Psychology 459, Theistic
Psychology Fall 2006 Generation 25
Dr. Leon James: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/theistic/ch1.htm
Class Homepage: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm
My Home Page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459f2006/lovett/lovett-home.htm
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/classhome-g25.htm
Instructions
for this Report: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy25/459-g25-weekly.htm
My report of
Theistic Psychology by
Dr. Leon James
Yuko Lovett
Report 5
Section
1.5.1 to 1.6.2
Study Question 1
Summarize Section 1.5.1 “Students Speak Out on Swedenborg.” Give your impressions and conclusions. You can
Answer 1
Depending
on how we read Swedenborg, Swedenborg’s writing gives us different impression,
which is dogmatic, religious, mysterious, or unscientific. After reading of “students
speak out on Swedenborg”, most of people, including me, seem like we have still
shallow understanding of Swedenborg.
If we read
Swedenborg as a religious writer, we will never understand his celestial perspective.
And if we try to judge whether his idea is scientific or not, we will never
understand his rational level of writings. Thus, reading Swedenborg with the
standpoint of religion, we may work for judging the credibility of his thesis
by the belief system.
What is the
concept of religion? There are many definitions of religion. However stating that
religion system grounded in such belief and worship (by American heritage
college dictionary 1997), if I read Swedenborg as the object for belief system,
I will be required to believe either position; I will be all out for a devoting
myself of Swedenborg, or I will refuse to believe Swedenborg’s writing.
Therefore, if I become be a devotee of Swedenborg, I will be blind of
Swedenborg’s thesis, and if I refuse Swedenborg, I never understand the hidden
meaning of each word, which Swedenborg selected for us.
In the limited
time for reading Swedenborg, I consider that I should consciously read his
writings through a psychological standpoint.
As a Psychology student, I believe I should read Swedenborg without having
any prejudice and any preconception.
Swedenborg was a
scientist, a Philosopher, a Christian mystic, and a theologian; therefore, we understand
his writings are mature through being written with logically constructed ideas.
When we think
whether Swedenborg’s writings are scientific or not, we should also start to consider
what scientific meaning is. Through the
standpoint of the judgment as a scientific thesis; we will fall into the pattern
of anti- Swedenborg criticism.
Science tells us
what we can know; however, what we can know is little. Therefore, if we forget how much we cannot
know, we will become insensitive to many things of very great importance. We don’t know much about the universe;
therefore, we only try to understand theology toward the universe within our
knowledge. We could only recognize or
prove our knowledge. I think whether
Swedenborg’s writing is scientific or not, is meaningless, and it is not
studying at all; it is more like a present idea for general people.
If I start to read
Writings of Swedenborg, I consider that, it doesn’t matter for me whether the thesis
of Swedenborg is unscientific and religious or not. Understanding of Swedenborg’s
theory is similar to a cryptic dialogue between a Zen priest and his disciple. Zen dialogue is like the riddles. The problem
is not able to be solved through the logical thinking. A straightforward and reliable way to deal
with the quest for enlightenment is to enlist the help of the controlling ego,
which attempts to exhaust it or force it to change as many other techniques do.
Understanding and improving
of theistic psychology is like Zen dialogue, which is enlightenment for
me. It takes time and pain for a process
of learning and having a rational perspective.
However, the moment of understanding is suddenly coming, like having a
spiritual enlightenment; after acquiring this perspective, we know how
Swedenborg’s theory is a rational and a scientifical
statement, which makes us interested and admire our life.
Study Question 2
Section 1.5.1.2 “The Negative Bias in Science” presents an extensive quote
by a negative bias mode psychologist (Bering).
Analyze what he says. Make a
conclusion in the light of what you already know from the positive bias.
Answer 2
Jesse
M. Bering, a psychologist, examines how people’s belief in an afterlife, as
well as closely related supernatural beliefs, may open an empirical backdoor to
our understanding of the evolution of human social cognition.
According to
Bering, recent findings and logic from the cognitive sciences contribute to a
novel theory of existential psychology.
One is that grounded in the tenets of Darwinian natural selection. The central thesis of the present article is
that an organized cognitive ‘system’ dedicated to forming illusory
representations of (i) psychological immortality,
(ii) the intelligent design of the self, and (iii) the symbolic meaning of
natural events evolved in response to the unique selective pressures of the
human social environment.
Cognitive
scientists, scant attention has been paid to the evolutionary significance of
the human capacity to represent the self sub species under the aspect of
eternity. Instead, many scholars
categorize afterlife concepts in the same way they do other types of religious
concepts.
However, first of
all, a natural disposition toward afterlife beliefs is more likely the default
cognitive stance and interacts with various leaning channels. Thus intuitive reasoning about dead agents’
minds would seem to leave open the possibility for continued social relationships
with the dead.
Second, attempts
to simulate dead agents’ minds may even result in Type one errors made by
adults who profess not to believe in the afterlife. This
errors leads to the belief in the soul’s intelligent design, and theory of mind
errors also intentionally caused by supernatural agents.
His thesis is not
easy to understand for me. I am not able
to summarize his opinion yet. However,
his argument doesn’t touch theistic psychology.
His viewing is not based of any researches. If someone wants to say, “It is illusion”, it
requires the proof which is supporting by scientific research.
Study Question 3
Select a few concepts from Section 1.5.1.3 “Outline of Swedenborg’s
Spiritual Psychology” and discuss them with a friend or two. What observations did you make from this exchange? Which concepts are most interesting to you?
Answer 3
I
am especially interested in “the Vertical Community” of the thesis of
Swedenborg. According to Swedenborg, we
have two communities: an external horizontal community and an internal vertical
community of spiritual consociations. An
external horizontal community is provided with time and space in the material world,
such as ethnicity, culture, and society, and an internal vertical community of
spiritual consociations is provided with spiritual substances, such as love and
truth. According to Dr. James, our behavior and character are determined by our
affective choices, or “loves”, since our emotional attractions and cognitive interpretations
can only occur with communication from these spiritual societies.
The inner mind of
every individual is unconsciously in contact with the minds of individuals who
are already in the afterlife. These
spiritual societies constitute our vertical community to which we belong into
and which we are locked. Change in our
feelings and thoughts are possible only with rearranging the spiritual
societies with which we are communicating.
This continuous network is interacting between all individuals of the human
race, past and present.
I
imagine this thesis by comparing the time to an arrow. If the arrow of time
goes by horizontally, we could feel the passage of time; however, if the arrow
of time goes by vertically, we could feel we are at a stand still. Like when we concentrate our attention
something or are lost in meditation, we don’t feel the time passes. Our spiritual world has no time and our consciousness
is going up or down without the passage of time.
