Frequently Asked Questions.pptx

8/6/2019 Frequently Asked Questions.pptx

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Frequently Asked Questions

The New Church, New York114 E. 35 th St.


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What church is this?

The New Church (yes, that is thename). More formally, Church

of the New Jerusalemcommonly called theSwedenborgian church.


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Is that the SwedishChurch?

No, they are on 48 th St. Wedont even have Swedishmeatballs.


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So who is thisSwedenborg?

Emanuel Swedenborg (1688-1772) was the scientist,scholar and visionary on whose revelations from the

Lord and the books describing them our theology is based


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H ow is the New Church different

from other churches?When Swedenborg was asked by J.C.Cuno What is your theology?,

He answered These are the two principles of it,

That God is one

and that there is a conjunction of charity and faith.

To which he replied, Who denies these? I answered The theology of the present day, wheninteriorly examined.

SOUL-BODY INTERACTION 20


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GOD IS O NEI snt that what all churches teach?

In the writers experience, well, they dont talk like it.

What this means is that the Lord Jesus Christ, He who came downfrom Heaven, is the same G od who made Heaven and E arth, and nononsense about it.


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D ont you believe in the H olyTrinity?

Not a trinity of persons. G ods divine Person iscomposed of three essentials like all the other

persons made in His image, who are composed of soul, body and activity. ( T RUE C HRISTIAN R ELIGION 168 )


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There is no true faithwithout charityWhy dont you say love? I thoughtthat was what all moderntranslations did.

Saying love alone lets us forget thattrue love must be expressed in our acts.Faith without works is dead. ( James2:17 )


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I s that all?

There are many other teachings

That all are saved who believe in G od and follow the true life of charity as

best they know.

That real marriage love is eternal.

That Heaven is a realm of useful occupation

That the Second Coming of Christ is here and now.


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What is it about the Second Coming?

We look on the Lords Second Advent as, not someliteral descent from a literal sky, but the unveiling of

the spiritual sense of his Word, and the inauguration of the New Church. Thus, it began long since.

Modernists like to talk about realized eschatology ; but we gothe whole hog.


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I s this a Christian church?

The New Church worships the Lord Jesus Christ as G odof Heaven and E arth. If that does not make us Christian,

I do not know what would.

Note that we are Christian enough for the National Council of Churches, who will notlet Mormons and Unitarians in.


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I s this a Protestant church?

O nly if you define Protestant as nothing more thannot (Roman) Catholic--- which makes E astern

O rthodox, Mormons, and numerous others Protestant.

Indeed, the doctrine of the New Church is largely arepudiation of four centuries of Protestant theology,which is permeated with the concepts of salvation byfaith alone and substitutionary atonement.

The writer likes to freak dogmatists by retorting to If youre not Catholic,youre Protestant! with Then Iran is the center of world Protestantism.


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So what happens here? It doesn t seemdifferent from other churches.

The writer will say that it makes all thedifference to him. When you listen, you willhere that worship is addressed to Jesus Christ,not to any trinity.

Also, when you enter, you will see that this churchis not centered on an altar or table, or a single pulpitlike those of the Christian Scientists, but on thetabernacle which is occupied by the holy Word.


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What is the holy book?

In New Church terminology, the Word has aspecialized meaning, referring to those booksof the Bible that bear the internal, or spiritualsense.

It is the Holy Bible, in the 66-book canon.Swedenborgs works are accepted as an authoritativeinterpretation of Scripture.


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What do you mean, internal sense?

While the letter of the Scriptures has meaning, we miss a great

deal by concentrating solely on that. It also has an internalspiritual sense, full of profound meaning for us here andnow.

The writer thinks this may be the same as what mediaeval commentators used to call the moralsense.


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W hat are some of the W ritings?

Some of Swedenborgs major works are: T HE F OUR D OCTRINES

,D

ivineL OVE AND W ISDOM

, andD IVINE

P ROVIDENCE . T RUE C HRISTIAN R ELIGION (T RUEC HRISTIANITY ) may be helpful for those who want to finda systematic presentation of all major points. Perhaps most

popular is H EAVEN AND H ELL .


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H ell! I cant believe a loving God

would send people to H ell!The Lord G od does not send anyone to Hell. Neither does Heforce Himself upon those whose desires lead them there.

Upon leaving their natural bodies, people are drawn to otherswho share the same desires (or ruling love) as themselves,finally arriving in whatever society of Heaven or Hell to whichthey truly belong.

