A Study of the Sacred

For his capstone dissertation work in the Academy of the New Church Theological School (www.ancts.org), Stephen Muires is studying the nature and process of the sacred. Included here is a brief abstract in which Stephen introduces the reader to the motivation which propelled him into this study and one section from his dissertation entitled “Relation Between Holiness and Our Life.” This is the second theological school dissertation digest. Last week Todd Beiswenger shared a little of his work on Creating Your Own Reality. Next week we hear from Pearse Frazier about the nature of Celestial Bliss. -Editor

Abstract

The topic of my dissertation is holiness, or the Sacred. Why holiness? Because I am interested in the experience of religion, not just the understanding of religion. Holiness implicitly has an experiential side. Holiness is where meaning and value become obvious, without needing arguments as proof.

The topic has within it a development, moving from what is ordinary, given, and part of the order of creation to the purpose, goal, and process of human life. There is a movement from a state of holiness in objects and places, to a becoming or growing in holiness. This is also a movement from an external to a more and more internal reality. In the Old Testament holiness was ascribed to the land (the ground upon which Moses stood before the burning bush), to the Tabernacle, to the tablets of the Ten Commandments, and above all to God, the Holy One of Israel. In the New Testament holiness is ascribed to the Spirit of God, called the Holy Spirit, as well as to the disciples taking up the mantle of following the Lord. In the Writings holiness is a goal, a result of regeneration, the seventh day of creation on which God rested, the day that was holy (Arcana Coelestia 84).

Above all, we have the Word of God through which conjunction with heaven and with the Lord is possible. For this reason the Word is called the Holy Bible or the Sacred Scripture.

These things are laid out and explored throughout the dissertation.

Relation Between Holiness and Our Life

There is a relationship between the spirit of the Lord, which is called the Holy Spirit, and a person’s spirit. It may be obvious, but let’s state it anyway: the Lord’s spirit is holy, but a person’s spirit is, as far as I can determine, never on its own described as holy. To understand how the Lord’s spirit relates to our spirit will shed light on holiness as something that can affect our life.

The passage that deals with this extensively is Arcana Coelestia 9818, a long paragraph with twenty-eight subsections, which is rare for the Arcana. A person’s spirit is defined as “goodness and truth inscribed on the understanding part of a person’s mind” (Arcana Coelestia 9818:3). In contrast, the spirit of the Lord is described as “Divine Truth emanating from His Divine Good” (ibid). And these two relate as follows: “When this Divine Truth flows in and is received by a person it is the Spirit of truth, Spirit of God, and Holy Spirit” (ibid). Even stronger is this expressed here: “A person, a spirit, and an angel … are holy in the measure that they receive the Lord” (Arcana Coelestia 9820:3). It is seen from this that holiness comes about in the process of Divine Truth flowing in and being received.

The question needs to be asked: isn’t a person more than his understanding part? A person is will and understanding, both of which form his spirit and thus his life (New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 35; Arcana Coelestia 644, 2930). However, in the passage we are looking at now (Arcana Coelestia 9818), much emphasis is placed on the understanding, frequently equating spirit/understanding with “the actual life of a person” (Arcana Coelestia 9818:8, 10). The reason that the understanding is emphasized is because today we are all spiritual people, in which there is a separation of the understanding and the will part of the mind (Arcana Coelestia 641, 9818:1). Celestial people, like those who once belonged to the Most Ancient Church, had a united will and understanding (Arcana Coelestia 8118). But for us the only way that we can enter eternal life is through the understanding part of our minds, which is where reformation starts, even if regeneration certainly also has to come to involve the will (True Christian Religion 571, 587).

This is connected with holiness in the following way: “Divine Truth, from which heavenly life comes to a person, is the Holy Spirit” (Arcana Coelestia 9818:17). And also: “That holy influence present with a person, emanating from the Lord through angels and spirits, whether in a discernible manner or an indiscernible one, is the Holy Spirit…” (Arcana Coelestia 9818:14). In other words, that something which flows in from the Lord, which is received in a person’s spirit, and which is then present with a person, is called holy.

Additional Reading

For more on this topic, visit Stephen's blog (muires.wordpress.com) and read the posts categorized under the sacred. You can read about “Angels”, “The One Life”, “The Mechanics of External Holiness”, “Holiness in the Old Testament”, and “Holiness of the Word”.

Stephen Muires

Stephen Muires is forty-seven years old and currently studying in Bryn Athyn, PA, well on his way to becoming a New Church minister. He discovered the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg when he was forty and had previously no contact or experience with organized religion. Coming to the States has meant a change of career, of community, and of life purpose, all for the better.

Comments

[Ropemaker]

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