Christian error about God, sin, and the relevance of religious beliefs to our destiny

Christian error about sin

Sometimes people long for God’s help but don’t ask for it because they believe they only deserve divine judgment. This is because they have picked up the idea of ​​a deity who judges human sin. This orthodox line of Christian thought comes from Augustine and Luther. Those thinkers had the notion of our essential sinfulness for which we should be ashamed and condemned. This idea of ​​’original sin’ is that humanity is basically bad since the fall of Adam.

So, to them, God the Father seems like a pretty punitive figure who wants retribution for the sinful behavior of mankind. Consequently, God the Son is punished in our place. The approach to God can be hampered by a feeling of shame and fear. If you feel unworthy of God’s love because of this Christian notion of ‘sin’, you may be discouraged by prayer.

Emanuel Swedenborg on sin

Swedenborg’s view is that although it is true that we have selfish tendencies, we should not punish ourselves for them. We also have good trends. What counts is what we do with them.

William Bruce, a Swedenborgian, points out that there are many selfish suggestions and impure images that creep into our minds from what we read, hear and see, and what is already in memory. Its entry into thought does not corrupt us. It gives us the opportunity to discover their character, to know if we like them or not, to know ourselves and to exercise self-denial, if we are willing to do so. What really matters is the way we choose between them.

“What goes into someone’s mouth does not contaminate him, but what comes out of his mouth, that is what contaminates him.” (Matthew 15:11)

Feeling overwhelmed with guilt because of a sense of condemnation keeps us from being kind to ourselves. Even today, many churchgoers feel guilty about their own goodness because they assume that this is undeserved and is somehow the opposite of loving others. However, if we cannot be kind to ourselves, how can we expect to feel that we deserve help with our problems?

Christian error about the Holy Trinity

When the Christian Church was in its infancy, three individual persons had not been thought of in the Godhead. This was while the apostles lived and preached repentance throughout the world. Then, throughout the centuries, although they proclaimed only one God with their lips, for some Christians there were three gods in the thoughts of their minds: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Christian churches since the 6th century explicitly declare three individuals of the Trinity. And the vestige of this assumption can still be found today in the main churches.

When we have an idea of ​​the One, there is an intuition of unity. I am thinking of a unity of love and light. In other words, this is a distinguishable unit: an apparent paradox. Theologian John Hick says that the transcendent absolute, which cannot be expressed in words, is in a sense One. Similarly, basic to the philosophy of Plotinus and Neoplatonism, the soul and intelligence come from the One.

Hinduism is a polytheistic religion. However, many Hindus accept that individual deities are expressions or representations of a single ultimate spiritual power. The Islamic religion is particularly adamant about the unity of Allah.

Christian theologians themselves often admit that they have been unable to find a persuasive and rational explanation for three divine Beings. Consequently, they call this a mystery. However, this is a mystery that is an obstacle for people these days who do not believe in something they do not understand.

Swedenborg on the Holy Trinity

I am drawn to the view that the biblical narrative of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is a metaphor. To understand this literally as three divine individuals smells of polytheism. Instead, I would suggest that we think of three essential dimensions of a human Divinity, whom Swedenborg called the Lord. After all, it could be said that there are three aspects to me: my higher self, my body and my activity. Consequently, each of the divine figures referred to in the Gospels corresponds to a similar aspect of the one divinity.

So, as I understand it, the Father represents the innermost essence of love that we cannot fully fathom. Is this idea similar to the Hindu idea of ​​Brahman as an unknowable source?

I would suggest that the Son represents the light on love that, to some extent, illuminates our understanding and with whom we can relate humanly. Is this like the Hindu Krishna?

And in my way of thinking, the Holy Spirit represents the power of love to do good that can strengthen our lives. Is there something in common here with the Hindu concept of atman as an imminent indwelling Spirit?

That is why I would like to speak of the only Lord, within whom are these three aspects, represented by the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Christian error about the relevance of religious beliefs

When religious belief is dogmatic, it can lead to conflict and schism. Swedenborg’s view is that all people, regardless of their religious culture, can potentially find a heavenly state of mind. In other words, you don’t have to believe or belong to a specific faith to be saved from unhappiness and vice. Instead, what matters is whether we lead our lives in accordance with our knowledge of love and light. What we believe can usefully guide us toward, rather than determining, our ultimate judgment and destiny.