Instructor: Dr. Leon James

Children in the Other life

I. Good

a. Good is measured by innocence in which it contains, willingness to be led by the Lord

b. When infants pass on to the spiritual world--> they is not held responsible for their hereditary evils and bodily appetites. -->Covered by their innocence of ignorance.

II. Mother Angels

a. Angels attend and raise them.--> usually women that (in the physical world) raised children and followed God.

b. These angels love the child more than the physical parents did.

c. Sometimes these angels attend to 3 or more children.

d. belong to the province in the Greatest Human (genital organs of both sexes)

III. Birth of a child

a. Catholic/Christian--> need baptism in order for the child to go to heaven (if the child passes on before he or she accepts Christ)

b. Angels of Swedenborg however accept any child and they become angels.

c. From infants comes a third part of heaven.

d. They still maintain free choice and they do not know that they were born on earth (until they are told so).

e. Enter heaven by a shorter way than other spirits do due to the fact that their proprium is not activated (they are not attached to societies in the world of spirits.

IV. Life of a child in heaven

a. They learn how to walk and talk on their own, but their speech is expressing affection and not language or thought.

b. They have not known evil, there for they cannot see it. Evil spirits cannot come near them because their proprium does not contain any information on them.

c. At the age of 15 (girls) and 18 (boys) they reach the marriageable age, at the same time their external growth stops

d. Infants do not inherit genius (races surviving the Flood)

1. differences between the two is that infants sex is predetermined from conception

e. They learn the Lords prayer

V. Boys and Girls: Heavenly Lives: Maturity--> distinguish between good and evil.

a. Boys

1. Boys are placed under instructors that teach them how to lie and think in masculine ways.

2. Dead horses: They represent when the Word is interpreted materially (God as three persons) and not his essence.

3. Colleges where men are initiated into matters of wisdom (three universal loves, nature of the soul, difference between spiritual and natural)

b. Girls

1. encourages and happily watch men compete with each other.

2. They live in quarter together (swedenborg gives descriptive details of this)

3. keep busy by embroidering linen, gardens--> given coins as tokens of industry virtue.

4. If they were good: they would find new linens in their wardrobe

5. If they were "bad": Their gardens would disappear, their clothes would have holes or stains on them

c. Marriage

1. Desires marriage as they reach maturity (both men and women)

2. Instantly know that they are mates when they see each other

3. They have weddings in heaven (which Swedenborg has described)

Helpful Links:

http://www.catholic.org/saints/ : Is about the catholic history of saints and angels.

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01476d.htm : Catholic encyclopedia definition of angels.

http://www.angels-online.com/index.html : This website contains information from people who encountered situations from angels.

Class Home page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy24/classhome-g24.htm

My Home page: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459s2006/jones/jones-class-homepage.htm