Readings

To all appearances, we are leading and teaching ourselves, while the truth is that we are being led and taught by the Lord alone. (Divine Providence 154)

By means of doctrine the Word is understood, and is like a lamp stand with a lighted lamp. The people then see more things than they had seen before, and also understand those things which before they had not understood. Dark and contradictory things they either do not see and pass over, or see and interpret them so that they agree with the doctrine. . . But doctrine is not only to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, but must also be confirmed by it; for if not so confirmed the truth of doctrine appears as if only people’s intelligence were in it, and not the Lord’s divine wisdom; and so the doctrine would be like a house in the air, and not on the earth, and would lack a foundation. (Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture 54)

New Church Teachings Shed Light on Biblical Contradictions

Creation Story: In the creation story, God creates light on the first day. However, it wasn’t until the fourth day that God created the sun.

New Church Perspective: The story of creation is a parable of each one of us being created anew. The light created on the first day is the first dawn of spiritual consciousness in each one of us, when we ‘see the light’ and know that there is such a thing as truth. Light is the symbol of truth. The birth of the sun and moon on the fourth day are symbolic of the birth of love and faith in our lives.

God’s Character: The God of the Old Testament is seen as fierce and angry. However, the God of the New Testament is a God of love and peace.

New Church Perspective: God is our Father. Just as a good parent can correct and guide us in seemingly angry ways, so it can seem to us that sometimes God is angry with us. In the Old Testament, God’s apparent anger is not a reflection of God’s character, but a reflection of the state of the people at that time and their outlook on God. But we know that good parents, like our Divine Father, work from love. The anger is only an appearance. He is never angry with us, nor does He punish us. God loves us with His whole heart all of the time.

Marriage: The New Church teaches about marriage in Heaven. In the Bible, Jesus seems to say that there is no marriage after death. "In the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage" (Matthew 22:30; Luke 20:35-36).

New Church Perspective: In the work, Heaven and Hell, this is commented on: "In the heavens there are spiritual weddings that should not be called weddings but unions of minds, because of the union of the good and the true. On earth, though there are weddings, because they concern not only the spirit but the flesh as well... This enables us to know what is meant by the Lord’s words about marriages in Luke 20:35-36" (Heaven and Hell 382b). Jesus knew that people thought of marriage as a legal agreement and knew very little about the spiritual love that can exist between married partners.

Reflection

What messages from the Bible have helped you?

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