I
used to believe that the human life is like the life of a flower. After blooming, the flower withers and die,
and we also realize after blooming (the young age), we are going to live calmly
toward the end of life. However, through
theistic psychology, I consider we could live in the mental world eternally; therefore,
my body is getting old, but not my mental state.
My physical organs will be stop someday, but
not my mental organs. I will part with
my darling people, but I will never have the final parting with them. Because as long as I love them, I will never have the final parting
with them in the mental world. I
could live with love and truth eternally.
Time
goes by fast; however, I am slowly going up the internal vertical community in
the mental world. I feel like just I
came into being. Every encounter with
people and happenings change my outlook on life now, through thinking of the
low of correspondence.
Study Question 4
Section 1.5.1.3 also contains a “narrative account” in which there is a
discussion with angels about what people on earth know about heaven and
hell. What is your impression of this? Give an interpretation as best you can at
this point in your study of theistic psychology.
Answer 4
According
to Swedenborg, an angel is a person in heaven.
An angel is not a separate creation of beings, but people that had lived
on earth. After people die, their
spirits only live in the spiritual world. In this world, people get
acclimatized to the next existence (discrete degree of spiritual level). This is like a school. People are educated and oriented as a
student. And people became angels after
graduating or became devils if they fail.
I
imagine the figure of an angel is, like a Raphael drawing, the angel who has
blonde curled hair, a cute and kindly face, a winged body, who wears the white
dress. Therefore, I get confused between
my image of an angel and the angel which actually Swedenborg saw.
Actually,
in Christian iconography, the use of wings is a convention used to denote the
figure as a spirit. It is to say that
depictions of angels in Christian art appear as winged human forms, which
follow the iconic conventions of lesser winged gods.
I
am wondering why our image is vague, and we recognized the appearance of angels,
which is not based on any facts. In the
world we did not create our own image of angels; instead we are influenced by
our society’s idea what is the angel look like.
Our recognition has influenced of the world, which is taken a warped
view of prejudice and the traditional practice.
Thus our recognition is not our original idea but is implanted by the
people and society.
According
to Swedenborg’s observation of Spiritual world, there are three degrees of
life, and consequently three heavens; each discrete of heaven has each level of
angel living. The lowest form of thinking in the third heaven was absolutely
beyond the thinking and comprehension of the highest thinking in the second
heaven. When a
celestial angel in third heaven was allowed to communicate with a spiritual
angel in second heaven through the relation of correspondence.
Every
celestial-rational idea or operation has a corresponding spiritual-rational
idea or operation. Therefore, while
celestial angels are able to perceive directly any truth they are interested
in, spiritual angels have to reason, reflect, debate, and be instructed about
it before gaining understanding and enlightenment.
Angels told Swedenborg that they actually
perceive the inflowing love and truth from the Divine Human; therefore, if
human should for a moment think that their powers, intelligence, and wisdom are
their own, rather than appear as-if their own, they would instantly fall out of
heaven. The heavenly state of
consciousness attributes every detail of one’s thoughts and feelings to the
Divine Human, because if the person is unenlightened, he or she informed by
sensuous consciousness rather than by rational ideas from Sacred
Scripture.
After
knowing Swedenborg’s experience, I feel my previous image of angel is not
realistic. We sometime say to the baby
that she looks like an angel. And when
the children are playing in the sun, they are lovable and pure; I always feel
they have wings, like angels.
Now I recognize that, I just improve my image
between the angels and the children. I
believe that the angles should be innocent and pure; therefore, the angles are
not sinful, like young children, which I want to believe.
Comparing the
molded image of angel and the angels which Swedenborg saw, Swedenborg’s is more
rationally understood, and the molded image of angel is nothing but in a
fairy-tale world. Once I have in this point
of viewing, I recognize that the dialogue between Swedenborg and an angel has
deeply meaning for my life.
Study Question 5
Summarize what is said in Section 1.6 “Spiritual Psychology.” How does this
relate to what you already know about the field of psychology?
Answer 5
Swedenborg’s
thesis is that, the structural components of the mind are defines as “spiritual
substances.” We are born with two
worlds: the spiritual world and the physical world. Like our physical body need the physical sun,
our spiritual body needs the spiritual sun.
From the spiritual sun, our mental organs receive the spiritual
substances, which originate and belong to the “spiritual world.” The spiritual mind and physical mind are
related of the cause and the effect, which is the mind connection; the law of
correspondence.
Our
spiritual minds receive sensory input from the spiritual world while our
natural mind receives sensory input form the physical or natural world. Upon death and resuscitation, our natural
minds are no longer operative since they receive sensory input from the
physical body. Thus, when we are physically die, the spiritual minds leave the physical
body for “resuscitating” and live with other people’s spiritual minds in the
spiritual world for ever. When we awake
from resuscitation, we will be fully conscious in the previous unconscious
spiritual mind.
The
actions of body correspond to three domains of the mind” the affective organ
(the will), the cognitive organ (the understanding), the sensorimotor
(the effect of these two acting together).
Like neuronal operations in the brain have a structural component in
biochemical (protein) cells and components, affective and cognitive operations
in the mind have a satirical component in the mental organs constructed of
spiritual fibers.
Swedenborg
disclosed the fact of human life, through his special experience, which he
eyewitness the afterlife in the spiritual world. Comparing with modern psychologists define
the mind as insubstantial or an epiphenomenon of the brain, Swedenborg denied
that, and he took the other scientific alternative which is that the mind is
organic but of organic substances not detectable by physical senses.
He was one of the most eminent and rational
scientist of the Age of Reason in 18th century
As
long as we read the writings of Swedenborg, we recognize our scientifically judgment,
which is proved by measuring system, is not enough proposal system. His thesis
requires of reading with our rational perspective. Like the relation of the master and the
pupil, we, the pupil have to enlighten ourselves.
According to Arcana Coelestia by Swedenborg, “According to
the quality and quantity of truth, so is the charity with a man” (AC 2189)* I
consider in this sentence, our extent of charity is depending on how much we
understand and recognize “truth”.
Through reading of Swedenborg, I know how my recognition was vague and
how his sentences have deep meanings about human life. Depending on how we understand and serious
for meaning of existence, our interpreting of Swedenborg is vary. We are as pupils of the truth, which is
written by Swedenborg, we need to engage in ascetic practices of our life;
otherwise, we never understand what Swedenborg really wanted to say.
*By Heavenly
Doctrines www.theheavenlydoctorines.org/
Study Question 6
Study Section 1.6.1 “Three Levels of Behavior.”
