The first in our new series, Christians Behaving Badly: How we get religion wrong, and what we need to do about it. What constitutes “true worship”? When is it OK to break religious and ceremonial law? Eli’s sons, Hophni and Phinehas (1
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Learning to read the Text with conscious attention The Text is the means given for our regeneration In the New Church organization we have an acknowledgement that the Heavenly Doctrines are the texts that have been provided by the Lord to support
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Over a number of years I’ve found myself more and more drawn to seeing and using the Word’s text more personally; in other words, relating what’s said to states I know I experience. In a word, it’s a more internal way. Sometimes
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Today we enjoyed a talk by Rev Ros Taylor in the US about her work with Deborah’s Tree, promoting the work of women in leadership, scholarship and the arts in Swedenborgian religious settings. Go to https://www.deborahstree.org for further information, and search Deborah’s
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The world can seem to be a dark place. What right have we, then, to celebrate Christmas and the coming of the Light? In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was
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At our multilingual Lessons and Carols service, I spoke about the universal application of truth: how the life and work of Jesus was for all people and not only those who call themselves Christians, and for every moment of our lives. I
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Over the past two centuries the spiritual and religious contact of East and West has broadened and intensified. Some of the landmark developments in this process were the establishment of the Royal Asiatic Society and the burgeoning of Orientalism as a field
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THE LITERAL FALL has been one of the cornerstone doctrines of the Christian church for centuries. What’s remarkable about Swedenborg’s commentary upon the Bible is not so much the idea that the early stories are clearly symbolic, but that the historical stories
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As a boy, I remember enjoying counting my pocket money. Of course, now, in my 50’s, I still count my “pocket money”. We forget it in our 20’s and 30’s, when we feel young, free, and indestructible, but then as you begin
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Who doesn’t want to be powerful? Not necessarily holding positions of power, but in the sense of being heard, certainly in terms of having your opinions respected and honoured as valuable. Recorded on Sunday 24 October 2021. Also available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/0DUCxzVZNaI
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