Love, Wisdom, and Utilitarianism

What is Utilitarianism? It is a philosophical way of thinking, determining how you act. According to wikipedia:

"Utilitarianism is the ethical doctrine that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall utility. It is thus a form of consequentialism, meaning that the moral worth of an action is determined by its outcome—the ends justify the means. Utility — the good to be maximized — has been defined by various thinkers as happiness or pleasure (versus suffering or pain), though preference utilitarians like Peter Singer define it as the satisfaction of preferences. In simpler terms, it's for the greatest good for the greatest number of people. Like most ethical theories, utilitarianism primarily evaluates proposed actions and courses of action, rather than virtuous or character traits"

This way of thinking was first made popular by John Stuart Mill's essay on Utilitarianism, published in 1861. I remember learning this in a course on philosophy, and of all the things presented in philosophy this seemed to me the most "useful" or practical way of thinking. According to John Stuart Mill:

"The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals, Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness. By happiness is intended pleasure, and the absence of pain; by unhappiness, pain, and the privation of pleasure."

Utilitarianism was made popular by Jeremy Bentham in the 18th century, but it has often been traced back to the Greek philosopher Epicurus. It is criticized by the Catholic Encyclopedia as a modern form of "hedonism" - devotion to self pleasure, but this is clearly a distortion of the values this mode of thinking presents. The "love of self" can indeed explain most people's behaviour.

Another criticism of Utilitarianism is that it measures morals by their outcomes, rather than by their intent:

"Utilitarianism has been criticized for only looking at the results of actions, not at the desires or intentions which motivate them, which many people also consider important. An action intended to cause harm but that inadvertently causes good results would be judged equal to the result from an action done with good intentions. However, many utilitarians would argue that utilitarianism applies not only to results, but also to desires and dispositions, praise and blame, rules, institutions, and punishment. For instance, bad intentions may cause harm (to the actor and to others) even if they do not result in bad acts. Once this is recognized, supporters argue that utilitarianism becomes a much more complex, and rich, moral theory, and may align much more closely with our moral intuitions.

Furthermore, many utilitarians view morality as a personal guide rather as a means to judge the actions of other people or actions which have already been performed. In other words, morality is something to be looked at when deciding what to do. In this sense, intentions are the only thing that matter, because the consequences cannot be known with certainty until the decision has already been made."

So is Utilitarianism yet another philosophy worthy to be ignored? Or is it mere hedonism, a rule for self pleasure? Actually before Utilitarianism became popular, before this philosophical school of thought even existed, Swedenborg espoused a form of it as a general moral rule for all humanity.

In this account, while in a vision Swedenborg overheard a discussion among angels concerning the origin of marriage Love:

The angels replied that love and wisdom without application to useful purpose are only abstract and theoretical ideas, which, even after being entertained for a time in the mind, eventually pass away like the winds. "But love and wisdom are brought together in application to useful purpose," they said, "and in this they become a single entity which is called actual. Love cannot rest unless it acts, for love is the active force in life; nor can wisdom exist and endure unless it does so from love and together with love whenever love acts, and to act is application to useful purpose. Therefore we define application to useful purpose as the doing of good from love through wisdom. Application to useful purpose is what good is.

Since these three elements - love, wisdom, and application to useful purpose - flow into people's souls, we can see why it is said that all good is from God. For all action from love through wisdom is called good, and action includes also application to useful purpose.

Love without wisdom - what is it but a kind of foolish infatuation? And love accompanied by wisdom, but without application to a useful end - what is it but an airy affectation of the mind? On the other hand, love and wisdom together with application to a useful end - these not only make a person what he is, but they also are the person. Indeed, what may perhaps surprise you, they produce the person. For a man's seed contains his soul in perfect human form, clothed with substances from the finest elements of nature, out of which the body is formed in the womb of the mother. This useful end is the supreme and final end of Divine love acting through Divine wisdom. (Conjugial Love, 183)

Descartes is famous for saying, "I think, therefore I am". The angels would say: "One is what he does according to thought". Your very inmost nature is defined by one thing: what you love the most. Moreover, Utilitarianism is incomplete in that it only consideres the useful outcomes. There are three emanations of Being: (1) Love (2) Wisdom, and (3) useful application. Or what is the same: (1) End (Intent) (2) Cause (Thought) and (3) Effect (Action). Most are just familiar with the principle of cause and effect.