Based on that discussion, and your own limited knowledge of the field, explain
the major difference between non-theistic psychology and theistic
psychology. You can also consult other Section,
e.g., Section 2.3 “Is theistic psychology really science?” at www.soc.,hawaii.edu/leonj/theistic/ch2.htm#Q2
Answer 6
Human
behavior is directed from the level of affective habits, and is thence
interconnected with a lower level of cognitive habits, which is generally agreed
in psychologists in twentieth century.
Freud‘s
theory is that the mind is a complex energy-system. He articulated and refined the concepts of
the unconscious, of infantile sexuality, of repression, and proposed a
tripartite account of the mind’s structure.
He noticed the motivational data about his clients: human actions,
dreams, and indeed of cultural artifacts as invariably possessing implicit
symbolic. Freudian’s clinical goal is to
alter the individual’s affective states, moods, and drive level.
Skinner’s
theory is that learning is a function of change in overt behavior. Changes in behavior are the result of an
individual’s response to events (stimuli) that occur in the environment, and a
response produces a consequence such as defining a word, hitting a ball, or
solving a math problem. When a
particular Stimulus-Response pattern is reinforced, the individual is
conditioned to respond.
On the basis of Skinner’s
theory, the behavior technologist brings about modification in behavior, for
controlling people’s affective needs.
For instance, the behavior of having a good
opinion of someone, the opinion or its content is the cognitive part, while the
affective part is the desire to have that opinion and wanting to defend it or
to justify it. The affective provides
the motive, while the cognitive provides the content or plan. These two will work together to produce any overt
behavior or interaction.
It is clear that
psychologists work with the practical idea that behavior is organized in three
levels: affective, cognitive, and sensorimotor. However, this threefold schema for human
behavior was explicitly held by Aristotle, and Swedenborg has also catalogued
human behavior in these three levels and developed an extensive and integrated
psychology based (called the will, the understanding, and uses.)
Swedenborg’s
thesis is systematical applied of revealed principles to the description of
events and behavior. Theistic
psychologists do not invent their own theories as in non-theistic psychology,
which has ended up with contradictory explanations of portions of human
behavior, and do not corroborate the theoretical theories and predictive
theories.
Studying theistic
psychology is to discover how we are to cooperate with the Divine Psychologist
in our work of regeneration, which is not required for the belief-system but
the rational thinking.
Through thinking
rationally, we notice that our thinking is which we have received in our
socialization process, not our own thinking. And as long as thinking under
normal circumstances, we will affirm that human ability has limit and we will
keep struggling in our life.
Study Question 7
Discuss your answer of Question 6 with a friend or two. What is your conclusion?
Answer 7
Three
character of theistic psychology is, first, the dual universe: the natural and
the spiritual world, was created and is managed by God through spiritual
correspondences. Second, correspondence
cannot be discovered; however, these are transmitted through scientific
revelations that are extracted from the literal sentences of Sacred Scripture. Third, the extraction process must use
methods and procedures specified in Sacred Scripture.
As
non-theistic psychology is based on empirical observations, theistic psychology is based on deduce empirical applications from
scientific truths and doctrines.
Comparing the scientific fact is often replaced; the thesis of theistic
psychology is never changed.
Actually, I am receiving the spiritual
substances from Divine Human; therefore, I am able to think the difference
between theistic psychology and non-theistic psychology with rational
perspective.
However, I need more time to think for
organizing of the concept of theistic psychology. I want to think and understand each word by
Swedenborg and Dr. James carefully.
Otherwise, I cannot tell to my friend with my responsibility.
There are many pseudo-sciences,
pseudo-religions, and the rage ideologies in the world. I am afraid collapsing from the weight of
theory or persuading my friends like religious groups. I would like to keep thinking theistic
psychology as my theme of life.
Study Question 8
Discuss the “transmissive model” (or “transmission
theory”) of the mind by William James in Section 2.3 He was familiar with
Swedenborg’s Writings forms his father, who wrote a book about him. Do you see a connection between substantive
dualism and the model of William James?
Answer 8
William
James, an American psychologist and a philosopher, stated that Swedenborgian system and concept of survival of
consciousness after death is not contrary to scientific psychology, the
accepted principle that consciousness is a function of the brain.
He
points out that there are different types of functional interdependence. His
theory is that, when we think of the law that thought is a function of the
brain, we are not required to think of productive function only; we are
entitled also to consider permissive or transmissive
function.
For instance, power
is a productive function of the waterfall; however, forced tonal air emerging
from the organ with its characteristic sound is a transmissive
function of the instrument.
In
a productive function, if we destroy the means of production, we destroy the
product in a transmissive function; however, if we
destroy the means of production, we do not destroy the product.
William
James refers to the dictum in physiological psychology that “thought is a
function of the brain” and he also mentions the concept of “influx” which he
interprets to mean that consciousness is the reception of influx that comes
down from God. The brain is merely a transmissive organ for this consciousness. He correctly points out that the influx idea
does not require the cessation of the mind with the death of the brain; since
the mind which has an independent existence, it may find another type of brain
within living.
However,
the spiritual influx cannot be received into the organ of the physical brain
but only in the organ of the mental mind, which is constructed of spiritual
substances. William James didn’t accept
this thesis because he had separated this from philosophy, theology, or
religion.
Swedenborg
explained that the specific locus of correspondence between the two is the thin
and pure liquid inside each cortical cell.
The mind or “spirit” itself is enclosed in a very thin skin made of a “purified”
natural substance called the “limbus” spread
throughout the body. Thus, it is not just the brain. Inside the limbus
are organized forms of spiritual substances which are entirely spiritual and
have no natural components.
Our
spiritual organs receive the spiritual substances, which are connected to our
physical organs by the law of correspondence.
Understanding of this thesis requires us to think rationally. It is not solving the math problems or being
brainwashed into believing. It is
enlightenment which follows the scientific thesis.
Study Question 9
Discuss your perceptions of how other students in this class (G25) are adjusting
intellectually to the positive bias perspective. Read some of their reports and include that
with what you observe in class.
Answer 9
After
reading of classmate’s paper, I feel sympathy for them with studying harder in
this term. I think too much of the
requirement for the number for reports and presentation in about four months. Because each content
of question is tough; therefore, it needs more time. Least I needed more time for thinking. Not only answer the question, but I also need
time for enlightening through rational thinking.
I devote for study
in this class and spend more than six hours a day except my working and my
housework as a wife and a mom. I am
satisfied for my work but I confess that I am not deep enough to study of Swedenborg
for meeting the report deadline.
Section
1.6.3 to 1.6.8.1
Study Question 1
List between 3 and 5 criteria that theistic psychology should have if it is
going to make it as a science in the future.
Briefly explain each and then give your assessment as to how theistic
psychology as you know it, stacks up.
