it Divine. (See Arcana Coelestia 3061:2-3; 5663:3) He then showed that the Lord now flows into natural things directly from Himself, but still, working through heaven from Himself. (See Divine Love and Wisdom 233; Apocalypse Explained 1166:3) So although the Lord still gives to the heavens their human form and flows through that, what is different is the 477