This Triad of Being manifests itself in the human as soul, body and spirit. This is what the Trinity truly is.

As for the criticism that Utilitariansim can be used to support Hedonism, it is well founded, unless one distinguishes the Love of Heaven from the love that originates from hell:

"Spiritual and celestial love is love for the neighbor and love toward the Lord, while natural and sensual love is love of the world and love of self. By love for the neighbor we mean a love of useful services, and by love toward the Lord we mean a love of performing useful services, ...These loves are spiritual and celestial for the reason that to love useful services and to perform them from a love of them is divorced from a person's love of his own self-interest. For one who loves useful services spiritually regards not himself but others apart from himself, being affected by a concern for their welfare. Opposed to these loves are loves of self and the world, for loves of self and the world have regard for useful services not for the sake of others but for the sake of self; and people who do this invert Divine order, putting themselves in place of the Lord, and the world in place of heaven. Consequently they look away from the Lord and heaven, and to look away from them is to look in the direction of hell." (Divine Love and Wisdom, 426)

Useful application is brought about by love and wisdom. Belief without action is utterly worthless. Thus in the Near Death Experience, many people have reported encountering a great white light, full of Love, who asks them just one question: "What have you done with your life?"

The End of this World Age - the Last Days of Matthew 24

THE AGES OF THE WORLD

History is cyclic, and mankind has passed through several world ages. These are also known as dispensations of the church. Mankind is in constant need for progressive revelation, and such revelations are given at the end of each age and the beginning of a new one. Emanuel Swedenborg, who received visions from heaven while in a sort of trance, a wakeful state, explained that the end of this world age will be fulfilled by the Second Coming - the reappearance of Divine Truth to humanity. It is at the end of the age where a Last Judgement takes place - not here in the material world, but among the dead in the spiritual world, in a spiritual region known as Middle Earth, between Heaven and Hell. And when that happens, a change of consciousness occurs among those born on earth, and a new spiritual community is born. A new age begins with a new revelation. Swedenborg stated:

"Most men believe that when the Last Judgment comes, all things in the visible world will be destroyed; that the earth will be consumed by fire; the sun and the moon dissipated; that the stars will vanish away; and that a new heaven and a new earth will afterwards arise. They have conceived this opinion from the prophetic revelations in which such things are mentioned. ...the Last Judgment is nothing else than the end of the church with one nation, and its beginning with another, which end and beginning occur when there is no longer any acknowledgment of the Lord, or what is the same, when there is no faith. There is no acknowledgment, or no faith, when there is no charity; for faith is impossible except with those who are in charity. That at such a time there is an end of the church, and a transference of it to others, is plainly evident from all the things the Lord Himself taught and foretold in the Evangelists concerning that last day, or consummation of the age (Matt. 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21)." (Heavenly Arcana, n. 3353)

Here is a summary of the different phases of this world age as foretold by Jesus in the book of Matthew as revealed to Swedenborg - one will see that it can apply to progressive states for an individual as well as our current world age. In particular, it can apply to those who have lost faith, have left their religion, or who have recognized that the religion they have been taught is false. It also describes the states of those who are made blind by false religious doctrines. For the truths revealed here are universal.

THE INITIAL PHASE: A PERFECT REVELATION

Then Jesus went out and departed from the temple, and His disciples came up to show Him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matt. 24:1-2)

A beautiful strong building represents the initial stage of revelation: it is perfect in form uncorrupted. A rock represents a solid truth that one can stand on: one lives by it. The walls are doctrines which defend against what is false. The temple is our body: it begins as a new born babe, we reach our prime: but then there is a decline as it approaches death, after which there is a spiritual rebirth. As it is with an individual, so it is with an organization, even that of a world age: it begins with a new revelation, but then enters into a period of gradual decline.

THE FIRST STATE OF DECLINE: THE LOSS OF KNOWLEDGE, LEADING TO DOUBT AND DIVISION

"The disciples came unto Him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? And what shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the consummation of the age? And Jesus answered and said unto them, See that no man lead you astray. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am the Christ; and shall lead many astray."

