Concepts of Good and Evil....
Wonderful dialogue Bill!
>>The concepts of good and evil, right and wrong are a fine place to begin any moral or ethical discussion. They are statements of what we value, of Who We Are. They are thus very real in our experience.>>
There's a very fine distinction than should be made to outline the basic elements of what we are receiving and sharing with each other about this topic.
Swedenborg outlines this proper order in 3 very simple degrees:
1) End
2) Cause
3) Effect
It simply makes simple and perfect sense to receive and share the idea that none of us occupy role #1 - ie. none of us can claim to be THE END, THE SOURCE who is God Himself.
Now let's move onto role #2 which is "Cause." Swedenborg outlines in wonderfully detailed arguments that there IS a vast, infinite spritual reality which individual spirits - who were ALL former natural men, women and children in this and other worlds - from the Heavens and the Hells occupy.
And he didn't just argue this cause. He actually EXPERIENCED and documented these things directly himself. And this in no way shape or form should make Emanuel Swedenborg "special" or unique for if this was the case then he'd be just another individual trying to seed, doctor and sell another illusory manmade control-based "religion" comprised of the ritual and doctrine of conditions, limitations, judgement and damnation.
Every individual on a second by second basis is exposed to an unlimited number of spiritual influences in the form of ideas, thoughts, feelings, etc. For we are all created in His image with a direct connection to His Divine energy, light and love. And as spiritual beings we can chose to receive and claim this energy as something that we create or conditionalize. And while on this earth, if our the love of our will based on our understanding is so disposed, we "will" chose to receive and become one with ideas and thoughts from an unlimited number of spiritual causes from the spiritual domain that support these refractions, inversions and perversions of His perfect Will, His perfect truth, His perfect Love from His perfect order.
But, by the same token, as spiritual beings we can also chose to freely receive and share this energy as purely and as simply as it was given to us by our Father in Heaven. And one of the best examples of the unconditional sharing of His free gifts is in the smile of a new born baby or child. And while on this earth, if our the love of our will based on our understanding is so disposed, we "will" chose to freely receive and become one with ideas and thoughts from an unlimited number of spiritual causes from these heavenly spiritual causes that support the purity and simplicity of perfect Will, His perfect truth, His perfect Love from His perfect order.
>>At the same time, we know from history (and sometimes not very distant history) that values are subject to change over time and across cultures. Whether we agree with such change or not, the fact that such changes occur is beyond dispute.>>
Everything that's of/by/for/with mankind is natural, conditional, relative and, thus, always "subject to change." But this has absolutely nothing to do with our Father in Heaven's perfect Will, His perfect Love from His perfect Order.
>>My thinking on this subject began many years ago with the opening of Matthew 7: "Judge not, that you not be judged. For with what judgement you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you." This makes perfect sense to me, even more so if one chooses to know that We Are All One. For if there is only one of us then whatever we do to another we indeed (literally) do to ourselves. The "golden rule" also flows naturally from this observation.>>
Yes, because, when we judge we are actually assuming, masquarading as claiming to possess/control the power of our Father in Heaven. And, as such, any and all judgments we make only works to bind, bond and enslave the truth of our soul which is His perfect freedom and Love.
>>In this sense values change over time because our self-concept evolves over time. True, certain values seem deeper and more universal. The classic example is murder, which most people and cultures agree is wrong. The problem comes when we ask whether a particular killing is considered murder. We then discover that the reason murder is considered wrong is because the definition of murder is a "wrongful or unlawful killing". But we'll search in vain for a common definition of what constitutes "wrongful or unlawful" when it comes to killing or anything else.>>
Judging evil is the same as spinning evil. Jesus emphasized this when he implied that anything more than us saying "Yay or Nay" crosses over into evil itself. Those who commit evil fall into a state of torment when they are exposed to these unconditional loving spiritual causes that we can freely receive and share with others.
As for man's natural state, there can be no infinite right vs. wrong reference to this conditional reality for it's very nature feeds and fuels "evil" for everything remains relative. Everything keeps changing. For there's a complete denial of the ONE Source/End which is God. And by saying this we are also stating that relative natural "reality" is really not pure of spirit. So we simply acknowlege anything that's by/of/for man as coming from a naturally "corrupt state". And this understanding is closer to the truth without crossing over into making a declarative personal judgment of any ONE individual. And by stating this I am in no way attempting to be an authority making this claim.
But when we transcend conditional reality by letting our Father in Heaven carry us and teach us the way infinite and unconditional of His spirit and His Love all judgment simply melts away with this New Light of His Love which seeks no claim and seeds no blame or shame. For it's the conditional/relative matrix that will judge, blame and shame. This is what wells up from Hell itself and is received and conditionally shared by those individuals in this world who are inclined to live and love by the sword.
>>This leaves us with a dilemma. If we wish to maintain that values have an absolute meaning then whose values are the "right" ones? Not surprisingly, every time and culture offers the same unhelpful answer to that question: "Ours, of course". Yet even in the Bible there is an acknowledgement that values change over time. In Matthew 16:19 Jesus says to Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.">>
I regard Jesus' comment to Peter as more of an equation of energy, light and Love. When I call out into this world in the name of our Father in Heaven this is a call that is heard in the spiritual realm. All these calls in the name of our Father are received and responded to in ways that aren't necessarily immediately apparent to the individual making the call. There can be calls from this world for Him to bind evil and erradicate disease.
As long as there are no conditions or claims being made, there is no "right energy" when we are simply receiving and sharing the same. Energy is energy and love of love when we strip away the relative conditions and claims. But the nature this energy immediately gets inverted/perverted as soon as ONE individual convinces another that there are relative/conditional claims and restrictions attached/assigned to it.
>>Let me know your thoughts on this and I'll be happy to continue the dialog.>>
Most of the conditional truths we are sharing on this thread relate to the insanity behind these individual claims that seed/fuel blame and shame.
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