Answer 1
Whether
or not, it is a workable scientific theory in psychology, we need for
evaluating each theory on the basis of these five criteria.
1. Organicity
The proposed theory must be biologically
grounded. Without structure, medium, or
substance, the proposed theory doesn’t function.
Theistic
psychology is a biological science.
Swedenborg’s thesis, substantive dualism, makes it into an empirical
science. Theistic psychology specifies a
mental anatomy and mental physiology that constitute a spiritual
psychobiology. Actually, the neuronal
networks of the brain and their patterns of firing are governed by the laws of
correspondences.
2. Objective Reality
The facts of the
proposed system must come from objective
observation, and must be verifiable by others.
Swedenborg’s
reports present facts and observations that are as objective as an eyewitness
field report gathered in the notes of Ph. D. candidates doing their
dissertations in anthropology, linguistics, geology, biology, architecture, or
culinary art, and all those who were present also saw the same facts he saw.
Swedenborg’s
system is based on a universal law between the natural and spiritual worlds,
which called “the law of correspondences”.
This is a universal law, which is objective reality.
3. Operational Definition.
The
proposed theory must offer concrete measurement procedures for assessing the
magnitude of effects indexed by dependent measures under various known
independent conditions.
An
operational definition is a description of something, such as a variable, term,
or object, in terms of the specific process or set of validation tests used to
determine its presence and quantity.
All of Swedenborg’s descriptions of the laws of correspondences
are given as operational
definitions. His sentences are often
written by equivalence formula; for instance, “the A
element is always natural while the B element is always spiritual, mental, or
psychological.”
4. Empiricism
Every step of explanation or theory must
be capable of being understood and verified by the person’s own experience or
self-witnessing observations.
Empiricism is a theory of knowledge
which emphasizes those aspects of scientific knowledge that are closely related
to experience, especially as formed thorough deliberate experimental
arrangements.
One of the special aspects of Swedenborg’s
empiricism is that every step of his account or explanation is intended to be
understood and verified by the person’s own experience or self-witnessing observations.
5. Usefulness
The theory must be applicable to all
people and beneficial to society and individuals.
Theistic psychology, which is the
knowledge extracted from the Writings of Swedenborg, is composed of comprehensive
topical structure. This is proof of the
many uses, extensions, and applications of the knowledge contained in the
Writings.
Study Question 2
What is the method of psychological correspondence and how can it be
applied in theistic psychology.
Answer 2
Swedenborg
gives full theoretical attention to the issue of the biology of the spiritual
body. The physical and mental
functioning in our natural body is the consequence of the psychological
environment of the spiritual body by the low of correspondence.
First,
two bodies are functional relations of each other in anatomical detail and in neurophysiologic
operations. Therefore, not a single
cellular, glandular, or hormonal activity in the body is possible without the
simultaneous accompaniment of the equivalent activity in other body. Thus, the
other body (the spiritual body) takes precedence in determining the sequence of
events in this body (physical body).
This is
interpersonal proximity, which sets up a communication flow of cognitive and
affective reactions between the people and us. The neurophysiologic state of
our spiritual body is altered in specific ways corresponding to the character
of the group of people that surrounded us. Streams of affections and cognitions
are received by each appropriate organ of the spiritual body. This is the relation of interpersonal effects
in the mental world to individual effects in our physical world.
I wonder how I will
give an illustration which is familiar to me in this thesis. For instance, I
found the bag of chips was gone in my locker at my working place yesterday. One of my co-workers must have stolen
it. I didn’t lock my locker; my friend
says that, the food in an unlocked locker is like leaving the package of meat
outside; any animals are able to eat it.
I understand it and it is my carelessness; however, I had cultural
shocked. I never had in this happening
in
However, I stopped
to infer who stole the bag of chips, because I feel horrible and I don’t want
to doubt anyone. I realize that this
negative feeling is at the same level as of the character of the person who doesn’t
care about eating someone’s food without asking. As long as I keep doubting all
co-workers, I may be close to the low moral people, be influenced from their point
of view, and I may also start having the feelings of retaliation, hatred, and
bitterness. And furthermore, I will be
ill physically with this negative thinking someday. As the proverb says, “Like attracts like.” Acts of love attract loving acts, and malice
attracts malicious acts. If my thoughts
are habitually negative, I will attract negative circumstances and be close to
the same people with similar thinking.
Second, the
original material that streams out of the spiritual sun is two fold: affective
and cognitive. These two substances cool down and become denser and appear as
chemicals. Therefore, chemicals are
affections and cognitions cooled down, slowed down, and solidified. The physiology of emotions thus partakes of
how affective and cognitive reactions in the spiritual body come down and
solidify as neurochemical reactions in the natural
body.
For instance, according
to the research by Banki CM, a bio-psychiatrist, the patients
who had made suicide attempts had significantly lower mean cerebral spinal
fluid magnesium level irrespective of the diagnosis*. The mental conflict of people who attempt
suicide must be react neurochemical reactions in
their physical body.
Following of the
theorem of the law of correspondence, we could consider the cause of our physical
health problems come from our mental state. And moreover, we could prevent the
disease through our mental state. I
recognize that the method of psychological correspondence by Swedenborg gives
us the ability to think about the structure and meaning of all the living
things, more than I expected it.
*http://www.truehope.com/research/depression/depression_4_77.asp
Study Question 3
What is the organic basis of human thoughts, emotions, and feelings?
Answer 3
Swedenborg
proposed human is born into a dual citizen. We are born with dual world: the natural
world and the spiritual world. This
theory is organic and empirical rather than spiritistic
and phenomenological.
According
to Swedenborg, the spiritual world is the concrete world of thoughts and
feelings. He empirically discovered, by
repeated observation and experience, that life after death, or life “in
eternity”, and occurs within the conscious presence of psychokinetic world made
of mental substances.
Thus thoughts and
feelings are not made of nothing, and neither are they made of physio-chemical neurons. They are instead made of spiritual
substances that have psychobiological structures and functions. All human
behavior is a reaction to interior influx from the spiritual world. Thoughts are reactions to truths inflowing
from within into the external memory, and feelings are reactions to good
inflowing from within into our endeavors and striving.
Human
receives good and truth by “influx” into interior receptors, which located in
the self: good into the will and truth into the understanding. Unmediated influx holds together the
structure and function of every existing object. The will and the understanding are all
equivalent in owing their existence to the unmediated influx of good and truth
from the Divine. Without influx of
spiritual correspondence, human is not able to think and feel.
Study Question 4
Study Section 1.6.7, which describes some features of what life is like in the afterlife of eternity. Discuss them.
How do you react? How do you
friends react? Is this something to look
forward to?