"Christ" simply means the Divine Truth, for Jesus is the Divine truth incarnate, which is also known as the Word. As knowledge of the original revelation is lost, people who think they know the truth start to proclaim their own false ideas. This then leads to debates and arguments about what is truth and false, leading to confusion:

"And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars; see that ye be not troubled; for these things must needs come to pass; but the end is not yet. For nation shall be stirred up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in diverse places. But all these things are the beginning of sorrows." (Matt. 24:3-7)

Wars and rumors of wars are spiritual wars: they are debates and fights concerning spiritual matters. When a false idea is proclaimed, if there is not enough knowledge to oppose it, another false idea is proposed to fight against it. The nations and kingdoms refer to different divisions within the church (or a group of people) that hold onto selfish purposes or false ideas which influence their opinions. This leads to a "famine" of knowledge among the people. As it takes a single fly to ruin a glass of good wine, truth is wasted away by what is false and becomes worthless: this is a spiritual "plague" or "pestilence". This leads to a change of state: this change is represented by "diverse earthquakes".

THE SECOND STATE OF DECLINE: REJECTION AND CONTEMPT OF WHAT IS GOOD AND TRUE

"Then shall they deliver you into tribulation, and shall kill you; and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the charity of many shall wax cold. But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole inhabited earth, for a testimony unto all nations; and then shall the end come." (Matt. 24:8-14)

The second state is reached when debates end: and a false idea is accepted as true. This becomes "Orthodox", and anything opposed to this idea is declared a "heresy". But it is simply a false construct of the mind that has nothing to do with the original revelation. In this state, there is no debate: people simply reference the opinion approved by the majority and declare other ideas "heresy". This leads to "tribulation" or consternation to those who hold onto the truth. To "kill" someone spiritually means to utterly reject and deny them, to "hate" is to hold in aversion. "False prophets" who lead many astray are simply those who teach what is false: this refers to the religious leaders. "Iniquity multiplied" means falsities of faith shall grow, until "charity waxes cold" - the spiritual love perishes.

So what to do when confronted by something that is obviously false? Announce it. Make it known. Falsity can only thrive where there is ignorance. A "gospel" is simply an announcement. To preach is to explain, "in the whole inhabited earth" means to everyone in the spiritual community. This is a "testimony", as it can dispel ignorance which protects what is false. For those who believe what is false are in a state of ignorance, and truth acts as a light to expose it: "then the end shall come", which is the third state.

THE THIRD STATE OF DECLINE: THE COMPLETE IGNORANCE OF GOOD AND TRUTH

"When therefore you see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place - let him who is reading this take note - then let those who are in Judea flee into the mountains. Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house; and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his clothing." (Matt. 24:15-18)

In the first state, there is debate about what is true or false, in the second state, false doctrines are accepted as true and is used as a standard for all thinking: good and truth are held in aversion. Ignorance is the enemy: expose false ideas for what they are. The third state is reached when there is complete ignorance and non acknowledgement of the truth itself. What is explained here is advice to those who have seen that true spirituality is completely absent: this is the "abomination of desolation standing in the holy place". This occurs when people perform "lip service" or appear outwardly religious for the sake of appearance, nothing more.

Those who are "in Judea" who "flee to the mountains" refer to those who are in love towards God, and in charity towards others. A "mountain" represents one who is in a higher spiritual state, and the highest is that of love. Thus when the perversion of religion is recognized, one should flee from this and remain totally focused on one's love towards God.

"Let him who is on the roof of the house not go down to take anything out of his house", means, those who live a life of charity should not resort to religious doctrines of faith. "The roof of the house" is one's higher spiritual state, that of love, a lower state is one of truth. What this means is that one should not revert to exploring matters of truth, after one has learned to act upon them from one's heart.

"And let him who is in the field not turn back to get his clothing" means that those who are in good from truth should not forsake such good and resort to doctrine concerning truth. "Clothing" always refers to truth, truth if the clothing is white, falsity if the clothing is black. The danger here is that while the church is in a perverted state, the false doctrines can corrupt the internal state of love, or worship, within one's heart. Always look forward to a life of usefulness and love, the future, never look back and start to question what your heart already knows.

