Spiritual Rationality
According to Swedenborg, the purpose of the Bible is to lead people toward spiritual rebirth, or regeneration. For this reason, God embedded deeper truths within the literal stories of the Scripture.
Minister’s Blog
According to Swedenborg, the purpose of the Bible is to lead people toward spiritual rebirth, or regeneration. For this reason, God embedded deeper truths within the literal stories of the Scripture.
We live as though we are in a permanent state of exile, struggling to find a way back to a lost sanctuary. However, the spiritual truth is more hopeful: the Garden planted by God is still there, nestled deeply within the quietest corners of the mind.
At times, our faith can feel worn thin. In those moments, what we need isn’t a complex argument or a technical explanation, but the restorative strengthening that comes from being held together when we feel ourselves falling apart.
“Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.” At first glance, this may sound like a rebuke of weak faith. But when we read this more closely—and perhaps more personally—it reveals something deeper about the human condition.
Perhaps the revelation given to Moses at the burning bush was not the start of a brand-new religion, but a revolutionary reformation of a faith that already existed in the ancient world. It is a powerful reminder that God and humans had a deep relationship long before Abram or Moses appeared on the scene.
We live in a world that constantly measures worth through productivity, income, appearance, and even attention. What, then, is the “right” thing to pursue in this life, if such a thing can be clearly named?
Sometimes it feels selfish to pursue one’s inner peace while the whole world is struggling and suffering. Yet, the Bible teaches strongly about peace from God, and Buddha teaches about the importance of obtaining inner peace.
The inspiration from the story of Easter is that we tend to look for growth within our comfort zones only to find that the stone has been rolled away by a force greater than ourselves, inviting and guiding us to look elsewhere.
When the crowds greeted Jesus, they held the “leaves of truth” in their hands and shouted “Hosanna!” Yet, their perception was clouded. They were looking for a political liberator, not a spiritual Savior.
An infant has no curated self-image to protect and no ego to stroke. Our challenge as adults is to return to that state—not by accident of birth, but through the intentional, voluntary work of spiritual practice.