Answer 4
In
the thesis by Swedenborg, human has the actual reality of two interconnected
bodies: one is composed of natural substances and the other is composed of
spiritual substances. This duality for
psychology is organic and empirical rather than spiritistic
and phenomenological. In the human
aspects of the universe, the human goals as love and wisdom, good and truth;
however, for willing and understanding this, a human must be grounded in good
old earth and in
the ultimate of chemical substances and evolutionary growth through
environmental reinforcement.
There
is love in heaven, and it is possible for any one to love our neighbor more
than ourselves in our after life; this thesis is our dream. I wish I could love neighbor more than
myself; however, I have many emotional conflicts, such as jealously and enmity,
for loving people.
Therefore,
I am interested in the after life thesis by Swedenborg as ascetic practices of
human life, more than making proof whether his thesis is based on scientific
fact or not. We are not able to make a
proof of Swedenborg’s experiences in the mental world. He has passed and left a lot of writing for
us. I think it doesn’t matter and it is
meaningless for discuss about Swedenborg’s authenticity.
I
know Swedenborg’s these helps us developing our intellectual faculties, more
than the level of just proving his theory.
As long as I make an effort to improve my process of enlightenment
through reading Swedenborg’s writing, I become aware of his thesis’s
credibility.
It
is not easy to explain this to my friends, because I am still the beginner for
understanding Swedenborg, and I know it is taking time for explaining to someone
with my own words. However, I am sure I
could explain to my friends some day through the long path of my
enlightenment. The day must be filled
with happiness for me.
Study Question 5
How do you react to the idea in Section 1.6.8 that “Sacred Scripture Is the
Source of Scientific Revelations?” Be
sure to make a distinction between the literal sense of Sacred Scripture
(religion) and its correspondential sense (theistic
psychology).
Answer 5
“What
mechanisms or methods does God use to communicate with the human mind or the
human race?” It is Sacred Scripture. God
speaks to every individual’s rational mind through Sacred Scripture. Sacred scripture
is the source of scientific revelation.
According to the
text of Sacred Scripture by Swedenborg, the Divine Human creates every human
being with an organic mind containing built in levels of capability. There are several levels of human mind:
celestial, rational, spiritual, natural, and corporeal. All these levels exist by birth in every
human being, and only people who are in the celestial level of mind is able to
receive the Divine Speech directly into their perception and
understanding. Rationally understanding
of Sacred Scripture, we are able to communicate with God.
Every human mind
or spirit is born with a celestial-rational organ at the top of the mind. This spiritual organ is created to be able to
receive Divine Speech in a form accommodated to finite minds. This form called
celestial-rational correspondences to the Divine Truth contained in the Divine
Speech. Sacred Scripture is Divine Speech incorporating a scientific message
from God to human beings.
No one can make up
what God is or is not, or what God wants or does not want, or how God manages
the created universe, or what our fate is in the afterlife. This is theistic psychology, which is based
on rational consciousness of God. Within
theistic psychology, there cannot be any disagreement or contradictory scientific
theories since its knowledge base consists solely and exclusively of the scientific
revelations given in the Writings of Swedenborg.
On the other hand,
from a religious or non-scientific view, God can talk to individuals through an
outer or inner voice. The religious
based on the Old Testament Sacred Scripture teach religious materialism, which
is the belief that the after life is going to be lived in the natural world,
not the spiritual world of eternity. Mystical systems depend on blind faith or
credulity; therefore, each religion has own belief system for having the real
truth.
I consider that
religious people know and believe in the existence of God through the Old
Testament and New Testament, and we discover, learn, and enlighten on the
regulation of God through the Sacred Scripture.
While the Old Testament and New Testament indicate the bases of value judgment
for moral concept, Sacred Scripture indicates the relation of cause and effect
for human life. Therefore, Sacred
Scripture is the source of scientific revelation. Through rational thinking, we learn the
hidden meaning of Sacred Scripture, which is written based on scientific fact.
Study Question 6
Section 1.6.8 discusses how Divine Speech inflows into the mental world by
levels, and each level is lower in rationality than the level above it, until
it reaches the natural level of Sacred Scripture in a natural language. Describe this process in your own word, as if
you were giving a speech about it to people interested in spirituality.
Answer 6
From Rational mind
of the Divine Human to human minds has six levels of descent of Divine
Speech. The descent of divine Speech
occurs simultaneously into every human mind; however, it is perceived according
to one’s clarity or obscurity of His co-Presence. The intensity or purity of our love of His
truth and good, are measured by how much we are willing to cooperate with Him
in our endless regeneration process.
Level
6 is the highest levels of development of rational consciousness. This is the
first point of contact from Divine Speech, which is the celestial mind. It exists in the form of celestial-rational
correspondence. This level of person is
the highest science human.
Level 5 is called the second heaven. In this spiritual mind, it exists in the form of spiritual-rational correspondences. Level 6 and Level 6 are unconscious while human are still conscious on earth. The interior organ in level 6 and the rational organ in level 5 capable of consciously representing to us higher-order correspondences of Divine Speech. This level of human is understanding of what is love, good hierarchy of affections, intending and willing, and regeneration.
Level
4 is called the first heaven, and also called phase 1 theistic psychology. It is based on the extraction of knowledge
from the literal meaning of the Writings.
The literal sentences of the Writings are written in natural-rational
correspondences. This level of human is understanding of what are truth, faith, rationality,
theology, science, and doctrine
Level
3 is received the natural-rational correspondences from the Divine Human This level of human is only able to read
spiritual-natural sentences in their script, and is understanding what is use,
good works, morality, justice, virtue, aesthetics, and competition. They could only see what
was a discrete degree “within”, namely, their spiritual universal and scientific
meaning.
Level
2 is for ordinary people. They receive
the natural correspondences. This level
of human analyzes scientific revelation with a materialistic perspective. People read the New Testament through
natural-sensuous correspondence
Level
1 is received the natural-corporeal correspondences. This is the Old Testament
mentality. At this level of mentality
God operates in the physical world, and wants us to participate in community
rituals and the dead are raised from their grave.
We
are able to achieve elevation or enlightenment while we are in the natural mind. Elevating of the higher level means
enlightening ourselves. For self-enlightening doesn’t require the belief
system. It requires for thinking rationally.
Study Question 7
Discuss the 6 “Levels of Rational Mentality” in Section 1.6.8. Can you comprehend these levels of thinking
about God?
Answer 7
Most
of people, who are socialized into a culture, are at consciousness level 1 and
2. They believe God exists; however they think science and religion separately
through materialistic viewing. Thus they
read Old Testament and New Testament as “religious story”, not as “objective historical
report” or “the report which is based of scientific research.”
For
these people, God is invisible their Father.