THE THREE UNIVERSAL STATES OF WORSHIP

According to Swedenborg, there are three primary states of worship. The highest are those who are in the love towards God, these are represented by those in Judea who flee to the mountains. The second highest are those who are primarily in love towards their neighbor, these are represented by those who are on the roof of their house. The lowest state are those who are affected by truth, these are represented by those in the field.

In other words, if one is simply just interested in spiritual matters, and nothing more, you are in the initial state. Once you then take that further and become interested in loving others for the truth they live by, you reach the second state of progression. And once you go further than that: you love others for the sake of God, because we are his children: you have reached the highest state of happiness.

THE FOURTH STATE OF DECLINE: PROFANING THAT WHICH IS HOLY AND SACRED

"But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath; for then shall be great affliction, such as was not since the beginning of the world even until now, neither shall be. And except those days should be shortened there should no flesh be preserved; but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened" (Matt. 24:19-22).

Here the fourth and final state of perversion of religion is described: profaning that which is holy and sacred. To profane means to comingle what is evil with good, or falsity with the truth. This can only happen by those within the church, those who have knowledge of the revelation given, when they start to live according to evil, and they know what they are doing is wrong. Those "with child" refers to those who are imbued with good, and those who nurse babes refers those imbued with innocence. Love is conceived by truth. "Woe to them" means there is the threat of eternal damnation, for all are judged by what they know, and it will be our own conscience which will torment us with guilt. That the "flight should not be in winter" means do not depart from your love into coldness and indifference. That the flight should not be on the Sabbath, means do not resort to external forms of worship, as an excuse to yourself that you are good, when you know in your heart your selfish desires.

To profane that which is sacred and holy is to be avoided at all costs. That which is good must be kept separate from evil. That the "days would be shortened" for the elect, means this state of being tends to not last so long. All that is spiritual eventually turns into some form of external worship, so that those who are good can still be preserved. Such is what happened with Judaism, until all that was spiritual was gone and there was only an external form of worship.

THE FIFTH STATE OF DECLINE: A FALSE RELIGION

"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo here is the Christ, or there, believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall give great signs and wonders, to lead astray if possible even the elect. Behold I have told you before. If therefore they shall say unto you, Behold He is in the desert, go not out; Behold He is in the inner chambers, believe it not."

After a state of profanation, there will be a tendency for the mind to be more focused on external forms of worship, without thought of interal spiritual matters. This leads to a false religion of those who appear outwardly religious, but who internally desire to use religion for personal gain or wealth. "False Christs" refer to false truths, and "false prophets" are those who teach them: one is warned to beware of them, and shun them. The "signs and wonders" refer to the logical fallacies of their arguments which they use to try to persuade. The elect refer to God's chosen, who live a life of good according to the truth that they know - those who are confirmed in their inner spiritual life are not led astray by those who try to appear religious to others. A "desert" is symbolic of a lack of truth (as water represents spiritual truth). The "inner chambers" represents joining a false religion to become more familiar with its internal doctrines. The "desert" refers to the religious leaders who seek to abrogate the original revelation - scripture - making it worthless, and instead encourage people to follow their own tradition instead.

"For as the lightning cometh forth out of the east and appeareth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together" (Matt. 24:23-28).

The above passage is one among many which makes absolutely no sense if read in a literal manner. Jesus spoke in parables, and scripture uses a lot of symbolism - in order that only a select inner circle of disciples could receive the truth, which would be hidden from the masses. This was done because the masses were not ready to receive these teachings, and if understood they would start to profane the sacred knowledge.

"Lightning" here refers to heavenly light, which flashes from the east, but is dissipated in the west: this means heavenly teachings concerning good and truth instantly disappear among these false religious people. The east where the sun rises symbolizes the Divine Love of God, the west where the sun sets symbolizes the loss of the knowledge of this love. The Son of Man is the Coming of the Divine Truth - and when it is revealed, it will be completely ignored. Thus it is stated, When the Son of Man comes, will he find any faith on earth? This means the Second Coming will take place towards the end of the age, when religion has become so falsified and corrupt, but those within their false religion will be too blind to recognize it.

The "carcass" here refers to the church itself, now dead, and all that remains are their endless false reasonings: these are the vultures that gather around the carcass. In the spiritual world, reasoning and rationality is symbolized by birds. Vultures refer to false reasonings, which makes a life of love and charity of no account. A church is "dead" when nothing of love or charity remains in it.

