The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-11-17
SWEDENBORG'S DOCTRINE.
What the New Church Teaches
About the Trinity.

What the New Church Teaches
About the Trinity.
One hundred and thirty-one years
ago, said Rev. Alexander Henry in his
sermon at the Park New Church last
night, Emanuel Swedenborg, who is
regarded by the organized New Church
as having been the seer of a new age
of humanity. the herald of the second
coming of the Lord, published a book
entitled. The True Christian Religion"
containing the universal theology of
the New Church, in which he makes
this statement: From the doctrine
of three divine persons from eternity,
which is the head of all doctrines in
the Christian churches. have sprung
many ideas concerning God that are
unbecoming and unworthy of the Chris
tian world, which ought to be, and
might be, a light to all peoples and
nations of the earth, respecting God
and His unity"
Swedenborg further said that "all
who live outside the Christian Church,
as Mohammedans and Jews alike, and
besides these the Gentiles of every
mode of worship are averse to Chris
tianity solely on account of its faith
in three gods. Its propagators," he
declarse, know this, and they there
fore are very cautious not to teach
1t is in the Nicem and Athanasian
creeds, for if this were done, they
would be Stunned and ridiculed."
This enlightened author, said Rev.
Mr.. Henry, then proceeds to show what
ludicrous and frivolous ideas spring
from the doctrine of three divine per-
sons from eternity; for instance, that
- 10 I'll ~ c
at His right hand and the Holy Spirit
before them, listening and instantly
running throughout all the world, and,
according to their decision He dispenses
the gifts of justification and makes
men from children of wrath to be chill
dren of grace, and from being damned
to be elect.
81 appeal" says Swedenborg, " to the
| learned of the clergy and to the well
instructed of the laity whether in their
| minds they entertain any other than
this ideal view"
While the New Church emphatically
| disavows the doctrine of a trinity of
divine persons from eternity. it clearly
| teaches that there is a divine trinity,
which is Father, Son and Holy Spirit
| This divine trinity is in the Lord, God,
the Redeemer and Saviour, Jesus
| Christ. in whom, as Paul says, dwells
all the fullness of the God-head bodily
| 1t is a trinity of infinite love, wisdom
and their proceeding operation, the
| three essentials of the one God 1t is
| imaged by the trinity in man of SOUL
body and their resultant activity. 1t
| is represented by the trinity in us of
heart or emotional nature, and facul-
ties of head, or intellectual nature, and
faculties and the joint operation of
| these two sets of faculties. 1t is pic
| tured by the trinity in the sun-that
great symbol of God in nature; the
trinity of heat, light, and their opera
| ton in nature. Indeed. we might find
| among an illustration of this trinity in
| unity in Gods creation. But as man
among living things was made in the
| image of God, and the sun, among the
| dead things of nature, is the great type
| and symbol of God, we think of these
as the most perfect and fitting illus
trations of the trinity in unity, which
we see in the Lord. This trinity of
| love. wisdom. and the proceeding OPP
GRAFTON of these which we call power,
| has always been, but the manifesto
| ton of il after the incarnation was
| clearer than it had been before, and
in a sense 1t was different, not that
| the divine in itself ever changes, but
| the divine then assumed a human ma
| ture and glorified it for mans saliva
| ton.
The divine, which in the Gospel story
| is called the Father in time assumed
our nature, even to material flesh and
| bones, and this human that was as
sumed is called the Son. This nature
was gradually sanctified, glorified
made divine, and became one with the
indwelling divinity. In it God became
| man, and man became God, for the
salvation of the human race.
But" said Rev. Mr.. Henry, you
ask. in the New Testament story is
not the Son represented as praying to
the Father, and in many instances re-
| ferrinS to Him as a different person ??
The human prayed to the Divine, as
our lower nature appeals for succor to
| our better nature in times of distress
| IT seems to us, in deep trials, as if
| there were two persons in us; but
| they are not two persons. and when
the trial is over and perfection attain
ed. then there is entire unity. So when
| Christs trials were over and His HUI
manity was glorifled there was no
! praying to the Father, but He was
! manifestly the Father in the Son. He
who sees Him sees the Father. He is
| the everlasting Father, and the Prince
| of Peace. He is the root and the off
spring of David. the bright and the
! morning star. He is the Sun of right
| eousness, the Bread of Life, the Light
/ of the world, the King of kings and
/ Lord of lords. We go to Him. pray to
| Him, try to follow and serve Him.
How then about the atonement?
! Christians of the New Church believe
In the atonement as the Apostle Paul
| expresses it. God was in Christ recon
! Cling the world unto Himself e Cor.
V:19). He reconciled IL to Himself first
| in His own humanity Ono. xvii:19:
! Eph. ii:15). He has been reconciling it
ever since by His Gospel, and He will
reconcile IL to Himself in us, if we
will repent, turn to Him and become
/ new men.