He created the world and living things. At consciousness level 1, people
believe that God’s Glory demands that He be worshipped by human beings; He
commands specific rituals that must be performed by the faithful under penalty
of death, sickness, or loss of crops and livelihood. God is sometimes anger and
animal sacrifices are required.
At
consciousness level 2, people feel the Holy Spirit in their rational mind, and
it protests and guides them. God responds to their prayers and sometimes makes
miracles to happen for them. God gives
special gifts to some individuals such as the power to heal or the wisdom to
lead.
Both
level 1 and level 2 are religious perspective, which are negative viewing of
God’s reality. They prove God through
materialistic methods; therefore, they have to rely on the belief system for
Gods existence.
What
is the role of religion? I believe that
religion used to fill the role of teaching the generality in several moral
problems and controlling themselves to people.
When people know about their limited life span, and understand for food
chain and its ecological pyramid, people become suffer that they are existing
at the cost of many animals. Their problems develop dialectically and they
suffer from how they supposed to live.
Therefore, religion has been prospered for people as the healing method.
On
the other hand, people who are in the consciousness level 3 understand the
Sacred Scripture by Swedenborg. In this
perspective, God is the Divine Human in whom infinite things make omnipotent, omniscient,
and omnipresent. Prayer is of benefit to
the individual who prays but has no mollifying effect on God, since God decides things solely on the basis of omniscience
through His Rational Laws of Providence and Permissions.
They only understand
of literal meaning of the sentences in the Writing Scripture, which are filled
with natural, historical, and cultural references.
Consciousness
level 4, 5, 6 have perceive of theistic psychology. This is affirmative approach which allows scientists
to abandon the unproven and improvable atheistic premise.
Every word,
concept, expression and sentence in the extracted correspondence from the
Writings contains a Universal reference to the human mind and the individual.
The human mind is
elevated in consciousness by means of Divine revelations. Everyone is able to
elevate up at level 4 above, because human mind is created to operate in this
way. Through this level of thinking we are able to understand abstract and
rational concepts from God’s Rational Mind.
Study Question 8
Section 1.8.9 discusses theistic science as an alternative to Bible-based
accounts of God and creation, which look only at the literal meaning. What is your assessment of where this topic
is going in the future?
Answer 8
The
viewing of Dr. Ian Thomson is seems like consciousness level 3. He understands Sacred Scripture literally,
but not rationally. As a theist, he
believes that, God is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. God has personality and He is involved in
creation.
God is the infinite
Divine Human who operates our thoughts and feelings by connecting us to the
minds of others. The individual minds of the entire human race are kept
unconsciously interconnected so that they may influence one another. In this
way God manages the train of our thoughts, our decisions, our perceptions, and
our sensory environment.
However, God creates the feeling in us that we are
alone in our mind and that our mental life is our own alone. Thus He hides Himself from being discovered directly and
sensuously.
I think I should read his article more……
Study Question 9
Now that you are nearing completion of the course, what has been the effect
of studying theistic psychology this semester?
What is your prognosis for continuing the study and its mode of
thinking?
Answer 9
Through
proving theistic psychology, my perspective of life has been undergoing a
Copernican change, and I got the ability to think from the rational perspective
presented in Divine scientific revelation.
Improving
the scientific dualism thesis, I started to analyze and evaluate my own spiritual
thinking and feeling. However this is enlightenment;
I was having psychological distress and pain everyday.
Each
word by Dr. James has deep meaning and is precious for me; therefore, it was
difficult to write papers for me in the limited time. I am anguished, but I am also immersed in the
joy of learning and improving myself studying theistic psychology.
Now
that the end by the semester is coming, I would like to take the Sacred Scripture
by Swedenborg and Dr. James’s papers to heart, and understand what they say by picking
out each type.
Section
1.8.1 to 1.8.7, and 2.3
Study Question1
What are people talking about on the Web or in the media when they say the “Bible
Code”? Explain it, then
show how it differs in method and purpose from theistic psychology. Why is the Bible code
called blind in relation to theistic psychology?
Answer 1
Bible
Code, which is, some people believe are meaningful and exist intentionally in
coded form in the text of the Bible.
Michael Drosnin’s book, The Bible Code (1997) gained the word, “Bible code”, people and the
media were excited in the prediction the future by Bible Code. Some people believe the Bible is Divine which
based on the scientific proof.
However, there are
unfounded and no proof which based on research.
It is different of the hidden meaning in Sacred Scripture. Theistic
psychology is based exclusively on the method of correspondences with
enlightenment.
The
method of theistic psychology, which is correspondences with enlightenment, is
divinely specified in precise and strict terms that do not allow for deviation
in its absolute standard of application.
This
method is Divine from two perspectives: external and internal. The external origin of the method of
correspondences is the Writings Sacred Scripture, which uses natural-rational
correspondences to discuss and describe them.
Writing Sacred Scripture is devoted to explain and teach the method of
correspondences. The internal origin of the method is to gain the ability to
comprehend spiritual correspondences with enlightenment. We need to comprehend the idea of “Divine
Trinity” in a rational or spiritual way.
Theistic
psychology is not based on the literal sense of Sacred Scripture; however, it
is based on the underlying scientific meaning that is contained in the literal
sentences of all Sacred Scripture. “Bible
Code” called blind in relation to theistic psychology, because it is like
counting letter; nothing meaning, and it devoid the underlying scientific
meaning, too.
Study Question 2
Explain the relationship between layers of meaning hidden within Sacred
Scripture and the levels of human mentality or mind.
Answer 2
Writings
Sacred Scripture is written by Swedenborg, which is based of his experience and
perception in the spiritual world. The Divine Human creates every human being
with an organic mind containing built in levels of capability.
From the highest to lowest level of mind is
celestial, spiritual, and natural, and all these levels exist by birth in every
human being. When God communicates an
idea or truth to us, the Divine Speech descends from God and enters the mind of
us from the celestial mind, which is the highest level.
People,
whose minds are in the celestial level, receive the Divine speech directly into
their perception and understanding. These people who operate at celestial level
are the first echelon of humanity receiving the Divine meaning, truth,
principle, or message. The level at
which people are willing to function in their eternity depends on the
personality and life style they acquired in this life.
Every
human mind or spirit is born with a celestial rational organ at the top of the
mind. The spiritual organ is created to
be able to receive Divine Speech in a form accommodated to finite minds. However, while our mind is still connected to
a physical body on earth, the celestial level of the mind and the spiritual
mind are remained unconsciously.
While
we are in the physical body in natural world, we are only conscious of our
natural mind. From the highest to the
lowest mind, they are split into natural-rational, natural-sensuous, and
natural-corporeal correspondences. These
three levels of human thinking are evolutionary for the historical race ant
onto logical for each individual development.