THE SECOND COMING AND THE LAST JUDGMENT

"But immediately after the affliction of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth wail; and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall send forth His angels with a trumpet and a great voice, and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from the end of the heavens even to the end thereof" (Matt. 24:29-31).

The sun, moon and stars here do not refer to the physical sky above us, but to the spiritual realms of heaven connected with the church. There are three heavens above the material plane: the highest is represented by the sun, the middle is represented by the moon, and the lowest heaven is represented by the stars of heaven. Fixed stars refer to the different societies of angels, wandering stars refer to evil spirits.

The "sun darkened" means all of love towards God shall be then extinguished, the "moon not giving its light" means there will be no spiritual faith, the "stars falling from heaven" means knowledges of good and truth will disappear. It also refers to the Last Judgment, in which many spiritual beings were judged, and cast out of the lowest heaven. This took place so that a further revelation could be made from heaven - the "sign of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven". The layer of clouds refers to the lowest part of heaven that is closest to our material earth - this symbolically refers to the literal sense of scripture. Thus the vision of Swedenborg was opened to direct communication with the spiritual world, and the Divine Truth that was hidden in the Bible became revealed in his writings. It is this internal spiritual knowledge, of the symbolic meaning of scripture, which is the true Second Coming. The First Coming of the Divine Truth came in human form, but the Second Coming is the revelation of the Divine Truth in the Bible itself. For the Word that composed this scripture is the very Word which became incarnate in Jesus Christ. Every word of scripture is explained, in a highly spiritual manner.

The Old Christian Church has come to an end, and a New Church founded on Divine Truth direct from God has come to take its place. This is taking place in a hidden manner, among God's chosen - those who live a life of loving God and others, based on the doctrines of the new revelation. This is represented by the angels or messengers who gather the elect from the four winds of heaven. 

The Origin of the Soul, Reincarnation, and the Collective Unconscience

THE ORIGIN OF THE SOUL

Where does the soul originate? According to Swedenborg, the soul originates from the seed of the father, whereas the "covering" for the body originates from the mother. This thought has several consequences: one is, we only live once in this material world, and the other is that life begins at conception. Those who are considering abortion should think again. The fact that life begins at conception is a biological fact, as the cells begin dividing at that point. We die when our cells are unable to divide any longer. However I have heard some people argue that perhaps the soul enters the body at a later stage in fetal development. That this is not so, is shown in the following passage written by Swedenborg, long before anything was known about genetics:

"the soul which comes from the father is the person himself, and the body which comes from the mother, is not in itself the person, but a product of the person. This is merely its covering, woven of substances from the natural world, while the soul is of substances from the spiritual world. After death every person lays aside the natural which he got from his mother, and keeps the spiritual which he had from his father, together with a sort of fringe (limbus) around it composed of the purest natural substances. In the case of those who come into heaven this fringe is below with the spiritual side uppermost; with those who come into hell, the fringe is uppermost and the spiritual side is below. That is why a human angel receives what he says from heaven, so that it is good and true, but a human devil receives what he says from hell when he speaks from the heart, as he does in private, but as if from heaven when he speaks with the lips only, as he does in public.
[2] Since a person's soul is his very self, and by its origin the soul is spiritual, it is clear why the father's mind, attitude, character, inclination and affection of love live on in one descendant after another, and show up from one generation to the next. That is why many families, even whole nations, are recognisable likenesses of their ancestor; there is a shared type which shows up in the faces of each of his descendants, and this is only changed by the spirituality of the church. The type shared by Jacob and Judah still lives on in their descendants, allowing them to be distinguished from others, because down to the present day they have kept strictly to their religion. For in the seed from which each individual is conceived there is a shoot or cutting of the father's soul in all its completeness, wrapped in a covering of natural elements. These control the formation of the body in the mother's womb, where it may take on a resemblance to the father or the mother, though the father's type remains in it and constantly strives to come out. So if it is unable to do so in the first generation, it achieves this in subsequent ones.
[3] The reason why the father's type in all its completeness is in the seed is that, as already said, the soul is in origin spiritual, and the spiritual has nothing in common with space, so it can be reproduced in a small compass just as well as on a large scale. As for the Lord, when He was in the world, He put off by redeeming acts all the human He had from His mother, and put on the Human from the Father, that is, the Divine Human. That is why it is that in Him man is God and God is man." (True Christian Religion, 103)

