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That the Lord Alone is Heaven. By Theodore Pitcairn
The subject which is engaging the thought of the Church at this time is particularly the nature of the Lord’s proprium with man, and that it is the Lord’s Divine Proprium which makes Heaven and the Chuich and nothing of the proprium of Angel or man which is evil. We are taught in the Word that “the Lord is the all in all things of Heaven and of the Church”, and as He is the all in all things of Heaven and of the Church, He is the ‘all in all things of an Angel and of a man, in so far as an Angel is in the angelic and in so far as a man is of the Church.
The New Will and New Understanding. By Theodore Pitcairn
One of the main uses of DE HEMELSCHE LEER has been to make clear the distinction between the Word and Doctrine out of the Word. The Word as it is in itself, or, what is the same, the Word as seen by the Lord, is the Divine Doctrine itself
The Lord’s Own with Man. By Theodore Pitcairn
In the above number the infinite difference between the Lord and man is evident. This difference consists not only in this, that the good and truth in the Lord was infinitely above the good and truth with man; but also in this that Good and Truth with the Lord was in and from Himself, and was therefore intrinsically in Him and was His Own or His Proprium. While man has no good or truth which is in and from himself, that is intrinsically in him, for man’s proprium, that is what is his own, is nothing but evil and falsity, wherefore all good and truth which are with man as if they were his own are from the Lord, yea from His Proprium. Wherefore we read that “Angels are withheld from their proprium, .and are kept in the Lord’s Proprium which is Good Itself”, H.H. 591.
Series and Degrees in the Latin Word. By Theodore Pitcairn
In GENESIS there are three stories in which the subject is the right of the firstborn, and in which this right appears to be taken from. the elder son and to be given to the younger brother. These stories treat of the twin brothers Esau and Jacob; the twin brothers Zarah and Pharez, the sons of Judah by Tamar; and Manasseh and Ephraim, sons of Joseph
The Relative Infallibility of Genuine Doctrine. By Theodore Pitcairn
The title DE HEMELSCHE LEER, or Heavenly Doctrine, has been called into question, and it has been maintained that to entitle a magazine in this manner is out of order; we will therefore commence with an explanation of what is meant by this title
The Second Education. By Theodore Pitcairn
We read in the ARCANA COELESTIA, n. 8552, that unless in respect to his spiritual life a man is conceived anew, born anew, and educated anew, that is created anew, from the Lord, he is damned
The Real Issue. By Theodore Pitcairn
The real issue between the General Church of the New Jerusalem and the Lord’s New Church Which is Nova Hierosolyma, is frequently misconceived. It is believed by some in the General Church that the issue is as to whether the Writings are the Divine Doctrine and as such the only Divine authority in the Church, or whether, the true authority lies in a Divine Doctrine drawn forth by the regenerating man of the Church
Some of the Erroneous Opinions commonly Held about the Lord’s New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma Rev. Philip Odhner
The opinions about this Church which are discussed in these notes have for many years been widely circulated and received in other bodies of the New Church. They have created a silent background of prejudice in which everything coming forth from the Church is rejected before it is even considered. Most of them have not been publicly stated and have come to our notice only indirectly.
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Aspects of the Internal History of the New Chuch Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
The question we ask ourselves is, was the Academy from the beginning opposed essentially to the Doctrine of Truth from Good in the Church? I believe there is sufficient evidence to support this contention; and yet that there must be truth from good in the Church, or what is the same that faith is from charity or faith is the form of charity is a teaching to be found on nearly every page of the Latin Word. In fact it is frequently taught that truth from good or faith from charity is the very foundation of the Church.
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Interview of Bishop P. Odhner to Mr. Prescott Rogers
The second purpose of this interview is to ask certain questions about the Lord’s New Church which is Nova Hierosolyma, and I am particularly interested in three areas: first, the causes that led to the existence of the Lord’s New Church; secondly, what issues distinguish and separate the Lord’s New Church from other bodies and branches of the New Church, and, finally, what has been the history of the official communication between the Lord’s New Church and other branches of the New Church.
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The proprium Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
The proprium is the basis of the conscious life of man; apart from proprium there can be no life which could be felt, and therefore no individuality. As is known, there are two diametrically opposed things which are called the proprium; one is called man’s proprium, and the other is called the celestial, or, as usually translated, the heavenly proprium.
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Total Submission Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
In the state in which the Doctrine contained in De Hemelsche Leer was given, those who accepted the Doctrine were given the perception that the rational which received the Doctrine spiritual from celestial origin, was submitted to the Lord, so that in its reception of Doctrine it did not act from itself, but from the Lord. In the following state the men of the Church as it were left the plane of the rational, and came into the plane of the natural which was not regenerated, and when on this plane the perception that the receptacles in the mind, the reciprocal, the reactive, are from the Lord, and are the Lord’s, was no longer perceived.
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Reflections on Bishop George de Charm’s Address on Religious Toleration Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
The apparently plain teaching of one number of the Writings is often apparently contradictory to the apparently plain teaching of another number. Wherefore if there is not genuine light and genuine doctrine no one can know what the plain teaching is.
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A letter to the editor of New Philosophy Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
To anyone who believes that the Lord has made His Second Coming in the Writings of the Emanuel Swedenborg, there is present the acknowledgment that these Writings are Divine and Infinite, that they contain all Truth in its Infinity for all in Heaven and earth to all eternity. To place the emphasis on Swedenborg’s rational understanding, and on the rational forms in which the revelation is clothed, results in a loss of the perception of their Divine Spiritual and Celestial contents, in a loss of the perception that they are complete and perfect in their ultimates, and thus in a loss of a convincing perception that they are the Word of the Lord; and when this is lost, an essential development of the Church is no longer possible, but instead the Church turns to the rational and scientific things of the clothing of the Word where they engage in interminable arguments.
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A letter to Mr. Sigstedt (concering the illegitimate abrogation of the genuine natural sense of the Latin Word). Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
The idea that the teachings of the Latin Word concerning government did not apply to the natural government of the Church and State was first propounded by the Rev. T. Harris, along with the proposition that what is said of marriage does not apply to the marriage of man and woman. An idea which we all opposed and which Loyal characterized as spiritual sodomy…
If the genuine sense of the letter [of the Latin Word] is not understood, it is dangerous to attempt to enter into the internal sense… The literal sense must indeed be received from within, so that the genuine natural which is the true foundation can be seen. The literal sense seen from without is the letter that killeth. But to do away with the genuine natural sense of the Word leads to mere fantasy.
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A Comparison of Dr. Alfred Acton’s Doctrinal Study “The Crown of Revelations”, the Rev. E. S. Hyatt’s Sermons on the Word, and De Hemelsche Leer. Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
This paper will be put online.
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The ultimate source of philosophic ideas Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
It is the nature of the uncritical form of mind to mistake words for ideas. What we can name we apt to imagine that we know without first seeking to realize the way the ideas have been formed which finally are crystallized in words. Take such a phrase as “spiritual substance”, the nature of which we have so frequently discussed. How easy it is to argue this way and that without first calling into question the manner by which we have arrived at the idea denoted by the two words “spiritual” and “substance”.
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Review of Translations. Rev. Philip Odhner
Note also the standard for translations set in the Rev. Norman Riley’s article in the New Church Life, July 1988, p. 301, entitled “Infringement of Divine Copyright”
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