The Old Testament is written in natural-corporeal correspondence. The New Testament is written in natural-sensuous
correspondences.
Many
people are in the level of natural-corporeal correspondences of Divine
Speech. As this lowest level of
materialistic thinking about God, they believe their sense impression as the
ultimate reality. These people believe
what they could see and touch. They are
able to elevate to up level of mind through rational thinking; however, sadly
to say, the most of people like to stay in materialistic thinking.
Study Question 3
Explain the difference between material and spiritual ideas or
concepts. Explain this difference to a
friend. What is your conclusion?
Answer 3
Material
ideas mean that people who deny the existence of anything that isn’t
physical. They believe only they could
see with their naked eyes; therefore, they deny of Gods existence and
theism. Not only in materialists, but
people who believe animism, monisms, cult, New Age,
and so on, have materialistic viewing, which is the lowest form of rational
thinking.
People
who reject the objectivity of rational spirituality have evolved a subjective
mystical spirituality of God. Mystical spirituality
relies on a sensuous consciousness or experience of God. They believe Materialistic science, which
identified by physical measurement; therefore, they rejects the use of God as
an explanatory concept in materialistic science measurement system.
On
the other hand, Spiritual ideas mean that people who think dualism by
Swedenborg. Rational spirituality relies
on a rational consciousness or understanding of God. The rational understanding is based on God’s
revelations made in Sacred Scripture. Since God and created human beings cannot
be of one substance, there is a continuous duality between them that cannot be
overcome to eternity.
My friend said she had neither material ideas
nor spiritual ideas. I think this is an ordinary
answer. Most people are not aware of the
contradiction between God and science. It
must take courage to solve their contradiction, and they must be afraid of
changing their values.
I consider that there is no reason of
denying materialistic idea. Some people
must love visible object more than invisible substances. Some people must be
satisfied with wealthy living more than anguished love. However, if someone understands the idea of
dual citizens, she or he could not think with material viewing. Because she or he will recognize humans are
not able to live without spiritual substances from Divine Human.
Study Question 4
Explain the assertions that “there is only one mental world and we are all
in it”. How do you understand this? What difficulties did you encounter when trying
to explain this assertion to another person?
What is your conclusion? What are
the consequences in your mind of this assertion?
Answer 4
There
is only one mental world for the human race, and this human mental world is the
afterlife of eternity. The mental world
is the world of thoughts and feelings.
These are non-physical objects, outside time and space. Because outside time and space is in
eternity, our mental world is the world of eternity where thoughts and feelings
exist. Everything in the mental world is
created by the mind.
For
instance, we have dreams. I could also
control my dreams. When I am in my
dream, I realize I am in the dream; therefore, I could go anywhere I want and I
could leave from bad situation. Thus,
humans are in full control of events in the mind, because these events are
mentally constructed in mental world of imagination and invention. Everything in the mental world is controlled
by our feelings and thoughts.
According
to Swedenborg, there are rules of correspondences in both worlds: physical and
spiritual. He observed that when people
are resuscitated, they attract other people who are like them, who come around
and have interactions. This tendency is
so forceful that people gather together in the places that are mental
recreations from memory.
The
spiritual world is the objective mental world in which everybody’s thoughts and
feeling played themselves out. It is the
world of eternity because dreams thoughts and feelings are operations of our
mental organs, which exist not in space, not in time, and in physical matter,
but in space less, timeless, rational ether forming eternity.
I
consider how I can imagine all my friends are in the same mental world. It may be a similar situation to the cocktail
party effect. The cocktail party effect
describes the ability to focus one’s listening attention on a single talker
among a mixture of conversations and background noises, ignoring other
conversations. It is to say this effect is by our auditory system, which
enables us to talk in a noisy place.
In the mental world, same types of
people gather in the same degree of level. Like the cocktail party effect, we
are all together in the same place; however, we could only find out and call
the same type of people from everywhere in the same place, and we don’t care
how many other people are around us.
Study Question 5
What is regeneration? How do you
relate to the idea of character reformation in your own life? How do you imagine yourself as a “reborn
self? Would your friends like you
better? Would you be a better citizen or
student?
Answer 5
Regeneration
is the process of gradually opening or activating all the degrees of the human
mind. Thus, it is a growth process of
character self-modification, which described in the Writings of Swedenborg.
According
to Swedenborg, for regeneration, we need arising from both inheritance and our
learned habits. Through inheritance, we
have within our motivational structure, an abundance of anti-social and
self-destructive tendencies.
For
instance, I know I should work out during a day for keeping my serotonin level
in my brain from becomes a depression problem.
Exercise is improving depression and able to prevent it all together. Exercising had positive effects on a human’s
body and mind in support of the psychological benefits.
The cause of depression is a lack of serotonin
in the brain or inefficiency among the serotonin receptors. With cardiovascular exercising,
neurotransmitters; beta-endorphins and serotonin, level is increased in my
brain, which could prevent depression. I had verified this was true. However, I do not work out much for reason of
my busy day, until I become in depression.
This behavior
tendency betrays my inherited delights in destructive behavior. I add to this inherited inclination through
my own habits of life by allowing myself to drift into insensitivity, self-centeredness,
and meanness. And this result of my
negative aspects in my character is the un-regenerate state of a “fallen” race.
If I could control
my habit, I would have better feelings every day. I might be a better person for my children,
and might advice someone’s depression problems. I recognized that my status has fallen, which
is the first stage of regeneration by God.
I just need to follow the thesis of Swedenborg now.
Study Question 6
Describe the three methodologies used in theistic psychology. Explain the levels of extractive
research. How are these levels related
to our mental anatomy or organs? How do
you understand all this? What is the
potential significance of this method for generating new scientific knowledge?
Answer 6
The
correspondential sense of the Writings Sacred
Scripture is scientific knowledge that God wants to reveal to the human race
for the sake of its continued regeneration and evolution.
Divine Speech in
the Writings Sacred Scripture continuously and ceaselessly issues from God’s
mind through the Spiritual Sun, and enters simultaneously the mind of every
human being, descending through the anatomical layers of the mind by influx of
spiritual heat and light from the Spiritual Sun. This universal influx, heat
and light, are received by our mental organs.
The affective organ receives the spiritual heat, the cognitive organ
receives the spiritual light, and the sensorimotor
organ reacts to these two. When our
organs react to influx, we experience feelings, thoughts, and sensations, of
which we are not aware in the upper layers, but by the time the influx
propagates to the lower levels of the mind, we become conscious of its
operations as awareness of emotions, feelings, intentions, thoughts,
sensations, motor determinations for actions.