The only caveat with the above passage, is that Swedenborg sometimes drew conclusions from his own experiences. The part that I still have questions about is that he states that the soul in its origin is spiritual, outside of space, yet contained in the seed of the father. So where did that originate? Is it possible that the soul has a pre-existent state before being born? According to Swedenborg, the answer is no. The purpose of the material world, all of creation, is to produce angels of heaven from the human race. And the only way to increase the number of angels of heaven is through the generations of the human race in the material world.

The other conclusion, is that the soul of Jesus was Divine, whereas his body was just like ours, which he received from his mother. On the resurrection, this body was put off, and transformed into a Divine Human. This was the one time in history, to all eternity, that God would become incarnate. Thus as far as we know, it never happened before, and will never happen again.

REINCARNATION

Concerning reincarnation, where the soul incarnates from one body to the next, many ancient cultures believed this, and this belief is still prevalant in eastern religions. However it is practically absent in the three religions founded on the Bible: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Still, even within these religions some people surmise we may have a chance to be born again. As Swedenborg had 27 years of visions from heaven, what did he have to say? The answer is quite interesting:

"An angel or spirit is not permitted to speak with a man from his own memory, but only from the man's memory; for angels and spirits have a memory as well as man. If a spirit were to speak from his own memory with a man the man would not know otherwise than that the thoughts then in his mind were his own, although they were the spirit's thoughts. This would be like the recollection of something which the man had never heard or seen. That this is so has been given me to know from experience. This is the source of the belief held by some of the ancients that after some thousands of years they were to return into their former life, and into everything they had done, and in fact, had returned. This they concluded because at times there came to them a sort of recollection of things that they had never seen or heard. This came from an influx from the memory of spirits into their ideas of thought." (Heaven and Hell, 256)

Reincarnation only comes up in the context on his discussions concerning memory. Which is interesting, because now there are so many books out there which discusses past life regresstion through hypnosis. Through these past life regressions, despite the skepticism hypnotists have been able to retrieve facts about historical events that the subject had no knowledge about. Not only that, but subjects have been able to pick up accents, and even speak in foreign languages that they did not know before (xenoglossy). The hypnotic state is a natural state of mind we pass through every day - and apparently this is the state where the mind becomes aware of other levels of existence. According to Swedenborg, this has nothing to do with reincarnation, but rather communication has opened up with the spirits that are influencing the subject's life. Thus past-life regression is a useful tool in therapy - one can remove bad behaviours, phobias, and even sicknesses. It is also the simplist explanation. Hypnotists who believe in reincarnation become confused when they see one life time overlapping chronologically with another life time. Another indicator is that hypnotic past life regressions can have one past life be of a male, and then it can switch to a female. According to Swedenborg, once born one is always male or female, the sex will never change.

This view on reincarnation is also consistent with the view on the origin of the soul. Probably many people who are interested in New Age material will be disappointed with this answer. In consolation, Swedenborg declared the New Age long before they discovered it.

In addition to spirits who may pass on their memories to us, perhaps in a desire to communicate, there are also evil spirits - who seek not only to take over the memory, but the entire body. Swedenborg called this phenomenon "obsession", and it was much more common in ancient times. It is now known as "demoniac possession", and apparently it is happening more frequently. The Catholic Church still maintains a class of exorcists. Here is what Swedenborg stated:

"There are also spirits called natural and corporeal spirits. When these come to a man they do not conjoin themselves with his thought, like other spirits, but enter into his body, and occupy all his senses, and speak through his mouth, and act through his members, believing at the time that all things of the man are theirs. These are the spirits that obsess man. But such spirits have been cast into hell by the Lord, and thus wholly removed; and in consequence such obsessions are not possible at the present time." (Heaven and Hell, 257)

THE GROUP SOUL, OR THE "COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUS" OF CARL JUNG