How could those immersed in evil desires be happy in Heaven? Therewould be no opportunity to hurt or exploit anyone, or any of the other

pursuits they are determined to continue in.

The Lord Does Not Cast Anyone into Hell: Spirits Cast Themselves In (H EAVEN AND H ELL545)

What we are offered is the chance to be ourselves --- forever.


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What about people who have not

received Christianity?

There is not only the visible church (Church Specific), but the Church Universal, which includes all those who believe in G od and live from charity according to whatthey have been instructed. If they are in need of further knowledge, it will be made available in the spiritual

world.


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What is H eaven like?

The life of Heaven does not mean continually standingaround on clouds singing hymns. It is realm of usefulactivity. Some of these are the work of those who instructothers, those who lead to good, those who are with men,those who awake the dead, those who protect, and those who

are responsible for others. ( S PIRITUAL E XPERIENCES5 15 8).


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What are those numbers you keep

using?

References to Swedenborgs works avoid the problem of numerous editions by using his own numbered sections.This explains why you may find people here who are fondof numbers.

No, not 4-8-1 5 -16-23-42.


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I s this some kind of spiritualism?

The New Church has a complex and sometimes troubledhistory of interaction with spiritualist movementsmostrecently with someone who created a teapot tempest by

claiming to channel not only Swedenborg, but the Lord, theMost High.

The Institute for the Study of American Religion puts us in the PsychicFamily on the ground that Swedenborgs experiences were mediumistic.

But his visions, like St. Pauls when he was caught up into the third heaven [ IICorinthians 12:2 ], were the opposite of what mediums usually do. In any case,he reminds us that he was under the direct protection of the Lord throughout;and his advice is, essentially, dont try this at home. ( H EAVEN AND H ELL249)


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E ssentially, as a prophet although the word is never used. His interpretation of the scriptures is seen as

authoritative.

H ow do you regard

Swedenborg?

But I heard you deify your founder!

This assertion is so far removed from reality that you canteven call it a lie.


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I s this a cult?

The label cult is a value judgment masquerading as adescription, and conveys no specific information other thanI dont like them, and consider them fair game. How canwe know whether you like something, especially beforeknowing anything about it?


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What do you teach about the

sacraments?

Like Protestant churches, we observe two

sacraments: baptism, and holy communion (TheLords Supper).


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What does H elen Keller have to do

with the church?

Helen Keller was introduced to the teachings of Swedenborg, andwrote movingly of their meaning to her in L IGHT IN M Y D ARKNESS .

(Formerly titledM Y R ELIGION

).D

uring the last part of our life, shemaintained a relationship with the New York church.


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What about Johnny Appleseed?

Sounds almost like its been hushed up, doesnt it?

It is frequently left unmentioned that John Chapman (JohnnyAppleseed) was a Swedenborgian missionary, so effective thatthe official church missions board noted that he had eclipsedtheir own efforts. Besides planting trees, he spread the Writingsof Swedenborg (good news fresh from Heaven), which he

ordered in bulk so he could leave a chapter in every placewhere he stayed.


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Who are other famous

Swedenborgians?Howard Pyle the famed writer and illustrator.

The naturalistic painter G eorge Inness

Sir Isaac Pitman , the inventor of Pitman shorthand , lost his post as a schoolmaster over his Swedenborgian beliefs.

D aniel Burnham , the architect, and creator of the Chicago Fairs White City.

Samuel Woodworth, who wrote The O ld O aken Bucket , was a

member of the New York Church.


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Al-Anon founder Lois Burnham Wilson, and

her husband, AAs Bill W, were membersof the Brooklyn church (now dissolved).


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The closest we came to having a Swedenborgian president was in1896, when Arthur Sewall, a shipping magnate of Bath, Maine, wasnominated for Vice-President on the Bryan ticket. The Populistdissidents who objected to having a plutocrat on the ticket bolted tosubstitute the racist demagogue Tom Watson .

For other Swedenborgian politicians, see

http://politicalgraveyard.com/group/swedenborgian.html )

In 2008 the St. Louis Post-Dispatch railed against McCain for picking the least qualified running matesince the Swedenborgian shipbuilder Arthur Sewall ran as William Jennings Bryan's No. 2 in 1896. Theyhave never made it clear whether they consider Swedenborgians or shipbuilders fair game to pick on.

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