Therefore, our thoughts
are consequences of the influx of Divine Speech into our mind, our thoughts is
not our creations. The mind has two
sources of influx or input. The upper
layer of the mental organs is the celestial-spiritual mind and the lower layer
is the natural mind. The conscious or
cultural content of the natural mind is built up from our experience through
the physical body. Our ideas are called
time-bound naturalistic concepts or ideas which are materialistic viewing, and
these have led to the negative bias that denies influx from God into the
spiritual mind.
As long as the
content of the conscious mind is based on cultural and experience, we are not
able to distinguish or hear Divine Speech which operates by influx our
spiritual mind. However, the spiritual
mind operates by correspondence upon the natural mind. If we have rational perspective to understand
the Writing Sacred Scripture, the spiritual mind acts upon the natural mind and
order the sensations, thoughts, and feelings in the natural mind.
Science is a rapid-advancing
discovery. However, scientists do not
know where their insights and solutions into the conscious mind come from. As long as scientists are
not understanding theistic psychology, they never know this
phenomenon. The operations of our
natural mind are reactions by correspondence to the operations of the spiritual
mind, which is caused by influx from the Spiritual Sun, where Divine Speech
issues from Gods. When we understand
rationally, our new consciousness of higher truth re-organizes and reforms
everything in our mind content, and syntax of thinking and willing.
Because I studied
theistic psychology under Dr. James’s guidance, I recognized my perspective was
changed. It used to be easily to think
negatively; however, after learning my thoughts was not my original, I stopped belittling
myself and started to keep thinking for everything with a rational
perspective. I feel like throwing off
the yoke. I prove that as much as I make
an effort to achieve enlightenment, I could receive the spiritual substances
from Divine Human, and my negative bias will fall off and disappear.
Study Question 7
How do you understand the expression “style of Divine Speech”? How do you understand the assertion that “divine
Speech exteriorizes to the next layer of the mental world”? How does this affect you as a unique
individual today? Give the “specific
content of Divine Speech.” How do you
react to the fact that this is what God wants to talk to us about or teach
us? Why these things are called spiritual? How important are these things to society and
the human race?
Answer 7
The
Writings of Sacred Scripture is written in the style of divine Speech, which
always contains several discrete layers of meaning. The literal historical meaning is accurate
and Divine. It
contains deeper and more universal meanings that can be recovered or
reconstructed by applying the method of correspondences with enlightenment.
Divine
Speech exteriorizes to the next layer of the mental world called the spiritual
or second heaven. When humans are in
this consciousness level, they will be related to the Truth and Rationality of
the Divine human. This consciousness
level, their thoughts are maintained by thinking with spiritual-rational
correspondences of Divine Speech.
Thinking in spiritual-rational correspondences of divine Speech will
give them the ability to construct many sciences that are unknown on earth.
When
Divine Speech exteriorizes to the next layer of the mental world, the first
heaven, the humans are in conscious, and everything that is thoughts and done
are related to performing activities that are useful to others in their
community and benefits them in some way.
This consciousness level is maintained by thinking with
spiritual-natural correspondences of Divine Speech.
Thinking in spiritual-natural correspondences of Divine Speech gives them
the ability to invent and put into practice many types of social activities
that are unknown on earth except as ideals. Good spirits excel in all the
things that people on earth aspire to do well -- sports, business, art, crafts,
civics, music, and dance.
We are impressed by art, music, dance, and so on. We feel the artists’ spirits though
those. I like paintings and going to the
museum. I believe that appreciating of
paintings is having conversation with the painters. Artists’ emotions through using chosen colors
stimulate my emotions and their expression on canvases inspires reciprocal feelings
with me. I wonder if some artists
received spiritual-natural correspondences from Divine Human for drawing, which
I may experience thorough my feelings.
Study Question8
How does theistic psychology stack up as a science, according to its own
criteria and definition?
Answer 8
Science
tells us for discovering the rule of the relationship between the cause and
effect, and religion tells us of the basis of value judgment. Some people learn “how to live” from
religion. Religion is distinct from
science.
Theistic
psychology is scientific thesis, not religious persuasion. Because first of all, it is based on cumulative
research by independent scientist (Swedenborg) who can rationally evaluate
work. It is rational, coherent,
consistent, comprehensive, understandable, capable of
representation in models and diagrams.
Second,
it employs empirical methods for extracting knowledge from the scientific
revelations in the Writings of Swedenborg, which has a factual empirical basis
of systematic observations and experiments.
Third, it is systematic application of revealed principles to the description of events and behavior. All theories in theistic psychology must be drawn from these scientific revelations and must agree with them.
I think it is ridiculous and reductionistic
to think of whether theistic psychology is science or not. Theistic psychology is not only making proof
scientifically but it is also following rational methods of inquiry.
When we think whether Swedenborg’s writings
are scientific or not, we should always start back to consider what scientific
meaning is. Science tells us what we
can know; however, what we can know is little.
Therefore, if we forget how much we cannot know, we will become
insensitive to many things of very great importance. We don’t know much about the universe;
therefore, we only try to understand theology toward the universe within our
knowledge. We could only recognize or
prove in our knowledge. I think whether
Swedenborg’s writing is scientific or not, is meaningless, and it is not
studying at least, it is more media genetic idea.
Study Question9
What was Swedenborg? Give a brief description
of what you know so far. Should one believe
Swedenborg? Does it depend on belief or
rational understanding and proof? What
benefits are there in studying Swedenborg’s theistic psychology, which is
hidden within the literal sentences of the Writings Sacred Scripture that he authored? Do you think he knew that his sentences were
Divine Speech and contained infinite knowledge that the human race could never
exhaust?
Answer 9
Swedenborg was a Swedish scientist, philosopher, Christian mystic, and
theologian. Swedenborg had a prolific
career as an inventor and scientist.
When he was fifty-six years old, he had experienced entering into the
spiritual world. This culminated in a
spiritual awakening, where he felt he was appointed by the Lord to write a
heavenly doctrine based on a reformed Christianity.
I
consider that Swedenborg was an interpreter between the spiritual world and the
natural world. An interpreter has to
understand both worlds very well. Thus,
Understanding A-language of A -culture, an interpreter
transfer the suitable word in B -language of B -culture. In the same time, he must guess how people in
B-culture will react with his transferred words. Therefore, I am interested in reading of
Swedenborg’s Writing Scripture. (But I can’t read the original) I wonder how he
felt and what words he chose in the writing
He
must know that his sentences were Divine Speech. However, like an interpreter, he must be a
role of a mediator between Divine Human and people who live in the natural
world. Using Swedenborg’s body, Divine
Human told the truth to us. Swedenborg
was already angelic existence for Divine Human.