We have discussed the origin of the soul, and reincarnation. Now some people who have experienced past life memories, or deja vu, will state that the memories that came to them showed them things that were similar to their own life experience. Why the similarity? We now come to the topic of a "group soul", or what Swedenborg called "angelic societies", and what Carl Jung then called "the Collective Unconscious". Carl Jung's idea concerns the origin of archetypes, but he basically took his idea from Swedenborg (he called them "correspondences" but that is another topic). What Swedenborg discovered is that the mind of man is in constant communication with spirits and angels, who are similar to that person according to their love:

"With every individual there are good spirits and evil spirits. Through good spirits man has conjunction with heaven, and through evil spirits with hell. These spirits are in the world of spirits, which lies midway between heaven and hell. This world will be described particularly hereafter. When these spirits come to a man they enter into his entire memory, and thus into his entire thought, evil spirits into the evil things of his memory and thought, and good spirits into the good things of his memory and thought. These spirits have no knowledge whatever that they are with man; but when they are with him they believe that all things of his memory and thought are their own; neither do they see the man, because nothing that is in our solar world falls into their sight." (Heaven and Hell, 292)

For the most part, the spirits that are in communication with us communicate via affections and emotions, rather than by thought. In fact, this is the origin of all thought and emotion: it belongs to the spiritual world. Man, on his part, has the free will to choose what thoughts and affections he or she will appropriate to himself (or herself):

"The spirits who are with man, both those conjoined with heaven and those conjoined with hell, never flow into man from their own memory and its thought, for if they should flow in from their own thought, whatever belonged to them would seem to man to be his (see above n. 256). Nevertheless there flows into man through them out of heaven an affection belonging to the love of good and truth, and out of hell an affection belonging to the love of evil and falsity. Therefore as far as man's affection agrees with the affection that flows in, so far that affection is received by him in his thought, since man's interior thought is wholly in accord with his affection or love; but so far as man's affection does not agree with that affection it is not received. Evidently, then, since thought is not introduced into man through spirits, but only an affection for good and an affection for evil, man has choice, because he has freedom; and is thus able by his thought to receive good and reject evil, since he knows from the Word what is good and what is evil. Moreover, whatever he receives by thought from affection is appropriated to him; but whatever he does not receive by thought from affection is not appropriated to him. All this makes evident the nature of the influx of good out of heaven with man, and the nature of the influx of evil out of hell. (Heaven and Hell, 298)

When we die, we shed our external body, and we become aware of the society we belong to, either in heaven and hell. In reality, no one goes to heaven or hell: we are already there. We just become aware of this internal reality after we die:

"Souls newly arrived from the world, when about to leave the company of the spiritual angels to go among spirits, and so at length to come into the society in which they had been while they lived in the body, are led about by angels to many mansions or abodes, that is, to societies which are distinct and yet conjoined with others; in some of which they are received, while in other cases they are led to still other societies, and this for an indefinite time, until they come to the society in which they had been while they lived in the body; and there they remain." (Heavenly Arcana, or Arcana Coelestia, 1273)

CONCLUSION

Despite the fact that the information Swedenborg gives makes common sense, he is completely ignored. Why? Because no one at this day believes people can receive heavenly visions, and even discount the existence of the spiritual world. So instead, the modern world has to flounder around guessing, depending on psychologists who view the mind as a black box. Naturalistic materialism only goes so far. When it comes to the soul, the afterlife, and the things that really matter, science is completely blind.

When it comes to many religions, the priests or spiritual leaders just love to call attention to themselves. They are often the worse, for their own pride is veiled with religion. Many of these false leaders will claim to have visions, in order to mislead people. Pride is the hardest evil to conquer, and Swedenborg had to go through many trials to conquer it before he was allowed to see what he saw, in a completely wakeful state for 27 years. All of his works were published anonymously, at his own expense. He only became known when at a dinner in Germany, he had a clairvoyant experience where he described a fire in Sweden, that it threatened to burn down his house and all his books. When asked why he was so worried, he was pressed and described the fire, and all the factual details became known several days later. It was then he became famous, and people finally guessed it was he who had been publishing these volumes of his visionary experiences. The incident was investigated by none other than the German philosopher Immanuel Kant.

So, when it comes to religious matters, who would you choose? Someone writing about their own opinion or guess, or someone who was a witness to spiritual events in heaven and hell, whose experiences were later validated by factual evidence? I am going to pick the latter.