Many religions have teachings that encourage people to attend church or a service of worship; the New Church is no exception in this regard. You could ask many New Church members about the importance of church and most would agree that attending church is a good idea, and I agree. A question that is more difficult to answer is whether you should also push your friends to attend church. Does it matter if your friends attend church? Is it your responsibility to push them to attend?

In Apocalypse Explained 696, it talks about how in the measure someone knows the truths of faith and lives according to them they are worshiping the Lord. I think this suggests that you should want friends who learn more truths of faith. Moreover, attending church is an excellent way for people to acquire more truths of faith, apply them to their life and therefore worship the Lord. Therefore, if your friends attend church are they more your neighbor than if they didn’t?

I don’t think this is a straight forward question to answer, but it is nonetheless useful to consider. In the book of Luke Jesus tells the parable of the Good Samaritan. The Good Samaritan is a story in the Word about a man who takes care of someone in need without thought of recompense. I think this story is an example of how your friends are more your neighbor if they attend church. The best way to examine who your true friends are is to judge them by their actions. You know the Good Samaritan is the neighbor by his actions, he helped the man in need, not just in words. I do not believe the claims of a friend who says they love the teachings of the New Church but never practice them or seek to learn more of them. You do not worship the Lord simply by word of mouth, you must practice the truths of faith you learned; that is worshiping the Lord. Continue reading How Much Should You Push Your Friends To Go To Church? →

Last school year as a high school junior at the Kempton New Church School, the final assignment in my Anatomy and Physiology course was to choose a topic related to the human body and connect it to teachings from the Heavenly Doctrines. The following article is a portion of the paper I wrote on the Spiritual and Natural Growth, Development, and Birth of an Infant. If you have further interest and would like to read the full anatomy portion of the paper and/or my sources, click here: Full Paper (PDF).
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Like every other system and growth in the body, the development of an unborn child is caused by the spiritual growth and development that needs a natural foundation. There are many things happening spiritually when a baby is formed and developed in the womb and then born into the world. The spiritual growth most intimately corresponding to the newly forming human being, is the development of the will and the understanding. These are the vessels that receive love and wisdom from the Lord seated in the brain and nervous system that will serve a person after his first breath (Divine Wisdom 3.2). Another correspondence in a larger sense, is the connection between the stages and processes of pregnancy, and the stages and processes of regeneration (Divine Wisdom 4).

In every human being there is the marriage of love and wisdom to some degree, which allows a person to function and act from his will and understanding as an individual (Divine Love and Wisdom 401.3). This marriage can be illustrated by the heart and lungs, and how they function together. In the adult circulatory system the heart pumps blood that has been oxygenated by the lungs out to the body. In the fetal circulatory system, however, the lungs are not yet functioning, so only the heart is beating. This fact is the physical effect of the Lord’s Divine love pouring into the body of an unborn child. It causes the heart to beat, but does not yet open the lungs, because the marriage of love and wisdom has not yet occurred (Divine Love and Wisdom 401.3). Continue reading The Spiritual and Natural Growth of an Infant →

Over the past year I’ve tried several times to put into words the point of art. Or to put it another way, why is art more than just a hobby? What is its greater or spiritual use? I don’t think I have THE answer, or if there even is one, but I wanted to share some thoughts, and I’d love to hear yours!

I know in my gut that art has a profound use and that the world would be pretty bleak without it. Art undoubtedly adds aesthetically to the world, but is that it? It’s not exactly an insignificant role (think of how Heaven is described in the Writings: bursting with beauty of all kinds), but I think there’s more. Creating art or being an artist can easily look and feel like a luxurious hobby next to more “useful” or worthy occupations (doctors, teachers, ministers, counsellors, orphanage managers… to name a few of my most easily guilt-tripping ones). Now comparing the use of relative jobs is a losing game from the beginning, especially in a world which focuses on monetary and external value. Still, this question of arts’ USE is one I’ve pondered and enjoyed seeking to find a satisfying answer to.

While thinking about this question, I came upon this psalm, a jubilant celebration of the Lord’s creation.

“O Lord, how manifold are Your works!
In wisdom You have made them all.
The earth is full of Your possessions—
This great and wide sea,
In which are innumerable teeming things,
Living things both small and great.”
Psalm 104:24-25

Continue reading The Point of Art →

I’ve had times in my marriage that I wanted to leave, times when I wasn’t happy, and times when I wondered what my role was in our marriage.

That being said, we are still together. My husband and I have been married for over 15 years. We have been together for nearly 20 years. Something must be working.

One of the main things that kept me from leaving was to reread my marriage vows. We promised to love and support each other no matter what. In sickness and in health. For richer for poorer. As long as we both shall live or until death us do part…

Remembering the promise I made has given me peace and comfort that our marriage, built on love and mutual respect, will keep on growing and last forever thanks to the Lord’s guidance.

We have been through many ‘phases’ in our marriage. The romantic phase at the beginning. The realisation of the reality and communication required for a successful marriage as we discovered our differences once the rose coloured spectacles of romance were removed. We had children. That one decision changed a great deal for us. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about the two of us. Now there were three, then four, then five of us.
Continue reading Till Death Do Us Part →